Transcripts For ALJAZAM News 20140727

Families grieve at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 as fighting continues in eastern ukraine. More than a dozen people have been shot so far this weekend in chicago. But there is a new program that is trying to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble. Thanks for being with us, we begin with the conflict in gaza. Israel has agreed to expand a humahumanitarian ceasefire until sunday night but gaza has nod get to that ceasefire. Mortars were once again fired in to israel from gaza. Following the end of a previous ceasefire, during the short window when fighting had stopped, many residents had returned to their homes to look for survivors and bury the dead think more than 100 bodies were discovered. In the other palestinian territory funerals were held for palestinians who were killed during demonstrations in support of gaza last week. At least eight palestinians in the west bank have been killed in the past three days, meanwhile, secretary of state john kerry and his counterparts from france, the u. K. And a number of other countries are meeting in paris. They are trying to convince both sides to agree to a longer truce. Now, the total number of palestinians killed since the beginning of fighting now stands at 1,049. Most are civilians. At least 6,000 have been injured. 40 israel i sole years and three is really civilians have also been killed. Nick schifrin joining us live from gaza right now. As we mentioned, nick, israel has agreed to a 24 hour extension of the human train terrien ceasefire but what exactly does that mean for the people of gaza. Reporter that means they can stay in their neighbors if they are still in their neighbors. Israel warned them not to go but we saw them returning all day. Israel said they will hold fire for the next 21 hours but will not stop continuing going after the tunnels. And those are tunnel that his go from gaza in to israel. Those are the things that the israeli officials are most concerned about. Really when you look at the situation today and the people of gaza today and, what they saw for the first time they were really able they were really able to see the depth of the devastation. For the first time in weeks the neighbor filled with life. Gas an cowboys corralled their herds, and for a few hours kids were free to be kids. But these moments, these survivors are dwarfed by the destruction. Streets closest to the israel i border are gone. This street is this war end center. Israeli f16s dropped thousands of pounds of bombs, palestinian fighters attacked israeli troops. Their green hamas flags still flutter from homes they used as bases. Countless homes are now rubble. You can actually see where each room used to stand. This used to be a bedroom. The family hunting for money or jewelry, anything of value they can use to buy food. Below the rubble, the bodies of omars father and three brothers are still buried. Translator what we have been through is overwhelming. The Palestinian People must remain strong. We must be able to live like other people do. Reporter and this was, what, where you entertained guests, this area . Omars cousin lives next door, the same strike gutted his house. Translator the blood of my sister. My sister. She was 25 years old. And the blood of my daughter. She is seven years old. Reporter he tries to open his kitchen door. Its blocked by did h debris. Translator our kitchen is the center for the house. We dont buy it from the market, we make it here. We make it here. In the kitchen. Reporter today the plates, bowls anbowls and cups may be ie but they are covered in dust created by the wall that was blown out. Everyone was scared of this. It was a great massacre. It was a great massacre. Reporter deep in this neighborhood you can really see how violent the fighting was. This is a metal door, you can see the shrapnel the size of my fist went straight through it. Over here this is a store front or was a store front and one blast ripped right through the front of it. And this entire area has an action writ smell. The smell is of the blood that stains these roads. The aftermath here is horrifying. But here it might be even worse. When we arrived, the damage was still smoldering. Parents carried their children through streets that are now debris fields. And nearby, a family digs through what used to be their home. 11 bodies are trapped inside. In total, medical officials discovered and buried 132 bodies today. Among the lines of old cement gravestones a fresh grave dug so quickly the name is written in pen. Today a little life returned to this wartorn neighborhood. But residents have seen too much death to stay. This man shows me the missile fragment that landed in his home. He and his family grab the whatever could fit in his taxi trunk and for the second time in two weeks fled their home. Going anywhere but here. This is the third war that they have gone through in the last six years. And, tom, they all tell me that this one has produced much more damage than the previous two. Its devastating. As we have mentioned israel has agreed to extend a humanitarian ceasefire until sunday night. But what does hamas want before it accepts a ceasefire, nick . Reporter yeah, they are saying that the rules of this ceasefire are sun table. And the reason is that they want all israeli troops outside of gaza during the ceasefire. What israel says, no, we are not goingoing to do that, we are tae right on the border, even though we may not be dropping bombs from the air we are continuing to go of after the tunnel that his lead from gaza in to israel. There has been a lot of problems with these ceasefire negotiations. The u. S. Is right in the middle. John kerry failing, according to other u. S. Officials, to convince either side to accept the latest version that he has had, so despite three or four days of intense diplomacy, thomas, we are simply nowhere closer to a permanent ceasefire that is acceptable to both sides. All right, Nick Schifrin in gaza for us. Nick, thank you. There are so many stories coming out of the region. In Southern Gaza 20 members from the same family were laid to rest. Charles staff ford wa stratford. Translator he is the person who brings me food. Who is going to provide for me now . Reporter it only took the push of a button, a split second for the Israeli Military to wipeout almost 20 members of her family. Remnants of their lives lay ripped ward in this hole in the ground. The blast ripped the skin off mohameds face. He and his brother hussein were the only people in the house to survive. Translator we sell chickens and we go home. We have nothing to do with the resistence. We are civilians just like everyone else. Reporter we moved to the nearby village. The Israeli Military has been targeting what they say are hamas tunnels. I am standing about 200 meters from the border of the village, which is near here. The Israeli Military say during this humanitarian ceasefire nobody can go here because they are still looking for what they say are hamasbuilt tunnels. Now, there are a lot of people here waiting, they havent seen their friends and relatives for a couple of days now. It was about a half an hour ago that there were warning shots fired from that area over the crowd here and a few minutes ago we saw a tank moving from left to right. But we cannot get any closer than this. Eight people were in this house when the israeli shell hit. Miraculously they all survived. We moved as close as we safely could. You could see the tanks kicking dust in to the area. People here told us the Israeli Military had confiscated their relatives mobile phones. Translator the International Red cross said they were going to come, but they havent. There are dead people in their houses. Translator we demand ban kimoon come to see whats happening on the ground. Its burning. There are bodies decomposing on the streets. Translator where is the ceasefire . We have a rate to see our relatives. Give us mercy. Reporter the Israeli Military fired more warning shots as i drone hovered overhead. We retreated back down the road. In a nearby cemetery men struggled to lay the 19 members of the family to rest. They frantically pulled earth in to the tomb. Translator netanyahu is a criminal who commits crimes every day against us and our old people too. Reporter the israelis are calling this a humanitarian ceasefire. As the people of gaza bury their dead. Charles stratford, al jazerra, gaza. The brief ceasefire was used by palestinian to his look for the bodies of their loved ones, al jazerras Stefanie Dekker takes us to an emotional scene in northern gaza. Reporter a 12hour ceasefire that is negotiated means little. It means nothing. To those that have lost everything. This is an area in the north and they are actually just pulling a body out of the rubble. And this is the sound of absolute grief as they are pulling people out of the houses here. We are being told that just before this ceasefire took place, israeli war planes hit this area extremely hard. There is areas of complete devastation as you can see. They are still looking for more bodies and people here will tell you, we met one lady, 70 years old sit on this side of the road and she said this has happened throughout my lifetime. Israel has come in, has killed us, and has devastated our lives. When will it stop . Stefanie dekker. Thousands of people demonstrated across europe today in support of palestinians. In paris, protesters defied a police ban on the pro gaza demonstrations. Hundreds took to the streets to show their support. The protests turned violent when demonstrators clashed with police. Protesters threw rocks at security forces. Police responded by firing tear gas in to the crowd. [ chanting ] meanwhile in, london, thousands gathered outside the israeli em bass a for the second week in a row. Protesters condemn the Israeli Offensive in gaza. The protest ended at parliament with accusations of englands government being biased towards israel. We invite to you stay with us, coming up we are going toying a deeper look at how the fighting between hamas and israel may have breached International Law. And the allegations of possible war crimes, thats ahead in about 10 minutes. Turning our attention in libya, american diplomats and stoppers were evacuated from the u. S. Embassy in tripoli. They were delivered in the middle the night to tanisha for their safety. Fighting in tripoli has intensify. Secretary of state john kerry says the your honor is not closing the embassy but suspending its activities our roslyn jordan has been covering the story and has the latest 2340u from washington. Reporter the Obama Administration has been watching the security situation in libya with great concern in recent weeks, so its really no surprise that on friday the decision was made, close the embassy for now, and move the staff out of the country for its safety. This was the secretary of state, john kerry speaking on saturday. We are suspending our current diplomatic activities at the embassy. Not closing the embassy, but suspending the activities. And we have moved people on ground to tunisia where they will then disburse to other places where we will continue our diplomatic activity with his libya. Reporter the obamaed Administration Says it doesnt know when it will rewe deploy its diplomats t to typically bup identity but it says they have to believe that the embassy can protect them from an attack. The very sort of situation that led to the deaths of four americans, including the ambassador in september 2012. In the meantime. The u. S. Government is tilling all u. S. Sit citizens in libya to get out. And find a commercial flight. Its not in the business of doing evacuations. Security experts say instability is not new, conditions right now are bad. Jim walsh, with m. T Study Programs showing to rah shill carry in the studio. There has always been violence since the fall of qaddafi. It has escalated in the last month. What drives this, three things, the airport has come under fire so they have shutdown. That sort of closes off an exit avenue that they had to move people out quickly, plus the violence is getting closer to the embassy, and its increasing in tin tense a tense at thisint. The u. S. Had evacuated and turkey also. All those things are good reasons to get out. Yes. But is it also the u. S. Being extremely cautious, erring on the side of caution because of what happened at the cons lot . You dont know unless you are listening in on those phone calls or getting the traffic back and forth. The memos in the embassy. Of course you would have to think that. But, again, i would say the u. S. Is not the first one out here, right, there are others that have already moved out. And they are offense reluctant to leave places. But i wouldnt blame them. Certainly you want to have an abundance of caution here. Lets talk more about what is happening in libya. Secretary of state john kerry said this earlier today that the violence is coming from the hands of freewheeling militias. This is whats taking place in tripoli right now. Who are these ma litsc militias . What are they trying to accomplish . Sure. There is a Central Government but it doesnt have i standing army, a strong force. What you have instead in that vacuum are two major alliances of different militias, one is based in the mountain us northwest, and then in the port city, there is another set of militias more islamic based, its more complicated than national assists but in islam assists there is gee on the ground raving raffi and a lot of other things, but basically two groupings of guns battling each other. Were these people once all on the same side . Absolutely. Of course this is classically a problem. Its easier to out of the a dictator than rebuild a Civil Society and create a stole and coherent government. Does that mean some of what we are seeing is unfortunately to be expected after a revolution . I think so. Now, did h depends on part ie depends on what a dictators leaves you behind and what do you with it. Some countries are going to be more stable. They have Civil Institution insd jew dish as and the things that make a society hold together. But that wasnt libya and it wasnt libya under qaddafi. That wasnt a welldeveloped state. It was a state that was very thin and when that went away there wasnt a lot left behind. This is a loaded question. But what do you see the future of libya being . You know, the government there has called for a ceasefire, its called for truce talks between the militias, you know, the center of gravity tends to be with the folks that hold the guns and that those conflicts seem to increase in number and intensity. I think in near term it doesnt look very good. Once again that was security at this expert jim walsh in the studio early we are a Richelle Carey. 40 dutched police and foreign sit specialists are in ukraine waiting to gain zeek tos to the plane crash site. The International Community is push to go make the area more secure. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was carrying 298 passengers and crew, mostly dutch when it was shot down last week. Everyone on board was killed. European union issued its first economic sanctions against russia today. The announcement came as the u. S. Accused russia of firing directly in to eastern ukraine. Targeting Ukrainian Military positions. The state Department Says there is also evidence that russia is planning to deliver more weapons to separatist forces in ukraine. Something moscow has previously denied. And today there were reports of heavy shelling in done donet, ukrainian Officials Say their forces have advanced to the outskirts of the city in order to reclaim it. Separatists have controlled the city now for months. That fighting has forces hundreds of thousands of people to flee their home Barnaby Phillips has their story. Reporter the people of donetsk are abandoning their city. They fear the war that has now reached its outskirts. Boarding the train for kiev, some like tanya, say they dont wants to live under separatist control. These people came to our town just to occupy the territory, just to take our business, and spoil our life. And i want to continue my business in different city. I want to live, to have future. Reporter outside don donetsk they are also on the move. Only these people are fleeing the government arm. And what they say is its indiscriminate shelling. This is a tower on the edge of the city. Shells have landed in its car park. Almost everyone who lived here has gone. This is my pardon me. Reporter but victor is still here. And you have been here for some four years, i think. Yeah. Maybe four. Reporter he sent his wife and children away weeks ago. And is trying to decide whether he should go too. Translator my feelings are complicated. On the one hand i want to leave. But on the other hand this is my native city. I just want to see the end of this situation. Reporter in central donetsk, empty malls, abandoned restaurants. Donetsk is a dieing city. The majority of shops and businesses and factories and cinemas here in the city center have all closed. People have left because they fear the worst. Some are going west to governmentcontrolled areas. Some are going east to russia. These people are going to the russian city, they say theyll come back when things are better. And over in kiev, an abandoned Cement Factory is now a shelter for 200 people who just fled from the war zone. Including sasha, who felt he had to move for the sake of his daughter anna. Translator there is a real war there. Lots of shelling. My daughter is disabled and shes much more relaxed now that we are out of there. Reporter back at donetsk station, more goodbyes. Nobody knows when theyll see friends and family again. Nobody imagined ukraines crisis would come to this. Barnaby phillips, al jazerra, donetsk. A video was released this weekend showing an american citizen reportedly preparing to take part in a suicide bombing attack against syrian troops. U. S. Citizen is seen right here on his knees at an undisclosed location. The video was released by an al quada group linked to fighting in syria. The 22yearold florida native left america and allegedly joined al qaeda. State Department Confirms that he was involved in a syrian bombing but would say little else. The rebel group says he joins he joined says he was in a truck carrying 16tons of explosive. Still to come on Al Jazerra America this saturday night. How the fighting between hamas and israel may have breached International Law. We are going take a deeper look after the break. Plus another violent week on the streets of chicago. 15 people have been shot in just a little over 24 hours. Coming up, how one Police Officer is trying to keep people safe. Welcome back. Its saturday night . Time to take a deeper look at the situation in gaza. Israel agreed to extend a humanitarian ceasefire until sunday night. But hamas is not on board and is calling the conditions unacceptable. During the previous 12hour paws in fighting, residents of gaza returned to their homes in search of survivors and to bury the dead. The u. N. High commissioner for human rights says the fighter between hamas and israel may have breached International Law and that there is a strong possibility israels actions may amount to war crimes. On wednesday the u. N. Human Rights Council vote today launch an investigation in to whether israel has violated International Law during its offensive in gaza. Aamnesty international has identified some potential violations of International Law. According to amnesty, israel has used artillery on very denselypopulated residential areas. The Organization Says israel has directly attacked thousands of homes. Its starring ted homes of people with possible links to hamas, claiming they are legitimate military targets, israel has destroyed or damaged several medical facilities and nonmilitary governmental buildings. It has she would u. N. School sheltering displaced people on three separate occasions. It has caused mass displacement. Civilians within the gaza strip. Amnesty International Says the barney system for civilian has been inadequate and people have not been given safe passage, joining us now is david crane professor at law at Syracuse University law school. He is joining us via skype from north carolina. Also joining us is john quigley Professor Emeritus of law at Ohio State University Morris College of law. Gentlemen, good to have you with us. Pleasure to be here. Thank you. Mr. Crane, thanks to you your thoughts on this newlyformed commission . Well, again, any time you have allegations that there may be war crimes its certainly appropriate to get the true facts out so that the International Community can assess whether there is there has been violations of International Law to include war crimes so any time you have an independent, unbiased investigation that will look at these facts, that will be helpful. The challenge is, is that we want to make sure that it will be fair, and unbiased so that the true facts can come out and then a judgment can be had as to whether there has been war crimes. They are facing a number of challenge, mr. Quigley what do you make of the allegation that his this may amount to war crimes. I think there is a very good possibilities that there are war crimes that have been committed over the last few days, if you just look at the civilian casualty toll. Its very hard to argue that the firing hats been limited to military objectives in the way that it is required that that be done under humanitarian law. And you are talking about targeting homes, schools, medical facilities . Thats right. The fact that a hospital is hit isnt necessarily a war crime. Thats why as professor crane says its important to have an objective assessment about all of these incidents. But the major firing at houses is extremely problematic, i think. And seems to be aimed actually more at just destroying houses than at getting anyone inside. Because they give a warning by phone or by sending a small rocket. So the people can get out in which case they dont get military people or the people dont get the message and stay in and in which case they kill a lot of civilians. Either way it seems very problematic. To further their point, mr. Crane, under International Law what are the key obligations of both sides in this conflict . Well, any party that is part of an internal or International Armed conflict have several principles they must abide by and the principle one is the intentional targeting of civilians. And the keyon operative term is intentional. Other points that need to be made is one cannot target a particular object or person unless there is a militarily necessary reason to do so. Also one must act proportionately and use something that will not cause unnecessary hurting. You have to aim at your target not just arbitrarily fire whatever ordinances you are firing down range, of course, then you would probably have civilian casualties. Those are in the four corners, there is more to it, but obviously these particular principles are very objective in our discussion this evening. So when israel sends a warning called a knock on the roof to civilians are they an honoring their obligation . Again the Geneva Convention says that you have civilians, particularly in a military target, you must warn them and give them the capability of leaving the area. So there has there is an obligation to warn civilians before one targets that military target if, in fact, this is a military target. But just to fire on a military target without warning when you know there are civilians, of course, in gaza, there is is veil vinnies everywhere, then that potentially could be problem at and i can could be a war crime. So mr. Quigley israel claims it has the right to defend itself. But where does the right to selfdefense end and what is the use of force . When does the use of force become disproportionate . Well, thats the key questions. And its very difficult to determine. And thats why each side can make a plausible argument for its position. But as professor crane is saying when you have houses in such close proximity, you know, you have houses right next to each other, abutting each other, and you say, okay, we are going to target the one in the middle. You know, that is very problematic in terms of the proportionality analysis. And mr. Crane, israel claims that hamas is using civilians as human shields. First of all, is there any evidence to support these claims . And if so, would this be considered a war crime . Well, again, the any time you place civilians in harms way and use them as shields or any other production like putting civilians and operating in and around military targets, you are, in fact, committing an alleged war crime. You cannot faught at thatville vinnieatput civilians inharms ws shield is problematic. One has to be really quite intellectually honest here. Hamas is well known to park their particular missile launchers or other type of Weapons Systems that israel would naturally try to target, and they have very smart weapons and they track back the missiles from their firing back to the lawn. Launch, hamas parks these particular devices in apartment buildings, next to u. N. Facilities, next to hospitals, mosques, what have you. And, again, if that is true, and in the past it has bor borne ouo be true, then hamas is committing a war crime because they are intentionally putting civilians in harms way. But, again, thats why we need to have a a Factfinding Commission that will show both sides. Frankly, as i am watching this, both sides looks like are committing potential war crimes. But, again, that fact remains to be seen. If, in fact, it is substantiated, mr. Quigley who is to be held responsible . If its a commission that is set up by the human Rights Council, then it would simply be a report that would probably focus on the government of israel. It could focus on particular individuals. What could be more interesting would be if the International Criminal court would take this up. Because the International Criminal court would focus on individuals probably very highranking individuals in the military of israel, highranking hamas officials. And there you would get some actual, you know, legal action. Do you think, mr. Crane, that either side will have to answer to an International Tribunal . Well, again, having been a former chief prosecutor of an International War crimes tribunal in sarah lyon, i operated in the real world. I dont want to be altruistic or theoretical. Right now the International Community has a lot on its plate and frankly i dont see any outcome rerelated to this particular tragedy going on, i am not saying something shouldnt be done, but the reality is i dont see any type of justice mechanism kicking in to take on the situation where both sides they dont recognize jurisdiction of the International Tribunal either side, israel or hamas . They are not States Parties to the International Criminal, so there is a jurisdictional issue. But, again, the International Community has all kind of methodologies by which they can deal with these situations. And, again, you addressed one of the practical and real problems is that i dont think that we would get a referral to the International Criminal court regardless of what or whatever you. Mr. Quigley you wanted to add. I think professor crane is probably right the odds are against any such mechanism. However the International Criminal court has jurisdiction by virtual of a deck layings filed by the government of palestine after the 2008 gaza incursion by the is really defense forces. That is not understood or recognized i should say by the prosecutor, which is why professor crane is probably correct. But to my mind the prosecutor of the International Criminal court is in dirt lungs of its duty for not taking these cases. Our final thoughts here, mr. Crane, where do we go from here . What must the International Community do in response to this crisis . The ski to to get a valid ceasefire going and stop the killing. That is very, very important. Regardless of the realities and where future justice mechanism may go and et cetera. But, again, i think we need to just stop the shooting. I think we have something in place right now and then go from there. I think that thats the next steps. But, again, one has to remember that this is almost an unsolvable situation. And, begin, politically it becomes very problematic as far as some type of justice for both sides who are losing civilians. Mr. Quigley, your final thoughts. Yes, and for gaza, the hamas people are saying that the blockade needs to be lifted. Thats a violation of International Law in and of itself. And that very much needs to be addressed. Certainly no easy solution here, david crane professor of law at sire cues University Law school and john quigley Professor Emeritus of law at Ohio State University. Gentlemen, good to have you with us thanks for being with us on on a deeper look. Good to be here. Coming up on Al Jazerra America, the Unemployment Rate grabs a lot of headlines but we are going to tell you the states that have the fewest amount of people out of work. And a dangerous journey many migrants face on the socalled corridor of death. A shocking america tonight investigative report. You take someones hopes and dreams of childhood, and then out right steal their money wishing to start a family we lost over 20,000 trying to do surrogacy in mexico but left with broken hearts and empty pockets how much money do you owe people around 350,000 praying on the vulnerable i have nothing to hide, if i was a scam artist, i would have cut and run from here surrogacy inc. An american tonight investigative report only on Al Jazeera America it has been another bea weed of guy violence in chicago, 15 people shot in the last two days, among them a three month old boy left in critical condition. On the other side of city a 13 yield boy was killed in a screens store, the teens family is devastatedded by his death. Senseless act of violence that occurred today. That he did not deserve to die at a young age of 13 which he was going to celebrate his 14th birth day next month. Chicago is struggling with an ongoing gang violence, last weekend 40 people were shot n chicagos toughest neighborhoods teens often to get caught in the cross fire, some are just innocent by standsers, others are drawn in to gang life. Lie adiane estebrook tells us he cop is trying to keep kids safe and on the right side of the law. Reporter in Chicagos Englewood neighborhood, gun violence has claimed 21 lives and wounded more than 100 others this year. In you hang on the corner and standing out on the corner, do you not make yourself a target. Reporter chicago cop dahlia is trying to keep these 30 kids from become part of those statistics. He wasnt doing nothing but standing out there talking. But this is the thing. Why run. Reporter she heads a fiveweek Anti Violence Program for kids no in highrisk program warning through through role player about what can happen if they hang out with gangs. What are you doing this to me for . My gun. Reporter or drug dealers. Let me go in my pocket. Hold it right quick. I am over here because i dont see the police and, get all my dope now i am talking to my friend. This is what they do. Look, look, look, look. Look at me. Dont say nothing. I will kill you. Reporter the program is part of chicago alternative policing strategies or caps. The idea is to keep teens with nothing to do in the summer off the streets and out of trouble. Some, like this 18 year olds are getting paid through a grant to attend. Hes on probation for theft and trying to avoid another brush with the law. You really dont have to be doing anything in particular to find trouble. Trouble seems to find you. Reporter in this neighborhood . In the world. Reporter she says in neighborhoods like englewood, police are offense see more as ahead have a tear sarahs instead of advocates for people in the neighborhood the caps program is trying to change that. Have you made friends with these kids . Yes, we have. We have actually broken ebber were where a lot of them didnt talk now they are talking. We cant get them to be quiet. Reporter she is also helping these teens learn about opportunities outside of their neighborhood. On this day they tour a public Radio Station and get the chance to escape the pressure they face almost daily. This is the last week of the program and she hopes that she has made an impression that lasts. Do you worry about them . Yeah. I worry about them even when they are in the program. Because when they leave they are still going back in to the neighborhoods and the elements for some of them. The veteran cops hopes the address are odds are in her favor she said all the kids in the Program Last Year have stayed out of trouble so far. Trying to make a difference. Higher wages in union representations were on the agenda for fast food workers this weekend, more than 1300 workers met in a Chicago Illinois suburb this weekend for a national convention, joined beyak activists, advocating for a 15dollar an hour minimum wage and a right to form a union. There is something fundamentally wrong when ceos make a thousand times more than their workers and tell them that they cant pay them more while they raise their salaries. That is wrong, america is better that were that. Our corpses must be better than that. Workers say this they are willing to participate in sitdown strikes and restaurant occupation to his secure their demands. The national Unemployment Rate is 6. 1 but there are a few states that stands far below the national average. There are five states, in in fact, whose rates are currently below 4 , north dakota leading the pack with 2. 7. They are all tied with the great plains and the great plains with the exception, of course, of vermont. The energy boom is the reason for the low rates. All of these states have less defense populations, though the correlation is hard to prove. By contrast. Mississippi and rhode island are tied for the worst Unemployment Rate at 7. 9 . A bill allowing consumers the right to unlock their cell phones is on the way to the president s desk. Right now most cell phones can be used only when the carrier with the carrier that sold it. That all changes with this new law passed by the house on friday. The Senate Approved it 10 days ago. Wireless carriers claim unlocking the phone is a copyright violation. Congress and the president disagree. Coming up on Al Jazerra America, video that allegedly shows footballs ray rice being noing out his fee an say sparked outrage now the length of his suspension is add to this uproar. Meteorologist over the course of the next week and a half we are going to be wrapping up a very cool july for a lot of folks. And i will show you what cities have been quite cool this month and will continue on the below average side coming up. Welcome back. It was in february when a disturbing video surfaced showing Baltimore Ravens star ray rice pulling his unconscious fiance out of an Atlantic City elevator after he allegedly knocked her out. This week the league hand its his punch its sent sports pundits and media in a tailspin. Everyone is shaking their head after this. Ray rice is not the first athlete or nfl player to be difficulguilty of domestic viol, when roger godell it happens decision came down many felt the league and commissioner dropped the ball. The video is shocking Baltimore Ravens running back ray rice dragging his then fiance janae fall her by the hair out of a casino elevator. But whats become more shocking, is the nfls response. A mere twogame suspension, essentially a slap on a wrist by commissioner known for no nonsense, for many the math just doesnt add up. In 2006, Albert Haynesworth was hit with a 5game suspension for stomp on the ground an opponents head during play. Commissioner roger godell called it an inexcusable action. In may this year, the Indianapolis Colts Robert Mathis was suspended four games for testing positive for clowe mid a known fertility drug. Linebacker says he used it do conceive his daughter. However the substance happens to be on the nfls banned list. Then there was a 2011 punishment of a player that wasnt everybody in the league yet. Quarterback terrelle prior suspended five games for receiving improper benefits, such as a free tattoo while playing at ohio state. He hadnt even been drafted. Critics say the leagues weak response to the ricins dent is more proof it does not take Domestic Violence seriously. This week rices coach John Harbaugh defended him saying its not a big deal. Went onto state that ray is a heck ive guy and done everything right since. Meanwhile, a report by slate. Com found 21 of 32 nfl teams in 2012 had employed a player with a Domestic Violence aura salt charge on his record. As for rice, the nfl star married his fiance one day after being indicted. Meaning she was no longer compelled to testify against him. The charges were then settled pretrial. Since his suspension rice said he has learned from the experience and will continue to do so as part of counseling. As for the league, many say godells decision sends a message that the nfl cares more about marijuana and free tattoos than about Domestic Violence, ironic this is a league that spent millions of marketing towards its female fan base trying to bring up its numbers and that might be a wash. It could come down to the fans as well and the message that they sends that it wont be tolerated. Absolutely. Jessica, thank you. Earlier Richelle Carey spoke with espn writer jane mcmanus and shes been covering the nfl for decades, she talked about the disciplinary standards in the league and the victim mentality when it comes to abuse. You have the cba between the Players Association and the nfl set little whasettles what the , marijuana violating the Recreational Use drug policy are settled and they are a fourgame suspension, usually. So you find that in general, when players, you know, get in to trouble, they are caught with something, they get the fourgame suspension, its kind ive baseline in the nfl for off the field issues. Now, you can find that roger godell in the past has issued penalties that are a little bit stronger, for example, Ben Roethlisberger was given a 6game suspension i in,ly although it was dialed back to four games. Later because of some of the allegations of rape against him at the time. I think there is wiggle room but this decision to me seems like its a fundamental misunderstanding of what Domestic Violence is and the way the dynamic works. Lets talk more about that, go back to the press conference and talk about what it is when the Baltimore Ravens had his fiance now wife having them together which almost implies that they are both responsible for what happened. So it seems that from the very beginning the league, starting with the Baltimore Ravens and the league larger than that, doesnt have a fundamental understanding of whats at play here. First of all, ozzie knew some who is the general manager when he saw the video he said, you know, he spoke to the press, he said a couple of Different Things among them was maybe another side of the story is going to come out. So you have this tacit victim blaming going on. Janae palmer or rice now, being able to get up and she apologized for her role in the incidents. Notably during the press conference ray rice didnt apologize to her, he apologized to the general manager, coach, and fans. I think the optics of that are just terrible. Once again that was even spn writer jane mcmanus. Lets take you out west right now. Quite eye scene a growing wildfire is forcing people from their homes in plunge up right outside of sacramento. You can see how close the flames are to several homes in the ar area. The sand fire has charred 300 acres of forest and continues to grow. Dry conditions are making the fire very tough to fight. From california, washington, utah across the west they are dealing with bad wild fires and the weather isnt helping. Rebecca stephenson is joining us with a look at what they are up against. Meteorologist right now its definitely the Drought Conditions in parts of the south, southwest and showers and thunderstorms moving up from a shift in winds, the monsoon season bringing up thunderstorms in to the four corners and the thunder storages are producing strong, gusty winds in the very areas that are fighting fires from Northern California all the way over in nevada and in to utah as well. Currently wind gusts are up to 20 to 25 miles an hour in these spots. Otherwise, the temperatures are really what they are fighting. You can see on our dew point map this will tell you how much moisture is in the air approximately. See how dry it is for billings and boise. Upper 20s to low 30s, higher where we have the moisture coming in from the monsoon shift. But higher yet in the central portion of the states, where that mon sewnal moisture not immaterial pathing you so much with that impacting you so much as the gulf of mexico moisture. Meeting up with the wave in ohio, indianapolis, a line of strong storms. Meaning through tonight, illinois has them right now. Big hail, gusty winds, temperatures are hottest in the south. It feels humid and heavy or the temperatures are in the 90s but its interesting to look at the month of july. Not up jet yet but look at the averages. The comparison of where we are when it comes to average, chicago minus 3. 8 degrees. Chicago has got a top five cool july here and we are going to cool off even more moving ahead. We are in the middle of summer right here, all right, rebecca, thank you, well see you again in just a moment. Porous rock under at least 20 of the nation makes many stays susceptible to sinkholes, the earth can open up swallowing homes, cars and people at any time. Now scientists are working on a way to predict sinkhole activity. Natasha reports from florida where sink holes have had a deadly impact. Reporter sinkholes fascinate. Since eight classic sports cars 60 feet below ground in february. The number of visitors to the National Museum in kentucky has soared. But sinkholes can devastate. 37yearold jeffrey was swallowed in florida last year. His body was never found. I think the lord for not talking my doubter and rest of my family. Florida is a state where sinkholes create the most damage. They happen when heavy rain washes through the soil and dissolves soft rock underneath. Geologistgeologists have been wg the state to find out where sinks holes have already happened. But no data will show where they might open up. They are troublesome because they are hard to predict and give very little signature on the surface. Reporter researchers at the university of Central Florida say this mini sinkhole simulator may lead to an answer. At first glance, it looks like something thrown together in a garage experiment. Half of a 55gallon drum with soil, pvc pipes and censor connected to a computer. Its a cheapbudget device, but still gives a very good, accurate results. Reporter thats the beauty of it. Researchers say after two years and hundreds of tests, the sinkholes emerging in this simulator show the changes in water levels underground are the key sign. They are hoping to develop software that will help identify real sinkholes long before they swallow up property or people. With our model in the future, they will be a better, more confident way of looking at seven areas and saying that, well, it looks like not only is there a sink hole in the history this area, but also a likelihood that something is happening right now. Reporter the researchers hope that one day people wont wake up to these scenes of sinkhole destruction. Natasha ga main, al jazerra, orlando, florida. Coming up next on Al Jazerra America, common every day items used to create pricey art. The extraordinary of work of jeff coons ahead. E nights even, a smarter start to your day. Mornings on Al Jazeera America he makes 10s of millions of dollars turning balloon animals in to art. Contemporary artist jeff coons has been called provocative for transforming throwing away objects in to massive installations now a New York Museum has just opened a display of his most comprehensive collection. Daniel i was gus a look. Reporter think every day household objects, add light, glass cases and suddenly vacuum cleaners become heart. In 1980 this was one of the first big works by a man who has taken the art world by storm. Jeff is one of the most important artists have emergeed in the post war era not just in america. Hes done an a makes job of breaking boundaries in materials of art and popular culture, the market, celebrity. Hes really pushed the limit and the envelope of what an artist can do today. Reporter now 35 years in to a remarkable career a retrospective of his work takes overall four floors of the top contemporary art venue in the united states. Never before has the Whitney Museum done this for a single artist, thats because there are as few as influential as jeff coons who mixes the mundane with extraordinary. Objects and images are metaphors for this, for self acceptance and acceptance of others. And so just to accept things as they are. Perfect in their own being for what they are, as that being. Reporter not without converse i the version of this aluminum dog that looks like a huge toy made from balloons sold last year for a record 58 million. Those prices make coons one of the wealthiest of contemporary artists whose expensive work can rarely be seen by the public. Bobbles for billionaireses as one critic put it or some of the most significant contemporary art in a generation, one thing is certain jeff coons never fails to generate strong reactions. I think the best modern and contemporary artists challenge us, they dont just provide decoration for our lives but ask questions through their work and sometimes even make us feel uncomfortable. Reporter at the age of 59 coons says hes planning to keep producing work like this, challenging, playful, popular, provocative for another 30 years at least. Daniel lack, al jazerra, new york. Very you nick style. A few big performers hemmed mark the anniversary of world war i at a celebration in liverpool. Giant crowds watched as three giants dolls made their way through the streets, part of a performance of french street theater. They actually stand about 25 feet tom a grandmother, young girl and her dog were used to tell how the great war task the the city, i am thomas dat drayti will be back at 11 00 eastern have a good night. Fighting continues in ukraine, both on the battlefield and in parliament and has the ukraine teen crisis including the shooting down of malaysian flight 17 somehow emboldened vladimir paout none i am antonia mora, welcome to consider this. Those stories and much more straight ahead. Ukraines recently elected prime minister. Is resigning. Meanwhile the European Union says it is talking about slapping russia with everybody more sanks. The russians intend to deliver heavier a