behinds the 9/11 attacks and where it stands today. good to have you with us this week. president obama is taking his iraq strategy to the american people. ahead of wednesday's speech the president indicated there would be limit to the involvement in the fight against the islamic state group. >> this will not be an announcement about u.s. ground troops, it's not the equivalent of the iraq war. more on the president's comments in a moment, but first the expanding military campaign in iraq. this week the u.s. launched broadened air strikes. the goal was to support security forces near the haditha and mosul dams. the deputy secretary said the iraqi government requested the sites. it's the first time the u.s. hit targets in the anbar province during the current conflict. jane arraf reports. >> reporter: the air strikes are part of a widening campaign. we are told they hit tarts between haed eetha and al qaim. they are close to the border as the u.s. has targeted. that area is key to defeating or containing the islamic state group, and the coming back and forth with weapons across the very porous syrian border. a component of the fight are tribal fighters. we are told that there are several thousands fighters on the ground backing iraqi security forces. they are trying to take towns close to the city, and reinforce support for the haditha dam. one of the rationale for air strikes is to protect the dam and back army troops. protecting the dam is key to protecting u.s. interests, including in baghdad. islamic state fighters - if they open the floodgates of the dam, and could flood all the way to the capital. here in baghdad a senior security person tells us they are expecting american air strikes on the outskirts of baghdad, called the baghdad belt, and traditionally is a staging area for attacks, suicide bombings and other attacks, outside to the west. some scenes supported by tribal elements and a fierce fight against the islamic state group continues. jane arraf in baghdad. mit spokesperson jim walsh joined us via skype to discuss president obama's speech on wednesday. >> job one is to stablilize iraq, kick is out of iraq. let's get that done first, that is what we are doing. the kurds and iraqis are pushing back with u.s. air force, others are involved, we don't need to fight the battles. we have to support them, other countries, to be successful. is will be pushed back to syria, and we'll have difficult choices but there'll be a reluctance to get involved in a syrian civil war, maybe air strikes and social operations drones, but i don't see us intervening between two sides. bashar al-assad is a war criminal using chemical weapons against his own people, we cannot back him, and we are not going to back the extremists on the other side. it's about going after the people we don't like, without sending a lot of troops in on the ground in syria. more on the president's remarks and what his islamic state strategy is likely to be. >> the president expanded to say the goal of the united states and terms of objectives will be a blunt the momentum of the islamic state group, to degrade and destroy its capabilities, and key for the united states will be to shrink the territory it controls. the president uses language we heard on friday, collaborative language. the goal of the united states will be to work with partners and allies. there'll be a military element. no boots on the ground, instead the goal of united states will be to work with partners on the ground, pushing back the islamic state group. >> this is not going to be an announcement about u.s. ground troops. this is not the equivalent of the iraq war. what this is is similar to the kind of counterterrorism campaigns that we have been engaging in over the last five, six, seven years. >> the president has a challenge on his hands, and that is because there's a lot of war weariness in the united states. >> i can tell you the president faced criticism up to this point about not having a clear strategy, when it comes to dealing with the islamic state group. those criticisms on capitol hill seem to be a little quiet in recent days, because we saw a second video be released, a gruesome video. that seemed to unite many on capitol hill, that there is a need to be more aggressive. the president will speak with members of congress on tuesday in advance of the speech on wednesday. that is the challenge, the american public, the war weariness, the challenge for the president will be to convince them that despite the fact that there are air strikes taking place in iraq, this will not be the equivalent of the iraq war. president obama also defended his decision to delay ex-executive action on immigration reform until after the november elections. >> i'm going to act because it's the right thing for the country, but it will be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on the administration and what we have done on unaccompanied children, and why it's necessary. >> despite the summer of central american children crossing into the u.s., had poisoned the atmosphere for him taking action. shifting the attention to ukraine, where bombings threatened a ceasefire, two homes were hit north of the donetsk and explosions in mariupol. two killed, four wounded. paul brennan is in donetsk for more. >> the pictures show the ukraine ceasefire going up in flames. a kilometre from the perimeter of the airport. the district has been in the firing line for months now. caught in the crossfire between the ukranian forces and the separatists surrounding the air force, the deal had some believing the worst was over, they were mistaken. we were going to pick up our stuff. i have a baby and we temporarily live in a dormitory. we wanted to get the push chair. i got a call from my mother who said my house was burning. >> reporter: each blamed the other for prove okaying the cease -- breaching the ceasefire. >> they were standing with a canyon aiming to shoot. they shot and got a response. >> reporter: the responses went back and forth all day sunday. to the east of the airport we heard small arms fire and the burst from a machine-gun. to the north-west we heard the explosions from rocket fire. this is a ceasefire in paper form only. fanning out from mariupol's eastern checkpoint, tanks were taken up defensive positions on the city limits. they are braced to defend against more of this, saturday night's pounding of the city limits by separatist forces. a violation of the minsk agreement. nonetheless in kiev, the government insists the ceasefire is in force. >> the firing and shelling is a violation of ceasefire conditions. the situation is under control. over the last 24 hours we didn't have any more information about civilian casualties. at the moment we are not talking about a cancellation of the ceasefire agreement. inspecting the damage, faith in the truce is understandably low. >>. >> translation: it's terrifying not just for the people here, but the city. >> something in the distance had the soldiers pushing people back from the check point. officials from the organization of the security and cooperation in europe, the o.s.c.e. are charged with monitoring the ceasefire, a reminder of the magnitude of the task and a reminder for everywhere in this bitterly contested country that the conflict is not over yet. the bombing in mariupol is the latest development in the strategic city. it's a vital port that could be the key to vladimir putin's influence in eastern ukraine. we have more. >> reporter: as nato leaders gather in wales, skepticism over russia's peace plan. >> we call on russia to step back from confrontation and take the path of peace. >> reporter: russia's foot hold include crimea, annexed in march, and rebel-held territories in eastern ukraine. vital heartland. >> a strategic ukranian port city is mariupol, giving a foothold to crimea. russia's territorial claims give it influence over internal and external affairs. >> it raises questions about the legitimacy of the kiev government, ensuriing that n.a.t.o. and e.u. membership sh very far away. >> reporter: ukraine is not an e.u. member, but n.a.t.o. drew a line, boosting exercises and announcing a rapid reaction force to respond to potential russian aggression. western sanctions harmed the economy, but failed to bring the kremlin to heel or damage the popularity of vladimir putin, who continued to deny military involvement in ukraine. there are reports coming from iran this evening saying the country arrested a ukranian suspected of sab tig at its nuclear power plant, a newspaper said the suspect is associated with a russian contractor at the power plant in southern iran. no further details are reported. a potent virus sends hundreds of children to the hospital. doctors in 10 states report a spike in respiratory infections. jim huli reports children who suffer from asthma are vulnerable. >> doctors say the virus can be dangerous and life threatening for kids suffering asthma. here at the children's hospital near denver, at one hospital alone, doctors have already seen more than 900 children coming into the emergency room over the past couple of weeks. >> reporter: 5-year-old ivan woke up sunday morning complaining he felt sick. >> this morning he couldn't breath. he woke me up at six and said "mum, i can't breathe." . >> reporter: his mum knew her son needed to get to the hospital for immediate attentionism >> reporter: nervous? >> now i am. there's a virus. i didn't know there was one. >> reporter: doctors believe ivan and others may be infected with ev d68. >> a rhino virus associated with the common cold. the recent outbreak is more severe. >> take a deep breath. >> reporter: this doctor is shocked by the number of kids coming into the emergency room at children's hospital outside of denver. >> it's unusual to have something this early, we are prepared, doing the rite things and keeping everyone safe and taking care of patients. it's putting a strain on the hospital systems throughout the midwest and the we haved. symptoms are similar to acute bronchitis and dangerous to children with asthma. >> children need to be on asthma medications, that can help them from coming to the emergency department or being hospitalized. staff members at the children's are wearing surgical masks and visitation hours have been cut. >> my head started hurting after my lungs started closing up. >> reporter: it's unclear to doctors and the medical community why the virus is spreading rapidly. there's no vaccine, since it's a virus, antibiotics don't work. doctors say september is a tough month for kids with asthma, for those heading back to school at the start of the cold and flu season. frequent handwashing is a deterrent, and the doctors at the c.d.c. say we may be seeing the tip of the iceberg when it come to the spread of this illness around the country. it's been 13 years since the september 11th attacks on the u.s. in "the week ahead" we look at al qaeda and its standing in the world. monsoon season break-ins disaster to pakistan's bread basket and rebecca has the weather. >> flash flooding in the west. as soon as the rain fall causes flash flooding to the south, there's frost and snow to tell you about. coming up in a few minutes. palestinian president mahmoud abbas is threatening to break up the unity government with hamas. mike hanna reports from resumala in the occupied west bank. >> reporter: president mahmoud abbas's comments were made during a visit to cairo, where he held talks with his egyptian counter part. it follows statements that a number of hamas personnel have been arrested in the west bank. the response from hamas was muted. a spokesman saying it will be better for mahmoud abbas to bring up the accusations of hamas forming a shadow government in direct negotiations, rather than the media. these tension-filled statements are no reward for the defiant people in palestine. we agreed with fatah to form high level conversations to ensure the implementation of terms of reconciliation. >> reporter: the issue of palestinian unity was brought up in cairo, speakers insisting unity was essential. it's in the interest of all to maintain unity, the political reality in the post-gaza war period is fatah and hamas need to prop each other up, rather than move further apart. inside gaza residents are in need of humanitarian aid. israel's assault on hamas left the strip in shambles. andrew simmonds reports. >> delivery runs like this are as crucial now as they were in the war. aid agencies are providing a life line for tens of thousands of people. this is free drinking water that is filtered and safe. for those returning to damaged homes, each when the water supply is working, there's no electricity to pump it from tanks and wells. gaza's only power station was hit repeatedly by israeli shells. it's treatment plants were destroyed along with generator and turbine damage. it's estimated that repairs will take a year, and a fix will offer a fraction of the power needed. before the war they have a capacity to give gaza 60% of its power. some of the shortfalls made up. >> it was a kat as trophic situation before the war. now it will be more severe. without a constant power splay gaza's -- supply, gaza's sewage is untreated. the coastline has outlets like this pumping out raw sewerage. aside from that there's bomb damage to main sewers. the area is filled with raw sue im, sinking down deep through the sands. nothing could be done to repair the pipe or treat the sewage for a whole month. there are fears that underground water supplies for a populated area may have been contaminated. >> we are talking about raw sewage which for a month infiltrated the aquifer. we need someone coming to take samples and give a solution for contamination of our resources. >> reporter: that is it one urgent need of any. the fighting may have stopped. little else has changed here. the people have no option but to try to cope with the hardship. scenes of devastation in eastern pakistan, it's seeing the worst flooding in decades. more than 160 have been killed, thousands are homeless. rob matheson has the latest. >> reporter: monsoon season in pakistan. days of rain turn roads into riff, in the region of punjab, the breadbasket crops have been destroyed and people stranded in the flooding. last evening as the floodwaters entered the area, we climbed on to the trees to save our lives. five of us were stranded for 20 hours. we had lost hope and were not aware that someone had come to our rescue. >> reporter: the government set up dozens of relief examples for the victims and sent search and rescue teams to the badly effected areas. >> we evacuated 5% hanging from the trees. they survived. we have evacuated them. that's a great success rate. >> reporter: many parts have been hit by the worst flooding in 20 years. people in villages like these are suffering the most. their houses are built with mud bricks, making them vulnerable to collapse. cities are also affected. flooding in the larger city, lahore, disrupted commercial activity, forcing some businesses to shut. >> the prime minister, nawaz sharif, is coming under criticism for not doing enough. he has been facing weeks of a movement calling for his resignation. he was focussing attention on the disaster, and said the government will do what it can to help people in distress. in california fireficters say they are -- firefighters say they are slowly gaping the upper hand -- gaining the upper hand on a fire in yosemite national park. it came been 15 miles of yosemite. an evacuation order for 300 has been listed. firefighters were hampered by steep terrain and dry conditions brought on by the californian drought. rebecca stevenson joins us for a look at the forecast. it mays a factor? >> you talked of steep terrain and the drought. tomorrow and tonight flash flooding into california, arizona, utah and nevada. there's a lot of water coming up. the south-west used to having monsoon season, but now the moisture is coming not so much because of monsoonal wind, but because of an old hurricane that is falling apart. it's no longer a hurricane, it's a tropical storm getting weaker, but is sending record amounts of moisture into the atmosphere so by the time we get a storm, it dumps out 2 inches of rain. this will continue as we get through the next two days, until timely the storm system's moisture works eastward to the south. north, it's a different story, because fall is knocking on the door. september 22nd, officials start. snow coming down in the british columbia mount ans, it's like moisture coming off the pacific, slamming into a cool air mass. we'll get several inches of snow. it will stretch down by tomorrow night into the north-east rockies. it looks like most of the snow will come down on the eastern slopes. we weren't used to the snow. nonetheless it will be a put down. >> it's too early to talk about. >> thank you. tonight an al jazeera documentary series premieres, "edge of 18," following 15 high school seniors. executive producer alex gibney introduces us to three of the teams profiled. >> some of the kids in this series are asking themselves powerful questions. where do i fit in. how do i make a difference. how cap can -- can i better my life, is there going to be a place for me. this is time of uncertainty. there sunday seem to be a clear path. >> my application process is a little different to normal high schoolers. into the only do i have to apply for the colleges and get in academically. i have to apply for the dance school separately and audition to these places. is there mail for me today? >> you have one from arizona. from the dance department. >> i want to thank you guys for accepting me for me. >> this is the california university, my dream school. >> california. >> yes. i always wanted to go to california >> it's the other side of the country. >> i know. >> a kid like happen -- hanoi who came out as gay. his father can't accept it. >> any problem you have. we can't help you. you know this is right. >> papa, it's 2014, no one cares if you are gay any more. >> and yet he has a forth riteness about confronting his parents, that i don't think i have the courage. >> it felt grate conferencing my father, letting him know just because i'm gay davis cup mean i'm week. >> are you guying coming to bible studies? right now. after high school i have two options, whether to go to the ministry full time or going to college. >> he's a preacher at the age of 17 and is trying to reckon with his faith at a time when his parents don't share it. that teaches us a lot about the power of religion. i don't want to be someone that tells you you can't do ministry. i don't want you to waste the hard work you have done by making a decision to not go to school. >> the biggest challenge for the kids is how to find a way forward with a sense of both ambitious and compassion. >> my parents have a plan they want me to follow. i'll do what god asks before they ask. >> i don't want to be game. take this curse off me. >> i feel i won't fight in and i wopt know what i'm doing -- won't demo what i'm doing. -- won't know what i'm doing. the first enseaed of "edge of 18" -- episode of "edge of 18" prem years after this program. coming up, the anniversary of the september 11th attacks. in "the week ahead", we look at al qaeda's stopping today. each other, most of their parts of the capital, they might send their own fighters here to welcome back to al jazeera america, here are the top stories, a rapidly spreading virus is sending children to the hospital. more than 1500 children have come down with respiratory illness in 10 states. it may be caused by entro virus 58. blasts were heard in the donetsk and mariupol region, threatening a ceasefire agreement signed by the government and pro-russian separatists two days ago. >> this week and the u.s. launched expanded air strikes against the islamic state fighters. the goal was to support security forces near haditha and mosul dams. the iraqi government requested the strikes. it's the first time the u.s. hit factoring in anbar province. it's sunday night and time for a look ahead. this thursday is marking 13 years since the september 11th attacks. nearly 3,000 were killed, triggering america's global war an terror. washington vowed to eradicate the al qaeda network. today we look at how the organization and the threat this poses has changed. >> reporter: after months of silence, ayman al zawahiri, osama bin laden's successor released a video calling for a jihad on the indian continent. >> translation: this is to help raise the flag of jihad and return to islamic rule. >> reporter: it is the second-largest muslim population, al qaeda could use the boost. its pace -- base firmly in pakistan, it has branched out. >> in some ways you can say there's never been more members of al qaeda, and groups claiming affiliation with al qaeda over the world. >> the off shoots are different from the centrally controlled al qaeda led by osama bin laden. gone are the training camps, and the direct line of financing. the u.s. policy of drone strikes weakened command structure, isolating the top leaders. the death of osama bin laden didn't finish off the organization, the current leaders lacks the broad appeal of osama bin laden, and struggled to establish legitimacy. >> osama bin laden had a charisma. he had been in afghanistan, had given up wealth, which appealed to many people. >> enter the islamic state group. al qaeda cut ties with the former atilliate in february -- affiliate in february, after becoming vount, ignoring calls to expand and return to iraq. is, which is concludes known as i.s.i.l. threatens to outpace al qaeda as the dominant voice of influence. it is important to note our view that there's no group as successful and effective as i.s.i.l. is, at using propaganda and social media. they have out paced other extremist groups, how they used the internet to spread a message. >> the is has been successful when it comes to recruiting. with more than 100 americans and 1,000 europeans joining the group. it gained the attention of world leaders. >> the goal has to be to dismantle them. >> al qaeda's interest in india, especially kashmir, is nothing new. the fact na ayman al zawahiri announced the move has been wondering if it's not about expansion but an attempt to grab headlines of his open. as courtney mentioned al qaeda says that it is setting up a new branch in india. in his video address ayman al zawahiri said he would extend to include myanmar and bangladesh. indian officials are on high alert for threat. al qaeda's reach has been global. it had made attacks in tanzania, yemen. after 2001 attacks included bombings in madrid, london and indonesia. much was destroyed offer 9/11. obvious the last few years al qaeda has done much to rebuild itself. i'm joined by clinton watts, a senior fellow at the foreign policy institute, and manuel gomez, former fbi agency and sergeant. good to have you with us. as we mark 13 years, mr watts, how strong is al qaeda today? >> it's the second-most important global jihadist group. the islamic state has taken over the lead, and if you look at the two big indicators of what mikes a global jihadist group strong - personnel and funny from financiers. the islamic state is far outpacing al qaeda. and i would say while we in the u.s. are affect by al qaeda, and focus on it a lot. globally the islamic state is far ahead, i think, and outpacing them. >> in terms of priorities for law enforcement. what does it rank? >> like my colleague said - domestically, number one still. i.s.i.s. is a big concern globally. domestically the number one target is to hurt the us. it's been minimised since nech in terms of resources and funding. it's the number one threat that law enforcement is concerned with. >> when you are talking al qaeda, you are talking about al-shabab as well. >> absolutely. the splinter groups is a concern, with 200 million muslims. a bigger concern to the u.s. and other countries are the lone wolves. people that may best citizens or people that live in the u.s., central abroad, get radicalized, trained and come back to do us harm. it's a huge concern. >> you mentioned indian threat. is this an attempt by al qaeda to stay relevant? >> i think it's not just about being relevant but survival. there has be there has been splinter groups within the taliban, you are seeing competition in the battle grounds. >> are you going to be part of the islamic state or support al qaeda. i think what ayman al zawahiri was doing was reaffirming support to the taliban, and draw a larger regional conflict making the u.s. choose india rather than pakistan, it brings them to his orbit. >> you bring up a good point. how much of a concern is there when there's a rivalry. >> the golden ring is to attack america. when you have two powerful groups with resources, money and people competing for the brass ring, to hurt u.s. abroad and here in the u.s. it's concerning. whoever gets there first will be the supreme power internationally. is al qaeda getting strength in pakistan. >> i think they are losing strength vis-a-vis the islamic state in pakistan, which is probably why we saw the statement. you'll see it in a broad way. i'dlike to say in the al qaeda versus islamic state, yemen is a swing state, the most important affiliate for old guard al qaeda. >> north africa. >> north africa is in play. how tunizia and others go is troubling. iraq and syria. >> they are the islamic state, the dominant force. and nusra is al qaeda's arm in syria wavering saying we'll negotiate with the united states if you take us off the foreign terrorist list. suggesting that there's movement and a weakening al qaeda. has much changed in the mission of al qaeda, the ideology. >> the ideology hasn't. we have hurt them financially, numerous laws wept into effect to curtail moneys going to fund al qaeda. >> how were they funded? >> many sympathizers in the u.s. and abroad were sympathizing, funding them to the tunes of millions of dollars. laws came in effect to curtail the money. numerous resources were put in place to ascertain and neutralize whether it's to kill them in action or where they are at or to arrest them. many are in guantanamo bay, ge tained, waiting for the action that the u.s. government deems fit. many things have been put in pleas. they are still very active, and their ultimate goal in terms of ideology is to hurt u.s. interests, and kill as many americans as possible. bottom line. >> how are they recruiting? >> they are recruiting through the internet and affiliates. one thing they seek is to get westerners recruited. >> before seeing the islamic state, and they have been effective. >> the islamic state is effective, outpacing al qaeda, and a lot of defections from the old guard al qaeda to the islamic state. so in terms of resources, the islamic state, in terms of illicit fundraising in iraq, and donations are a force this they'll need to look at for a long time. >> does al qaeda have an impact in the extremist movement? >> sure it does. they have bip laden. everywhere lives in his shadow. the leaders go to him. he's monumental in their views. between them, the background that they have had, they have been the longest player in the game in terms of success. >> they have 9/11, the training, the foundation. they are behind the shadows, as opposed to i.s.i.s. out in the open, making it more attractive for americans and others that want to go abroad and fight the good fight for radicalism and fundamentalism. al qaeda is in the shadows, and that is why they are less successful in recruiting, but are powerful and a threat here domestically. >> the islamic state overshadowing al qaeda, does that pose a threat? >> absolutely. it can create a dangerous situation for us in the u.s., which is competing networks. if al qaeda cannes reassert themselves or demonstrate how effective they are, one thing they may pursue is an attack on the west. like you said when we talked about india is put themselves back in the headlines. reassert themselves. >> it's a challenge to anticipate where the threat may come from, at home or abroad. you have two competing networks. others are loosely unaligned. >> a challenge or a risk losing forces in neighbouring afghanistan, when it comes to gathering intelligence. >> we see diffusive jihadist groups and fewer resources to cover, including journalists like yourself to intelligence assets. everything is spread thin, and afghanistan, you know, there's a lot less coverage than there was three, five, 10 years ago. >> with the lack of coverage, do you see it as al qaeda being able to recruit. >> they are recruiting. they want to continue to recruit and train. >> you see them as getting stronger in the sense of who they are recruiting, the quality as opposed to the quantity. i.s.i.s. has the quantity. it's more attractive. they've been uber successful. al qaeda is in the shadows, they are recruiting more of the next big hit type of individual as opposed to huge numbers that will wave the banner and try to gain territory, which is what i.s.i.s. is doing. how possible is it to see an attack by al qaeda on soil. >> al qaeda has what the islamic state doesn't have, the people with the skills, the patients to plan, they have the operational experience to still execute a large attack. and they have shown that they can do that. the main arm through which they do that is the al qaeda arm. they have experienced bomb-makers that attempted to pull off a plot against the united states. that will be a concern moving forward for a long time. what the islamic state does, which, you know, in a down time for al qaeda enact them to create space where we have to concentrate our resources while al qaeda has an opportunity to plan and plot. >> do you agree, another attack? >> absolutely. i think it's a question of if, it's a question of how and when they'll attack, especially with a threat of power coming from i.s.i.s. they need to show the world that they are the dominant organization, and so they are probably plotting something as we speak. our resources will be on height eped alert given that this is definitely something that may happen because of the power surge between the two organizations. >> looking at resources, al qaeda is regrouping and the islamic state, a powerful army. has that changed the way that we perhaps handle or attack these terrorist groups? >> absolutely. we are attacking networks. we have looked at this 10 years ago in terms of regime change. that was the approach. we build countries which has democracies, and that has been abandoned. what we see now is a nimble approach using different methods in terms of special braigss, it may be drones or partner nations, a lot are taking up a lot of the slack for where we are not deploying full military support. >> under the bush administration, president bush vowed to eradicate al qaeda. we have yet to see that. how do we eradicate the groups. >> it's difficult. i don't know if we do it totally. but we do a great job in keeping them contained and away from u.s. soil and interests. we have been doing a great job. that is what the goal is now. trying to get as many allies internationally as possible to help us in that effort. >> what is the right approach moving forward? >> i think the right approach is the u.s. will not destroy the islamic state or al qaeda. the islamic state will have to destroy themselves, and what you do, like you said, was contain, but the conditions, where in the case of the islamic state, are extremely toilet. they are not following the ideology, if you set the conditions, they will ultimately destroy themselves. >> we'll have to leave it there. man well gomez, former special agent and clinton was from the research institute. before wrapping things up, let's look at other events in the week ahead. tuesday - a court hearing in washington d.c. for the suspected ringleader of the 2012 benghazi attack. the attack on the american diplomatic compound killed ambassador christopher stevens. wednesday - a symposium to discuss a nuclear generation with experts from around the world. thursday - edward snowden to appear in a video link. his asylum in russia was extended for three years. a co-owner of the hawks is selling his part of his attempt. the reason - a racially charged email he wrote. >> on tech know, imagine getting the chance to view the world. >> the brain is re-learning how it sees again >> after decades in the dark, >> i couldn't get around on my own >> a miraculous bionic eye... >> i'm seeing flashes >> great >> tech know, every saturday go where science meets humanity. >> this is some of the best driving i've every done, even though i can't see. >> tech know. >> we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america. each other, most of their parts of the capital, they might send their own fighters for the second time this summer an n.b.a. team will be sold. this time it was a racially charged email. shimano has the details. >> reporter: first it was donnal sterling, now bruce levinson of the hawks will be selling his team after he wrote an email in 2012 which he called inappropriate. in that alert is that he sent to the general manager and board he said that the fans were heavily african-american, saying the cheer leaders were black and went on to say: he apologised and said: n.b.a. commissioner adam silva was notified of an intention to sell the team and wrote this statement: now, the league will start the process of looking for a new buyer, and earlier this summer he recalled the l.a. clippers were sold for $2 billion after donald sterling was banned for life after his racist comments went public. still ahead - a teenager's wish to do great things is coming true. ♪ close your eyes ♪ make a wish ♪ and blow out the candlelight ...♪ it's thanks to a choir that taught him much more than singing. news... each other, most of their parts of the capital, they might send their own fighters here to it's no secret libraries are struggling, but some are struggling with learning going beyond books. we have the story. >> reporter: before the digital age libraries were temples of literacy, where books changed lives. now they are working hard to stay relevant. where the shelves stocked things other than books, some thrived. at a private not-for-profit tool library people can borrow saws, hammers, plumbing equipment - anything to help around the home. >> you don't need a drill, you need a hole in the wall. take the drill, take it back. >> reporter: just like tools, kuchen appliances -- kitchen appliances are expensive and take up space. borrowing them makes sense, especially in dense centers of western cities. >> count top is prime real estate. you need it. if you have a library like this where you go and borrow aplipss, you don't have to store them somewhere. >> reporter: the latest library offers seeds and gardening tips. they are thriving as people, especially the young, donate possessions and give them new life as communicatee problem. >> younger people are more accustomed. they see the eighty to share online, and want to see the transition to the physical world as well. >> clothes for a special occasion, toys, tools, can be borrowed at a library. a concept that begun with people up for sharing. the asteroid discovered last week did not hit earth. called 2014rc missed earth by 25,000 miles, dispooming over new zealand. -- zooming over new zealand. n.a.s.a. predicted that the asteroid will miss our planet. tonight we premiere "edge of 18." you see 15 students who have a course in documentary film making video taping their senior year, in this report from randall pinkston, we see how music is changing the lives of teens in new york city. [ singing ] >> reporter: 18-year-old stefan douglas alan is a member of the young people's chorus of new york city. he is not sure how. his mother was called to bring him in for an audition. he was in third grade. >> i didn't know what to expect. i did a good job and have been here since. ♪ ♪ hush my darling ♪ don't fear my darling ♪ the lion sleeps tonight instead instead stefan learnt that ypc offered more than music. >> at one stage i was backsliding. ypc helped me. it motivated me to do vet ever. >> reporter: this successful musician created the chorus in 1988. >> i wanted to start a programme where i could use music as a means of bringing people from new york city and give them an opportunity to learn. >> reporter: from nine children 26 years ago, it works with 1400 throughout the city. the chorus stefan is in performs all over the world. >> i visited japan, china, hong kong, and other places [ sings ] >> the music is the means of making a great person learn about poise, discipline, how to get dressed. >> reporter: stefan grew up in a high-crime new york neighbourhood with an older brother and single mum working two jobs. how would you say the chair made a difference in his life? >> dismrcipline and it keeps hi from the streets. >> reporter: and her rules helped. >> if you do anything to break the law, and the cops get you, tell them you're an orphan, you have no mother, because i'm not coming. >> it's easy to quit. a lot want it to give up and become a statistic. >> stefan didn't quit. things to his mother's enkourget and -- encouragement and ypc which helped him prepare for college. >> they paid for him to go. they sent a chapper own and took care of everything. >> reporter: stefan was accepted to every college he applied to. a college in new york offered for financial substance. >> if you put heart into it, it will happen. >> when you sing, it's always about doing something good and be remembered for it ♪ close your eyes stefan douglas alan, college freshman, safely passing the edge of 18. a great path. join us for "five days along the border", an indepth look at the crisis. tonight 11:00 p.m. specific. now "edge of 18." i'm thomas drayton your in new york. thanks for watching. . >> in my school no one gives a [ bleep ] if i'm gay or not. at home it's harder to be myself. >> do you think we are ready to say my son is gay? no. >> i really want my father to tell me i support you. and i love my gay son. >> i go to high school. it is intense and rigorous. i wanted to

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