one that makes it pale in comparison, al jazeera. if you want to get more on all the stories we have been telling you about head over to our website and you can see our front page there and more at al jazeera.com. >> flooded out of their homes in south carolina, a once in a thousand year event drops rain and more is following this morning. >> a possible war crime, investigating the air strike on a relief agency hospital, but doctors without borders will not trust the findings. >> the supreme court takes up new cases today in what could be another landmark term.

>> this is aljazeera america. good morning, live from new york city, i'm randall pinkston. schools and collegion are closed in south carolina today. thousands are without power around the state, seven are dead. officials rescued hundreds from cars caught in flash floods. robert ray is live for us in charleston, south carolina. was there any warning? >> that's a great question. the answer is yes and no. they expect really intense rain and heavy amounts in the south carolina area. the mayor here of charleston,

who's been here for 40 years at mayor said he has never seen anything like it, including 1989's hurricane hugo which really caused havoc in this area. people are trying to figure out exactly what to do in the coming days and assess when this rain is over, which should be over today, later today. charleston's been hit hard, the capitol, columbia very, very much completely pummeled. there have been swift water rescues and chopper rescues yesterday. roads have collapsed. dams have crashed in. there have been hospitals that we're told are considering evacuation, five of them right now they are considering because the water supply is just not there. there's a boil order in the state capitol. interstates are closed. the governor, nikki haley said people should really understand how dire this is.

let's listen. >> we haven't seen this lex of rain in the low country in 1,000 years. that's how big this is. that's what south carolina's dealing with right now. >> a lot of people here this morning are waking up to still cloudy skies, rain bands coming in. all of a sudden, we have a wind advisory coming in, 30-mile an hour gusts expected on the coast and inland. a tough situation as people have been hungering down all weekend, randall. >> we are watching images now of people wading in the water up to their chest. are people using shelters and abiding by the curfews? >> you know, it seems like everyone really is. i mean, people have listened to the officials, listened to the governor. people, obviously, there are some people that in these

incredible flash floods are not able to do anything but try to get out of their homes and call 911. that's where the rescues have come into play. people, most in charleston have absolutely heeded he's curfews and done when the officials said and waited for the storms to pass through. three people have passed away over the course of the past few days here. there are hundreds of people in red cross shelters across the state. there are nearly 30 set up. the national guard is on the ground, and everyone is working in combination to make sure that the residents of south carolina are safe. >> thank you, robert ray in charleston. over now to kevin with the weather. >> we're going to see another day of rain across parts of south carolina, even north carolina where heavy rain is across wilmington. joaquin is up here past bermuda.

this area of low pressure use that right here has pulled in the moisture across the carolinas and focused it. over the next several hours, for charleston, we are getting a break in the rain, but towards myrtle beach, we have seen over a hundred water rescues in this area, all the way up to greenville, as well. we are picking up a lot of flood reports along the north carolina coast, as well. here are some of the water totals, rain to get we have seen up until yesterday morning. we get a new advisory out as we go towards this morning. as you can see, mount pleasant saw 24 inches. i do expect that to go into the high 20's. we may see in some areas up to

30 inches. flash flood warn ins charleston toward wilmington and for today, we do expect to see about another two to four inches in the central part of south carolina. for south carolina, your rain is probably going to be ending later on this afternoon. for north carolina, we expect that rain probably to end tonight, but another big problem is going to be later on this week, those rivers are still going to be flooded. >> it's moving north or west? >> it's moving out to sea, the rain is going to be ending completely. >> thank you, kevin. >> the storms off the coast brought strong winds and rain ruling the new jersey shore where the coast guard rescued a man knocked off his vet ski. he was in danger of being slammed into the rocks. that helicopter happened to be here conducting a training mission. >> >> a missing cargo ship disappeared late last week as it

sailed near hurricane joaquin. the coast guard spotted a large debris field in the water. we have more on that. what's the latest on the search? >> coast guard officials found several objects that could be tied to the missing cargo ship, the el faro. it issued a distress signal at hurricane joaquin was passing by as a category four storm. search teams spotted life jackets, life rings and a long oil slick. >> we've located about a 225 square mile debris field. we found several foams. we found a 55-gallon barrel drum. >> it is common for a ship transiting through a storm to lose things off their top side

deck. >> 33 people, many americans were aboard the vessel when it sailed off jacksonville florida for puerto rico last week. the ship's operator says it's remaining hopeful. in a statement, the company said the following about the debris, while this reflects that the ship was caught in rough seas and extreme weather, it is in no way indicative of the ship's fate. navy officials are helping with the operation. >> but no radio communication with the ship. >> since thursday. >> thank you. >> in guatemala, hope is fading for the search for survivors from a devastating mudslide. heavy rains there caused a mountainside collapse to bury 125 homes with a wall of mud 15 yards deep. at least 131 people were killed, 300 others are still missing. >> afghan forces say they have regained control of kunduz, where doctors without borders is

demanding an independent investigation into a deadly air strike on its hospital there. 22 people were killed in this weekend's bombing. 12 of the victims worked for the international aid group. the afghan defense ministry said taliban fighters were using the hospital to fire object security forces, but the head of doctors without borders, christopher stokes called those claims false, writing in a statement there can be no justification for this abhor rent attack on our hospital that resulted in the beats of staff as they worked and patients as they lay in their beds. the u.s. i also believed to have carried out the airstrikes. defense secretary ash carter said they are looking into the attack. >> we will be full, transparent about our investigation, also that we be headlight accountable if there is somebody ho be held responsible for somebody doing something they shouldn't have done. >> doctors without borders said

more than 180 staff and patients were in the hospital at the time of the attack. >> russia says it is ready to work with the main requireian rebel group fighting bashar al assad. sergey lavrov spoke to a russian state media a short time ago, saying the government would be willing to establish contact with the free syrian army. the u.s. and the syrian opposition have accused russia of launching airstrikes against that group and other rebels. the russians say their focusing on stopping isil. syria's president has said he is betting his country's future on russia's intervention, but the u.s. has reservations. secretary of state john kerry sat down with al jazeera to talk about the situation in syria. >> is there any scenario whatsoever in which the u.s. would intervene militarily to protect those rebels? >> the president is considering all the options that are available right now and we have made it very, very clear to the

russians do not attack the legitimate opposition. they have said they understand that. what we are looking for is not a military victory. we are looking for the political resolution that we always looked for in the context of geneva and so they don't have to fear that we're somehow building up a takeover of military. what we're trying to do is have a legitimate transition now in order to save syria, and to have a unified, secular, whole syria going forward. if the russians insist on fighting against them, there can be very serious consequences, the most serious of which would be that other nations supporting those people will have no choice but to double down and russia itself will become a target of those people. >> kerry said unless russia makes clear its intention ins syria, the region could become more unstable.

>> the campus in southern oregon will reopen this morning four days after a deadly campus shooting. grief count lowers will be on hand, but classes resume later in the week. across the region, many gathered sunday to remember the nine people killed in the shooting. police are still investigating the gunman's motives. he took his own life after a brief shootout with police. >> federal authorities in philadelphia usually students at area colleges and universities to be cautious this morning after a vague threat of violence was made against on unspecified university there. several philadelphia area schools, including temple, drexel and villanova issued alerts to students. threats were made on line on the anonymous message board. a similar message was posted before the shootinging oregon. philadelphia schools are also beefing up security as a precaution. >> congressional republicans are preparing to choose their next

speaker of the house today. that vote will happen thursday, with the conservative going up against the favorite, utah's jason chafits head the high profile investigation into the secret service. he says fellow republicans will support him, because he can connect all sides of the party. they find i'm a fair person, i can bridge the divide between the sent terrorist and far right members. that's why i've entered this race. >> he says americans want new leaders in congress. >> the supreme court is back in session today, with some significant cases on the docket. we'll look at the impact the chief justice is having on the

court's decisions.

>> a new york university student is finally going home after being held for months in north korea. he had been detained by north korea since april after the government said he entered the country illegally through the chinese border. in a prepared statement made last month, the 21-year-old

praised north korea's government and apologized for his actions. >> the supreme court begins its new term this morning with a number which hot button issues on the docket, the high court's new calendar includes cases dealing with abortion rights and affirmative action. amy how said the justice may also decide a case involving birth control under the affordable care act. >> the new controversy is by non-profit religious groups. the obama administration has provided them with an accommodation. they sign a form that goes to the government and someone else takes care of making sure that their female employees get access to birth control. they say that even that is in effect participating in providing the birth control, and so six court of appeals upheld the government's accommodation, but recently, the u.s. court of appeals for the eighth circuit, which deals with appeals from

the midwest struck down the accommodation. >> the justice may also decide whether california non-union teachers should be forced to contribute their fair share in union dues. >> chief justice roberts angered many conservatives when he voted to uphold the affordable care act. he has now led the court for 10 years and his time is affording us a clear look at his judicial philosophy. >> i have no agenda but do have a commitment. >> 10 years ago when president george w. bush nominated him to be chief justice, john roberts pledged the law, not politics would rule the highest court. >> i will decide every case based on the record according to the rule of law without fear or favor to the best of my ability. >> the bush administration and roberts conservative supporters expected him to continue moving the supreme court to the right, but this year, after the chief

justice voted with liberals for the second time to rescue the affordable care act, some of his supporters accused him of switching sides. >> what is his core philosophy? >> i think he's a deeply conservative man, has a great deal of respect for the status quo, hierarchy, for order. >> burt newborn is an author and professor of law. he believes robert's beliefs are true to his core belief. >> he believe that is until the people speak, the court shouldn't act. >> he says that commitment to democracy, where legislatures make the law explains why roberts voted with liberals on the affordable care act and with conservatives on same-sex marriage. >> in the affordable care act case, he's saying look, democracy acted here, congress

passed this law, and if they made a drafting mistake, i'll help them fix it. when he gets to same sex marriage, he says i can't find anything in the constitution about marriage, gender or sex, so what i would like to do is let the legislatures fix it. it's the same guy saying the same thing in both cases, only he's saying it against the background of facts and law. >> nobonn is not ready to say that the roberts court is shifting left. >> if you look at his significances in criminal procedure, capitol punishment, abortion, affirmative action, time after time, he's delivered the goods for the conservatives. >> for more proof of roberts conservative leaning, you only need to compare his decisions to one of the most conservative members of the bench, justice scalia. today, the two jurists are still

close, in agreement 83% of the time. newborn, a former attorney for the aclu said the chief justice is also guided by another core principle, his belief in free enterprise. roberts was a saw the after corporate lawyer before coming a jurist. >> if you had to ask what is his political philosophy, it's not necessarily republican or democratic, it's free market. whatever the big business wants, john roberts spent his private career defending. >> has it been red in his opinions. >> you show him a regulation, he'll show you a way to knock it down. >> chief justice roberts has managed to reach son census more often than his preed sess door, chief justice rehnquist. decisions averaged 44%, a significant increase over the previous 10 years under rehnquist, where the average was 32%.

still, the court's divisions are deep. in the past year, more than a quarter of the decisions were on 5-4 splits. >> as a young attorney in 1979 and 1980, roberts clerked for then justice william rehnquist. colleagues say that experience had a profound impact on roberts and his judicial philosophy. >> holding the people in charge responsible, why the former federal reserve chairman says the justice department did not go far enough to punish bankers tied to the financial crisis.

>> it has been seven years license lehman brothers collapse marked the start of the financial crise.

in an interview with "u.s.a. today," former fed chairman ben bernanke said more should having to jail for their actions. >> it would have been my preference to have more investigation of individual actions, as obviously everything that went wrong or was illegal was done by some individual, not by, you know, an abstract firm, and so in that respect, i think there should have been more accountability at the individual level. >> bernanke said one regret from that time is that he did not do a good enough job explaining to the public the reasons for bailing out wall street. >> china has been stepping up investing over seas, including major investments in the bahamas. there is worry the government there is becoming too dependent on china.

>> what happens when the bahamas meets a big country like china with money to invest? that's what happened a few years ago. a lot of people know about the china of africa, but chain in a in the caribbean is new. what you're looking at is the largest or considered one of the largest commercial real estate ventures in the western hemisphere by the chinese, the primarily chinese investment. it's stalled. it's not opiate. it's opening has been delayed twice already. it's become a big political battle on the island. >> we would like to see it open. if i were in the position of governance, do everything within my power to ensure that it opens. >> the completion of the project and the opening of the resort will go a long way in aiding and assessing the rebounding of the

economy we've faced since 2008 or so. >> in our report later today, we'll take a closer look at the impact on the citizens. if opened, it would have been responsible for 10% of the country's g.d.p. and employed thousands of residents. al jazeera, nassau, the bahamas. >> you can watch the full report at 8:00 eastern an aljazeera america. >> the white house will announce two marine sanctuaries today, parts of lake michigan along wisconsin and the tidal waters of maryland will join 14 areas that are already protected. the obama administration will also launch a new global program to combat illegal fishing. >> thank you for joining us. stephanie sy back in two minutes with more aljazeera america. >> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world.

getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target weeknights 10:30p et

>> hundreds rescued as record rainfall leads to historic flooding in parts of the carolinas. at least seven are dead and the rain continues to come down. >> it's still very hard for a lot of us. >> the oregon community college where a gunman killed nine people reopens this morning while the f.b.i. investigates a threat that had several universities on the east coast on edge. >> house republicans prepare to elect the next speaker of the

house with the conservative challenging the party favorite. we'll look at what that could mean for the gop. >> donald trump? isn't he the one that's like you're all losers? >> campaign comedy, hillary clinton mocked donald trump, but will laughs in late night boost her polling numbers? >> this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm stephanie sy. it is not stopping, it is still range in south carolina, even as crews continue to rescue stranded residents, the state's governor says it is the heaviest rainfall in a thousand years. at least seven people have been killed in the carolinas. hundreds have been rescued from flooded cars and homes, schools and colleges across the state are closed today.

the governor says 381 roads are closed. there are 30,000 homes and businesses without power and more than two dozen shelters are now open. al jazeera's robert ray is live in charleston, south carolina this morning. robert, how are residents coping and are there still people trapped in homes and cars? >> residents are waking up to cloudy skies here in charleston this morning, but just to the north of us, another major band of rain and wind coming into the coast from the atlantic. there's a wind advisory, 30-mile an hour gusts expected today and throughout the day into the evening. residents are very concerned, a lot of people are trying to get back to work, but schools are closed and people just sort of assessing the damage of their flooded-out homes and businesses. now national guard, police and fire department are going door to door especially in columbia this morning to make sure that those flooded out areas are ok,

the red cross taking in a lot of those people that have been taken out of their homes because of the water. we spoke to the red cross earlier yesterday. let's listen to what they had to say. >> from what i heard, this is historical. people that have been through hugo, that massive hurricane here said this is more flooding and water than during hugo. the only thing missing is the wind hugo brought. >> the only thing missing is the wind, like he said. we've had historic rains, up to 30-inches in some places, colombia especially hit hard with some roads just completely crushed by the weight of the water. many cemeteries in the region are underwater peep have been enduring this for the last 72 yours.

this is a region that's been under water for the last week. >> what are people telling you this morning about heading to work? >> if you're in colombia, that's not going to happen. here in charleston, the rain seems to have stopped, although there are bands to the north, so people are allowed to go back in and assess. >> robert, is there a concern about the water supply and whether it is safe or not to drink the water, given all this flooding? >> huge concern, major concern, you can imagine where we're at right now in charleston, this is a city that is 300 years old, a

sewer system that seriously is compromised. modern technology can only do so much for such an old town, especially in a peninsula that leads out to the atlantic, you can see behind me. there are very serious concerns as far as bacteria in the water and raw assuming coming up. now, that's with standing water. a lot of the water is starting to dissipate, but in colombia, they have a boil order in effect that went into effect yesterday. there are five hospitals that are seriously considering evacuations. they just don't have the water supply to help the people that are sick there. >> those are among the biggest hospitals in that state. robert ray live in charleston, thank you. >> the rain continues to fall there. let's bring in meteorologist

kevin. >> today we have another full day of rain. we think the rain is going to enter south carolina probably this afternoon. north carolina, it's going to be later this evening. the water is going to be standing all week and we do have the threat of the rivers, which are now taking the water in. we're going to be seeing some of those not reaching flood stage downstream until later in the week. this is an image of water vapor, shows where moist air is coming in. the carolinas are still getting the green area, the moist air. the radar is showing the same thing, especially for myrtle beach, as well as with him ming to know, north carolina, for charleston, you're probably going to see the break now. you may see a a few off and on showers, but nothing is heavier than what is happening toward the north. we do he be expect to see another two to four inches of rain across the region. over the last 24 hours, the green dots is where we have seen flood damage, all the way up

across the north carolina coast, as well. rain to get now, these rain totals go since the beginning of the storm, all the way through yesterday, at about 11:00 today, we're going to update these, but you can see two feet of rain in mount pleasant. later on today, we're going to see this total adjusted 28 to 30 inches for some of these areas. of course for that much rain, it's not going to be going anywhere with that floodwater anytime soon. we still have flash flood warnings from charleston toward wilmington. the good news is when the break does come, we will have several days of nice weather. we'll talk about that later on. >> kevin, thank you. >> storms off the coast brought strong wind and wives along the new jersey shore where the coast guard stepped in a rescue a man in danger of being slammed into the rocks on his jet skis. >> the relatives of more than

two dozen americans feared missing gathered in florida this morning desperately hoping for news. the coast guard found debris believed to be from the missing ship, the el faro. >> the coast guard has tried to find the ship. that huge debris field could be one sign of what happened to it. rescue crews are searching again for the ship this morning. >> as families wait, search crews have been pulling up debris from the el faffo. >> it has been confirmed it is a life ring from the el faro, if we think about the weather conditions that vessel has gone through, the fact which having a life ring dislodge off a location where it's sitting onboard a rail or anywhere on the ship is not a surprise at all. >> the coast guard said pieces

of styrofoam, wood, cargo and other items were found spread across 225 miles near the bahamas. authorities are still trying to determine whether that debris belongs to the missing ship. the coast guard has flown the aircraft close to hurricane joaquin to try to locate the ship. the vessel disappeared with 33 people onboard. 28 passengers are americans. the 790-foot boat left jacksonville florida on tuesday, heading on a core go supply run to puerto rico. company officials say the captain was trying to avoid the storm. >> he informed us that he was adjusting his course accordingly to avoid the storm and unfortunately, the ship became disabled because of a mechanical problem, and the ship found its way in the path of the storm. >> the owner said the cargo

ship's last communication was thursday morning. the crew said the ship lost power and was taking on water and listing, but said the situation was manageable. >> the company that operates the ship defended the decision to have the crew sale aloft when the storm was coming, saying the crew was trained to handle the changing weather. right now, the focus is on trying to find out what happened to them. >> cleanup is underway in southern france after severe flooding there. rescue workers are searching for four missing people, some 17 died in the floods. rivers of water swept through many areas over the weekend trapping car drivers and stranding residents. towns received nearly two months worth of rain in three hours. >> in china, at least four died when a powerful typhoon struck the southern part of the country. dozens of people are missing there. the storm packed winds over 110 miles per hour, nearly 200,000 people were evacuated. >> in guatemala, hope is fading in the search for survivors from a devastating mudslide.

heavy rains caused a mountainside to collapse, bearing upwards of 125 homes with a wall of mud some 15 yards deem. at least 131 people were killed, as many as 300 more are still missing. >> afghan forces say they have regained control of kunduz where doctors without borders is calling a u.s. air strike a war crime after hitting a hospital. 23 people died. the afghan defense ministry said taliban fighters were using the hospital to fire on security forces, but the head of doctors without borders called those claims false. the pentagon said it is conducting investigation. >> now that forces are back in power in kunduz, how likely are they to maintain control and are they in need of international

help? >> we have been talking with the residents of kunduz in the past week an awful they are saying is that they have lost their faith on afghan security forces, because 14 years after taliban were able to keep control of a big city. now we have been talking with the government officials. i talked with the provincial member of provincial council member of kunduz province. he told me that he's concerned that if afghan security forces this time would leave alone, they would be alone in the province, they would not be able to keep the control of the city. he said that without support of international soldiers on the ground and the air support, afghan security forces would not have capability to keep the town secure for long.

>> among them believed to be american special forces on the ground, that attack on doctors without borders hospital there in kunduz, what more do we know about the investigation and about what happened today? >> we don't know much about investigation, because it is on going right now. they are told that there will be an investigation, but what we hear from afghan official here on the ground, the police chief, the provincial council member, they all tell us that taliban were hiding in a corn of this compound. it is a big compound, the corner of the hospital compound. they were shooting at afghan security forces and international forces. they call it a mistake target, the building of the hospital.

>> there is a report that negotiators have reached an agreement on the transpacific trade deal, the sweeping deal between nations had been delayed by last minute details. the agreement would phase out thousands of import tariffs and other barriers to international trade. once approved by congress and the 11 other nations, the t.p.p. would be the largest regional trade accord in history. >> the community college is reopening doors this morning days after nine people were shot dead on the campus. grief counselors will meet with the students on campus. class are canceled until next week. school officials are following the advice of other educators who have dealt with school shootings. >> this is not a club we wanted to join. we did not want to be part of the sandy hook club but are now the newest members and the senior members of all taking care of us. i'd like to thank them. >> sunday services were

dedicated to the memory of the victims. we have a report from oregon. >> outside at businesses in roseberg and inside places of worship, a community is coming together to support each other in one of their darkest hours, words of comfort to parishioners during sunday's church service, the sermon was also sprinkled with a political message about gun laws. >> someone hell bent on killing others is going to find a way to do that, but i for one as a follower of jesus, i dare say why should we make these demented malevolent schemes easier, with easy access to firearms? we can do better.

for god's sake, we must do better. >> as the community grieves, the father of the shooter is speaking out publicly about the arsenal of weapons his son had in his possession, echoing support for increased gun control. >> every time this happens, they talk about it and nothing is done. i'm not trying to say they are to blame for what happened, but had chris not been able to get ahold of 13 guns, it wouldn't have happened. >> the family i don't think should be held responsible, to be honest. it's just as shocking to them as it is to everybody else. >> 17-year-old college student heard the barrage of bullets as she sat in the classroom next door. she's not sure when or if she will return to school. >> i don't think the school should be opening quite that soon. it's still very hard for a lot of us. i don't think snyder's going to be able to be the same place. >> those grieving thursday's mass shooting include local

media, the publisher of the roseberg beacon witnessed the bodies of the nine victims dropped off at roseberg airport by military helicopter. they were being transferred to the local medical examiner. >> two military helicopters landing, a great number of state police, the scene that proceeded was the off loading of victims' bodies and it was -- >> jake refers to the victims as our kids. 30-year-old army veteran chris, a student who survived is treated for multiple gunshot wounds. hailed as a hero for his quick actions, he sent this message from his hospital bed. >> hello, everyone, i'm doing well and overwhelmed by the support i've gotten from everybody. i just want to wish audible the other families a safe and speedy recovery and i will be talking to you guys soon. >> al jazeera, roseberg, oregon.

>> authorities urge students to be cautious this morning after a vague threat of violence against an unspecified university, five philadelphia area schools, temple, direction he will, villanova, lasalle, st. joseph, university of pennsylvania all i should alerts to students. the f.b.i. says the threat was made on line on the anonymous message board. a similar message was posted before the shooting in oregon. >> republicans prepare to select a new speaker of the house, but with a last minute challenger to front runner kevin mccarthy, will it lead to a house divided. >> these are intense rapids, and for a few weeks each year, people flock here to risk it all for the ride of their life. i'm on the river. that story coming up.

>> an 18 wheeler caught fire at the intersection of interstate 20 and i-35. there are no reports of injuries, but this accident is sure to make a tough commute in dallas this morning. >> republicans will choose the

next speaker of the house. utah's jason chaffetz is challenging majority leader mccarthy. he is the chair of the house oversight committee and led the investigation into the secret service. he says fellow republicans will support him because he can connect all sides of the party. >> that's why i'm offering myself as a candidate, to try to bridge that divide. i think those 50 plus people find that i'm a fair, even balanced person, that i can bridge that divide between our more centrist members and some of the more far right wing members. that's why i've entered this race. >> chaffetz said americans want new leaders in congress to replace john boehner. as michael shure reports, whoever gets the job may have a tough time getting the caucus on the same page. >> on this vote, the yeas are 277, the nays 151. >> this past week, congress found a way to keep the government running. this week, they will decide who

will run the government or at least run the house of representatives. >> this prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable harm to the institution, so this morning, i informed my colleagues that i would resign from the speakership and resign from congress at the end of the october. >> the startling announcement from speaker john boehner over a week ago has sent house republicans scrambling, some to run for leadership positions and some, like wisconsin representative paul ryan, to run from them. the divided republican caucus blamed for boehner's departure now has to elect a leadership team that's different, a challenging task given that they have to appeal to disparate wings of one party, one more stridently conservative. >> i'm glad president obama reached out yesterday. >> the odds on favorite to become speaker and second in line to the presidency when the elections are held thursday is the current house majority leader, kevin mccarthy of

california. >> it's one of the few standings, but everybody is different. there's a generational difference about us, as well. >> mccarthy has been in congress eight years and majority leader for only one, notoriously affable, he immediately began getting commitments from colleagues after boehner's announcement. tea party conservative daniel webster of florida came in second to boehner among republicans when the speaker election was held this past january, though he only received 12 votes to boehner's 216. some conserve actives see the current majority whip against john price of georgia. bringing leadership experience, he has unsavory with white supremacists. he is loan to be loathe to compromise with democrats, a trade seen as an asset this time

around. sessions is not a tea party favorite, which could pose problems as he competes with patrick mchenry and peter ross come of illinois. other names may surface. for all of the tumult, the leadership will look to take on the same democratic president. the speaker of the house does not even have to be a member of the house, so anything is possible. michael shure, al jazeera, washington. >> who's going to get that big gavel? >> we now break down the political scene. maureen, good morning to you. republicans, they've been struggling with an identity crisis since 2008. is mccarthy viewed at too

establishment, is he took boehner like. >> i think that's the perception among hardliners in the caucus, who are the same people that were critical of boehner's speakership and really drove him out of the position. you know, he was boehner's number two. he is known at being affable, but he also made comments about the benghazi committee, saying it was basically formed to drive down hillary clinton's poll numbers, but have given people pods. a lot of people were looking for an opening to vote for someone else. >> what does this mean for the republicans? is it an embarrassment that the party in the middle of a primary season doesn't know who its leadership in the house will be. >> that complicates things. there are legislative matters to get through. a government shutdown is no longer a possibility, but the debt ceiling has to be raised. there are other pending bills

that are important, the highway transportation bill. it's never good when your party looks unsettled and when it's divided among factions, but, you know, this has played out for a while in the house, but yeah, there's definitely dissatisfaction with the choices right now. >> maureen, let's move on to this other story out this morning. it's reported that the billionaire brothers david and charles koch are considering to donating to carly fiorina's political campaign. would that be a game changer? are the kochs the king makers in the republican party that they are deemed to be. >> they can give a candidate legitimacy. carly fiorina is appealing to establishment republicans now. donors are taking a second look now that she's doing well. the koch brothers were also big fans of scott walker, and it didn't necessarily do him all that much good. he was in the race for not very

long. it's definitely a factor, and carl fire's super pac is pending on behalf of hers and money is definitely an issue. >> i want to talk about to maureen gun control. politicians on both sides have been weighing in. let's listen to the gop front runner donald trump said over the weekend. >> you have to show great vigilance and watch and security and everything else. no matter what you do, you will have problems and that's the way the world goes. >> following along a familiar talking points here, republicans focus really on mental health. the democrats coming up with some gun control proposals and hillary clinton specifically is going to come out with proposals today. what are we expecting from her? >> there's a couple of things that she's proposing, some of them we've sort of heard before, the primary thing is closing the

background check loophole. i think the campaign is expected to say if they can't get that passed through congress and it hasn't been able to pass the senate in the past, that she'd taken action through administrative action. it's, you know, unclear how that would work legally, whether she would have the authority to close background check loopholes by using her presidential authority, and we'll have to see how that shakes out. there's also other things she wants to not -- gun manufacturers right now have immunity, they can't be sued when things like this happen, so, you know, there's four strong proposals she's coming out with today and she's very strong on the issue. >> speaking of clinton, she had an appearance on "saturday night live" this weekend. here's a clip from that. >> i'm just so darn bummed. all anyone wants to talk about is donald trump. >> donald trump? isn't he the one that's like ugh, you're all losers?

do you think he'll win the primaries? >> he must. >> maureen, how important is this appearance on s.n.l., which a lot of people are laughing about, saying it was pretty good. how much is that going to help her in the reset against bernie sand officers. >> i don't know how much it will move her numbers. it's hard to imagine an s.n.l. skit to get people to change their minds. it was extremely entertaining, including the donald trump message that we saw. for people who think she's cold and unlikable, it definitely helps with those kind of things. >> all right. thanks for joining us. >> back on the bench, the supreme court returns with controversial cases on the docket, including voting rights

and affirmative action.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. schools and colleges are closed in south carolina today as the state deals with historic rainfall, and more rain is expected today. some 30,000 homes and businesses are without power. hundreds of people have been rescued from flooded cars and homes. officials have linked seven weather-relied deaths in the carolinas. the search resumes this morning for a missing cargo ship with more than two dozen americans onboard. the el faro disappeared this week. the coast guard spotted a large debris field including life

jackets, life rings and a long ail slick. >> the college campus in oregon will reopen days after nine people died in a campus shooting. grief counselors will be on hand. classes will not resume until later in the week. police are still investigating the gunman's motives. he took his own life after a brief shot youth with police. psychiatrist jonathan netzle joins us. thank you for your time. i don't know if you listened to the sunday morning political shows, but nearly every republican presidential candidate responded to mental health. >> we know that most of these people are mentally deranged, so do we need to do a better job in mental health? you bet we do. do we need to have a better understanding of what the signs are? you bet we do. >> can even a skilled

psychiatrist no whether a person with a mental health issue will resort to violence against himself or others? >> i can understand on one hand the russia to blame mental illness, it seems beyond the bounds of sanity. at the same time, the research that i do really problem ties that link by saying that basically, psychiatrists are not able first of hourly to predict which of the may be patients they see are going to go on to commit some kind of violent act and also the association between mental illness and violence really individualizes the problem. >> what are the effects of viewing mass shootings through the mental health lens then? >> basically what we see in mass shootings is the argument we

just heard from mike huckabee is this is the act of an individual deranged brain. if we could stop this one individual, but it blocks the bigger question of where did this person get their guns, what's the larger cultural context in a way. when people blame mass shootings just on mental illness, on one hand it stigmatizes persons with mental illness and is not a true representation of gun crime in the united states. >> we do see a repeat profile emerging, the shooters have often been white men socially isolated, so what do issues pertain to that, how could they be better addressed? >> first of all, if we were just trying to stop mass shootings, you're absolutely right, there is a particular pro feel that we see very often, those people do suffer from particular symptoms like depression or paranoia, other kinds of symptoms, but the

problem is that mass shootings are very statistically rare in relation to the bigger picture, which is gun crime in the united states. we have between 33 and 35,000 gun death as year in the united states, so that profile doesn't hold true for the bigger picture of gun crime. the other issue is psychiatrists see hundred was people a week who fit a very similar profile, and so very often, psychiatrists will see people who are paranoid, angry, hostile, who fit the same racial and gender demographic. it's impossible to hospital ice every single one of those patients. >> are there dangers and risks of profiling especially talking about children that seem socially different and isolated? is it dangerous to consider them potentially gun mapp or violent? >> if we want to do something to stop gun violence, this mass problem that is infecting our entire society in a particular way, i think what we need to do

is look at other preventative measures that might he hans the mental health system, but also try to prevent other kinds of shootings. i think hillary clinton was exactly right. i think every town u.s.a. is exactly right. what we need to do is close the loopholes that make it easier for people who have guns not to get them. that's not a question of illness, that's a question of society. >> thank you. >> thanks so much. >> today is the first monday in october, and that means the start of a new supreme court term. there are already 48 cases on the docket. al jazeera's lisa stark reports once again, the justice will be ruling on controversial issues. >> last term was a blockbuster from the decision upholding a key part of the affordable care act to the ruling on same-sex marriage. this term's cases may not be so high profile, but will still have a profound impact. >> watch for a number of really big issues, even in same sex

marriage, watch for affirmative action, the future of voting rights. >> watch for the roberts court with last term left now returned to its roots. >> this is a very conservative court. i expect to see continued conservative decisions. >> some of the biggest cases come out of texas including one involving the university and its admissions policy. >> the university of texas has a model problem that uses race as a factor in admissions and there's a real view the conservatives may say you can't use race at all or only in the most limited ways and schools are very concerned about what their student bodies would look like then. >> from texas, a voting rights case, legislative districts now drown up according to total population. the court is asked to decide whether that's fair, whether for example, only registered voters should count. >> if the conservatives were to win this case, the challengers

to the district, then you would have a situation in which urban areas with larger minority populations would lose power. it's quite significant. >> a case involves california teachers and whether non-union members should have to contribute their fair share induce. if the court says no, it could cost public sector unions and the democratic candidates they often support millions of dollars. >> considering a question that has to do very much with hard working americans, continued ability to come together through unions to advocate for better working conditions, and fairer wages. >> the roberts court has been staunchly pro business, and this term, it will rule on a number of cases that could restrict class action lawsuits. the justices will also take up death penalty issues, but nothing that gets at the heart of capital punishment. on the issue of abortion, the court is likely to hear

arguments on a the accident law that puts restrictions on clinics, requiring them to be set up like surgical centers, and to use doctors who can admit patients to nearby hospitals. if upheld, the regulations could force most clinics to close. >> pro choice supporters incredibly nervous at the prospect of this supreme court steppinging, because they know that the court that signaled to the states that they can adopt more restrictions. they are very, very worried, they are hopeful to barely pull out a victory. >> some of the key decisions may come down to one justice, anthony kennedy, at the ideological center of the court and often the link pin of every 5-4 vote. >> lisa stark, al jazeera, washington. >> a palestinians 13-year-old has died and hundreds of others hurt in fight, israeli soldiers today in the west bank. the violence followed an israeli decision to bar non-resident

palestinians from jerusalem's old city. >> an often in palmyra has been destroyed. isil fighters destroyed it on sunday. isil has destroyed several other significant monuments in palmyra and killed the city's lead archeologist. >> russian officials say their jets struck nine isil facilities, but turkey said its jets intercepted russian fighter planes violating the countries air space over the weekend. the pilot called it a navigational error. syrian president bashar al assad said he's getting his country's future on the military helps from russia. >> the russian initiative has to

succeed, or else we're facing a destruction of the entire region, not just one or two countries. we're sure of that. >> last week, the kremlin began airstrikes in syria saying they are targeting isil fighters. the u.s. said it appears russia is targeting other rebels. we have more from the turkey-syria border. >> what russia's means to the direction of the war nobody knows. why now? that's something the senior officer in the free syrian army said he knows for sure. >> russian interference in syria is a sign that assad's army is collapsing. in 2013, hezbollah's leader said we join the war because the free syrian army is getting close to damascus. then in 2014, shia militias entered as hezbollah couldn't protect the regime.

all these forces couldn't protect the regime so now we have russia. >> he says the islamic state of iraq and the levant has no presence here. he left aleppo 10 days ago in charge of a brigade fighting of the go of the. he traveled in and out of syria actively engaged in this war from the very beginning. >> russia considers anyone fighting the regime as their enemy. they didn't come here to fight isil. they are bombing civilians and the free syrian army and other groups who are serving foreign support. >> russia said it has targeted isil but many airstrikes have been in areas around the key province of bashar al assad's stronghold and where russia has its naval base. we speak to a spokesman from idlib. >> the people are scared. when the regime bombs, they can shelter underground, but the russian bombs are stronger than those of the regime.

>> the colonel who has received some u.s. support with light weapons in the past says washington doesn't seem to know what to do. >> america has no clear plan. it has let down the syrian people. it's a very weak administration. they have left it all in russia's hands. they didn't even support their partners on the ground and even the group they trained, they left them to face their fate against the regime and russia's bombs. there's been no reaction. >> he says what keeps him an his men fighting is that they have a just cause, fighting for freedom, dignity and the need to rebuild a resyria for the next generation. at this rate, the question is what will syria look like when that day comes. stephanie decker, al jazeera on the turkey-syrian border. >> for the first time in a decade, baghdad's heavily fortified green zone is now open to the public. it's been off limits to no one credentialed iraqis since u.s. forces moved in to depose sadaam

hussein in 2003. >> following the surprise announcement by the iraqi prime minister al abadi that the green zone would be reopened, it was welcomed by many people here in baghdad, hoping for an easing of the major congestion that we see in the city of 7 million people and perhaps just as importantly, a symbolic shift in the way the city operates. the green zone, of course, is a 10 square kilometer large area, which eats up three big neighborhoods in the heart of the iraqi capitol. it is where large embassies are based. it's where the seat of government is based, and to open that up, really in the views of many people here was symbolic in the sense that it would perhaps mean to this perception or the end of this perception on the disconnect between the rulers here in iraq and the needs on the street. you only have to consider just

what exactly followed the announcement of the prime minister. we tried to access this newly opened section of the green zone. we were told that it was closed for what was described as maintenance purposes, so while the prime minister's promising huge reforms, reforms that people have taken out total streets for months to die hand, it would appear on the ground that very little has changed. >> a new york university student is going home after held in north korea for months. this image shows him entering south korea. the government said he entered the country illegally through the chinese border. in a prepared statement, the 21-year-old praised north korea's government and apologized for his actions. >> there is a new warning this morning about the number of

federal inmates who have escaped in recent years while being transferred out of custody. each year, thousands sent to halfway houses to serve the last months of their sentences. according to the associated press, 240 inmates managed to break free over the past three years. the prisoners are allowed to travel unescorted as part of the pros of rejoining society. several of the escaped inmates committed robberies while on the run. >> san quentin in california is one of the biggest prisons in the country and has now cited a new program to help rehabilitate inmates. those taking part say it gives them hope and a sense of self worth. >> in a world of strict curfews and locked doors and life sentences, this prison campus is a window to a new life. many san quentin inmates are taking college level courses from instructors at top

universities. >> arguments for and against imperialism. >> correction experts say it's a much needed tool against repeated arrests and graduates from this program like james houston say it's a lifeline and a miracle. >> i felt like with all the tools i gained how important education was, taking on life skill classes, becoming leadership in a group there, i felt like i had a purpose, and this became my passion. >> it's this new confidence in himself and his life that houston hopes over students will also gain from this program, a perspective he says will help keep communities safer. tonight, we'll hear more from houston and from inmates currently enrolled in the program, as well as from the woman championing the prills son university project. lisa bernard, al jazeera, can quentin, california. >> you can watch the full report tonight at 8:00 eastern. let's get another check of your

weather and the flooding hitting south carolina. >> even though the rain says going to stop today and tomorrow morning, we're going to open up a whole new set of problems. we have 400 roads and bridges across the region that are closed, so there's a lot of work being done once this area clears up. it's this area of low pressure that is spinning, that's really caused the instability across the region, as well as all the moisture coming in from joaquin earlier. we are looking at wind advisories across the region. a lot of trees sitting in very saturated soil and with that wind, we're going to be seeing trees going down later today. you can see the rain here. i wanting to closer in and show you where we're talking about. for parts of charleston, we may see a break in the rain, most of the heavy rain across colombia, myrtle beach and wilmington. once this area of low pressure moves off the coast, which will be starting tonight, as well as tomorrow, things are going to

start to clear up. we're going to see a few more showers across the coastal areas, but they will be light here on tuesday. wednesday, there is no rain in the forecast, and as we go towards thursday, as well, we are looking at clear conditions. the rest of the week is looking good. we do have to deal with those rivers, but we are going to be seeing major and moderate cresting all the way through the rest of the week, so that's going to be a big problem there. up towards bermuda, the storm system has moved out. we're still looking at a category one storm, but they are seeing tropical storm winds across that region. past this week, things are going to be looking much better. >> kevin, thank you. >> new questions today over the migration of whale sharks into the arabian gulf. every year, they gather near an oil field with that it is uncomfortably warm for the

features. small fish are mistaking the oil rig for a reef. >> a mammoth find in a farm field, the surprising discovery the owner stumbled on to while digging on their property.

>> every saturday night.

>> the obama administration will announce a global program. >> on one river in west virginia known for its large and fast flowing rapids, we report the river is considered one of the most challenging rivers in the world. >> with paddles in hand, they are geared up to face one of the world's wildest rivers. it's particularly ferocious because for six weeks every fall, the flood gates of a nearby dam are opened, sending water gushing down the river. >> it makes the rob pieds really optimal for white water rafting. >> heather and rudy came from the u.k. >> it's just a challenge for us. >> it's the reason we're doing it, for the challenge, the thrill. >> move gently forward.

>> a few minutes ins, the roup pith are evident. the guide shouts out commands. every paddle stroke is critical. they make it out. there's more to come. >> rapids are banked on they are difficulty. there are 14 class four rapids and six class fives, including this one called pillow rock. there's a sheer drop off they say is the 10 most exhilarating seconds of white water rafting anywhere in america. >> it doesn't always go as planned. in the last 10 years, 14 people have died on the river, but some were without a guide. there have been no fatalities the past two seasons. adventures on the negotiable, the biggest of the seven rafting operations here will guide at

least 10,000 people down the river this season alone. they say the guides are the key to safety. >> with every company on this river, these guys are highly trained, they know this river backwards and forwards. they are very adept at reading waters, so when situations change, they can adopt to it. >> for thrill seekers, it's easy to see why they choose the river. it is more than 41 kilometers long, nearly 100 rapids in all. after a couple hours on the river, they take a break and it's all smiles. >> waves splashing your face, hanging on. >> on a river where the only guarantee is that everyone will get wet. al jazeera, on the river in west virginia. >> an amazing find in michigan, it looked like a fence post but turns out to be a window into the is a age. a michigan farmer stumbled on to the fossilize the bones of a

wooly mammoth in a soybean field. >> what we found here is a partial skeleton of a wooly mammoth. it was an adult male probably in its 40's at the time of its death. it probably lived between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago. >> researchers say they found the creatures pelvis, skull and two tusks. artifacts made by humans found next to the skeleton may shed light on when humans arrived in the americas. >> coming up from our newsroom in doha, more on the russian airstrikes in syria. the turkish government said russian jets view late turkish air space. have a great monday morning.

>> the money fell victim to the politics. >> they're more focused on getting jobs than our education.

>> that's what i want to hear. >> give me all you've got. >> now. >> bootcamp... >> stop your whinin'. >> for bad kids. >> if they get a little dirty, so what. >> we have shackles, we have a spit bag. >> they're still having nightmares. >> if you can't straighten out your kids... >> they're mine. >> this is the true definition of tough love.

>> hello from doha, this is the news hour on al jazeera. an agreement is reached on the world i see biggest trade deal covering 12 countries and 650 million people. >> nato members meet after a russian fighter jet flew into turkish air space. the u.s. is deeply concerned. >> the business of people smuggling in turkey.