good morning, this is al jazeera. these are some of the stories that we are following. a stern warning for residents of colorado thinking about sticking it out - don't. the president signs an emergency declaration for parts of that state. after sealing a deal with russia on syria's chemical wepans, john kerry heads to jerusalem. >> after two years off the tus can coast of giglio island, the "costa cordia" will be raised from the rocks. it's a little bug, but causing

big problems - how the gulf coast is dealing with an invasion of crazy ants. >> we begin in colorado, where it is raining again. president obama signed a federal disaster declaration for boulder county - making funds available for those living in the affected areas immediately. >> 1200 have been rescued by air, boat and land. hundreds have not been heard from in the flood zone, which has grown to an area the size of conneticet. >> many are trapped and stranded. others refuse to leave. it presents a bigger challenge to those working around the

clock, trying to rescue as many people as possible. >> record flooding continued to wipe out colorado communities for a fifth-straight day. with the rain came a warning from rescuers, "leave now or be prepared to endure weeks out electricity or running water." with no relief - rain is expected to pound boulder and jamestown on sunday. this, while rescue workers try to reach the hundreds still unaccounted for. >> there may be further loss of life or injuries. we have to assume that. i hope in pray that is not the case. given the devastation of some of those canyons, it's certainly a high probability. >> search and recovery teams plan to condition pulling survivors from areas of colorado - areas washed away by floodwaters. that is something the state's governor has seen first hand. >> i counted 55, i think, of

chunks of missing highway where a full laneways missing. many more there were slifers. >> drone images offer a glimpse of things that can't be seen from the ground - that includes roads that vanished under piles of mud. tall rigs like this truck struggled in the torent. the rain stopped in some counties, but the devastation is everywhere - like the toppled trains that proved no match for the relentless floods. 15 inches of rain has been dumped on boulder county, an indication of how rare a storm like this has been. >> there's no doubt an epic event - a once in a 500 to 1,000 year storm. >> saturday did offer some good news - dozens of schoolchildren trapped in the floods during a field trip were reunited with

their parents. >> some parts were scary and the trails were basically rivers. >> forecasters expect 4 inches of rain on sunday. that could create more unpredictable challenges for critical aerial operations. >> people are signalling helicopters with lighters and pen lights and flashlights on the end of a key chain. night vision goggles see that. that is how some are getting picked up. >> it could be days before rescue operations are comcomplete, and months before people rebuild their homes. >> we are confirming that a 60-year-old woman died - she's the fifth fatality. >> the bottom line is all eyes are on the skies. i understand that boulder managed to escape the rain for most the day. did it pick back up. >> the rain started 9:00 pm in colorado. the night fall stalled rescue efforts. they are still ongoing. >> what about the evacuation center - how are they holding

up? >> in hard-hit places like boulder the evacuation centres are not at capacity. officials are trying to take measures to mitigate this happening again. the focus now is on saving life. >> kevin has been following the skies now. i guess the question they are asking in colorado is when will the rain stop? >> well, we are not looking for the rain to stop today. we are looking for, as was said before, about another 3-4 inches of rain in some locations. it's not going to be widespread, it will be in localised areas. we've had a break, you can see a few showers. as the morning progresses we expect more rain to fall. we have flash flood warnings in effect now for the rest of the day. believe it or not, in the last seven days we've seen 15 inches of rain or more. we have rivers that are at record levels - they have never been that high before.

unfortunately this is a problem. i want to take you to google earth and show you the topography of the area. we are looking west. here is boulder colorado, here is the front range and this is the boulder creek. what happens is the rain falls, it gets funnelled into the areas and that is where it becomes very intense and then it washes out into this whole area at the foothills. this is not the only location. as you see back here there are other little canyons and raf eens. other communities are affected. watches and warnings that are in effect - dark greens are flash floods and boulder is in that area, as well as towards the western part of colorado. we are looking at new mexico - this area is still seeing a bit of rain. we expect to see - where you see the dark green here, that is where we are expecting between 2-3, possibly four inches of rain in the next 24 hours. the other big story towards

mexico - two tropical systems, one made land fall. this is tropical storm manwel and hurricane ingrid - that will make land fall soon as it makes its way here towards veracruz. we expect to see possibliy up to 20 inches of rain. landslides will be a major problem. we'll keep you up to date. we have seen major flooding here, as well as into parts of guatemala. a major issue. more on this as the day progresses. it will be an ongoing story. >> jim huli has been following the events on the ground in colorado, and joins us by phone. i understand more rain. >> that's what we do not want in colorado. we have had more rain, heavy rain in boulder county where we had the flash flooding and people died here.

we had a fifth person confirmed dead over the past 24 hours - a 60-year-old woman who was washed away by the flash flooding in her home. >> new numbers here. 200 people still missing, unaccounted for in boulder county, to the north in lama county, 350 people unaccounted for. the rescue efforts will go on. some of the towns in the foothills are completely cut off. the heavy rain causing great concern. unfortunately more rain in the forecast for today. >> jim, i understand the numbers of missing in this case can be deceiving as cell phone batteries die and no way to recharge the phones or get in touch with the people. is that the case. >> that's right. there's no electricity, utilities. some of the communities in the foothills... so far the number of people arrested over 24 hours...

>> okay, we are having difficulty hearing jim hooley. he's been updating events, cell phones in that area are not a guarantee. power problems, phone problems, the norm. jim hooley thank you for being with us this morning. >> secretary of state john kerry travelled to jerusalem to brief benyamin netanyahu on chemical weapons and what it means for israel. >> i think it's understandable that the secretary of state kerry should come to brief the israelis. they are america's closest regional ally and were enthusiastic in the initial phase of the crisis - supporting president obama in his idea on

striking back on president assad. when president obama hesitated there was criticism of him in the israeli press, but the israelis promised to help president obama get the vote through the house of congress with the help of their friends. the irony was not lost on some people over that issue. but they'll be anxious to hear from the secretary of state what the details are of this deal, and how it might affect israel itself. it is assumed that israel has its own stockpile of chemical weapons. the russians have been blunt about saying, "well, if we get the syrians to sign up to the deal, why should be an leave the israelis as an exception in this case?", in the papers there's an illusion to the nervousness about perhaps for once the israelise will come under american pressure to join the

process. >> john kerry is trying to get the israelis and palestinians around the table. they have been meeting officials from both sides. it's not sure what they were talking b there has been leaks from palestinians saying things are not going well. we'll see if secretary kerry is here to encourage the parties or bang heads together. it is also on sunday's agenda. >> al jazeera simon mcgregor joining us from jerusalem. >> president obama welcoming the chemical weapons agreement, releasing a statement praising the deal saying:

>> the u.s. warned they were ready to act if it fail. some critics expressed concern. we have more on the fallout. >> president obama called secretary kerry in geneva to congradualate him on the diplomatic breakthrough. the president issued a written statement in which he welcomed the developments, but also warned if diplomacy fails the united states remains prepared to act. those words reinforced by a statement from the pentagon saying that the u.s. force in the region is unchanged at this point in time. there has been mixed reaction from capitol hill, some democratic leaders reacting positively to the agreement but two republican senators, john mccain and lindsay graham are blasting it, saying it's an act of provocative weakness

emboldening iran in its quest for nuclear weapons, and say vladimir putin and bashar al-assad are leading the u.s. down a blind alley and bashar al-assad will delay and deceive. they maintain that the agreement does nothing to address the problem of the conflict in syria costing more than 100,000 lives and creating a huge refugee problem. >> a developing story coming out of afghanistan - dozens killed after a mine collapse >> despite a cease fire, a fight between philippines. >> crews are getting ready to raise the "costa cordia" off the

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>> 26 workers are dead after a coal mine collapsed in afghanistan. another 20 miners were injured and rescue workers say they have

freed all those who were trapped. jane ferguson is live in kabul with details on the rescue operation. what is the latest? >> well, the death toll remains at 27, like you said, and casualties at around 20 injured. it's not believed at this point that anyone else is trapped inside the mine. both the ministry of mines and petroleum and the presidential palace - the president himself, hamid karzai, have come out with statements saying that this incident is over, but will be fully investigated. of course, they have passed on their condollances and shock at the incident. the incident happened at about 2:00 pm yesterday, but was in such a rural area that information coming out of there was slow. it's an area called r urks. >> duab. it's in the north of county,

250km north of kabul. it is well-known as a mining area and such incidences in that province and neighbouring provinces happened before. this is likely to have been an accident. we heard that the mine had collapsed, but nobody is ruling out whether or not there was foul play from either part of the conflict here. given the history of mine collapses it's likely to have been an accident. some of the mines are mined informally. this was owned and run by the government. workers killed and injured were government employees. often these accidents happen because safety standard can be low. >> when you say safety standard can be low, can you describe the differences between safety standards in the u.s. and kabul? is it something where they take a risk every time they go under ground? >> it is very risky for anybody

working in mines anywhere in the world. in places like this, where the industry has not really been developed or modernised in the way that had been hoped here, it is, of course, all the more risky. things like collapses - there are explosives at work, gas, dust, a huge amount of hazards that workers face every day. people in this country really are looking for employed. the economy here is a huge issue, especially as security deteriorates ahead of 2014, and so anybody looking for work will take work in mines, but it is extremely dangerous for them. now, of course, there were high hopes for years surrounding afghanistan's potential mining industry. some experts put the figure at one trillion of a potential value for the mine - mining potential in this country, saying that basically minerals under the earth here could be worth that much. that could allow afghanistan a

greater degree of economic freedom, and independence in the future. there has been a lot of push around that issue, trying to get this industry developed into a much safer, much more sophisticated industry that helps the workers as well as the people from those communities. that has not happened lately because of corruption, security issues, and a wealth of issues surrounding it. essentially the mines themselves at the moment are rudimentary, and the security and the safety standard in them remain so as well. >> jane ferguson joining us live from kabul afghanistan. >> soldiers in the southern philippines are pushing deep into rebel-held territory trying to stop a 6-day standoff. 50 have been killed and thous vacuated from the city of zamboagna. we have more on the conflict. >> there seems to be no signs, but the clashes between the

philippine government and the moro fighters will be resolved soon. un observers are questioning whether the philippine military are in control. the number of hostages is undetermined, and so, too, the number of people believed to be hold up in suburban villages in zamboagna. the number of evacuees has been put at 70,000 - 10% of the city's population. the mlf implements the philippine government implement the peace agreement signed earlier. is it proposing peace talks with the moro liberation front, and say they are not concludesive not representing the people. >> nine years after the 2004 tsunami international aid helped

indonesia rebound strongly. more than 100,000 homes have been rebuilt and some of the infrastructure is said to be the best in asia. after that $7 billion was spent - still no early warning system. >> bustling like never before, it's hard to imagine that it looked like this nine years ago. >> roads are the best in indonesia - built with money from the united states, japan and many other countries. due to a lack of economic progress dear dear they are mostly empty. >> before the road was a lot smaller and broken. now i can drive from malabo in 3-4 hours. before it was more than five hours. >> nearly 140,000 houses were rebuilt. 1800 schools, 300 bridges, hundreds of kilometres of roads and hospitals - paid for with

$7.2 billion of u.s. dollars donated by more than 50 countries. the agency came up with a system to track the cash. >> i believe we have reached around 120,000 houses in which every house would put the website with its gps coordinate with the name of contractors, with the value, and also the house. wherever a building takes place, if you want to know where the money was spent - they open the website. >> the success story is an example to the rest of the world. information gathered during a difficult time is shared by others. nine years after one of the worst national disasters in modern history, some lessons learnt then appear not to have been heeded.

>> rosita lost her three children, her entire village wiped out. her house has been rebuilt and she works as a community leader to set up a tsunami warning system. after an earthquake there is chaos because people panic - including herself. >> translation: i'm very afraid of the sea. i'm very scared, especially when we have the strong winds and high waves. i still remember what happened in 2004 so clearly. >> the government is working to improve the tsunami warning system around the country. >> this type of panic can be avoided by improving the system and also creating some escape facilities where people can go to higher ground. people are running away from the coast, the structures elevated,

public facilities like schools. >> trying to prevent loss of life in the future is one of the most important lessons learnt from the 2004 disaster. of course, now houses, schools and roads will never replace all those loved ones lost in the way. >> quebec's government wants to ban public employees from wearing religious symbols. the measure was un-vailed this week - playing to police officers, teachers and others. the government said it would promote a secular society. hundreds came out in protest. >> leader are wanting to put an end to politics of division.

muslim, sikh and jewish communities took part. others with no religious beliefs took place . >> one of america's great lakes is being strangled by a toxic algae. it's having an affect on the tourist industry. >> this lake is choking. an underwater forest of toxic algae is suffocating the lake. >> it's out of control. little is being done. it's toxic no animals - fish, et cetera, will avoid it. it's like a gooey green slime. without much benefit to the natural system. so it is totally disgusting.

>> fertiliser from north america's richest farmland - washed into the water by spring rains - overfed the algae. it blooms in summer, sucking up oxygen, the green bohemeth is growing. >> you see it on the beaches. it's a foot deep of algae, you didn't see it before. you see a little layer, but now it is thicker and thicker and more seaweedy like. this is the best vantage point. from 1500 feet you see algae covered a sixth of lake eerie. biologists say this year is the second worst. >> formers tried to reduce run off. testers say the problem is worse and solutions more elusive.

>> i don't think you'll get rid of it 1 huz% -- 100% completely. >> eerie suffered before, it was nicknamed the dead sea. a multibillion clean up problem saved the lake. this time biologists say there's no obvious solution. bit by bit a growing expanse of green strangles the like that is its home. >> the president declares parts of colorado a disaster area. and the national guard warning residents in the flood zone to get out. plus, discussing the deal - secretary kerry arrived in israel to brief the prime minister there on the agreement over syria's chemical weapons. i'm john henry smith. a boxing star with a loss in

vegas. find out if floyd mayweather met his match - ahead in sports.

>> welcome back. these are the stories that we are following. colorado - it is raining again. rain falling much of the fight and expected to continue through the late afternoon. in the past day the flood zone extended to the rocky mountains and has grown to the size of conneticut. a fifth person is dead after her house washed away. a stern warning has been issued to those in the flood zone - get out now or face the possibility of being trapped for weeks without water or electricity. 1200 have been rescued by air,

boat and land. hundreds have not been heard from since. the governor toured the flood zone in an air national helicopter declared 14 counties disaster zones. jim hooley has more. >> across colorado communities have been inundated. many are missing. many residents have had no access to clean water or power for days. emergency crews say the damage is worse because the fast flow of water has surged down the rocky mountains much. >> many communities are isolated. there's no road access, no telephone information, no power, no water, to septic, no sewer. >> the area lies near the meeting point of two rivers. days of flash flood make it resemble an inland sea. tales of deslation abound everywhere. >> it's just all gone.

>> jeremy barnes just got out with his family when his house washed away. >> by the time i got in the car, water came up to the doors. we couldn't get out of the driveway. that's the car. >> this flooding is the worst to hit colorado for more than 30 years and prompted president obama to approve a federal disaster assistance request - releasing funds to help with some efforts. >> the forecast is creating concern, calling for more heavy rain, making rushing waters behind me worse. >> for the latest on the rains, we turn to kevin. >> that's right. well, if you take into account what flash flooding is, it's one of the most dangerous, if not the most dangerous, and deadly weather aspect. we are talking about we have lightening and affects from hurricanes - but flash flooding

is the deadliest. we have a break from the rain, but the thunder storms are building, and we expect between 2-3 and some locations 4 inches of rain. they had said get out, because flash flooding warnings are in effect. when they say get out, you have to get out. boulder colorado is in a flash flood watch now. we expect it to last today and into tomorrow as well. we'll keep you informed. down towards new mexico we look at similar conditions - not to the extent of colorado, but flash flood washes are in effect. up to the north-east temperatures are cooler than yesterday. new york city is 51, it was 54 yesterday. we expect to see more sun. light, thin clouds are pushing through, not bringing rain to the area. highs across the region, warmer than it was yesterday. boston - you'll be a bit colder.

we are expecting 55 degrees there. to albany - 71. toronto 56. >> 55 in boston. secretary of state john kerry is in israel. he is meeting with prime minister benyamin netanyahu. kerry is updating him on the deal over syria chemical weapons. they are talking with russia about syria agreeing to remove the chemical weapons. >> we go to an executive director of the truman national security project, mr breen. thank you for being with us. >> good morning were washington. >> the syrian rebels call this agreement a betrayal, and bashar al-assad is getting away with murder by killing his own people with chemical weapons - are they right? >> i think time will tell, the united states has two different objectives. they've been clear about this.

the first is no further use of chemical weapons. the second is a peaceful end to the can conflict and bashar al-assad must go. first, will this help to get weapons off the battlefield. second, is this a second along the way to a peaceful solution in the conflict involving assad stepping down. we are hopeful to get to the second peace. we have a long way to go. the agreement is off the books. implementation is difficult at best. we'll see if this agreement brings us further to lasting peace. >> critics are focussing on 14-00 people who died from chemical weapons, and the world is ignoring the 100,000 that have decide and 2 million that are displaced. what happens when the bombs fall again and those images flood the screens. >> that's the question the i firmly believe that the price of

peace cannot be the syrian people. in other words, this agreement has to be part of a large framework to end a horrible conflict in the region. we have to focus on getting assad out of power, and because evidence shows that when civil wars ended at the negotiating table peace lasts longer. we want this to the negotiating table. that has to be the goal. chemical weapons have a horror of their own. there is truth to that. whether you are killed by sarin gas or a bullet - you are still dead. we have to focus on ending the suffering of the syrian people and looking at the 6.5 displaced. >> you mentioned the fact that killing is killing and for people 23 and younger, they don't believe the last time chemical weapons were used on a massive scale. explain why the international community draws the line between casualtyies from chemical and conventional weapons. >> it's interesting you mention

the dynamic 23 years - thank god for that. a soldier with a rife can shoot another soldier an enemy. or he can choose to kill a child. chemical weapons are called weapons of mass destruction because they seep into every crevice in a council and kill everyone, it's not a - so there's a reason the world looks at biological weapons, spreading disease. these are the definition of indiscriminate slaughter. >> michael breen is the executive director at the truman national security project. >> syrians are headed to israel seeking medical help. they are brought across the

front lines at gollan, into israel. >> how do the syrians cross the border? >> well, that is the big question, one that the israeli army, not surprising given their history for secrecy is reluctant to tell us. we spoke to the red cross. they have a big presence. we spoke to the un. there is, as you may remember, a caes fire line with a security fence. there are open things in the fence monitored by a social unforce. we think at some point in the last few months some degree of coordination with people on the other side inside syria to try and get the very worst wounded cases across that fence has come in to being - whether it involves the army going in to pick them up, we can only speculate. the number reached 200.

they are the worst of the wounded, clearly unable to get the treatment they need in syria. the israelis have been accused of trying to gain points. we went to see the process for ourselves. it was clear, i think, to all of us that it was a case of doctors doing what doctors do, regardless of the nationality of the wounded. >> this is a case in the international community when... >> the army brings them to a hospital 40km from syrian territory. most are too body hurt to know where they are. 96 syrians have been treated in the northern israeli city this year. the army won't say how or where their journey starts. in recent months many children have been brought here. this boy is 15. we cannot show his face. one day he may return to syria. he has a head wound and shrapnel

to the stomach. he is not fully conscious. they don't know his name. his pain is obvious. >> some people say why we do it. few people could say something like this. when you see the kids and the people are innocent. they are ipp jurd, i think that it doesn't make sense where they come from. >> some patients are men of fighting age. no questions are asked. this man came with bullet wound and has had 10 operations - his case is touch and go. the doctors will admit this is an unusual situation. they don't know how their patients get here, they don't know where they come from. after weeks or months of intensive medical treatment, they have no idea where they go to next. some syrians are shocked to learn nthey are in israel but most are happy to receive

treatment. trust grows slowly. >> how are they treating you this officer asks, "good". >> this is a referral stained with blood. many patients will need years of treatment. doctors saved this girl's leg. she'll need more surgeries. they don't know if she'll get them when she leaves. >> there's no talk of allowing her to stay. this hospital has spent $1.5 million from its own budget so far. staff donate everything from toothbrushes to clothes. when their syrian patients are well enough, the israeli army takes them. they won't tell us where. a brief stay when all that mattered was making them better, and an uncertain future begins. >> and, dale, the big question is where do they go - straight back across the border into syria, do they go to refugee

camps in jordan - that's something the doctors who treated the people, brought them back to life if you will, don't know. their big concern is having spent so much time and effort lavishing the extraordinary expertise on the people, the little girl in the bed with the shattered leg - she'll need years of surgery to get her leg back to fully functioning order. they don't know that the patients will get what they need. >> war knows no boundaries. thank you very much. >> in italy final preparations are underway to raise the "costa cordia" crews liner. on monday a team of engineers will try a complicated manoeuvre to roll over the 100,000 tonne vessel. the operates could take 12 hours and cost $800 million. charlie angela joins us from giglio island. what are they going to do?

>> well, right now they are doing the final checks on the cables that will be used in that pulling of the ship, and their testing the tension that it's going to be. it will be an immense pressure. i'll step out so you can see the ship clearly. you'll see the red hydraulic jacks and attached are the cables. they'll do the pulling to bring it upright. you see boxes, looking like storage containers. they'll be filled with water, and that weight will help with the motion. as you said, it's a very complex operation. it's called par buckling in the industry and has been done before - but never on this scale. this cruise ship is 300m long, about the length of three football fields. the pressure, the tension - it's going to be immense. it's all going to depend on the weather. we'll find out in the next couple of hours if it will go

ahead at dawn on monday. >> we have been hearing for months that if this does not work the ship could slide into the mediterranean. is there a plan b? >> there is no plan b. the salvage experts say this has to work. they get one chance at this. once they start the operation, the 12-hour operation, they cannot stop, even if things look like they could be going wrong. a concern is the ship has been rusting in the waters, and the hull is very fragile. the tension could cause it to break up. within the cruise ship are the luggage of the 4,000 passengers, the food that was meant to feed them for a week, including 40 tonnes of meat and fish. some would have been eaten by the fish. the rest will be rotten. if that leaks out into the pristine waters on the island where people are having their holiday, it could be an

environmental disaster. the salvage experts say they have taken measures to prevent that and the top priority is recovering two of the victims whose bodies were never found. it's believed they could be pinned under the ship. for loved one, the next few days could bring some answers. >> charlie angela joining us from giglio island. >> it was fight night in las vegas. another chance to knock off the money man. john henry smith tells us about it. he's a bombbastic figure, and he's making a name as the pound for pound fighter, floyd mayweather took on saul canelo alvarez. it should have been called the clinic. that's what floyd mayweather put on at the expense of his young opponent.

floyd mayweather landed 273 compared to 117 for saul canelo alvarez. jabs 139 to 44. saul canelo alvarez stuck it out. floyd mayweather was undefeated by establishing what most observers and judges considered an overwhelming 12 round decision. one judge scored it a draw, something floyd mayweather struggled to understand. >> i thought it was a joke. i was kind of jockshocked. i'm not the judge. my job was to fight. i wanted a knockout. me and saul canelo alvarez bumped arms, i kind of hurt my elbow i stopped using my jab. being a true champion, i had to continue to use the jab and i came out victorious.

>> round 2 of action: the chalmers take on the offensive philadelphia. two markee matches. the battle of the manning brothers. and the 49ers take the team. two teams with a lot of bad blue. when the gints host the broncos, it will be the first time both opposing quarterbacks are coming off 400 passing games. what makes the state more impressive are the two quarter backs are the manning. >> there's 1496 players on nfl active rosters, 32 are starting quarter back, and two are named manning, peyton and eli. >> it is rare, i don't know how

it happened. i don't think my parents know what happened. i'm blessed, i pay the sport. >> sunday will mark the third time that the manning brothers will face off. the two previous meetings saw peyton victorious, when he was with the kolts. after throwing 7 touch downs with the ravens, the 37-year-old quarter back of the broncos seem poised to make it three in a row. >> this will be the third, possibly the last. you do take a moment and then you kind of capture it and hold on to it. i have a moment from the 2006 game and 2010 game. but that's one moment and the rest of the time you go out doing your job as a quarter back to help your team win. >> you see the big brother there on the sideline. those moments are the things you remember and will for a long time. hopefully when i think back on the games we played against opposing teams and my brother, i

can think back and remember a win. >> thanks to a 5-year age difference eli played in the shadow of his brother virtually his entire life. even though he leads the family in super bowl victories, 2-1, his success will be measured against his brother. >> i don't think he's worried about his brother, i think he focuses on his own craft. he understands the competition with his brother and probably is facing it his own lich. he's hope to be his own person. >> he's been a consistent player. he's gotten better. his goal is to be better each year than you were the year beforement he had the same head coach and offence coordinator. players, receives, running backs and he's a player that can adjust to playing with different

guys and still have success. that's a sign of a good player. >> that report by michael eaves. >> jim furyk's fine week continues after shooting a 59 on friday, going into the final round action today on top of the leader board at the bmw championship over a stroke over steve stricker. that's the sport. >> green bay or the redskins - take your pick? >> green bay. sorry to disappoint you. i know you are a skins fan. >> i'm not going to say anything. thanks a lot. >> still ahead - it's anent invasion - not just any ant we are talking crazy ants. plus - back at the tracks, the texias roller-coaster running after a woman fell to her death - but with now safety precautions this

>> six flags reopened the texas giant roller-coaster months after a rider fell some 75 feet to her death. riders wanted more. they waited at the north texas amusement park to board the coaster. it was refitted with safeguards

and restraint guards and seat belts. in july a 52-year-old was killed after she was ejected from her seat mid ride. her family filed a lawsuit. people whole live on the u.s. gulf coast from texas to florida are experiencing an invasion of ants that can turn a backyard into a nightmare zone. we are reporting from louisiana - the craziant is making people crazy. >> this is the latest pest problem. they are called crazy ant or taunyant or raspberry ants for the pest control operator who found the species in houston. they travel in a cluster and move in an erratic cluster. >> they crawl in everywhere. >> lloyd moved her company to a new office two weeks ago to get away from the ants. these fast-travelling insects

followed her across the seat. jerry howard at the university of new orlanes says the -- new orleans says the ants came by ship. >> they have hundreds of thousands of workers. difficult to get on a single colony to kill it. >> the ants establish not an above ground mound, but hidden underground. the raspberry craysy ant is at the infestation level in louisiana all the way to the florida pan handle. pest management experts say it will get worse. ed. >> we have to be careful where we park. >> louisiana expert has been battling the raspberry crazy ants and saw them take over homes and businesses. >> we walked in. it was from the floor, the walls, the ceiling - everything.

>> the ants are annoying, but they don't sting and are harmless to humans. however, they prey on other insects. >> one of the things that people are noticing is that when raspberry crazy ants move into an area they consume so much food that fireant colonies starve. the ants can have a devastating effect on bees. while the environmental impact is a concern, he tells people to use liquid insecticide on the perimeter of homes and not to panic. wait until they head to your neighbours house. nobody wants to hear something like that. but unfortunately, these ants are going to be with us for a while. >> there is no real solution to the problem at this time. winter should at least slow down the raspberry crazy ant. >> more than 40,000 federal

employees expecting direct depost pay checks on friday did not get them. government officials say it's because of a pay roll area, officials telling the employees not to worry, they'll get their money by tuesday, but on a less optimistic note the government is not authorised to pay for bad check charges the employees might incur. at the end of the first hour here is what we are following - disaster declared. president obama signs an emergency declaration getting federal relief funds flowing into colorado. discussing the deal, secretary of state john kerry meeting with israel's benyamin netanyahu updating him over the agreement on chemical weapons, and salvaging the ship - a massive undertaking off the italian coast as crews prepare to move the "costa cordia." i'm john henry smith - the big fight lived up to the hype - not

the one in vegas, but one in college. >> and the flash flooding is not over in colorado. all the details coming up in the next hour - as well as not one, but two storms affecting mexico. all that when i see you next. >> al jazeera continues. we are back in 2.5 minutes. if you can't wait - check us out 24 hours a day on the website where we follow the developments in colorado and the developments taking place overseas with secretary of state john kerry meeting in israel to determine the situation in syria as the situation unfolds. i'm del walters coming to you live from new york. more news straight ahead.

new orleans

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>> >> good morning. these are some of the stories we are following at this hour. after reaching a deal on syria's chemical weapons, secretary of state john kerry makes his way to jerusalem to brief israeli prime minister benyamin netanyahu. more help headed to colorado where president obama declares a disaster for the flooded area. the national guard warns people to get out before it's too late. >> i'm reporting from the philippines, jamela alingogan, where government forces continue to battle it out with the