welcome to al jazeera, america. i'm richelle carey, and here are the stories we are following. [ technical difficulties ] shining a spotlight on war crimes and humanitarian aid. climate changes -- [ technical difficulties ] . washington is inching closer to a potential government shutdown, the democratic-lead

senate is expected to pass abfunding bill today, but it does not include republican demands to cut funding for president obama's health care reform law. the two sides have until monday to reach an agreement. libby casey joining us live from capitol hill. >> we're losing the signal a little bit here. >> libby can you hear me. >> reporter: i can hear you now. we're seeing floor speeches now that are all leading up to a series of votes. what we expect to vote from that is a clean bill, that is one that takes out that stripping of obamacare funding. now despite that predicted outcome, it is not stopping some republicans like senator john cornyn of texas from making a last-minute effort.

>> i hope that we have five democrats, perhaps those who hoped 2010, that obamacare would actually work, but in light of subsequent experience will we consider and say maybe we ought to start over again because obamacare has not worked. >> now despite republican unity in that dislike over obamacare, or the health care law, there has been a lot of contention debate about the tactics the gop used and many republicans upset about how senator ted cruz used this spending bill as a way to fight obamacare. >> there seems to be a sense, mr. president, among some members across the aisle here, and certainly among a block of republicans in the house, that shutting down the fed al government is no big deal. well, i suppose if you are of an

arkis mind, then you don't want government. you want to create chaos. you want to create confusion. >> reporter: you can hear there, richelle, he is talking about what republicans in the house might do. because after we see this get through the senate, as expected, it then goes to the house over the weekend, and speaker john boehner is going have his hands full figuring out how to proveed seed. he has got to come up with something, either pass what he gets, which is very unlikely, or some to some new terms which will be very hard to get through the senate. they have to agree in order to avoid this government shutdown on monday night. >> how did it get to this point, libby? >> reporter: it's the republican tactics that said we really want to see obamacare as this issue we're passionate about and we want to bring this up now.

it went farther than i think some in the senate expected, and speaker boehner has a variety version republican group that he has got to try to wrangle and get together. so why it looked like they may be able to come to some terms originally, it has gotten mar fore factious. whenever say that an issue that earn knows needs to pass they can use that as a bargaining chip. >> so congress will in fact be working through the weekend, correct? >> reporter: i think we have lost you, here, richelle, but we'll give you more in the next hour. >> yes, we will. and libby did say they will be working through the weekend. and now an even bigger debate is about to take place.

>> reporter: even if washington has a spending plan in place by tuesday's deadline, the country's fiscal worries are far from open, the next line in the sand is october 17th. that's when jack lew says the government won't have enough money to pay its bills unless congress increases the nation's borrowing limit. and a failure to reach agreement could send shock waves through the financial markets. >> no one knows what could happen. >> reporter: the debt element now stands at $16.7 trillion, that may sound like a lot but the government needs to borrow even more money to keep up with its spending obligations. the u.s. treasury has enacted emergency programs to thing keeps running. >> right now you can't move forward because no one can agree

on the goals. >> reporter: bridging the debt ceiling could make it difficult for the go to pay for social security, medicare, and military bills due in november. also in limbo, payment on u.s. treasuries. >> failure to raise that ceiling like we have at every point over the past 100 years, could because a huge problem. the 2011 debt ceiling crisis where the debt ceiling was not breached is estimated to v cost the federal government $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2011. >> reporter: back then congressman aged to raise the debt level at the 11th hour. that caused a credit downgrade

and sent the market plummeting more than 16 points. >> republicans say they are open to raising the debt limit, but they have several demands . . . iranian president hassan rouhani is scheduled to hold a news conference in new york at this hour. the event has seen a week that has seen a change in tone from iran. it agreed to take part on its nuclear program next month. and rouhani and president obama have called for a change in relations between the two countries. syria's use of chemical weapons and john terrett is following progress on both issues. john what can we expect today? >> reporter: we predicted from the outset this would be a newsies general assembly, and i

have slept through a fair few of these general assemblies in the past, but not this one. this one had really made headlines. i want to tell you about the syria story first, because here is the resolution that the security council passed last night. this is the document that has gone to the hague in holland where it will be reviewed by those who will be responsible of taking away the chemical weapons. we're looking for a vote around 5:00, 6:00, or 7:00 this evening. that's where we are at regarding jair. and the mourn ministers who should have left today, many are hanging around. sergey lavrov for sure is hang around. he wants to be in the russian chair whenever the secure security council signs this into international law. and that could be today or if the it is delaid in the hague, it could be over the weekend.

the other great story is that of course we now have that incredibly historic meeting between secretary of state john kerry and iran's foreign minister zarif. and it must have gone well because they are having another one in a month in geneva. iran is being told it can bring fresh proposals to the table, or can it fall back on the proposals that are already out there put forward by the permanent five members of the security council and germany who is also involved. we had a sound bite from mr. kerry and a sound bite from the iranian foreign minister. extroerd -- extraordinary week.

>> thank you very much, john. thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in egypt day. it came days after a court ban of the activities of the muslim brotherhood. they held up banners and chanted slow gansz. al jazeera correspondents in egypt they the protests have been peaceful. now robert ray has more on the report on the climate sos. >> reporter: nearly a year into president obama's second term his energy policy goes like this, ramp up natural gas, and ramp down coal. and develop an energy plan to reduce pollution from vehicles and power plants. one that obama says will spur the economy and help the world's climate. but his opponents say his energy ideas are too expensive and job destroyers, that obama is

uncompromising especially with his unwillingness to commit to the keystone pipeline. and then there is this -- >> many republicans don't believe that climate change is real. >> reporter: he says politics has derailed much of the president's proposals. according to the administration by 2025 their plan will cut vehicle emissions by 20% nationwide. but -- >> the obama administration has worked to increase fuel efficiency for cars, but that also makes cars more expensive. >> reporter: yet the biggest source of carbon emissions in the u.s. can't be ball gamed on vehicles. electricity production is the culprit. 40% of the carbon pollution in america comes from plants like this one behind me. right now there is no federal regulation that says how much carbon can be released into the

air, and that is what the president is looking to change. >> i'm directing the environmental protection agency to put an end to the limitless dumping of carbon pollution from our power plants. >> reporter: the president bypassed congress completely with that executive order for the epa. the rules require expensive technology to capture carbon dioxide. they are just starting to do that. >> the american people will pay more for their energy the future, and that's just how it is. >> there are too many in the republican party who think the environmental protection agency has no business protecting our environment from carbon pollution. >> reporter: the intergovernmental panel on climate change embraced and

reported that greenhouse gases have hit upper limits, humans are the cause, and it is threatening our plan net. in washington the white house praised the new report as president obama hopes the findings will strengthen his plans to reduce carbon emissions. we'll continue to look at the issue of climate change ahead on al jazeera. two extremes, yet one fate. that's ahead. together unexpected voices closest to the story, invite hard-hitting debate and desenting views and always explore issues relevant to you.

a new report out today says global warming is a people problem. daniel lack is in northern canada where the ice is melting fast, daniel? >> reporter: what we're hearing from this report as we have been saying global warming is

unkwifly caused by humans. the problem up here in the north is it is happening a at a much faster level. perm ma frost is melting an at unprecedented rate, and the arctic ocean is also melting. but the local people up here are finding that there could be potential benefits to a changing climate. beneath the still ice free waters, there are more fish than ever before. a great first catch for peter. green land hag be it are a spearsies they just began to catch in recent years. and now it is helping to build a commercial fishery. >> we went out to test our lines

and also to test new fishing grounds, and i'm glad to say that with the effort of everybody, we did catch quite a bit in a very small amount of time. >> reporter: new machines at the fish processing plant prepare the fish for export to each asia. bigger fishing boats mean dozens of jobs in a place where most are unemployed or work for a government. >> it falls very well into a traditional lifestyle, so if people are able to -- to -- to use some -- some skills that they have always had and an ply them to a job, then that's something that will be of more long-term benefit. >> reporter: projects like this newly built small craft harbor show the authorities here are take the prospect of commercial fishing seriously, but there are

those who warn that looking for opportunity in what is a global climate crisis might be premature. elsewhere off of alaska commercial fishing has been halted until scientists do more research on one of the least underecosystems on the planet. >> i think that's a precautionary approach. when you didn't understand a place you study it before you start exploiting it. >> reporter: but canada has been cutting resources for research, and many want to see these opportunities arise even as they confront the challenges. that's exactly the -- the point. the people up here are the most impacted. they live a marginal existence, they live in towns not so much out on the ice as they used to. but they are seeing fish species

and animal species, caribou, whale, seals, all of the things they used to hunt probably moving away. so climate change is a very real issue. >> daniel thank you so much. just as the tide ebbs and flow, so does the sand. beaches can be at risk of disappearing all along florida's famed coast, communities are fighting beach erosion. natasha how bad is the problem? >> reporter: well, richelle beaches throughout florida are contending with what state officials say is critical sand erosi erosion. these carefully selected pants are one way they are fighting it. this is how the perfect storm of

1991 pounded palm beach. >> the town needed to do something. >> reporter: that something was beach renourishment. it's the process of drudging sand from the ocean floor and strategically replacing it in an area where the beach is receding. these photos show what this stretch of beach looked like prior to nourishment. since the program began in 1995, this is what the same stretch of beach looks like. the total cost, $50 million. >> we have a healthy do you know system and a nice wide beach. >> reporter: here in sarah soto county, locals boast about the white silky sand on their beaches. they say their towns have been using, quote, mother nature to

help mother nature for at least 30 years. you can see how this beach has expanded over a decade. >> with the situation where we're facing the climate change predictions offel -- elevated sea levels, i think we're in for the long haul. >> reporter: the area has required rebuilding of homes and roads, and people are still very worried their beaches won't stand the test of time or the elements. >> we need to get moving quickly, and adopt some sort of definitive plan as opposed to a just wait and see. >> reporter: now they have launched a pilot program. five towns spanning 15 miles of coastline will work together along with environmentalists, to help smooth the regulatory process and find the best new techniques to introduce. officials hope this can approve

their approach. >> the benefit of the approach is all the projects can be looked at as having an influence on an entire cultural system. >> officials have reconfigured where they distribute sand so they don't harm the precious corral reefs. >> beautiful area where you are. let's hope they can maintain it. natasha thank you so much. ♪ i'm meteorologist nicole mitchell i hope you are having a great friday. we have one big weather system we have been watching closely. let's get to that. a few areas of snow left. most of this is rain.

the snow has been in the higher elevations. but this is going to become all rain as it moves along. still a couple of those winter storm watches and warnings out there, though, so be careful. once again those higher elevations is where we have really been seeing this. but the other thing is the temperature device. the temperatures in some cases dropping about 20 degrees. but that will put us back to normal in places like the midwest. temperatures in the 90s and 80s for september into fall. that's pretty spectacular. so this is noing to normalize the temperatures a little bit more. along the frontal boundary, the warm temperatures, the instability of the front, that is going to be enough to possibly pick up stronger storms. it's more likely that this -- and i would say the core of where we could see that weather anywhere from texas up

to nebraska, but there would be high winds and possibly wind damage. you can see the cloud moving into the midwest. and that's going to be the core of where we get the moisture today. this is actually an area that has some dry conditions and some drought conditions, a lot of the rain as this moves along today into tomorrow would be quite beneficial across the region. otherwise the rest of the country very quiet, including up and down the east coast, and a lot of sunshine in the weekend forecast. >> thank you. take a look at some live pictures with iranian president is holding a news conference. iran has agreed to take part in new talks on its nuclear program. that is supposed to happen next week. rouhani and president obama have called in a change in the

relationship between the two nations. we'll keep you updated on the very latest. backlash against a popular pasta companies. and talk of a boycott. faultlines investigates the epidemic of overcrowding in women's prisons. >> the system is setup to do exactly what it's doing - to break people and to keep them broken. on august 20th,

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welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey, here are your headlines. time is running out on a senate vote today on bill that could help prevent government shutdown. the two sides have until monday to reach an agreement. the un security council is expected to vote on the resolution regarding syria's chemical weapons as early as today. but the agreement leaves unanswered questions about how to enforce the order. a panel of scientists unveiled their report on climate change today. they say humans are the cause of

global warming. the barilla pasta company is facing backlash. the ceo said his idea is a quote, traditional family and the lays and lesbians can quote, eat another pasta. the chairman said, quote . . . does microsoft have a ford in its future? it is looking ford ceo to replace their outgoing boss. they say he has become a front

runner. he is credited with helping ford turn around in 2006. jcpenney is getting an infusion of money. it says it will raise almost a billion dollars in a stock sale. that is a concern for investors of course. jcpenneys shares have been taking a big hit. going, going gone. the famed auctioneer's christies held its first sales in china. masterpieces by andy warhol and others went under the hammer in shanghai as china's elite participated in the sale. thanks for watching al jazeera. i'm richelle carey. 101 east is next. and for the latest information you can always go to our website

as well, aljazeera.com. thanks for your time. it was sixty years ago, that a group of explorers made their first tentative steps into the unknown. willingly risking their lives,