hello, welcome to al jazeera. i'm david shuster in new york. >> it is time for my republican colleagues to do the logical thing, to do the prudent thing - pass your bill. >> time is running out for congress to agree on a budget deal that would prevent a government shutdown. >> u.n. inspectors will be on the ground in syria to enforce the security council's resolution to rid the country of chemical weapons. >> radio communications are being blamed in part for the deaths in june of more than a dozen elite arizona firefighters.

>> u.n. chemical weapon inspectors are set to start work in syria on tuesday. the u.n. security council voted unanimously on friday on a resolution to secure and destroy syria's chemical weapons. while reaction to approval of the long-debated resolution was greeted with relief in new york. in syria the action has been muted. we go to the turkish-syrian border with more. >> speaking to syrian activists, many express sceptisism about the chemical weapons deal, worried about the regime's compliance and told us it's like the international community procrastinating when dealing with bashar al-assad's regime.

there is significant infrastructure damage and something as basic as watching television is a luxury for many. others express concerns about the fact that this is specifically a weapons' deal that is only concentrated or focused on chemical weapons, and many told us what about conventional weapons, the main tool by which many syrians, 100,000 were killed over the past 2.5 years. a lot of sceptisism and concern from within syria, contrast to the mood of celebration and how the deal was hailed at the united nations and new york. >> iranian president hassan rouhani arrived back in tehran following his appearance at the united nations. the visit was highlighted by a telephone call with president obama, the first communication between the two countries at that level since 1979. while his efforts were met with praise hart liners protested hassan rouhani's -- hardliners

protested hassan rouhani's arrival, chanting death to america. one hurled a shoe in hassan rouhani's direction. >> egypt's government is saying it plans to end a transitional phase of its rule by spring, after holding elections. foreign minister made the announcement earlier today at the united nations. the interim regime has been in control since overthrowing mohamed morsi last july. james bays has the latest. >> what a difference a day makes. a year ago i covered a general assembly, and a vip, a heavy hitter among the world leaders in new york was egypt's president mohamed morsi. now, of course, the man who was egypt's first democraticsly elected leader is behind bars. we heard from the foreign minister that they hoped to return to a democratic path soon. there were protests. this time not in tahir sqare, but off first avenue.

there were two rival camps of protesters, the group nearest to the u.n. were those that backed the military backed government and kept away from the united nations, a larger group, supporting president mohamed morsi. the nypd were there to keep them apart. >> 15 were killed when a second major earthquake rocked south-west pakistan, the 6.8 quake struck in the same region that had been struck this week, killing more than 500. tremors were felt in the balochistan province. authorities fear the death toll could rise. mud and brick houses in the area were already destroyed by the earlier quake. >> the kenyan government is holding eight suspects in connection with the deadly seeg at the westgate mall in -- siege in the westgate mall in nairobi. 67 have been confirmed dead. there's no word on the fate of dozens missing, and no details on those who carried out the

attack. andrew simmonds reports. >> a week later. the government accused of failing to act on a terror report warning of an attack. the army may have botched an attempt to rescue the hostages. unlike these shoppers, most did not come out alive. revelations that the tunnel connecting storm drains may have been used by some or all of the remaining attackers to escape. al jazeera tracked it more than 800m to this point, beyond the security cordon. the government says there's an investigation into whether the collapse of three floors was caused by bombs laid by the attackers or excessive force by the military. but it has not responded to claims that its forces did know about a possible escape route. this was the response to the question. intelligence services warned of

the attack. >> we would not want to talk about the act because of sensitivity intelligence bears on the country. the security situation in the country is good. >> this mp is trying to reassure somalis in the eastern suburbs of the capital that there'll be no recriminations against them. he wants accountability for what has gone wrong. >> what we need to do is dissolve the intelligence system in this country and start afresh. we used to have one of the invest intelligence before - no longer, no more. >> kenyans are united in grief. but in the hero of the attack, saving the lives of children under fire, beliefs that if any of the attackers got away, there'll be no forgiveness. >> if it's established some of the terrorists made it out.

heads have to role. yes. it's as simple as that. that will really, really anger a lot of kenyans to know that these people went and did all the things they did in there, and made it out when the whole place was surrounded. it's ridiculous. i don't want to believe that's the situation. >> so one week on kenya's parliament is an unforgiving place and demands mount tore accountability at the highest level of the security force, intelligence services and upper echa lans of government. where does the buck stop? happy believe with the president himself. >> back in the united states the national security agency is in the headlines. a report by the "new york times" says they have been dipping into social media sites to track user connections. the nsa used massive collection of data to create sophisticated

grafts of connections with citizens, including anything from travelel to facebook time. the times based its report on documents provided by edward snowden. >> two days, five hours and 52 minutes - that's all the time left until a government shutdown. as it stands now, the u.s. congress is giving indications that a government shutdown will happen because the u.s. house of representative's, which is meeting now has decided not to vote on a funding bill that past the u.s. senate yesterday. you are looking at a live picture of the house republicans who control the floor. they decided not to take up the clean budget resolution that passed the u.s. senate. you are looking at a live picture, where members come by to talk about what is going on the floor. the u.s. house of representative's led by republicans there are trying to kill obamacare, so what they'll do is not vote on the measure

that passed the u.s. senate. that measure continues the affordable care act. the house decided in a couple of hours to vote on another alternative that will delay obamacare in exchange for keeping the government going. the problem is the senate leadership said that alterations to the health care law will not be considered in budget legislation. the vote by house republicans means the money will run out for the federal government tuesday and all but essential operations will stop. we have a live report from libby casey on where things are headed in the house and what the strategic thinking will be, later in the show. >> poor communication is largely to blame for the death of 19 firefighters in a wildfires in june, according to a report released. radio problems between the men and report staff failed. an airtanker claiming flame retardant was overhead as the

firefighters died. the men lost their lives on 30 june when a wind shift trapped them in a wall of flames. they did not get the necessary range of communications to help them. >> there is everything that you expect - anger, frustration and an overcoping sense of loss. that is emotional for the families and us. >> again officials say there's no indication the emergency crews themselves were reckless, negligent or violated protocol. the governor expressed her condolences and recommended the investigation team saying:

>> a drastic change in temperatures will happen quickly over the northern plains. the line of showers is the dividing line between the warm and cool air that is moving east, about to move through chicago. the rain should hold off until tonight. once the showers move through, a big drop in temperatures. big change in temperatures over a short area. the cool air is pushing east. 24 hours ago 26 degrees warmer in minneapolis and oma har. to the west of that it warms up. a brief cool-down is happening as the front moves through. on the wider picture a line of showers and few thunder storms in texas is moving through the east. it will impact new england and the north-east as the temperatures warm up ahead of the rain. it will drop. over the west we have a large storm in the pacific. this is bringing a lot of rain to washington and oregon the

wind is picking up as well. there's a lot of high wind warnings in the west. cooler air is moving east. all the latest is coming up with the national forecast a little later. >> looking forward to it. mazda launched a recall. the japanese carr maker says it affects more than 150,000 mid-sized cars in the united states. door latch mounting screws can loosen, meaning the doors could open while the cars are moving. the recall affects 2009 through 2013 mazda 6 cars. mazda says it traced the problem to improper tightening at the factory and uneven door surfaces. coming up on al jazeera america - it was billed as a summit for gang members in hopes of curbing the violence on the streets of chicago. how the plan worked out. and prince charles is under investigation by the british parliament. we'll tell you why the heir to the thrown is under scrutiny.

there is now every indication that the u.s. congress is not going to be able to agree on a budget that will avert a government shutdown starting tuesday. you recall the senate passed a version yesterday. the house, which has been meeting decided to come up with an alternative plan and take it back to the senate, where the leaders say it is not something they'll embrace. libby casey is on capitol hill following this. what exactly is the plan for house republicans tonight? >> well, the house rules committee has been meeting and they are doing a procedural motion here to get this bill on to the floor. democrats on the committee and democrats before the committee testifying are upset about it. republicans have the majority. it will get to the house this evening. david watch for late night votes. the sun will be down before we see this get to the house floor.

they are pushing three important things - it will push back the federal health care law by a year. it will repeal the medical device sales tax. it would fund the government through 15 december, and it would make sure that members of the military are paid even if the government shuts down. the reaction from white house and senate democrats is not good. the senate is unlikely to pass this. senator harry reid leader of the senate democrats said that the american people will not be taken over by tea party anarkists. the white house says president obama will not sign any legislation like this that gets to his desk. there's a lot of finger pointing on capitol hill. >> as far as the strategy by house republicans, is there a theory by passing an alternative version that strips away obamacare, assuming that the senate democrats hold their position, the senate democrats

are blamed for a government shutdown. >> there are three kinds of republicans on capitol hill now. one, those that think yes, the senate democrats and the commander-in-chief who is a democrat will get the blame for a government shutdown. two, those that think the senate and president might cave - and that is unlikely. and the third are okay if the federal government shuts down, these are tea party conservatives, many knew to capitol hill, who were not in office the last time there was a shutdown. the federal government is bloated, it's not doing an efficient job. neutral as concerned with shut -- neutral as concerned with shutting done. >> the elder republicans warn the house republicans you are taking us down a path that can cost republicans the control of the house, what is the reaction of these relatively younger house republicans. do they not believe them or don't care? >> they are saying that

constituents don't like the federal health care law and want to see a fight in congress over the law and are less concerned about funding the government into the future as they are about ideological issues. the last time the government shut down the republicans took more of the political fall out. they got through bad press, worse than bill clinton, who got a boost. it's who will lose politically. some polls coming out showed that the american public would place more blame on the republicans than the president. that's speculation. until we hit monday night at midnight when the federal government would have to go into shutdown mode, you don't know how the public will react. people will have an experience of not renewing a passport. or cancelling a trip to washington d.c., or see a loved one get fur lowed and not get

paid. it's a big question as to who would get the blame if this goes forward. >> it's a question as to whether this takes out some of the pressure regarding the raising the debt ceiling, the next crucial vote that congress will have to deal with. we'll get to that later. thank you so much. appreciate you joining us. >> the british parliament is investigating prince charles for his business and political dealings. members of the british royal family are supposed to remind politically neutral. as lawrence lee reports there are concerns about how the presence of wals uses his billion dollar empire. >> they are packing up from the tourist season in cornwell. in truro there were the signs of the collapse of the high streets. on the edge of town there's a different story much plans have been agreed for a supermarket and housing on the fields - farming land owned by

the duchy of cornwall. the development is worth $60 million to the local economy, creating 200 jobs and will sell local produce to help the farming community. thousands signed a petition against it. >> discussions held on greenfield sites and the need to look after small dairy farmers, the need to plant areas of wild flower meadow - he did it around high grove, his home in gloster shire, and you can't blame him for doing so. we'd like to see the same here. >> much of cornwall has been the property of the duke since the 14th century. the current duke has turned it into a massive business. he owns thousands of properties, coastlines, rivers and beaches. he and the queen will share the profit of gold discovered in the former tin mine. all of these play into the parliamentary inquiry conducted into prince charles power and

influence and there are local and national ramifications. prince charles's empire may be worth over a billion. but cornwell is the poorest county and the prince doesn't pay capital gains tax or corporation tax on profits because it is deemed to be a private enterprise. the future king has a view an architecture, his buildings designed with heritage in mind. the duchy points out a portion of the homes are designed to help poorer local people through affordable housing. the scope prompted criticism that more properties will end up in the possession of wealthy londoners. >> the duchy is to all intents and purposes indistinguishable from a developer. any developer wants to bank land, build houses to make a profit. that is what the duchy is doing. >> if you die without making a will the money doesn't go to the state, it goes to the duchy.

>> it's completely private. you can't ask questions about it, it's not on websites, it's not like council or government spend k. it's under the radar. . >> >> supporters of the prince of wals say his views on environmentalism and sustainability should be a model for the future. many adopted his processes. he acts as an ambassador of cornwall for the world. there is a body of opinion that insists his business empire acts against the interests of local people. >> gun, drugs and gangs add up to a problem in the city of chicago, police gaunted 37 murders in september, and 340 since the start of this year. 87% of victims were male, with an average age of 27.5 years old.

racial lines were part of the results. many death are gang related, leading to soul-searching in chicago as it hosts a peace summit. everyone knows that gang violence is a problem in chicago, what was the turn out like at the summit today? >> obviously the organisers hoped for a large turn out. there were probably 50 or 60 who came. they would have liked to have more. it was a good first effort. dialogue was started about gang violence in chicago. reverend chuck single tonne was on the panel and joins me. a low turn out. but what do you think you accomplished. >> the turn out doesn't bother us. we feel what we started is what is important. jesus started with is it and took over the world. communism started with 33 disiples, and 32 superpowers

were communists in the world. what did we accomplish? >> the things that were important that we accomplished with the discussion was hearing from those parents whose children have been slain. that was just probably the most touching moment for me of all the time we have had together. talking about what some of those solutions were today, and discussing how to address the solution, how to get it done. >> what are the solutions? >> some are economic. many psychological and some spiritual. we feel there's a spiritual problem happening in the community. there's a tremendous deterioration of the family structure, and beginning to rebuild that is a mcrae, not a micro - one child at a time - that's important, but macro in the sense of public policy and changing the way we economically put our money in america to work.

we have done things to churn profits, not enough to create jobs. there needs to be more done to create jobs in this country on the lower class level that is allowed, of course, so rise to middle class and mobilize upper class, if that's what they do in terms of income. >> some of the solution might have to come from washington. >> certainly. a lot of the solution has to come from washington. much of it, what we started with is to find a way to help the young men particularly the young men who are struggling with crime, and with gangs and violence. we think we began to do that. we had a number of old school, ogs there from westside, south side, who talked about how they can help, and having these ogs there is very important. the old gangsters was very important. their testament to the young kids that are struggling right now is going to be a critical

part of addressing the issue. we came to augment groups that are working in chicago not to do it for them, but to say wher here to support you -- we are here to support you, we hear you and feel the pain. >> the first summit today, the first of many to come. >> thank you for that report and interview. we appreciate it. >> michael eaves is here with the sport, including a potentially ground-breaking settlement involving sports video games. >> could change the way college athletes are compensated in the future. video game maker ea sports and col eejance sports licensing agreed to pay $40 million to settle a lawsuit filed by players whose likenesses were used without compensation. the nca was named but the sports governing body was not part of the settlement and is oo defendant in the lawsuit filed four years ago. >> a nn conference

non-conference came in football could disrupt. connor shaw left the game with a right shoulder spring. shaw was taken to the ground. he entered the game having thrown six touchdowns without an interseption. in baseball - multiple reports say the san francisco giants and hunter agreed on a new contract. the 30-year-old out-fielder played every game for the giants and set a career high of 28 home runs. in 20 minutes more sports new, including updates on the major league baseball. >> new educational standard coming up. we'll tell you what is being expected of kids. what the experts say about the requirements. >> we are in miami where volunteers are fanning out to reach 3.5 million uninsured flor

iedians. why the government is warning people to care.

welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm david shuster in new york. here is a look at your headlines at this hour. time is running out for congress to reach a deal that would avoid a government shutdown. the republican-led house of representative's is in session, where lawmakers are trying to pass an alternative to the senate bill that did not touch gunning for the president's healthcare act. >> poor communication is to blame for the deaths of 19 firefighters in june, according to a report produced today. radio problems caused a failure between the men and their support staff. >> in chicago - a new effort to tackle gang violence took place. former gang members sat down with the clergy to talk about solutions. the organizations were hoping for plenty of community participation. the turn out was less than

expected. >> a new educational testing program known as common core is making its way through school districts across the country. more than 45 states adopted the standard. melissa chan examines the impact. >> change is coming to public schools across the country. common core is a program that sets new maths and english standards, but it's not run by the federal government, it's led by state gough ners and education commissioners. whether it is a smarter test or balanced and fair is unfleer. william cheng, father of two wonders. >> in the short term, from what i have seen of the testing i believe there's a learning curve in terms of switching to a new format and the user interface of the testing.

>> california plans on using something called computer-adaptive testing. a student who answers a question correctly receives a more difficult question next, while an incorrect question generates an easier questions. and so on. test makers say this provide more accurate scores, identifying which skills a student has learned. >> the common core standards examine a few key concepts instead of attempting to cover a lot of ground. they focus as much on why and how a student arrives at an answer as the answer itself. >> it's like okay, you know how to do your times tables, why does multiplication work how it does. being able to apply it means going to the store with mum and dad and using it in the real world. >> teachers and school dricts will continue to exercise the freedom of setting classroom

lesson plans. the critics worry the bench marks will mean pressure for some to teach to the text. for many new examines are more difficult. >> we have seen this already play out in new york. they'd implemented new assessments, they have seen test scores drop dramatically >> 45 states have signed on to the common core in a first and historic multistate plan. whatever short-term challenges lie ahead, the states believe the long-term play-off is worth it, by replacing a patch work of standards and tests. >> a boy in seattle rocking an a in literature could be getting a c on his chicago friend's... >> because we are in a transition period, i think it's important to speak specifically to your child's teacher about what it looks like in the classroom, and mobilize i would

ask to see samples of work that are tied to the common core state standard. >> it will be several years before state's know whether they made the right decision - whether new tests or standards improved public education. >> common core is set to be implemented by the 2014, 2015 school year. some school districts are adapting to the standards. let's take a closer look at the program. common core was designed to create a universal set of standards and has been adopted by 45 states in the district of columbia, in yellow. the five that have not adopted it are in red. it defines what every student should understand and be able to do by grade level without dictating curriculum or teaching levels. an example - a first grader

should be able to divide triangles and squares into equal parts and use informal arguments to solve geometric problems including angles of triangles. the other set are for english-language arts. a sixth grader should be able to compare text and contrast different forums or genres. a high school senior should be able to demonstrate knowledge of 18th, 19th and early 20th sent ury works like robinson crusoe, and the great gats by amongst some. sandra was on the committee to validate the standards was one of five members refusing to sign off. you believe the standards were not tough enough, is that right? >> there are many problems with the standards. they are definitely not

rigorous. >> but they are more rigorous than the patch work of standards across the 50 states today, right? >> no, i come from massachusetts, and we had far better standards in massachusetts. >> here in new york, for example, i have a daughter who will be in kindergarten in a couple of years. now they only need to learn how to count to 20. according to the common core standards, a kindergartener need to count to 20 and do so by ten, that's more difficult and better for our children, wouldn't it? >> not necessarily. many childhood educators signed a petition claiming that the early childhood standards are pretentious. they are tougher than they need to be to make it look as if the test is more demanding. there are serious issues that have not been discussed in the open yet. >> one of those serious issues - what are they? . >> one of them is that by high

school the standards are actually weaker than what we would want. the college readiness level doesn't seem to be the copied of college readiness level that will allow american students to go into stem careers - stem - science, technology engineering and mathematics. they are - the problem with the stem pipeline is that the kind of math mattic standards needed for making sure that american students can get into introductory math mattic courses in college for the stem majors - that those courses are there and the standard don't have the right... . >> that's a valid point. what about the concern of colleges supporting this, because they want uniform standard. they want to know a student taught a certain set of maths in oregon has the same preparation

as someone from florida, when they evaluate which student to accept. >> i would say the problem is we haven't heard from college teaching faculty, there has been many claims, but we haven't heard at all from college teaching faculty. most of them have no idea. >> there's a college teaching faculty and a maths expert on t the panel who helped design the course much. >> the math mettish, did not sign off on common core's maths standard. >> is it better to start with something pragmatic. a lot will be agreed that it needs to be adjusted through time. does it need to start somewhere. >> it needs to start in each state with good first-rate standard. common core is frozen into place, and it has equally low expectations for all students.

no higher than maybe algebra ii light. >> it's an interesting discussion. we appreciate your point of view. we'll talk about this throughout the night here an al jazeera america, and we appreciate your discussion. >> thank you. >> enrolment in the health care exchanges is being established as part of obamacare, begins on tuesday as part of our series looking at the new health care law and its implementation. we turn to florida. the state's governor has been an opponent of the affordable care act, the push back so bold that enrol america, a volunteer group, has been banned from educating consumers about options at health departments across the sunshine state. the volunteers are trying to ensure all residents have access to health care, and the focus on his panics. >> >> each breath taken is laboured. each word spoken is an effort. these are two signs of how grave

disease is robbing this 30-year-old of her strength. after a stay in the hospital last year, her doctor told her she needed to take time off from medical school to recover. quit, the school would stop the health coverage, the cost of buying her own policy with an existing condition was too high. >> i had a conversation with my mother, i'd lose my insurance. we said we would pray and make our way. >> no insurance meant she couldn't afford check-ups and the drugs needed. the gamble did not pay off. she got worse. she can't hold down a part-time job. >> you struggle with getting depressed and being tweeted. . >> she's terrified he may be hurt. >> abraham is one of 3.5 million uninsured flor iedians. the volunteers thop make sure they'll have access to health care and focus on his panics. >> one-third of uninsured in the

country are hispanic. there's a lot of work community by community - working with community health centres. with organizations that have a presence in the latino communities. federal workers known as navigators are trying to enrol people in health care plans. governor rick scott sent a letter to congressional leaders. there are safeguards in place to protect personal information handed over to the navigators. as for abraham she sees light at a tunnel that ends 1 january. >> i'm looking forward to getting back to what i love to do. having health insurance will allow me to do that. >> by fulfilling a dream to become a doctor, abraham hopes to cure others. >> so much of the affordable care act depends on where you live and not all states plan to

operate the exchanges the same way. the "wall street journal" shows these states are running their own health care system. the nine states in red will be state and federally run, an overwhelming 27 states opted out entirely saying their health care exchange will be federally run alone. let's look at two extremes. missouri and kentucky. kentucky are promoting connect. they are encouraging uninsured to enrol. missouri's program will be federally run, and state employees are blocked from helping. in other words people who want insurance in missouri will have to enrol online or over the phone without any state help. >> the death toll from the collapse of an apartment building in india is at least 51. rescuers are searching for victims trapped in the rubble of

the 5-store yes building. the death toll is expected to rise. dozens are unaccounted for. rescuers pulled nearly 50 survivors from the caved in building, the third in mumbai in the past six months. >> an unusual string of hornet attacks put 18 people in china. local media reports 500 people have been stung by the insects. as many as 87 patients have been treated at area hospitals. experts say multiple stings can cause serious medical complications and can be fatal. weather changes has been attributed to the high number of hornets this year. >> coming up - america rising from the ashes. more on a texas-size return of a 50 foot tall icon. >> and one of college football's best teams lost its quarter back to an injury.

michael eaves has the update next on sports. attributed to the high number f

attributed to the high number f

a huge symbol of texas pride is back. a year ago big tex, an icon of the texan state fair burnt to the ground. a new and bigger big tex has been unveiled. we see why big tex's return is a big deal. when we last saw big tex an electrical saw in a boot started a fire that burned the icon to a crisp. people mourned. some formed a big tex support group on facebook. a year later at the 2013 state

fair of texas begins, a new big text is born. >> four years ago my son got out of hospital. my father was in his last years of life. everybody was in here in wheelchairs and we made pictures of big tex a couple of years back. it was a memorable time. >> i'm 66 years old. i remember the first year of big text. i was about five and he scared the heck out of me. >> the new big tex is 3 feet taller and 19,000 pounds heavier, allowing him to stand on his own and withstand hurricane force winds. he's fire resistance. let's talk about his face - it hasn't changed too much. most people say they wouldn't have it any other way. >> he looks great, like the old big tex, but a little friendlier. >> i like the way the boots are

coordinated with the shirt. it has the texas theme to it. he looks good. . >> he looks a little more energised, i think. >> why does big tex mean so much to so many? we asked smu marketing professor daniel howard. >> big tex symbolises culturally how a lot of texans look at themselves. big tex also has come to summarise a lot of the emotional experiences that people have had at the fair. >> big tex has been the place to meet friends and family and is the backdrop for the state fair of texas photos. when it was time to design a replacement everyone knew better than to mess with the aura of big tex. >> you can't change big text any more than you can change coca-cola or campbell's tomato soup. you can't do it. >> no hub bub here, mostly harmony now that all is right

with the world - at least this world - the state fair of texas. michael eaves is here with sports. bike weekend for college football. >> they are always big. each game is so crucial for teams chances at a national championship. there's no play-off in the top level of college football. how a team devices its schedule goes a long way to getting a chance to play for the national championship. schedule a week non-conference schedule and risk a low rating, schedule a strong one and face multiple losses. south carolina put its schedule balancing skills to the test hosting central florida. they won 6-2 non-conference games but suffered a loss early in the game when quarterback connor shaw had to leave with a strained right shoulder. he was dragged to the ground on

that play. he would not return and karolina fell behind 10-0 before scoring 28 unanswered points highlighted by three touchdowns. mike davis finished with 167 yard rush-in. they hung on to win 28-25. >> in west virginia the mount ears hosted the game. it may have felt like a setup. his former play maker is the coach of the opposition. the mountaineers started off, took an intercept, returned to a touchdown and on the day the west virginia defense forced three oklahoma state turnovers. the cowboys serving up their first loss, 30-21. >> in tampa - number 15 miami made easy work of south florida scoring on the first three possessions of the game.

steven morse through from 322 yards and two scores. duke johnson scored a touchdown in his eighth consecutive game. the hurricanes winning. >> miami off to its best start in nine years heading to the acc opener against georgia tech. >> now to baseball. after having secured their first winning season and trip to the playoffs since 1992 the pittsburgh pirates set their sites on another goal - hosting their first play-off game in 21 years. all they needed to do was beat the cincinnati reds - the same team hoping to host the wildcard game. cincinnati had no answer to the pirates power display. pitts pushing with six home run, five from bronson. the pirates getting long balls from neil walker. they hit two. the 8-3 win guarantees the

pirates will host the wildcard game against the reds in pittsburg - a good home record this season. >> in the america lead tampa bay tied with the cleveland indians. the rays in tornt and tampa jumping out to a lead. ben archer couldn't keep the blue jas off the base pass. adam ling drove in three runs. the blue jas took down the rays. the texas rangers in the hunt, hosting the angels. a double scored and a bunted run. a los angeles squad committed five errors. the 7-4 victory gave texas a win. we could have a through-way tie depending on the outcome of sunday's games.

some of the world's best talent in baseball originates from cuba. few have been able to display their talents due decade-long policies banning cuban citizens playing sports overseas. after an announcement by the government the ban has been lifted. as anxiety gallagher reports, the transition from the athletes to professional ranks may not be ease yim >> cuba continually produces some of the finest athletes on the planet. over the next few years this star is set to earn over $40 million. for the cuban government meself no sporting icon. he, along with 20 other baseball players, defected to the u.s. a change of policy allows cubans to play for foreign teams is being seen as an attempt to change that. >> this is ultimately about an effort of the cuban political elite to reinvigorate the

country and reinvent themselves as an open more confident socialist country. >> professional athletes in cuba who earnt around $40 will see their wages rise considerably. top baseball players could arnal $200 a month, no match for what they can earn in the u.s. aaron resnick says current u.s. laws don't allow anyone to do business with cuba, making the new policy unclear at best. >> we don't know what it means. does the cuban government own the athlete? does the athlete own himself? is doing business with an agent from cuba or the cuban government mean you are violating the laws of the united states. >> uncertainty remains over what may be an empty political gesture. cuban athletes that play here will be admired. over the years of cuban government denounced the theft of talented athletes that play in the u.s.

relations appear now to have flawed. people can travel freely, send money home and start their own businesses. this latest policy comes with tricky caveats. until it's clear it will work, relations between cuba and the us are frayed at best. >> soccer note - a huge london showdown earlier in the english premier league , chelsea taking on tottenham for the top spot in the epl. the spurs dominated, taking a 1-0 lead. chelsea responded in the second half thanks to a header by john terry, chelsea comes away with a 1-1 tie, both teams with a die. manchester united and city lost. i am sure they are drowning their soros in a pint. >> stay with us, dave warren is next with the rest of our

weekend forecast.

>> i'm dave warren, we are watching a storm in the pacific dumping rain over washington and oregon. the rain is over the ocean, but the wind comes in, dumping the rain over the mountain. the radar is not moving. it will continue. there's wind advisories, flood warnings in effect for washington, oregon and colder temperatures over colorado and wyoming for a frost advisory as a result of a storm that dumps rain over the same area. rainfall predicted over the next 24 hours - heavy, covering washington, oregon and idaho. flooding will continue there. a temperature change happening in the central portion of the country. 83 in chicago. colder air moving in. there's a front and rain with it, through chicago overnight together. temperatures dropping to 72 on sunday. dry and warmer tuesday and

wednesday. a brief cool down. a big storm is moving through. warm air coming up ahead of it, that's where the rain is. showers and thunder storms are coming down. thunder storms in texas and the rain line all the way up through minnesota. we are watching where this is headed. timing will be through chicago overnight tonight. by tomorrow 8 o'clock there's that rain through chicago - it's colder. the rain will continue to move through the midwest. the front falls apart - big problem is the storm developing off the coast, and that will move off the new england coast and bring rain and cooler weather to boston. 69 on sunday. there is the impact from the coastal storm. 65 with steady rain and gusty winds. tuesday, wednesday and thursday the storm is gone. sunshine returns. warmer weather returns. temperatures back into the 70s. that's the forecast. stay here and look at the headlines coming up.

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm david shuster, here are the top stories. >> time is running out for congress to reach a deal to avoid a congress shut done. the house is in session debating a bill. house republicans are determined to use the spending measure to defund the affordable care act. harry reid says the senate will reject an attempt. >> poor communication is largely to blame for the death of 19 arizona firefighters, koording to a report released -- according to a report released today. radio problems failed between the men and support staff. the findings revealed an air