>> it is now midnight and the great government of the united states is now closed. >> the senate and house fail to come to an agreement and now both sides are playing the blame game for the government shutdown. >> then stand with your country. stand for your country, or do you want to take it down? >> we sent a request to the united states senate to simply treat all americans equally under obamacare. >> this is ridiculous. >> i think it's a disgrace. >> this is nuts. >> this is a very sad day for our country. >> we are back to square one. ♪ theme

>> this is aljazeera america and i'm morgan radford. for the first time in 17 years, the u.s. government is closed for business this morning. the clock that just yesterday counted down to a midnight deadline is now counting up, tallying the number of hours the government has been shut. so far, seven hours and still counting. republicans in the house and democrats in the senate couldn't agree on a temporary budget to keep thins running. they're not expected back on the hill until a few hours from now. federal agencies have already started shutting down. harry reid placed the blame squarely on the tea party's shoulderrers. >> it is embarrassing that these people, who are elected to represent the country are representing the tea party, the anarchists of the country and that the majority of the republicans of house are

following every step of the way. this is an unnecessary blow to america. >> earlier on monday night, president obama called the hundred speaker of the house john boehner to ask him to pass a spending bill without undermining the affordable care act. the health care law has been a main sticking point to republicans. >> we believe that we should fund the government and we think there ought to be basic fairness for all americans under obamacare. the senate has continued to reject our offers. under the constitution, there's a way to resolve this process, go to conference and talk through your differences. >> now, there are also new polls that suggest more americans are none too pleased with the way congress is handling the budget impasse. a poll finds 63% of the american

public disapprove of the way the republicans in congress have handled budget talks. the democrats aren't doing much better. 56% disapprove of the way they've handled things. meanwhile, half of americans disapprove of president obama's performance on the issue. >> a separate pollices conducted just before the shutdown found that 69% of americans think republicans in congress have acted like spoiled children in this debate over the federal budget. 58% put that same label on democrats and congress, while only 47% think that way about president obama. >> the federal shutdown is impacting millions of federal workers this morning, and will affect almost every sungle american in ways big and small. aljazeera has that part of the story. >> >> late into the night, the finger pointing and accusations never stopped. republicans and dems blaming each other for the impasse. the clock struck midnight and still no deal in sight.

>> mr. speaker, it is now midnight and the great government of the united states is know closed. >> neither party moved off their positions. democrats refusing to talk to the opposition and republicans, despite efforts by mod receipts to pass a so-called clean funding bill holding firm. >> unfortunately, congress has not fulfilled its responsibility. it's failed to pass a budget. as a result, much of our government must now shut down until congress funds it again. >> the ill will and political rancor the result of a republican effort to use the if you didn'ting bill to defund or delay the affordable care act. >> the house that done its work. we passed a bill on saturday night, sent it to the united states nat that would delay obamacare for one year, and will eliminate permanently the medical device tax that is costing us tens of thousands of jobs. they're being shipped overseas. >> but the health care law is

virtually unaffected by the game of ping pong. millions are now eligible today to sign up for health insurance. >> i would hope they would understand within their power, anytime, all they have to do is accept what we already passed. all this stuff they keep sending over here, you are so fixated on embarrassing our president, the president of the united states. >> the u.s. government has been down you this grid lock before, since 1977 there have been 17 government shutdowns, the last in 1995 during the clinton administration was the longest, lasting for 21 days. >> our randall pinkton is live in washington this morning. randall, americans are waking up this morning to a government shutdown, who are they going to blame the most? >> well, as your poll just indicated, they are going to blame both parties, president obama and congress will be taking a hilt as the latest polls indicate. most of the blame will probably

be focused on republicans, but president obama's approval ratedding is hovering in the 40's, not good for him, not good for congress and obviously not good for all of the federal workers who won't be getting paid. >> we also know congress is going to pick up the ball again later today. can we expect any real movement today for is this likely to drive on for a while. >> what we haven't heard is behind the scenes talks, where the leaders are coming together to knock heads and maybe come to some kind of an agreement. we do expect senate majority harry reid to call a session. the question mark is whether senator reid will now accept speaker boehner's late offer to have a conference committee. we'll see what happens from there. >> help us understand the big picture for a minute. congress using budgets deadlines to push for concessions on other

issues is now becoming pretty standard practice, so are we going to see this again in just a few weeks to for example raise the debt ceiling? >> well, just for some historical context, this is not the first time this has happened. it hasn't happened in a long time. during the administration of president jimmy carter, who was a democratic, both housings of congress controlled by democrats, there are three or four times there was a shut down when the democrats couldn't agree. we've seen this bro, although maybe not recently. yes, come the middle of the month, when the nation hits the dealt ceiling, there is a good likelihood we will see this act repeated. unfortunately, the stakes will be much higher, not only financial repercussions here at home, but possibly around the world, if the u.s. doesn't honor its debts. >> the federal government is impacting millions of federal workers this morning, and will affect almost every single american in ways big and small.

aljazeera has that part of the story. good morning,er extra. >> good morning, morgan. starting today, 800,000 federal workers will be staying home from work. another 1 million employees will be asked to work without pay. social security payments will go out on time. doctors apartment hospitals will still get paid by medicare and medicaid. the mail will still be delivered. the f.b.i., border patrol and coast guard will stay on the job. everyone in the armed forces will remain on duty. late monday, president obama recorded a video message to members of the military, insuring them they will be paid without delay. >> the threats to our national security have not changed, and we need you to be ready for any contingency. ongoing military operations, like our efforts in afghanistan will continue.

if you're serving in harm's way, we're going to make sure you have what you need to oh succeed in your missions. congress has passed, and i'm signing into law legislation to make sure you get your paychecks on time. >> that is not the case for the hundreds of thousands who won't be showing up at work today. like the folks who work at national parks, monuments and museums. that includes places like the statue of liberty and national monuments, they're all closed. when it comes to government backed loans, delays should be expected. thousands of government inspectors will stay home, as well with that ranging from food inspectors to those who work on car recalls. medical research will be disrupted, which means the center for disease control and prevention could take longer in investigating outbreaks. most of the department of education will close. if the shut down lasts longer than a week, that could severely

delay funding to local school districts and colleges across the country. in all, nearly 40% of the federal budget is affected by the shutdown, but that does not include the president or any members of congress, who will all continue to collect their salaries without delay. morgan. >> thanks so much, erika. those government workers with no job to go to and now if the shutdown lasts, no way to pay their bills are understandably annoyed. we talked to some of them about their growing frustration. >> hey, hey, ho, ho, that is not the way to go. >> this is the sound of u.s. federal workers everywhere. >> congress get your act together or get out. >> they are worried about lost income. >> it takes a lot of money out of my pocket and my family's pocket. >> they're angry with congress. >> if i behaved the way they do right now, i would not have a job. they need to get to work. >> it hits main street, nearly

anywhere the u.s. government has offices, leaving an estimated 800,000 government workers at home on unpaid leave. >> i can't do my bills and all, but congress is going to get paid while we are forced to stay home on a furlough? i don't think so. >> the shutdowns hit hardest the closer you get to federal buildings like this. the 17 partial government shutdowns since 1977 have lasted anywhere between one day and three weeks, so experts say the economic impact is limited. >> we don't see the government debt crisis really is going to change the hiring behavior of most companies. the only ones that seem to be really thinking about it are government contractors. >> at national parks from coast-to-coast facing closure, the partial shutdown reveals a dysfunctional nation who's very symbol, lady liberty is paralyzed. the faces of the president the on mount rush more might remain

unchanged. they are as i am movable as members of congress, but few could see, it, too, faces closure. john henry, aljazeera, chicago. >> some of the government employees that will be on furlough starting today work at the national hurricane center in miami. that's where aljazeera's natasha is this morning. how is the shut down affecting where you are in miami? >> there are a lot of unhappy faces, as people drive in here this morning to the national hurricane center. many of them will be told to turn around and go home. there are about 60 employees who work here. their mission is to be america's trusted voice in the eye of the storm and of course they are now in the midst of a political storm. they, along with members of the national weather service are under the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. the majority of the workforce will be furloughed.

5300, most from the national weather service will stay on the job. actually, yesterday to assure people, the national weather service here actually sent out a tweet, telling people their forecasting offices will remain open and they will continue to have warning operations as usual despite the government shutdown. >> you described it as being the source of trust and the eye of the storm, but is there danger to having a substantial number of people who track hurricanes, dismissed during hurricane season. >> the spokesman here told me yesterday that they will be operational, they will fulfill their mission, but keep in mind, this is unchartered territory, the first phase of the last government shutdown in 1995, 1996, occurred in mid november, the tail end of the hurricane season, which ends in november -- on november 30. in any event we are told that if your daily job as part of the

national hurricane center or national weather service involves protecting lives or property, these people will remain on the job. so, for example, if you're a hurricane forecaster or satellite engineer, you will continue to work. among those who will be furloughed, morgan, includes the spokesman here at the national hurricane center. >> thanks so much. reporting for the national hurricane center in miami. thanks so much, natasha. >> speaking of weather, the storm slamming the northwest with rain and snow is still causing wind problems for parts of the rockies. we have a look at the national forecast. >> we're still not getting a break for the pacific northwest because of another disturbance along the coastline. let's get right to it. across the country today is a wet go for parts of the pacific northwest, because of another disturbance out here. with that, we just entered the month of september, places like portland, oregon, wettest month on record and those records go well over 100 years, so another

wet day today. as we get towards the cascades, that is going to be snow for the higher elevations. you can see the moisture that we're expecting. now, the main system we've been watching that pulled out a little bit more into the northern plains and midwest, so as we get to this region of the country, it's dried out significantly, but the winds are going to be an issue especially in particles of the dakotas, watch for them gusting well over 30, possibly 40 miles per hour. >> coming up, the government shutdown is now in full swing. how long it could last and who will feel its impact the hardest. >> a heated impact on the financial markets. coming up, why the markets may not be heading in the direction you might think. >> plus an international team of inspectors headed to syria on a dangerous chemical weapons search and destroy mission. >> a big part of obamacare comes out today. a closer look at health care

exchanges and why they're so important for millions of americans. >> we are debating should members of congress get a better deal than every other american in obamacare? house republicans say no. that's not fair. that's not equal protection under the laws. but yet, our friends on the other side of the aisle...

on august 20th,

>> i think that what the speaker is doing is doubling and tripling down a path that it was always intended to take us to shutting down government. >> the clock is ticking on the government shutdown, only this time, the hours are adding up, more than seven hours since the house and senate failed to come to an agreement on the bill to keep the government open. >> one place they're keeping an especially close eye on the shutdown is wall street. to check how the shutdown affects the markets, let's

discuss it. >> wall street appears to be shrugging off the shutdown, stock futures pointing higher, indicating a positive start. if ththe nasdaq is at 37.71, shg 10 points. despite the losses, all those indexes ended september and the quarter higher. interestingly, investors maybe looking back to the last time the federal government went dark between 1995 and 1996. stocks went on a violent roller coaster ride then, but the markets ended higher. that shutdown shaved a half a percentage of growth from the economy. >> after this looming shutdown, could be more severe. >> a government shutdown of three to four weeks we project could reduce economic growth by as much as 1.4%.

that's a major stumbling block in the recovery. >> it's a worst case scenario. >> we had declining earnings, worries about bernanke, worries about obama care. i think the market is more skittish. i think the reaction has potential to be more violent. >> more than 1 million federal workers would have to go on unpaid leave until a deal is finally reached. >> additional, tens of thousands of private sector workers who's jobs are tied to government contracts could be adversely impacted if uncle sam can't spend money. >> how are the markets going to respond to this shutdown? >> you should expect a lot of trading. the volatility index hit a month high yesterday on fears about this government shutdown.

some investors will see this as a buying opportunity as normally expensive stocks essentially go on sale, but others are suspicious and saying i'm not touching that. those are the sellers this morning. >> those are the sellers. >> if i want to apply for a mortgage, how would that affect me. >> for right now, you're actually in a good standing. the big issue will be if the f.h.a. is forced to curtail its operations. that's the really big danger. we spoke to one expert. here's what he had to say. >> in today's world, about 90% of all home mortgages are touched by the federal government. they're either insured by the federal housing administration or their sold to fannie may or freddie mac. it's only about 10% of the market that's strictly private and wouldn't potentially be affected, so the potential impact is serious. >> that's one of the reasons many people are just nervous

this morning, because of this impact, but the really big point is going to be october 17th, when the battle over that debt ceiling comes to the forefront, when many investors are thinking ok, now is when we either pull back or jump in. >> october 17th. thanks so much. >> today, health care exchanges are rolling out all across the country. we show how it's going to work. >> despite all the rhetoric in washington, d.c., the new obamacare exchanges will only be in play for only about 7% of the total population or 23 million people. if you get insurance through your employer, the new health insurance exchanges do not apply to you. it means that in 2016, when the u.s. population is projected to be 321 million, half will have

employer-based health insurance. another 46 million americans will be in medicare, the health care system for seen years. they will stay on that. the new health care law does expand medicaid, the program has helps the poor and that group is projected to be 42 million. that leaves about 53 million uninsured americans. experts predict that less than half will use the new insurance marketplaces, but again, this is the target group, those without insurance and it's only a fraction of our population, so if you are uninsured, what will the new marketplaces look like? imagine booking a flight or a trip on line to the popular websites like travelosity or expedia. the marketplaces will look the same, though they will be a bit for complicated.

each state will have a website that will offer different coverage options. if your family house hold income is less than $94,000 a year, the government will give you tax breaks to afford the n. if you are an individual, the subsidies will kick in if your annual income is less than $46,000. supporters say the overall system will preserve the opportunity for doctors, hospitals and insurance companies to make money. in the past, insurance companies have covered their costs by raising prices or by refusing to cover people who are more expensive to insure, including the old, sick and people with preexisting conditions. obamacare is intended to make coverage more affordable in part by limiting how much insurance companies can charge, and it will bring the percentage of americans who's applications are denied from 18% as it stands now to zero. so the sick, elderly and those with preexisting conditions will be added to the insurance pool,

but there will still be a range of premiums. older americans, for example, could be charged up to three times more for their coverage than younger americans. uninsured younger people may join the new exchanges if they are not on their parents' plan or if their state does not expand medicate. the obama administration and health experts agree the whole system is dependent on getting young and healthy people into the marketplace. >> we are in detroit at a community center where people will be signing up for obamacare today. how many people are expected to enroll where you are? >> as it stands right now, a little over a million people in michigan are expected to enroll in policies under this affordable health care act. many of these people are uninsured or underinsured. >> bisi, how difficult is it to

buy into the affordable care act? >> it appears to be fairly easy. this health care clinic has been planning for this day for months. millions of federal dollars went into training staff at clinics here across metro detroit about these policies and how to help people. one thing i'm hearing from folks out here, one of the positives out of all of this is that much of this health is for free. >> you mentioned metro detroit area. how are people there reacting, with the weight of the bankruptcy on the one hand and the economy making a turnaround on the other. >> right now, it's a little too early to tell. on the one hand, you have people who are excited, people who don't have insurance, who have gone without who are now happy they have this option to be insured, and then on the other hand, you have small businesses who are worried about how the affordable health care act is going to impact their bottom line. >> bisi, thanks so much for

joining us this morning. >> with every passing minute, the government remains shut down. an international team is heading into syria to destroy it's chemical weapons. what they're looking for and how they'll get rid of those dangerous weapons. >> israeli prime minister will speak at the united nations today. what happened in his meeting with president obama just one day before he addresses the general assembly. >> officially, the government is shut down. that is not a good thing, whether you're a represen repuba democratic.

>> our party has attempted to work with, reach out and deal with our colleagues in the united states senate.

>> congress has failed to come together to pass a spending bill that would avoid a government shutdown. democrats and republicans split on provision to delay implementation as part of the affordable care act and blaming each other for the shut down. who is at fault for the suddendown and what can be done to fix it? joining us in professor of campaign management at n.y.u. in providence, rhode island. we have professor schiller, professor of political science at brown. thanks for being with us this morning. professor, we hear republicans saying harry reid is to blame, is this true or a political strategy? >> it's definitely a political strategy. they're talking about passing a continuing resolution to keep the government open for six weeks. they're not talking about passing a budget for a year. we're talking about about a clean resolution to pass the budget for six weeks, keep the government open, and if you want to change obamacare, if you want to make changes to a policy, you

do it by winning elections and by going into a conference. the president said he's open to that, but you can't be holding people hostage. the polls bear out the fact the republicans going to be at the losing end. they have now played all their cards last night and it doesn't look like they're going to have anyplace to go at this point. >> you mentioned winning elections. professor, there's been a revolt among moderate republicans but not enough to get a clean vote. has the republican party been highjacked by the tea party? >> they've been a successful faction. they took advantage of dislike for obamacare in 2010, raised money, and won in primaries. you have to win the election to change policy. right now, there aren't enough of them to do anything significant in terms of policy change. they don't have a majority. they're strong enough in their

own districts and grassroots at raising money and being vocal to activate a base of the republican party that they are scared of. they have more power than they should proportion anotherly. they don't want obamacare, they're willing to shut down the government. this is a party that wants a limited government, so the more pieces of the federal government they can make not work well, they see themselves as winning in that effort. >> you mentioned this dislike for president obama, so this impasse came from the republican desire to defund and then delay obamacare. is it really a good strategy for the democrats to not even talk about it? >> well, at this point it is. when you're looking at impasses like this, the unified party historically wins and that right now is the democratics. it's hard to believe, you've been saying this, you think back to the 1970's and 1980's, talking about it at unified.

they have stuck together, saying we will not negotiate this thing. harry reid said send us a clean bill, then we will go talk about this thing. i think dr. schiller is absolutely right. if you think about it, only half of the american public votes in the general election, much less than the primary election. it's the american public that has to stand up and say we do not want these idealogyically purists in office. at this point, i think what we're waiting for is to see do the american public get fed up enough that they stand up and say no more. that will bring the two sides together. either that or wall street saying this debt ceiling is coming fast and furious, you two have to come together, we're going to see action. short of that, we'll be in this impasse for a while. >> the polling is showing that the american public is getting

pretty fed up with democrats and with president obama, so is anyone really going to come out a winner? >> they're absolutely fed up with both. you look at the numbers in congress, and that is not represents or democrats, that is both, 10% approval rating. president obama has seen his numbers drop, so absolutely, there is enough blame to go around if you look at the polls. nobody wants to government working this way. people want the government to work in their interest and be effective. it is anything but that as we wake up this morning. >> thank you so much both for being with us this morning. >> weapons inspectors are expected to arrive in syria today to begin destroying that country's arsenal of chemical weapons. we report on the daunting task ahead. >> the team will be working through a tight deadline and under extreme conditions. there are engineers, paramedics and of course chem mists. the task facing them is

daunting. the u.s. resolution says all plants, and equipment must be destroyed by november 1. >> this is quite an ambitious time line, and also, the situation on the ground is complicating the mission. it is quite challenging and this is the most challenges operation that we will undertake. >> preparations at the o.p.c.w. in the netherlands have been my meticulous, the inspectors security will be a top priority. the syrian government is thought to have gathered its chemical weapons at two dozen sites, but some of near front line positions, where the fighting continues to rage. field teams of highly qualified experts will have to wear body armor and helmets at all times, as well as their protective suits. >> we are like soldiers, when we go to go back, we will go back and do a very good job there. >> each member will carry a hand held monitor to constantly test

the environment, water gas masks to protect themselves from leaks as they gather samples and device ways to safely destroy what is thought to be a 1,000-ton stockpile of chemicals, including car rib and mustard gas. there will be medics on hand if something goes wrong. heat exhaustion will be a constant threat. they will need the cooperation of syrian government experts and they will also need coordination with opposition forces to cross front lines and get the access they need. that will require delicate negotiations, and both sides will be quick to blame the other if something goes wrong. aljazeera. >> for more on this development, let's bring in aljazeera's reporters. how will the weapons be destroyed at such a large scale in the middle of a time of war? >> it's indeed a challenge and the organization for the

prohibition of chemical weapons says that it's unprecedented. these experts and chemists have to not only destroy one of the world says largest chemical weapons arsenals, but it also has to do that in a country that's in a state of war. they have to do that by mid 2014, according to the u.n. resolution. now what we understand is in the first few days, they're going through the inventory of chemical weapons provided by the government and sites provided by the government but undisclosed. there are believed to be 25 locations. then they're going to be deployed to the field. their first priority will be destroying the facilities where chemical weapons are produced and mixed, so as to crush the heart of the chemical program in syria. they have to do that as quickly as possible. they only have 30 days to do that, that's november 1, and it's a really tight deadline. >> if they're trying to crush the chemical heart of the program, is the syrian government cooperating with the

team? >> well, accord i can to officials from opcw, they say the syrian government is cooperating just great so far. the syrian president himself has said that syria will definitely comply with the u.n. resolution to remove chemical weapons. opcw even says that the syrian government very quickly approved the list of inspectors and chemists and engineers without objections to any of the names. as the report mentioned, that we just listened to, there will be a lot of coordination with the syrian sites, so it's newt like these experts and inspectors are going around syria blowing up with explosioni chemical weapons sites here and there without cooperating and collaborating with the syrian government. the problem is, is the deadline feasible, we don't know because of security concerns. its depends on the he be and flow of the syrian war. there are times they will have to travel through rebel-held areas and be close to front

lines. as of now, there is no decision to send foreign troops to protect these inspectors. >> thanks so much for being with us. >> israel's prime minister is set to address the united nations general assembly later today. in a meeting monday with president obama, netanyahu warned the u.s. not to trust iran. the warning comes just as mr. obama shared a histic call with iranian president. the prime minister said iran cannot be trusted to make its nuclear program transparent as its new president promised. we are live at the u.n. john, israel is saying to keep the pressure on iran. what do you make of that? >> well, it really is, and prime minister netanyahu has not doing this ever since he 11 the israeli airport sunday. he came to the white house, and i was there to report on what he

had to say. he was looking really for a time line, a time line if not to bomb iranian nuclear facilities, then a time line to end what he sees as this diplomatic nonsense going on between washington and iran. he did not get that concession from president obama. two men did agree that iran should never be getting a nuclear bomb. they did agree that everything should be on the table vis a vis iran. the pot said i want you to work with this diplomatic track, go with it. let's see where we are at the end of geneva when they have a conference to discuss iran's nuke clears issues on the 15t 15th and 16th of october. morgan. >> after that meeting yesterday, what can we expect netanyahu to say today. >> last year at the general assembly, he draw that cartoon bomb. a lot of people thought that was rather beneath the israeli prime minute at her, but everybody remembers it. he put the red line in at the

top of the fuse. he said that is what israel will not go beyond, if iran goes beyond that certain point. he said that was going to happen in july of this year. that's the point in which israel will not accept progress in iran's nuclear program. i think -- i don't think we're going to get a comic bomb again today, but you see, prime minister netanyahu believes firmly that iran is really secretly just buying time with all this to go ahead and build a nuclear bomb. he is at the moment the only party pooper in town. everybody's excited about what president rouhani said last week and that phone call from president obama, not so much prime minister netanyahu. the reason is he feels he has to protect his country, because if the iranians are secretly building a bomb and put a warhead on top of a rocket, it's likely his country first to be hit. we thought this was going to be a real headliner at this week's

general assembly, by the way, today is the last day that the leaders will speaking p. turned out not to be. we are told there is lots of deep behind the scenes negotiation involving secretary of state john kerry, so they're still talking, the israelies and pal stillens. this plays back to the iranian situation. one of the reasons the u.s. is talking to tehran is they want help sorting out thorny issues in the middle east region. the closer iran is to the united states, the more it can do to smooth negotiations. >> thanks for being with us this morning. >> the gulf coast is dealing with some pretty wet weather. we have the national forecast. >> we actually have a very quiet forecast for much of the country, so this is one of the exceptions out there today. as we take a closer look, we actually have the last frontal

boundary drape across the south in enough of a disturbance area here. with the gulf moisture interacting, we are getting a couple showers along the coastline, as well. heading through the rest of the day, look for some of this moisture. a lot of this is going to be produced by firing up a little more in the afternoon when we get that heat of the day, but, you know, this has been a very way toette tropical season for us. we actually have an area that we're monitoring right now. you can see this here in the western caribbean, but over the next couple of days, it looks like this will may go great toward the yucatan or gulf. something to watch along the gulf coast as we continue into this very quiet hurricane season. the rest of the country, a quiet day for many locations. we have the exceptions across the northern tier of the country, but you can see, it's been dry skies up and down the east coast recently.

we're seeing that for the midsection of the country, as well, so pretty nice out here. some nice fall temperatures, as well. eighty's and 70's up and down the east coast and the still a lot of 70's and 80's in the midwest. we have started getting cooler air in in the northern tier of the country into the midwest. that's where we have the clouds coming through with the next frontal boundary. the winds with the system have been a little bit more impressive, so a lot of these in the 15-20-mile per hour range through the day, they're going to gust even higher into the 30 and 40-mile per hour range, and that's why northern parts of minnesota and north dakota, some of those wind gusts 40 into 50, rapid city had reported a wind gust over 60 miles an hour. i've lived in this part of the country, there's not a lot of terrain or trees to block that wind, the high profile vehicles, you do want to be careful heading out on the roads. the northwest, the main part of the system moved off.

enough of a disturbance along the coastline that we are going to see rain especially into the northwest. with higher elevations, that means more snow in the cascades. morgan. >> thanks so much. coming up, how long can it last? we'll break down the government shutdown and explain exactly what it means for millions of americans. >> the saints marched on last night. we'll show you how drew brees improved to 4-0 coming up in sports. >> i think what senator reed has offered now is reasonable. it's constructive, it gives us a chance to do our work. differences of opinion, for sure, but in an orderly process that brings some respect back to congress as an institution. on inside story, we bring together unexpected voices closest to the story, invite hard-hitting debate and desenting views and always explore issues relevant to you.

millions who need assistance now. we appreciate you spending time with us tonight. up next is the golden age of hollywood going golden but elsewhere. why l.a.'s mayor has declared a state of emergency for the entertainment industry there. next. s2úq@eñsy$x

>> with no dole between the house and is that the, a partial government shutdown is underway. it's been 17 years since the last time something like this

has happened. as the government goes dark, health care exchanges go live today. their the bread and butter of the affordable care act. the exchanges will allow people and businesses to shop for different health care plans. peel have a lot of questions. joining us to break it down is senior policy advisor at the johnson wood foundation. she's in washington with us this morning. what are the health laws on-line market places, also known as exchanges? >> they are essentially websites, that you can go on, and if you don't have coverage through your employer that is affordable, and you're not already on other programs like medicare or medicaid, you can buy coverage. you can look at the various options available, and decide on one that's best for you. best place for people to start is to go to healthcare..gov,

enter your state. if you're in a state that has set up your own exchange, you will be directed right to that site of that state. if not, you'll be able to enroll right there on healthcare..gov. >> who is eligible to use the exchanges? >> it's people who don't have coverage already through their place of work, their employer, or if that coverage that you get through your employer is not affordable to you. that means, if it's more than 9.5% of your income, you can buy coverage through the exchange. most of people who will be buying coverage through the exchanges are expected to be people adorable have coverage right now, they're uninsured, or they are buying potentially a small business, as you said, those are also eligible to buy coverage through the exchanges, in addition, people who have been buying coverage on the individual market all right, and sometimes not able to buy coverage that is very affordable to them. all of those folks will be

eligible to buy coverage through the exchange. >> what's available through these exchanges and how does it compare to what is already available? >> there are a whole range of new insurance products. it depends on the state. in some states, lots of insurers have come on to the exchange, in others, not so many. the products are offered on four different levels. they're called bronze, silver, gold and platinum. what that means is they are plans to differ in the amount of total cost of your health care that they take care of. at the low end, the bronze plans take care of 60% of your total costs, 70% for the silver plans and so on. there are going to be new options. these look different to the plans that have been available so far. no more lifetime limits on how much a plan will pay out. no more annual limits, and very importantly, for the first time,

you can be covered even if you have preexisting health conditions. >> so no annual or lifetime limits, but how does someone use the exchange? >> you really just use it first of all to find out what plans are available. secondly, you may be eligible for federal subsidies, federal assistance to help you buy coverage. those subsidies are pretty generous. on average, they'll be about $5,000 per person who is eligible. those can help you pay for the premiums and they can also help you cover some of the copays and other things that you have in insurance. you'll be able to find out through the sites whether you are also eligible for those subsidies, as well as pick a plan. >> now, are there any deadlines for enrollment? >> yes, indeed. if you want your coverage to take effect by january 1 of 2014, you're really going to have to sign up and pay for whatever you owe by

december 15th in almost every case. you have actually until march 31 to enroll in coverage under this year's open enrollment period, but you have to buy coverage at that point and you've got to buy coverage through the exchange if you're going to qualify for a subsidy. >> susan, thanks so much for being with us this morning. >> it was a battle of 4-0 teams in the superdome last night. we have the highlights. >> there is no better way to end week four of the nfl season than to have two of the six undefeated remaining teams play each other. saints taking their 3-0 record in to the stage. saints up 7-3, make that 14-3. up top to graham, but brees was just warming up. under a minute to go in the first half, brees for six.

sprawls with 142 all purpose yards. third quarter, makes it look easy. brees with 413 passing yards, that's the 10th time brees has flown for 400 or more in a game. >> i felt like the run game started get going into the second half. we just never let up, you know, just stayed committed to it. obviously got big plays in the passing game. big guys up front did a growth job. jimmy and darrin had a big night. it was a big win. our defense is playing phenomenal. i think everything that could have gone wrong for us last year went wrong. unfortunately, we're having the ball bounce our way a little bit this year, but also, we're playing good football. >> the new york i didn't go season is over, but alex rodriguez was spending the day

at major league headquarters in new york in day one of his appeal of a historic 211 game doping suspension. the yankees third base wearing a suit when he arrived in mid town manhattan. he was suspended for violation of baseball's drug agreement and labor contract. because he's a first offender under the drug program and the players association field a grievance to force an appeal, a suspension can't start until upheld by an arbitrator. he was among 14 players penalized this year following a clinic accused of abusing performance enhancing drugs. >> the texas rays forced a single playoff game for the right to play the indians. texas looking for some more hitting power. cruz was back in the lineup. cruz was caught cheating in the

bio genesis scandal and served a 50 game suspension. in his return, he gave the rangers exactly what he gave in that suspension, nothing. longoria to deep center and that's gone, a two-run shot, rays up 3-0. the rangers show light. bloops one into center, and in to score. texas was still down 3-1. cruz the last hope for the rangers. david price gets him to groundout to short. a complete game for the rays ace as tampa bay wins 5-2. tampa bay will face the indians who have won 10 straight in the a.l. wildcard tomorrow. >> in our postseason picture tonight, the national league gets us started with the reds taking on the pirates. pittsburgh's hosting their first playoff game in 20 years. wednesday, it's the american league's turn as the rays travel to cleveland to take on the indians.

that's a look at our morning sports. morgan, back to you. >> thanks so much. at the end of our first hour, here's what we're following this morning. we're eight hours into a partial government shutdown. congress will get back to work later this morning after missing a midnight deadline to pass a spending bill to keep the government up and running. now, despite the shutdown, the health care exchanges across the country are open for business today. the exchanges allow individuals and small businesses to shop for different health insurance plan as part of the affordable care act, also known as obamacare. an. >> an international team is beginning the process of eliminating syria's chemical weapons. their mission was improved by the u.n. security council after a gas attack which killed hundreds. >> the playoff picture is finally set. how david price led the rays out of arlington with a win, coming up in sports. >> a storm system moving across the northern plains is causing

problems with high winds. i'll have in our national forecast. >> you can follow us always at aljazeera.com. i'll be back with you in just two and a half minutes. don't go anywhere.

>> obama administration officials said they need to enrol 2.7 u.s. redents between the ages of 18 and 35 in exchange plans to balance risks and hold down costs. will they enrol come 1 october - should they pay the face. >> joining me now is jen mishory, deputy director of young invincibles, she's in washington d.c. and yevgeniy feyman, a research assistant at the manhattan institute.

thank you for being with us. i want to start with you yevgeniy feyman. the young people are crucial to the success of obamacare. >> absolutely. they'll balance out the risk pool, they'll keep premiums that need the insurance, and the administration is reaching out to them. >> jen, the young invincibles are in the 18-34 group.

>> it is now midnight and the great government of the united states is now closed. >> the senate and house failed to come to an dream and now both sides are playing the blame game for the government shutdown. >> then stand with your country. do you stand for your country, or do you want to take it down? >> officially the government is shut down. that is not a good thing whether you're a republican or a democratic. >> this is ridiculous. >> i think it's a disgrace. >> this is nuts. >> this is a very sad day for our country. >> back to square one.

>> this is aljazeera america and i'm morgan radford. for the first time in 17 years, the u.s. government is closed for business this morning and the clock that just yesterday counted down to a midnight deadline is now counting up, tallying the number of hours that the government has been shut down. so far, eight hours and still counting, republicans in the house and democrats in the senate just couldn't agree on a temporary budget to keep things up and running, so are not expected back on the hill until a few hours from now and federal agencies are already started shutting down. harry reid placed the blame squarely on the tea party's shoulders. >> it is embarrassing that these people who are elected to represent the country are representing the tea party, the anarchists of the country and a majority of the republicans in the house are following every step of the way. this is an unnecessary blow to

america. >> earlier on monday night, president obama called the republican speaker of the house john boehner to ask him to pass a spending bill without undermining the affordable care act. the health care law which goes into effect today has been a main sticking point for republicans. >> the house believe we should fund the government and we think there ought to be basic fairness for all americans under obamacare. the senate has continued to reject our offers. under the constitution, there's a way to resolve this process and that is to go to conference and talk through your differences. >> the white house office of management and budget issued a directive just minutes before the midnight deadline expired. it said federal agencies should execute plans for an orderly shutdown and urge congress to restore the operation of critical public service that is

will be impacted by a lapse in appropriations. we have more from capitol hill. >> midnight and still no deal in sight. >> mr. speaker, it is now midnight and the great government of the united states is now closed. >> closed to the willingness of either party willing to move off their positions. democrats refusing to talk to the opposition and the republicans, despite efforts by mod receipts to class a so-called clean funding bill holding firm. >> unfortunately, congress has not fulfill would its responsibility. it's failed to pass a budget and as a result, much of our government must now shut down until congress funds it again. >> the intensifying ill will and political rancor, the result of a republican effort to use the deif i understanding bill or defund the act.

>> we passed a bill on saturday night, sent it to the united states senate that would delay obamacare for one year, and would eliminate permanently the medical device tax that is costing us tens of thousands of jobs that are being shipped overseas. >> the health care allow is virtually unaffected by the game of congressional ping pong. enrollment starts today. millions are now eligible to sign up for health insurance. >> i would hope they would understand within their power, anytime, all they have to do is accept what we already passed. all this stuff they keep sending over here, they are so fixated on embarrassing our president, the president of the united states. >> the u.s. government has been down this grid lock road before. since 1977, there have been 17 government shut downs. the last one was in 1995 during the clinton administration was the longest, lasting for 21 days. >> randall pinkton joins us live from washington.

randall, it was a constant back and forth between lawmakers last night. in the end, who's going to catch the flak for this? >> well, the public is already weighing in on that and polls show both congress and the president have very poor approval ratings, the president in the 40% range, congress much lower. the longer this goes on, the more likely both will be receiving responsibility. however, it's also fair to say that republicans in the house of representatives are likely to get most of the blame. >> but you say they'll get most of the blame, but congress will pick up the ball later again next hour. can we expect any real action today or is it really going to drag on for sometime. >> we heard speaker boehner last night indicate that he had appointed members for a conference committee. he is waiting for a response from senate leader harry lead to see if he will appoint members of the is not to talk about this. this is beyond the midnight

deadline, and so, whatever they're going to do presumably they could have gone into conference before, but as long as some aspects of the affordable care act, obamacare, remains in the house version of a funding bill, the senate is saying no deal, so here we are, impasse. >> we've been here before, congress using budget deadlines to push for concessions on other issues is now really becoming standard practice. are we going to see this again in a few weeks when it comes to raising the debt ceiling? likely we will. it happened the last time the nation hit the debt ceiling there is a deal that put the sequester into place, adding financial repercussions, although not felt broadly, but nonetheless, spending has been decreased as a result of the sequester. when the nation hits the debt ceiling in the middle of this month, if the house proceeds with this current strategy, the

nation and possibly world financial markets will be looking at chaos. >> thanks so much, randall pinkston reporting from washington, live this morning. >> the government shutdown is impacting millions of federal workers this morning and will affect almost every single american in ways big and small. aljazeera has that part of the story. good morning. >> good morning. it's not looking good. starting todd, 800,000 federal workers will be staying home from work. another 1 million employees will be asked to work without pay. before we get into that, let's start out with what does not change. social security payments will still go out on time. the same goes for unemployment checks, plus doctors and hospitals will still get paid by medicare and medicaid. the post office will keep delivering your male. at airports, air traffic controllers and security screeners will keep working. the f.b.i., border patrol and coast guard will stay on the job. as for soldiers, everyone active

in the armed forces will remain on duty. late monday, president obama recorded a video message to members of the military, ensuring them they will be paid without delay. >> national security has not changed and we need you to be ready for any contingency. on going military operations will continue. if you're serving in harm's way, we're going to make sure you have what you need to succeed in your missions. congress has passed and i'm signing into law legislation to make sure you get your paychecks on time. >> that is not the case for more than a million other government employees, who will not go to work. like the people who work at the national parks, monuments, and museums, including places like the statue of liberty, washington monument and smithsonian museums. they're closed. the i.r.s. shuts down, but returns are still due. first time homebuyers and small

business owners should expect delays, and thousands of safety inspectors will also stay home. that ranges from some food inspectors to those who work on car recalls. medical research will be disrupted, which means the center for disease control and prevention could take longer investigating outbreaks. most of the department of education will close. if this shutdown lasts longer than a week, that would delay funding to local school districts and colleges nationwide. nearly 40% of the federal budget is affected by the shutdown, but that does not include the president or any members of congress, who will all continue to collect they are salaries without delay. morgan. >> thanks so much, erika. new pops suggest most americans of none too pleased with the way congress is handling the budget impasse. an at-bats washington poll taken just before the polls shut down find 53% of the american public disapproves of the way the

republicans in congress have handled the budget. half of americans disapprove of president obama's performance on the same issue. >> a separate poll conducted before the shutdown found 69% of americans think republicans in congress have really acted like spoiled children in this debate over the federal budget. 58% put that same label on democrats in congress. only 47% think that about president obama. >> warm weather is taking hold for a large part of the country, and for more on the morning national forecast, let's turn to meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> it's really a gorgeous day across much of the country. we always have a couple exceptions, but it has been very nice fall weather starting off the month of october. i hope it's a good day for you. we are going to see a lot of 70's and 80's in this forecast. high pressure in place over the east coast. we had all the sunshine

recently, barely a cloud in the sky in some cases. more of the 70's and 80's all the way up and down the coast, midsection of the country quiet, denver in the 70's. we get into parts of texas, more 80's and it's going to be rather nice a lot of places. you saw some 50's and 60's. the northwest is one of our spots that doesn't quite hold true to that. along the gulf coast, we've had a couple showers, but hardly a cloud in the sky in some places especially through the central portion of the country where we've had more clouds. the last system pouring out of the rockies us now into the northern plains. not allot of moisture with that, but you can see no the too moan clouds. we've had high wind gusts in rapid city. watch the high profile vehicles outs there. makes the driving rough on those open roads. >> another disturbance moving toward canada, but enough to get the coastline wet, and interior

in those higher elevations, we are going to see especially up and down the cascades, you get to the higher elevations, another half foot, a foot, or half a foot of snow or more, so that accounted make some of those passes a little treacherous for driving, as well. >> it's a big day for the affordable care act, which is at the heart of the government shutdown. we're focusing on the new obamacare exchanges that go into effect today and could help millions of uninsured americans get medical coverage. >> the immediate impact on markets, why they might not be heading in the direction you might think. >> we have been pressing our republican colleagues to negotiate on the budget since last march. ç]

>> members of congress, thanks to the obama administration are going to be the only people in america to get subsidies in the

obamacare exchanges. is this fair, is this fair, mr. speaker? i think not. >> congress has failed to come together to pass a spending bill that would avoid a government shutdown. the democrats and republicans are split on obamacare, and over who's to blame for the shutdown. at the same time, the government is closing its doors today. health care insurance exchanges are rolling out across the country and it's a pretty crucial part of the affordable care act also known as obamacare. >> despite all the rhetoric in washington, d.c., the new obamacare exchanges will only be in play for about 7% of the total u.s. population. if you get insurance through your employer, the new health care exchanges do not apply to you. it means that in 2016, when the the u.s. population is projected to be 321 million, almost half

based on current trends or 154 million will have employer-based health insurance. another 46 million americans will be in medicare, the health care system for seen years. they will stay on that. the new health care law does expand medicaid, the program that helps the poor, and that group is projected to be 42 million. an estimated 26 million people will get insurance through unions or government employee organizations. that leaves about 53 million uninsured americans. experts predict that less than half will actually use the new insurance marketplaces, but again, this is the target group those without insurance, and only a fraction of our population. if you are uninsured, what with him the new marketplaces look like? >> imagine booking a flight or trip on line through the popular websites like expedia. you put in your destination, dates and compare prices. the obamacare marketplaces will

look the same, though they will be a bit more complicated. each state will have a website that will offer different coverage options. if your family's household income is less than $94,000 a year, the government wonderful give you financial help through tax breaks so you can afford the insurance. if you are an individual, the subsidies will kick in if your annual income is less than $46,000. supporters say the overall system will preserve the opportunity for doctors, hospitals and insurance companies to make money. in the past, insurance companies have covered their costs by raising prices or by refusing to cover people who are more expensive to insure, including the old, sick and people with preexisting conditions. obamacare is intended to make coverage more affordable by limiting how much insurance companies can charge and bring the percentage of americans whose applications are denied from 18% as it stands now to

zero, so the sick, elderly and those with preexisting conditions will be added to the insurance pool, but there will still be a range of premiums. older americans, for example, could be charged up to three times more for their coverage than judger americans. uninsured younger people may join the new exchanges if they are not on their parents plan or if their state does not expand medicate. the whole system is dependent on getting eligible young and healthy people into the marketplace. >> bisi is in detroit. how many people are expected to enroll where you are? >> a little over probably about 100 people are expected to turn out here today. overall in michigan, over a million people are expected to enroll in policies under the affordable health care act. these are people who are uninsured or underinsured,

people who are either unemployed, self employed, and people who are working part time. >> those people you just mentioned, how easy or difficult will it be for them to actually get health care through these exchanges? >> well, the way it looks right now, it seems it's going to be fairly easy. there are a number of clinics like the one behind me across metro detroit who have been prepping for today for months. millions in federal money went into training staff on how to deal with these policies that can be very come about hersome. very confusing and overwhelming to a lot of people. i was talking with someone here, one of the staffers. the best way they described all of this is approaching these policies that it's almost like buying a car. they have to go step-by-step and follow every little detail. there is definitely help out here and a benefit to so many people that much of this help is for free. >> thanks so much for being with

us this morning. >> the affordable care act is in a key point of contention, which leads to the first government shut down in 17 years. to help break down how we got here, it's manage in editor of think progress.com and co author of howard dean's prescription for real health care reform. thanks for being here with us this morning. >> thank you for having me. >> you're an expert on health care, so according to a recent gallup poll, 49% of americans disapprove of the affordable care act. if it's truly that unpopular, can you blame republicans for what they're doing. >> i think they disapprove of something called obamacare. when you go provision by provision and say do you like the fact that insurance cross can't deny you coverage they say yes. do you like the fact that your child can now stay on their parents' plan, they say yes.

>> we hear about this huge bill, but when folks sign up, go to healthcare.gough, compare the policies, see they're eligible for sunday decease and not denied coverage, i think those numbers are really going to flip upside down and americans are going to learn the real benefits of the law, not all the political rhetoric surround, inc. it. >> democrats are pretty outraged over the coupling of obamacare with the budget, but are the democrats taking a beating for their stubbornness, too, have they handled this the best they could? >> let's be very clear. what you have here is republicans really refusing to do their job. the very basic requirement, which is to keep the government open, they won't do it, so i think the fact that democrats are standing up and saying look, this law for the most part hasn't even gone into effect, let's give it a shot and if things don't work, we'll tweak it and change it, but this push

to pair some kind of delay or repeal with a six week extension in funding really doesn't make a lot of sense. >> so you don't think the democrats really have a part to play in this impasse? >> well, i think democrats have said time and time again, if you guys want to have better ideas for how to get coverage and expand access and lower costs, let's hear it, but we're not going to be repeeling parts of a law that really hasn't until today gone into effect. i think the fact that this is tied to either a debt limit increase or keeping the government open, the very basic functions, i don't see here where the democrats are to blame. they're just trying to do what the constitution requires of lawmakers, which is to keep the government functioning. >> now, you've touched on at the heart of what you're saying is this key skepticism.

is this a powerful illustration of the next election driving politics? >> now you have these really gerrymandered districts in so many parts of the country, and house members have all the political advantage in the world to try to shut down the government, because it pleases local constituents. there's skepticism there. the problem is on the national level, and what it means for 2016, for when republicans try to run a national election, that's where they're going to run into a lot of push back. in 2012, the republicans ran an entire election thinking the skepticism is going to get them the white house. it didn't, because while there might be september 6 in deeply cut out red congressional districts, that doesn't hold nationwide. if you look at the polls, most americans are either dissatisfied with the law because it doesn't go far enough, or because they think it needs some fitches, but they

don't won't to repeal it. they want to give it a chance to work. >> we will see in 2016. thanks so much for being with us this morning. >> for main street to wall street, everyone has reason to keep an eye on the government shutdown. for a check on how the news from washington is playing out in the market, let's go to duarte. >> the dow opens at 15w129, the index fell 120 points. the nasdaq is at 37,071. all those indexes ended september and the quarter higher. interestingingly, investors may be looking back to the last time the federal government went dark between 1995 and 1996. stocks went on a violent roller

coaster ride then, but the markets ended sharply higher. the congressional budget office says that shutdown shaved a half a percentage worth of growth from the economy. >> the impact of this looming shutdown could be more severe. >> a shutdown of three to four weeks could reduce economic growth if the fourth quarter by 1.4%. that's a major stumbling block in the recovery. >> it's a worst case scenario, one that could cost the country $55 billion. >> analysts worry the stock market isn't as reas i will gent as it was during other government spending crisis. >> we have declining worries, worries about bernanke, obamacare. i think the market is more skittish than it has been the last couple times we've seen this. the reaction has the potential to be more violent. >> more than 1 million federal workers are on the hook. they would have to go on an unpaid leave until a deal is

reached. >> tens of thousands of private sect tore workers could be adversely impacted if uncle sam can't spend money. >> speaking of spending that money, how are the markets going to react? >> you can expect a lot of trading today. there's something called a volatility index. it hit a month long high idea in reaction to the shutdown. there will be a lot of people selling stocks, but also folks who see this as a buying opportunity as normally expensive stocks seem to be on discount. add to that this month we expect 300 or so companies to release earnings. >> if i wanted to apply for a mortgage to buy a house, how would this impact me now. >> it depends on what stage you're in. right now, today, you're not going to experience an immediate impact. however, every day that passes, the potential for delay increases. in fact, the big danger is if

the f.h.a. sort of curtails its activities. we spoke with one economist who explained the larger impact on this economy. >> in today's world, about 90% of all home mortgages are touched by the federal government. they're either insured by the federal housing administration or they're sold to fannie may or freddie mac. it's only about 10% of the market that's strictly private and wouldn't potentially be affected. the potential impact is serious. >> because such a small part of the market is only private, that's why so many people are and could possibly be affected by this government shut down, morgan. >> thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> while washington deals with the government shutdown, lawmakers must also prepare for the upcoming debt ceiling battle. that will be the topic of

conversation between president obama and leaders from big bank tomorrow. the wall street journal says j.p. morgan and others will meet the president at the white house to raise concerns about the debt ceiling. the country is expected to hit its $16.7 trillion borrowing limit. that could trigger the u.s. defaulting on its debt. hundreds of thousands of government workers no longer working thanks to a failure to reach a budget deal. some sound off on the shutdown. >> the saints marched on last night. we'll show you how drew brees and the boys improve to 4-0, coming up in sports. >> our party has attempted to work with, reach out, and deal with our colleagues in the united states senate. on august 20th, al jazeera america introduced a new voice in journalism. >> good evening everyone, welcome to al jazeera. >> usa today says:

>> ...writes the columbia journalism review. and the daily beast says: >> quality journalists once again on the air is a beautiful thing to behold. >> al jazeera america, there's more to it.

>> this is an unnecessary blow to america two the economy, middle class, everyone. the house has within their power the ability to avoid a shutdown. >> harry reid addressing the senate and the clock is ticking on the government shutdown, only this time the hours are adding up. more than eight hours since the house and senate played hot potato with a critical spending bill. while the main focus has been in washington, 85% of federal employees work outside of the nation's capitol. the government shutdown has many of them completely outraged. aljazeera has their story. >> this is the sound of u.s. federal workers everywhere. >> congress, get your act together or get out. >> they're worried about lost

income. >> it takes money out of my pocket and the my family's pocket. >> they're angry with congress. >> if i was in the position in my job that they are in now, i would not have a job. i think they need to get to work. >> a work stoppage will hit main street, nearly anywhere the u.s. government has offices, leaving an estimated 800,000 government workers at home on unpaid leave. >> if i can't do my bills and all, but congress is going to get paid, while we are forced to stay home on a furlough? i don't think so. >> the shutdown's hit hardest the closest you get to federal buildings like this. the 17 partial government shutdowns since 1977 have lasted between one day and three we can. experts say the economic impact is limited. >> we don't see the government debt cries is really going to change the hiring behavior of most companies. the only one that seem to be thinking about it are government

contractors. >> at national parks from coast-to-coast facing closure, the partial shutdown reveals a dysfunctional nation, who's very symbol, lady liberty is paralyzed. >> some of the government employees being furloughed work at the national hurricane center in miami, and that's where aljazeera is this morning. natasha, how is the shut down affecting people there in miami? >> well, morgan, the national hurricane center prides itself as being america's trusted voice in the eight of the storm. now the 60 employees here have found themselves in the eye of the political storm, a lot of long faces and no comments as people have been driving in to work this morning.

the employees here in the national hurricane center, as well as employees throughout the country working for the national weather service fall under the national atmospheric and oceanic administration, and that workforce is 12,000 people. the majority of those people are going to be furloughed. 5300 people, most of them working for the national weather service will remain on the job. the national weather service here in miami actually tweeted yesterday as kind of an assurance to people that their forecasting offices will remain open, as will their warning operations, despite the government shutdown. >> but natasha, is there a danger to having a substantial number of people who actually track hurricanes, kind of dismissed or have a fear of being dismissed during hurricane season? >> well, i'll tell what you the spokesman told me yesterday. he said we will fulfill our mission. we will see operations --

>> we have some technical difficulties reporting from the national hurricane center in miami. >> at the heart of the government shutdown is the battle over president obama's health care reform act. a key part of that plan, insurance exchanges roll out today. they give people critical information to sign up for the right plan. some states, like missouri are making the process more difficult. >> keep stirring, buddy. >> for steve and his wife, jean, caring for their 21-year-old son is nearly a full time job. >> that's it. that's how to do it. >> born with severe disabilities, he is legally blind and profoundly deaf, but otherwise relatively healthy. >> when he was younger, he was uninsurable, so it was very difficult. >> as self employed professionals, health care has been an expensive necessity, but they're optimistic that the

affordable care act will finally give them more cost effective option. >> it's probably not an option to stick with what we currently have. it is very, very expensive. >> getting information about how to navigate the marketplace could be tricky for people like these who need to bring their premiums down. the republican state controlled legislature passed proposition e., the law approved by voters prohibits the governor or any state agency from establishing or operating state based health insurance exchanges unless authorized by a vote of the people or the legislature. the exchange will still be there, but administered federally with no help from state agencies. >> governmental entities are banned from talking about, administering, running, helping the feds in any way with the marketplace. >> we could give away all our money tomorrow and it's just a drop in the bucket when it comes

to health care in the state. >> grassroots organizations and non-profits like the missouri foundation for health are attempting to fill the information vacuum. after several attempts to speak with missouri lawmakers on camera, aljazeera was referred instead to an op ed by kinder. he wrote. >> while the state had no legal requirements to educate, some here feel it certainly could help. >> we need information, because we need some options here. we would also like to have a navigator help us go through and

understand these options. >> for now, people in missouri will have to navigate without any help from their state. aljazeera, chicago. >> residents have until december 15 to sign up and still be covered when insurance kicks in next year. >> it was a battle of 4-0, teams in the superdome last night. darrin haynes joins us now with the highlight. >> there's no better way to end week four of the nfl season than to have two of the remaining undefeated teams play each other. to new orleans, second quarter, up 7-3, make that 14-3, drew bries up top to graham, but brees was just warming up. under a minute to go in the first half, brees hits darrin sproles for six. third quarter, land and go to

graham, brees with four highway passing yards, the 10th team he has thrown for 400 or more yards in a game, the second most in nfl history, behind dan marino. >> every time we touched the ball, we are going to go out and get points. i felt the run game was starting to get going in the second half. we never let up. got big plays in the passing game. the big guys up front did a heck of a job, spread the ball around quite a bit. jimmy and darrin had good nights. it was a great team win, the defense playing phenomenal. everything that could have gone wrong for us last year went wrong. we're having the ball bounce our way this year, but also we're playing good football. >> the. race and texas rangers finished the regular season tied for the final a.l. wildcard spot, forcing a single playoff game for the right to play the cleveland indians when the real playoff games start. texas looking for some more

hitting power, because cruz was back in the lineup. cruz was caught cheating in the bio genesis scandal and had to serve a 50 game suspension. he gave the rangers exactly what they gave door in that suspension, nothing. longoria to right center, that's gone, a two-run shot. rays up 3-0. the rangers show some light. groups one to center and here comes greg genre in to score, but texas was still down 3-1. let's jump to the ninth now. nelson cruz the last hope for the rangers. david price gets him to groundout to short. a complete game for the rays as tampa bay goes on to win 5-2. tampa bay will now face the indians who have won 10 straight in the a.l. wildcard tomorrow. in our postseason picture. tonight, the national league gets us started with the rays taking on the pirates. pittsburgh's hosting their first playoff game in 20 years.

wednesday, it's the american league's turn as the rays travel to cleveland to take on the indians. >> as the miami heat looked to win their third straight nba title, lebron james turned a blind eye to the possibility of becoming a free agent next season, but kept his why on winning not in 11, not a 12th, not a 13th championship. while he said he got better this season, the man they call king james plans to sit atop the nba throne. >> i want to be the greatest of all time. that's my motivation. it's not to be the greatest of all time in anyone else's books or how they judge the greats. it's for me. i feel i have the potential to get better and maximize my time while i'm able to play this game of basketball. i want to be the greatest. that's my motivation. that's all i need. >> that's a look at your morning

sports. >> king james, the greatest of all time. >> some parts of the country could be dealing with a bit of wet weather today. for more on the national forecast, let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> we're seeing more of the weather for the northwest that we've had pretty% edge recently. enough of a disturbance along the coastline that more wet weather, high surf and more snow for some of those higher i willvasions. the coastline will change possibly for isolated spots and enter into the higher elevations as we get into the mountains, the cascades. that could be six-inches or a couple spots or more. watch for the mountain passes. a lot of the rest of the region has cleared out as that weather system has moved on. that is into the midwest. you can pick out the cloud shields with it, but not a lot of moisture left with that frontal boundary. so, what we have though us still

the significant pressure change that causes the winds to crank up, meaning we've had higher winds for parts of the northern plains. as we continue on, you can see these kind of tan colors here. those are the areas under wind advisories, that could be wind gusting 30-40 miles per hour. you can see a lot of the current winds aren't that robust. some of them are gusting in the 20 miles per hour range. rapid city, yesterday, we had recorded over 60 miles per hour winds. dakota is flat, not a lot of tree to say buffet the winds, so high profile vehicles that can make driving a challenge. as we get to the rest of the country, look at how quiet we are for a lot of the midsection, southwest and east coast is under high pressure. that means we've been sunny for the last two days. we're going to stay that way. the one exception, we had that frontal boundary linger along the south coastline. we're going to see that fire off showers and storms.

watching that activity especially into the afternoon hours. one thing we're watching, we actually have a disturbance in the western caribbean. it looks like that could head toward the yucatan but possibly into the gulf. we talked about the national weather service and hurricane center earlier, the government may cut any critical offices that put out watches abwarnings and those things, those people are still in place if something does occur or for some of the warnings with other weather across the country. very mild conditions for a lot of the region. east coast in the 70's, 80's, another beautiful fall day. morgan. >> weapons inspectors are expected to arrive in syria today to begin destroying their arsenal of chemical weapons. we report on the daunting task ahead. >> the team will be working through a tight deadline and under extreme conditions. there are engineers, paramedics and chemists. the task facing them is

daunting, the u.n. resolution says all syria's chemical weapons production plants and equipment used to fill shelves and rockets must be destroyed by november 1. >> that is quite an ambitious time line. also the situation on the ground, that is comply caughting the mission, so quite challenging and this is the most challenging operation that we will undertake. >> preparations in the o.c.w. in the netherlands have been meticulous. the inspectors security will be a top priority. the syrian government is thought to have gathered its chemical weapons at two dozen sites, but some of them are near front line positions where the fighting continues to rage. field team of highly qualified experts will have to wear body armor at all times. >> we are like soldiers. when we go back, we will go back and do a very good job there. >> each member will tear a hand held monitor to constantly test

the environment. they'll wear gas masks to protect themselves from leaks as they gather samples and device ways to safely destroys what is thought to be a 1,000-ton of stockpiled chemicals, including sarin and mustard gas. there will be medics. heat exhaustion will be a constant he there. they will also need coordination with opposition force to say cross front lines and get the access they need. that will require delicate negotiations. both sides will be quick to blame the other if something goes wrong. aljazeera. >> for more on this important development, let's bring in nizreen. how with him the monitors destroy weapons at such a large scale in such a short time? >> >> officials at the organization

for the prohibition of chemical weapons themselves have described this mission as unprecedented. they say that these experts and technicians and chemists are in charge of destroying one of the largest chemical weapons arsenals in the world in a country that is in a state of war, so it's a huge challenge, given the tight deadlines. according to the u.n. resolution, they are supposed to get rid of all the chemical weapons in syria by mid 2014. they even have a tighter deadline coming up. they are supposed to get rid of facilities where chemical weapons produced and mixed. that's the top priority so as to crush the heart of the chemical program in syria, and then they're going to move on to destroy the other stockpiles that are not in facilities where they are being produced and mixed, so it is a tight deadline, and it's also a very challenging environment. this will be very difficult especially that we know there is no decision to send foreign

troops to defend these inspectors while they are working. >> there is the on going civil war. is the syrian government cooperating with the team? >> well, according to officials from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, they say so far, the syrian government is cooperating fully, even the president himself has said that syria will comply with this u.n. resolution to get rid of chemical weapons in syria and the organization has said, as well, that the government has not objected to any of the names of the inspectors that are being sent, and has approved them very quickly. now, how they progress and whether mid 2014 is a feasible deadline will depend on the ebb and flow of the syrian civil war. these inspectors will sometimes have to be in combat zones and sometimes have to travel through rebel-held areas, and sometimes they will be near the front lines, so security is the biggest issue they are facing, he is federally as i mentioned

already, that there are no plan to say send special troops just to protect them. they are there with their protective gear on their own to try to get rid of all the chemical weapons stock piled in syria by the middle of next year. >> thanks so much for beginning with us this morning. >> kicked out of the country. venezuela is giving three u.s. diplomats the boot. >> the president says the americans have been meeting with opposition leaders and trying to destabilize the country. now, he's blaming washington for his countries product shortages and says that the u.s. is waging an economic war against the opec nation. >> five hikers are dead after a rock slide in colorado, recovery crews will try to retrieve the bodies later today. a sixth member of the group survived. it happened in the national forest on a very popular hiking

trail early sunday morning. the names of the victims have not been released. >> benjamin netanyahu at the united nations, the dire warning that he plans on sharing with the rest of the world. >> i'm reminded that president washington when he was leaving office cautioned against political parties that were at war with their own government. here we are tonight.

hi, my name is jonathan betz,

>> we sent a request to the united states senate to simply treat all americans equally under obamacare. >> with no deal between the house and senate, government agencies are shutting down as we speak. many federal employees are staying home from work. it's been 17 years since the last government shutdown, and lawmakers will return to capitol hill this morning to try to reach some sort of agreement to

reopen the government. the. >> the mill stare spending big bucks to improve safety at the washington navy yard where 12 were killed. a $6.4 million contract was awarded for immediate safety fixes. the contract awarded to a colorado construction company calls for an alternative concept design to possibly replace the building. however, no decision has been made on whether to keep or replace the existing building. last month, gunman aaron alexis shot and killed 12 employees and wounded more before dying in a gun battle with police. >> two are fired for failing to protect a military base in afghanistan. this is the first time in 40 years with a general with more than two stars has been let go with negligence. it was stormed by 15 taliban fighters, killing two marines. the military found the general did not prepare adequately for the attack.

>> kenyas parliament is expected to question security officials about their handling of the deadly mall attack. politicians visited the west gate mall to honor the 67 people who lost their lives in the attack. rescue workers are still digging through the rubble where the mall parking lot used to stand, looking for de dozens still missing. >> in a meeting with barack obama, benjamin netanyahu warned the u.s. not to trust iran. the warning comes a week after iran's president tried to renew diplomacy with the u.s. >> prime minister netanyahu said iran cannot be trusted to make its nuclear program transparent. israel is saying to keep the pressure on iran. what do you make of that? >> it really is morgan, you're absolutely right. president netanyahu has been

doing this ever since he left the airport. he came looking for a couple of time lines. if not a time line to bomb iraq's nuclear facilities, then a time line to cut off the silly nonsense now going on between washington and iran. he did not get concessions on that. the two agreed that iran should never get a nuclear weapon, that all options are on the table, including the military option. the president asked the prime minute officer if he would go along for the diplomatic track. >> what can we expect from israel at this year's general assembly against the backdrop of iran and syria. >> do you remember last year, he draw that comical bomb? >> i do. a lot of people felt it was beneath him to do that, but it stuck in anybodies mind. he put the red line across the top. that red line represented where israel will not accept iran going with this nuclear

enrichment program, down the road toward creating a bomb. he believes iran is bluffing an all of this, that what president rouhani is doing is buying time to build a bomb. he doesn't mind being the only party pooper. everybody is jazzed that the president called the iranian president, but not prime minister netanyahu. he is very concerned that this changes the dynamic in the region. for years, israel and the u.s. have been the closest of allies. that is unlikely to change, but the dynamic changes. if iran and the u.s. are much better friends, then it's going to be far more difficult for israel to take unilateral action against iran. that's just one example. >> do you have any update on talks between palestinian negotiators and israel. >> we thought going into this

general assembly that the israeli palestinian situation would abheadliner. in the end, not so much. we are told they are talking at the highest level behind the scenes. iran could help the u.s. sort out sticky diplomatic situations in the region and help smooth the way even between the israelies and palestinians. >> thanks so much for joining us this morning. that will do it for this edition of aljazeera news. stay tuned throughout the day for coverage of the government shut down. you can always find us on aljazeera.com in the meantime. thank you so much for being with us.

what happens when social media uncovers unheard, fascinating news stories? >>they share it on the stream. >>social media isn't an afterthought. it drives discussion across america. >>al jazeera america social media community, on tv and online. >>this is your outlet for those conversations. >>post, upload, and interact. >>every night, share undiscovered stories. >> obama administration officials said they need to enrol 2.7 u.s. redents between the ages of 18 and 35 in exchange plans to balance risks and hold down costs. will they enrol come 1 october - should they pay the face. >> joining me now is jen mishory, deputy director of young invincibles, she's in washington d.c. and yevgeniy feyman, a research assistant at the manhattan institute.

thank you for being with us. i want to start with you yevgeniy feyman. the young people are crucial to the success of obamacare. >> absolutely. they'll balance out the risk pool, they'll keep premiums that need the insurance, and the administration is reaching out to them. >> jen, the young invincibles are in the 18-34 group.

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello and welcome to the news hour. i'm steven cole from al jazeera headquarters in doha. closed for business, the u.s. government tells its nonessential staffers to stay home. we'll be live in the capitol with the consequences. police in