>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. >> the central argument is this, are we going to sit down and have a conversation or aren't we? >> both parties say they want to talk it out but no change still. more weapons inspectors now headed into syria. and north korea puts its forces on alert.

the shutdown continues after the house and congress continue to fight over the budget. republicans are saying they will not raise the debt limit without negotiations. that is something the house with says it does not support. we're joined by randall pinkston at the white house. and speaker boehner says he is not drawing any lines in the sand, has there been any response from the white house? >> the white house continues to say if speaker boehner would allow the so-called continuing resolution, a clean bill with no amendment, that the shutdown could be ended right away. they are not quite so sure what to do about the debt ceiling, but the shutdown could be ended right away. meanwhile we have heard speaker boehner say it's all up to president obama and harry reid

to take the next step. >> by refusing to negotiate, harry reid and the president are putting our country on a pretty danger path. listen, there has never been a president in our history that did not negotiate over the debt limit. never, not once. matter of fact, president obama negotiated with me over the debt limit in 2011. he also negotiated with the blue dog democrats to raise the debt ceiling in 2010, so the way to resolve this is to sit down and have a conversation to resolve our differences. >> right now there is a poll that shows most voters do not agree with speaker boehner. they do not think the debt limit should be tied to any kind of other issues. this poll was taken by united technologies and the national journal, by moore than half they are saying it should not be tied

to the political care act or negotiations over the budget. that they should be done separately. and if it doesn't happen, it will be very serious consequences. democratic leaders held their news conference to respond. >> we have now experienced in the last week of this republican government shutdown the largest drop in american's confidence in their economy. and if our republican colleagues don't think this is serious, shutting down the government intentionally so they can get their way on items that have nothing to do with budget policy, then they should take a look at what the american people are saying. they are telling us that they have very little confidence that this republican congress will allow the economy to continue to improve. >> we have nine days until the nation hits the debt ceiling, and hopefully between now and

there will be progress. so far, however, not so much. >> what about public perception right now, any idea how the american public feels about everything that is going down there in washington. >> let me refer you to this poll that just came out from united technologies, and it says that 65% of those polled -- this poll was taken between october 3rd and 6th. 65% say the one-year delay to obamacare should be dealt with separately. that the cuts for discretionary funding should be dealt with separately. and 70% say there should be no connection with the keystone pipeline. so the public seems to be mostly blaming the republicans for the problem, although president obama's favorable ratings are also taking a hit, and will likely take a heavy hit as we go

forward. >> and we're also hearing that harry reid may plan on rolling out a stand-alone measure to raise the debt ceiling. are we of the belief that this is a real solution? >> it is certainly harry reid trying to get a jump on the deadline. but first he has to get some republican support. right now we don't know if he will get that, but if he does the senate can pass it and send it to the house. >> even if washington is not feeling the public pain there are now solid stories that pain is being felt. we heard two congress men indicating there is now a trickle-down effect to all of this gridlock in washington. >> yes, private secretary pain being felt by lockheed workers,

3,000 of them laid off, contract twhors cannot do their work if federal workers are furloughed, so they can't get paid. and that's happening all over the country, and we also are hearing unfortunately that people who receive social security, the people dependent on those checks may be seeing some delays. it is not a pretty picture going forward, and hopefully something can be resolved before we hit the wall. >> randall sometimes cab drivers can say things better than most people in washington. i was in a cab and a guy looked at me and said do they just not get it. so i'll ask you, do they just not get it? >> i think they both get it,

dell, but each side has its own agenda. president obama as speaker boehner pointed out did give up $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next two years, that was a budget cut number that democrats hated. and now democrats are saying you republicans got what you wanted, but the republicans say there still needs to be something that needs to be done about the spending, because the nation is spending more than it is taking in. you know, talking past each other. >> randall pinkston joining us live from the white house, randall if i get back in that cab, i'll tell them exactly what you had to say. thank you very much. some optimism turning to pessimism. the stocks began to rally just a bit on word that house speaker

john boehner was making a statement, but they turned back south when his comments were clear there would be no break through. and the polls seem to be bearing things out as well, just one week into the first government shutdown since 1996, congress is taking a beating in the polls. the latest gallup poll showing that their overal approval rating dropping from 19% to 11% this month. that is the second-lowest since gallop began taking polls. at a conference in kabul karzai says they have failed to bring stability to his country and the air strikes violate afghan sovereignty. >> the united states and nato

have not respected our sovereignty. whenever they have found it suitable to them, they have acted against it. this has been a serious point of tension between us. >> karzai's term ends next year, and they have been negotiating on a new agreement. north korea has put its military on high alert. it is outraged it says that the u.s. is preparing for naval drills off of the coast of south korea. >> reporter: two developments of note, firstly, north korea's statements really attacking south korea and the united states over the joint military exercises which are going on -- or due to be going on off of the coast of south

korea and involving japan. north korea putting its army on alert, saying it had to be ready to respond to any aggressive action. but potentially more interesting is what the national intelligence service in south korea has been saying. we're getting more information coming out of this closed session, a proper briefing now to journalists about what was said. and what is being said confirmation as far as the south koreans are concerned that the nuclear reactor has indeed restarted that north korea did carry out a long-range nuclear test. and more interesting is what they are saying about kim jung un himself, that he will reunify the korean peninsula within three years. but even if that's just to try to rally the senior troops

around him, an interesting development nonetheless, and as well as that, they believe he has replaced 44% of the more than 200-most senior civilian and military officials in korea. so an interesting assessment from the national intelligence service and a return to slightly more hostile rhetoric. child labor, still a big problem in parts of the world, up next on al jazeera, the problems the children face in dangerous underground mines. closest to the story, invite hard-hitting debate and desenting views and always explore issues relevant to you.

[[voiceover]] from lucrative defense contracts to behind-the-scene lobbyists. >>did egyptians ever think that aid would actually be cut? >>never. [[voiceover]] fault lines explores the enduring relationship between the american and the egyptian militaries. >>i don't think we will suffer now. we already have airplanes, tanks ... >>they haven't changed the nature of what they provide us. why would we want to change what we provide them? in syria, un inspectors are destroying chemical weapons there. banky moon has spent troops in to handle the task.

zena joining us live in beirut. it is still a war zone, so how can these inspectors operate? >> reporter: well, it's a difficult mission, even the un secretary general called it unprecedented and dangerous. it is a war, and there is more than one battleground at the moment. the regime is on the offensive, and the rebels are on the offensive in a number of regions. we do not have any specific information on where exactly these sites are located, so it is a dangerous mission on the ground. the deputy foreign minister telling the inspectors that they cannot guarantee their safety in areas where the military is engaged in conflict with the opposition. a very, very difficult situation. the chemical weapons inspectors

there is already an advanced team on the ground, but so far they have been satisfied with the protection they are receiving from the government. >> and there may be as many as 2 million more syrian refugees in 2014. how can these countries cope? >> reporter: well, yes, the united nations expecting more than 2 million people to flee syria by the end of 2014, lebanon is one of those host countries, and this country can no longer cope, sounding the alarm bill saying that lebanon is going to take measures to prevent any increase in the number of refugees entering this country. they said they are setting some conditions and going to start to screen the refugees to make sure

that they qualify for r-- refuge status. the presence of the syrians in lebanon has caused social tensions, security incidents, and lebanon telling the world this country can no longer cope. the international community finding it difficult to deal with this situation. >> so much attention is being paid to the chemical weapons removal, and yet the civil war rages on and thousands continue to die. >> reporter: yes, speak to any syrian, and that's what they will tell you. the international community is concerned with its own interests and not the interests of the syrian people. conventional weapons are killing

people on a daily basis, so the syrians really feel the world has ignored them, there is talk about an international peace conference convening in the next few weeks, but a lot of people especially those in the opposition and those who have lost loved one, do not believe in a political resolution. they feel the international community should pay more attention to their plight. the crisis in egypt is escalating and marches against the interim government are underway. students are gathered at several universities across the country. we go live by phone to our correspondent in cairo, and as always we will not identify the reporter's name for security

seasons. so what can you tell us about those student protests? >> reporter: well, what we can say about this is this week the anti-coup alliance has said they intend from today to friday to have increasing protests at universities around egypt. so what has happened in at least three different cities in egypt, we have had students leaving their classes and going out and demonstrating. in cairo, a thousand students left their classes and stayed inside the campus, because the military authorities don't have permission to go on to the campuses to stop these demonstrations. so a small proportion of that thousand left the campus and marched to one of the squares where the sit-in was staged in august and where violence was used to break up the sit-ins,

and in other cities we had protests, including the university from mohammed morsi studied as a student, and there groups of students who are pro military and groups of students who weanti-coup alliance clashe with each other. >> protest as violence as we indicated two police officers killed in fort sied any more information on what happened there? >> reporter: a group of four unidentified men opened fire on police officers there in a targeted attack. and this follows the attacks yet on the suez canal, where six

solders were billed and in sinai where more police officers were killed in a car bomb. so this is typical over the violence that has been raging in recent months. a welcome couple from texas is pledging big bucks to help preschoolers. laura and john arnold have donated $10 million to the national head start program. that gift helping reopen the program for thousands of children in low-income areas. head start has vowed to return the donation as soon and if the new budget kicks in. millions of children are still working in child labor.

many of them in very dangerous occasions. >> reporter: this 11-year-old is one of millions of nigerian children forced to work in conditions like this. he dropped out of school when he was eight to join the ever-growing number of people working in mines across nigeria. for him the pay justifies the pain. >> translator: with the little i earn here i support my family and take care of my own needs, yes, it is hard work, but what options do i have? i'm happy with what i do. >> reporter: he says his parents are happy with him working, but admits he would rather be in school. with supports from a local musician, osama and others brush aside the potential danger of the work. they have no protective equipment. some have been killed or injured. this is the site where they come

to regularly pull down less than a dollar a day. this back breaking job is the only viable option for getting food for their families, yet despite the dangers they feel luck y to be here. the stones are brought here to be crushed. then the extraction process begins. [ laughter ] >> reporter: these are the dealers who fund most of the operation what means they make most of the profit. they reject the idea that using children is exploitation. >> translator: they have the opportunity of a lifetime. most of the people here are from poor families. but these young men support themselves and their families are better off than the educated. ♪ >> reporter: back at the mind osama's focus is to make money

and probably be a dealer himself. there are millions in nigeria who are out of school and out of luck at the moment. and unless the government finds a way to stop the exploitation millions more will never know the joy of childhood. the international labor organization estimates one in four children in nigeria under the age of 14 are now part of the work force. still ahead another day another nobel prize the winner this time of the nobel prize in physics.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines. members of the house leadership held a news conference about an hour ago. both parties say they want to end the government shutdown, but neither has taken any action to make it happen. a second team of weapons inspectors going into syria.

banky moon calling for the inspection. and north korea putting its troops on stand by. the winners of the 2013 noble prize in physics have just been announced. awarding professors francois englert, and peter higgs, winning the prize. they created what is better known as the god particle. four other physics who worked on the project were not given any award. >> reporter: from the beginning there was the big bang when many scientists believe it all started. what was at first a hot dense cloud of energy then formed into prt particles.

these became the building blocks of our world, but how and why it happened remained a mystery. here scientists have been shooting atoms at great speed down a tunnel to see what happens when they collide. in march they tentatively confirmed the existence of a sub atomic particle that is named after the man who first suggested it might exist, now noble prize winner, peter higgs. >> we knew so little in the beginning about where this particle might be in mass, and therefore how high energy machines would have to go before it could be discovered, and it has been a very long development over the years. >> reporter: now that they say where and when to find the higgs

boson, they hope over time it will lead to new technologies that could change the lives of us all. ♪ storms in the northeast, but a return to fall-like temperatures. it was warm yesterday as the storms came through, but now there are clouds on the radar showing we are all clear, rain has cleared out. nothing in the sky except sunshine. but cooler temperatures. the cool air is here, only climbing up to about 70 today, and then 68 tomorrow after a start of about 54. look at thursday and friday. a lot of rain in the forecast. it seems dry now, but a storm will be developing just off of the coast of north carolina, a

lot of rain there and that will slowly work its way up the coast and bring rain to the northeast. for the next 24 hours out stays south of pennsylvania, very heavy rain, virginia, north and south carolina, so the northeast dealing with some rain here over the next two or three days, not today. it's waiting until about wednesday and thursday -- or thursday and friday. temperatures of much cooler air here. in phoenix it is 71 degrees, but climbing today into the 70s and 80s. quick rebound with the temperatures aside from the northeast warming back up to the mideast and eastern seaboard. >> thanks for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters coming to you live from new york. "inside story" is next, and as always you can check out us 24 hours a day by going to our website, aljazeera.com, where the news continues 24 hours a

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