♪ ♪ we've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis. >> the u.s. government is back open for business after the senate and house sign off on an 11th our plan. president obama signed it ending the 16-day shutdown raising the debt controlling and avoiding a potential global economic meltdown. after two days of diplomatic talks on the future of iran's nuclear program, significant progress, but no official agreement. iran says it's willing to modify its nuclear program in exchange for severe sanctions being lifted. new jersey elects us first black u.s. senator, new york mayor cory brooker won a special election giving the rising

democratic star an even bigger political stage. and after the floods in colorado, saving special memories, one photo at a time. ♪ ♪ hello and welcome to al jazerra america, i am stephanie sy. a potential global crisis was averted in washington. providing funding to end the 16-came government shutdown. the house followed suit late wednesday night and president obama quickly signed it quickly in to law. that means federal employees can head back to work on thursday and the government will be able for owe money and pay its bills, mike have care is in washington with more. >> reporter: just before the house voted in an overwhelming fashion to pass that senate bill as well, the president came in

to the white house briefing room and struck a co conciliatory toe and said this is much work to be done time to put politics and elections aside. the president will appear at the white house 10:35 in washington to talk about some of the initiatives that he wants to take from here going forward but it's unclear if that die natural i can the gridlock, the poll orr saying that brought the country to this has been alleviated. still conservatives say they will live to fight another day. they vow to delay or defund obama care. meanwhile the office of management and budget hear in the white house says the president will sign the bill on thursday night and furloughed workers are expect approximated to report back to work thursday morning.

>> with a last-minute deal things are getting back on track for the affordable health care act. republicans fought hard and lost in their bid to strip obama care of its funding. libby casey has that part of the story from washington. >> reporter: after weeks of frustration ideal was struck that reopened the government and raised the debt control flag for february and calls for a group to come together from both the house and senate to negotiate over binge he ha binge he had ig up with new plans by december. it took one whack at obama care. it tightens the income verification for people seeking subsidies you were the federal health care law. but that's a very minor concession to republicans who wages battle to fight obama care and try to gain some traction. well, things started looking up for ideal on wins right afternoon afte as the two lead e

the senate hairy reid and mitch mcconnell presented their plan and said they were both on board supporting it. it went from there. a pretty clean glide path as how speaker john boehner said he would allow the vote to go forward and, in fact, he even voted for it. so now federal workers can return to work and normal operations in washington and around the country can commence. of course, we may be right back here in a few months time since the federal government's only funded through mid january in this bill. >> libby casey reporting. and here are some of the key points of the bill. it would fund the government until january 15th and would pay the government's bills until february 7th. budget conference negotiations are to be held by a december 13th deadline. the bill also requires income verification for those participating in the affordable care act bet known that's bomb a care. although washington has avoided

a fiscal crisis there is growing skepticism that congress could be right baccouldbe right back d in january. jonathan has more. >> reporter: this provides relief. the congress is only kicking the can down the road. although we'll miss tomorrow's default deadline this agreement only push it says back by a couple of months until early february and the goff will now be funded until mid january. but then we could face another show down. we have seen it before. since the tea party movement lawmakers have repeat lid disagreed over spending, tax cuts and the new health care law. just going back to the 2010, december, u.s. faced another fight over the budget. government again came close to running out of money. so congress voted twice to funds the government by only a few days at a time. until finally in late december, lawmakers pushed it off until march the following year when we had another show down. this one was a big one, it lasted for weeks. we had several more quick budget extensions, deadlines narrowly avoided four times in march and

april, but by mid-april of 2011, april 15th, lawmakers came within hours of another shutdown. but a very last-minute deal then was truck str*ubg an hour before the deadline in fact and a budget was approved that lasted for a year until september. then came march of this year, another delay by a few months. and that brought us to october of this year. except this time no deal was reached by the october 1st deadline so the government shutdown for several weeks, now that we have a potential deal it only takes us to early next year. 90 days, then we face the possibility we'll see this fight all over again. >> jonathan betz reporting. in new jersey corey booker will soon be a u.s. senator defeating republican steve lon gone a state tea party needer a special lex, he takes the seat left by the late senator. booker is the first african american elected to the senate in new jersey's history. the indian state most affect

bide cyclone says it needs nearly $250 million to get back on its feet. officials from the eastern state say they are asking the government to release the funds immediately. the death toll from the cyclone has rid tone 36. hundreds of thousands of people are still stranded in the region after the cyclone swallowed up their homes. most people are still in the dark as officials worked to restore electricity. this was the strongest cyclone to hit the state in 14 years. in japan the march s* of for survivors continues after another typhoon hit there. it hit the country's eastern coast leaving 18 people dead and does ens more missing. rescuers are digging through debris from mudslides triggered. more than 350 homes were damaged or destroyed. ♪ ♪ >> meteorologist: hello. we are looking at some very wet conditions here across the central part of the united states and over towards the east. but the frontal boundary that's

causing the rain is beginning to actually weaken so that means the rain will finally start to subside and that's really good news down here towards texas. i'll get there in just a minute. first up towards the northwest, up towards montana we are picking up a combination of some mixed precipitation that's where you see that pink right there. there is some rain, more towards the east, this will continue all wait throughout morning and may be by midday when you really see rain across the area. it's going to get heavier, especially as it makes its way down towards wyoming. but for the western states we are looking nice. seeing the dry conditions in seattle. look at this all the way across to the beginning of next week. we don't have any rain in the forecast. temperatures in the low 60s overnight. we are going to be seeing those temperatures drop down to about 40. now, here across the southern and southeastern part of the united states, it's still quite dry. we had clouds making their way across nevada, a slight shower coming out of them but nothing really to talk about there. and this is what we are seeing, really rain is going to stay to the north. stay down towards the south.

everybody out here towards the southwest is going to be dry. phoenix, beautiful conditions can 82 degrees today. and as we go through until sunday, 85, it's going it be a great day to get out actually a lot of outdoor activity there. now, texas has had a major problem all the way from the beginning of the weekend. so five days of rain has been going on. fivfinally we are seeing a brean the rain. now, they did need the rain because of the various -- severe drought situation that has been going on across the region but austin saw a lot of flooding. 72 degrees as a high to dallas and san antonio 75. the head of the nsa making a surprise announcement about his future. the role the edward snowden scandal played in this decision. world leaders wrapping up talks with iran over the future that have country's nuclear program, what both sides were able to accomplish during the sit down.

and a prison for women set to become the home for male inmates. the problem that is creating for female prisoners. and their families. what happens when social media uncovers unheard, fascinating news stories? >> they share it on the stream. >> social media isn't an after-thought, it drives discussion across america. >> al jazeera america's social media community, on tv and online. >> this is your outlet for those conversations. >> post, upload and interact. >> every night share undiscovered stories.

(vo) al jazeera america we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. (vo) we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol. (vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story.

>> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news. a surprise announcement from the nsa, the head of the spy agency is stepping down, according to ns actual. the 61-year-old's retirement hag nothing to do with recent leaks from edward snowden. general alexander was appointed to his nsa role in 2005 by then defense second donald rumsfeld. the father of edward snowden says the former nsa contractor has more secrets to share. juan snowden just complete aid week-long visit with his son in moscow and says he's happen any russia and committed to what he has done. the younger snowden is wanted by the u.s. government for making hundreds of thousands of classified documents public. admirers call him a human rights champion. critics says he's a traitor.

u.n. weapon weapons inspecty they are make morning progress in eliminating syria's chemical weapons stockpile. they have visited 11 sites in the country. on wednesday they destroyed critical equipment at six of those locations. their goal is to get rid of syria's chemical weapons and facilities by the middle of next year. there has been significant progress in the latest round of talks on iran's nuclear program. they have agreed to hold more meetings soon hoping to flesh out ideal limiting teheran's ability to acquire nuke lack weapons, james bay is his in switzerland with more on the talks. >> reporter: i think it's clear that behind the scenes, both the international community and the iranians are talking about possibly making concessions to the other. i think it's possible that the international community is now considering the idea the letting iran enrich uranium to a certain level on its own soil. the iranians i think are

preparing to accept the possibility of further inspections and further verification measures. let's listen to what both sides have to say. >> we have had the opportunity to talk as i have already indicated in much greater detail than ever before. to answer each other's questions. to have the opportunity to do that, as i have already indicated in different formats. >> iran is interested in resolving this issue you, we believe that there is no reason for the continuation of this problem. there are more important issues that we need to deal with. and the right of iran to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful purposes including enrichment can, in fact, be exercised with the necessary political will without any concerns and that is what we are going to move forward and achieve in my view. >> reporter: western diplomats telling me there are still many

hurdles in this process, still many potential sticking points but they are encouraged by the progress that's been made by the clarity and the candor in their discussions with the iranians, one senior u.s. official said i have never had such intense, detailed, straightforward discussions with the iranians before. >> james bays reporting from geneva. four women are dead and a man is in the hospital after a boat capsized off the coast of florida. when the u.s. coast guard responded to a 911 call wednesday they found several haitian and jamaican passengers clinging to the hull of the survivors were taken in to custody to determine if they were attempting to get in to the country illegally. two colorado cantaloupe farmers accused in a deadly 2011 listeria out break has cut a plea deal with prosecutors, they are charged with introducing adulterated food in to interstate commerce. at least 33 people died avid eating the tainted melons. the brothers have filed court papers saying they will plead

guilty to unspecified charges. details will be made public at a plea hearing next week. the fate of michigan's ban on game marriage could be decided in a trial next year. a federal judge put off an expected decision in the case of a detroit lesbian couple who want to jointly adopt each other's kids. state of michigan ban as doings by unmarried couples. the lawsuit will determine whether the state is unlawfully discriminating against the two nurses by not allowing them to marry. washington state has established new rules for the legal sale of marijuana. the state's liquor control board will allow 334 retail pot stores to open across the state. next month it will begin accepting applications to run the pot shops. last november washington state voters approved possession of up to an nouns of marijuana for recreational use. danbury connecticut is home to one of the only federal women's prisons in the northeast but now that facility is being converconverted in to a prison r

men. as we report, that leaves the future uncertain for those female prisoners and their families. >> reporter: jacob and david are growing up without their mom. while stacy serves four years in federal prison for mortgage fraud, her boys are living with their aunt. the trip once a week to see their mom is only an hour away. >> them seeing her once a week is devastating enough. and extremely detrimental to their developmental psyc psychologically at klee-5. >> reporter: their aunt says they can't imagine how damaging it will be if their moms is moved hundreds of miles way, the danbury federal correctional institution up the road lear has housed low security female offensers for nearly 20 years, the federal bureau of prisons wants to relocate those inmates to other federal prisons around the country by the end of the year. prison officials say it will ease overcrowding in men's prisons and move some of the men closer to their homes.

but several democratic u.s. senators say it will cost more than $1 million to relocate the women to prisons from alabama to california. senator richard blumenthal of connecticut saying this short sided move will cause severe hardship, harm and pain for the young children of these women and hinder and restrict the family bonds and relationships we know are critical to rehabilitation. beatrice served 15 years at dan bare foy racketeering. >> i am standing in solidarity with my sisters who are beyond the wall. and they ever no voice, i am speaking for them. i know what they are going through. i ever torn for from identify miami family for fine years but i had visits because i was close. >> reporter: tamara is trying to keep her family together. juggling her own doubter and his sister's kids. every day she dreads getting a phone call from stacy saying her next visit will be much more than an hour way.

al jazerra, danbury, connecticut. >> indeed, most of the women from danbury are slated to be sent to a new 1800 bed facility in aliceville, alabama. a longstanding battle for native americans surfacing again. the role a nearly 200-year-old document is playing one tribe's fight for water. an army corporal awarded one of the nation's highest honors, he gives a surprise gesture to his commanding officer from a hospital bed. in colorado, they are trying to rebuild in the wake of massive flooding, how some are work to go restore precious memories for those who had their lives wa*fpd washewashedaway.

my name's nicole deford and i'm

what happens when social media uncovers unheard, fascinating news stories? it drives discussion across america. >> share your story on tv and online. for hundreds of years native americans have been fighting for the right to water. the pressure resource on tribal lands is secured by century's old treaties signed with the federal government. but one tribe in oklahoma is fighting a rapidly growing city.

>> reporter: the lake, a the state of oklahoma funded its construction in the late '70s, to supply water to the reac regn and now to the west a rapidly expanding oklahoma city says it needs that water. the problem is the treaty of dancing rabbit creek. signed in 1830, it decreed that the chalk to you tribe would own this lands in return for leaving there ancestral homelands. there have been attempt to his remove indian land and water rights here. notably, after the chalk to you indian nation cited with the confederacy during the civil washing newspape nevertheless te they still control this water. they have the cash to back up the fight. and with money comes the political influence to argue that this water is not oklahoma city's to take.

>> we have always had a presence, we have always had a voice, but it wasn't a very loud voice and now with the advent of gaming and other economic opportunities, tribes have the resource to his hire those attorneys. this is not our grandparents' generation. >> reporter: oklahoma says they accept that chalk t to you has a say and that it recognizes the taking of massive amounts of water and drawing down the reservoir is not good environmental management. >> they want do come across the board. >> reporter: local residents aren't convinced. other lakes supplying oklahoma city have been drained. he fears the same will happen here. >> take all that water out of here what have you got. a shallow lake. mud flats all around the area,

nothing. >> reporter: similar water disputes are underway around the youu.s. at root the tribes say is the sovereignty grant to the them for the expulsion of their homelands, their trail of tears. al jazerra, oklahoma. >> the week long convention has drawn the attention of state and national leaders expected to speak are attorney general eric hold ore and oklahoma governor marry fallen. ran army ranger seriously injured during a suicide attack in afghanistan rose to the occasion when he was given his purple heart. this photographs has gone viral. his doctors and commanding officer thought he was unconscious when it was time to presents him with his medal so the officer pinned it to his blanket but the corporal, who had just come out of surgery surprised everyone when he accepted it purple heart by soluting his commander. a french court has upheld a fraud conviction against the church of sire t scientologist,e

conviction will stand. they were found guilty of pressuring members in to paying large sums of money for questionable services. the los angeles-based church was fined the equivalent of $814,000 could affect similar cases in belgium and nerve any. >> it'germany. it's been a month since the flooding in colorado. since then work has been going on. jim caught up with a group of women helping flood victims preserve precious family photographs that were destroyed. >> reporter: every picture really does tell a story. >> that's my aunt. she's a nun, yeah. >> reporter: these pictures tell stories of disaster and loss. >> it is very emotional. >> reporter: sue has a whole box of old family photos she kept in her home. she always believedded that they would last forever. >> as soon as the flood hit, i thought for sure that they were completely lost. >> reporter: slimy and muddy her

collection looked hopeless, destined for the trash after her house was swamped by the flooding in september. but then these women stepped in. this looks to be in tough shape, though? >> it is. all they mulls is stuck to the class tick. >> reporter: theplastic. they have been working diligently. for victims who feared generations of memories were lost. >> i am cutting out a photo from a plastic sleeve. many images of glued together by mud and moisture, one by one they go about their salvage operation. the flood is cut off whole towns, destroyed roads and filled payments with water in 19 counties leaving plenty of

photos to be saved. guessing the number of photos that you have done? >> we are estimating around 10,000 examine more. it's amazing because we'll get a stack of photos that are just back to back. >> reporter: and these women will be the first to tell you this author not experts. they are self-taught from the internet. they are not working with any special tools, other than exact owe knives, water, plastic tubs and rubber gloves. >> the gloves are a blessing and a curse. >> reporter: but all felt the need to step up and do something in the wake of the devastation. >> it just felt see zoe good to start physically doing somethi something. to make a difference for these people so impact. >> reporter: mom and dad here, your family. >> that's my mom and dad, practice my brother before i exited. >> reporter: sue lost almost everything. but she still has her memories. >> to see these being salvaged it brings me to tears almost. >> reporter: these women who call themselves the boldser photo rescue group are doing all

of this savoring these memories without charging a cent. jim, al jazerra, bolder, cogliano. >> and the women of boulder photo rescue are take getting their work joycely seriously goa lawyer to to draft a contract so the people will feel comfortable with them with their precious pictures. >> it's a done deal. president obama sign odd oed ofa ideal with that the government opens on thursday and the country will avoid defaulting on its debt at least for now. it funds the government until january 15 and this pays the bills until february 7th. budget conferences are to be held by a sell 13th deadline. newark mayor cory booker will be new jersey's first black senator. he won a special election to replace the late frank. booker beat out republican steve lolonergan a state identity petr

leader. talks with a ran about its nuclear program have wrapped up in geneva representatives from the european union and u.n. security council have asked a ron to agree to international monitoring, the white house says iran's proposals contain a level of seriousness and substance not seen before. additional talks are scheduled for november. well that, will do it for this edition of al jazerra news america. i am stephanie sy, the stream is next and, remember, news at the top of every hour as well as any time online you can log onto our website. a