>> welcome to aljazeera america, i'm dale walters, and these are the stories we're following for you. the shut down, it's nothing to write home about. >> the 11 of us are committed to pursuing every avenue available to bringing this tragic conflict to an end. >> leaders gathering in washington to look for an end to the syrian war. and farmers linked to the deadly outbreak changed their story.

it is 18 days late and on a tuesday in october. but the labor department finally released the september jobs report. the unemployment rate dropping slightly, but the numbers aren't anything to celebrate. why no one is popping the channel wane corks. >> this is the last employment report that won't be skewed by the lingering shutdown. fingers were crossed that there would not be signed in the recovery. u.s. employers added just 148,000 jobs in september. unemployment fell to a five-year low, but suggesting that the job market was weakening even before the government was shut down. >> more people are falling out of the labor force, and so while you're seeing the unemployment rate drop, it's not a sign that

things are getting better and the me is improving >> reporter: the lack of progress in the labor market, with so many people out of work, consumer spending may suffer as we head into the crucial holiday shopping season. >> when people are not feeling secure about their jobs, they're not in a position where they're going to go hog wild at the mall. and that's part of the slowing economy >> reporter: now we have to only wait two weeks before the report. and we'll see how it really slows down the economy. >> there's a ray of hope on the jobs front. while most workers in the fast food industry are struggling to make ends meet, there's one that is paying above minimum wage. tom in detroit where the jobless rate is higher than anywhere in the u.s. >> reporter: chickenburger and fries, the standard american

menu. at detroit's newest fast food place, it's fresh and custom made. and the motto is great food fast. >> it's a great burger. it's not like greasy fast food. and good quality ingredients that i don't mind feeding my five-year-old daughter, and she loves it. >> reporter: in a state where the starting pay here is $12 an hour. >> they pay us quality. our wage is higher than most fast food restaurants, and it makes us want to come in and work hard and succeed with them. >> reporter: while service industry workers at mcdonald's and wendy's, they're happy.

>> we don't have disgruntled employ's, we like to keep them happy. and we like to challenge them. if we get a more qualified or better worker and we pay them more, we're getting out of it what we're paying into it. >> reporter: another key part of the business model, ties to the local community. >> people thinking out of the box, and doing things differently. and meeting the needs of the people who live and work here. >> reporter: but the manage the has much wider ambitions >> the future is world domination, plain and simple. we're giving people an alternative to food that's not good for them. they have heard all of the rumors and seen all of the dietary information. i really believe that rapid expansion is in this the works. we're currently where mcdonald's started >> maybe giving the city where

motown started a new name. moo cluck. >> meanwhile, there's a reaction on wall street to that. the stocks are higher on the dow, 43 points, but mixed elsewhere at this hour. as we noted that investors are speculating that the job report, the fed is not going to be pulling back on that easy money stimulus program any time soon. that's good news, and the numbers are up on the dow. international leaders are looking for a way to end the long and bloody conflict in syria. the friends of syria are meeting in london today to try to take part in a proposed peace conference in geneva. >> if you can win at the negotiating table, what it may take a long time and a lot of loss of life, and a lot of bloodshed and potential introduction to win on the battlefield. so i think they see that. i think they see something very positive in that. and our hope is that this

conference can begin. it will never be easy. >> to the latest now, we turn to phil, standing by live in london, and phil, what type of negotiations doff when neither party, neither of the principles show up? >> well, dell, unfortunately, coming out of london, no negotiations, and that's the reality on the ground here. they had hoped to formulate a way to bring the warring parties to the peace table for negotiations in november, and that is simply not going to happen. even the one member of the syrian opposition, who actually came to landon to participate here today has been so disheartened by the talks, that he now says he's now withdrawing his participation in the geneva 2 talks. it's increasingly looking as though those western backed friends of syria, the european and the western and the arabic

efforts to bring this to negotiated peace, hopefully beginning in geneva, just are not going to come to fruition. >> and phil, does anybody expect it to be solved at the table when one of them has links to al qaeda? >> yes, that's one of the major issues when you talk about the opposition. and we have heard an awful lot of talk from western powers, including secretary of state, kerry today, saying that the syrian opposition is so fractured and disnant. and there needs to be a voice coming out of the opposition, it includes the front, and the islamic state of iraq and the lav ant, who have direct connections to al qaeda, it's believed. so how to bring all of these different groups who form up the

syrian opposition together to meet with the other side of the table, and that's a big issue as well. they don't want to sit down with assad or iran. and bringing all of these people to the table is such a huge obstacle to overcome, and really no forward movement has come out of these talks. >> phil, joining us from london, and thank you very much. meanwhile, it continues to get worse. >> reporter: much of syria's war is at checkpoints like this. the rebels break the offensive and it's impossible to say witch rebels, these scenes are being repeated across the country. here the rebels win, but that's not always the case. in the damascus countryside, the

shelling continues for a fourth day. the damage is immense. and more violence. each if the plan continues, the peace conference at geneva two finds itself in controversy. one of the groups representing the rebels would like to talk outside of the talks, using a forum and that was prompted criticism from russia. meanwhile, the planned peace conference has of work to do before it becomes a relate. [ speaking foreign language ] >> interpreter: there is no date and no factors in holding it now if we want to succeed. meaning, who are the parties participating in geneva? what is the relation of these forces to the syrian people? are they forces representing the countries that made it?

if these forces representing the conference and the dialogue wanted to suggest something later, on which basis do we answer it as a country? who does it represent? >> it's like one side, particularly at the role of key player, such as russia and iran, haven't been included in the preliminary talks with the syrian group in the peace conference. >> a reminder that aljazeera.com is providing special coverage of the plight of the syrian refugees, with video reports on the situation that millions of syrians face as they are forced from their homes in the middle of the civil war fest >> dealing with a major security problem. agency said that mall ware has

affected it's headquarters in vienna, and none of its data has been affected in. >> the owners of that colorado cantaloupe farm tracking the deadly outbreak of wisteria, they're expected to plead guilty that they allowed the tainted melons to reach the stores in several states. the brothers pleaded not guilty if september, and how have things changed? and what happened in court today? >> we understand that the brothers have pleaded guilty now on all six charges to introducing tainted food into the system. the court hearing is still going on, and we're waiting to find out. but all we know is that they changed their plea from september when they were pleading not guilty. it could have meant 6 years and

a million and a half dollars, and now we expect the charges to be reduced but we'll wait to see what those are. >> there seems to be another twist in this case, and the brothers have filed a lawsuit of their own, and what's that all about? >> the brothers say that they are the victims of their own good intentions. they hired an auditor to inspect the melons, and he gave them a 96% approval rating just as the melons were going to market. they changed from recirculating chlorinated water to a different system. and that was the problem. and they said that they got bad advice. and they are suing the auditor. they say that any damages collected in the lawsuit would go to the victims of the poisoning. paul? >> paul, thank you very much. and also, in colorado, it has

been a month since those terrible floods there. up next on aljazeera america, we'll tell you about a town suffering and trying to rebuild.

>> we still don't know why that student opened fire at a nevada middle school, but the hero is being hailed as presenting something far worse. the gunman bounded two students and killed the teacher before taking his own life >> the student arrived on school grounds, and he shot a student in the shoulder. this occurred near the north hallway of the school. he proceeded southbound, and encountered the teacher, mr. man' lansbury on the court. and they were walking toward each other. and we'll elaborate on that

shortly. the suspect shot the teacher, continued southbound, shot a second student in the abdomen, turned around and walked northbound and then shot himself. at no time did any shooting occur within the building of the school itself. there were no shots by law enforcement. >> that's part of a news conference taking part right to you in sparks, nevada. the mode behind the shooting, the officials say, remains a mystery. it has been more than a month since that widespread flooding left people dead and destroyed homes in colorado. rebuilding ha has been tough, ba small community of immigrants has found building especially thank you. [ speaking spanish ]

>> reporter: roamero and their family were stranded on the roof of their trailer home for hours during the historic flood of september. they saw neighbors trailers float by, and then their home was ripped off it's foundation. so they're living here now, seven people sharing one room in a friend's home. a struggling family to rebuild their lives and identity. and they're not alone >> we're seeing immigrant families have to rely on friends and family and move into homes where they're allowed a room, or they share a living room so their children can sleep. >> reporter: she works with the immigrant community in greeley, colorado. their non-profit organization assists 300 immigrants. documents that they can't afford to replace. >> replacement of birth certificates, and green cards and work permits.

>> the one place that they could get help to replace their documents is the federal government. saying that getting immigrants back on their feet is a priority but not deportation. so they don't trust them. the faith based organizations are stepping up. >> the churches are involved in things like trying to get them access to credit, so they can reestablish their homes and working through community partners we know here, and working to get them automobiles >> reporter: christ presbyterian church is also providing counseling for families. >> we're trying to pray with them and saying, we're going to walk beside you all the way as long as it takes to get your lives back in order. >> reporter: tamara banks, aljazeera, colorado. >> that historic flooding in colorado affected 24 counties across the state, causing $2 billion in damage.

well, face it, a lot of us are being tight fisted these days. there's a new report out where 72% of americans say they're holding back their spending. stagnant wages and a week economy and a desire to just save more. they that consumer spending makes up 70% of the economy and bad news for any future growth. it seems that you see all them doing it. kohl's is opening their to on thanksgiving day. and they are going to go along with other stores, all of them trying to get a jump on the all-important holiday shopping season. and the battle of the search engines, yahoo gets another win. more of us visited their website than google in september. and that's the third month in a row that happened. and though the visitors may be

lower, google isn't. they're supposed to make $40 billion in ad revenue this year, and that's ten times more than yoo hoo >> >> most of us can't get through the day without a cup of joe, one, two cups, maybe a gallon and that's why this comes as good news. >> reporter: if drinking a cup of coffee is part of your daily grind, it could be a cheaper habit. dry weather has been big for production in brazil. they will exceed demand by 4 and a half million bags. and that's on top of the 10 billion surplus last year. the price of coffee tumbled to $1.12 a pound.

or $2.80 a kilo. at the store, one might expect to pay $10 for a kilogram bag. so let's do the math. a kilo costs you 8 to 100 cups, and that means 10 cents a shot. a cappuccino or latte can cost up to $3 in most markets. starbucks is facing scrutiny in china this week because the state media is accusing it of overpricing. $4.50 for a medium priced latte, a third more than the united states. though even though the price of beans is on a downward trend, 2s mostly at supermarkets where one is likely to get more brew for a buck. >> coming up next on aljazeera america, these dancing kids know how to put on a show, but a lot of them risk their lives to do

so. where they are now.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm dell walters, and these are your headlines. >> if anybody wants to know why, that's the big question. the answer is, we don't know right now. >> miss in sparks, nevada, trying to actively find out why a 12-year-old student monday opened fire at a middle school. he killed a teacher and wounded two students before killing himself. secretary of state, john kerry, is in london, trying to help the problem in syria. and job report out today. 148,000 jobs in september, and unemployment dropped to 7.2%. but that report was delayed because of the government shutdown. a group of young men from iraq are turning a lot of heads

in the hip ho hiphop community,y recently performed in dearborn, michigan, they called themselves the step crew and they sat down with us. >> on sunday after, the sounds of hiphop music emanate from the walls of the arab american museum in dearborn, michigan, just outside of detroit. and these young men who traveled here from iraq are taking the center stage. they call themselves the step crew. it's a group of six men in their early 20s, who have embraced urban american hiphop culture through dance. >> it's an opportunity that i can't express. it means a lot. we're really thankful for the opportunity. >> reporter: he was first introduced to hiphop through an african-american u.s. soldier, serving in a small town in baghdad in 2006. it was a brief, one time

encounter that changed his life. >> he was like, come here, and he done this to me, and he goes, watch. and i was like, how did he do that? it was something really inspiring. >> reporter: six years later, hussein and his dance mates made their way to the u.s. and auditioned for american voices, a non-profit organization, based in st. louis, missouri, that provides musical and dance training to young people from around the world. after 12 months of training, sponsored by the u.s. state department, the group emerged with new steps and a name. the step crew, as they are called, is now displaying their talents across the u.s. forming the step crew has not been easy. some of them literally risked their lives to break dance in

their iraqi homeland where just dancing in a park could make them a target for extremists. and it's forbidden because of words with sex and drugs. but they believe that it's hart. john ferguson is executive director of american voices >> these guys, especially the two from baghdad, feel hiphop is a way to get a positive message to young people, and try to find ways to go beyond ethnicity and professional differences and find a way to unify an art form. >> i guess its kind of like inspiring to express myself more, because it's different here than in iraq. so just imagine, if they could do it, i could do it too. >> that's what hiphop is together. >> the step crew will spend the

next week performing in both boston and new york. they hope that the day will come soon when they're able to share what they learned here with those back in iraq. aljazeera, detroit. >> i'm meteorologist, and temperatures getting cool across the northern plains. the cold air is moving down and pushing into the northeast. 30s in minneapolis and warmer in billings, montana, that's correct to the wind off of the rockies, and cooler in the pacific northwest. the cool air will continue to move east. and as it does, showers in pennsylvania. light rain in pennsylvania up to new england and it stops and develops a coastal storm in the next 24 hours, so we'll get heavier rain along the coast, from delaware through pennsylvania and new york, and all the way up to the coast of boston. that wind will come out of the

northeast and keep the temperatures from warming up too much tomorrow. and certainly not happening today. 60s, nice warm day in philadelphia and new york, and mid to upper 60s. dropping into the 40s tonight. and only climbing from tomorrow morning, wednesday morning to wednesday afternoon. mid to low 50s. a 10-15-degree temperature drop and that comes with rain. rain develops, and clears out on thursday, friday and saturday. but a cool breeze, and the temperature will stay into the low 50s. two typhoons in the pacific will continue to track to the north and the west. and over the next five days, they could be coming close to japan. so we're watching the tracks closely. and by saturday, just off of the coast of japan. >> thank you each of you for watching aljazeera america. i'm del walters, and earth rises is next. for more throughout the day, go to aljazeera.com, where we have special coverage of the syrian

refugee crisis. more than 1 million people have fled that country. and wall street is up. 55-plus in the points. >> i'm mei-ling mcnamara in canada here to discover how the great bear rainforest is being protected. >> i'm amanda burrell. i'm in london to find out how to make old houses green. >> and i'm yaara bou melhem in indonesia's south sulawesi looking at how the efforts of local people are restoring this mangrove forest.