good evening, everyone, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. lack of trust. european leaders accuse the u.s. of spying on them, and warn it could hurt the fight against terrorism. >> we have every intent to not stop until it is smoothly operating. >> at a loss for words the secretary of health on fixing the health care website and her promise to americans. and education changes, the president's message for students in school today. he is hoping congress is listening too. ♪

two major allice angry with the u.s. over spying allegations. now they are demanding answers. germany and france are calling for new talks with the u.s. about spying rules. nine members of the european parliament will travel to the u.s. to push for answers on the spy claims. german spy chiefs are planning a trip to the white house as well. mike viqueira is at the white house tonight. [ technical difficulties ] >> the substance of these allegations, spying on some of american's closest allies. the president has been on the phone with the leader of france and angela merkel herself. but one thing officials are not doing at least not in public. they are not apologizing for what has transpired.

u.s. officials are saying the united states gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathers by all nations. here is jen sockky on friday. >> we of course will factor in the views of our friends and partners as we have those discussions with them. and continue to balance our security needs with privacy concerns. we fully expect that allegations -- more allegations will surface, given the quantity of classified information leaked by mr. snowden. >> u.s. officials do say they are reviewing intelligence gathering procedures as the delegation prepares to come to washington next week. a spokeswoman would only say the united states is committed to engaging bilaterally. back to you. >> mike viqueira at the white

house. and later in this newscast, just how long the u.s. has been spying on foreign leaders, and why it may be the worst kept secret in the world. to experts say the u.s. needs to be more up front about the potentially illegal use of armed drones. they want an international agreement about when the use of drones is acceptable. >> there is no clear international consensus on the most important legal questions that govern the circumstances in which it is lawful to use drones or any other method for lethal extra territorial counter terrorism operations. >> there have been more than 150 drone strikes in pakistan in the past three years. that's the rate of about one drone attack per week. there is strong evidence that

senior pakistan officials cooperated with the u.s. on drone strikes, but pakistani officials deny that. kristin has more from the un. >> two un experts have expressed concern about the illegal use of drones. pakistan's ambassador to the united nations said u.s. strikes in his country had been counterproductive and called for them to stop. i had a chance to talk to him, and he again denied reports that his government consented to these strikes. >> we have given no consent, no approval, no acquiescence to the use of armed drones. if they have been covert assurances that signifies nothing. but the government of pakistan opposes the use of armed drones. >> the un is calling on the united states and all countries to provide more information about their drone programs,

including the number of civilian casualties, and the legal justification that they used to authorize drone strikes. and on to health care, the secretary of health and human services visited a clinic in austin, texas today. she conceded the government's health care website needs improvement. >> the website is far from perfect. it is getting better every day, but we have every -- intent to not stop until it is smoothly operating for the large volume of people who really want to use the website. >> in austin she helped two enroll using the website. she promised to review the performance of the contractors who built healthcare.gov.

critics want her to resign because of the troubled rollout. people can also call, mail in an application, or look up a local facility to apply in person. under long-standing treaties with the federal government native americans are guaranteed free health care. the problem is many tribal health clinics are badly underfunded. the new health care law could supplement those services but getting people to sign up is a challenge. >> reporter: nestled in a secluded valley in the great smoke which mountains. a place where the rivers are clear and native american tourism is king. the eastern band of the cherokee nation, nearly 15,000 strong. a proud people but not without issues of poverty and health. what are the main health problems here on the reservation?

>> diabetes is prevalent. >> reporter: and so is hypertension, an array of mental health problems, and addiction. >> my understanding is with obamacare, some of the things we're getting into the field of will be enhanced, substance abuse. >> reporter: but on the reservation finding anyone who has heard of obamacare was challenge. >> have you ever heard a about obamacare? >> no, i haven't. >> reporter: so tribal leaders are beginning the difficult challenge of informing and trying to convince their people all three they already have free health care, signing up as obamacare as a supplement will strengthen the health and wealth of the nation. >> there is such a legacy of horrible failed federal policy

in this country, that they do v a considerable amount of mistrust. >> reporter: born and raised here, cooper is the ceo of the medical home for the reservation. a pharmacist, dentist, but services are limited. right now when patients need major surgery, mammograms or cancer treatments, they are referred to specialists outside of indian lands. >> in indian country a lot of services that are needed that do not meet the definition of life or life function do get denied. >> reporter: at least two thirds of the claims are rejected putting them at risk of paying for the procedure themselves or doing without treatment. but most of the eastern ban of the cherokee nation don't have that problem, because they have this. the revenues the casino provides are used to pick up some of the

service. the government gets about 50%, the slots and the tables the other half. >> when they sign up for coverage it creates more leverage for the hospitals. it allows us to provide more services to the uncovered population that remains, and it just improves the overall sustainability of the health care services. >> reporter: tribal leaders would not provide estimates on how much money they could bank away if most of their members signed up for the affordable health care act, but they did stress that they are just now beginning the process of trying to educate their population. with the government shutdown over and default temporarily avoided. president obama has challenged congress to accomplish three goals, pass the budget, the farm bill, and an immigration bill. heidi zhou castro takes a look at the battle over immigration

and the roadblocks to comprehensive reform. ♪ >> reporter: a bridge between mexico and el passo, texas separates the hunger for opportunity and the promise of the american dream. tony crosses it once a month. the professor of political science teaches on both sides of the border. he wants congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, but doubts it will happen under obama's leadership. >> i don't think this is a priority of president obama in spite of what he says. it's not in his heart. >> reporter: he says the border community has waited for immigration reform for decades only to be let down by unfulfilled promises. last june on a 68-32 vote the democratic controlled senate passed a bill supported by

obama. the measure, however, has gone anywhere in the republican-controlled house of representatives. speaker john boehner says he supports immigration reform but hasn't committed to the plan which offers the country's 11 million undocumented residents a chance to become citizens after a 13-year wait. >> this is where the fence begins. >> reporter: this path was coupled with provisions to increase border security. the senate plan doubles the number of border patrol agents and uses $8 billion to extent the border fence. the border fence continues east of el passo, but in spurts. we're now in front hancock until it ends here. in front of me is mexico, behind me is a farm. karr says he spots a handful of

people crossing here every month. most come and go quietly. what do you think of the folks who are coming around the corner here. >> i think they are like you and i, and they just want a better life. the only problem i have with it is the not following the rules to do it. >> reporter: the immigration system and border security are both broken, he says. he doubts politicians will fix either. you live here, you are on the front line, has anyone asked you for your ideas of solving this problem? >> no, none of our politicians have ever talked to me about it. and quite frankly i'm to the point where i don't care where you are democrat or republican, you are a representative of the people. get up there and fix it. >> reporter: 19 days remain on the 2013 legislative calendar, that's 19 days too short and too long for those on the border who have waited decades for a

solution that has always been on the horizon. heidi zhou castro, al jazeera, el passo. jpmorgan is paying more than $5 billion in penalties for the bad home loans and bonds it sold to fannie mae and freddie mac all leading up to the u.s. financial crisis. the loans went bad and the bank is facing a long list of state and federal investigations over misleading invest fors. daniel wagner who is a senior financial reporter at the center for public integrity, and he covered the mortgage meltdown in 2007, he is with us now. welcome. >> thanks so much. >> we heard a lot about this $13 billion that jpmorgan might day so would the $5 billion be part of the $13 billion? >> most of the $5 billion was to be part of the $13 billion.

but it has apparently hit some snags, and so this particular regulator, which is the group that oversees fannie mae and freddie mac, the mortgage giants, owned by the government decided to break off and do its own $5.1 billion settlement today. >> so the $5 billion, where does this money go? >> this money will be returned to fannie mae and freddie mac, and if you think back to the crisis or right before it peaked, the government ended up taking over fannie mae and freddie mac and since then it has injected about $187 billion into those companies. this money will be given to them in the fourth quarter, and will affect their fourth quarter results, and given the expectation that they will have profits as they have, the money will all be returned to the u.s. treasury. >> so if there were a $13 billion deal in total, where would the rest of the money go?

>> that's bathe more interesting. so if there is a $13 billion settlement in total, although at this point we can subtract $4 billion of that which has been carved out in today's settlement, it is expected that 2 or $3 billion will be fined paid to regulators, about $4 billion will be paid to home owners who have really paid the biggest price, i think for these kinds of misdeeds and then another $6 billion or so of the 13 were expected to go to investors which would be pension funds and mutual funds, and thank colluded the amount that was to go to -- >> it strikes me, and you tell me what you think, but it strikes nae those that were impacted the biggest -- those who got hurt -- those citizens who were hurt, are getting the least money. is that the way you see it? >> i think it's a bit more complicated than that. i mean i would really have to

think about it for longer. it's true the payouts they are receiving are less. on the other hand it's in the context of these settlements it's quite a substantial amount $4 billion from one institution, and the fact that this bank is being compelled to give that to home owners could signal a change of at ought to at the justice department. >> i guess i'm trying to say how far would $4 billion go when it comes to those people who had bad mortgages that were hurt in the process, and how many in total were actually affected by jpmorgan? >> well, i think it's very difficult to quantify how many were hurt by jpmorgan, in particular because jpmorgan acquired two other banks which were doing even worse mortgages, bear stearns and washington mutual. but there were a lot of people

who were hurt by these bad mortgages, and it's not going to solve all of their problems. that is for certain. >> what do the regulators do with the money? >> they use it for operations. but with respect to today's settlement, that money is going to be through fannie and freddy, and back to the u.s. treasury, and if folks want to think of it of how much did this bailout cost taxpayers, and how much have we gotten back, is it somewhat heartening to see that this will help return money to taxpayers. >> yeah, but it is great the banks got bailed out, but a lot of people lost their homes in the process. >> i think that is undeniable. >> so i guess the question is about fairness. >> i think it is indeed about fairness, and there was a lot of

unfairness before the crisis, and going forward in order to pursue this kind of fairness, it is important to go after folks who have acted poorly, and i am heartened to see the government taking a harder line -- >> and you think there are more banks that will have to pay these fines? >> it does look that way. the government has dusted off a rule that was created after the savings and loan debacle in the '80s and '90s, and they are using a law that will give them another five years to try to go after this wrongdoing. >> daniel, thanks for sorting this out, it's a very complicated matter, and we appreciate you helping us. >> thanks so much, john. united air lines have facing a record $1.1 billion fine after stranding passengers last year. more than a dozen planes were delayed on the tarmac for more

than three hours because of severe thunderstorms. rest rooms on two of the planes were not working. the fine is the largest penalty ever imposed since the three-hour rule went into effect on 2010. an earthquake rocks japan. plus new york becomes the latest state to try to cut back on standardized tests in schools. >> how old are you? >> nine. >> how old were you when you first started working out here? >> seven. >> fault lines how children are hired by us agriculture to help put food on america's tables. >> in any other industry kids need to be 16 years old to be able to work. you don't see any of that in agriculture. >> they don't ask, "is she 12?". they just want their job done. >> how many of you get up before 5 o'clock in the morning?

al jazeera america...

>>introduces... "america tonight". >>a fresh take on the stories that connect to you. >>grounded. >>real. >>unconventional. >>an escape from the expected. ♪ and we have got two typhoons that we have been watching for the south pacific. these storms have been moving up from the south, hitting japan, bringing excessive rainfall, tokyo has had 200 to 300% average rainfall for the month of october.

this will not make landfall, but all of that rain continues to hit fukushima, but tapering gradually off. we still expect one to three inches of rain to fall as we get through the day into tomorrow. but another typhoon is following the track. this particular one will also not hit landfall. so we're going to see those start to diminish. the bad news is we have an active storm track starting up for the west. alaska you are looking at a high-wind watch. wind gusts moten shally to 85 miles an hour. a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit japan several hours ago. it happened under the ocean off of the main island, a small tsunami followed. there have been no reports of injury or damage. as a precaution officials did

evacuate in several areas including the fukushima nuclear plant. president obama touched down in new york to speak to students at a local high school, but the president's message was also meant for congress. >> reporter: president obama spoke at the high school behind me calling for an increase in government spending on education. his comments come as congressional leaders prepare to begin budget negotiations next week. he has proposed $300 million in his budget this year to better prepare high school students for college. >> some of these ideas i have laid out before, some of them i'm doing on my own, some of them require congress to do something. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> and one way we can start is by congress passing a budget that reflects our need to invest

in our young people. [ applause ] >> obama praised the p-tech where graduates earn a associate's degree. he said schools like this can create the next generation of workers who can complete locally. he also had two big fund-raising events for democrats. he joined bill de blasio at juniors. he picked up two cakes, one plain and one strawberry. john? educators in new york state have been getting an earful from parents in recent months over an increase in testing in recent months. john king announced he wants to get rid of several standardized tests. >> he said the first mandated

exam to go will be an 8th grade math test. king has been hearing complaints from angry parents who claim their students were being overtested. he said, quote . . . and new york is not alone. take see at. >> the emphasis and overuse of testing is exhausting and a terrible use of resources. >> reporter: last march the teachers staged the first standardized test protest. >> when we stood up against the math test, we didn't plan it, but we had amazing support from our parents. >> reporter: it's a nationwide fight. the highest known opt out rate is on new york's long island, a that's where 50% of students

chose not to take standardized tests. richelle carey, al jazeera. ♪ michael eaves is here with sports, and has a story that really has become all too common. >> when future hall of famer brett favre turned down the st. louis ram's offer to come out of retirement, he sited the physical toll on his body, and said he suffered memory lost since his playing days ends. in baseball multiple media outlets are reporting that the washington nationals who finished four games out of the wild-card will name matt williams to replace david johnson who retired after this

season. this would be williams first managerial position at any level. game three of the world series moves to st. louis tomorrow night. there is no designated hitters in the national league ballpark, so the pitcher will have to hit. and david ortiz will have to play first. the cardinals have been a bear at home this season, and they are 5-1 at busch stadium so far in the playoffs. >> all right. michael thank you. european leaders have accused the u.s. of spying on them. but next we look at how the american policy of eavesdropping friends and foes say is nothing new. plus cars can park for us, what about drive for us. we'll show you the technology. unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours.

>> what do you think? >> consider this. unconventional wisdom.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler? new york. and here are the top stories. jpmorgan has agreed to pay a federal regulator, $5.1 billion.

the fine is for misleading freddie mac and fannie mae about risky mortgage securities. the bank is facing a long list of federal investigations. a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit off of japan's east coast. there have been no reports of damage. japan said this quake is likely an after shock of a 2011 quake. and two of america's top allies are demanding explanations from the united states over recent spying allegations. germany and france they are also worried about a breach of trust. top diplomats all seem to agree it's no secret the u.s. spies on other countries. in fact many of the european nations who are now complaining have long cooperated with the

aledged spying operations. >> reporter: a conference in washington on the history of the u.s. surveillance state. the long-planned event coming on the day european leaders expressed outrage at the u.s.'s surveillance of them. posters warning of the dangers of german eavesdropping during world war ii. now it's the germans who are raising the alarm. if you are not a u.s. citizen the obama administration feels it has ever right to monitor your communications. the surveillance experts are in no doubt about the reach of the agency. >> it appears the u.s. government thinks they can do whatever they want in terms of surveillance of non-americans. >> reporter: in fact edward snowden has repealed that european leaders have been complicit in the u.s. dragnet of european citizen's

communications despite their outrage now that their own phone calls have been monitored. >> the obama administration announced just the other day that they weren't sure whether snowden haddock meants that might reveal the degree of other nation's cooperation with nsa surveillance. i think that's a not too subtle signal saying hey, before you raise too much outreach, know that your dirt may be out on the newspaper's front page pretty soon as well. a delegation arrives in wa -- washington next week for talks a situation in syria is getting worse. as the civil war wears on, there are now reports of rapidly increasing malnutrition, yet while some areas in syria are suffering, life goes on as normal in other parts of the

country. we were joined earlier to talk about the tail of two cities. >> reporter: depends on where you live, and where your id says you are from. so if you live in one of the besieged areas around damascus city, it's becoming so difficult now just to find enough food to scrape by. i spent two days in -- in one of these towns. life there is very difficult, even though they managed to smuggle some food in, for flour for bread. you can't go outside and buy any food, even have you have cash to spend. things are a lot worse in other parts like in the west no one can go in or out of that area. things have gotten so bad that

religious authorities have issued a decree permitting eating cats and dogs and donkeys, which -- which has sort of become a very sensitive controversial issue here in syria. >> so -- you are saying that on one side of the city, people are starving. on the other side of the city life is normal? >> life is as normal as it can be in a war zone. there's food available. you hardly ever have shortages of bread, except when you have fuel shortages. >> people are going to restaurants, buying food at the store, and then you go, what a couple of miles and you see complete devastation and people starving. >> absolutely. and people under siege austin able to leave. >> when you went to the areas that were gassed and have been bombed out, what did you see?

>> endless blocks of gray and concrete, you know, buildings that are destroyed, and of course these buildings were destroyed before the chemical weapons attack. it's just a continuous aerial bombardment for months. >> and does that bombardment continue today? >> oh, yeah, absolutely. it continues on a daily basis. and if you are in central damascus in the government-controlled area where life goes on as normally as it can. you still hear the fighter jets up in the sky doing on their way to bomb these areas, and sometimes you can hear them dropping the bombs. >> you hear the bombs go off and see the smoke? >> absolutely. very often you see the smoke. sometimes you can smell it. you can smell the smoke the gun powder all the way from central damascus. >> and this goes on every day. has it changed since the

inspectors have begun to -- to look for the gas and destroy it? >> not at all. i mean there are good days and there are bad days, but there hasn't really been much of a change. in fact it seems that the government is tightening the noose even further on these besieged areas, and just this month, you know, a new area has come under siege, and there are people that are stuck there, some of them my relatives. they can't come out. we can't go visit them. they haven't had any food come into the area or bread for over a week or ten days. they are very worried that this is the beginning of a brutal siege like in some of the other suburbs. >> you talk about the problems with hunger and starvation, are there any aid groups getting in to help these people? >> well, earlier this month the red cross tried to evacuate some

civilians out of the area which is -- which really hasn't -- just one of the worst desieged areas. no one can go in or out over there, and there's -- you know, people are eating grass and -- and leaves and -- you know, and having olives every day three times a day. >> are they prepared for the winter coming? >> yeah, and they are very worried about the winter. this will be their second winter. last winter was brutal enough. they lost a lot of people, especially adults at risk. elderly. pregnant women, babies and they are starting to lose baby's and small children to starvation at a rate of maybe four, five. this month alone, i'm told seven children died of starvation. >> she continues to update us on

the situation in syria. she is a journalist based in syria. now over the past few years hundreds of animals have died from unsafe pet food. now the food and drug administration wants to make pet treats and animal feed safer. the fda is proposing new rules to help prevent contamination. since 2007, 600 dogs have died, thousands of animals have gotten sick. the proposal could cost the pet food industry $130 million. remember the jettison's? for decades we have been told personal jet packs and diverless cars were right around the corner. there is not much to report on jet packs but driverless cars, are right around the corner. this sunday in "techknow," costa

gets a chance to ride around in one of these cars. >> what happens in a kid comes out chasing a ball. >> oh, my god! we almost killed that guy. [ laughter ] >> it checks to see if there is anyone behind us. anyone next to us. it makes a decision whether to break or swerve. can we park it now? >> yeah. >> and we can do that from the backseat, right? >> yeah. >> this is my space. it is calling dibs on that spot. i love watching the steering wheel just steer itself. [ laughter ] >> what happens if i interrupt it. >> stops. completely stops. >> it will completely stop. and now it is going to back to where it started. how many years until it is in all cars? >> 2020. >> as car makers head toward that date. the biggest problem may be the

human factor. at the automobile lab they are using a state-of-the-art simulator to answer the question how fast can driver's react when they are thrust back into control. >> the moment when the car shif shifts control from it's a to drivers. drivers are totally disoriented, and they are being asked to absorb an enormous amount of things, and that turns out to be app extraordinary challenge. to really understand what is going on in your brain and body, and when you drive it. we also hook up the driver. we can see where the eyes are looking, what their brains is doing, and what their heart is doing. >> this simulator is built to help us better understand ways

to alert the driver that aon the mouse mode. after several opinions of texting. watch what waps when i have to take control. why did the computer -- i just crashed into about 12 cars, because i wasn't paying attention and i was going really fast. >> costa joins us now from washington, d.c. welcome. >> thank you. >> it's a great story. i have tons of question. what was it like to be behind the wheel of a car that was driving itself and then suddenly you have got control? >> it was that lack of control. at first it was a little bit scary like hey, this car is driving for me, and all of a sudden it gets very comfortable. it's kind of grandma like.

it was nice. >> when i watch you in the backseat of that car, and it's driving itself, did you feel like you were just totally out of control? >> that's the thing, it's not scary at all. after spending the entire day with the car and the chief engineer, it was very apparent that they had thought through everything, and it was so much fun to watch that car driver us around, and i wasn't scared at all. >> the thing that strikes me is what if something goes wrong, the car is going 60, 70 miles an hour down the highway, and i guess you can't speed in these cars can you? >> the car can actually read speeding signs -- >> so it won't let you go over the speed limit? >> it won't let you go over the speed limit it is packed full of so much equipment, there is so much gear that makes this car actually smarter than me as a

driver. for example, stanford is working on programming these cars to have the same reactions as literally a race car driver, so -- >> go ahead. >> so if you hit like black ice or someone runs out in front of your car, it can make decisions so much faster and so much more informed decisions than i could ever make. >> how long before this is main stream? >> 2020. >> 2020. >> that's what they are saying. >> so if it's main stream 2020, is it really possible this could -- could be on the road -- i mean, i know we're not getting into legal stuff for the government stuff, but do they say it is really possible this could become part of the regular driving experience in the future. you would see these cars going down the highway. >> look where we have come. so far we have collision avoidance systems built in the car. you know the parking thing that

helps you park your car, they can already park cars for you. it is a natural progression of the technology of today. they said we're just piecing it all together filling in all of the blanks, and making sure they work together cohesively. >> what about when it snows? >> that's one of the big challenges. the cameras in the car look for the lines on the road, so if it's snowing really badly, you might have challenges finding those lines on the road. they are looking at addressing all of those driving situations. if the car can't find a solution, the car is supposed to hand driving back to you. so how does someone who is lounging, texting in their car, how do they return driving to that person, and they are

working on that. >> it is a great story. i have a ton more questions, but i don't have time for you to answer all of them. so you can watch more on driverless cars on "techknow" this sunday. it is great to talk with you. thanks again. let's head to washington, d.c., joie chen standing by with more on what is coming up on "america tonight." >> good evening, john. i know you have been following on this, and we are looking at it on "america tonight," taking hits loosing precious simple memories, it is the name of the game for many athletes, but if you are parent it's a very scary scene to watch from the sidelines. the sacrifice that takes a toll on players young and old. even when the concussions are mild they can add up to a terrible price for the love of the game. running back thomas jones after

12 seasons with the nfl claims he has forgotten some of the best games he ever played. we'll talk to him about his decision to donate his brain to research, and lead poisoning could it lead to a life of crime. >> yeah, this concussion thing sounds so much like brett favre as well. it's a sad story. although there is cut clear number one team in college football, the team that deserves the number two ranking is very much in question. michael eaves explains next. and experimental dining. we take you to a restaurant where seeing is not believing. ♪

an increasing number of restaurants around the world are looking to attract patrons with more than just food. it's called experimental dining, and includes things like eating in silence, and drinking in the dark. maria has the story. >> reporter: you have to really trust a restaurant to walk in blindfolded, especially in new york. these people are trying out a different kind of eating experience. they came here for a cocktail in the dark. >> by getting rid of the main thing we tend to rely on, we give ours the opportunity to see and feel and know things that we might not have known if we were only depend dependant on our

sight. >> reporter: some ropes to guide then, and chairs that adorn the room. the idea of this experience is not just to use your senses of touch, smell, and taste, but to move around the room. whether it's the wine or the incognito move, guests become more expressive as the night goes on. at craftown in brooklyn, seeing is okay, but talking is a know. these folks are dining in silence. a novelty for a crowded city. >> if we eliminate that from the context in which you are familiar with having it, it opens up an entirely knew

experience. >> reporter: this restaurant in moscow has customers seeing dowel. guests were served by identical twins. the dining industry is so competitive, restaurants are using non-food items to attract customers. >> you do it once a month, once a week, you bring people in, they like the food, they come back. >> reporter: even if you have not used to the experience, at the very least you will remember it. ♪ michael eaves is here with sports. i think you are ready to go to one of those restaurants? >> no, thank you. >> okay. what have you got? >> this is a big weekend for college football. despite how much coaches try to down play the bowel championship ranks at this point in the season where a team stands in

the ranking will have a direct impact at the end of the season. as discussed with graham watson, some teams and their fans are already concerned about the rankings. >> i wasn't surprised. florida state has a great one against clemson, and that gave them a lot of dlout. oregon playing ucla, and that is going to catapult them over the computer rankings. they are well loved in the human polls, and oregon has a better schedule from here on out, and florida state has miami and nothing left. >> how about the missouri tigers. the tigers skyrocketed to number 5 after beating florida. but the tigers have another tough test against south carolina. >> you know, this is the end of the gauntlet that they have gone through with georgia, florida,

south carolina, and, you know, i'm stunned that they are 2-0 going into this game in terms of those games, and i think they with beat south carolina. south carolina is going to have to use their backup quarterback, and who knows what we're going to get out of the star freshman for the missouri tigers. we'll see how he plays as quarterback. i think he is going to have another really good game against south carolina, and i like the tigers especially because they are at home and it is homecoming. >> all right. a lot of hype around the heisman trophy. if the season ended today, who would be your heisman trophy winner? >> i think it would have to be marcus mrriota. the thing that sales it for me is that he has no turnovers. he has no interceptions. he does have a fumble that he

had last week. but that's it. otherwise it has been a clean sheet and playing as much as he has played and using the ball as much has has, i don't think there's another quarterback who could say that about their season. >> all right a lot of big games this weekend. texas tech takes on oklahoma, which monster matchup will you be watching beside your missouri game? >> definitely ucla, oregon. but i am also really interested in texas tech over oklahoma. texas tech hasn't really played anybody yet, and i think this will be the start of their season. the big 12 is really interesting. and if they can beat oklahoma, i think texas tech has a really good shot at maybe even winning the conference. now to baseball and after collecting just 69 wins in 2012

and finishing the season in last place, it was clear the boston red sox needed to make changes if they were going to be successful this season. and that's what happened when the general manager shook up the roster, and perhaps the most impactful change came at the managerial level. >> reporter: the boston red sox turned to a division foe to help fix their problems at the helm. >> valentine was pretty much about him, and the players never warmed up to him. they lost 93 games, so just a miserable place to be. the players hated being around bobby valentine hated being around them, and they had no choice but to fire him at the end of the season. >> just 12 months after they nabbed farrell, the red sox won

97 games, and they can atrib ought to the turn around to his leadership. >> when we assembled in spring training in fort meyers it was clear this was a group of veteran guys that were coming from winning environments. and the tight knit group that we know today started to experience some things and answer some challenges that we -- we felt like we had a good team. >> reporter: of course he has also had a tangible impact on the game, specifically on his pitching staff. plus farrell is one of just two former professional pitchers currently managing in the majors, and drawing on such experience is priceless. >> he knows these guys so well.

if any part of the game he excels at, this is it. >> reporter: the red sox have undergone an extreme makeover and they have the chance to go beyond where's the first to world champions. >> michael, thank you. rebecca has the weather right after this. on august 20th,

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"america tonight". >>a fresh take on the stories that connect to you. >>grounded. >>real. >>unconventional. >>an escape from the expected. chilly temperatures across the midwest, not just for this morning and through the day, but now cold air is pushing in again, causing a little more shower activity around the great lakes. we see some snow flurries on and around the great lakes, but stay dry in the northeast. for the most part we're not seeing a lot of this hit the ground once it gets closer to the atlantic. we could have sprinkles, but over all wlep we start talking about how cold the temperatures are going to be, we start getting concerned when we see

that type of rain showing up on the radar. we have frost advisories in place all the way down into alabama and georgia. even mississippi has got some frost advisories in the northeast corner. temperatures will be dropping down into the low 30s. just below the freezing mark but colder than that as you head farther up into the kentucky and tennessee. it will be dry but frosty this is that killing freeze that comes in that makes you bring in all of the little tinder plants. you are going to see flurries around the great lakes. we're not expecting a lot of accumulation, but over the weekend it will be a chill in the air for much of the central east. now low tomorrow morning starting out pretty chilly in the midwest, but we'll get a second blast of that snow and rain coming in, and we'll bring you details on the winter storm we expect for minnesota over the weekend. ♪

welcome bah al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. and here are the top stories. germany and france will try to force the u.s. to agree to a new set of rules on intelligence gathering. the move comes after the guardian newspaper saying that the u.s. listened to 35 world leader's phone calls. jpmorgan agrees to pay $5.1 billion for misleading freddie mac and fannie mae over mortgage securities. health and human services secretary is promising the