protesters march on the streets of the nation's capital as more accusations stack up against the nsa. >> plus - new reports that the u.s. has been spying on germany's chancellor for more than a decade. >> leaving weapons at home - dozens of businesses declare gun-free zones. [ ♪ theme ] hello, welcome to al jazeera america. live from mork city.

i'm morgan radford. >> turning the tables, hundreds of americans say it's time for the microscope to point in the other direction. protesters took to the streets to demand congress vet the nsa. protesters came to protest and, "press disappointment with the nsa. documents show the u.s. tapped the phones of as many as 35 world leaders. jeanne meserve has more. >> in washington hundreds gathered to protest against the national security agency's surveillance programs. the man who made them public was called a hero. former nsa analyst edward snowden was in russia but sent a statement. >> it's about power, control and trust government. it's about whether you have a voice in our demack rity or decisions are made for you

rather than with you. >> the protesters' message to the government is you've been listening to us, so now hear this. >> it bothers me because we don't know what's going on. every time you send a tweet or email or take a picture or do anything involving data or phone calling, you don't know that the information is housed somewhere. i think it's wrong. >> i'm here because i support the constitution's view that we should have secure - we should be secure from unreasonable search and sievure. >> the demonstrators delivered to congress a petition with more than half a million signatures, urging that domestic surveillance be stopped. . >> it is time to roll back the surveillance date. it's time to restore the fourth amendment. it's time to repeal the patriot act. >> some acknowledge that many americans are appa thetics about

nsa -- apathetic about the monitoring and change will not be easy. >> meanwhile german intelligence officials will travel to washington d.c. to talk about reports that it tapped the german chancellor's phone. documents reveal that the u.s. has been tracking angela merkel's phone since 2002. and that is before she even became chancellor. her phone number was still on the list this year. the magazine says the u.s. uses a high-tech antenna at the berlin embassy to spy on general nip. it's unclear if spies were listening to entire conversations or just logging calls. there's a second station in frankfurt. >> the white house says the middle east will be less of a priority moving forward. in an interview with the "new york times" national security advisor susan rice says

president obama wants to take a moderate approach to the reason saying, "we can't be consumed 24/7 by one reason." he thought it was a good time to step back and re-assess in a noble way, how we can conceive the region. >> she said: this now marks a drastic shift from george bush policies. the obama administration laid out in 2008 what the foreign policy would like look. mr obama said the u.s. would focus on negotiating a nuclear deal with iran, brokering peace between the israelize and the palestinians and resolving the conflict in syria. everything else would take a back seat. >> billions of dollars are on the line as the u.s. winds down military operations in afghanistan. "the washington post" says troops that protect u.s. reconstruction projects will no

longer be around. military officials say the lack of troops will make it hard to keep tabs on construction work. military officials will not abandon the projects, and will shift the responsibility to private contractors to monitor the work of other private contractors. >> five men accused of plotting nchb 9/11 attacks were violated. many relatives of the 9/11 victims don't care. their loved ones suffered a worse fate. we have this report from guantanamo bay where pre-trial hearings are taking place. >> one of the major issues was the matter of torture. the defense wants to be able to bring into the discussion the un's convention against torture, allowing their clients, the five men accused of planning the

september 11th attacks to gain redress for the torture they suffered when they were in cia custody between 2003 and 2006. one part of the strategy was for one of the defense counsel to bring in outside counsel who specialises in war crimes. that was not allowed. here is what mr caddman said to reporters friday evening. >> if you don't deal with these issues now, it will cloud the judicial process. i think this is a very defining moment for the u.s. >> i think everybody looks apt the u.s. as the beacon of human rights and democracy. this is setting the u.s. back almost into the dark ages. >> even though the five defense teams have entered a number of motions trying to get more

evidence about the cia's rendition program entered as evidence in this trial, they have taken the step of writing directly to u.s. president president obama, asking him to declassify the rendition program, because they say without that information there are people in the united states who will know more about how their clients were treated, than they will be able to say in open court. they say in a defence case that involves the death penalty, it's inexcusable. what does the prosecution think of this? >> the public will know what the prosecution knows. i mean, our case in chief will be to the public. there won't be any so-called secret evidence. >> the next pre-trial hearing in the 9/11 case will not be heard until december. during that time there'll be more efforts to bring up more of the questions about torture, and how it might affect the outcome of the trial, brought foo play in a -- brought into play in a number of filings.

there's no possibility of trial starting at this point until 2015. >> that was from guantanamo bay, roslyn jordan. >> a nip in the air follows, we felt it early this morning. temperatures were cold in the south and south-east. now we have another blast of cold air coming out of canada. this time it will bring snow to the west. earlier we talked about a big storm coming into alaska. wind gusts are now building 40 to 50 miles per hour in parts of alaska. the high wind warning begins at midnight that's alaska time. it's not starting yet and they have wind gusts that strong. we'll monitor the storm system. in the meantime we have another one, that will drop alongside the rockies, and the cold air starting to brush portions of

northern minnesota and michigan. places that got snow - and if we look at the snow departments collect by noah - quite a bit of snow came down for canada and also a bit up through the coast, through maine, a bit of snow. we'll see a pattern of storm systems. it will warm up and cool off, warm up more and cool off. this is typical as we get closer to the winter freezers. now, temperatures are 40s and '50s. warmer than that farther south. 65 with a few showers on the way in your area. tomorrow morning is another day to start in the 20s to low 30s in the morn midwest. let's -- morning to the midwest. let's talk about the storm in the columbia basin. wind gusts 40 to 50 miles per hour. they'll be the strongest winds

in parts of western montana and northern idaho. the know will be impressive more montana. that comes down 4-7 inches in the plains and valleys. wind gusts will bring the cold air down. parts of the idaho and utah 30 to 40 degrees cool are for the weekend. enjoy the mild air left for the fall. we'll cool off across the board. >> there are now more world refugees than at any other time since 194. as -- 1994. as part of our special coverage this weekend we'll look at who they are, why they are leaving and where they are going. >> business owners are banding together with a message for customers - you are entering a gun-free zone.

all this weekend al jazeera america is looking into the number of desperate people around the world willing to risk

everything for a better life. not since 1994 have there been so many refugees. the u.n. says half of all refugees come from five countries. afghanistan, iraq, syria, somalia and the sudan. that war remains the number one cause for their flight. afghanistan, though, tops the list. one in every four refugees worldwide is afghan. the majority of those are in pakistan and iran. frequently the routes are dangerous, often in cramped conditions on small boats or trucks. along the way refugees may face bribery and abuse. shipp wrecks in the mediterranean killed hundreds of migrants, putting pressure on european leaders. the danger has not stopped people risking everything they have in hopes of reaching a better life. >> and thousands of asylum seekers particularly from afghanistan and the middle east head to indonesia to make the

dangerous voyage across the indian ocean to australia, heading to a new life - fleeing war, political unrest and poverty. indonesia can refuse to accept them because it has not signed the 1951 u.n. refugee convention like australia has. that leads to pugling -- pugling >> steph, what is happening there now? >> this is a major escape route, the west java coastline. it's the nearest point between indonesia and australia christmas island - a little over 300km away by boat. many here are not making it. hundreds of asylum seekers tried to make the journey across. hundreds have died. many of them are intercepted by

police trying to get here. what happens is people fly in from afghanistan, from mean , trying to find a safe life in australia. they take a boat or a plane, depending on the travel documents to go to indonesia. they contact people smugglers, who are active here, and in the middle of the night, from a safe house at jakarta, they'll arrive at the beach and go on a small boat, often a dangerous boat. many are not making it, and some are intercepted on the way here - like a group of 230 rohinga refugees from myanmar who failed to make it to this point, as you can see in the report. >> this man was arrested transporting 230 ethnic rohinga, seeking refuge from myanmar. he was taking them to a boat when the authorities stopped them. the police were tipped off and intercepted six trucks of asylum

seekers. this was the only person arrested. he said he was threatened into becoming a smug leer. >> translation: i was afraid when i saw the people going into the trucks. the man who ordered the transport started to scream they'd burn my trucks. >> police are looking for the head of the syndicate. a police officer is expected of being involved. the rohinga asylum seekers were trying to escape prosecution in myanmar. the police told them to go. we find them in the same village they started from - afraid and in shock. >> these are the rohinga asylum seekers after paying $3,000 to a smuggler who promised safe passage. now they are broke, desperate to make a hazardous journey by boat. >> all of them have been stuck in indonesia for eight months or longer, many trying more than

three times to leave by beat. >> we don't trust the smugglers. we spent all our money. even though we don't trust them, we have to try again. we have no choice but to try to reach australia. we have no help from indonesia. >> the indonesians have not signed the unconvention for refugees. >> translation: so far i have not dealt with police officers involved in smug lipping. i have heard the allegations. >> more often police allow asylum seekers to escape after being paid a bribe. one rohinga family out of 30 intercepted a held by immigration officials. they have, six, no money left. the same happened to a group of pakistanis. >> they demanded $500 each person. $4,000, $400, $500, some people it's $600.

every police have a different amount. to runaway, to help to run away. >> it is rare for police to arrest the leaders of the smuggling syndicates. we need a man accused of being one. he refuses to be interviewed. according to police, he's responsible for smuggling hundreds of people. he is optimistic that he'll son be free. >> this man may not be so lucky. >> it's estimated 10,000 asylum seekers are here in limbo in indonesia, and have nowhere to go, except forward to australia. that's what they are telling us. >> can you tell us, though, what happens to people who are turned away? >> the many who are not making it are handed over to people

smugglers, who make a lot of profit. as i mentioned in the report there's allegations that the police and military are involved in the smuggling business as well. basically they are being abused, people are making profit from them, and what they say is we can't go back to myanmar or afghanistan. we can't stay here because no one is helping us, so there's only one way to go, forward. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> hundreds of businesses in seattle are declaring themselves gun-free zones, posting signs saying, "no firearms welcome." >> five point has been here for 84 years. notorious. every famous musician in seattle has been kicked out. >> the 5 point cafe was one of the first businesses in seattle to go gun-free. >> i like guns. i don't think people need to carry guns to get a hamburger.

>> the owner at the urging the mayor helps to recruit other businesses to declare themselves gun-free zones. >> if a lot of private businesses get together and ban gun, it makes carrying guns an unfriendly thing in seattle, and changes the conversation around gun ownership. >> this week another business joined that conversation. the 100th since august. it doesn't take much to do it - sign up online and display a sticker. the businesses are taking action because the city has not been able to. >> the city of seattle tried to ban guns in public places. washington courts ruled that cities have no authorities to regulate guns. >> private businesses can. they can tell people to wear shoes and shirts and tell them to leave guns elsewhere. >> we think the gun free zone concept is stupid.

>> adam's group is collecting signatures to fight a campaign for stricter background checks for gun sales. as for gun-free zones, he says there are 1,000 businesses in seattle. having 100 sign up won't do much at all. >> they don't stop crime or make people safer. it's private property. if they wish to alienate people from shopping there, that's their privilege to do so. >> the owner says he has not lost business but has seen threats of boycott and bad reviews. >> for him, declaring his business gun-free is a statement worth making. >> we choingt by declaring gun -- don't think by declaring gun free zones that that will stop violence. in a battle, symbolism has affect. >> the anti-fire group is

coordinating the campaign. groups have approached them to get similar programs up and running. ceasefire is planning a day of remembrance rallies in seattle. they'll plant daffodils to remember those that lost their lives to gunviolence. >> for the first time cadets at the airfort academy will no longer have to say, "so help me god", it is optional. the change after complaints that the god reference violates the constitution. the academy agreed saying that the change affects all cadd et cetera, including those that are not religious. >> there has been an arrest in connection with the accident at the north carolina state fair. five have been injured. the operator has been arrested after investigations showed the ride was tampered with. he faces counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and three of

the injured remain in hospital. for the first time in history of the new york stock exchange staged a mock ipo. they did it with twitter. it was a success. it's to hamper technical problems that hampered the facebook appeal. twitter is expected to go public before 20 november. >> today we have to stay two extra hours to make up for the time we lost, huh. >> actress marcia wallace died. she got her start on tv on the "bob newark show", and on "murray brown." she was 70. >> the commercialisation of buddha brings controversy to

thailand - stilla head.

well a wisconsin company, the center of a possible listeria outbreak is recalling chicken and ham contacts. it's the third recall for garden fresh foods in two months. the the u.s. agriculture department announced another recall of 50 tonnes of meet. 6700 pounds were deemed no good this month. the first recall in september involved more than 19,000 pounds of meat. >> for the millions of booudists around the world, buteda is a -- buddha is a symbol of peace. groups charge that the symbol is being used disrespectfully. rob has this report from bangkok. >> for visitors arriving in thailand it's a giant billboard

difficult to miss and a message, "don't disrespect symbolism." paid for by a group that pays for no abuse of buddha's image. it says commercial exploitation - knowingly or unknowingly - causes offence to millions of buddists worldwide. >> we expect once we address the issue and people are aware of this campaign, we believe we can make the world listen to us. it's time to speak out. >> if the offenders don't listen to petition, their products are boycotted. with 95% of thailand's population being buddhist. images of the buddha are sinnon mouse with culture. it presents campaigners with more than enough cases of important misuse. >> for def out buddhists images are offensive.

none more so than when it is tattooed on the human body. >> with the approach of holiday season the tattoo parlours are gearing up for travellers seeking to etch their bodies. the face of buddha is becoming pop awe lar. tattoo parlour owner sees no problem with that. hindu gods adorn his body - it's his own form of religion. >> translation: it's about art. it has to be in the specific body part. if it's below the waist, we will refuse to do it. >> some say that is not enough. >> the body is used for sex. that's the obvious case. you should never have it on the body. >> so far the thai government resisted calls to legislate against tattooing. even the prospect it might sounds an alarm for those

concerned about how to implement such a law. >> they'll come to bangkok and the police arrest them put them in gaol, harass them, whatever. what you going to do with this? it's going to be very serious. >> almost completely buddhist but with a secular government - for many religious tolerance is one of thailand's greatest assets, a virtue worthy of buddha himself. >> about 6% of the world's population identifies themselves as booudists. nfl officials agreed to meet with the tribal leaders of the ni. ida nation, who are campaigning to change the name of the washington redskins team. it comes after a symposium was hell, and it was contended that the name is derogatory to navive americans. the owners resisted calls to change the name. talks are scheduled to take

place next week. >> i'm morgan radford, see you again at 4am eastern. >> welcome. i'll phil torres, here to talk about innovations can change lives. we are going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity. this is a show about science, by scientists. let's check out our team of hard core nerds. lindsay moran is an ex-cia operative. tonight she has a real drama, a face transplant that almost ended in death, and an invasion that saved a woman's life. tonight she is in the mountains of california where condors are making a come back, thanks to a simple use of technology.