you deserve better. i apologize. i am accountable to you for fixing these problems. >> secretary of health says the buck stops with her, speaking to congress she promised tote get federal health care website fix go ahead by the end of november. knew accusations the nsa hacked internet giants google and yahoo gaining abscess to hundreds of millions of user accounts armed the world. the agency's director is denying the allegations. a diplomatic push is underway to end the war in syria. a u.n. special representative meets with ser vinnie president in an attempt to get him to participate in peace talks. the red sox are world

champions. >> for the first time in more than 90 years the boston red sox win the world series in front of the hometown faithful at fenway. ♪ ♪ welcome to al jazerra america, i am stephanie sy. nearly a month after the roll out the government's health care website is still causing headaches for people who are unable to sign up for coverage. president obama is on the defensive and his health secretary has apologized, mike sresreuviqueira is in washingtoh the story. >> reporter: the website launch was called a did he back the. but the president went on offense defending the new health care law and drawing parallels with another high-profile launch that had its share of problems. before there was obama care, there was romney care.

the massachusetts law that was a model for the affordable care act, visiting boston, president obama says the comparison still holds. >> because you guys had a proven model that we building the affordable care act on this template. >> reporter: the president spoke in the same spot where mitt romney his former rival signed the massachusetts law seven years ago. with many having their plans cancel, even after the president promised that they could keep them the president says they will be happen happy with a new plan. >> if you are getting a better just shop around and you'll get a better deal 230678? that means it's higher monthly costs than paid under their olds plan. >> you go in to the exchange. >> reporter: republicans attacked the changes and the person in charge of them. hhs secretary. who became the second top

official to apologize for the healthcare.gov problems. >> told me accountable. >> reporter: applicants financial data could compromise. >> the would you snit to shutdown the system and do an end to end security test on so that the americans can have their information -- >> no, sir, if you read the memo it says weekly testing is of the devises including daily weekly scans are going 0679 taken together the problems with the launch have given republicans an opening to regain their political footing. >> it is the president's ultimate responsibility, correct? >> you clearly -- whatever, he is the president and responsible for the government program. >> reporter: little president in his boston address said, yes, he is in fact responsible i believe for the problems with the website he said he's very angry about it but said the problems will be fixed by mid november. meanwhile she was asked if all of these problems with the website would cause a delay

pushing back the march 31st deadline. she said there is plenty of time between december and march 31st for everyone to get insurance they are not pushing back the deadline. at least that's not the plan as of yet. back to you. >> okay, mike viqueira back to washington. mitt romney is using social media to sound off against the affordable care act. he launched a facebook attack on president obama and his health care plan. romney wrote: quote, nothing has changed by view that a plan craft today fit the unique circumstances of a single state should not be grafted on to the entire country. he added, had president obama learned the lessons of massachusetts health care, millions of americans would not lose the insurance that they were prom i god that the i promd keep. millions more would not see premium sk skyrocket and the ing installation of the program would not be an em baze prayer .

it has been a rough month for the president. you can now add bad approval rate togs that list. according to the new wall street journal nbc poll the president's joba previous has dropped to 42%, that is an all-time low. the poll found 51% of those surveyed say th*eu they disapprove of the president's performance in office. and only 22% think the u.s. is headed in the right direction. overall, democrats were viewed more favorably than republicans. the majority of those polled claim no a regions to either party. congress and republicans didn't fair much better than the president. the survey shows that 63% of voters say they would replace their own members of congress and only 22% say they approve of the republican party. that's an all-time low for the gop. now to the controversy surrounding the national security agency. i a document obtained by al jazerra america shows nsa

officials had been advice today site the 911 attacks when testifying about its surveillance activities. that advice was listed under a subheading titled sound bites that residence nate. the document obtained under the freedom of information act contains a series of talking points. the nsa did not comment on the details of the document. and there are more revelations about the extent of the nas surveillance activities. according to the washington post the agency secretly hacked the main data centers for internet giants yahoo and googling. by tapping those links the nsa would reportedly able to collect data from hundreds of millions of user account, many account belonging to americans, the government has not confirmed or denied that report. going and yahoo officials say that they are unaware of this activity. syria's president says he's willing to take part in peace talks under certain conditions. he says support for rebels needs

to first come to an end. james bays reports. >> reporter: the u.n. special representative meeting with syria's president bashar allah sad in damascus, part of hissest to his try to organize a peace conference after more than two and a half years of bloodshed. but his mission is proving extremely difficult. assad's government says it will go to the geneva conference but behind the scenes it's believed to be setting all sorts of conditions. and the syrian opposition is deeply divided over even whether to attend. >> we don't see anything encouraging that would lead us to believe that this is in fact that the other side is serious about that. many are questioning the process. but as we said before, we are still commit today for any political solution that leads to a democratic resolution. which leaves no space for assad. >> reporter: there is a date set

for the peace talks november 22nd. but will they take place? what do you think now of the chances of getting that peace conference underway at the end of november? >> there are only two ways of end this is conflict, one is either -- one is military victory, and the other solution is to have negotiated process, negotiated transition where there is an investment from the parties in the next stage of syria's very war-torn history. >> reporter: he may soon find himself playing an even bigger role. the u.s. and russia are determined the geneva conference must take place. but his efforts so far have not born fruit. one senior security council diplomat has told me that if he fails, then he believes the deputy secretary general should put all of the rest of his work to one side and concentrate solely on syria. james bays, al jazerra, at the united nations. >> throughout the course of the syrian war, several countries have been giving military and

humanitarian aid to rebel groups in the region the major donors including the u.s., saudi araba and qatar. ♪ ♪ >> meteorologist: the winter storm we were talking about earlier this week that was coming out of the rockies is now in the central plains and it is moving east, it's picking up a lot of moisture out of the gulf of mexico and what is happening is this will dump a lot of rain across the mississippi river rally, ohio river valley and also strengthen, we are going to get winds up here to the northeast across the great lakes 40 miles per hour winds, gusting up to 60, this is going to be a major problem, we are going to expect to see power outages in many locations. now, up to the northwest, we are looking at a different scenario there. some rain showers have pushed across parts of seattle as well as in to portland, oregon but we are looking at fairly dry condition for his many locations on thursday not looking too bad to seattle. rain showers picking up on

friday. but the worst it have is going to be as we end the weekend on sunday, very heavy rain showers there with a temperature of 50 degrees. now, across parts of the southwest, remember we were looking at a lot of snow in many locations here, across the sierra nevadas as well as in in to the rockies things are booking bettebookbecoming bette. very nice conditions in los angeles starting at 75, maybe going up to 84 but staying nice in to the 70s, maybe even the low 70s, texas very heavy rain showers now pushing through, that's all part that have major system i was just talking about. we do expect to see flooding in parts of texas, up towards arkansas, missouri, you'll see some flooding. three to five-inches of rain is expected in the next 48 hours for some locations. and your high today in dallas, how about 78. an influential law make never california finding himself at the certainty of an fbi probe. what the federal government is accusing him of doing. new york city is inning cruisine

age limit on buying tobacco products. how old you have to be to light up. aal qaeda is playing a role in a request. >> over 90% of sexual assaults on campuses are being perpetrated by serial offenders... >> this friday at 9 eastern. join a live town hall event hear firsthand accounts from victims who fought for justice. >> reality is...when it happens people just kinda shrug... >> learn how you can avoid sexual assaults, and what you can do as a bystander to prevent them. don't miss a special america tonight live town hall friday 9 eastern on al jazeera america. determining using some sort of subjective interpretation of their policy as to whether or not your particular report was actually abusive, because if it doesn't contain language that specifically threatens you directly or is targeted towards

you specifically, they may not consider it abuse. they may consider it offensive. and in that case they just recommend that you block that person. >> i don't want to minimise this, because i mean, there's some really horrible things that are on line, and it's not - it's not just twitter, what has happened through social media and the anonymity of the net is that you see websites, hate-filled websites targetting all sorts of groups, popping up. there has been a huge number of those that exist as well. [[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our country. and with them, a storm of views. how can you fully understand the impact unless you've heard angles you hadn't considered? antonio mora brings you smart

conversation that challenges the status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours. three former senior journalists with the now defunct british tabloid news of world are pleading guilty to phone hacking charges, the guilty pleas come as two of their old bosses stands trial in london. the paper apps' tpoerl editors rebecca brooks and andy coal son are accused of directing the tabloid's phone hacking operation. they deny the charges. the hacking sandal led to the shutdown of the rupert murdoch owned tabloid. a california lawmaker is the focus of a federal corruption investigation. he has been caught up in an fbi sting operation, josh burnstein from al jazerra's investigative unit has more.

>> reporter: los angeles, a city where fame and infamy go hand in hand. >> tax credits work. >> reporter: here everything seems larger than life. including its politicians. that state senator ronald calderon, he is one of the most influential lay machers an macha target of an ongoing investigation. according to a sealed affidavit obtained by al jazerra's investigative unit. the senator for sale. a politician willing to influence legislation in exchange for money. as part of an elaborate undercover sting, fbi agents posed as owners of an independent film studio. they approach the senator and allegedly paid him off. >> they had to establish bank accounts, they needed a business license, and so it's a very

extensive lengthy operation. >> reporter: senator calderon allegedly wanted his family add today the payroll. according to the affidavit, he told undercover agents any help you can do for for my kids, that's diamonds for me. so the agent agents hired his dr and paid her almost $30,00 $30,e never had to show up for work. at the world famous pebble beach resort the senator attended a fundraise fore his brother's nonprofit californian for his diversity. the greens were lined some of the state's most influential lobbyists. despite an ongoing federal probe, calderon is still rub elbows and raising money. >> what street is he on right now. the embattled senator has declined to comment so we caught up with him as he was arriving at another five star resort. excuse me, senator. >> yes. >> reporter: josh perso bernstem al jazerra. how are you? >> good. >> reporter: we were hoping to ask you questions about your ongoing legal problems.

>> i am here for a conference and not discussing any of that. >> reporter: are you going to resign if you are indicted? >> reporter: calderon has been an a-list star in california politics for more than a decade. in the end he may be best remember today for falling hard for an he lab writ undercover sting. >> al jazerra josh bernstein reporting. as of now ronald calderon has not been charged with any crime the fbi affidavit also accuses calderon of accepting bribes from a southern california hospital executive. claiming that calderon insured that changes in state law would not effect lucrative spinal fusion surgeries performed at a clinic in long beach. smokers under 21 will no longer be able to buy cigarettes in new york city. the minimum age to buy tobacco products use to be 18. but on we understand the city council vote today raise the age to 21. some states and cities have already raised their age limits, but new york city is the largest city to do so so far. millions of retirees will see a slight increase in their

social security checks next year. they'll receive on average an extra $19 a month. as heidi reports from dallas, the automatic increase is one of the smallest in decades. >> reporter: harvey spears served 20 years in the u.s. navy before retiring to serve here as an advocate working for a dallas disability rights group. almost everyone who comes through his door is disabled. and depends on social security benefits. >> some of them are just barely surviving. they live day by day. some of them don't have enough money to finish out the month. >> reporter: spears knows from percentage experience how little social security pays. as a disabled vet, he gets those checks too. >> there are my livelihood and allows me to work at a nonprofit agency at the salary that i currently have.

>> reporter: social security benefits for the disabled and the nation's elderly will go up by 1.5% next year, to adjust for cost of living. it's among the smallest increases since 1975. but better than 2010 and 2011 when there were no increases. the cost of living increase is based on the consumer price index. a national measure of price changes to house, food and consumer goods. that calculation ignores regional differences like the fact that texas offers less state level welfare than most other states. linda campaign lost her new york welfare benefits when she moved from rochester tore dallas earlier this year, she says the 1.5% increase is significant. >> i like it. it will be about a 20-dollar a month increase, but every little

bit helps. >> reporter: campaign gets $700 a month from social security. she says she can't afford a car, so even with a broken hip, she walks. >> oh. oh, goodness, let's not fall backwards, oh, goodness. >> reporter: the former special ed teacher find solace at church. an escape from her financia phyd financial troubles, she's 64 and has had no luck finding work since losing her teaching job in 2005. >> we deserve this help because we have earned it. we -- associates security payments were deducted out of our paychecks just like everything else. >> reporter: she says she only wishes the government safety net she's landed in was less at that timeat thattattered.

>> and by law the 1.5% cost of living adjustment is based on consumer prices generated by the bureau of labor statistics it measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation and education. well, two years after u.s. troops left the country, iraq is asking the u.s. for weapons, training, and manpower to fight off an al quada resurgence there. prime minister there will discuss iraq's request with president obama friday at the white house. eyiraq's ambassador says they ae not able to fight off al qauda alone. they are open to every option sort of boots on the ground. japan is preparing to clean up fukushima that was badly damaged in 2011 by a tsunami officials plan to remove more than a thousand radioactive fuel rods. the process is dangerous because the rods have 14,000 times the radiation of the atomic bomb

dropped on hiroshima. a bus driver preventing a woman from ending her own life, the heroic act all caught on tape. a popular pepper sauce coming under fire, why one california community is suing the company behind it. and it's a celebration night, of course, in boston. as the red sox take home another world series title.

>> audiences are intelligent and they know that their

a moment of compaction may have saved a life. eye school bus receiver this buffalo was on his route earlier this month when he say a woman standing at the edge of an overpass apparently ready to jump. surveillance footage on board of bus shows what happened next. darnell barton stopped the bus and asked if the woman was okay. >> i said do you want to come back on -- back onto the right side of the guardrail? and that was the first time she spoke to me. and she was, you know, she was

soft toned, yeah. so at that point, i helped her turn around and jump back over on the right side. >> barton waited with the woman until hepa received and when he got back on the bus his students gave him a round of applause. the heat is on for the makers i've popular hot sauce in california. city officials say the factory produces a chili odor so strong it causes burning eyes and headaches and some neighbors have been forced to move. brian rooney has more. >> reporter: is afternoois aftea traditional korean hot sauce. >> more or less? >> more: no doubt, some like it hot. but not just a few blocks away in this neighborhood down winds of the 600,000 square food factory that makes sriracha. deena says pepper fumes get in to her house.

>> my eyes are watery, my nose right here ale the way down itches, all the way to here and this right here gets real swoepbswollen. >> reporter: joe lan duh said it ended her daughter's wedding shower. 30 guests were affected. >> yes, it was strong we they didn't know what was going on we had to plain to them it was the chili factory. >> is. >> people living in irvin dale are fed up with -- >> reporter: the neighborhood battle over hot sauce has become a national story. the los angeles times featured the factory on its website. they make 200,000 bottles a day in its mastiff factory in east of los angeles. and can hardly keep up with global demand. this time of year, trucks trundle in to the plant carrying tons of fresh jalapeños. this chili sauce has the same active ingredients as pepper spray. and here outside the factory, you can definitely smell it. the city says the plant refuse

today fix the problem. so this week the city sued. saying fuels from the plant caused physical harm and discomfort to residents, irwindale officials want the plant should down until it has an effective air cling advertise em. >> reporter: are they more concerned about making money than the public health? >> that's what they are saying, that's what has been communicated to us through their lack of actions and we find it despicable. >> reporter: the company did not respond to our multiple requests for an interview. no one here wants sriracha sauce to go away, just its odor. >> we love chili, you know. i love chili. i eat chili. i eat all kind of chilis. >> reporter: the city hopes the court will make an immediate decision that will clear the air. brian rooney, al jazerra, irwindale, california. >> the family owned company had operated out of two small buildings in a nearby city until it opened the new factory this year. it hasn't happened at fenway

park for 95 years. the red sox are world champions. >> you may have heard a big night for baseball fans in boston, the red sox winning their third world series since 2004. al jazerra's john has more from fenway park. >> reporter: well, the big question coming in to game number six of the world series surrounded bi big papi. he of the .733 batting average. question would the cardinal give him pitch to his hit and if they didn't, could anyone else in the red sox lineup step up? as it turned out the cardinals walked big papi three times, but it didn't matter because the red sox had reinforcements. shane victorino and mike napoli didn't play much in st. louis, but they were in the lineup and nba game six in boston and they combined for five rbi, to lead the red sox to the world series title. >> still trying to take this all in when the fireworks went off

at the presentation of the trophy when the ballpark was filled with smoke it was control police suhr reach to be in this position given where we came from rein thi reflecting back a. a lot has taken place. ben kheurg tonight deserves all the credit in the world for what he has done to the roster and the players he's brought in and most importantly to the players, to come in and see the energy and the commitment that they had, the buying in to a seem concept every single day and the one thing that stands out more than anything is just their off all will to win. and that was no her every dent than in this entire post season. >> when nobody gave us any thoughts, you know, winning this world series is special. it might be the most special out of all the world series that i have been part of. to be honest with you. >> unbelievable. i mean, he's been doing this for years. it's crazy to be that good and for guys not to get surprised

honestly. this is his time of year i guess. >> i know every team says it but there are truly no better fans than red sox nation for them to welcome me the way they did my first start here and allow me to be a part. i can tell you i am all in with this city, i am all in with the boston red sox and for the opportunity that i have been given here it's just something i am so grateful for and something i will never forget. >> reporter: perhaps there was too much history going against the cardinal. and they become the 10th team in the last 11 seasonses to win the world series after winning game one. a year afte after a last placed3 loss season in which the red sox were a team that only a mother could love, everybody in boston loves the boston red sox because they are your 2013 world series champions. from boston, i am john henry smith, al jazerra. >> and that will do it. for this edition of al jazerra news, i am stephanie sy. "the stream "is up next and news

at the top of every hour as well as on our website. aljazerra.com. thanks for watching. is the republican party at war with its self over gay marriage? same-sex marriage is now legal in fourteen states. just before it came into effect for new jersey, republican governor chris christie quietly dropped his effort to stop those unions. now, some say his action or lack thereof shows a larger shift within the republican party on the issue of gay rights. earlier this year, the republican national committee voted unanimously to keep the