good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. less to eat. millions of americans facing deep cuts to the nation's food stamp program. the challenge, getting rid of syria's chemical weapons, while millions are starving in the middle of the civil war. concussion concerns the technology helping football's youngest players facing potential long-term problems. power on, the faa changes its mind about your electronic devices. plus. that's about 45 pounds of fall shanook salmon.

we'll look into why so many fish are coming home this fall. ♪ and we begin with a cut in government benefits that will hurt millions of americans. starting tomorrow people who rely on food stamps will get less. congress is letting a temp ration increase in food stamp benefits expire, and that means one in seven americans tonight, 47 million people are worrying even more about putting food on their tables. a family of four receiving the maximum allotment will see a drop of about $36 a month. that's $420 a year for food that they won't have according to the u.s. department of agriculture. these cuts will also effect people not on food stamps. according to moody's analytics, every dollar spent on food stamps generates economic

growth. >> since farmers receive $0.15 of every dollar that goes through a grocery store it is also about farm income and if people begin to understand who is benefitting from the program, they'll see it is unacceptable to disqualify 2 to 3 million people from the program. >> families who are struggling every day are worried. >> reporter: monshell and her four year old son have to watch their spending when grocery shopping. she has a job in federal government, but she needs help. >> when rent, water bills, light bills, nursery bills, i just couldn't afford to have food in the house. >> reporter: she is grateful for the help, but like 47 million

over americans she is about to receive less help. natalie of second harvest food bank of new orleans serves meals to 263,000 people a year who are at risk of going hungry in south louisiana. >> we're very, very concerned about these reelections going into effect. the effect here in the state of louisiana would be like if second harvest just stopped distributing food today. we distribute 20 million meals a year. we're going to lose $41 million meals as a result of this cut. >> reporter: the cuts mean a family of four will receive about $40 less a month. second harvest food bank say they are more and more seeing what they call a new face of hunger, workers who have jobs but they aren't earning enough. they have jobs but they still are living paycheck to paycheck.

this man now runs the food pantry. >> i remember being divorced and raising my boys by myself. and i went to apply for food stamps and i was turned down. i was working. i have always had a decent job. i work for the federal government, but i was among the working poor. >> reporter: she says now that the word is getting out about the cuts in snap her regular customers are already looking for help. >> he loves his bananas, ams, especially strawberries and gapes even if i just catch the sales because i have to keep him healthy. >> reporter: with these new cuts the gap is only going to get wider. stephanie boswell, al jazeera,

louisiana. back in 1975, 8% of americans were receiving snap. today the number is 15%. food assistance varies from state to state. a sluggish job market and higher poverty rates affect how many people are enrolled. states reeling from natural disasters have some of the highest food stamp rates. people are worried that cuts could be catastrophic. we have the senior director of government relations at the food bank for the city of new york. welcome. it's good to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> what impact will this have on the people that you serve. >> the cuts that hit tomorrow are going to take away more food than our food bank, and we are the largest food bank in the united states, distribute in a year. >> sometimes we stereo type

people on food stamps. tell me who are using the food stamps? >> most of them are seniors and children. there are a whole lot of stereo types and myth busting to be done. 45% of food stamp recipients are children, and about another third are seniors or people with disabilities. >> and you say people that we assume that people who are on food stamps don't have an education, but that's not the case. >> that's absolutely not the case. unfortunately one of the biproducts of the recession and the anemic recovery that we have experienced is that even people with a college degree are turning to food pan tries and soup kitchens to get buy. we have seen a 25% increase in people with a college education coming to food banks or soup kitchens. and that's a real disappointment

for folks. >> in recent weeks and days we have heard maybe the economy is beginning to come back. are you seeing it when it comes to the people you serve? >> this is a rising tide that is not lifting all boats yet. there are three times as many job seekers as jobs right now. >> so what happens, people lose their jobs, they can't find work, and they need this sort of assistance, and if they don't have it? >> if they don't have it, i mean, we -- we'd say snap is the first line of defense against hunger, and a food pantry or soup kitchen is the last line of defense. when you take away resources from snap more people will be turning to food pantries or soup kitchens. >> the pressure turns to you, right? >> exactly. >> to try to raise the money to fill the gap. >> uh-huh. >> and is it possible?

i mean can we see a rally in support for this in order to help feed these people or not? >> no. >> really? >> i mean that's the short answer. the amount of food being taken away as a result of these cuts is more than we distribute in the entire year and we're the biggest food bank in the country, and we rely on thousands to do the work we do, and a single stroke of a legislative pen can take away more food than we put out in a year. >> so you are thinking about the winter and about the holidays coming up. >> yeah, you know, for 75% of people who receive snap and use food panties and soup kitchens, their benefits are gone by the third week of the month. we have thanksgiving and hanukkah coming in the third week of this month. and people are going to need help.

>> thank you for joining us. >> thank you. a military attack has happened inside syria. stephanie decker has more. >> the israeli army is not confirming these reports. there have been reports of israeli air strikes before this year. earlier in january there was a report of an israeli strike on a syrian convoy carrying missiles to hezbollah. later in the year reports that israel targeted a missile storage facility just close to a province. we do know israel takes the threat of hezbollah very seriously. they have always said if there is a threat to the israel state they will take action. so people are saying it is very possible they could have carried out this strike, but the official line from the israely

government is no comment. rosiland jordan has more report on the destruction of the syri syrian chemical weapons. >> reporter: last week, the syrian government submitted a plan outlining how it will destroy its chemical weapons reserves. on thursday, a day before the deadline, it was announced syria destroyed everything it needs to create new chemical weapons. the next deadline is in the middle of november where the formal plan will need to be approved. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons confirms the us in. >> reporter: but the announcement has come as cold comfort to u.s. legislators. at a senate hearing they accuse

the obama administration of letting the civil war deepen. the u.s. ambassador to damascus denied those charges. >> there isn't a person on my team who doesn't feel frustrated by the syrian situation in general. >> i think our help to the opposition has been an embarrassment. and i kind it appalling that you would sit here and act as if we're doing the things we said we would do. >> reporter: meanwhile the un arab league special envoy, lakhdar brahimi has been meeting with syrian leaders. >> translator: the regime cannot stop the armed groups, and the armed groups cannot beat the regime and that is why there must be a political solution. >> reporter: for now the assad

government needs to show international weapons monitors how it will destroy more than 13000 tons of toxic agent ammunition in order to meet its deadline by the middle of next year, and reassure the international community it won't use any of those weapons for any reason in the meantime. rosiland jordan al jazeera, washington. while the chemical arsenal is being destroyed, the situation in syria remains critical . . . the un says more than 1 million syrians are trapped in areas where aid deliveries just can't

get through. let's bring in a woman from washington, d.c. she is a syrian american who founded the humanitarian organization, syria relief and development. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> how serious has this problem gotten? and what needs to be done? >> well, the humanitarian situation has only worsened since the chemical weapons attack back in august. as you said there are 2.2 million refugees they are now in neighboring countries. just in the past couple of weeks we have heard reports of a polio outbreak in the northeastern part of syria that they believe to have been brought over from pakistan. it is now spreading. in the northeastern area, but they fear it is going to spread into neighboring countries, because as you know there are about 4,000 refugees that are leaving syria each day into

neighboring countries, and most of these -- these polio outbreaks have struck children under five years of age, so it's really damaging for the children of syria. >> this is personal for you. i know you have family in syria. what are you hearing from them? >> well, i think right now everybody is bracing for a very cold and long winter. last year international organizations although they did try to address the need in syria, just were not able to do so, and so a lot of syrians right now have been growing their own food, are preserving as much bread as possible, because a lot of these areas even in damascus that has relatively had better conditions than other syrian cities, they just don't know if international organizations are going to be able to bring in food and the aid necessary. many syrians have been under siege. in certain parts it is

completely besieged and food has not been able to go in or out, and the international committee for red cross has complained, and as of yet we have not seen too much progress from the syrian government to make sure that humanitarian needs of the syrian people is addressed. >> speaking of the syrian government and president assad he has been praised by some for allowing the inspectors in -- [ technical difficulties ] -- i think the number -- numbers speak for themselves. as ambassador fred huff saad today, addressing the chem -- chemical weapons issue is only the tip of the iceberg. 120,000 human beings have lost their lives through a variety of different weapons, and that needs to be halted and there

needs to be more international pressure on the syrian government to put an end to this once and for all. throwing money at the situation can only ameliorate part of the problem, but asking assad and the rebels to halt all fighting is necessary. >> thank you for your incite. we appreciate you joining us tonight. >> thank you for having me. ♪ good evening, everyone, about one third of the country this evening is seeing rain in the forecast, look here on the radar and satellite. we're going to take you into the flooding areas a little bit later on in the show. up towards the northeast we're dealing with the heavy rain as well as winds, anywhere from 40 miles per hour up to 60 mile per hour winds. look at all of the warnings and watches in effect all the way

from maine, back towards michigan down towards the ohio river valley. we'll see limbs coming off of trees, power outages, specifically in up state new york, so we'll be watching this for the rest of the night, and when i come back, i'll update you on all of the flooding that has happened across texas. >> kevin thank you. a federal appeals court has reinstated most of the abortion restrictions in texas. the decision comes three days after a district judge concluded part of the law serves no medical purpose. the provision requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital can still take effect while the lawsuit moves forward. the attorney general's office argues the law is constitutional. lawyers for planned parenthood and other abortion providers have argued that the regulations don't protect women and would shut down a third of abortion clinics in texas.

soon you'll be free to use your electronic devices almost any time when you are on an airliner. plus new york city's stop and frisk program could be coming back. we'll take a closer look at the new ruling when we come back. >>an escape from the expected.

[[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.

♪ some good news for tech savvy travelers, the faa says passengers can now use most electronic devices almost any time. david shuster has more. >> all of us who have flown in the last 20 years are familiar with the instruction from the flight attendance. please turn off all of your electronic devices. we will let you know when you can turn them back on. the notice sthat safe to turn on your device comes when the aircraft reaches 10,000 feet.

the restrictions have covered laptops, cell phones, e-readers, game devices, so until now there have been no calls or text working on your computer or reading or playing games on your devices until the captain says so at 10,000 feet. however, after nearly a year having a committee study the impact of these various devices, the faa is now recommending that passengers be allowed to use these devices almost any time they want. the one catch is that your mobile device has to be in airport mode. so you won't be able to make phone calls or send texts. but if you are writing, watching a movie, or reading an electronic book, you are good to go any time. however, instead of being nagged

to turn it off, now the flight attendant will just ask you to put it away in the seat back for a few minutes. authorities in california say they have shutdown a tunnel used to smuggle thousands of pounds of drugs across the mexican border. it even has its own rail system. agents say they have seized more than 8 tons of marijuana, and more than 300 pounds of cocaine. well a horrible boats accident nearly killed a woman from the miami area, and gave doctors the opportunity for the world's first nerve graft. >> reporter: it was supposed to be an enjoyable day of boating in the bay. but the propeller sliced this

woman's leg. >> i expected the injury to be so devastating or severe. i remember she was coming here in shock. >> as a police chief he had found himself in this area you countless times. >> seeing your daughter in that type of a state, i -- i have spent my entire life, my entire career helping families through this type of thing, never had to look at my own, so it was devastating. >> once she was stabilize doctors saw an opportunity to help restore movement to the leg. they toll her they wanted her to be the first person in the world to undergo a nerve graft. >> just to have a chance to do

something extraordinary or be a part of something bigger than myself was a great feeling. >> the plan was to first take the standard approach of using press's nerves to help repair her sciatic nerve. but it would be difficult to find enough donor nerves. >> we also took cells that were isolated from her nerve, grown in culture, and put back into her nerve. >> reporter: it has been two weeks since underwent the regeneration surgery. >> it's a long way from where the nerve is injured to get all the way down to the foot. the nerves grow at about an inch a month so this repair strategy will give her sensation back in the leg, and will hopefully give

her some motor recovery. >> reporter: although it's too soon to determine how much her leg will recover, she replains grateful and determined. >> until then i just take every day as a gift, i guess. >> reporter: press is now a pioneer in nerve graft surgery. doctors hope her case will be a break through for people with spinal chord injuries. natasha ghoneim, al jazeera, miami. ♪ michael is here with sports. i guess it was a quiet night in boston last night? >> the opposite of kwie set exactly what it was. that party is going to go through the weekend. the red sox will hold their world series championship rally this saturday, and about 24 of the infamous duck boats will leave fenway for a tour of downtown before taking a victory

plunge into the river. they claimed their third world series title in the last ten years. in hockey, the goalie was released from jail today. after he allegedly kicked his girlfriend in the chest and drug her by the hair. he has been allowed to travel with the team for friday night's game in dallas. and five weeks after his second arrest on suspicion of drunk driving, linebacker alden smith is back on the 49ers roster. those are your sports headlines for this hour. more sports news as al jazeera america continues.

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. and here are the top stories. 47 million families receive federal help to buy food will be

getting less starting tomorrow. a temporary increase in food stamp benefits is expiring. a family of four will be losing about $36 month. soon you'll be able to use tablets or ereaders almost any time you want on flights. inspectors say syria is no longer able to make chemical weapons. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons says syria met the november 1st deadline to destroy its facilities. the next big deadline comes next summer when syria must destroy its chemical arsenal. congress got an update on the syrian strategy today. the u.s. ambassador testified in

a hearing today. >> the regime has brought in foreign fighters from the iran revolution, even iraqi shiite militiamen. meanwhile the moderate opposition that we support is fighting on two fronts both against the regime and against militant extremists. >> the ambassador heard criticism from those who feel america is not doing enough to end the crisis in syria. the prime of iraq says his country needs more help from the u.s. to stop the growing violence that has killed thousands of iraqis this year. patty has more. >> reporter: who is to blame for

the carnage seen almost daily now on the streets of iraq? the prime minister's message to the u.s. this is the work of al-qaeda and he needs their help to stop this. the groups insurgent is because of the vacuum left by the arab spring. but some u.s. leaders claim he shares some of the blame. shutting out the sunni community. they argue he is creating the conditions for another civil war. but the prime minister told this conference he has done nothing prong >> translator: if i act in an unconstitutional way please let me know when and ho and tell me to go back to the constitution. >> reporter: at the white house promises the president will raise currents about how he

governs but there are indications they won't block the sale of the weapons. senior officials say they may help by sharing more intelligence but analysts don't expect a huge shift. >> the status of forces agreement doesn't provide for more u.s. personnel obviously. the equipment we sold him is already in the pipeline. i don't think he'll -- he'll get more equipment. he probably wants more intelligence cooperation, there may be some moves to try to provide contractors to help him. >> the u.s. has budgeted just $200 million next year to help improvement the security situation in iraq. in the past in exchange for aid and weapons, the u.s. has demanded iraq stop letting iran use its air space to transfer weapons to syria. and now they are more focused on

the i haviolence in iraq. [ technical difficulties ] and hope he has an answer. a federal appeals court is now blocking a ruling to change new york city's stop and frisk law. in august a judge ruled that the controversial police tactic unfairly targeted blacks and hispanics. today a court put that ruling on hold. the judge has been removed from the case. police commissioner ray kelly defended the ruling and the practice. >> lowest number of murders at this point in time, october 31st of 2013, probably the lowest it has been in -- since in october 31st in perhaps the 1940s. so that's how safe the city is, and our tech tactics and

strategies i think have worked and continue to work. >> the appeals process will continue through next spring. he built his campaign around ending stop and frisk. cory booker officially became u.s. senator today. vice president biden sworn in the new jersey democrat. i'm the kind of person that is going to try to do the right thing by all of the members of our great state. >> the former mayor is filling the seat of frank laudenberg who died last summer. booker and his mother met with senate majority leader harry reid today, and later on with president obama. police in detroit say they have recovered a video of the city's mayor smoking from what

appears to be a crack pipe. this is the latest in a drug investigation that has rocked canada since may and the first official link between major rob ford and the case. the tape had been the focus of media reports for months but ford denied it existed. the police chief said nothing on that video would lead to criminal charges. and he said he has no reason to resign. president obama talked to business and government leaders from around the country and the world during a conference aimed at tracking foreign investment. >> you should find out why there's no substitute for those proud words, made in america. and here are three more words, select the usa, you will find some of the world's best workers, some of the best entrepreneurs, government and a president who is committed to helping you create more good jobs. >> this is the first time the

u.s. has made foreign investment a priority. direct foreign investment makes up about 16% of america's gross domestic product. in the pacific northwest salmon is an important part of that economy. the fish population has been struggling for decades but not this year. alan, i guess it's a good year for salmon, yes? >> a very good year, john for one species of salmon in particular. for the fall shanook. salmon experts say there is probably a combination of things that have lead to some startling good conditions this year. they also credit the expensive human health that the shanook are getting from the mouth of the columbia to the spawning beds far upstream. on one of the northwest's great natural stages an underwater

drama is playing out. >> over 63,000 shanook pass through the dam in one day. you could not blink, you couldn't really talk. with these visual counts there is no going back. >> reporter: since the dam was built, people have never counted more shanook in the fall run. 950,000 so far, more than a million this year. >> we were expecting a good run but nothing at the number we got. it was mayhem. really, it was mayhem. >> salmon populations have struggled since early in the last century when the river was harnessed for hydroelectric power. hundreds of river miles away up the columbia, then the snake, then the clear water, these fall shanook reach the end of their line. in the early 90s fish returns to

this stretch of this river numbered in the hundreds. this is a different year. >> it's fun. >> reporter: dave man ages the fish department for the tribe in idaho. >> it means something that we're doing something, you know, as a people, we're doing something that's right. >> reporter: at this tribal hatchery, funded by court order, workers scan fish for implanted computer chips, test for disease, and strip shanook of their eggs and sperm. all of this sun example of the human help the fish get from state and federal sources, conservation groups, and tribes. the turbines have been improved killing fewer young fish, and dam managers have tweaked operations to increase survival rate. more water is spilled over the

dams at key times during the year habitat restoration work sundayway. the record run has been a huge boost for commercial and sport fishing. >> tribal fisherman who are fishing for subsistence purposes as well as for their livelihood, and everyone has enjoyed this incredible run this year. >> but they caution this is just one year, and just one of many threatened salmon species. there is more work to do here if this rare show is to become more common. and the numbers we're seeing this year are about 50% over the ten-year rolling average. really statistically very significant. about 35% over the previous record year. all of the stake holders at the state and federal level can pat themselves on the back, but not too hard. we have to remember that the

fall shanook is just one of 13 different salmon and steal head species in the river system listed as threatened or endangered. >> how many of these fish are wild and how many come from the hatchery? >> it's really hard to tell. that's not a number that fishery managers have a solid grip on. some areas say the john daye river where 100% of the fish have come back are natural stock. the west that the fishingry's management could tell me is about 20 to 25% of all of the shanook and steal head coming back are natural. the rest part of that hatchery supplementation program. there are hundreds of hatcheries out there this river system. >> all right. allen in oregon tonight, thanks very much, alan. let's head to washington

joie chen is standing by to tell us what she has coming up on "america tonight." >> good evening, john. you know all this week on "america tonight" we have been reporting in-depth about sex crimes on campus. tonight we're going to hear the story of the falsely accused. what happens when the two sides of a story don't match up, and the accused becomes the victim. we'll hear from caleb warner who's sexual contact with a girl he liked became the basis for her accusation of the assault. >> if you are sitting over there on the other side you don't want a rapist on your campus. so you are just going to do the safe play and expel him. >> we're going to fine out what happened to caleb and why it may be a warning to others. that's in the next hour on "america tonight," john.

>> all right. joie, thank you very much. concussions are plaguing football players at all levels. a closer look at the science that's trying to keep athletes safe. they know how to manipulate and control you. the state has all the power. >> we have done more to destroy our way of life than the terrorists could ever have done.

all next week america tonight investigates the campus rape crisis. >> serial rape is the norm on college campuses. >> i know that when i did report, i was blamed. >> then this friday at nine eastern, we open up the

conversation in a live town-hall event. sex crimes on campus, a special week of coverage and live town-hall on america tonight nine eastern. only on al jazeera america. and since we're in the neighborhood, we thought we would give you a peak of a special halloween light show right on top of the empire state tower. the lights start on the 72nd floor and go all the way to the top of the antenna. and this just hand few minutes ago. beautiful site on top of the empire state building. from investigative reports to the lawsuits between former football players in the nfl, the

risk of concussions getting a lot of attention. "techknow" kyle hill tells us how they are trying to make football a safer game. >> reporter: nebraska university. along with the traditions of football come the hits. no one knows how hard the hits can be better than blake lawrence, former starting linebacker for the university of nebraska. >> my thir concussion was the one when i realized something was wrong was right here. after that play coach came up and said great job. i had to sacrifice my -- my brain to do it. >> reporter: so what kinds of hits are likely to land a player in the hospital rather than the end zone, and how do you refuse a player's risk of concussion? head of virginia's techs

biomedical engineering department has spent the last decade studying the hokies to answer those questions. >> the mission is to understand what is happening and make the game better. >> reporter: what have you learned from this research so far? >> we can tell you very well, a college play whatever kind of exposure they are going to have. >> reporter: this is how he collects his raw data with the hits system for short. it picks up information from sensors placed in player's helmet. so the system is showing real time impacts right here. >> yeah, basically within a couple of seconds it will come in through this antenna, and we can see live what is happening to these players. >> do you have a nickname for this thing? >> this cap has 256 lek -- electrodes in it.

and the brain waves are promesses of memory and critical thinking. >> and joining us now from milwaukee is kyle hill. hi, kyle. >> think, thanks so much for having me. >> we saw you all wired up with the special brain cap. tell me about that, and what was it like? >> it was really kind of amazing. there's 256 electrodes on this. i called it a science octopus. it reads the electrical signals coming up out of your brain. what the researchers are doing with this is they are giving you a baseline reading. after they get a baseline, that's what they used to compare after someone has what they think might be a concussion. if they take the test again

after receiving a big hit and they show huge deviations that might be more objective way to say this player has had a concussion. we need to sit this player down. >> of course these big hits could happen over a long period of time. what are the real risks we're looking at for players who get hit? >> there has been a lot of focus on this issue since the nfl players have brought it up, it is kind of in its infancy. but we don't know what kind of damage it is doing over time. there is even a question of how much does it damage a brain. a concussion typically is the brain hitting the inside of the skull. but also hits come from all angles of the head when you get hit. so it might cause of sheering, tearing damage in the brain. although nfl players are coming

forward saying they might have degenerative brain diseases later in life, we don't actually have the data to link the two. we're going to bring in michael eaves who wants weigh in on this issue. >> if have realized that no two concussions are the same, but how will a definitive impact effect a player in a certain way. >> it's not so much what kind of hit will have what kind of impact on one player whether it be a kicker or a linebacker. what we're doing now is looking at the level of hits. where it hits on the head and at what acceleration or deceleration. it's a certain factor faster

than the acceleration of gravity. we're starting to make correlations between a 100-g hit where a 20-g hit is not quite as bad. and we can track those over the course of a game or practice. and these things are starting to track up, and hopefully something will jump out of the data though it's not quite clear yet. >> kyle it is great to talk with you, and we hope to talk with you again. i just want to mention that your program is called "techknow." it's on al jazeera at 7:30 eastern time on sunday, and we'll be looking for it. it's a great program. they have lots of interesting stories just like this one as well. michael is back here with sports. you know, it's -- i think -- a lot of people talking about the data. it's not just about the hits to the head, but all of the hits they take in football. >> any impact you observe as a

human being is going to have an effect. concussions are just a part of a long list of injuries that can derail a player's season or sometimes career. and this one s one of the subjects that ross shimabuku discussed today. >> when this month began they were 22nd in total offense. they are now 9th in total offense, and there are no questions anymore about andy dalton's future as a quarterback. 11 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, they have been terrific, and all they needed was an offense to go with that really good defense. >> all right. let's go to the kansas city chiefs. can they make it nine straight games against the bills? >> this is a place they haven't

won since 1986, so they better not be looking ahead. they haven't exactly blown out opponents and their opponents so far are 20-41. they have not beaten a team that currently has a winning record. three of the victories were by eight total points. the schedule does not much harder after their bye week next week. i think they survive but two of the next three will be really, really tough. >> and you cover the cowboys is the media overreacting to dez's passion at it outburst. >> dez is an emotional player. and it looked much worse than what it was. the cowboys are fine with dez bryant they just want him to channel that in a positive way.

and have him focus on what he needs to do on the field. they have addressed that and they feel like he'll do that going forward. >> you got the chance to speak with adrian petersen recently. how is he dealing with the death of his son? >> yeah, he has had a lot bad things happen since he took that first carry. he is only 8 carries and 81 yards behind what he did last season, but he has had far more carries of 3 yards or less. the problem for him, superman's kryptonite has been the carousel that the vikings have had at the quarterback position. and adrian did acknowledge unless they get that fixed where they can have some passing yards that the team is going to continue to effect that line against him. >> now the seattle seahawks are

flying high at 7-1, but they need some help at the receiver spot. will percy harvey be making his debut on sunday? >> it doesn't look good for him. they thought he was recovering. but then he limited the rest of the week. since st. louis he hasn't done a whole lot. so a little concern about where he is right now. they certainly need him. they had 91 passing yard against st. louis they now rank near the bottom in passing offense. and they lost sidney rice for the season. so they need percy on the field. they hope it's sooner rather than later, but it does not look good at this point. now to college football. the university of missouri tigers play their games at a stayed thaum is currently understand going renovation, but perhaps an exorcism should be in

order to help the tigers exercise the demons that have haunted the north end zone for so many years. it's where the tigers doom has been sealed in horrifying fashion. 1997, nebraska used some hocus-pocus for its game-winning football touchdown. most recently this past weekend with missouri sporting a magical 7-0 record, kicker andrew fell victim to the north end zones foul grip, a pain streaking double time loss. a house of horrors of field of dreams for the tigers? a tail still to be told continuing this weekend against tennessee. >> and happy halloween.

>> that sounds spooky. >> thanks very much. >> from our headquarters in new york, here

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hello again. well things are really heating up across parts of the central united states. take a look at the map right now, we have tornado watches in effect for about six states. let me go this way, and you can see here that we are looking at attorney watches, tornado warnings, and severe thunderstorm warnings in effect. they are expected to stay effect at least for the next 30 minutes or so. but as you can see they continue to move towards the east. this is going to continue to happen as long as we have the heating from the day that went through as well as the strength of the frontal boundary that has moved through. now we had a lot of rain in parts of texas over the last 24 hours. this is the frontal boundary that made its way through, but i want to show you the video that has come in this morning from hewn towards and uppeople needed to be evacuated and rescues as

almost nine inches of rain fell in some locations and it was about 3 feet in some places where water accumulated. we are looking at a lot of damage in terms of flooding. wind damage as well as some tornados that have been reported in parts of louisiana. so this has been a really, really crazy day in terms of weather. it's going to continue for the next 24 hours. this weather system will make its way to the east. we are looking at heavy rain at least through midday tomorrow. once the front goes through, things are going to be a lot better and cooler. that's a look at your weather. have a great evening, everyone. john is up next with your headlines.

good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. and here are the top stories. a big change comes tomorrow for the 47 million americans who rely on food stamps. a rise in benefits that went into effect in 2009 is now expiring. that means a family of four will lose about $36 a month. un says humanitarian crisis in syria remains critical, another 4 million people have been displaced living as ref geej -- refugees inside the country. more than 120,000 people have been killed since the start of the civil war.