♪ >> it is an al jazeera

exclusive. a nine-year-old mystery partially solved. swiss scientists now say yasser arafat was poisoned, but we still don't know who did it. >> first though found poison in his clothes. then they found it in his bones. the scientists say they clearly say polonium with 85% confidence. the family received a letter from their lawyer. >> if i was judge and jury, this is stone cold certain. this is beyond any doubt in my opinion that it was polonium

that caused the death of yasser arafat. >> reporter: for widow and daughter, it was 100% prove. >> it was as if they told me he just died. i will not stop. me and my daughter will go to all courts to all over the world to punish whoever did this crime. >> now that i have proof that he was poisoned i feel relief, closure, now i need to know who killed him, the motion and ambition behind it 2346 more than 40 years of reas much has led scientists to knowledge how

about the amount of polonium in the skill. >> it was several times higher than normal. >> the report rules out any external contamination, and confirms through dna testing that the skeleton was definitely air fatsarafats. these results as theory of polonium poisoning first put forward last year and then they found that arafat's blood and urine stains had high levels of

polonium. the samples were gathered when his body was unearthed last year. three teams have took 20 samples each. russia's team has not yet been made public, and there was a team in france. >> we're at the institute where the swiss testing was carried out. we'll talk to him a little bit later. >> the widow of yasser arafat joins us. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, david. >> you've been briefed on the results of the investigation, what is your reaction?

>> you know, it was a very, very strong shock. i mean that i'm mourning my husband again now. i'm full of anger. this is crime, this is assassination of a leader elected by his people. this is a policy assassination, and you can't imagine how my daughter and myself are in very sad situation. >> who do you suspect did this? >> you know, i have no right to suspect because all the cause is in the hands of the judiciary in france now. but i don't know about countries that have nuclear reactors to

find this substance of polonium which is rare, and to kill him with it. but the problem that--who gave him this poison? who administered it, and who gave the go ahead to hut it in his tea, coffee or food? it is very terrible feeling to be deceived. >> how did your husband yasser arafat describe those final few weeks when he got six in 2004, what did he say about what he was feeling, and what what was going on? >> he could not express himself, but i could see in his hands he was asking--trying to ask me questions what happened, trying to find a solution. he felt that he was w betrayed e

would say he was betrayed. >> finally what would justice look like to you? now that you know that it was very likely your husband was poisoned, that he was assassinated, as you say, how should justice be served? >> i think all actors of this horrible crime should have justice. my daughter and myself have decided not to be silence on such crime. we will go further, and this crime has to be punished, this crime of killing elected leader. this is the hidden poison that anybody would not--anybody would kill anybody. it becomes like a jungle. it's terrible and a lesson to

everybody. >> suha arafat. thank you for being on al jazeera america. >> thank you. >> and yasser arafat led the plo for decades, becoming the face of the palestinian movement. israel and western countries viewed him as a terrorist. the plo recognized israel and arafat shook hands with israel's prime minister on the white house lawn. over the decades his relationship with israel was never smooth. by the time he died in 2004 israel saw him again as a terrorist and the u.s. had scaled back contacts with him. joining me now is mark perry a foreign affairs analysts. what is your reaction to the

findings of the scientist in switzerland that yasser arafat was poisoned? >> honestly, tony, i'm a skeptic, and i have been a long time. the trail of evidence here is cold, it's been interpreted. i don't think that the findings are dispositive. i don't think that the doctors were being dishonest. i have no reason to believe that, but we're, what, ten years now after mr. arafat's death, and it just doesn't seem to me to be a cinch, not at all. since we're going to continue this investigation, let's continue it, let's see what the other two laboratories have to say and go from there. >> still from this point we have a whodunit with no answer to the question. what do you ultimately see happening down the road. do you sea the day coming given that you're skeptical of the

finding so far. that this case gets to the criminal court? >> i doubt it. we're 50 years after the kennedy assassination, and we still don't know really what happened there. listen, i saw mr. arafat in august of the year he died, two months before he died, and i came away from that meeting telling one of his colleagues that it was probably the last time i would see him alive. he was physically deteriorated. i thought he was very ill. he wasn't as sharp mentally as he had been in my previous meetings with him. so when he became sick in november, i really wasn't surprised. if you go to the question of motive and who would have a motive to kill mr. arafat, why would you kill what was obvious to almost every one of his assistants and to me that he was a dying man? why would you kill a dying man? >> mark, i appreciate it. thank you for your time. mark perry, foreign affairs

analyst in washington, d.c. and we're at the institute where the testing was carried out, i don't know if you heard mark perry just a moment ago, but he's very skeptical of the findings from that body there, that it is a cold case and we all should wait to hear what they come back with from the french and the russians. >> i go that w would agree thatd wait to hear from the russians and the french, but i would not agree with mark perry, who is a friend of mine. they found abnormal levels of polonium in his skeleton. 18 to 28 times higher, and that

cannot be explained by environmental contamination as they ruled that out because it was within his bones. the data speaks for itself. >> clayton, you've worked on this for more than two years now. what did you come to begin this investigation. what started you on this path? >> reporter: well, tony, you remember when you were in doha we did an exclusive called the "palestine papers." after that i met with mrs. arafat with the intention the receiving arafat's hand-written diaries. i was told that i could not have those since they were going to her daughter when she was 18, but i was give his medical file.

i brought it to the forensic institute that i'm standing in front of, and they asked for anything that they could test. when they found high levels of polonium they decided to exhume his body, and once they have exhumed his body, there are high levels of polonium once again. >> you have to feel that it would have been easier to solve this case in the immediate days after his death. as you move forward in your work what questions do you still want answered? beyond the obvious, of course. >> reporter: well, i won't give them all away because we have a film coming out called "killing arafat," but i will say there is going to be a lot of focus now looking at arafat's final days, who had access to them apart from mark perry and international visitors.

he did see a lot people, especially on the day he fell ill. in that period where he fell with symptoms is it's going to be critical focus. >> clayton, i appreciate it. thank you for your time. clayton is at the institute where the testing was carried out. and if you would like to see the report, go to www.aljazeera.com where you'll find the report and the images from the swiss investigation. also in the middle east, secretary of state john kerry spent the day leading with palestinian leaders. he's trying to prevent renewed negotiations. kerry announced more aid for the palestinians while criticizing the israelis. we have the latest now from jerusalem. >> it was something palestinians had waited to hear, and was perhaps was encouraged if not

demanded from the president of the palestinian authority. the most unequivocal u.s. statement left on the issue of israeli settlements. >> on the issue of the settlements is that we consider now and have always considered the settlements to be illegitimate. and i want to make it extremely clear that at no time did the palestinians in any way agree as a matter of going back to the talks that they some how condone or accept the settlements. >> the public insistence that there had been no secret agreements condoning settlement. possibly something not expected by the small group of palestinians protesting against the john kerry visit. >> earlier in the day the public

happened shake was apparently one of the few o affiable momens during the negotiation. it was clearly decided the best form of defense is attack. >> i'm concerned about progress because i see the palestinians continuing with excitement, continue to go create artificial crises. continuing to avoid and runaway from this historic decisions that are needed to make genuine piece. >> if the purpose of the kerry purpose was to energize the kerrkerrenergize,--in youtook t take a look at the statement, it was a strong, strong statement.

is the u.s. changing its tactic in this latest attempt of mideast talks. >> many people both here in washington and elsewhere give the secretary kerry and president obama very little chance of success in this go around. a lot of folks are wondering why they're bothering to begin with, accusing the administration of taking their eye off the ball with everything happening around the longstanding conflict. when you talk about egypt, when you talk about syria, the situation in iran, the recent dust up with saudi arabia. secretary kerry was with mahmoud abbas, the leader of the palestinian authority. let's listen to what more he had to say. >> i'm convinced that president abbas is serious about these talks. i'm convinced that he wants to find peace, and he understands that it will require compromise

from all the parties. and he has restated to me his own willingness to compromise in an effort to find a fair and justice peace. >> no question secretary kerry was under pressure to make that statement today. sharply criticizing israel for continuing with those west bank settlements even as the negotiations stop and start. >> mike, is it fair to say that the secretary of state is trying to avoid a breakdown in talks as much as he is looking for a breakthrough in talks? >> well, i think you're playing defense to a certain extent whenever you're engaged in this. obviously there is domestic opposition now. the policy not only this administration, tony, as anybody knows, is a two-state solution of benjamin netanyahu facing a lot of opposition domestically for that. >> michael, appreciate it. ahead on al jazeera america, getting the glitches out of the affordable care act.

and a coffee powerhouse is expanding its workforce by is 11,000 employees.

>> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius was back on capitol hill. libby casey is in washington for us, libby, the senate, hello, is supposed to be safe territory for the democrats, but that was not the case today. >> reporter: that's right, tony, and it started right off the bat. the committee chairman, democrat of montana, is one of the main architects of the healthcare law. he warned if the i amer implementation of this law was not handled well it could be a train wreck.

>> this is unacceptable. it has been disappointing to members of the administration to say that they didn't see the problems coming. secretary sebelius the last time you came before this committee i used two words to voice my concern about the law's implementation. since then my words have been used to twist and malign the affordable care act. make no mistake, i believe in this law. >> you hear democrats, including senate bacchus supporting the law but being disappointed in how this roll out has been handled. secretary sebelius said it's been a miserable five weeks since the health a care.go heal. >> now some have asked why not just delay implementation of the new law until all of the problems are fixed? and there's a pretty straightforward answer.

delaying the affordable care act would not delay people's cancer or diabetes or parkinson's. it didn't delay the need for memory health services or cholesterol screenings or prenatal care. delaying the affordable care act does not delay the foreclosure notice for families with high medical bills forced into bankruptcy. >> reporter: tony trankel has stepped down. he may be the first casualty of the botched healthcare.gov rollout. >> there has criticism of president obama for promising they could keep their health insurance if they elected but are committee members placing all of that blame of that messaging on secretary sebelius? >> some are eagle for bring the president down as well, but one senator in particular, pat

roberts a long time friend and cooking of secretary sebelius, they've known each other for decades, he has had a really harsh tone over the last couple of weeks, and he reiterated her had words today. >> you said america should hold you accountable. i repeat my request for you to resign. >> president obama has talked about his statements, and he's trying to reach out today. he met with more than a dozen senate democrats, including some who are facing tough re-election battles next year. senator of alaska, and north carolina, and the message from the white house is that they're working on fixing the problems and they're emphasizing the progress getting americans insured. this could be the make it or make it moment for their political career. >> libby casey on capitol hill for us. on wall street, another record

setting day, the dow u up to a w all time high. investors encouraged by the latest comments coming from the federal reserve suggesting that won't be pulling back on the stimulus any time soon. and shares are priced as $23 to $25 each although reports indicate it could go higher, the economy was expanding and gaining momentum before the government shutdown in october, according to the conference board whose leading economic indicators indetective increased in september, but the group said they will consider if weak consumer demand will pick up the rest of the year. here to discuss the top headlines of the day, a senior

fellow at the aspen institute. susan, another record day for the dow is. >> absolutely. >> i what is driving this? >> things are getting frothy in the markets. >> what does that mean, frothy in the markets? >> slightly overvalued, speculation going too high. i think most of generally is overreaction, it's counter intuitive. the fed is going to continue to pump the economy. >> this is interesting hiring veterans. every thinks that's a good idea. good business, charity, philanthropy. >> i think it's good bus. a lot of skills that veterans have. a loa lot in the private sector

don't know how to translate that, but leadership, attention to detail, these are all good. >> 5% down. is this the kind of lending being brought on. >> this is a yellow flag of caution. overall we want to be in a place where you know people can afford their home. >> terrific, and what are your thoughts now, about the holiday season. i'm going to ask you this. we understand that the consumer spending drives this economy, two-thirds of it, what are your thoughts about the holiday season and whether or not it will be a decent holiday season or something else? >> i think it's going to be decent. >> you're optimistic? >> yes, i think it's going to be decent. i think it's not going to be gang busters but i think people are going to get out there and

shop. >> susan, thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> an al jazeera exclusive next. elite soldiers considered the best in their country, trained by u.s. forces to fight al-qaeda. dressing up for a panda's coming out party. what's that about?

>> sheer a look at your top stories. scientists have confirm former palestinian leader, yasser

arafat was poisoned. the swiss found 18 times the poison polonium in yasser arafat's remains. secretary of state john kerry met with president mahmoud abbas, and kathleen sebelius is before congress again. this time it's the senate finance committee asking about the bumpy roll out of the affordable care act. from detroit to new york, some of the nation's largest cities elected new mayors, and all eyes are on governor chris christie. his second-term win and possibly a run for the presidency in 2016. we have more now from new jersey. >> it may have been an off year.

beginning in alabama where business-backed candidate bradley burns swore off tea party dean young to win a republican primary for a special uu.s. house election. in detroit, mike duggen became the first white mayor of the city since roman gribbs back in 174. the 2012 census shows 83% of detroit is african-american. and in new york of th de blo won, and in virginia, terry

mcauliffe. in new jersey chris christie won a landslide, and the win was so big he may be on the presidential ticket in 2016 against hillary clinton. the governor lambasted washington, d.c. for the way they do business and urged them to turn on their t.v.'s and see how he does it here in new jersey for an indication of how politics should be run in the modern era. christie won't have an easy fight if he does run for the presidency. cbs polled published in the la 24 hours shows were the election to take place right now hillary clinton would win by about four percentage points. the big win for the governor in merges means he will be taken as a serious politician no matter what happens for the next thee or four years. >> new jersey voters approved a

$1 increase in the state's minimum wage, a plan to wag raie minimum wage in seatac, washington, has a narrow lead. five colorado counties voted to secede from the state. sunny vale, california, approved a bill to lock up guns when not in use. and south portland, maine, rejected the proposal to block the tar sands oil from canada. mike viqueira, he's in washington, of course, a lot of voting in the country's largest cities. some of the most watched governor's races, tell me about the political atmosphere and

what's on the horizon? >> you might get dispute on this point, but really it was a bad night for the tea party. yes there was a republican who won in new jersey. social conservatives, half of them don't even think that chris christie qualifies as a republican, certainly not as conservative. and in virginia, terry mcauliffe, a democrat, a generation since a member of the sitting president's own party has been elected governor of virginia. terry mcauliffe did that. terry mcauliffe he last ran for governor in 2009. he didn't even make it out of the primary. he got killed. the democrat that went on to win that primary was trounced by the current sitting governor. this is as much a vote against the tea party in virginia, a state that is changing from red to purple and now to blue. with the suburbs of washington, d.c. playing a key

roll. ken cuccinelli lost women badly, lost on the shutdown. simply because the demographics in virginia did not work for him. there were many government employees, there were several military bases who did not like at all what was going on in the shut down putting the military at risk. and then the race in alabama, the run off between two republicans in the primary there, solidly red district really was a proxy for the fight that's going on within the republican party right now. the business orient establishment, the socially conservative and fiscally conservative tea party candidate lost a lot of money. a lopours from out of state. they're tired of the tea party running the show in washington, and hurting the economy. this is a conflict that played out last night, and it's going to be playing out through the course of this year and into mid

terms, toniy. >> another bombing attack in china. this time a series of bombs went off in the northern chinese city, and andrew thomas is in china with more on the bombing. >> who was behind, and who the target was is largely speculation. give what took place outsideish, it's likely it was a petitioner behind it. the there have been similar attacks in the past. people who have complaints against the local government, who have taken their complaints through the official complaints procedure but teal they haven't gotten anywhere, and they go through extreme lengths. a man blew up a bomb, injuring only himself. in a jeep attack, a jeep that was deliberately crashed in the heart of tienanmen square

killing five people. that attack was blamed on a minority group. there was an islamic terrorist attack, said the government. this latest attack does not look like anything on that scale, it looks to be more localized. >> al jazeera has given special access to a special you want of the yemeni army. we joined them as they trained outside of the capitol. >> reporter: these are yemen's top military commanders outside the capital. neutrallies see them together given the growing threats of al-qaeda. and this is the newly formed unit that will lead the fight against the armed group. they are the best soldiers in the army. their new commander, his mission is to defeat al-qaeda in

yemen. >> we recently created a force called special operations. they're the best trained soldiers and they have the most sophisticated weapons. they are the elite of the army. >> some of these fighters have recently been involved in special operations against al-qaeda. but this is an army that has been weakened by years of instability and political divisions. something that yemen's new political leaders want to leave behind and focus on the challenges ahead. >> we need support and cooperation with all the country and fighting al-qaeda. we also need to develop technology so we can limit u.s. drone strikes. >> reporter: this is a drill to counter an enemy attack.

but in the coming days this commander will be engaged in real military operations. a delicate mission because al-qaeda has fighters everywhere. >> the u.s. government is worried its increased use of drones will alienate yemenis, that's why they want the plan against al-qaeda to be planned by the yemeni themselves. >> the supreme court hears a case on the separation of church and state. david shuster joins us with a look at that story. >> reporter: tony, the just has heard a case from new york, every meeting of the board opens with a prayer. this morning during oral

arguments several supreme court justices were not so sure. in any case this is the first supreme court to tackle public prayer in legislation body in 31 years, and rule something expected this spring. an american man who hijacked a plane 30 years ago and headed to cuba is headed back to the united states. he thought havana would greet him as a revolutionary. instead he served 13 years in a cuban prison. then when he got out he had a family and worked on a farm. now he decided to face u.s. and get closure. the justice department is not commenting. in japan authorities are now taking a risky step towards shutting down the fukushima nuclear plant. that plant was damaged two years ago in an tsunami and has been leaking radiation ever since. they'll be removing nuclear fuel rods the first but necessary

step in neutralizing the plant. it can be extremely difficult and dangerous to handle. japan's nuclear watchdog said that fukushima's efforts are appropriate. tony, i know you like halloween, and this video from japan, wow, their dog, and they're all doctordressed up as pandas. they're trying to coax the panda to leave its cage, and to run in the woods. the costumes are supposed to help, and the handlers even smeared their outfits with panda urine. we know how the handlers are doing now that they've had an opportunity to shower. >> is there any evidence that this works? >> it has worked before. it worked with the last panda, although that was when they

realized the costumes were not enough. they needed to do something about the smell. this is the first time they used panda urine as part of the process. you learn something every day when you're a panda handler. >> i was going to say something snarky, but everybody loves this story and they would come down on me, so i won't, so there, david, thank you. but i want to. it's known as the island of enchancement, why is puerto rico losing it's people. driving on the road, and in the sky, the future of the flying car?

>> a nation rampant in crime,

many puerto ricans are leaving their island to find a better life abroad. it has been an u.s. territory for nearly a century but it's quest for statehood is in doubt. we have a report on an island divided over independence. >> reporter: this is san juan, a remnant of the puerto rico's past, but it's now the island's future that is the subject of renewed debate. it has been in the united states territory but people don't get to vote in u.s. elections. there are three options, independence, becoming the 51st state, or leaving things the way they are. this is an island divided over its own future. but for the island's resident commissioner, a congressman with no voting rights, puerto rico's path is clear. they have campaigned hard for statehood and said his fight is backed by the majority of puerto ricans. >> it's going to be a process. it's going to take years. it's not going to happen

overnight. but putting puerto rico on the path to statehood is the best thing that could happen for puerto rico for all reasons. political, economic and social. >> reporter: but the issue of the island's status is anything but straightforward. last year's referendum was criticized as confusing. and although change is growing in popularity opinions are divided. >> being as part of the united states we have better opportunities to develop. >> i think it needs to be addressed, and it needs to be resold. >> for you it's state hold, then? >> no, not necessarily. i just think we need a resolution. >> the chronic state of the island's economy has added urgency to the status issue but it's unlikely to be dealt with any time soon. for the head of the puerto rican independent party that should act as a wake-up call for the island's residents. >> puerto rico continuing to be

a colony into the 21st century is unconceivable, and now that the under pinnings are going to collapse, more so, there is a crisis that needs to change course with a dramatic manner. >> reporter: but now the island's status remains in limbo and without action in congress it will state that way. for many who are enjoying statehood, many more puerto ricans are living on the continental u.s. than the island. >> puerto rico's fight to join the union has been waged since it became a territory in 1898. since then five other territories became a state. history check here, the western settlements of arizona and new mexico were split and ratified in 1912. hawai'i and alaska were admitted in 1959. ♪ >> a new coach for the texans

for a period of time. jessica is here with a day in sports. >> reporter: the interim title, the houston texans have given the interim coach title after the coach collapsed during halftime in the game against the colts. he suffer adminy stroke, phillips will take over the reins. he has been coach of the broncos, bills and recently the cowboys. he was oncin the continuing nfl saga surrounding jonathan martin, well, new reports out say that he has recently checked himself in to a south florida hospital to be treated to emotional distress which led to the player leaving the team last week. and smith who left the team back in september and entered

inpatient treatment facility for substance abuse. they have not said how soon they will give him to play, smith is himself said he was ready to play after this experience. >> we can all look in our lives and find something that we need to work on. i've taken my time and done that. if anything it's just an one day at a time and just building and working towards that goal. maximizing my potential. i got a lot of things that i can do, and a lot of goals i want to reach. so you know, just taking those steps to get where i want to be is a goal of mine. of course, i don't want to be away, it's what i love. but it was good to be away and get my mind together, and work like i said, just to get into the positive. you know, it's crossing my mind. just taking it one day at a time. getting back here, being around the guys and getting my life back at home. i got a 10-month-old son, so i'm

doing the fatherly things. i'm trying to be ready to go. >> national redders will be out their goalie for another four weeks after any infection in his hip. he had hip surgery back in may and was back for start of the season, but recent soreness and an mri showed that he an e. coli infection in that hip. and in basketball every time lebron james steps on the court he continues to cement his legacy in basketball history. last night was the latest example and lebron's latest triumph is all about consistency. he scored double digits in 500 straight games. forget that ten points he needed toto it, he had a season high ad assists against the raptors.

>> i felt good. i'm getting there. i'm get to go where i'm going out there and feeling like i was at the end of last year. and it was a great win for us tonight. >> how kill is the timing of feeling that good? >> yeah, we needed everyone to step up, including myself. i think rashard, we needed those. >> meanwhile the knicks lost the player of the year because of a collision with charlotte's walker. and the new manager to replace eric wedge who with walked away at the end of the scene citing differences with the front office. he served as hitting coach

since 2007. >> that's a big loss for the knicks. >> he's probably their second best guy behind carmelo anthony. >> starting center. >> the guys behind him are injury prone. you have kenyon martin who has been playing for a million years, but still solid just a few minutes at a time. >> i'll head over to brooklyn glen as you should. >> it sounds like screen fiction but for more than 40 years a california man has dreamed of building a flying car. his dream will soon become a reality. stevie stanton has more on the man and his mission. >> getting stuck in traffic may soon be a thing of the past if one california inventor has his way. >> i designed my first helicopter when i was 1 15. >> meet paul malor, creator of the sky car. a futuristic looking vehicle that can go from the street to the sky, like the transporter in

this space age cartoon. >> i don't know if the jetsons inspired me or if i inspired them. >> he said he was inspired by a humming bird in flight by a young boy. since then he has been on a mission to create the world's first flying car. this is the vehicle that started it off. a flies saucer that made it's first official flight in 1989 now after two decades and plenty of development he's about to meet his dream. he has received permission to test his first sky car in 2014 with the top speed of 500 kilometers an hour the sky car is made of eight rotary engines that work in tandem. >> you have all that you need to

power something like this. >> but he needs $1 million to pay for the test flight so he's turning to an online crowd funding service to raise capital. >> for a small investment they can get a number of very attractive incentives that we're going to provide all the way up to flying the sky car if that's what they want to do. >> with two models, sky cars would be able to fly using auto pilot on a highway in the sky with gps-like technology. >> you put in your destination, you want to go to san francisco, you would have a coded number to go to san francisco, and then it would take care of itself. >> initially sky cars would cost $250,000 or more. but over time moller expects price to come down to the price of a typical automobile. when that happens, this inventor envisions the world where your next trip is just a short car flight away. >> he estimates about 100,000

sky cars need to be made before the price starts to drop. the trend conditions. falling temperatures moving in. we have that up for you next on al jazeera. >> audiences are intelligent and

>> meteorologist: i'm meteorologist dave warren. a super typhoon with wind well over 160 mph is really intensifying and moving right towards the philippines there. and over the next two days we'll watch the track and the latest information come in. but as it stands it looks to continue to track to the northwest and then wind at 160 mph, this section of the philippines is where it's expected to make landfall. and just north of that is where you see the storm serge. the timing will be at high tide friday morning and then you'll get a lot of wind here piling up the water. major storm surges expected with flooding rain because they've had a lot of rain with tropical activity, and more rain,

flooding is expected there. temperatures have dropped from oklahoma down through texas. cold air is coming in from the north. creating rain and snow across the northern plains, and now rain to the south. a drop in temperatures, felt that already, a line of showers moving through and it's along the coast. that's the front. behind it clears up. it's a little warm but you're dealing with rain and a drop in temperatures. 67 in san antonio. 59 in dallas. 81 in corpus christi. there is that sharp temperature contrast starting to see these numbers drop. now the temperatures will drop down below freezing tonight. we have a freeze warning in effect where we could see the temperature drop to 32 degrees. the first time this season. that's expected in the panhandle of texas. and maybe not down to the freezing mark but frost on some surfaces just in the northwest

of dallas. there in the 30s oklahoma cit oklahoma city, albuquerque, 31, and freezing temperatures all throughout this area. this front will continue to move east. no rain yet but ahead of this rain the temperatures really climb. there in the 60s today. they'll be there again tomorrow but that's about it. tomorrow that front moves through and off the coast. so we're dealing with a lot of rain. right here is this line of showers. it goes up through pennsylvania, new england, rain throughout the day. it could be fairly heavy at times. the temperatures will be warm. up to 60 in new york. but once the rain clears out and drops to 52. now it's try but cool over the weekend. the wind will die down saturday and sunday morning. the afternoon will see temperatures climbing just above 50 with sunshine. tony is back with the headlines in just a bit.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. this is tony harris with a look at your top stories. after years of speculation scientist versus confirmed the former palestinian leader yasser arafat was poisoned. a swiss team found 18 times the normal levels of polonium in arafat's remains. secretary of state john kerry is in the middle east pushing the peace process. he medicine with prim president mahmoud apass and prime minister benjamin netanyahu. kerry said he's confident that progress can be made. kathleen i sebelius is befoe congress again, this time about the