welcome to al jazeera america. these are the stories we are following for you. a historic vote on the issue of gay rights. britain's top spies going public, blasting ns action leaker edward snowden. and the markets all a twitter the social media giant debuting today on wall street. the senate is on the verge of making history. this is a live image coming in. right now the senators

are voting on a bill that would ban employers from discriminating against gay, by sexual, and transgendered americans. that bill is expected to pass. according to the american civil liberties union, in 29 states it is now legal to fire or even not hire someone based on their sexual orientation. in 33 states trance gender people can be fired, or even denied employment. a bent 11 poll finding the 73 pest of likely voters support protection for gays, lesbians and transgendered people. joining us now life from washington, mike, the democrats seem to be rather happy today? >> well, they are, and so are members of the lgbt community. there is no question about it. you know, federal law prohibits the discrimination on the basis of faith, gender,th in additionty, race, age, disability. but not on the basis of sexual orientation, and today a big hushedle appears to be cleared going towards that day where lgbt discrimination

can no longer happen as a matter of federal law. however, there is one big hurdle to clear, that is the united states house and it is looking quite daunting indeed. but today, all 55 democratic senators joined by ten rems including some surprising faces. conservativing voting to go along with this. reflected in the changing demographics the changing attitudes the changing policies including here at the white house, where the president last year changed his mind about gay marriage, about marriage equality, and ended up supporting it just before the election last year. she is the only openly gay member of the united states senate. here is her reaction after one vote today. >> this is a really tremendous milestone. a day i will never forget. in my service in the senate.

so the milestone has been cleared. the vote you are looking at now, requires only 50. what is left is the house of representatives never mind the policy, let's look at the politics of this. and those in the business community, the establishment, if you will, who want to get away from these hot button issues that the public does not support the republican party as it tries to pursue them. the speaker of the house, says he isn't going to take this up, he doesn't favor it, he says it would lead to litigation against small businesses trying to move from the social realm, but democrats in the senate will be putting a lot of pressure on john boehner. >> . >> we can't end that

discrimination based on age, disability, based on gender. think about their place in history today. and i won't recount the names. speaker baner think about the party you belong to. >> and chuck schumer, the counter part in the democratic caucus, punning chew waited that by saying the g.o.p., if they don't act, the party is marching straight into oblivion. joining us now to discuss this vote, he is the president of rights equal rights and he is also a republican strategist. you heard speaker baner saying that no go in the house. why? why is this a difficult issue? >> it's become unfortunately a bit partisan. although we are seeing the 193 house sponsors. there are five republicans more coming on every day. i just wrote an ad encouraging that the mormon house members most

of whom of the ten are republican, put pressure on speaker baner, because the mormon church has come out and supports these laws. so i am optimistic that the speak her be forced to take this up. >> you were afraid that you would be fired if you told anyone that you were gay, how toxic is this topic inside the republican party. what do they need to do. >> personally it was horrific for me.

we where seeing less and less of that. the millen i wills could careless. so we are making progress. but i know what it is like to be discriminated against. i don't know if i would have gotten fired but i have that fear, and it is a terrible way to live. >> you heard speaker baner, you also heard senator dig durbin. do you think in the long run you will prevail, and if so how long before the house decides to do what the senate appears to be poised to do right now? >> i'm optimistic that there's so much pressure, so much attention on this legislation, so many republicans cindy mccain, sign add post card by the human rights campaign to send to her husband, to encouraging him. so a lot of these politicians are getting pressure, not only from their spouses but from their kids. president obama switched his position, because every night at dinner they are pushing them come on, you have to support marriage equality. i am hopeful they are concerned about the next election, not the good of

their country, and their fellow citizen wills do the right thing. >> but in districts that are gerrymandered this may be an issue that is too toxic to consider switching sides. what do you say to those that say that my district just doesn't want this? >> i would love to get in there, run ads against those members and say congressman x, refuses to vote for the bill, he supports discrimination. and i think that's toxic. and republicans need to think about that. the party of lincoln. my party. i grew up in illinois. now talking about lincoln and the legacy, and this is what this party needs to do. if we are going to pick up younger people, california, my home state now, we have lost five percentage points of republicans and registration. never happened in my lifetime. >> thank you for being with us today. >> thank you. >> this news coming on

the heels of those documented leaked by ed sword snowden. in britain they insist they are proticketing freedom and democracy. >> . >> they also noted that since 2005, there have been 35 terrorist plots that their agencies have broken up. progress in ending that long stand off over iran's nuclear program, iran and six world powers including the u.s., now at the table in geneva. if all goes well this could set the stage for

nuclear disarmorment, but not everyone is optimist optimistic. >> there are proposals today. that would ease the pressure on iran. ease the pressure for concessions that are not concessions at all. israel totally opposed these proposals. i believe that adopted them would be a mistake of historic proportions. >> a deal would involvelessenning the seances that would be yipling the economy. of the stock piles they could strike a deal as early as tomorrow. palestinians are reacting to an al jazeera exclusive investigation. the strongly suggests yeahs sir arafat's death was caused by poisons. they confirmed they found radio active levels inside his body.

scientists say he could not have accidentally ingestioned it. it is difficult to imagine, that it could be in the room where he is at the time. >> more on the reaction, on the west bank. >> officials have said that they want to demand an international independent credible investigation into the death of arafat after the publishing of the findings in the swiss medical report. however, we have not heard official reaction from the palestinian authority. we understand that the central committee has held a meeting on thursday. to discuss the findings of the report, but we also know that we are not expecting to hear anything or a public statement made by the palestinian authority until the head of the investigative committee

releases and aunderstand nod the results of the swiss report. we understand here, where these findings will be made public. now, for is palestinian people, the results of this report the almost conclusive evidence that he may have been poisoned is not very surprising or shocking. the belief that he did not die a natural death, has been widely held by palestinians. since he passed away. in 2004. >> the dow falling as the latest data comes in and continue to speculate on when the fed may start pulling back on the stimulus programs. as you can see, the dow down 107 points in the red. shares in the social

media soaring after it went public this morning. this morning there was excitement everywhere. and since then it's been smooth sailing which is what everyone had hoped for. you can see behind me, the twitter station, the stock opened at 45-dollar as share, and throughout the day they have been hovering at 46 so far. and if you take a look behind me, these traders they are standing around with their arm as crossed that's a great sign, that means everything is going smoothly. now i'm joined by our guest, your vice president here with the stock exchange. you must be satisfied with how things are going? >> our goal today was to make sure this process and this i.p.o. was seemless and flawless. >> and that took some preparation on the exchange's part.

we executed four transactions. we have had nearly 6 billion this week and last week, so it's been a very busy time period. today for the twitter idea we were focused because we expected a lot of retail flow to make sure our systems were able to handle that type of capacity. again, making sure there was competence around this process. >> sure, and now a look at the board, the 93 million share ofnd has. twitser generating so much buzz as of many start ups. the stock exchange, is this a sign of the future for the exchange? >> if you track technology ipos we are listing a majority that are coming to the market. we did last year, of the top 20 technology ipos we listed 16 of them last year. so this is the home for technology, and i think the transparency and control around the process this morning

demonstrates that this is the place that everyone wants to be. >> okay, thank you for your time, so definitely this is a way that is continuing the trend here. but of course, tony, it is still two hours left, and with stock, you never know what will happen. >> heidi joe castro on the floor, wearing the colors of the day, thank you very much. >> the olympic torch is taking a rather different path to the winter games it is a rocket ship. >> three astronauts taking off earlier, they just docked with the international space station. on saturday, they will take the torch on its first ever walk in space, of course, it won't be lit. >> coming up on al jazeera, the mystery of the google barge. >> and turning to mixed martial arts as a way of dealing with post

traumatic stress.

[[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.

could be fired or denied employment. a poll finding the 73 likely voters supported the measure that was just passed that would make that imlegal, at least half way there. we are joined once again by fred carter, historic day in the senate, but there is still the house. >> we have a big murder until the house, we just need to put a lot of pressure on speaker baner and the other republicans to send that message to

him that we have to end discrimination. >> how do you feel? >> i feel like hoping. it has been a roller coaster ride for me, in the last five years the kind of progress and significance, just two days ago -- >> and -- >> and today to see the senate do this, and harry reid courageously, run this through. it's a very exciting. and i'm 63 years old, i have gone through a lot, i am comfortable with where i am, but for the younger people out there, and older people, who face discrimination, and are afraid, this just sends a powerful message that they are equal. >> in practical terms what does this mean now if the house passes the bill. what happens now?

>> the transgender community that was sold out in that bill, they have it the toughest. if you happen to be transgender and you are working and get fired you have a very difficult time finding a new job, that's what this bill is about. to protect them and people that are gay, lesbian, and by sexual too. so it is a rough road for people to live their lives. but we have courageous people, like chaz bono and his family, that are trying to help make the trance part of this bill, more acceptable. fred, thank you very much. thank you for being with us today, and celebrating. mexico has been battled drug related violence for years. the new president says he is trying to find the world that his efforts there are making a difference. the city of monterey has been singled out as a place where crime is down, but some say things aren't what they seem. rachel is in month roy, the government says

brought down behalf, but is that the case. >> really couldn't leave the area we rah now, which is considering one of the safest in the city, because there are up to seven killings a day. as you will see, the government, especially the state government has taken new steps into trying to improve security here. >> better equipped, better paid and more scarefully vetted. part of a new state police force formed two years ago when this city was in the grip of crime. it turns the city which was one of the safest

into a place that many fears. describes how gang members tossed grenades against his men. >> nobody wanted to leave the house, it was so unsafe. >> these days the gun battled are fewer. it is half of 2011 at the height of the violence. >> now that number has grown, and while the government is quick to credit these men and women from improving security, many others say there is still a long way to go. four months ago she went missing. a 20-year-old aspiring model told her mom she is going to the movies. she never came home, afraid to speak out, she says she is skeptical the

city is now say. >> ttp nos true we are through the worst, because otherwise this wouldn't be happening to me. there are many others. disnot just kid p thattings that are on the rise. many shops and businesses remain close in this downtown neighborhood where criminal gangs are known to extort neighbors. things are a bit common, but we still have work to do in bringing down crime overall. he plans to expand that by twice the amount up to 7,000 members within the next two years.

rachel thank you very much. we want to take you back to capitol hill, the senate has just voted on that bill which would make it illegal to discriminated against gay, lesbians and trance genders. let's listen in. >> to caring for veterans and their families. while it is important to say thank you, it is even more important to express our gratitude through action. for all generations of veterans. there are several on going efforts in my office that i would like to share with everyone. i have been a proud supporter through the library of congress. and it has done a outstanding job in leading this effort. we have so much to learn from our veterans and it is vital that we record their stories and experiences for future generations.

that is obviously not the case as to what is happening right now, but we can inform you that the vote was taken to that the bill known as e texasa, which ended discrimination against gays lesbians and transgenders passed a short time ago in the senate. we will be right back.

with us, we continue our coverage of history being made on capitol hill. the senate passing that bill, which made it illegal to discriminate against gays, lesbians and transgenders in the workplace. fred carter a gay rights about vest has been with us now. this is history in the making and you say it is not long before they follow suit, even though john boehner says it isn't going to happen. 193 cosponsors five republicans will be more every day, i think he will allow this to go to the vote. >> when this vote happened your cell phone

started ringing how many calls have you been getting and what have those texts and called been saying? >> social media is on fire. i have been getting congratulationed. i have worked somewhat on this bill. i try to disarm some of the opponents like the national organization for marriage, which continue to fight every day, and continue to move around the country as a hate group, fighting marriage equality, and everything that they feel will help the community. it has been an exciting kay for me, and hopefully with the stone wall where we usually meet in new york, where great things happen like the repeal of don't ask don't tell, last june that came down, and very excited. >> by the way we do have the final vote, 64-32, what do you think about those numbers? >> it is better than i expected. we were lucky to get that 60th vote, which required two conservatives including dean heller who is from nevada.

very conservative republican, and so i'm encouraginged that more and more republicans are going on. i worked for ronald reagan, i know what he would be doing, and leading if he were alive today, his own daughter said he would support marriage equality. so the republicans need to get a clue, and jump on this bandwagon. >> and i need to point out when you are working in the reagan administration, you said you were afraid that you could not come out. not let anybody know that you had a male lover, what has changed since then, and what makes today different than yesterday. >> it's just a change in attitude. it just changes everything, bill clinton announced that at an hrc dinner, in 1994, and that is the way you will change hearts and minds that resonated with me and a lot of gay americans. what is different about them than their parents in. >> they know gay people, they don't care, they are

looking at much more important issues like job creation, education, reform. the issue is not important to them. and they are encouraging people. you are 61, part of that free love generation hippies etc., why was that generation so conservative on an issue like this, and yet so liberal in other ways? >> i guess i fault the religious teachings that so many of us grew up with. some more severe than others. so they were taught to hate gay people, if you are gay you are going to held, and this kind of dialog is devastating to individuals. so that is getting better too. >> thank you very much for being with us. on this day of celebration. thank you very much. that is going to do it for this edition of al jazeera america.

talk to al jazeera is next, featuring george takai from "star trek." [ ♪ music ] >> he's the man who brought a generation to warp speed. take is best known for playing lieutenant sulu he has a decades long career in film, radio it and theatre. he wrote and starred in a musical about japanese-american internment in world war ii. something he has knowledge of. he was sent to a camp at the cage of five. he's a successful writer and outspoken activist for gay writes. and take