>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. new enrollment numbers for the glitch-ridden healthcare.gov . getting help to those who need it. survivors of typhoon haiyan cope with sporadic relief, and the prayout for a single painting sold at auction. >> it has been merely a month and a half that the government

health plan went online. mike viqueira at the white house, i feel like we need a drum roll here. >> reporter: the white house has spent the last couple of weeks furiously trying to lower expectations, and now we understand why, the numbers are anemic. they play hide the ball here, and that is how many americans have been able to sign up. 16,185 americans have enrolled in healthcare. 26,000, note that 106,000. and it appears through website a

third of the people who have signed up signed up in california. they run their own website that is not the healthcare.gov website, it is bad news all around. john boehner calling on the administration and congress to scrap the entire healthcare law because of a calamity, and democrats are getting very nervous about this. there are democratic cosponsors in the house and senate to bills that would allow people to keep the plans they had. almost 4 million people its estimated had lost their plans because they were deemed unworthy. they did not meet the standards and criteria set forth in the affordable care act. those bills were on the floor later this week, on the floor of the house of representatives. to give you an idea of how nervous democrats are, they're coming down to the white house to discuss the official roll out of healthcare. >> so look, i understand why

democrats are upset here. we are officially a year away from mid terms, but put this in context for us. what was the administration promising? what was it predicting in terms of the enrollment? >> there were figures leaked by house committee that had that number at half a million. when you combine the state and federal marketplaces, 106,000, in this document as you point out the massachusetts model, remember romney care, the president had used so many times before as an example saying it was a model. they have figures here that contend that the rate of sign up was slower then. people have until march 31st to sign up through these marketplaces. there are a lot of people talking about extending that deadline and so far the administration is not budget on that. mike. >> mike viqueira, at the white

house, thank you. those who were fixing the troubled website were in the hot seat at capitol hill. lisa stark joins us from capitol hill with that part of the story. todd park was the man on the hot seat today. how did he respond to some of the stinging criticism he faced? >> well, he's the u.s. chief technology officer, and he was testifying under subpoena because the white house argued that he was too busy to come up here. he was subpoenaed so he did come to testify. he said it was frustrating, and he continues to insist that they're working around the clock to make the fixes. he said they're making progress, and as of now 17,000 people an hour, according to park, can successfully register on that site. another big issue that came up today was security. there are questions about whether someone's personal information will be safe on that

site. there has been at least one attempt to hack the site, and an unsuccessful attempt. what white house officials said those testifying, they said there are security teams in place, and they are testing for security flaws. >> lisa, you were at another big story today. secretary of state john kerry on the hill talking iran. what is he trying to convince congress to do or not do? >> well, he's having a closed door session with the senate banking committee. he wants them to hold off. he doesn't want any new angels put on iran. he's going to argue that negotiations, the diplomatic efforts are bearing fruit as an attempt to stop any nuclear weapons projects in iran. he said the u.s. needs to let that play out first. that came up at the white house briefing, and here is jay carney. >> there is a binary choice.

if not, at least testing the hypothesis that iran is serious about resolving this diplomatically. if not what option do we have left? those who take that position ought to be clear that in essence they are suggesting that war is the only alternative. >> reporter: the state department are saying that iran and the international community as a whole are closely watching to see what happens on the hill, to see if congress tries to impose new sanctions. the state department said that could be very detrimental and could stop any negotiations. >> thank you. israel has abruptly suspended building on the west bank. u.s. and palestinian leaders had objected to the construction.

>> it means that negotiations are over, and that everything the united states has planned isn't working. without all of us part of the peace talks, israel is responsible for the clas collapf the negotiations. >> five days on the central philippines are still trying to cope with the devastation left by typhoon haiyan. we're seeing heartbreaking images, and heartwarming pictures of survival. some people who lost their homes took shelter in a church, you see here. these children trying to live as normal life as possible. we're still seeing scenes of mass devastation. this neighborhood in tacloban was destroyed by the storm. and this woman and her child were among thousands trying to

leave the disaster zone. people waiting for help have decided to put signs on their roofs pleading for assistance. more than 2800 are dead and more than 3800 injured and many are still missing. there are fears of a medical crisis in the disaster zone. >> reporter: there are so many casualties in tacloban that the main hospital has no time to deal with the dead. some patients are outside while tired doctors and nurses take a rare break in the fresh air, most have been working long hours since the typhoon struck. >> the ground floor was flooded so we had to bring the present patients on the second floor. but the roofs are all destroyed. when it rains it leaks, but it's

the only available place to keep the patients dry and safe. >> reporter: the one donated generator is enough to power one light bulb in the operator theater, which is in desperate need of a clean. despite the many challenges the hospital hasn't stopped taking patients. all things considered this small hospital is coping remarkably well. the concern is that the health situation could be about to get a lot worse. in many areas a cleanup is far from beginning. debris lines the streets and in some cases the only place for a wash is the water in the harbor which is more polluted than ever. adding to that problem the many bodies floating in the ocean. the proper search to locate the missing are just only getting started. and getting the basics to stay

healthy like food and water. >> with the pain and misery there are good stories. babies born in the aftermath are crammed into the hospital's chapel which is being transformed into a nursery. fathers and mothers reflect on their other deal of living through the film. >> we are alive. >> but survive they did, and a few days later their baby was born. al jazeera, tacloban. >> native american tribal leaders across the united states are in washington. they've gathered in the nation's capitol to discuss several issues including education, healthcare and protecting native lands. president obama spoke to the group. libby casey joins us now from washington where the president

is still speaking. what are we hearing from the president? >> reporter: that's right. he's speaking right here inside the interior department where thousands of tribal leaders have come from as far away from alaska and hawai'i to hear from president obama obama. reauthorizing the violence against women act which means they can try non-tribal members against. tribal members. he also talked about some of the hardships that are being confronted right now. let's hear the president. >> we've got to stop the self-inflicted wounds in washington because for many tribal nations this year's harmful sequestration cuts, many

are all feeling the squeeze. that's why i'm fighting for a responsible budget that invests in things we need to grow like education, job training affordable housing and transportation, including for native american communities. >> reporter: now the sequestration cuts that went into affect last spring, a lot of social welfare programs were exempt but not true for programs that impact indian country. so tribes are here talking about how painful the cuts have been everything from head start program to health programs. >> and a new round of sequestration cuts go into effect this year. libby casey for you, from washington. >> meteorologist: i'm meteorologist dave warren. we're starting off in the philippines. we can clearly see there is no rain falling yet.

it's been frustrating for a lot of relief to get into the philippines areas hit hard because the clouds and rain have kept the planes from moving in. but now skies are clear, nice and clear. this was a tropical system that really didn't develop over the country. but it's moving away. we have clearing skies, aid coming in, planes flying, that is certainly good news there. this is not just the tropical system we're tracking. over the arabian seas i seas s a was a cyclone. a year's worth of rain fell in just this one storm. you see these western african storms with flash flooding and the number of fatalities because of all the flooding. the storms are moving out and hopefully things can improve just a little bit. we need temperatures to improve, the freeze warnings in place,

i'll show you where with the national forecast coming up. >> we have breaking we wan newst to share with you in pittsburgh. with another shooting. a high school shooting. it happened in beach view area of pittsburgh, the exact details at this point are still unclear. our local media reporting three people were shot. you see these pictures, and we are working to get more details on this story, but again we're hearing a of a high school shooting just outside of pittsburgh. as soon as we get additional information we'll fill in the blanks when we come back a beloved chicago landmark gets a renovation. we'll meet the unlikely people behind it. >> i'm diane estherbrook in boston covering the sentencing

of notorious whitey bulger. i'll tell you what the victims of his families had to tell you today. re-traumatized by the fear of this offender... >> locked up for life america tonight 9 eastern, tonight, on al jazeera america.

i'm phill torez. coming up this week on techknow. san francisco's bay bridge, an engineering marvel but this is earthquake country. >> how close are we to one of those faultlines? >> now inovation, that might change everything. >> how safe is this building? >> earthquake inovations,

>> where would you wanna be if a big quake hits? >> techknow sunday 7:30 eastern on al jazeera america >> it's another records setting day. both the dow and s&p closing at all-time highs. stocks rallying on sungs that janet yellen intends to continue the stimulus program. and maci's entering the fourth quarter in confidence, and macy seas those gains came despite what it calls a tepid economic climate. starbucks says it will now report a fourth quarter loss of more than $2 billion after losing a contract dispute with

kraft foods and arbitrator found starbucks violated its agreement with caftaned they were ordered to pay almost $3 billion in damages. and she has been lampooned by comedians and insulted. now the smiling woman who is the face, kind of the ubiquitous symbol of problems of the federal healthcare website is speaking out, the woman identified as adriana tells abc that the criticism she has taken amounts to bullying, and she doesn't understand why people hate her, and she never was paid to be on the site, wow. now retail analyst at reuters, it's good to see you, thank you for being here. strong earnings, third quarter, but that's the third quarter, the fourth quarter starts with

october, government shutdown, should maci's be so optimistic about the fourth quarter profits. >> actually, fourth quarter starts with november, but having said that because the government shutdown happened in october, they posted such strong numbers. it's such strong numbers. analysts are worried that jc penny offering so much promotion was going to take some of the traffic from maci's, but that's not the case. it bodes well for the holidays. >> read the tea leaves, of course you knew i was testing you, yeah, i was testing you. are signs pointing to a good holiday season or something less than that? >> something less than that. definitely below the healthy mark. it's modest sales. in order for retailers to post a happy holiday sales it will depend on two things.

consumer sentiment is key. they're concerned about their jobs. they're concerned about the government's leadership. if this is not improved consumers will put their hands in their pockets and hold back on spending. it's if everything feels good, they will spend money for the holiday season. and something else that the retailers have to do to entice shoppers-- >> what does that mean? >> the holiday season is all about promotion. so one thing that maci's succeeded that not many retailers do is offer promotions without eating margins, eating the bottom line. and macy's does that all in marketing valley. offering one day, saturday sales, and not every day sales, so that's what jc penny is doing, offering every day promotions which could eat in the bottom line but maci's said once in a while once a week. >> well said. that's great analyses.

come back on the program, will you please? >> absolutely. love to be here. >> another confession from toronto's embattled mayor. rob ford is now telling the city council he bought illegal drugs. the council is debating a motion that calls for ford to step down. he has previously confessed to smoking crack cocaine but only after a videotape surfaced with with him doing it. >> i am not an alcoholic. i'm not a drug addict. have i drank? have i done drugs, yes, i have. i am not leaving here. i'm going to stay here and attend every meeting, every executive meeting. i have not missed a day down here. and i have one of the best attend records ever. i'll put my record against anybody else's. i'm not going anywhere. >> wow, okay, mayor ford insists he'll run for re-election next year. one of the most notorious gangsters in u.s. history is

about to learn his fate. prosecutors say that whitey bulger should spend the rest of his life in prison. he did not speak at his hearing, but family of his victims certainly had their say. diane, what kind of sentence is bulger likely to get here? >> reporter: well, it sounds like he's going to have life in prison plus five years, and today many of the people who came into court, the family members of his victims waited decades, 34-40 years to confront former mobster and fbi informer. most of the people that we saw were middle aged children, the children of the victims. they were very young when they lost their fathers many years ago. one man said he never had an opportunity to meet his father because his father was murdered days before he was born. another victim talked about how his father had a diamond ring

that bulger had taken after he had murdered his father. they were all hoping that bulger might offer up some sort of salvation to them about why did he what did he. offer up maybe an apology to the family members, but they didn't get it. bulger offered no comment when given the opportunity by the judge. later on in the afternoon his attorney said--offered up the reason for bulger standing silent in court today. >> from his perspective he did not receive a fair trial because he was not able to put forward everything that he could have told about the corruption and about the immunity agreement he had reached with the federal prosecutor. the trial became a sham in his mind as a result. he did not want to validate the trial by participating directly or indirectly through us in the

sentencing process. >> and again that was diane, appreciate it. thank you so much. if you get any additional information on the ultimate sentence, just give us shout and we'll get back to you. diane estherbrook. >> boy, the nfl has lost an great all-time end. >> reporter: gentlemen, one of the best of his generation by far. former raiders tight end todd christensen died this morning during life transplant surgery. he had been suffering from liver disease an other illnesses the last several years. he was 57 years old. despite his arrest early this week, kansas city chief receiver dwayne bowe will start this sunday when they put their

record on the line against division rival denver. bowe is subject to discipline and ranks second on the team in catches and third in receivingtn catches and third in receiving yards. he did issue an apology for his arrest on wednesday. no doubt that will be a big game coming up this weekend when they take on 8 and 1. >> that is must-see tv. thank you. after 102 years an iconic statue in illinois is getting a head-to-toe makeover. but this happy ending almost didn't happen. we explain the latest chapter in the saga of black hawk. >> reporter: in illinois stands a proud tribute to native american. the black hawk statute symbolizes the sorrow of the native american parting from his homeland. >> it's significant in that it's the largest monument in the state dedicated to indian people and it's in an area in illinois,

the only area of illinois that really celebrates it's native heritage. >> reporter: in a distance the statue's majesty is unmistakable, but up close this statue is crumbling away. it was the largest monolithic statue in the world. the material was concrete over bronze, and it was thought to be indestructible. >> it is visited by approximately 400,000 people each year, and everyone who has driven along route 201 has a black hawk story. everyone has been up there to see it, it's actually a landmark. >> reporter: the two spearheaded the mission to raise awareness

and funds to renovate the statute tthestatue. >> we'll start a campaign to get the money. maybe we can do it. and we just said okay. >> and that's what they did. starting small with pennies from school children then securing grants and even a contribution from the chicago blackhawks. with nearly $700,000 raised the process of assessing the damage and putting into place the plan of restoration has begun. engineers have captured 3d images of the black hawk and determined where the reinforcement is in the concrete structure. it must be restored using materials as close to the original as possible. >> we will be pulling samples and sending them to a topographer to look at what those materials are so we can help prepare materials that

match and is compatible with the older material. >> now in their 70s, they now see their goal in sight. >> i think it will be a link to the past, and that we've done our part for the area, and with tremendous satisfaction. >> reporter: preserving the ailing eternal indian and it's historical significance for generations to come. al jazeera, illinois. >> stopping hunger and racism, up next on al jazeera america e zimbabwe farmers create an unique partnership, and in afghanistan opium problems stopping production and use at the same time.

power of the people until we restore our fr >> welcome back to al jazeera america. he's looking at your top stories. hawai'i has become the 15th state to allow same-sex

marriage. the governor signed a gay marriage bill today that puts the law into effect decembe december 2nd. and the state expects to see additional revenue as a destination place for same-sex marriages and honey moons. if the philippines afte in e aftermath of typhoon haiyan, 2300 people have died. the white house had expected half a million enrollees by now. here to talk about today's hearings from washington is al jazeera america's political contributor michael shure. good to see you. >> nice to see. >> you i'll get to the hearing in just a minute. but these numbers, 106,000 americans selected health insurance through the state

exchanges or the federal exchanges. that's a disappointing number if you're the administration. what is your take on this? well listen, it's disappointing. it's hugely disappointing if you're the administration. if you're an american who supported this you're hugely disappointing. it shouldn't be shocking. we create shock--when you see 53 alaskans and 1200 montanans signed up for this, these are shocking numbers, but the website is a disaster. how should we have expected, we would have been surprised to see big numbers. it's disappointing but it's not breaking news. i can't imagine what we expected. >> michael, are you at all surprised by the scale of the screw up of the site, and how it has just sort of cast in a

horrible light, and everything around it seems bad. >> reporter: you and i visited frequently during the government shutdown and the aftermath. the democrats, in the wake of that, and where they find themselves now because of this, i think what the white house is trying to do is keep this as a website problem. and not talk so much about the broken promise issue. it's bad, it's embarrassing. remember how 800 numbers when you could get someone on the phone. that was pretty efficient back then. you call up, you order a magazine, and boom. maybe we're not ready to have 50,000 people online at once. today they're up to 25,000. they want to be up to 50. that's half as much. they have a lot of work to do.

>> so the broken promise issues. that's out there. for the administration. you can't escape it. you just can't escape it at this point. the former president bill clinton raised it yesterday. what is your take on what the former president had to say, and if he put president obama in a corner. >> you have to look at everything that bill clinton said. he was the explainer in chief for a long time. did he a beautiful job at the convention in charlotte last year or two years ago explaining exactly--i guess it was last year--exactly why you needed to reelect barack obama. when he talks people live p but also the dynamic has change heard. i think it would be naive to not say, and there was hillary care before there was obamacare. this president has a dog in the fight coming up in 2016 we can presume. the way he discusses this has to

be looked at a little more carefully than just as a former president. >> let's squeeze one more in here. let's talk about people outside of the administration who are hurting from this, right? senator of louisiana has been one of the longest ardent supporters of the affordable caraffordablehealthcare act. how will this impact her re-election. >> she has the keep the promise in the senate that she has gotten people to sign up, who are not just up in yo 2014, but many are now jeff murcley who will not have a tough race in oregon a liberal supporter of the affordable care act signing on. they're saying you left us dangling. we can't do that without fixes the promise part because we have to go to the ballot box in 2014. so it's important to us that we

at least show that we can fix it. one thing to remember, tony, a lot of people are forgetting this has to get to the floor. she can get all the signees on to it that she wants, but harry reid has to bring it to a vote, and that may not happen. >> michael shure from los angeles. moving to our other top story today as we learn more about the devastation in the philippines. americans are opening up their wallets to help. many people are trying to figure out who they can trust, especially since the philippines is a country that has been plagued with problems. jonathan betz has the story. >> reporter: at a recent fundraiser in this new york bar money was flowing as free as the drinks. >> i've been homeless a year ago, and i exactly know how it feels. >> reporter: finding donors was not a problem. but he struggled with where to send the money. >> you want to donate something.

you want to make sure that it's going to be put to good us. >> reporter: ultimately he donated to the red cross. after disasters, donations swell and few are as generous as the americans. >> hopefully this will help those who need the help. >> but will that happen? >> they took in less money than they spent. >> reporter: cautioning against some charities. his organization charity navigator helps people to weed out the good non-profits from the bad. >> the public is rightfully concerned about people making too much money, and that there are cases, we've seen, where it seems that the organization is more focused onlining the pockets of the leadership than on really doing a public good. >> reporter: his group's website list charities that promise to give 100% of the donations to the victims. >> don't just use your heart and leap in. use your head a little bit of

data can really help you to navigate away from bad groups. >> reporter: the american red cross or doctors without borders rank well on his site but can't promise that every there are wildollar willgo to the philipp. >> it allows us to be responsive to such crises as the philippines, pakistan, haiti. >> reporter: the philippines poises it's own challenges with charities. it has long been plagued. >> we do not trust the government. >> chris collected supplies in 2009 after a massive typhoon hit manila. but their shipping container of relief never got beyond the port. >> it was never handed out. all of those relief goods were stuck because they charged us with fines that we're not able to pay. it's still stuck in the group. >> reporter: now her grouper simply sends money to groups on the ground that it trusts. >> every penny is going to these

relief efforts and to the victims. >> reporter: she said it was a hard listen learning who to trust when you're simply focused on helping. jonathan betz, al jazeera america utah. >> the latest united nation report on opiate production in afghanistan is grim. there are concerns that it will continue to rise as u.s. forces prepare to withdraw in 2014. jennifer glass has our report from the outskirts of kabul. >> reporter: this is the afghan government's way it's making progress against drug smugglers. the latest united nations report shows that the government is losing that battle. open yum production is on the rise for the third consecutive year. they're burning 20 tons of illegal drugs here. no matter how much the government intercepts and destroys it's just a drop in the basket. afghanistan is by far the world's biggest opiate exhorter. they export 5,500 tons, 14% more

than last year. most farmers grow it because pope accurate priceopiate priced to other crops. >> because of the withdraw of n.a.t.o. from afghanistan, afghan national army and military are focusing on terrorism. >> so they would like the counter force doubled to 5,000. the u.n. said the current force is interpreting 10% of opium sold here. >> the last thing you want to have is a video where afghanistan becomes a criminal country. >> right now all eyes are on 2014. that's when the n.a.t.o. mission ends here. the u.n. said some opium production is driven by the

country's uncertain future. and the only solution is pre-hencesive approach by the afghan government al jazeera in afghanistan. >> longstanding racial divide, they're trying to revive the farming industry to help a starving population. >> you back then most of the country's 4,000 white farmers was the backbone of the agriculture economy. but they were forced off the land which was then given to black zimbabweens. today they're trying to r resurvive the farming sector. the country is struggling to feed it's 14 million people. now working with new black land owners and with unions. >> what we're really trying to achieve is one voice for

agriculture. more of an unified agricultural industry, which can lobby government and get policies which will benefit agriculture in zimbabwe. >> we've got to get on and work together. it's the only way we're going get agriculture gain. >> a commercial farmer, he doesn't trust the offer to work together. >> given the situation they should realize that from the onset, we would look at th the farmers coming with experience and so forth. >> reporter: their economies are struggling. banbank loans are not favorable. many black zimbabweens have started farming, they manage to

survive because they mind their own business, stay out of politics and try not to antagonize the government. land use and ownership are sensitive issues. some politicians feel by allowing whites back on the farms the rest of the world could get the impression that black farmers can't cope, and that land reform has failed. al jazeera. >> and now with some of the other stories making international headlines today, david shuster joins us. >> reporter: tony, egypt's ousted president mohamed morsi is accusing the military chief who deposed him of treason. in a letter maids public from his attorneys morsi said that he could not return until those responsible are held responsib responsible: he said he has been kidnapped and held at a

naval base. the humanitarian crisis at the philippines, another one is developing in the horn of africa. in somalia, heavy rains have cause the rivers there to burst its banks. an estimated 4,000 survivors have been displaced and have no food or clean water. relief organizations are scrambling nearby to set up camps and medical tents. attention all drug smugglers if you're caught and convicted in indonesia, the penalty is death. this british woman just made a court appearance on drug trafficking charges. she testified that a man named joe forced her to smuggle in three pounds of crystal meth. indonesia prosecutors are not buying her story of being threatened of not carrying the load, and now they're threatening her with the death

penalty. and in spain the word of the day is smelly. why? look at all this barge tha garbs piling up. some of the food scraps have been on the streets for nine days and we know that they love their meat and fish. negotiation versus stalles haved now residents are asking for the mayor to resign because they think the mayor stinks. if they are the tourists are chased away because of the rotting fish in the streets. >> those are pretty bad, the obama administration has until next spring to get that 7 million. he has to make up over the next couple of months what they didn't do in the first month. >> another one for the record

books. how much this piece of art sold for at auction. and a hurting peyton manning takes the day off. when we return. michael eaves is here with sports. just hard hitting debate on the issues that matter to you ray suarez hosts inside story only on al jazeera america

>> look at this. right? so the art auction world has set a new record for the most expensive piece ever to be sold. the painting by artist francis bacon who died in 1992 went for $142 million at auction yet, tuesday. maria has our report. >> reporter: in just six minutes francis bacon's three studies of

lucian freud became the most expensive art ever to be auctioned. >> solid at $127 million. >> reporter: it sold on tuesday at just over $142 million including commission. >> these are incredibly rare. the previous record for a work of art is $140 million. for us to see $142 million is extraordinary. >> reporter: the painting shows lucian freud on a chair. was never sold at auction. it's sale exceeded the edward munch's the scream. >> i don't think anyone would say this is a major piece of art. major as in earth shattering.

it's big, splashy, golden, it's a great thing to have on the wall. >> reporter: balloon dog fetched $58 million, record. and andy's warhol's coca-cola was sold at $57 million. this is evidence of a strong art market despite the weak economy. >> clearly a bubble. these objects are going for way more than they're worthel culturally. as far as we can see that bubble is inflating and it doesn't show any signs of stopping. >> reporter: the art fetched over $691 million making it the most expensive auction in history. al jazeera, new york. >> michael eaves is here in

sports. >> reporter: this is not a match up that you would say at this point would be the game of the year, but the marquee game of the nfl weekend without question is between the two best teams in the afc and also bitter rivals. the surprising 9-0 kansas city chiefs. the broncos are back on the practice field today, but quarterback peyton manning was not part of the workout as he conditions to nurse a high ankle sprain. but manning has indicated he'll definitely start supplied night's game against the chiefs. the match up andy reed is trying to treat just like any other game. >> we look forward to the great challenge playing the denver bronco, they're a heck of a

football team. we will he make sure that we study them and get ourselves ready to play a good football game. listen, we have a ton of respect for their offense, for payton, for the things they have accomplished this year. we understand all that. they've done a great job. it's important that we prepare ourselves. we play a good football team. i think it's two good football teams playing each other. i think it's good defense playing good offense. that's what this is all about. >> new york is the only state in the country with a sports commission to ban mixed martial arts. and the it's a ban they're currently fighting in federal court. new york's ban on mma did very little to get rid of the sport. instead, it drove it undergrou

underground. >> on his way from his day job to take part in a sport he has grown to love. >> just hanging out with the wrong crowd. i came only and since october i've been doing damage. >> and when jerome says "damage," jerome means damage. on this night jerome is competing in a mixed martial arts fight, a sport professionally at least is illegal in new york state. >> i thought wow, i used to see them on tv all the time. you're telling me there are fights like this locally? >> reporter: had is an underground combat league bout. jerome is the division aucl champion. >> is there a reason why you

don't put is on facebook page or anything? >> i have a league called the underground combat league. the minute i start advertising it, it no longer is underground. >> they started this when the commission was actively trying to shut down anything that was mma. >> reporter: there are two reasons why no authority is trying to serve the matches down. one, it doesn't serve alcohol. >> they want to get back into getting in shape, and you know, guys do it to test their skills. everyone has their own personal reason. >> you're lucky if there isn't an ambulance in the crowd. >> we've only had two or three injuries through the years. we take them to the hospital.

>> no pre-fight a.i.d.s. testing. >> this is no amateur where they don't do the h.i.v. testing. they do basic physicals. >> no rules except for what the fighters agree to beforehand. >> gentlemen's rules. no official, no low blows, no scratching. everything else beat the hell out much each other. >> and no fight if the fighter doesn't choose to show. >> if a guy doesn't show and a guy who fought two fights before me will say, i'll take it, that's what i love about this sport. >> reporter: moving up to the highest level that is very possible. >> this has been a viable springboard for a number of fighters, but the most famous is frankie edgar. >> this is no longer, oh, i got to get it because of the dollar. there is something else because i grew to love it. >> reporter: so it's just a new organized version of ""fight club"" with the hope that you

can go on and make money somewhere else because it is banned in the state of new york. >> we'll go to some places, whew, michael, thank you. man, after a trip to the north pole and even space, the olympic torch is back in russia. the symbolic flame arrived in the far east on tuesday and was snowboarding, look at this, this is out of bond or something, right? right down the side of an inactive volcano. it's the 37th day of the torch's relay which will continue until the 2014 winter games get under way in sochi this february. when we come back dave warren has your national forecast. we're back in a moment.

>> audiences are intelligent and they know that their

>> meteorologist: we're looking at the freeze warnings now. they've gone further and further south as the cold air has moved in. this is where the area will see temperatures below the freezing mark for the first time this season. and temperatures tomorrow morning easily into the upper 20's around atlanta, alabama, memphis at 30 degrees.

first time we're seeing temperatures drop down around freezing. yes this, is the satellite with very few clouds out there. there is nothing on the map, but there it is. the radar plus the clouds and looking for any type of rain. it's out over the gulf, and there is some rain in the u.s. right over wyoming, and now spreading over to the dakotas. the big story is the cold air, and we're starting to see it warm up a bit on the east face of the rockies. the wind goes down the east side of the rockies, and we'll see the temperatures warm up. cold temperatures over the great lakes, and lake-effect snow is what we had in western pennsylvania, about a foot of snow. temperatures are warming up on thursday and getting even warmer on friday. the rain looks to be warmer from the midwest to the east, but showers already developing saturday to sunday.

a look at the headlines is coming up. >> this is al jazeera america, i'm tony harris in new york with a look at your top stories. we have an up break on th update breaking news from pittsburgh. the car was not on school property. the victim's injuries do in the appear to be life-threatening. the police are looking for suspectsuspects in this shootin. the obama administration said 106,000 people signed up for health insurance online in october. close to 80 of those got

coverage through state-run exchanges. less than 20,000 enrolled through the government's