>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here's are the stories we're following for you. >> it is important that we see ourselves as a family, that we come together. >> illinois governor pat quinn declaring parts of central illinois disaster areas as tornadoes ripped through the midwest killing six and devastating neighborhoods. after typhoon haiyan, still struggling to get aid where it is needed most. >> a massive clean up effort is underway in the midwest after severe storms battered that

region. authorities saying at least six people were killed. those storms brought up powerful tornadoes that damaged hundreds of buildings, central illinois one of the hardest hit area, it's state governor touring that area today. in one storm related death, how is the damage and how are people scopincoping with the devastati. >> reporter: this area that we're in looks like it was completely leveled, and the trees that have not been completely uprooted have been stripped of its branches. debris strewn about this neighborhood and one home has a couple of walls held up through the walls you can see the closet where clothes are still hung in the close pet some a devastating scene here. people i think tomorrow and

today have been able to see the damage for the first time, and they're stunned by what they say. yesterday after they survived the toronto that came through here, they were just happy to be alive. now it's a matter of basically trying to figure out how to rebuild. >> governor pat quinn on the ground. he held a news conference a short while ago. can you tell us what he had to say? >> yes, the governor this morning announced that seven counties here in illinois were declared state disaster areas which means they'll have equipment brought in, extra security. anything that needs to be done to help these people in the search and rescue operations as well as the rebuilding that will happen over the next few months. and possibly years. but the governor did speak shortly a little while ago talking about the community and then coming together to help each other out. let's take a listen. >> it's inspiring to see how people came together in their communities to help each other,

to help their neighbor. young and old, people came together to make sure that folks who are safe and were brought to safety. it is important that now that we continue our search and rescue, if there are any victims that are still in harm's way, our state police are on the scene along with local law enforcement. but we are beginning the whole process of recovery. >> reporter: and del, we should just also mention up to 500 homes here in the washington area either were damaged or destroyed from these high winds. we did get work from the illinois office of emergency management that the national weather service did determine two tornadoes touched down, one in tazz well and one in washington county were determined to be ef 4 windows 4s up 200 mph.

>> in washington, ill, where one person died, ash-har, thank you very much. and three people died because of the storm. ojonathan martin has the latest. >> this community sits right on the illinois-kentucky border. and the latest conversation we e had with the police chief, three people have been calle killed a5 injured. they had to set up a makeshift hospital at one of the elementary schools. they're going door to door to make sure that everyone was accounted for. there may have been people missing but they believe they have everyone accounted for at this point. the storm came through this area around 3:00, 4:00 in the afternoon. people were not expecting it. most people did not leave the area, and now they're coming back after the curfew was in place, after the storm hit, now

they're coming back to see the damage. they're here, trying to restore power and we expect updates with new information within the next couple of hours. i'm i don't know than martin, al jazeera, illinois. >> all of this following severe storms with unusual temperatures for this time of year. >> meteorologist: it was a warm day with that warm air mass in place. temperatures soared to 70 degrees as far north as chicago. with the warmth, the moisture in place we have the cold front punching through. that allowed for instability along with that area of low pressure that continues to pull up to the north and east. at the surface we have a southerly flow. we have the change in wind direction with highs that allowed for the super cells to form and called for rotation. it started off in central areas of missouri, and that line

continues to progress eastward. it did spawn a few tornadoes into indiana, and once it went into the evening we lost the heating of the day and we dealt with mainly wind damage. here is how it all played out. in november we typically see about 52 tornadoes. yesterday, 69 reports of tornadoes across illinois and indiana and even down into parts of kentucky. >> eboni deon, thank you very much. french president françois hollande, his address coming hours after he visited the west bank to meet with palestinian leaders there. >> reporter: the french president began his visit laying a wreath on the tomb of yasser arafat, very much a gesture of respect, and a remind that are french was among th those who

recognized the palestinian state. and france a supporter of new european union guidelines on the settlements. the french president very strong on the issue of the settlement saying construction under mind the peace process but called for gestures to be made from both sides. he stressed that israeli security along with palestinian state, a viable palestinian state went side by side. one of the indications he made that what the palestinians could deliver as a gesture, the hirsh of refugees suggesting that there should be further negotiation on the matter of the right of return. but basically the french president presenting himself as a fair interloc interlock ducto. he could only encourage the peace process. he has no magic wand or magic words to bring to bear to push

it forward and bring it to fruition. this in the middle part of his visit to the region. the president won' will be retug for talks later in the day and the negotiation process being pushed to the side line once again, the talks there likely to focus on iran. >> mike hanna. iran's nuclear program also a topic between the russian and iranian leaders. president vladimir putin had a phone conversation with iranian president, hassan rouhani. putin telling rouhani that there was a real chance to end the decade long stand off. andrea than any praise the russia's efforts of a resolution. it's been more than a week since typhoon haiyan struck the philippines, and they're still struggling to get help to where it's needed most. the official death toll now

stands at above 4,000 but that is expected to be rise, and 13 million have been affected by the storm. the philippine's president is visiting the remote regions of the storm. meanwhile, officials in tacloban are trying to identify bodies of a mass grave. they say the process is slow and they have few resources to work with. the u.s. total contribution in the aid effort to more than $37 billion. al jazeera is in where those badly needed supplies are starting to arrive. >> we're at the airport, and it was built during world war ii and probably has not been this busy since then. the light is starting to fade here so some of this activity will die down but we've seen flights coming in and out of here non-stop. i talked to one of the u.s. military officers who say he

lost count a long time ago. there is aid coming in from all over the world. that plane hyped me is being unloaded from usa. equipment, food, water, tarp, all kind of material. over here we're seeing evacuees who are lined up to take out. we have a man on a stretcher who was brought in a short while ago on an ambulance. but it's a much more orderly scene than a few days ago, the last time i was here. there is a camp off to the right on the grass. they say they're going to be here until they're told to go home. i want to talk to communication officials here from the international committee of the red cross. alberto, remind me of your last name again? albert madrazzo. what is the most urgent need here? >> as we're here, we have four

days ago we are here with rapp assessment. we saw the need for food, of course, water, and so right now we are bringing in 72 tons of food, and right away immediately redistributed. >> reporter: are you getting out to some of these remote areas where we're hearing there are a lot of children, for example, who have fever and issues that aren't being dealt with where people need medicine maybe far from places from here. >> for several places we've seen people in dire needs of goods. that's why we are basically putting up with our basic health needs in the coming days. >> reporter: thank you very much, sir. i spoke to a couple of u.s. military officers here. they say they're really going full tilt now. this is maximum capacity here. the question is how long is this operation going to need to go on? i spoke to marine general paul

kennedy who was here a little bit earlier before going back to his headquarters in manila. they said their goal is to hand off to usaid and other ngos as well like doctors without borders. they're going to provide as much assistance as they can but it's an operation that will be going for a very long time. >> al jazeera america in guinon. officials at the fukushima power plant are now removing reactor fuel rods from the reactors. it's a year-long process, and it's extremely dangerous. >> a delicate operation begins aat reactor number four at the fukushima power plant the unprecedented process is fraught with risk. the fuel rods are brittle. if they break or become exposed to air huge amounts of highly

radioactive gas could escape in the atmosphere. >> we hope that this process will be conducted in a manner that will not disturb local residents and removal will be done on schedule properly and safely. >> reporter: there are 50 to 70 fuel rods stored inside the assembly. it will take roughly a week to remove 52 assemblies. with more than 1,500 requiring removal this is a year-long glazing i would assume that the company, they have serious evacuation plans but they're not made public so as not to raise the fear but they must have plans in case the worse happens. but the workers, i must give them high respect for their going there. they know how dangerous it is. >> the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 badly damaged all four

reactors at fukushima. unit four avoided a meltdown. the company teplo said that it will help with the other three reactors. tepco continues to receive criticism for the handling of the crisis. this is a process that could last decades. al jazeera. >> and one of the most difficult task workers face is determining which rod you're a likely to leak. that clean up is expected to cost $50 billion. more pretrial hearings set today for five men accused of being involved in the 9/11 attacks. detainees are charged with planning and executing the attacks. the defense lawyers accuse the military of torturing those suspects. coming up a mine accident in

colorado kills two and injures 19. that story and much more when we come back. plus we'll tell but a mission to mars studying the red planet. this show. >> i think you've offended everyone with that kathy. >> hold on, there's some room to offend people, i'm here. >> we have a right to know what's in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it from us. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> watch the stream. >> and join the conversation online @ajamstream.

>> al jazeera america brings you live coverage: typhoon haiyan. >> relief efforts are well underway here in cebu. >> we have a problem with no homes to go back to. >> clean water, food, medicine, all vitally required. >> the australian medical team

arrived. >> this is a government warehouse that is preparing relief for the families most effected. >> al jazeera america is there with continuing live coverage. >> the water rose to half-way up to the second story. >> to find out how you can help, go to aljazeera.com. >> two people are still in the hospital after a deadly accident at a colorado silver mine. it happened sunday at star mine operations 270 miles south of denver. two workers were killed, and 19 others were injured. they say the accident probably was caused by a release of chemicals, not a cave in collapse. now to a look of today's top business headlines. take a look at this. dow 16,000. the dow rising above the 16,000

mark for the first time in history. right now up 46 points setting all-time highs over the last three sessions. women bounce back from the job loss from great recession. a record 67.5 million women now in the workforce tops the previous mark in 2008. it's a different story for men. there are 2 million fewer men working now since the crisis. bit coin has promises but pitfalls. congress is holding hearings on whether it should be regulated. investigators say its safe but others say that crooks use it to launder money. some don't like to talk about the future of finances. and 56% of older parents, those 50 and older have not talked about issues of wills and health

directives with their kids. those over the age of 25 didn't talk to their parents with retirement. only 50% believe they're ready if all goes as planned money-wise. expecting to blast off sometime in the next few hours on a mission to study the atmosphere of the red planet. we're joined live from the kennedy space center in florida. what do scientists hope to learn? >> well, del, they are hoping to learn much more about the red planet, and i can tell through is a buzz of excitement here at nasa. we're about an hour away, a little over an hour from the expected launch of the mars atmosphere volatile evolution known as m aven. it's the latest nasa update. they said they were on target

for a successful launch. what is at stake here is this. this is a $671 million mission. this is the second mars scout program but this specific mission is to study the upper atmosphere of mars. scientists believe that mars was similar to earth some four billion years ago. this mission is to figure out what happened to the atmosphere and what happened to the water. >> first of all, how big is it? >> well, if you think about a standard, fully loaded suv, that's about the weight of this maven. in terms of length, think of a standard school bus. that's the size of the maven that will be launched this afternoon. >> we're joined from the kennedy space center, thank you very much.

singer paul mccartney is joining the fight of 30 activists of greenpeace who have been held by russia since september when they scaled an oil rig in arctic. the victim, lee rigby, an afghan war victim was killed in broad daylight not far from his barracks. they were caught on camera bragging about the killing. >> reporter: thithis is not whye florida student came to london, but he openly drank a beer in a largely muslim area.

he will be maimed for life. patrols keep muslim law in this area. banning drinking, gambling, homosexuals or women dressed inappropriately. officials have tried to halt the patrols. they say they offer a solution to the vices of the west. >> this is something clearly democracy can't solve. sharia is the solution for mankind. >> reporter: many disagree, some violently. a rise of nationalist movements is attributed to groups push forgive islamic law. the killing of british soldier

lee rigby only raised tension. >> in their minds they're dreaming. of an islamic fate. they will fail because wider british society knows all about this and simply will not let it happen. this can't happen. >> reporter: britain, one of the most ethnically diverse countries supports a growing immigration. but their pubs are not going anywhere. >> causing evacuations and flight restrictions in indonesia.

power of the people until we restore

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. recapping today's top stories 37 we have been reporting throughout the day much of the midwest still cleaning up after violent storms ripped through the region. six people are dead. hundreds of buildings damaged or destroyed. for the latest we want to turn back to ash-hars in central illinois. one of the areas hardest hit. he was in washington where there is one storm-related death. ash-har what is th the latest? >> we're coming up on 24 hours since those storms ripped through washington, illinois. we're getting alley assessments of damage, 500 homes may have been damaged or destroyed from these storms. we're hearing that governor pat quinn has declared state emergency areas which gives them more supplies and resources from

the state to help with clean up and search and rescue efforts. we hear that the governor is visiting some of these affected areas, and we're told that he's going to be visiting washington just shortly. we're also getting some reports, we're hearing from the national weather service in terms of how powerful these storms were, at least two of the tornadoes that touched down here in tazwell and down state in washington county, illinois, were designated ef-4 carrying winds of 166 mph to 200 mph. we're getting a sense of how powerful these storms were and how quickly they were moving through areas. >> ash-har, thank you very much. normally this time of year they're getting ready for thanksgiving. >> two volcanos erupted in indonesia prompting evacuations and warnings. ash spewed 26,000 feet in the

air. that volcano has erupted on and off since september after being dormant for two years. in java volcanoic ash was thrown 500 feet in the sky that then fell on several towns. >> meteorologist: well, we're certainly quieting down after a day of severe weather across the midwest, and it looks like now we're seeing clearing skies. that cold front blew through the east overnight and into early this morning and brought the rainfall with it. now high pressure is settling in. that's what will allow the drier air mass to take shape. in the northeast winds drive down from the north and west and we'll see a cool down as we go through the day. for now we're still on the mild side and we're watching for a little snow mainly up into parts of northern michigan. winds are still dus gusting 30 0

mph. and definitely a day to hold on to your hats if you're going to be traveling. hang on to your steering wheels as well. you'll want to do the same in midwest. it will be a quieter day as far and rainfall but we still will have the wind. and light accumulations possible. winds not as strong as we're finding off the lakes to the northeast but we have winds gusting to nearly 30 in chic. we're at 30 in minneapolis. we got close to 70 dress. now on the northwest we're wat watching a new frontal boundary that will be moving in, and we'll see mostly rain with higher elevations seeing snow in the coming days. >> eboni deon, thank you very much. i'm del walters, and next is

"the stream" . the dow tops 16,000 mark for the first time after 20 weeks. however, the state allows t. and what does this mean for new mexico and the rest of the country? lisa fletcher it away, and my man is stepping in as coost. and look, omar, nothing is nowhere contentious as abortion, and this might reflect t.