>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. optimism regarding talks to roll back iran's nuclear program. and a new system to protect u.s. soldiers from sexual assaults. and laying a wreath a, a tribute to president john f. kennedy. >> talks aimed at ending the long-stand off over iran's nuclear program have resumed in geneva, but fiery comments by

iran's supreme leader could economy katcomplicate the discu. thhe said, instead of using threats, go and repair your state of the economy t so your economy is not shut down for 15 or 16 days. pay your debts. >> reporter: the talks here are being held in an atmosphere that is positive, nevertheless there will be a long road before an agreement can be reached. there are a number of issues outstanding. they are on the table. most notebly the issue of the iraq, heavy water plant in iran and iran's surplus of enriched uranium. now statements that came out of iran by the supreme leader were seen here by those u.s. officials as mainly intended for

domestic audience but it does shows the years and decades of mistrust that has grown between the u.s. and iran. the issues that are outstanding here appear to be primarily two issues, and that is the stock pile of enriched uranium that iran holds, and also the heavy water plant in ira at iraq in i. those issues will have to come to some short of agreement. nevertheless, the dignitary versus have come for three days of talk have come to work in a serious way and tackle these intrinsic issues between the p5+1 and iran. >> let me tell you why these talks are important and why

we've seen this in recent rounds of interrogation. >> reporter: the question is why do we care? iranians will be convinced they don't want one either. but the answer is real people. there is little doubt that the reason that these talks are being held at all is because iran's economy is in the tank. the u.n. the united states, and also the european union have imposed crippling sanctions against individuals, companies and ebbetties that have wrecked iran's economy. iran is 21st in the world by large economy. that's growth. and it's dominated by oil and gas production, but there are 40 other industries listed on the tehran stock exchange. but the affect of those sanctions is basically sealing iran off from the rest of the

world. it cannot import or export, it can do some but not very much, nothing to do with gas or oil, and it was assumed that a lot goods that iran needs to bring into the country were entering illegally from china. but that seems that might be exaggerated now with the trade ports seized, exchange rates have plummeted making iran's slim number of experts very cheap and it's slim number of imports just the opposite of that. it's banking system has literally ground to a halt. it's central bank cannot get hold of any foreign countercy and it's gold and silver has been blocked from every country in the world. it cannot even buy parts for its aging boeing plane fleet. ordinary iranians are finding that their lives are adversely affected by these sanctions.

of course there is plenty of gas to go in the tanks because they have a lot of gas. it's a petrol-based economy. but getting spare parts to get tthe gas to the country because things have broken down. they fear a hard line election in 2016, and they worry about the effects that these are having on their families. when you think about that, it puts a human face on high brow politics. i will put this human face on these issues that you've discussed. you brought it to us perfectly. here with us is iran's lead

negotiator during nuclear talks a decade ago. he is now a scholar at princeton university. hussein, it's good to see you. you were part of similar talks in 2003. or optimistic or pessimistic about these talks producing a deal? >> i'm optimistic. because already they have agreed about 80-90% of the draft, and 10% to 20% is left to be discussed for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. >> what gives you optimism? do you have a sense of what the framework will entail, the deal that is essentially on the table now? >> the most important reason i'm optimistic is the major change in the u.s. position. nearing 2003-2005 when we were negotiating the nuclear dossier

the u.s. mindset was no nuclear enrichment. that's why all these confidence-building measures we have, we say we were going to defend our rights under npt. but today the u.s. position has changed from no enrichment to no nuclear bomb. this is something which iranians are ready to discuss, ready to make the deal. the framework would be based on four major elements. the first element would be all transparency measures required by the international atomic energy agency and cooperation between the iaea and iran to remove all technical ambiguities about the nature of the nuclear program. the second is all confidenc

confidence-building measures assuring that the nuclear program would never break towards weaponnization. this is two major commitments iran would be willing to accept, and the other two, which relate to the world powers, the p 5 plus 1, is about the recogniz rn of the rights of iran for nuclear enrichment, although iranian are willing to do uranium enrichment at very low grade. >> let me stop you for a second. if you're so convinced of this position of the u.s. why wasn't this deal done ten days ago? why are we having this round? >> last week, actually, it was greed between five members of six, i mean, all p5+1 except

france. the draft was agreed. they were ready to sign. at the last moment france put a condition on heavy water, which had not been discussed during three days of talks on seventh, eighth, and ninth of november. that's why they decided to postpone for another week in order to have--what is the deal on the iraq heavy water facility? what is your understanding? >> this is up to goalkeepers, but what i understand the proliferation risk about any type of heavy water facility in the world is when the heavy water is going to have reprocessing plutonium separation, i understand that iranians are not keen to have

reprocessing. if iran accepts not to have reprocessing, no plutonium separation, this can be a breakthrough, and this can bring the deal to final tomorrow or the day after. >> those are important point. it is great to talk with you. thanks for your time. >> there may not be a deal yet on iran, they have agreed on the military in afghanistan. >> reporter: as of right now it seems that the u.s. and afghanistan have worked out the terms of a deal for a bilateral security agreement that takes affect once u.s. combat troops leave that country in 2014. one of the key points on the draft release on the afghan

website, troops would have immunity from prosecution. one thing that the afghan government would be getting is a guaranteed sum of money from the u.s. government every year to help pay for its 350,000 or so soldiers and police because right now the automate of money being spent on the afghan national security forces is more than the entire budget of the afghan government. one thing that is not going to happen according to the secretary of state john kerry, an apology from the u.s. government to the afghan people for past atrocities. kerry said this is a security deal. this is not the kind of situation where any sort of apology would be appropriate or warranted. that's a question for the loya

jirga to decide in this deal. >> the military has been heavily criticized for not doing enough in stopping sexual assault in the military. libby casey is in washington for us. take a moment and talk us through the proposals taking shape there on capitol hill. >> reporter: the one getting the most tension is by kirsten gillibrand, senator from new york. she wants to take these cases outside of the chain of command. it would be dealt with, but not in that crucial line of command. that means if you're the accus accuser, victim, or the accused, it would not be your commanding officer make a decision on your career and your life in this situation. >> simply put we must remove the conflict of interest in the current system. the system in which commanders can sweep his own crime or the

crime of a decorated soldiers or a friend under the rug, protect the guilty and protect serial predators, and it harms military readiness. >> the senator's proposal has gotten push back from members of the armed services committee including john mccain, republican of arizona. >> i say it as passionately as i can to my colleagues, that if we do not trust the commanding officers who take our young men and women into battle our most precious asset, if we don't trust them, then we obviously had better reevaluate our entire structure of the military. >> we're waiting to see if the senate can vote tonight on senator gillibrand's bill. she has 52 senators on record, she needs 60 to get it through the senate.

the senate is just treading water not moving toward one way or another. >> oh, boy, all right, i wish i could say i was surprised by that. libby, what is the pentagon's stance on all this? >> reporter: they think senator gillibrand's bill go too far. they're supporting senator claire mccaskill, missouri, and senator mccaskill would create more layers of checks and balances and would do one curb thing. she would take away a commander's ability to dismiss a court-martial conviction. right now a commander can do that even if someone is convicted of raping someone, but that could change. they said it has to stay in house, and that is one way to follow through on these cases. a crucial difference in senators, and they're talking about it today. we've heard from survivors of sexual assault. it's been an intense discussion one here on capitol hill, one

that has a lot of people talking about this issue of sexual assault in the military. a recent report that came out from the pentagon itself showed 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact last year. of 3,000 cases of sexual assaults only 300 were prosecutorred. >> whoa, libby, appreciate it. libby casey for us on capitol hill. people in the midwest are spending another day sifting through what was once their homes. after a rash of tornadoes tore through the heartland on sunday. the storms killed eight people across 12 states and injured hundreds more. in the small town of washington, illinois, 1,000 homes from damaged or destroyed. we have more. >> reporter: it's been a busy day here in washington, illinois. power crews managed to restore pow to all about 2,000 customers. yes, that is an improvement. the authorities have opened up a window in which homeowners can go back to their windows and

gather their personal property and throw tarp down. also garbage service has resumed. in some small ways things are improving. authorities tell me that they used a know plow to clear away the debris. coming up on thanksgiving, volunteers are planning a great thanksgiving feast for all first responders at a nearby high school. >> another healthcare for billy graham. the latest on the evangelical leader's condition next. also how people in one republican stronghold see the affordable care act. big opinions from a small town on obamacare coming up.

the stream is uniquely interactive television. in fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of 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. >> meteorologist: well, as tony mentioned before people are taking this time to go through

the remnants of their home to find what they can. but today is not a good time to do that. through illinois there are heavy rain showers, and unfortunately things are not going to get too much better in terms of weather. we were talking about a storm system coming out of canada. it will come down to parts of the north. snow is falling in north dakota and we're going to see very cold temperatures come into play. those who are living in traile trailers, you may want to find some other type of shelter because it's going to be the coldest air that we've seen this season. temperatures will be down in the teens and single kingdom digitsl

bring more later in the hour. >> thank you. >> reverend billy graham is a back in the hospital for for respiratory problems. >> a congressman was arrested for buying cocaine. and the judge sentenced him to probation. he has promised to seek treatment, and he voted in favor of americans to prove they are not on drugs before they receive

food stamps. the affordable care act has been costing president obama and his party dearly. they are using the failed healthcare.gov launch to gain votes for 2016. >> reporter: political chatter about what is happening in washington is as familiar as the summer charm of main street. >> 90% of people up there do not have a clue of what is going on in the united states. >> reporter: in the foothills of appalachians, rome is home to conservative congressman tom graves. he voted to continue the government shutdown. he can find plenty of supporters in rome who blame the president for failures in government. >> there are people who would be naturally disposed to opposing

him and it's one of the things that help to energy the tea party in its early days. >> reporter: here in rome there is an overall lack of confident in washington. specifically with the president of the united states. but that is not really surprising. back in 2012 his opponent mitt romney won this region by more than 73% of the popular vote. now the it plays out on the affordable healthcare website. >> i think it has hurt him tremendously. >> reporter: charlene has been an superintendent pharmacist in rome for over 30 years. she thinks obama's policies are anti-small business and with the affordable healthcare act it will just get worse.

>> being of first black president of the united states that he can actually make some changes. >> reporter: retired factory worker roy hudson supports the president. for him the anti-obama trend is about something else. >> i think they're really, since the day he went into office because he's an afro american. >> reporter: some see that making it more difficult for sections of the south to continue working through the history of race relations. >> there are some people who are attracted to the tea party movement because of racial resentment. if we look at polls we know that tea party sympathizers are more

likely to express views of racial resentment than those who are not. >> reporter: robbed ray, al jazeera, rome, georgia. >> five years after the recession, we have a couple of minutes with ali. what is the credit situation right now in the country? >> the national average it's a different kind of score that most people use a fico score that banks use to judge your credit worthiness when you go in for a low.

anything below 600 means you're higher risk, but not all generations, this is the interesting thing about this study. not all generations are experiencing the same credit situation. >> who is suffering the most. >> millennials, aged 19 through 30, have an average credit score of 628. the average for everybody is 691. that's the lowest so far. experian calculates total debt for that group at 20,000. they have credit cards, but they overutilize them. >> when you throw in student loans that is a huge factor. i know there are many that you talked to who are just crushed under the weight of the student loan debt. >> are you okay? student debts are a big part of the problem. but you know, we want to look on

the show what the long term affect is going to be of these credit ratings. >> go get yourself some water. i had that the other day. it's not fun. ali velshi, "real money." that's tonight at 7:00 p.m. on al jazeera america. michael she was a look at the sports headline. we have not had an a-rod update, wow, i almost missed--no, i won't say that. >> reporter: you have one today. the arbitrator refused to make bud siegal testify. he allegedly violated the league's drug agreement and labor contract. the alleged victim of is sexual assault involving james win so n

was worn against pressing charges because tallahassee was a big football town and she could experience harassment. lindsay vaughn suffered a partial tear to the surgically repaired acl in her right knee in a crash during her training in colorado. there is no timetable for her return but this could jeopardize her participation in the sochi olympics i in february. >> the ceo ha at ikea is accusef spying on employees and on

customers. >> reporter: the president was joined by one of his predecessors 73 power of the people until we restore our fr

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. world leaders meet in geneva, but only for a few minutes. still both sides are saying the first type of agreement on iranian agreement roll back is possible. the u.s. and afghanistan have received a deal to keep american troops in the country afte after 2014. thursday tribal elders will gather to discuss the plan. the senate could take a stand to reduce sexual assaults in the military. lawmakers are debating a measure that changes how military handle sexual assault cases. this friday will mark 50 years since president john f. kennedy was assassinated in dallas. today president obama paid tribute to his legacy. he awarded the presidential award of freedom to 16 people.

president john f. kennedy instituted the award just before he died. mike viqueira is at the white house, and mike, if you would, walk us through a solemn and up uplifting day in washington. >> reporter: the president first appeared in in the east room of the white house, giving out 16 award of freedom, the highest honor this country has. there were many recipients, it was oprah winfrey, of course,

who has backed president obama, very close to michelle and president obama, who harass also there as an award winner, and the president had fun things to say about each and every 16 individuals who got this award he was especially clever when it came to oprah winfrey's award. >> early in oprah winfrey's career her bosses told her she should change her name to susie. [laughter] i have to pause here to say i got the same advice. they didn't say i should be named susie, but they suggested i should change my name. people can relate to susie. that's what they said. it turned out, surprisingly, that people can relate to oprah just fine. >> tony, i always feel guilty not mentioning the names of each and every one of the recipients,

but you can go online and check that out. the president left the white house accompanied by bill clinton and hillary clinton, and michelle obama. they traveled across to potomac river to a solemn ceremony of the wreath laying at the eternal flame, the final resting place of john f. kennedy. no one needs to be reminded that we're in the midst of the 50th anniversary of the tragic assassination in dallas. a lot of stories about the tragic four days that wrenched the country. joined by nearby bill clinton who met john f. kennedy as part of the boys nation who came to washington, and president obama

received the endorsement of the kennedys. >> illinois is the 16th state to recognize same-sex marriage. governor pat quinn signed the bill into law just about an hour ago. it passed by a slim margin, and it will take effect june 1st. a funeral was held today. as al jazeera's andrew simmons reports there is new fear that the syrian war is spreading into lebanon. >> one woman alone in her grief, and one of dozens of lebanese civilians grieved by the bombing that draws this wa country even closer to syria.

a bomb detonated as this security cameras was rolling. his wife only retrieves a wrist watch and what she thinks is part of his clothing. the devastation is big by no means as large as so many attacks that have afflicted the lebanese people. this attack was different as well in that it presents a new threat and it could have been a lot worse. if the second suicide-bomber had driven through this security gate, the blast in a more confined space could have been pore devastating. the man in charge of beirut's hospital take us inside his intensive care unity is only too aware of the new threat. this man has just come out of a coma. he warns that many more lebanese lives are in danger by the

escalation of the war in syria. >> i'm furious, and i don't see anybody who is doing something really serious to today the country 1234 it was a day of funerals, this, the biggest. one of the first to die in life he was in charge of security at the main gate of the iranian embassy. in death his funeral is made secure. the syria's opposition including al-qaeda linked groups. and iran, a state that supports bashar al-assad and his allies remain resentment absolutely. at another funeral the anger and the grief is clear see. lebanon has seen decades of

conflict, and it is times of peace can be tenuous. once again a foreign war threatens life. al jazeera, beirut. >> schools in wisconsin have above average test scores. >> reporter: idyllic and idealistic, madison, wisconsin, has been on the list of the best place to raise a family. michelle moved from chicago this part to make sure that her children had access to a great education. an uphill battle that she knows begins at home the. >> responsibility that i put on my kids is the same thing that i expect out myself. they tell me that i'm a little harsh and expectations can be high, but i'm going to be his cheerleader. if i don't push him, nobody else

will. >> reporter: but there is a problem when it comes to students of color. wisconsin ranks the top when it comes to graduation rates. but here 91% of white students earn a diploma, compared to 64% of black students. wisconsin has ranked at or above the national average in math and reading scores. but the achievement gap, the difference in performance across racial groups is growing in wisconsin. numbers released this month show the difference in reading and math scores between black and white studentser students are the highest in the nation. >> if you go back and look at the late 70's and the early 80's the achievement gap was close. we were coming out of desegregation. there was a spirit in the community and in the country that we really want to do things right. that spirit carried over to the

classrooms. >> reporter: carl grant has written 35 books on fairness and education related to policy and curriculum believes there is a way. >> john f. kennedy wanted to put a person on the moon. we need that drive to turn this around. >> in an attempt to start a charter school three years ago aimed at tackling the disparity in madison was voted down. >> our schools are not preparing our young people for the technology, for the innovation of their future. >> newly hired superintendent brings with her great hopes and expectation rejecting the beliefs of many that progress isn't possible. >> i do think there is an implicit bias that we bring to the work when we talk about children as if they're damaged goods we're setting ourselves up for int failure.

we need to change the mindset that builds on strengths. >> strengths in the classroom and at home one student at a time. al jazeera, madison, wisconsin. >> and david shuster is here with more of the day's headlines. >> reporter: thank you. in egypt today an suicide-bomber killed 11 off-duty soldiers and wounded 37 others. security officials say the bomber drove a car packed with explosives into two buses carrying the troops. the dead and injured belong to egypt's second field army, an unit doing most of the fighting against islamic militants, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. in the united states ikea's tag line is life improvement store. in france it might as well be the spy improvement store.

facing legal charges for spicing on employees and customers four executives were fired when the surveillance came to light two years ago and now they believe the action may have been criminal. the surveillance was massive and included accessing police files. it's been two months since floodwaters killed ten people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses and washed out two hundred miles of state roads. key highways have been repaired and reopened, and residents are slowly but surely using these workloads to put their lives back together. in the town of lyons, locals say nearly everyone has returned. business is picking up, construction continues and most of the crucial infrastructure repairs should be beginned by the spring. all right, mark your stop watches, in exactly one week, one week from today our nation will celebrate the day before thanksgiving with expressions including, "are we there yet?"

"why is traffic moving so slow slowly?" and "why did the airline lose my bag." 43.4 million americans will travel 50 miles or more from home. according to triple-a, 90% of all travelers will not go by plane but by car. if that includes you there is good news in all of this, gas prices are the lowest they have been for the holiday in three years. road trip, road trip, dad, are we there yet. >> tony, that means for those who travel to visit relatives that we don't like, we don't have to pay as much in gasoline. i'm just saying. >> thank you. you're in trouble. still ahead in al jazeera america, which relatives are you

talking about? new york yankees, alexandria rodriguez has harsh words for baseball commissioner bud selig. >> reporter: it is an interactive live treatmenting blog and chat fest marathon and dance party with chivos for the children. and it's all built around the worst video game ever made. what is this all about? we have answers from a basement studio in british columbia. down confusing financial speak and make it real.

(vo) al jazeera america we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. (vo) we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol. (vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news. >> now to what might be the most unusually drive in the world, pay for the privilege to play

what some call the worst video game ever. that comes from the designers of the game. the objective is to drive the bus in real tame from tucson to las vegas. we go to british columbia, alan, there are virtual lives at stake here. please keep it on the road. >> reporter: virtual lives at stake, yes, a lot of pressure in this seat, tony, i have to tell you. i'm driving the desert bus for hope right now. this very simple very boring really sort of ridiculous game which was a mini game within a pen and teller cd rom that never got released was co-opted by zanies in victoria, and they've turned it into a charity fundraiser. >> there it is, the view from the desert bus for hope on

screen and on the road. down this quiet alley and behind this blue door you'll find a cramped basement studio where something weird and wonderful heaps every year. viewers have now checked in from 126 countries in the last few days. and the more they pay, the longer this event runs, and the longer the bus rolls. dance and sons challenges from a hyper active chat room bring in donations. so do online drawings, and silent auctions and auctions most definitely life for anything. >> we just continued the limited addition of i love opening band is sold. >> there is the bus, still rolling. >> reporter: it is a modern type of telethon intensely interactive and constant communication, viewers blog, chat, tweet, post on facebook and youtube.

>> the right thumb makes you go, and the left thumb makes you correct your steering. >> how do you drive while dancing? >> like this. >> reporter: the goal of the game itself, keeping the bus going from tucson to vegas in realtime. in eight hours. do that and you get a single point. >> you just got a point. [ cheering ] >> never released commercially, it has a rabid following, it was designed by magician who is called in to chat and donate. >> our intention was to create the dumbest most boring video game ever i call it a success. >> reporter: the bus-a-thon goes to child play a seattle-based charity. >> we have a network of 90 hospitals worldwide the money goes to consoles, video games, technology, to improve the lives of sick kids around the world. >> reporter: so the bus rolls on and the donations pour in.

stunning organizers who just wanted to have a little fun and help kids in the name of gaming. >> it's a wonderful feeling but we all kind of look around at each other and go how did we do that? to be honest we're not entirely sure. >> reporter: well, however they did it, it is clearly working. 70,000 unique visitors to the website, doing all right, good, desert bus.org . i'm trying to read this while driving the bus. 440,000 views of the live stream. 9,000 donations, $267,000 raised since they started saturday morning. they'll probably rap up some time friday. i told graham, the guy you saw in the story there, the last time i actually played any video games, it was among in th pong , and he rolled his horsy eyes and

said that's what all the old news guys say, pong. >> we're of the opinion there is a harlem shake video waiting to break out at any moment. appreciate it. >> reporter: let me just check out, harlem shake video about to break out. we'll see what happens at desert because.org. >> alan, thank you. >> as we know we didn't ask for it, michael eaves is here with you're royour a-rod update. >> reporter: no, you didn't, but it's coming. the new york yankees third baseman stormed out in the middle of the proceedings, calling the meeting a farce because the arbitrator presiding

over the meeting refused to force commissioner bud sealing to testify. soon there have rodriguez appeared as a guest on a radio show and shared interesting information revealed during the grievance proceeding. >> what would you say to bud selig if he's listening right now, wherever he is or wherever he might be, you would think he is watching right now. this is on coast to coast, what would you say? i'm sure he's watching. >> i would tell you two things and i'll tell you the message for the commissioner, you know, we heard someone admit that they were paid $150,000 in cash in a bag in a restaurant under a table to a guy they know, his name, they didn't know his real name. they didn't know his last name. they didn't know his background. this is mlb investigatorsers

that's unreal to me. number two, the guy who is the chief police guy of major league baseball admitted to having sex with a girl that was in the first two weeks a prime witness. my only message to the commissioner, come to new york and face the music. >> one day after report indicated that a sexual assault case involving florida state james winston was stopped because the victim stopped cooperating and refused to press charges. a statemen statement released be alleged's victim's family said her life could be made horrible if she continued with her statement because tallahassee is

a huge football town. both florida state and winston contend that winston has done nothing wrong and its playing status is unchanged. in the nfl, drew brees is going to cost brooks $1,570. the league said it was the standard amount for hits to the head and neck area although there has been debate whether brooks hit brees in the neck. more so than across the chest. brooks i adamant that it was noa clothesline on brees but he called it a bear hug. >> two teams going in opposite directions as the knicks host the the and 1 indiana pacers in the semifinal pacers won in six games. indiana jumped out to the best

start in the league behind the defense. they allowed an average of 86 points a game on less than 40% shooting. they've also got the 23 points and 7 rebounds per game from paul george, who is trying to down play his much anticipated head to head match up against knicks scorer carmelo anthony. >> he is a threat any time he's on the floor. his ability to shoot the ball, i've guarded him enough times now where i'm locked in to his tendency. >> reporter: big game tonight in new york. >> michael, thank you. a bit of breaking news. in egypt clash versus broke out between students and police at an university in cairo. there are reporte are reports ts have set fire to the building.

aszhar is one of the top islamic seminaries in the middle east. we'll continue to monitor the situation and update you as it unfolds. >> reporter: coming up on real money, credit scores and the generation gap. plus cars that drive themselves. science fiction has become reality sooner than you might thing. all that on "real money."

>> audiences are intelligent and they know that their

>> meteorologist: welcome back. we'll show you where we're seeing the storms across the nation. montana is looking at the teens, 12 degrees right now. that's also heading over here towards parts of north dakota. we'll talk about the temperatures in just a moment. we've been talking about this new system that is now coming into play, it's coming out of canada. the air mass began in alaska. that's how cold we're talking about. we can see the snow showers all

through the weekend. unfortunately things are going to deteriorate for many people. seattle, vancouver, you can see the clear skies across most of washington state. that is good news. we also had warnings to talk about, winter storm warnings across much of the area. high winds are also a problem. also in the higher elevations and freeze warnings a little bit further to the shout. this is the coldest air mass we have seen this season. we're talking october, november, and it is the coldest. we're talking about temperatures in the single digits even below thursday. notice the color between bismarck all the way down to omaha. we have a 31-degree temperature difference. the cold front is right here making its way down towards the south. a similar situation but not the same situation as we had in this past weekend that came through. we're going to see thunderstorms possibly but we're not going to

be seeing severe thunderstorms across this area. the bad news is this will go through the tornado-ravaged area where most of the damage, the temperatures are going to get low and a lot of people are still without power. chicago, watch out what happens, we'll see showers and tomorrow as well. saturday it will get clearer but going to 27 degrees overnight lows, and it doesn't include what the win wind chill will fel like. it could bring it down to minus 2 degrees. we're still chilly from the last air mass, and we'll warm up a little bit, but we're going to get cold this weekend. this is a look at your national weather and tony has your headlines right now.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's stories. both sides are expressing optimism. the goal brokering a deal to roll ban iran's nuclear program. the u.s. and afghanistan have reached a deal to keep american troops in the country after 2014. secretary of state john kerry declined comment on details of the final u.s.-afghan security pact language, and he noted that president hamid karzai did not ask for an u.s. apology in those security talks. reducing sexual assaults in the military, the senate is debating a new measure that would