loosen the grip of, to filibusters. thousands meet to decide on the future of u.s. troops in their country, and we go to live to geneva, and talk to restrict iran's nuclear program. >> after years of threat from both parties the senate has finally invoked the so called

nuclear option. the historic move will help end the grid lock on president obama's judicial nominations. he hailed them this afternoon. >> today's count of obstruction, it just isn't normal. it's not what our founders envisions. it is a deliberate determined effort, no matter where the merits just to fight the results of an election, is not normal. and for the sake of future generations we can't let it become normal. >> libby casey joins us now with more on this grid lock busting vote. lick by, there is plenty of reaction. >> yeah, a big day on capitol hill. the rest of the country is scratching their head saying what is this situation, it can sound very dramatic. and in some ways it is, because it is the fundamental change in the way business is done in the senate.

usually it takes 60 votes to overcome a threat, but what senator reid did today is he said nope, we are going to go with just a simple majority. the woman after the heart of this, patricia millet, she was a judge that was a nominee for the district circuit court, and so senator reed said if republicans are going to hold up the nomination we will move forward anyway. here is senator reid. >> simple fairness. the changes question made today will apply equally to both parties. and republican power, these changes will apply to them as well. that's why they haven't used this nuclear option before, because it is precedent setting. if democrats are in power

now, but if republicans in power, they would also be able to wield this power. >> so libby, you haven't talked us through how difficult it was for senator reid to get what he wanted here. >> well, for example, 24 judicial nominee, i mentioned she is gone before the senate a couple of times now. note been able to get the 60 votes just to move her. president obama pointed to the fact that it took them months to get to the defense secretary chuck hagel confirms even though he is a republican. now republicans say this is just a system of checks and balances and there's a reason why you need to have that vote threshold. senator mitch mcconnell, republican leader has a response today. the senate has just broken the rules in order to change the rules.

>> important point, this just pertains to judicial nominees, executive branch nominees filling these positions. the question is does it open a pandora's box? does it set a precedent, so they could use the option to overcome a filibuster threat on other issues. l it's a law or a supreme court nominee. democrats shay they won't do it, but once the nuke has been launched can others be launches? we will see next time. >> yeah, yeah, the box is flung wide open, on capitol hill for us. the debate is nothing new, but it has taken on new urgency. randall pinkston is here with some background on this for us, randall? >> a little bit of history, the fill bustser a strategy used to prevent a vote by allowing the senator to hold the floor which means any senator can block a bill by speaking as long as necessary. the record filibuster set in 1957 was 24 hours 18 minutes against civil rights legislation. these days senators don't have to speak, they just have to make a motion to proceed which does the

same thing as a filibuster, effectively blocking passage of nomination. now to stop a filibuster require as special vote called cloture. the rule was adopted in 1817. for the next 50 years filibusters were relatively rare, but by 1972, when the nixon administration was mired in watergate, we see the fist spike in votes. 20 years later another spike, here in the politically con ten, administration of bill clinton. and then there was an increase as democrats tried to block president george w bush, but then as the partisan divide escalated votes sky rocketed under president barack obama. one of the reason as lot of legislation and presidential appointments have been stalled. until today, it took 3/5th of the senate 60 votes to stop all filibusters, with so much grid lock, senator majority leader.

and today reid took a first controversy step towards that goal. by changing the votes needed to stop filibusters for presidential nominations. that's a lot going on there, but it is a big decision. >> appreciate it sir, thank you. >> he doesn't trust the united states. but he is willing to let american troops stay in his country. today he urged tribal leaders to allow latin american soldiers to remain for another decade. but even if they do, he says he wants to wait before signing it into law. >> well, president obama says there is a deal with the afghan government about just what american forces are going to look like. now where they will be stationed when american combat troops finally leave as promised several times over by president obama sat the end of 2014. the only problem here, not so fast, tommy says he doesn't necessarily agree. if the car sky went

before a jerghi. presented them with the plan, but some very big problems. says once again that he doesn't trust the american administration, particularly on the very sensitive issue of raids. president obama obama in a letter assured that the united states would be mindful of that, would no go unless it was necessary. he said he would put it to the vote of the jergi for a couple of months now. that's not sitting well with american officials. meanwhile, josh earnest is asked what would they look like, would they be involved in combat operations.

after that 20/20/04 teen date, this is what he had to say. >> they will have a very specific mission. we whether not be in a situation where service when are patrolling villages in afghanistan. they will not be in a position of patrolling mountain ranges. rather there will be a specifically described mission. it will be focused on counter terrorism. fighting the remanence of al quaida. that continues to pose a threat to the united states and our allies. >> now in his speech, he made reference to a letter that president obama had sent him, no one in washington knew about it, but it was made public earlier today, and in part it says from president obama, to president karzai, we will continue to make every effort to respect the sangtity and dignity in afghans in their homes and daily lives just as we do for our own citizens.

it remains to be seen if that will be good enough. >> north korea has said to have detained an elderly american tortoise was about to leave the country. the 85-year-old man is a veteran of the korean war. he says authorities took his father off a plane as he was about to take off. jeff newman says his father was detained a day after talking about his military service. following this story for us look you have reported from north career yeah in the past, why would the government detain an 85-year-old man? is it simply because he is an american? it is very difficult for americans to understand the north korean perspective on this. he is 85 years old, but from the north korean perspective, the korean war was not something that happened more than 50 years ago, that was -- that is a part of history. they are from their perspective they are an eminent danger of

entering war with the united states. this is an on going issue. they have never sign add treaty, so from the north korean perspective, you have someone who has declared himself as someone who had once fought the koreans in this war, that they have never really come to terms with with the americans. now i know it sounds hard for us to understand that. but north korean citizens have been given this version of reality by their propaganda ministry. so what happened here, seems to be something that snowballed. you can well imagine that he mentioned this to the tour guide, the tour guide mentioned it to his supervisor, and pretty soon the north korean citizens were concerned about the individual that they had at hand. >> all right, in san francisco, melissa appreciate that update. here is another update for you on the breaking news out of north carolina. we told you about a little bit earlier, three to four shots were fired on the north carolina

central university campus. there was a lock down for about 30 minutes. police have arrest add 20-year-old suspect. there is progress in efforts to curb iran's nuclear program. to develop weaponed the e.u. says negotiators from iran and six world powers are reviewing a draft copy. phil ittner has our report. >> it was the european union that seems to take center stage today here in geneva. one on one talks between the representative kathryn ashton and the iranian delegation were predominately what happened here. we do know from the u.s. that there was no by lateral directly between the u.s. and iran today. however, it's all together possible that the u.s. joined in meetings between ashton and her iranian counter part. so there's -- it's been interesting to note, the dynamics and the makeup

of the talks. also been interesting to learn that there is apparently a draft agreement. now that agreement is far from a completed text. we are told they are would recollecting on the finer points. but the fact that they are working on the language of a potential signed agreement, leads many to believe that actually there is some significant progress being made. >> female workers aren faking out across several midwest states. they are working to determine who will receive help. the national weather service says at least 55 tornadoes touched down, and most in one day this year. eight people were killed. we are going to talk about winter weather, but first you need the cold air. that will be coming in

quickly. texas and oklahoma now, easily into the 50's and 60's, but by step o'clock tonight, below freezing. rub bid texas down to 66 degrees. the problem is as the storm develops it will bring a lot of moisture into this, looking at a wide range of precip. you are getting a lot of moisture, rain, liquid precipitation 2358ing into some very cold air, and that can either lead to sleet or freezing rain. what exactly is the difference? well, you have the warm up, so it falls as rain, depending on how thick that cold column is that is below freezing, the rain can either freeze before it hits contact, that's when you get sleet, or freeze on contact, that's when you get freezing rain. you get that coating of ice as freezing rain, or sleet. the little ice pellets. that's certainly what we will be expecting here across tomorrow mornings rush hour, and oklahoma, and it could be significant amount of ice in some areas. now we are looking at a

cold arctic blast, i will have the details on that coming up in the national forecast later. >> coming up on al jazeera america, a big vote of conversation for auto maker g.m., and a new island, huh? erupts from the south -- wow, look at this. incredible video out of japan.

>> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it

to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story next only on al jazeera america cardis. ♪ . >> welcome back to al jazeera. new orleans, new orleans. has come back. for the most part since hurricane katrina struck on august 29th of 2005, but many life long residents have not. as their neighbors remain in abandon ruin. >> it's been nearly a decade since the rising waters ravaged new orleans. this neighborhood, the working class 9th ward, is wiped out.

herman's home was ruined and gutted and rebuilt on his vow to return. >> it is an eyesore, but i figure everybody just come together, and everything will come back perfect. >> far from it. the neighborhood and others are shadowed of their former selfs, incomplete, with weeds growing where homes once stood. the carcass of a community remains. >> no one is going to move into a house in a lot in a block if they are the only ones on that block. city wide 3,000 lots stand. most of them poor, and most of them gone for good. nonprofit activists want as renewed commitment to bring them back. >> those are the people that we believe deserve every opportunity to return to their homes. >> but since katrina,

only about a quarter of the homes here in the lower 9th ward have been gutted and reoccupied. some of the homes done by actor brad pitt, supposed to be hurricane proof these interesting structures dot the landscape. but with all this nature reclaiming the area, the real question is what do you do and is anything actually worth senate. >> everybody is happy to be here. we would like more people to join us, and we would like it to be an easier place to live. >> paul worries that the area now has katrina fatigue, a sense that all can be has already been rebuilt. leaving these scars remains behind, out of money, and settlement realities now some officials are looking at alternative uses like range gardens and urban farms to take over this cultural jumbo leah of a neighborhood. >> my real problem is i thought the city had agreed that we weren't going with a green space strategy. that we were going to give the entire city an

equal chance to redevelop. >> in new orleans, politics has rarely been a clean affair. for resident who is came back, hope is still alive, but. >> right now people are discouraginged with what had happened. during the time, but you know, i think -- people will come back. >> there was several schools here before the storm, so for now residents aren't coming, at least for now to this part of the city. >> new orleans. on wall street. it is now official, take a look at that number. for the first time in history, the blue chipped ended above that landmark. the dow scoring 109 points on news on a big drop in weekly

unemployment claims. fueling optimism about the strength of the recovery. janet yellen is one step closer to making history. chairman of the federal reserve board, has been approved by the senate banking committee. it is expected that the full senate will vote in favor and become the first woman to ever leave the fed. and g.m. won't stand for government motors much longer. in the end of the year, washington spent almost $50 billion to fix g.m. in 2008 and 2009. taxpayers will end up losing about 10 billion-dollars in the deal. joining me from washington to fill in the blanks, on these stories is washington post financial writer elano. good to see you, thank you for your time. how about this, a positive drop in unemployment claims. would seem to indicate a brighter outlook for jobs. do you buy that thinking? >> well, certainly that's

the right direction. we don't want to see more people filing for unemployment claims. so that's good. the question is what does this mean for the fed? is it ready to pull back on its program. they will have to see -- >> no, i am not letting you off the hook that easy. [laughter] >> this is your business is what you do, you analyze these trends you talk about a bit of a trend there. on the employment numbers so what does that say to you? about a janet yellen led fed? >> zhang et has been one of the most vocal and strongest opponents. she is not going -- she has said repeatedly we are not going to be

mislead by this high frequency data. they want to see sustained progress, they want to see several months of this, and so we will have to see what happened in november, we have to see what happens in desks and also what happens with the fiscal situation in washington. our politics going to derail the economy. you know, what happens in january, anybody's guess. >> elano, i am going to push you more on this. tell it to me straight. >> do it. >> is the bond buying program from the fed nothing more than a back door bail out for wall streeters doing next to nothing for main street? >> well, here is one interesting statistic. half of americans do not own any stocks at all. >> hello. >> they are not invested etc., so those americans are not benefiting from the direct effects of the feds bond buying program. now, what the fed will say and its defense is that the quickest way to help the people at the bottom is to make sure the recovery is going strong, and the recovery is sustainable.

they have only a limited number of tools, they are not sure how strong and how great these tools will be, but they are going to try. >> elan, great to see you, let's have you back soon. give us your schedule. >> all right. >> thank you. >> thank you. let's get you a update on heisman trophy candidate who is embroiled in some controversy. >> this is a story that continues to develop. according to a florida department of law enforcement analysis, the dna provided by florida state quarterback matches the dna statute from the underwear of the woman who was accused -- who rather has accused him of sexual battery. now his attorney, says he is not surprised by this development, jansen says winston had consensual sex with the woman. his office is investigation is on going, and the accuser is

scheduled to be interviewed sometime today. prepay tock wrap up that you are presentations. rodriguez and his lawyer say they have no faith in the process, and promise to release all evidence that they have on friday. in addition, his lawyers say regardless of how horrible its rules they will take the case to federal court. is finally seattle sea hawks owner says he will pay for a study that will exam whether repeated blows to the head eventually lead to dementia. will conduct the two year, $2.4 million study examining donated brains. they will be searching for any link between head injuries and subsequent health problems. and those are your sports. >> that will important. all right, appreciate it.

it will be 50 years ago tomorrow that president john f kennedy was shot and taking to kirkland memorial hospital. it is a moment on duty that day have never forgotten, they sat down with al jazeera's heidi joe castro to talk about that fateful day. >> they were young surgeons at dallas' memorial hospital in 1963. friday, november 2, was a day that began like any other, then just after lunchtime,. >> i heard a little tap on the conference room door. the president has been shot and they need doctors right away. >> men in business suits parted a way. >> i saw mrs. kennedy sitting on a folding chair outside trauma room 1, and saw i was hear fied to realize that it was just like they had said it was. that the president had been shot. >> president kennedy lay

on a gurney. arms spread. >> i couldn't get any stearyl gloved. bare handedly got a cut down and got an i.v. going in his left arm. >> doctor mchelen was the first to see the head wound. >> the back half of the right side of his brain was gone. and as i stood there, the lower part of the brain fell out through the hole on to the cart. so this is obviously a fatal wound. nothing could be done by that. >> dr. jones was asked to deliver the news. the secret serviceman came up and identified himself and said i need to call j edgar hoover and right behind him was secret service, and they said i need to call joseph kennedy and tell him the condition of his son. and right then i realized that joseph kennedy is going to get bad news, the whole world was going to find out that kennedy was dead.

but in that moment, jones face add dilemma. jacqueline kennedy had ask to delay the announcement. >> i told him he was not doing well, but i knew he was dead. >> moments late ear priest arrived. >> he said if thou livest, thousand close to the president's left ear, and then i couldn't hear him say anything else. >> and after that, mrs. kennedy enters the room, mclen len witnessed the farewell to her husband. >> she was very self-contained. stood there for a moment. and exchanged a ring from her finger to the president's finger. and a ring from his finger to her finger. and she leaned over and kissed his right foot, and then walked out of trauma room one. >> less than 48 hours later both doctors would be operating on a dying oswald. the men say they just did their jobs while history unfolded. >> heidi joe castro, al jazeera, dallas.

>> and coming up, new jersey is rolling the dice on online gambling. >> and i'll tell you about a #that's gone viral, dealing with race and college students in america.

welcome back. here is a look at your top stories. president obama is applauding a move that will make it harder to block his nominees and any presidential nominee, senators voted earlier today to change the rules it will now be harder to block federal administrations to other top hosts. delicates from iran and six world powers are back at the negotiating table. they are said to be reviewing a draft of a preliminary deal to curb iran's nuclear program. afghan president is urging his country's tribal leaders to approval a security agreement, with the united states, that he says is despite the mistrust. if the deal is approved some troops would stay in afghanistan after 2014.

joining me to discuss the vote by the loy jirga. and always great to talk to you, thank you for the time. let's do this. let's cover some basics here. what is the loya jirga and what is it's importance in the afghan system? >> well, in a sense it is a traditional congregation on tribal leaders, you can think of it as a parliament of tribal leaders. a very tribal country, most of its population belongs to tribes has allegiance to tribal leaders. these leaders get together, the consensus provides basically political cover for the government to make hard decisions such as the security deal with the united states.

how con ten, there this be? >> when he has his eyes on the 2014 elections. after december 2014, so he needs to show off his own national credentials by creating distance between himself and the united states, so he is not seen essentially as a tool of the u.s. government. power and authority in afghanistan. it is not really palatable to the u.s. military, who has got used to having its way, and not being accountable to local laws, chasing terrorists, engaging the taliban. is u.s. military wants freedom of action, and

many think that means infringements on their national rights. and karzai is trying to stand somewhere in the middle. >> he has stand off on immunity for troops, correct? >> he keeps signing off, but every time before he signs off he make as fuss. he is really defending their rights and speaking for them, and pushing back against the quite, at least he is not giving into the united states without putting up a fight. so this is a lot of political fear in a sense. he has to balance with the political issues that he faces at home. he is not different than a typical american politician, which has to listen to his base, as he votes in the congress. >> and to put a really fine point on the political drama, here, the u.s. wants to deal signed before the end of the year.

he is saying he will not sign off on a deal even for approved, and that kind of kicks the can down the road again. it is different from saying yes the deal can go ahead, but nobody in afghanistan ahead of an election can hold him accountable for signing on to a deal. in many ways we have a different time verizon, he has to deal with this for the rest of his career, for us it is only up to 2014. >> i can't let you go without asking you about syria. i wonder what your thoughts are on the civil

war in syria, my understanding is you are a contribute tor a recently published book called the syria dilemma. so what are your latest thoughts on the conflict in syria? well, the conflict is on going, and the asaad government has the upper hand. the international community is focused only on the issue of the chemical weapons. disarment, sees syria largely as an armed control success, but there's very little being done to end the conflict of change the tide of it. so i think the conflict will go on for much longer and will continue to produce refugees. it is going to continue to threaten the stability and security of the region. and currently, the only really two powerful forces are the asaad regime, and the most radical regimists and that is a tragedy for 23 region. and could have some unforseen con wednesdays. >> yeah, we have seen

that rently, particularly in beirut. appreciate it, always good to talk to you. he is the dean of john hopkins school of advanced international studies. so a london couple is accused of keeping three women slaves for 30 years. the women were found in october, and set free today. police arrested their alleged captors. exactly what are these people accused of? well, they are accused, or at least they will be when the police have carried out the full investigation, they are still being questioned and checked at the moment. but the accusation is one of slavery. enslavement. now, it's modern day slavery, or at least that's how the interior minister here has described it.

the u.k. interior minister. and the circumstances are extraordinary. this was a nontranscript london house. where the neighbors apparently had absolutely no idea what had been going on for three decades. they had a degree of freedom. he incidentally says it is the worst case he has ever come across of its kind. but they were both physically and mentally abused during their time in captivity. notice a suggestion of sexual abuse. but here is what that detective had to say earlier. >> when we had

established the facts we conducted the arrests this mourning. we have established that all three women were held in this situation for at least 30 years. they did have some controlled freedom. the human trafficking unit of the metropolitan police deals with many cases of servitude and forced labor. we have seen some cases where people have been held for up to ten years, but we have never seen anything of this magnitude before. >> now, the interesting thing about this case, is that it follow add television program in which a charity working with victims of this sort, were featured and one of the women who was being held saw this program, managed to get to a phone, called the charity, the charity passed on the message to the police. and the investigation started. the women as you were saying earlier, were initially released, and then the police moved in later and made their arrests. and as i say, they are

being held now at the london police station, and we will hear more about what the police intend so do in the very near future. >> extraordinary. all right, in london, outside of scotland yard, appreciate it. thank you, in just a few hours new jersey is going to take a gamble, sorry, on online gambling. sites go live at 6:00 p.m. eastern time for trial run. al jazeera joins us now with more on that. >> today at noon new jersey released a list of websites that have passed rigorous testing and will be allowed to go live for the next five days. the sites will conduct what amounts to a system confirmation phase, including gambler whose have been incited to participate. no more than 500 people will be allowed to try out the online gambling at any one time. they want to make sure

the games work as they are supposed to, and that the sophisticated electronic payment and verification systems don't have any hitches. for example, gamblers must be at least 21 years old. and they must physically be in new jersey, in order to play. this has some unusual quirks programmers are not sure whether the online fence they have set up will anow new jersey residents to play if they live within a few miles of a state boarder. for anybody in new jersey who wants to gamble via the internet, you will first need to set off casino website event. this is setting up your name, social security number, you will be asked to fund the account using a credit card. gamblers don't have to be a resident, they just have to be in new jersey with the computer, tablet, smart phone, and verified account. experts believe that internet gamble willing produce about 1 billion-dollars in new revenue for casinos in just the fist year. critics say this will multiply the gambling addiction problems which

often lead to financial ruin, meanwhile nationwide, delaware and nevada already have online gambling, although in nevada it is only online poker, new jersey will follow the delaware model and offer every game in the casino. >> whoa. i am wondering if this could spark momentum in other state states in. >> it could. there are eight states that are considering it, but there's three states, california, pennsylvania, massachusets where the bills are very close to being brought up for a vote. if new jersey works well, you may see momentum in those states. >> and where does it go from there? all right, appreciate it, thank you. >> rachelle kerry is here now. with some of the other stories making headlines today. >> hello, tony. after more than a decade in prison. he was released from prison a few hours ago, on $1.2 million bail. stakele the sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after being convicted of killing martin moxley in 1975. last month the judge

ruled his attorney failed to representative properly. kentucky prosecutors are appealing. he was ordered to live in kentucky and wear a gps tracking device. a massive cargo plane that landed at the wrong kansas airport was able to safely take off today. the boeing jet was originally supposed to land in wichita, but it missed its destination by eight miles landing at an airport that usually doesn't handle planes that big. >> the runway at 100-foot width, was obviously -- i don't know, i would call it certainly more than a three-point turn. we'll say that, but they were able to do a very good job turning it around. >> all right, good for them. the winning ticket for a $610 million jackpot expires today. lottery officials say it could be the largest unclaimed florida jackpot

in ten years. i know people are digging under their sofas right now. >> i may have it somewhere. >> don't let him out of the studio. >> okay. appreciate it, thank you. how about this, a twitter #about what it feels like to be black at the university of michigan has gone environmental. it has received over 13,000 tweets from all around the nation. >> thank you, tony. it is called b.b.m.u., being black at the university of michigan, an african-american student started tweeter about their experience at the college. the # has gone viral, and i want to show you what some of those tweets say. lose cannon says it is not raising your hand in class because you do not want to be that black person who just doesn't get it. so you know someone who lives here, when i asked

someone to swipe me in east guard, because i can't find my m card. and also a.m. call says sounds just like bbuw, being black at university of washington. we went through this as well. and people have just gone to twitter, but this is at university of michigan, it is a blackboard that people have written messages on, and i will show you this one, it said you can't simply place a few colorful faces on a pamphlet and call yourself a diverse institution, outcast. and also felisha allen says being told you are very articulate by an individual of another race. and now i spoke to felisha, she is a grad student of social studies at, misch, and she told me about the changes she and her class mates will come from this. >> one thing we want to see changes is the number of black students who are admitted to the university of michigan. here on campus, because it is just really good to

have people who have a shared experiences and just being a black person, being able to be enrolled and get an education from a popular university like the university of michigan. another thing we talk about is having -- understanding it is a predominately white institution, like what are the experiences we have. those are people we should be able to talk about, in class. with other people so they can have an understanding as well. >> thanks for engaging in this, we are listening and we will make sure all of your voices are heard. >> coming up, al jazeera reporters track down an infamous smuggler of endangered species and learns he is at it again. that alex rodriguez has taken matters into his own hands and walked away from his own mlb hearing,

mark morgan has that story when we come back. next only on al jazeera america

known this already.y smuggling endangers specieses is a lucrative business. making big mucks. more than a year searching for one of the world's most notorious smugglers. he is known as the lizard king. this exclusive. >> home to some of the world's most rare

creatures. madagascar has long been a valued source. the imply kay tor struggling network. >> ahead. >> posing an interested buyers we meet mario. and they ex-porter of seafood and rep times. >> mario is the first to mention the men were after. how do you know know him? >> introduce him to someone. >> he is the lizard king's real name, caught twice for trafficking in the world's most endanger species. he has served eight years in u.s. and malaysian jails. he was released just last year. up formant whose work with him, say it hasn't taken him long to resume charge. you are sure she is still

smuggling despite the fact that he has served time in the u.s.? >> i am very sure about it. indeed from our time spent, in africa, and in southeast asia. still doing it now? >> yeah. >> we needed to prove it ourselves. for that we head for the rueful property. in his hometown. >> when law enforcement i wassers busted into this place, we found two bengal tigers as well as a crocodile. the question is that sort of thing still going on here? >> trying to avoided guards we sneak past all cages, and then we come upon new ones. there are big animals inside. >> experts later tell us they are believed to be cats from north africa.

our year long chase also involve add lengthy paper trail, we found shell companies and expert permits none of which are possible without the consent of authorities. >> despite years of allegations of wrongdoing, malaysia's environment minister in change of the agency, says doubts there is any corruption. >> if there is corruption i must go after it, you know. if anybody is corrupt, if anybody accepts bribed then i must look into it. >> with all that we have learned, it was time for us to confront the lizard king. >> how are you? >> wang was not a a mood to answer questions. >> sir, are you still involved in the trade of endangers species. >> not one did he deny

the world's most infamous wild life trafficker was back in the trade. al jazeera, malaysia. >> he goat a little bit upset. now, yesterday the yankees alex rodriguez bolted from his grievance hearing with major league baseball. now today, both sides continued without a-rod, preparing to wrap up their cases then let arbitrator make his decision. rodriguez and his lawyer say they have no faith in the process, and promise to release all evidence that they have on friday. now, in addition, his lawyer say regardless of how he rules, they will take the case to federal court. >> and joining me now is drew sharp, drew is a

columnist with the detroit free press, thank you for being with us. we are all well versed in the alex rodriguez story. stormed out of the hearing yesterday, then went to the air waves, to rip commissioner bud selig and major league baseball. how do you see this process unfolding? >> woman, until he testified underoath, how can we believe anything he is saying? he wound up admitting that yes, he did. so this is purely another diversion marry tactic on a-rod's part, to divert attention away from the fact that very few people believe him. and that baseball, probably has a fair amount of evidence that it can use against him. which is well beyond the parameters of the collective bargaining agreement. but still, a-rod is trying to turn himself into the person's being persecuted here, but no one is believing him. >> what is your sense about how this whole

thing plays out in the end? like i said before, this goes beyond -- this suspension they are asking for goes beyond the parameters set forth in the collective bargaining agreement. so if they feel that a-rod is a repeat offender, then they do have to come forward with that evidence. i think a-rod's people know that baseball probably does have that evidence, they are trying to find a way to shift the argument to make him come out as the victim. all baseball needs to do is keep a cool head, and don't play the game to his level. >> a huge baseball trade last night between the rangers and tigers. well, the tigers have one of the top payrolls in baseball, but unlike the yankees and the red sox, and the rangers the tigers do not have an

unlimited supply of resources. so they knew that with matt the cy young award winner for this year, up for free agency after 2014 season, and miguel cabrera, the two time american mvp unfor a new contract, those are two guys they needed to sign two extensions as soon as possible. if they kept prince fielder contract which had seven years and $168 million remaining still on the books. fielder had been a disappointment in the playoffs and the people in detroit were upset that he seemed aloof and detached. the fact that he did not share the fans pain, and anguish the fact they were eliminated in the playoffs, so the tigers and they found a willing suitor in the texas rangers. >> drew, in your mind, which team got the better deal. >> i think it was.

the tigers got contract flexibility. they got line-up, they are able to make more maneuvers in their line-up. so it helps them. it helps them in the future. they are able to sign cabrera to long term extension. it helps the rangers as well, because the rangers they are probably the last half -- the last month of the season, they did not have anyone who could drive in runs. the ballpark is more conducive, the son of cecil fielder, the great tiger slug fresh 20 years ago, and i think he couldn't handle the pressure of the returning son if you will. so some pressures will be off in texas. >> the free prez, thank you so much, we appreciate it.

geologists in japan said a volcanic eruption has create add new island. about 620 miles south of tokyo, it is just 650 feet in diameter. the last documented volcanic eruption in that area was in the mid 1970's. the 30 or so islands along with the rest of japan are part of the pacific ring of fire. dramatic stuff. when we come back, dave warren has our national weather forecast, stay with us.

>> while you were asleep, news was happening.

well, we are talking about the cold blast, and then the arctic blast comes in this weekend. this cold air right at the surface, will really cause some problems tomorrow morning. as we get rain and snow coming down, nothing yet but it will be happening. we seeing some rainfall into that very cold air, could either freeze before it hits the ground or freeze when it hits the ground. so sleet or freezing rain, very slippery roads tomorrow morning and in

between 10:00, 11:00 in the afternoon, starts to clear out just a little bit. but that cold air stays in place. temperatures will stay into the mid 40's. dropping to just about the freezing mark, so that may just be north of dallas. cold air comes down, here is the arctic air, very bitle cold, will move south and then through chicago, by saturday afternoon, you will see a big drop in temperatures and then the wind picks up. so way are talking about chills below zero. and then the arctic air moves off the coast. so saturday and sunday, across the northern planes and then the northeast, follows by wind picking up. where lows into the teens saturday and sunday, tony is back with the headlines, next.

♪ >> this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. president obama is hailing today's move by senate democrats to revise the filibuster move, filibustering has been used to mark many of his judicial nominees senates voted to change the rules now only 51 votes will be needed. rather than 60 to approval judicial posts. delegates from iran and six world powers are back on the negotiating table at this hour, they are said to be reviewing a draft, at the preliminary deal to curb iran's nuclear program. afghan president is urging his country's tribal leaders to approval a security agreement with the united states.