. . a major shift of power in the senate. democrats drop the so-called nuclear option - preventing republicans from filibustering, blocking presidential nominations >> uncertainty in afghanistan. surprise comments from afghan president hamid karzai may jeopardise a deal to keep u.s. troops in the country. >> an 85-year-old u.s. war veteran detained in north korea. he is a tourist, not threat. >> the president has been shot, they are bringing him to the emergency rooms >> two surgeons called in to

save president kennedy's life - a moment, 20 years ago, that changed the course of history. . welcome to al jazeera america. an historic turning point in the decade-long debate about the filibuster rule. in a power play senate democrats pushed the button on the nuclear option. majority leader harry reid triggered the role change. more from the white house on the controversial change. >> the senate likes to call itself the world's greatest body. after changing a 100-year-old rule that governed the rule around filibuster, the chamber

is in fear of a meltdown. president obama heralded the change. >> people should vote their conscience, on behalf of their constituents. they should vote. that's what they are there to do. >> the president accused the republicans of abusing senate rules. >> a determined effort to obstruct everything, no matter what the merits to refight an election is not normal. >> there were three votes on obama nominees to the d.c. court of appeals. republicans blocked them all. the change means a majority of 51 senators can confirm all presidential nominees except to the supreme court. before today the number was 60. republicans called it a power grab. john mccain quoted the words of barack obama in 2005 when he opposed a change. >> if the right of free and open

debate is taken away from the minority party and the millions of americans who ask us to be their voice, i fear partisan atmosphere in washington will be poisoned to the point where no one will be able to agree on anything >> today's move had results. the nomination of patricia millet moved forward with 55 votes. with the president sinking in the polls in the wake of the affordable care act it was felt it was an attempt to change the subject. >> millions are hurting because of a law washington forces upon them. what do they do about it? they cook up a fake fight over judges. a fake fight over judges. >> now, even after the one judicial nomination went through on 55 votes, patricia millet for the court of appeals, there's 51

barack obama administration nominees pending. meanwhile republicans warn they stand an even-money chance of taking control of their senate in the midterm elections. if that happens all bets are off. they are unlikely to go back to the old 60-i don't threshold. >> this is a the most far-reaching change. back then senators eased a two-thirds requirement in fiver an of three-fifths requirement of 50 votes. >> the u.s. proposal for long-term security in afghanistan is in the hands of tribal council. the loya jirga are talking over the agreement between the u.s. and afghan go. . if approved 15,000 troops will stay in afghanistan for 11 more years. as rosalind jordan reports, the go ahead from the elders does not mean a signature from

afghanistan's president. >> the barack obama's nomination breathed a sigh of relief that the loya jirga was getting a first look at the draft bilateral security agreement. any reassurance that this is under review was undercut by comments made by hamid karzai on thursday. the concern - will the agreement be signed in time for the u.s. to move combat forces out of afghanistan and deploy another team in its place. america is concerned it won't have time to carry out the transition because it involves tens of thousands of troops, and support personnel. they want to make sure they have time to work out the lijistics and relations with the afghan military so it's a seamless transition. if hamid karzai gets his way,

and the deal is not signed into law and enacted in afghanistan until the middle of 2014, the u.s. feels that creates a vacuum of time, an opportunity for people who do not like the deal to try to make changes to it. the u.s. fears it may find itself in a position that it did not want to take in iraq, but had to take, which is not have any u.s. forces in country after the end of combat operations. that's what they are trying to avoid. >> al jazeera's rosalind jordan reporting from washington. 14 u.s. senator say they plan to push for sanctions against iran, even though negotiators seeking a freeze of the nuclear program report progress. talks between iran and six world powers really on friday in geneva. phil itner is there. it was the european yoonion that took center stage. one on one talks between the

e.u. representative katherine ashton and an iranian delegation is what happened. we know from the u.s. that there was no bilateral between the u.s. and iran today. altogether it is possible that the u.s. joined in in meetings between ashton and her iranian counterpart. so it's been interesting to note the dynamics and the make-up of the talks. it's been interesting to learn that there is apparently a draft agreement. that agreement is far from completed. we are working on the finer points. there are contentious issues out there. the fact that they are working on the language of a potential signed agreement leads many to believe that there's some significant progress made in geneva. >> al jazeera's phil itner reporting. >> the kennedy cousin connected in the 1975 murder of a

neighbour is free. michael skakel was released on bond. he has served 11 years afterward being found guilty of the death of martha moxley. >> a son of a korean war veteran says his father's detention is a misunderstanding. merrill newman's family says he was visiting as a tourist. the 85-year-old veteran talked with korean officials about his military service a day before being taken off an airliner. >> for north koreans the war did not end 50 years ago. the u.s. threat is imminent. pyongyang's military is ready to fightment the propaganda ministry indoctrinates its citizens with that version of reality. that's the word merrill newman, a korean war veteran walked

into. he apparently told a north korean tour guide about his service - a harmless thing about the past for him, but an issue for north korean officials. merrill newman's travelling companion issued this statement: >> the state department responded: >> the united states special envoy to north korea made these additional comments. >> it is an indication that north korea does not seem to be seeking a better relationship with the united states. they are not taking actions to address our concerns on american citizens being held in north korea. >> north korea, impoverished and

in need of food aid may try to leverage the situation. trading merrill newman for cop sessions. they may keep merrill newman, imprisoning him as they did kennith bay. it will be up to kim jong un. it may be some time before he returns home to northern california. >> secretary of state john kerry wouldn't comment directly on merrill newman's detention, but says north korea has been making "very disturbing choices." . well, we are looking at colder temperatures, from teens to single digits across the north and central plains. i'll go to that in a moment.

it's beautiful up here towards parts of seattle. all the weather is down towards the south. we are looking at clear skies. overnight lows will be cool for many places. no rain is expected in the next 24 hours. this is the forecast. clear skies and temperatures staying into the mid 40s, low 50, but the overnight lows will two beyond freezing. it won't be too bad as long as you bundle up in the morning. >> we have showers across central and southern parts of california, up to nevada. that is snow and rain in the four corners area. what we see over the next day is rain continues across parts of phoenix and los angeles, yes, friday and saturday. the rain will be with you as well. as we go to the weekends things are looking better. texas, that is the big problem that we expect to see here on friday. the system coming into play will bring a mix of weather.

highway 20 and 40 - that will be tricky, and you need to be aware of what is happening across the area. we expect to see freezing rain or sleet depending on what the temperature will be like. houston - you'll see the frontal boundary pushing through. watch what happens to that temperature. a long-term forecast for next wednesday. a busy travel day. we think it will be the south-east that will see most of the problems. >> a chilly discovery in england. police discover three women held against their will in a home for 30 years. an accidental landing a coringo plane touches down at the wrong airport. how they got the plane off a short runway. and the video game wars heat up as microsoft's xbox console hits stores in time for the holiday shopping season. >>.

police in britain are reporting a new case of modern-day slavery. three women were held against their will for 30 years. al jazeera's tim friend has more. >> the police officer in charge of this case described it as the most serious and worst case of its kind that he has ever experienced. in terms of how long the women were held - three decades, held in slavery, apparently without close neighbours realising what was going on. this all took place in a nondescript house in an ordinary london street. 30 years the women were held. they have limited freedom, but it was very limited. and i understand that during that time they were abused both physically and mentally. there is no suggestion of sexual

abuse in this case. this is what the police officer heading the inquiry had to say earlier. >> these are deeply traumatised people. it is essential that we work sensitively to establish the facts in this case. when we have established the facts, we conducted the arrests this morning. we have established that all three women were held in this situation for at least 30 years. >> while the u.k. hectry, that is the home secretary here in britain is shocked by what she heard, she releases that the police are trying to establish the precise facts. but she has repeated her determination to stamp out what she describes as modern-day slavery. >> al jazeera's tim friend reporting from london. a huge cargo plane took off thursday after a mistake led to a landing at the wrong airport.

the boeing jet was supposed to land at mcconnell in kansas. it missed the destination by in my opinion miles. instead it landed at jabara airport which doesn't normally handle planes that size. as you can imagine, there was confusion when the plane touched down. >> the faa says it is trying to figure out what went wrong. >> president obama's dismal approval ratings could threaten his agenda. the troubled rollout of the federal health insurance website could spill over to immigration reform. patty culhane reports. >> at 23 years old this man doesn't usually need help to walk. on this, the 9th day of his fast, having only taken in water, he is getting weak.

he's one of a handful of people taking part in a well-organised process trying to send a message with sacrifice and demonistrations in the nation's capital, calling for immigration reform. >> we have to knock sense into john boehner. children are separated day in, day out. >> republican house speaker john boehner said he will not allow a vote on what is called a top priority. normally the president would do this. >> let your member of the congress know. get them on record. ask your member of congress. >> on the debt, taxes and guns the president has pressured congress by getting the american public to weigh in. according to polls the american people are not in the mood to listen to him now. his approval rating is low.

57% disapprove of what he's doing. more damaging - the area he's excelled this has been hit hard. 49% of those asked say he's honest and trustworthy due in large part to the rocky health care roll out. a website that does not work, and for many, it is too expensive. >> the idea that the president can go to the country and ask for the people's support for comprehensive immigration reform is fanciful. the president can do nothing else until he gets his arms around the early difficulties with the affordable care act and wrestles them to the ground. >> political analyst bill gosten says the president can turn it around. if he doesn't deliver on the healthcare reform, it's unlikely he'll be able to deliver on other promises - including the

issue that people here will starve themselves for. >> president obama's approval rating is almost as low as that of richard nixon after the watergate scandal. wall street hits a milestone, the do you down 15,000. it took six years to get there from 14,000, due to the great recession. the holiday battle of the video game consoles is heating up. microsoft's xbox one is available in london and new york. it will go on sale in the west coast. last friday sony released its playstation 4, selling more than a million consoles on the day it hit stores. the xbox 1 sells for $500, $100 more than the ps 4. >> a decade later the push to

restore philippines after typhoon haiyan. challenges that keep neighbourhoods from fully bouncing back. >> on the 50th birthday of the assassination of john f. kennedy - two doctors that tried to save his life tell their story about the impossible challenges they faced.

>> new orleans bounced back since hurricane katrina struck in august. new businesses and schools have appeared. in the hardest hit areas the streets resemble the days after the storm. >> it's been nearly a decade since the rising waters and deadly winds of hurricane katrina ravaged new orleans. this neighbour hood the working class ninth ward was wiped out much herman's home was ruined and gutted and rebuilt.

>> it was an eyesore. i figure if everyone comes together and do, everything will come back perfect. >> far from it. the neighbourhood and others are shadows of their former selves. incomplete, weeds where homes once stood. the carcasses of a community remains. >> no one will move into a house in a block if they are the only ones on the block. >> the city owns 600 vacant structures in the lowest ward. 3,000 abandoned buildings and lots stand. most of them are gone for good. >> >> nonprofit activist laura paul wants a commitment to bring them back. >> half of those people were living below the average mean income. they deserve every opportunity to return to the homes. >> since katrina a quarter of the homes have been recut and

reoccupied. some done by actor bradd pitt - supposed to be hurricane broof. with all the nature reclaiming the area the real question is what do you do and is anything worth it? >> we'd like more people to join us. we'd like it to be an easier place to live. >> paul worries that the area has katrina fatigue - a sense that all that can be is rebuilt. leaving the scars. out of money and resettlement money, some are looking at other uses - rain forests or forms. councillor ray thinks it's not enough. >> i thought the city agreed we were not 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 residents that come back, hope is alive. >> people are discouraged with what happened. you know. >> the city just replaced a new school in the ninth ward. there were seven schools before the storm. for now it appears residents are not coming - at least not here to this part of the city. >> we should point out the lower ninth ward has 5500 residents, a third of its pre-katrina population. >> for the first time three women graduated from a combat infantry course. they were trail blazers. this is part of the military's perhaps to bring women into combat roles by 2015. >> 50 years ago on november 22,

1953, president kennedy was shot in dealey plaza, and rushed to parkland hospital. heidi jo-castro spoke with two surgeons about that day. >> doctors ronald jones and robert mcclelland were young surges at parkland memorial hospital in 1953. friday, november 22nd was a day like any other. i heard a tap on the conference room door, "the president's been shot. they are bringing him to the medical rooms" men in business suits parted a way for the doctors. i saw mrs. kennedy on a chair. i was horrified to realise it was what they said it was - that the president had been shot. >> president ken day di --

kennedy lay on a gerny. i couldn't get gloves. i did a cut down, did an iv in his arm. >> robert mcclelland was the first to see the head wound. >> the back half of the right side of his brain was gone, as i stood there the serra bell um, the right side of the brain fell out on to the cart. this was a fatal wound. nothing could be done about that. dr jones was asked to deliver the news. a secret service man came up and said, "i need to call j edgar hoover and tell him the condition of the president", behind him was secret service saying, "i need to call joseph kennedy and tell him the condition of his son", i realised the whole world would find out kennedy was dead. >> in that moment jones faced a deliver. jackie kennedy asked doctors to delay the death pronouncement

until after her husband received his last months. >> i told them he was not doing well. i knew he was dead. moments later a priest arrived. he said "if thou livest" close to the president's ear, and i could not here anything else. >> after that mrs. kennedy entered the room. >> she stood for a moment, self-contained and changed a ring from her finger to the president's finger and a ring from his finger to her finger. she leaned over and kissed his right foot and walked out. >> less than 40 hours later both doctors would be operating on a dying oswald. the men say they just did their jobs while history unfolded on the operating table. >> al jazeera america will have continuing coverage of the 50th

anniversary of the death of john f. kennedy on this friday. >> that will do it for this edition of al jazeera america. thanks for watching.