another high profile setback for the affordable care act. online for small businesses is delayed for a year. china may backpaidal offer imposing airrights over a disputed area, a day after the pentagon sent two b 52 bombers over the air defense zone. thanksgiving delay - a storm delays people across the country. most are getting where they need to go. a deadly crane collapse at a soccer stadium in sao paulo, as the stadium gets a fays lift for next year's world cup.

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. the affordable care act is taking a hit. the white house where are says the online platform for health insurance sign ups will not be ready as planned. mike viqueira reports from washington. >> it's not the catastrophe that healthcare.gov is. it's a log on the fire of the anger and frustration that many are filling. even administration officials conceded it's a disaster and a debacle. a one-year delay. if you own a small business, you are in no way compelled or required to offer employee-sponsored health insurance. many want to do that. this website was designed to help them do that, and there are tax credits involved if small business owners want to move forward and offer the insurance. what happened now, as a result of many of the problems, they

are so focused on fixing healthcare.gov for the individual marketplace for those that don't get employee focused care that they've been unable to turn attention to the other website. as a result it will be delayed by a year. there is good news. those small businessmen can go to insurance agents to work through them. >> al jazeera's mike viqueira reporting. online for small businesses is schedule had said to begin november next year. a leaked document indicates that n.s.a. has been monitoring users online sexual activities. the data was used as part of a plan to harm reputations. it was leaked by edward snowden. six targets were leaked, including a u.s. citizen.

the "the huffington post" was told: c.b.c. news says it has documents from edward snowden showing that the n.s.a. spied on world leaders during two global summits in canada. the agency used the u.s. embassy as a command post during the 2010 g8 and guilt 20 summits in ontario. a spokesman for canada's prime minister says he will not comment on matters related to national security. vice president joe biden is planning a trip to china, the goal trying to ease tensions with japan. china declared that the air defense zone is over the east china sea. it's above a group of islands. the u.s. was involved when a pair of american bombers flew through the air space.

al jazeera's craig leeson has more. >> trouble greets the u.s. ambassador in japan. china's ratcheting up of the dispute dominated the welcome at this luncheon. >> unilateral actions like those taken by china with the announcement of an east china sea defense sewn undermines security and attempts to change the status quo in the east china sea. it will increase tensions in the reason. >> there were times for smiles and congratulations. the message was serious and underscored the access of the u.s. tuesday. that's when the americans sent two b 52 bombers on a fly through without notifying the budget authorities. the flight was part of a long-planned exercise. nonetheless the message was clear - japan is a friend. as far as the u.s. is concerned, these are international waters.

the establishment of the zone crosses through an air defense zone that japan maintained for decades. it's viewed as an attempt by china to impose authority on the region. while the u.s. works on closer ties with the allies. japan is having none of it. >> translation: the publication of china's air defense zone was unilateral and the backlash from the international community, including south korea and taiwan is strong. we'd like the zone retracted as soon as possible. we cannot accept it. i believe the united states is working from the same standpoint. >> china's decision affected the airlines. they agreed to comply with instructions by china that they maintain radio contact and identify themselves if they wished to fly through the zone. the government issued instructions for them to ignore china, inflating relations.

china appeared to calm down. >> translation: i want to stress that china's establishing of the air defense identification zone in the east china sea is the exercise of the right of self-defence. it targets no country, therefore we hope relevant countries need not be alarmed, panic or take it personally. >> china says the air defense zone is there to stay. if there's doubt about the strength of the region, the first aircraft carrier began naval exercises in the south china sea. >> several countries make chains in the china sea, a third of the world's shipping moves through the waters. it's believed there are huge gas and oil reserves under the seabed. >> the storm battering the east coast made is a roller-coaster ride for travellers.

it didn't cause a gridlock. airports and highways were hope wednesday. there were minor delays in newark, philadelphia and new york. it caused more than travel delays as it made its way across the country, responsible for 14 danths, most in traffic accidents. paul beban is monitoring travel at laguardia airport. >> for some, a test of patience. stormy weather meant hundreds of cancellations and delays at the major hubs, like the new york laguardia airport. many passengers had been braces for worse. >> no problems, aum good. >> got a call from my dad saying my flight was cancel. he was strong. it was a stressful way to wake up. it's fine. >> planes into philadelphia had the lodngest of delays of

two hours after the city got 3 inches of rain. accidents and flooding caused closures. in michigan they had snow to contend with leaving poor visibility and slick conditions. roads were slippery in the south-east and south carolina. in tennessee, the deicing crews at knoxville airport were busy. with the storms interrupting travel in the air and the roads, people opting for the train were happy to avoid driving. >> the weather is questionable. i could be on a bus. it's better than being on a bus. >> some of the delays on the rails had as much to do with thanksgiving crowds as with the weather. >> craig leeson reporting. flightware.com said 300 were cancelled because of the storm, but that was a fraction of 32 flights in and out of the u.s. on the day.

. well, on wednesday night the storm that went up the east coast could have been worse. we got a lot of rain across the major airports. the system pushed out. we'll be left with this morning a cold temperature to start the day. it will be 29. chicago 18. houston you'll see 28 degrees. for the north-west it's looking nice. we haven't seen too much in terms of rain. we have clouds pushing through. unfortunately, over the next couple of days things will start to deteriorate as we go to the weekend. everyone will look at sunday. it's a busy travel day to go back to your homes. in seattle - 53 degrees - rainy there. down to the south-west, we have a shower or two popping up, not a lot of snow either over the

next day. for los angeles well see beautiful weather all the way across, especially the weekend. on sunday it will be a nice day, highs of 77. the rain passed through texas, now we are getting clouds in. we expect to see a high. in dallas - 54 after being cold this morning. as we look at the forecast things will look nice. dallas is a big airport, especially for transfers. a partly crowdy day. we saw snow wednesday in harts field airport. we expect to see cool temperatures on thursday, about 47 degrees, and the forecast looks like this. beautiful conditions - no rain in the forecast as we go towards sunday. >> in much of the country it's thanksgiving. in new york a decision is expected within hours about the iconic macy's parade. the big balloons are inflated, ready to soar. the city's police department

must check wind speed before giving the go ahead. john terrett has the story. >> well, the weather at the macy's parade balloon inflating party is better than it was this evening. about 6 o'clock it was driving heavy rain, the worst of the storm that pounded the midwest in the week. it passed over the top of us. as the forecasters forecast, it ended around about 7 o'clock and until the temperatures plummeted. now we are left with beautiful huge balloons - there's 16 of the big ones. this is snoopy and woodstock. will they be able to fly in tomorrow morning's parade. we don't nope. mayor bloomberg was here earlier, suggesting things were optimistic. the head of the n.y.p.d. parade is optimistic. we'll have to wait and see. the issue is the wind.

not the rain and snow. if it's sustained at more than 23 miles per hour, or gusting greater than 34 miles per hour, the law in new york presents the ball joons from flying. there were several points along the route where they can check. they can raise and lower the balloons, or bring them down to one side. we have to wait and see. macy's and the police will make a decision on whether the balloons fly before the start of the parade at 9am eastern tomorrow. the show will go on, it's a question of whether the balloons will be there. >> a crane collapse in brazil at a soccer stadium killing work worries amid a race to prepare for the world cup. how the race is raising questions about the readiness for the game. a bankruptcy judge making a decision on a push to bring two airlines together. how it could affect the merger

of american airlines and u.s. airways. a problem regarding the world's food supplies. steps being taken to stop overfishing the oceans.

>> a deadly accident in brazil is casting a shadow over the upcoming world cup tournament. two workers were killed at a soccer stadium in sao paulo. allen fisher has the story. >> workers in brazil are under pressure to get world cup stadia finished. this is the latest in a number of accidents. it's dominating tv coverage, from the air it's easy to understand what's happened. a crane involved in lifting part of the roof collapsed, crashing in to the roof of the stand. >> we left for lunch. i heard a loud noise and looked back. i saw the arm of the crane

falling. it was a huge noise. my co-worker said the ground shook. >> that machine was moving slowly. it made a harsh movement, making it start osliting. it hate the corner of the stadium, pushing the arm down. >> the stadium in sao paulo was due to be completed by december the 31st. they were struggling to have all venues ready to go. the world cup organizers said in a statement: >> there has been protests across brazil at the money poured in to host of the world cup. millions have taken to the

streets to express their anger. there has been concerns about working continues not just in brazil, but at the site of the 2022 world cup in qatar. builders in brazil say the stadium will be closed in tribe ute to the dead. local prosecutors may shut down operations for 30 days to allow a full investigation. the accident is a significant setback for the organizers and fifa. at the moment no one is talking about moving the opening game away from here. >> this is the third fatele accident at the world cup stadium built in brad -- brazil. two others have been killed. it's the end of an era in italy. former president silvio berlusconi has been voted out of parliament. he's been a dominant force in two decks aids. his conviction on tax fraud led to the vote. he's facing other charges.

he loses special immunity given to senators. >> taking responsibility for a disaster - the prime minister of latvia resigns. investigators think the construction of a garden on its roof caused the roof to cave in. the investigation has not proven that the government did anything wrong. lawmakers in iran are less than enthusiastic about the deal to slow down the program. the foreign minister defended the deal in parliament. most say they support it. hardline members of parliament were frustrated about the terms and hoped for more concessions. the agreement calls for sanctions against iran to be eased. >> protesters in thailand's capital are calling for the prime minister to step down. >> veronica pedrosa is in bangkok where protests are stretching to a fourth day. >> it is not tense, it's festive

and loud. there's whistles and hand clappers, adding pain to covering the protests, i must say. there has been clear instructions from the leaders that there are not to be any weapons by protesters. having said that, and given the history of the street demonstrations in thailand anything could happen. violence could break out at any time. they have security guards dressed in black, who are not slow to react if they see threats and they are very careful to protect the leader, who has been issued with an arrest warrant for rebellion because of his activities over the last few days. >> al jazeera's veronica pedrosa reporting from bangkok. on wall street investors go into

the holiday with thanks for a record-breaking day. the dow jones closed above 16,000. investors were encouraged by reports showing a drop this claims for unemployment benefits. it's the 44th record close. the s&p closed as an all of time high. a merger creating the world's biggest airline is on track. american is emerging from bankruptcy. the deal takes effect next month. the ruling comes next week after an antitrust lawsuit was settled. the deem with regulators would force the giving of of certain gates. >> it's worth pausing to think about where the food for thanksgiving comes from, especially sea food. overfishing is depleting the

oceans. two-thirds in demine. the population from codd, swordfish and others are falling. fish are hauled from the oceans faster than they can reproduce. melissa chan reports on what is being down about it. >> the start of the dungeness crab season in san francisco. it technically runs through next summer. most of the haul sells in the first month - popular demand outpacing supply. eating sustainably and locally is at the heart of the culture. consumers here have trouble knowing where their fish comes from. >> there are ways to do that. in an effort to maintain crab population a low limits the number of traps each poet may set. one strategy to give the species a chance to mature and restock. restaurant homer kenny bevlov

worries about assumeses that fishing is a limitless resource. he as trout fed on vegetarian stock. he's producing 200,000 pounds a year. >> the oceans are in trouble. there's no question. there are huge corporations that are stockpiling tuna in glass freezers and putting it away for the day there is no tune yes. >> martin reed takes another approach to the sustainable seafood business, running a from dock-to-door model connecting fishermen to consumers. >> lawyer on the food chain, they are lower in contaminants and stainable. sard eaches, anchovies, squid, oysters, clams, muscles. >> in oceans so vast, billions

depleted fish stocks, leaving dead zones behind. >> i put two kids on the planet. i have to leave it better than i found it. oceans are our lives. >> for shell food lovers, crabs and lobsters are in good shape. in california the law to limit traps will curb animal rights activists. we need to act now to save the seas. >> scientists say pollutants hurt the fish population. ddt and other chemicals may have lookout sheltered fertilitiy of females. >> a judge is ruling in a battle with neighbours, affecting the condemnent. >> a white house tradition getting a new twist. who made the custody as america

picks which turkey is pardoned. the cost of a side dish falling. why the lower prices of cranberries are a problem for some.

clr the spicy vietnamese hot sauce is a favourite of many foodies, a los angeles judge is putting the lid on the popular condiment. a partial shutdown was ordered at the factory. people living near the plant sued saying it spews fumes causing itchy eyes, asthma and headaches. the case could go trial. a presidential pardon for two turkeys. popcorn and caramel spared from the oven. pop carn -- popcorn was crowned the national thanksgiving turkey.

>> general speaking thanksgiving is a bad day to be a turkey, especially at a house with two dogs. asalute our two guests of honour caramel and popcorn, for their bravery. >> they'll be on display at mt vernon display and gardens. there's more cranberry options on the table. they harvested a huge crop driving down low prices. what is good for shoppers can be bad for growers. we have this report. a sparkling fall day, perfect for a harvest. dry cranberry pods are flooding. shaken and submerged vines pushed into a loading machine. most will be processed, dried, mixed into sauce. in a continuing trend there are too many berries. the prices commanded are you

dropping. >> it costs $0.30 a pound. you can hang on for a while. but how long, depends on how many bills and how long you have been doing it. it's a half a billion industry. growers who belong to ocean spray, which handledles two-thirds of ocean cranberries should be okay. prices are pre-arranged. payment is spread over time. smaller independent farmers could take a hit. they are struggling, trying to find alternatives. here is one example. fewer unfiltered juice. from washington's organic cranberry operation. >> it's good. >> this is tiny star vision alley farms, three years in business. >> we are the farmers, we produce our juice, do distribution, sales and

marketing. >> part of the strategy is a narrow target market, bars and restaurants. with a tart unsweetened juice mixed in to craft cocktails. they hope to expand carefully and stay out of the cranberry mainstre mainstream. >> people want local fruit. conventional or organic people want fruit grown near where they are. >> for growers unable to find new buyers, 2013 could be a bitter harvest. >> the small famy farmers, 5, 10, 40 acres that are the salt of the earth, and there's hundreds out there, are going to be hurt a lot. >> the shake-out might lalars -- last several years. that will do it for this

edition of al jazeera. thanks for watching and have a happy thanksgiving morning.