>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are the stories we're covering for you. the desperate plight, syrian refugees seeking safe haven beyond the borders, now winter comes. an 85-year-old american's alleged apology to north korea. and today is the self imposed deadline that president obama promised the healthcar healthcare.gov website will be working for most people. syria's civil war continues to hos flood into neighbor

countries. 2.2 million people have thread syria and taken up in other countries. many are living in camps of plastic tents to protect them from the elements. we have reports from camps in jordan. >> reporter: thermal blankets and clothing distribution has just started at this camp. you can see behind me there are hundreds of refugee who is are queuing to receive these items on the first day of direction, which is always stress busy. the high thermal blankets are a valuable commodity, especially important for residents and refugee who is are still living inside plastic tents and have much less protection from the rain and the cold and the wind in the winter. now aid agencies are also distributing clothing kits for babies and children up to the age of five. what you see in these boxes

behind me includes enough winter clothing for 24,000 children. now each of these winter kits includes quite a bit of clothing items such as heavy jackets, hats, socks, winter shoes as well as sweaters and gloves. children receive the most because they are the most vulnerable to cold weather. the tent replacement with these durable trailers have resumed. interruption in funding left aid agencies unable to replace all the tent before the start of winter. now the hope is to get rid of tents by january. these units are by no means cheap. each cost $2,500, and more funding is needed because 3,000 families still live inside plastic tent. >> the situation is similar to

refugee camps in lebanon. we have details of what people are facing in those camps. >> reporter: we're at a tented settlement in lebanon. they dot the landscape long the border with syria. people here live in miserable conditions. they may be safe. they no longer have to face the violence in syria, but they're all warning of the danger to come. and in this region temperatures drop to below zero. you can see people barely have anything. the ground is all mud, and these plastic sheetings, really, they do not provide any shelter. when rain start, and just look around--just a few weeks ago there was rain. the whole area was flooded. so people here are worried. they're calling on the international community to help them. the international community can only do so much.

this is how people live sometimes four to five families just in one tent. people are talking about the children suffering from respiratory problems, pneumonia, and social workers are warning of the possibility of such diseases spreading. so miserable conditions in the next few days and weeks. temperatures are going to drop. it's going to be below zero, and people here really have nothing to protect them from this new threat. >> reports on what is being done in a camp in northern iraq to help refugees. >> it's early morning and the women in this refugee camp prepare food. they've been cooking john doors since the summer but that will have to end soon. because with it winter comes a temperatures and heavy rain.

>> i make an effort to cook every friday a small treat to help forget where we are. but with the rains we won't be able to do this much longer. even this small treat will be taken away from us. >> reporter: preparation to get this camp ready for winter is well under way. drainage systems are in place to make sure tha the camp doesn't flood. even though things are on track, there is still a long way to go. >> there are challenges just like any other program, but we are going to support the international community with the u.n. agencies-to-prepare for the winter. >> reporter: but there is a huge difference between a camp being ready for winter and actually having to live there. with the winter just around the corner children still find ways to have fun. >> reporter: it almost doesn't

matter how well prepared this camp is for winter. the one thing that these children and every resident of this camp wants is the one thing that the aid agencies can't give them, and that's a safe passage back to a peaceful syria. but a return to syria is a distant dream. there are more pressing things to worry about. >> ten days ago it rained. the whole camp was flooded. my tent was flooded. my children couldn't walk anywhere. winter is coming, and i'm scared how bad things will get. >> reporter: with the u.n. agencies facing a funding crisis with the arrival of winter this camp is typical of many. it's ready technically for the winter but that's scant comfort for people who have to live through it. what happens next if they stay here is up to god. al jazeera, northern iraq. >> north korea has accused an

u.s. war veteran of crimes. he has now apologized for hostile acts during the korean war. >> this video claims to show 85 years merrill newman reading an allegealleged apology. >> there is misleading information and pro propaganda. >> reporter: the video and statement cannot be independen independently verified. it aired on the north korea news agency and accused newman of he espionage and subversive activities and involved in the killing of military personnel and civilians. newman served in the korean war. the veteran and grandfather was visiting north korea as a tourist when authorities detained him in october 26th.

his family has not heard from him since. newman's son said his father wanted to return to the country where he fought for three years. he says all of the other tourists in his dad's group were allowed to fly home. >> they checked out of the hotel, gone to the airport, boarded the plane, and we understand they were five minutes from taking off when a korean official came on board, asked to see his passport, and he has been there ever since. >> reporter: lee newman just wants her husband of 56 years home safely, and hopes he's getting the medication he needs for his heart condition. >> we just hope that whatever that misunderstanding is will be resolved very quickly. and that he can return and be at our table for the holidays. >> reporter: right now it's not clear if that will happen. erica ferrari, al jazeera. >> the state department is warning u.s. airlines to comply

with new restrictions set by beijing. china's demanding that it be informed of any planes wanting to fly. thjapan is refusing to abide by the new rules and in response china has been flexing it's military muscle. we have the latest from tokyo. >> reporter: the senkaku islands, they are taking what they call routine patrols over the island. the danger is there could be some kind of confrontation or accident if the number of planes that are flying over the region continue. japan and america say they are not backing down from chinese threats.

chinese is going to set up a permanent base in okinawa for spy planes and they have one all right, and they will send in a second aircraft in the new year. so clearly while you could argue the chinese are clearly being provocative, the japanese and the americans are not going to back down. >> deadly violence at the protest in thailand, one person has been killed. 300 injured after gunshots at pro- and anti-government demonstrators. >> there was grave concern at the area where these incidents are taking place become a flash point because the pro government red shirt, as they're known, have been gathering in a stadium in that part of the capitol city in big numbers, and outside anti-government protesters

gathered at an university, which is popular with students from the south of the country, which is a stronghold of the opposition democrat party, which is in turn behind or backing this anti-government movement. during the day some protesters attacked people they suspected of being red shirts outthat university with at least one person being injured, and then in the evening there were shots fired at the university with some people being injured as well. this all taking place as the anti-government protesters prepare for what they are saying will be the day they will topple the government on sunday. now to do that they say they're going to storm the facilities. in response the prime minister has asked for the military's help. the military so far has been reluctant to take sides and reluctant t to go to those

facilities to hope protect them but at the moment the soldiers are unarmed. >> in the ukraine the police arrested 35 protest necessary kiev this morning. they were amongst 400 people demonstrating in independent square. the police entered the crowd, and organizers say seven protesters had to be taken to the hospital. thousands continue to rally. they want the government to sign an agreement that would strengthen ukraine relationship with the european union. eight people are dead in gas glasgow, scotland, after a helicopter crashed into the roof oof the pub. it happened while a concert was taking place. why it crashed is still not known. today is the day that the obama administration would have

the healthcare.gov website up and running. >> the latest set back for the affordable care act involved small businesses. which were supposed to be able to use their own online marketplace to figure out the best health plans for their employees. the administration now says that won't happen for another year. instead, it's a full court press to make sure healthcare.gov , the website for individuals, is working. this week in california the president stood firm. >> obama: i am willing to fix any problems there are, but i'm not going to abandon people to make sure they have health insurance in this country. that's not something that we're going to do. >> on the conference call, health secretary kathleen sebelius played cheerleader. >> we're definitely on track to have a significantly different

user experience by the end of this month. that was our commitment. >> the goal is to handle 50,000 users at the site on one time. as many as 800,000 in a 24-hour period. we went online to see how healthcare.gov is working, and as the white house promised, it seems to be running more smoothly. the administration admits there could still be log jams and they're testing new systems that would put people in a queue to let them know their anticipated wait time. >> they're hoping young people will sign up. they're healthier and will offset the cost of older americans. and encourage moms to enroll in obamacare. there are provocative ads developed by non-profits.

>> ahead on al jazeera america. measurement of success and failure in the global fight against a.i.d.s. >> and join the conversation online @ajamstream.

>> every sunday night, al jazeera america presents...

gripping films from the world's top documentary directors. >> this is just the beginning of something much bigger. >> next sunday: do the math. >> these companies are a rogue force. >> one environmentalist says fossil fuels equal disaster. will his movement add up to change? >> we will fight it together. >> al jazeera america presents: do the math. >> retailers have cashed in on the black friday. but saturday is when small businesses hope to get the registers ringing. still struggling to survive a year after hurricane sandy. >> this pet store was closed for 11 months after hurricane sandy. the manager is just happy to be serving customers again.

[ dogs barking ] >> like paco and owner taylor st. claire. >> i try to go to local restaurant, local stores, more than anything. that might be my personal preference, but i usually find better service, quality, and better satisfied with local businesses. >> many businesses are still closed. this owner hopes to get his restaurant going by new year's eve. >> you would think that if something like this magnitude happens, small businesses would be up quicker. >> even if the businesses could have opened sooner there might not have been many customers. most of the neighborhoods' residents were also forced to leave. they have only started to come back recentlily. >> they say there is strength in

numbers, and some owners say if they were part of a large corporation their businesses would have been open long ago. >> do you think if you were a macy's or a bloomingdale's or-- >> no problem. when you're a big corporation you've got that kind of money backing you, it's a blip on to the road. yeah, it's been difficult. >> down the street on this holiday weekend it's mostly tourists in this italian restaurant. but that's not mostl usually th. >> 75% are locals, and 25% are tourist. >> reporter: he said the best way to re-establish the restaurant is to rebuild the community. jennifer glass, al jazeera, new york. >> sunday, december 1st, marks tha.i.d.s. day.

we've come a long way from the death sentence. many who are plagued by the disease now say they have reached the beginning of the end of a.i.d.s. in uganda the situation still remains dire. thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it. now in uganda, the h.i.v. rates stay at 7.3%. that's up from 6.4%. why is it on the rise there while it's on the decline in so many other places? >> well, we've done a lot of work on h.i.v. a.i.d.s. as a nation, we've seen development partners help us see the cost of h.i.v. an a.i.d.s. go down to less than $150. but we still have rising numbers

because 700 mothers every day deliver a child who is h.i.v. positive because they did not have access to treatment that could have prevented the virus of the mother to the baby. we have complacency in communities where people are using protection and increasing the number of sexual partners that they have. this is part of why the rate is going up. >> is this a matter of money? >> no, it's not a mart o matterf money. you have married couples, you have people who are educated. so it's definitely not money. but just certain behavior in

communities wher, where they dot have access to drugs, they fall off retention. we see them falling off. it's not just money. it has to do with the rising number. >> you talk about com complaceny anand bad attitudes. you have advances might that not also be complacent when there is a fight against h.i.v. a.i.d.s. that that might actually lead to dangerous thinking? >> yes, there are. we have interventions, and we

still have mixed messages where some of the young men look at this as curative. we have anti-viral therapy and some people who take these medicines think they are a cure for h.i.v. when they are well after a month or two, they full off retention and don't go back for refills. fact, it is very far from over. >> that is why to continue to have this conversation. not just on world a.i.d.s. day which is tomorrow, we're going to begin the conversation today, continue tomorrow and hope to continue it for many days to come. thank you for helping us to continue this conversation. we appreciate it very much. ♪ center well, it's a quiet weather day across much of the

country and also the end of the 2013 atlantic hurricane season. now, we have a few snow flurries across the up of michigan, all the way across western montana into northwest. a quiet day over all. we begin in the northeast where we see lake affect snow showers are really to the west of lake erie and across the up of michigan. those track on tonight and produce potentially two to four inches of snow. as we make our way across the northeast take a look at temperatures right now, 33 degrees in new york city. 37 in philadelphia. almost at 40. and by the end of the day we expect to reach a high of 40. it's quiet across the southeast and chilly air pushing in out of the north. a ridge of high pressure will bring in along the coastal areas. overall a beautiful day

rebounding. down in l.a. in yesterday they had just a little bit of rain. >> it's pretty chilly outside but michael eaves is in alabama for one of the hottest rivalries in the country, michael. >> reporter: yes, richelle. it's just starting to heat up. 88,000 people will be here and we'll tale i couldn't this game will have a direct effect on the national championship in college football. power

of the people until we restore our freedoms

>> we're back at al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. one person has died during protests today in thailand. at least five others are injured. gun shots were fired during clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators has broken down the barricade surrounding the prime minister's office. today is the obama administration's deadline to fix its healthcare.gov website. and in alabama there is no bigger sports day the day after

thanksgiving. that's when alabama and auburn meet for their traditional iron balbowl. there is so much on the line today. this is the place to be, michael. >> reporter: yes, richelle. this is a huge day in college football with so many rivalry games across the country. but by far the biggest game this weekend and the biggest game to date in college football, alabama unbeaten at 11 and 0. the winner of this game, richelle, not only wins the sec west, but they could end up in the next national championship game. auburn has been there before three years ago. alabama has won the last two national championships. in fact, the winner of this game itself, the last four years has won the national title. that's why today's game is so important. >> also, this is a bit of revenge. auburn has revenge on their mind, michael. >> yeah, they got embarrassed

last year 49-0. that's the second largest margin of defeat in the history of this game that has been played 77 times. so yeah, you're trying to win a title but you want to make amends for last season's showi showing. >> the entire season matters but really for these teams if you win this game, this matters more than anything else. this will save the coach's job, right? >> reporter: there was a guy we talked to earlier from auburn. you can go winless, but if you beat alabama, it's a winning season. that's the way it it's been over the decades for this rivalry 378 sometimes coaches have been fired for winning every other game but losing this day. >> michael eaves, we'll be checking in later on to see how this game turns out. the iron bowl on the line and a championship as well. keep it right here through the

day. the stream is next. com.comis the eses in the house. we'll talk about entrepreneur ship and social media. ♪ o lisa fletcher is away. omar what is our on-line community saying they'rjazzed about alexus being here. we have all kinds of people that want to pick his brain. how to turn web being into reae