they would do it >> fault lines, >> we have to re-think the way we address ebola infection control because even a single infection is unacceptable. >> u.s. health officials call for beefed up measures to stop the spread of ebola and they admit that more cases of the disease are likely in the united states. meanwhile at the epicenter of the debate, health care workers threaten to go on strike. and the vatican signals

potential changes in how the church treats gays and lesbians. >> hello everyone this is al jazeera america, i'm tony harris in new york city. we begin this hour with the director of the centers for disease control and prevention. he says today we should brace ourselves for other cases of ebola in the united states. dozens of people being monitored in dallas right now where officials say a breach of protocol is responsible for a health care worker getting ebola there. she treated thomas eric duncan, the index patient last week. >> particularly the healthcare workers who cared for the index patient when he was so ill. that's when this health care worker became infected. would not be surprised if we saw

additional cases in the health care workers who also provided care to the index patient. >> robert ray is outside the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta and robert some backtracking on the part of the cdc. >> reporter: definitely some backtracking tony. dr. thomas frieden explaining his comments yesterday were not meant to say this health care worker who came down with the ebola infection did anything wrong and he also said that he felt awful that this person has the infection. also, if he offended anyone that he is sorry. one other thing. he said some very interesting things about looking to the future. let's have a listen. >> don't be surprised if more health workers become infected in the coming days. >> all of us have to work together to do whatever is possible to reduce the risk that any other health care worker becomes infected.

>> reporter: that's the message to americans and to hospitals from dr. thomas frieden at the centers for disease control and prevention. his comments today follow the quarantine of a dallas hospital worker who was wearing protective gear and has now been diagnosed with the virus. >> really there are two different steps. the first is diagnosis. and every hospital in this country needs to think about the possibility of ebola in anyone with a fever, or other symptoms that might be consistent with ebola, who's traveled oany of the three countries, liberia, sierra leone and guinea in the last 21 days. second is care of the virus once the diagnosis has been made. and we're working with the hospital to make that care simpler and easier with hands on training, hands on monitoring.

>> the centers for disease control says it's increasing its monitoring and contact tracing for hospital workers who cared for the now deceased thomas eric duncan. >> very tough day for the hospital staff and we knew it was a possibility that one of the health care workers would become infected but still very disappointing. >> a breach of protocol caused the health care worker to become infected but no one knows when or where that breakdown occurred. >> we don't know where that exposure was, we know there was exposure but we have to cast that net more widely in terms of monitoring a larger portion of health care workers. >> the cdc has 150 health detectives on the ground in dallas. they are investigating how the workers took off their protective gear, how they disposed of suits and what needs to change so others do not become infected. >> the existence of the first case of ebola spread within the

u.s. changes some things and doesn't change other things. it doesn't change the fact that we know how ebola spreads. it doesn't change the fact that it's possible to take care of ebola safely. but it does change substantially how we approach it. tony, stakes are high right now and the cdc for months has been saying they know how to stop ebola. but they have been talking about ebola in west africa. now that it's here in the u.s. and we have two people one that's already deceased and another that is currently infected the cdc has pressure on their shoulders big time. tony. >> robert ray in atlanta. it is still not clear how the dallas health care worker contracted the disease. a pinpoint of how this happened. heidi zhou-castro is outside presbyterian in dallas. tell us the condition of the

health care worker. >> reporter: tony, sure. we're hearing that she remains in stable condition and in fact she has been talking with her family members even seeing them via facetime using her phone. cdc says this health care worker has also been very helpful in answering investigators questions, clearly pointing the one person she had contact with when she was symptomatic. but the question out there how she was contaminated how she was disposed to this virus that remains to be answered. inside the same hospital where she struggled to save thomas duncan's life less than a week ago the health care worker diagnosed with ebola fights for her own. >> and she's a heroic health care professional who we all need to be concerned for and pray for as she's got a great family. >> how are their spirits right now? >> they are brave people. and they are a family that is

handling this with grace. but obviously they are extremely concerned for their daughter and their sister. >> reporter: al jazeera is respecting the immediate family's request for privacy. the area afs chief emergency response officer says a team has worked alongside the local doctors to make sure she gets the very best care known to man. >> reporter: the health care worker's apartment has been cordoned off and there has been constant activity here since her diagnosis. haz-mat crews dmomg an coming it of the home. one occupant: a dog. >> the dog is important to the patient and the patient is important to me. and her family has asked me to make sure nothing happens to that dog.

>> dogs can carry ebola without showing symptoms. meanwhile the cdc is interviewing other health care workers who have had contact with duncan. that includes his treatment team lab workers and others who may have handled his samples. >> is it surprising they haven't completed that test yet? >> i would have freeferred have that test completed-- i would have preferred to have that test completed by now. but some many of of my epidemiologists i'm forcing them to go to sleep because they're working three hours without sleep. >> reporter: the hospital itself has been mum to reporters' questions, concerning what they know about the protocol breach that led to her infection. do you know if the health care worker dropped the ball? >> i'm torn from the mirror and focused on what's in front of us. >> now of course there are still

many unanswered questions out there and authorities here locally say they promise there will be answers after an investigation and there will be transparency, tony. >> heidi, the nation bringing in the best to treat this health care worker. why didn't they do that for duncan? >> reporter: that's a great question tony. and the hospital has been on the defensive. it says that duncan received the best treatment available to him at the time. that means also, he was not given the experimental treatment until it was available, two days into his hospitalization. also unfortunately for mr. duncan his blood type did not match that of the donor who was transfusing blood for other patients being treated for ebola. the hospital assures that they would have treated duncan no

differently than other patient. >> health care associated infections here is the problem by the numbers. according to the cdc on any given day one of any 25 patient suffers from an infection they got at the hospital. that adds up to more than 700,000 cases a year. of those 75,000 die during their hospitalization. earlier i spoke with dr. annie sparrow, she's a physician and assistant professor at mt. sinai here in new york. >> first of all we do need to make sure we have very excellent procedures in place. we cannot be blaming this nurse as tom frieden did. i'm quite sure she feels bad enough without dealing with a breach in protocol. let's face it, these systems are designed to fail and extremely good at getting treatment,

that's why we have this problem. we need more than the cdc precautions, probably the w.h.o. protocol which involves at least two sets of gloves, the fluid imhe be permeable gown, the goggles, intense care physician, you're in a jump suit, it's hot, you try push the mask away, you get itchy, it's very, very difficult. >> we have been watching this video, the putting on of the suit, taking off of the suit obviously both of areas are critical but how meticulous do you need to be in removing this suit? >> removing the suit is the hardest part. that is the piece where people really get infected. that's what happened in spain. that's what happened here, that's what happened in sars. you have to wash your hands at every point including when you have gloves on. wash them, desanitize. the minute you take a glove off

and you splat the glove and that's when fluid can fly off and land up in your mouth your eyes your nose. that's the reality. you have to be super-carcareful. we're rubbish at hand-washing, we have got to get that right. we assure people ebola is not airborne. it's not going to mutate into an airborne advisor. full respiratory, takes 15 minutes before you get into the room and you are dealing with an intensive care patient. as doctors we tend to focus on our patient needs rather than ourselves. >> in spain they will increase emergency care workers, patient remains in madrid hospital with serious condition. she reportedly made small signs of improvement over the weekend.

the spanish maintain hospitals are well equipped to fight the virus. several hundred took place in a march rally in ferguson missouri to call for justice in the august shooting of 18-year-old michael brown. today capped off mainly peaceful demonstrations. ash-har quraishi joins us. ash-har. >> moral monday by organizers, last day of four days in the st. louis area, it has been dreary it has been wet but that did not stop protestors from taking to the street today. linking arms and marching through the streets of ferguson, protesters and clergymen headed through streets of ferguson. unarmed teenager michael brown two months ago brought young and old together. >> it spilled over, you got white brothers brown sisters,

you got red brothers and sisters, asian, it's a beautiful thing accommodation together. >> cornell west says it's a passing of the torch beyond black and white to the freedom movement. the weekend of resistance included perfor performances byp artist. >> point blank you don't have to stay it. i think you know i tell people all the time. once you get over the initial fear of what can happen you'll be okay. the only thing the police can do is kill you or arrest you. >> reporter: today's goal was to meet with ferguson police or to generate arrest in an act of civil disobedience. asking why there's no arrest in the case and call for an end to profiling. >> the whole damn system guilty as hell.

>> reporter: the ferguson police officer who shot michael brown. >> we are going to tear down the wall of structural racism. >> reporter: police in riot gear and rain coats cordoned the building. but protesters made it to the steps of the police station. >> calling for all brothers who are willing to put their bodies on the line. >> reporter: after asking for access to the building, the protesters broke the line. >> it is our moral call and duty to step up and be present in this hour right now. >> iva carruthers traveled to be here to demonstrate. >> i'm a child of god and these are my children and their blood is on the streets. >> reporter: it is a sentiment that has brought so many from so far away to the streets of ferguson and st. louis, to speak and give voice to those who no

longer can. there are no protesters out here anymore but 20 police officers are standing guard outside the headquarters. the protests have not stopped however. they are continuing throughout this city. people are causing these interruptions where they're calling it civil disobedience in areas around markets and utility companies and we understand they will continue through the night tony. >> ash-har any update on the grand jury who is deciding whether to indict the officer who killed michael brown? >> no evidence that they are complete. they are continuing to look over everything they have but that's been a frustration there has not been any indictment no arrest. clearly that is something that protesters continue to demand in ferguson. >> ash-har quraishi, in ferguson, ash-har thank you. soon taking control of the largest province in iraq, anbar

province. it comes after iraqi forces withdrew from a base in the town of hit. al jazeera's zena hoder has a report from erbil in the north of iraq. >> undoubtedly it's another setback for military in this province. they have been losing ground over recent weeks. iraqi officials appealing for help military assistance as well as ground forces foreign ground forces to help them hold anbar. anbar is a strategic province that borders syria. which means i.s.i.l. really has an open corridor between its forces in syria and iraq. the iraqi army calling this a tactical withdrawal but it really raises a question on their capabilities. they haven't been able to recapture territory and they can't even hold ground and it also asks the question whether or not to have coalition led air

strikes, in its coordinated fight against i.s.i.l. targeting the haditha dam, areas around the haditha dam, elsewhere in the country there has been limited success on the ground. at the end of the day, the government as well as the coalition they're going to need the support of the sunnis on the ground and right now sunnis have little appetite in fighting i.s.i.l. for them they want the government to give them guarantees first before they do that. one of those guarantees is setting up a national guard, local force for the people of the area because once they have been saying is once we get rid of i.s.i.l. they are just replaced by shia militiamen. >> there is no deal to let the u.s. led coalition, and the border city of kob kobani is unr siege. coalition bombings have hold off

i.s.i.l.'s advances for now but i.s.i.l. is said to be rearming in the region. the mission will eventually conclude going after the regime in syria, turkey wants this insurance. david cameron and his party did not participate in the vote. the spokeman says will not change british policy on the manner. coming days after sweden said it would officially rk the state of palestine. there has been widespread speculation about kim jong-un, state media said kim had personal discomfort during his absence. out touring a new housing project. so far no outside confirmation of that appearance. and coming up on al jazeera america, the politics of the

ebola outbreak. we wl show you how candidates are using the issue in campaign ads.

>> 22 days until the mid term elections and with voter concern skyrocketing over the ebola outbreak, democrats are now hammering republicans for government health care budget cuts. dfdavid schuster joins us now. >> republicans cut funding for national institutes of health, republicans including mitch mcconnell and other cuts to programs and it's juxtaposed with officials saying programs of cuts to programs like ebola have been hurt. >> not stopped as effectively as we should be able to. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> make a cut. >> pretty tough stuff.

nih budgets are massive. south dakota the senate race there is shaping up as a key battle ground to term whether republicans gain control of the chamber in washington. this is a race against rick wyland trailing badly, and, he is now even with republican candidate mike rounds. the republican governor rounds was supposed to cruise in this race but he's having trouble and dratldemocrats are now spendinga million dollars to hammer rounds over an investment scandal. >> after using a beef packing plant, rounds gave special tax breaks to a shady offshore corporation to keep the scheme afloat. mike rounds, schemes, special favors, investigations.

>> reporter: if rounds loses this race and republicans don't pick up south dakota, their path to the majority in the senate becomesful more difficult. another key senate race is the battle in iowa. bruce braley is trying to win the race, repeated charge in congress debate. >> democrat braley has supported nancy pelosi and the democrats agenda. >> up to the states and not the federal government and braley pounced. >> you're saying you don't want anyone making sure that the air we breathe is clean, the water we drink is pure. >> both parties consider iowa as crucial and they are spending millions of dollars down the stretch. and the texas governor race the key issue now involves the judgment of democrat wendy davis and her claims.

republican greg abbott is a hypocrite. abbott is a wheelchair and davis has just used that imagery as part of her controversial attack ad. watch. >> a tree fell on greg abbott. he sued and got millions. since then he spent his career working against other victims. abbott argued a woman whose leg was amputated was not stabled because she had an artificial limb. failings to do a background check on a sexual predator. he sided with a hospital that failed to stop a dangerous surgeon who paralyzed patients. greg abbott, he's not for you. >> republicans are calling the use of the wheelchair in that ad despicable. davis is standing by the ad saying the ad is truthful. it's been watched on youtube over 500,000 times, the most watched youtube video in this

2014 election cycle. highawaii governor's race, forces an endorsement by manny pacquiao. >> i look forward to being the governor of the state of hawaii. >> you got to love that hawaiian music playing. pacquiao is beloved, a large filipino community in hawaii. tony whatever this means -- >> it's okay to put on television, right? you haven't heard anything from the attorneys right? david, appreciate it thank you. the purpose dits ar-- the pundits are predicting bl republicans have a 64% chance of gaining majorities in the senate. necessitate silver's 538 website

say republicans have a 58% chance of seizing the senate. washington lab says the republicans have a 94% chance of taking over the senate. coming up, the vatican the mayor of dallas tells al jazeera america what others need to do to prevent the spread of ebola. back in a moment.

>> thousands of health care workers in liberia are threatening to walk off the job. they are demanding more money for treating patients with ebola. they say they have received very little for the risks they are taking. jonah hull has more. >> reporter: although some of the nurses are defying the strike call, government facilities are overwhelmed and private care is unaffordable.

>> translator: there were no doctors there. the whole place was closed. so we brought her back to the benson clinic. when we got there they wouldn't even let us in. they said we had to pay the money. i said how much money should we pay and they said $450. i said i beg you, we don't have that money. >> reporter: health care workers are on the front line of the worst-ever ebola outbreak. almost 100 have died in liberia alone after treating infected patients. demanding danger-pay to go back to work. that's not only economic factor in what the u.n. has described as the most severe emergency in modern times. in parts of west africa it's planting season and with many farmers stricken there are concerns about food supply and the world health organization has warned of the cost of global panic. >> staff at who are very well

aware that fear of infection has spread around the world much faster than the virus. as the latest data from the world bank show, 90% of the economic costs are any outbreak come from the irrational and disorganized efforts of the public to avoid infection. >> jonah hull, al jazeera. >> so the vatican signaled a big change in tone towards gay people. gay people have, quote, gifts and qualities to offer to the christian communities. roxana saberi joins us with this story. roxana. >> summed up in a document, that uses more compassionate language than vatican has been known in the past. turning point but church conservatives says it betrays

traditional values. >> unprecedented openness to a situation the church has long felt to be controversial. >> we must respect the dignity of every person. and the fact to be homosexual doesn't mean that this dignity must be not recognized and promoted. >> reporter: homosexuality is an issue the bishops say the church needs to explore and understand. homosexuals have gifts to offer the christian community they say, are we capable of guaranteeing these people a place in our communities? gay rights advocates say the statement a break through. >> to talk about lcts people as having-- lic lgbt people as havg qualities that are welcome is

much different than we're used to hearing. >> gay rights groups say some have been denied communion or fired from church for coming out or getting married. pope francis has signaled a new tone towards homosexuality once commenting, who am i to judge? but church conservatives have blasted the bishops report, one of the worst official documents drafted in church history, betrayed catholic parents worldwide. the bishops will issue a final report next week. the document is not likely to change church doctrine but will likely change approach to the church around the world. the pope will draw his conclusions and tony while the report did signal a change it restated the church's position that marriage is between a man and a woman. the report also looked at other

family issues. for example it called on pastors to treat divorced catholics who remarry with respect. >> roxana, thank you. joining us is sister janine renick. the founder of a catholic gay rights group. same sex couples offer precious support to each other. what is the pope saying here? >> well, i think the pope is saying, he is recognizing the contributions of lesbian and gay people to each other and really to society. he is saying that there are -- there is selflessness, there is holiness, there is devotion between two people who love each other no matter what their gender is. if opposite sex or same sex. so he is recognizing the

importance and as i said the holiness of gay couples. >> so if you were a member of the lgbt community and catholic what are you thinking? two questions in one what are you thinking today about your pope and your church? >> well, the lesbian gay catholics that i know are very happy. they are thinking that finally, they are hearing words of welcome into the church. that they have wanted to hear for years and years. because the lesbian gay catholics are devoted members of the church that i know. so they're just overjoyed. that's how i would put it. they're just overjoyed. >> okay so what do you then think of cardinal francesco's statement from last week, he is the vat casino's highest expert

on church law, he says for us but not just for us, to bless this type of union acknowledge to say they are like heterosexual marriages, never, this is simply for reasons of like and identity, to bless them is not the way we see christian doctrine. what do you make of that statement? >> well, the document today, the relazio does not bless homosexual unions. it doesn't extend the blessings of the sacrament of matrimony to same sex couples. that's not what we're talking about. and i don't believe that the lesbian gay catholics expect that. but what they're asking for is welcome in the church. in a future day, and age, orthodoxy follows what we practice, will change our way of

thinking. but at this time, all the lesbian gay community is asking for is to be recognized for who they are, for wonderful people they are and to be welcomed and that's what this document is saying. >> okay, so how do you advocate for lesbian gay catholics, moving forward at a time when the tone is certainly change going not the doctrine? >> the tone is very much changing. well, how i advocate is, i'm very concerned about the -- what our bishops are saying in rome being transferred here to the united states. and in other countries as well, of course. but here in the united states, the welcome that we want to see in the practical order is that we would not see firing of lesbian and gay people from church positions as we have seen continuously increasing in the last year or so. and the document also talks

about the rights of children. lesbian and gay couples who have children that we have to be concerned about their rights, and their needs, and unfortunately, we have bishops this our country who have put children of gay parents out of catholic schools. this is the kind of advocacy that we would like to see, that they will have the right to schooling, and to the sacraments. >> you would like to see those activities stop clearly. sister good to talk to you. founder of a catholic gay rights group. thank you. >> ban on same sex marriages, the judge rules the prohibition violated equal protection laws. back in 1998, alaska became the first state in the nation to

legally ban gay marriage. understandably big news for nation's oldest gay newspaper, the washington blade just celebrated 45 years of reporting on gay lesbian bisexual and transgender issues. the paper's history is also a history of how far gay rights have come in this country. lisa stark has that story. >> reporter: the latest edition of the washington blade is rolling off the presses. the paper hasn't missed a week in publishing since it began in october of 1969, launched just months after the stone wall riots in new york city, tired of police harassment fought back. it marked a beginning of the gay rights movement. >> at that time like so many gay people i was sort of coming out to myself. >> lou chavarro has written for the blade nearly as long as the paper has been around. when he began as a freelance

writer most reporters kept their identities hidden. he wrote under an assumed name. >> that was an era where no one knew what would happen, that is not situation today. >> his byline read, lou romano up until late. when he reported on a fire at a gay bar where eight men died. >> they didn't know it until they met their demise sadly in this fire and i was covering this story and i said i think it's probably time for me to start writing under my real name. there's no real reason why i shouldn't. >> reporter: just as its reporters have evolved so too has the paper. that first issue a simple one-page handout. this week, a 72-page edition featuring that original front page. then called the gay blade the

free newspaper was designed to help the community find resources and find each other. >> just picking up the paper and knowing as a high school student or whatever, that there was a whole world ready for you when you were finally ready to come out. it was really reassuring. >> first writing in 1981 about a strange new cancer killing gay men, i.t. would overwhelm the -- it would overwhelm the community and the blade . >> the number of obituaries we had to write was sad. the dying of so many people the apparent inertia on the part of the government to take steps to address the issue in the early years. >> reporter: today's stories would have been once almost unimaginable from the opening of the ban on openly gay service

members to the ban of same sex marriages. >> falling away faster than almost as fast as we can write about them. >> reporter: and continue to write they will. fascinated by what the next 45 years might bring. lisa stark, al jazeera, washington. >> got to tell you lots of other stories making news around america here it wil here. ines is here. >> lawyers accused the archdiocese, for not warning the parishioners about a potentially abusive priest. two little new hampshire boys injured, one critically, when a bounce house went airborne. the two and three-year-old boys were in an inflatable structure when a gust of wind lifted it

off the ground and carry it away. >> we saw the bouncy house come up and slam back down and then it takes off 60 to 70 feet in the air and travels maybe 50 to 150 away and slams both of our children into the ground. >> the owner says the bouncy house was only set up to dry out from recent rains and was closed to guests but the boy's father says a farm volunteer led him to believe it was open. an air traffic control center in the chicago area reopened today two weeks after arson forced it to close. air travel was disrupted nationwide on september 26th with thousands of flights cancelled. a contract worker who tried to kill himself after allegedly setting the fire faces felony charges. and police in philadelphia found the prosthetic leg from a man who was a fixture outside of sports venues, before last

night's game he said a young woman made off with his leg. >> i didn't even pay it no attention because you know when you are out there at an eagles game when you're tailgating and having fun. and it just happened. you know, it happened so quick. she was young and you know, when you down there at a game partying she was probably inebriated. but somebody need to talk to her. she don't need to go to jail. >> reporter: the leg was found on a subway train. and police are still look for the person. >> sonny says i'm taking things on the sunny side of life. i did just say that. it was a good game too if you are an eagles fan. ines thank you. now we are going to alaska, a key battle ground state, providing health care to employees despite the cause.

and checking in on dallas, where ebola has killed one and sickened another. the mayor's take on that situation is up next.

>> a freelance cameraman k ashoka mukpo says he's feeling better. mukpo said today, back on twitter, feeling i'm on the way to good health. posting some thoughts, endless gratitude for the good thoughts. dallas health care worker somehow contracted the disease from a patient there. adam may has more from dallas where he just spoke to the mayor. adam what's the latest? >> tony the big headlines right

now is that health care worker does remain in stable condition which you just mentioned the cdc very concerned about the possibility of other workers here at the hospital testing positive for ebola. and then the third big headline right now, the cdc considering revamping their ebola response plans. this comes after a lot of criticism of what has happened here in dallas and the infection of this nurse and one of the people who has been highly critical of this plan is the mayor of dallas mike rawlings. a very candid conversation we just had and says things need to change and he believes other cities should probably start taking action now. >> we're anxious every day. i look at the reports about our monitoring of people and it's a concerning thing. >> reporter: how satisfied are you with the state and federal response to this? >> you know at the very beginnings i would have liked everything to move maybe 24 hours quicker.

but that's probably unrealistic. you do have when you think about it federal, state, county, city, and private organization you have to work with. i think rural definition is really important early on in the process. >> what you have seen in dallas with the cdc with state health officials should this happen somewhere else in the u.s. are we adequately prepared for this? >> you know i think each of the organizations are adequately prepared. the tricky part is what we talked about before. is clarifying roles and responsibilities as a team, and so everybody knows what play they're supposed to run to make this thing work. and if there's a new place, that's what i would be coaching them on. probably that first 12 hours, clarifying each and everybody's role, will help you move faster through the process. that's got to be done realtime.

>> reporter: so the mayor going on there to say that definitely there are some work flow issues with the organizational ways in which they try to fight this ebola virus. another big thing people are talking about here in dallas is airport screening. it is done at five airports across the u.s. just started over the weekend. dallas fort worth is not one of those airports. it has people here rather concerned. the mayor weighing in on that controversy. we'll have more coming up on our special report at 9:00 eastern time tony. >> adam may, thank you. just to mention, at the top of the hour the director of the cdc suggested there may be the possibility that there might be more ebola cases coming from the treatment of thomas duncan in dallas and now we're hearing from the associated press that about 70, seven zero, hospital staffers involved in the care of

thomas duncan, the ebola patient, might or at least being looked at at this point. 70. being looked at. i don't have that they're showing any symptoms but at least the associated press is giving a number of people, 70, who will be monitored closely. and adam will have more with his interview with the dallas mayor that's coming up tonight on "america tonight." that's 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific. in alaska republican senate candidate dan sullivan has been attacking mark begich over obamacare. allen schauffler is here. allen. >> this is a pocketbook issue of the most basic kind in alaska. certainly a consideration for voters. as a health care market alaska

is small isolated and expensive. as a place geographically, of course it is enormous but lots of people in hard to reach spots and that is a major reason for high cost. insurance premiums up 12% each of the last five years. we talked to business owner stan sellman, in anchorage, who thinks obamacare is one of the portions layered into the last frontier. lunch rush at the oldest steak house in anchorage, club paris. they've always paid for their employees health care and today those costs are soaring. >> about 16 to 18 thousand a month for health care for 25 people. >> with so few employees, club paris is not legally required to provide health insurance under the affordable care act but they do it anyway because that's the way stan's dad would have wanted it. coverage does have to meet aca

standards and the restaurant pays more than $200,000 a year, one of a declining number of alaska businesses still providing insurance for workers. >> i just keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep paying the bills and right now we're doing all right. >> reporter: in alaska the word outside is often capitalized, capital o, it's a proper now, it's the place where the rest of us live and the rest of us pay a lot less for health care. it can be so expensive here that many insurers will pay to fly patients to the lower 48 rather than having treatment here. it's just cheaper that way. specialty care can cost four times the national average, basic hospital costs 50% higher. as club paris worker sheila found out.

>> they rent you a blanket for $12 a day. it adds up and adds up and adds up. >> alaska is one of the states that chose to let the federal government manage the affordable care act. incumbent democrat mark begich and republican dan sullivan both candidates are bar bashing the r over health care. alaska ranks, the only more expensive than anchorage are fairbanks and juneau. >> five days in alaska. that's 8:00 and 11:00. tornado killed one person in arkansas and damaged homes there and louisiana. kevin corriveau is here.

cifn. >> that's right tony -- kevin. >> that's right tony. parts of louisiana, so far we have seen six tornadoes go through the region starting this morning. they're really starting to pop up this afternoon especially with the heating of the day as well as we're seeing a lot of wind damage pushing through. a well defined line here making its way through alabama and mississippi down through new orleans. that is going to continue into alabama as well. later on it's going to be parts of georgia. you can see all the damage we're talking about and those red dots right here indicate the tornadoes we are seeing. unfortunately this is going to go on tomorrow as well as into tomorrow evening and you can see the warnings that are in effect right now. it's really into parts of indiana as well as into parts of tennessee that we are seeing the tornado warnings. but wait until you see those oranges. we are seeing severe weather warnings. the wind is going to be extremely dangerous. it's going to be a bumpy night.

>> thank you kevin. today is not columbus day, it's indigenous people's day in many states and the backlash. it's next.

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with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera, only on al jazeera america >> the cities around the country are celebrating columbus day but some want the holiday to be reconsidered. seattle and minneapolis have both passed proposals to rename the day indigenous people's day, honoring the people who lived here before columbus arrived in 1492. across social media, people are reacting and ines is back. ines. >> yes, tony. abolish columbus is one of the hashtags, here. united states map here with the title american india tribes.

over at the university of new mexico they are having banner drops like this one, this stolen land and francesca writes, columbus was not a hero. some are using humor to get their points across, especially there columbus day sales. this one says, i thought columbus day meant i could take whatever i want. mayor quomo in new york city posted this poster, and petition going on to save columbus day. >> really. >> the petition asks the white house organize an official celebration to recognize columbus day. >> i don't see that happening. >> want to tell us what you think, follow me on twitter. >> ines thank you. that is all our time. "real money" with ali velshi is next. we encourage you to head on our to our website, aljazeera.com,

there it is, aljazeera.com. more news in one hour's time. our's time. the top doctor at the centers for disease control now says his experts need to rethink their strategy to stop the spread of ebola, now that a health-care worker has been infected. plus economic war games in washington, i'll tell you what america and britain hope to find out. plus plunging oil prices puts some of