and is america failing its poorest college students? the conversation continues, @ajconsiderthis and you can tweet me @amora.tv. see you next time. hi everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. containing ebola. more health workers could be at rick. why the c.d.c. says it's time to rethink how they handle the disease. after the arrest - the high school hazing scandal. seven players charged. parents outraged and a town torn apart. vatican shifts - catholic bishops hint at more tolerance

for gays. some call it betrayed. >> molly rink walled, actress, mother - she talks to me about her films and surprising new career. rinkri, actress, mother - she talks to me about her films and surprising new career. rink we begin with a fight against ebola, and the nationwide effort to detain the virus. after the first case on soils, the center for disease control says it's team to rethink all of america's infection control. robert ray has more. >> reporter: don't be surprised if more health workers become infected in the coming days. >> all of us have to work together to do what is possible to reduce the risk of any other healthcare worker. >> reporter: that's the message from america and hospitals from doctor thomas freedom at the

centers for disease control, following the quarantine of a dallas hospital worker wearing protective gear, and has been diagnosed with the virus. >> there's two different steps. the first is diagnosis. and every hospital in this country needs to think about the possibility of ebola and anyone with a fever or other symptoms that may be consistent who travelled to any of the three countries in the previous 21 days. second is the issue of care, and we are working closely with the hospital to make that care simpler, and easier with hands on training, hands on oversight and monitoring. >> reporter: in dallas the center for disease control says it is increasing monitoring and contract tracing for hospital worker who cared for the now

diseased thomas eric duncan. >> it's been a tough day for the hospital staff. we knew it was a possibility that one of the health care workers would become infected. it's disappointing. >> reporter: the c.d.c. said a breach of protocol caused the worker to become infected. no one nose what or when the breakdown occurred. >> since we don't know what the exposure was, but we know there was an exposure, we have to cast the net more widely in terms of monitor, and monitor a larger portion. >> the c.d.c. has 150 investigators on the ground in dallas. they are investigating how the workers took off their protective gear, and suits. and what needs to change so others are not infected. >> the existence of the first case of ebola spreading in the u.s. changes some things but not others. it doesn't change the fact that

we know how ebola spreads or that it is possible to take care of ebola safely. but it does change, substantially, how we approach it. >> reporter: the c.d.c. says they are doubling down on training efforts and communication. they are going to talk to thousands of health care workers and hospitals in the coming days to prepare people for an ebola-infected person. in the meantime nurses out of oakland california have been contacting the c.d.c. for weeks saying their people are not up to speed, they are not trained, and there are a lot of questions out there. dr thomas frieden on the defense, trying to make the situation better robert ray reporting our coverage continues with science and technology correspondent jacob ward, joining us from dallas. jake. >> well, the infection of the health worker at the medical

facility behind me in dallas raised questions of wheer other hospitals are prepared to deal with ebola. here is the thing it understand - almost any hospital can isolate a patient for a time. the true containment units that you need to quarantine people for a long time, there's few of them in the united states. most facilities can handle it, it's really just these four. the first is the national institutes of health in bethesda, maryland. emory in atlanta. nebraska center in omaha, and st. patrick hospital in montana. the government could move future ebola cases to one of those four. new york city does not have one, the state of california does not have one. they are very rare. >> so, jake, treating an ebola patient means dealing with a lot of contaminated materials. what do hospitals do with it?

>> that is a great limiting factor here. it's not just a question of having enough garments on hand, enough rubber gloves, bleach, it's the disposal of that waste can, in fact, limit the number of cases that you can bring in at one time. the director of the nursing unit at the nebraska facilities says that the autoclaves used to destroy these things - those are really seriously limited resource and she explained about that. >> the autoclaving is a limiting factor for now. i know there's a lot of work across the country to work on the waste management issue, and how to better manage that, because autoclaves are not something that every hospital has. >> really, in the end it's limiting. nebraska can really only take in 2-3 ebola patients at a time, and it's one of four facilities

that can hang on to a patient for a period of time. a stretching of our resources very thin in our resource-rich county we call home. >> we ask the mayor of dallas how the city, state and federal levels reacted to the news of an ebola patient in texas. >> i would have liked to see everything move 24 hours quicker, it's probably unrealistic. you have, when you thick about it, federal -- think about it, federal, state, county - the definition is important you can watch the interview with the mayor of dallas on "america tonight". coming up at the top of the hour it was a day of civil disobedience for protesters in ferguson, missouri. hundreds demonstrated against the police shooting. both young men were 18, both killed in st louis, both shot by

white police officers. ashar quraishi has more. >> reporter: linking arms and marching through the streets, protesters, clergy men and act fists headed to headquarters. the shooting of unarmed michael brown brought young and old together. >> to have the younger generation saying we are coming together. you have white brothers, brown sisters, red brother and sisters, asian - it's a beautiful thing. >> cornwell west says it's a the passing of the torch to a civil movement. the weekend included rallies and performances by hip-hop artists who said the message is growing. >> fight back. don't take it. you don't have to take it. i think - i tell people all the time, once you get over the fear of what can happen, you'll beokay. the goal was to meetway ferguson

police -- meet with ferguson police, or germ arrest in an act of civil desobedience. they asked why there has been no arrest in the case. [ chanting ] >> reporter: frustration and distrust linger in the absence of inditment of darren wilson. >> we are going to tear down the walls of structural race. and white soup rem si. >> reporter: police in riot gear and rain coats cordoned off the building. some protesters made it to the steps of police station. >> this is for all colours willing to put their bodies on the line. >> protesters broke the line. >> i've been arrested. it is our moral call and duty to step up and be present in in hour right now.

>> this man travelled from chicago. >> it is important to me because i am a child of god, and these are my children. and their blood is on the street. >> reporter: it is a sentiment bringing many from so far away to the streets of ferguson. an effort to speak and give voice to those that no longer can attorney areva martin joins us from los angeles. welcome. >> hi, john. >> why does it take so long to go to the grand jury process with regards to the michael brown shooting? >> one thing we need to remember is first of all it only meets once a week. they made it clear until then that the meeting with the grand jurors are available. we are not certain, john, that they are meeting every wednesday. we don't know how many days during the last couple of months they have come together to

review the evidence presented. so the time could well just be, you know, expanded because these individuals are not even meeting on a consistent basis. this is a secretive process. we don't know about what is going on. >> the prosecutor didn't need to go to the grand jury, did he? >> no, he did not. one was to file a complaint and charge with murder, manslaughter, or some other crime under the missouri penal statute, or go to the grand jury, which is what was involved. it is a secretive process. we don't know who the grand jurors are, what evidence is presented to them, or how long it will take them. we are hearing that they expect to get back some information by mid november i understand you spoke with members of the community. what do you hear from them? >> the main sentiment i'm

hearing is this is not your mama's civil rights march or movement. this protest around mike brown and the other shooting and led by young people, as young as 15-year-olds. college students. some adults had been on the streets protesting for 66 days, and some of the young people believed that the older civil rights leadership is not listening to them, and they are not relinquishing the mantle of leadership. there's a little tension between the younger generation and the older civil rights leaders. >> how do police change the culture. >> a lot of work to be done. i grow up in the st louis community. this didn't happen overnight. we are talking about years and years of mistrust, an african american community that feels disinfranchised. we look at the numbers in terms of ferguson, the leadership.

the few numbers of african-american leaders in the community, based on the numbers much people that live in the community. i think it will take a big investment from the governor, to the attorney-general to the mayor of ferguson to say it's important to educate people, encourage them. we need to see more people registering the vote, take the actions that can lead to systematic change. that happens when people are registered and they go to the polls we'll talk later. stand by for a second, please. >> north korea's leader has not been seen in public for 40 days. today pictures of him appeared in north korean state media. the state press said he toured a new res dep shall distribute -- residential distribute and science academy. the report did not say what day he made the visit. personal discomfort has been blamed for his absence.

>> reporter: we woke up to the news that the supreme leader attended an ech in a residential complex. he was overseeing the construction site, expressing satisfaction for the houses built. the video had no date. it's not clear when this happened, but it appeared on state television early on toose morning. it's been interesting, because this last month we visited some of the complexes built in pyongyang, where we were talking to people about how they felt about the leader not seen for at least a month, and they were crying, saying they were crying every day, telling us how much they miss their leader and wanted him back on state television, it gives them reassurance that everything is going okay in their country. the appearance is significant for the country, because kim

jong un had not been seen on state television. there has been lots of rumours about health and the political situation in the country. people are a bit more at peace now that he's back on state media now to hong kong. police are clearing the streets with force, removing barricades put up by pro democracy demonstrators. some had been carrying chainsaws. violent protests broke out yesterday when police started this campaign. divia is in hong kong with more on the story. what is the latest. >> john, this is a well-org notified operation by the police. they have all the equipment they need. they have shields, helmet,

everything they need. chainsaws to take down the barricades. they also have - some of them were seen with pepper spray. none of that has been used, i have to highlight. it has been, this morning, in the past couple of hours. what they have done is made sure the protesters stood on one side. they did not try to beat the police cordon. a lot stood there. an emotional moment for them. it's clear that the processes are going to go that way. >> do we have any idea what the protestor's plans will be moving forward. we are looking at live pictures, by the way, of some of the pictures now. >> one of the main protest

leaders has spoken in the last few minutes. they are going to regroup, fortify the other area. in the past few days i am sure you've seen something like a tent city coming up on the highway. they want to concentrate and protect the area. they are taking down - the protesters are saying there's about 1,000 police in the vicinity. for the moment. this is a significant bargaining chip. they haven't seen many protesters. they have been important. they have been talking to the government and using it as a bargaining tool. now they've lost the point of negotiation. >> that report from hong kong. thank you very much. >> i.s.i.l. fighters are making

a new push to baghdad. i.s.i.l. could take control of anbar in iraq. stretching from the syrian border to the capital. iraqi forces withdrew from a base. in some instances they are using guerilla tack bikes, there is a group called white shroud saying it killed more than 100 i.s.i.l. fighters. >> there are victory views on what turkey has agreed to. white house national security advisor susan rice granted on sunday, granting the u.s. and coalition forces permission to use bases to build opposition forces, agreed to by turkey.

they expected to use ender lick base in turkey. turkey is pushing back on the commitments, denying that it reached a new agreementing saying negotiations are under way. we asked the white house for clarification, and it is standing by what susan rice had to say. rice didn't talk about specific bases nor air strikes. you can see the level of complication and nuance in the negotiations with turkey. conversations continue this week. the delegation tries to pursue diplomatic talks. turkey has its own goals. they want to see the fight brought to bashar al-assad's leader, and wants to see them taken down. the u.s. is focussed on destroying the united states. and defining the goal. turkey would like to see a border area, a buffer zone between its country and syria,

in the hope of stemming the tide of refugees, and a place to train the opposition forces. all will be on the table and in discussions as negotiations continue this week. >> libby casey reporting from the white house. >> next - the high cost of health care in alaska. why some are forced to leave the state for treatment. we spend five days in alaska plus, molly ringwald is known for her roles in "80 movius. but now she is getting back to her true love, music.

alaska plays an important role in the upcoming elections. it's one of the crucial states. one of things that matters is health care and what it costs. allen schauffler has more on that in "america votes 2014 - 5 days in alaska." >> in alaska, it is a pocket book issue and a consideration for voters. as a health care market it is small, isolated and expensive. the state is huge with far flung population centers and that's a big reason why prices cost so much. they go through the koouf. and it's one of the factors. layered in for medical care.

>> lump -- lunch rush at the oldest steak house. this family opened it in the 1950s and always paid for the workers health care. >> before 16 to 18,000 a month for health care for 25 people. >> reporter: with so few employers, the club is not required to provide health insurance under the affordable care act. they do it, because that's the way stan's dad would have wanted it. coverage has to meet aca standards. they have to pay $200,000 a year. one of the businesses still providing health care for worker. >> i put one foot in front of the other and pay the bill. we are doing all right. >> in alaska, it is capitalized. it's a place name, a place where

the rest of us live, and the rest of us pay a lot less for health care. it can be so expensive that many insurers pay to fly patients to the low 48, rather than having the treatment done here. >> specialty care can cost four times the u.s. average. primary care is higher, basic hospital cost 50% higher. as club paris waitress discovered after major surgery. >> you get the itemised bill and it's $25 for aspire in. they rent you a blanket for $12 a day. it adds up. >> reporter: alaska is one of 19 states that chose to let the federal government manage the health care market under the affordable care act. in a tight but contentious senate race between republican democrat and mark sullivan, both are bashing the other over

health care. as in races all over the country, sullivan links his democratic opponent when ever possible to obama care. and in this campaign appearance, senator baggage made a point of highlighting occasional disagreements with the administration. back at club paris, sheila will make ballot decisions based on what is best for her family and counts her blessing that work means health care coverage. >> i couldn't afford to stay here if i didn't have it. >> dan sellman looks ahead and hopes he can continue to afford the coverage for his employees. >> i hate to be a doom and gloom guys, but we are a small family opened business without deep pockets. i feel you can only sell a piece of meat for so much funny. >> as a city, health care is

fourth for costs. the others are in alaska. not the list where you want all the top spots allen schauffler reporting. we'll see allen back tomorrow to baulk about the ballot over minimum age. our special airs friday night storms tore through the heart of the country, spotting tornados, leaving communities reeling. dangerous weather on the way. meteorologi meteorologist kevin corriveau is here to tell us more about it. i want to take you here and show you what happened. to monroe in louisiana. we saw a bit of damage, wind damage, structural damage. a lot of people lost power and are without power in this area. across the border they are dealing with a similar situation

where thousands of people - trees came down, thousands lost their power. we are looking in the area, not just arkansas, but 12 tornado came across the region. here, notice that the thunder storms have not lost much intensity as we have gone into the evening hours. storms are continuing to move through alabama into georgia, and we think it will be a severe weather day tomorrow, specially when the heating day heats up. we are looking at a few tornado warnings, but alabama, tennessee is looking at tornado. it may cool down, but tomorrow it will be a clear weather down. we are watching whether up here. bermuda is in sites

thank you very much. coming up next - a high school football team might be kept off the field for years because of a hazing scandal. why some parents think it's going too far 16 years later matthew shepherd is remembered - his life and legacy.

welcome back to al jazeera america, i'll john seigenthaler in new york. coming up, it may be a few years before football returns to a new jersey high school. a few years. 17 arrested and banned over a hazing scandal a shift from the vatican when it comes to gay rights and same-sex marriage. and molly ringwald gets back to her roots, before making it big on the big screen our top story, the race to stop the spread of ebola. the world health organisation is calling ebola the most severe acute health emergency seen in modern times. >> we have to rethink the way we address ebola infection and control. even a single infection is unacceptable. >> the c.d.c. says changes to

infection protocol will be nationwide. health care workers in dallas - the first thing to be reviewed how the health care workers take off the protective gear. they'll look at dialysis and incubation procedures, all having the penalty of spreading the virus. the pastor of the newly infected health care workers says the woman received a blood transfusion from an ebola survivor and is in good spirits. heidi zhou-castro has more. >> reporter: inside the same hospital where she struggled to save thomas eric duncan's life, a health care workers fight for her own. >> she's a her scroic health care -- heroic health care professional that we all need to be concerned for and pray for. she has a great family. >> reporter: how are their spirits? >> they are great people, and a family handling this with grace,

but obviously they are extremely concerned for their daughter and sister. >> al jazeera is respecting the family's request for privacy and not identifying her. a county judge, the chief emergency response officer, says a team of outside medical experts joined the treatment team. >> we are bringing in the best in the country to work alongside the doctors and make sure she gets the very best care known to man. >> the health care workers apartment has been cordoned off, and there has been disoont act ist -- constant activity. >> reporter: hazmat crews have been coming in. the home is empty, save 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 the

dogs. >> reporter: dogs can carry ebola without showing symptoms. the c.d.c. is interview other workers that had contact with thomas eric duncan, lab workers, co-worker. >> we prefer to have the task finished by now. we know the teams are working hard. >> another disturbing story from a locker room of a new jersey high school. members of a championship football team accused of sexually abusing four team-mates as part of a hazing ritual. morgan radford has the latest. >> the accused players were arrested over the weekend and because they are between 15 and 17 years old, their names have not been officially released. now two websites follow recru recruiting say penn state revoked a scholarship. penn state hasn't commented on the report. as for the rest of the team.

the school superintendent cancelled the inclusion after three games. >> we cancelled the season after information provided to us that there were acts of harassment and bullying at a wide-scale level na was accepted and tolerated bit the athletes. >> school officials are responding to some parents, who say that cancelling the season is too harsh, especially for the players not involved. >> i understand the concern of the parents. they are looking out for their children. when you look at the community, the rehabilitation is not reflective of the community. >> hundreds showed support for the teens that came forward. >> i want the young men to know this is their community, we care, support you and stand with y you. praise the young men that spoke up >> reporter: courage to stand up and courage to heel.

the prosecutor in that case has 30 days to decide whether or not to try any of those players as adults. >> reporter: attorney areva martin joins us once again from los angeles. who is ultimately held responsibility for this - the students, coaches, school system? >> it can be all three. we are talking about young men, seven young me accused of serious crimes. so clearly they are facing criminal prosecution and as the reporter said, we are not sure if they are going to be tried in juvenile court or if there'll be a filing of a waiver of prosecutors to move it to an adult court. we know investigators are looking at the coaches and the school. what did they know about the hazing, when did they know it and if they took action to prevent it happening. >> how difficult are these to

prosecute. >> it could be difficult. one of the advantages is in this case. several individuals in charged. what we are likely to see is the defense attorneys, and they are going to have different lawyers. those encouraging their clients to come forward, seeking a deal. if you go to the prosecutor, and you have information leading to a conviction of one of the other offenders, you are likely to get a leap yet sentence. -- lenient sentence. we should expect to see plea deals, particularly if a waiver is filed by the prosecutor to seek removal from juvenile court to adult course. >> you are a judge of justice and fairness, is it fair for the whole team to suffer for what some have done. >> i'm a children's rite advocate. i think it was the yet decision. i know it hurts the other kids. what we heard him say is this is pervasive.

it may not be limited to seven individuals charged. if we want to stop bullying and hazing, we need to take bold, files controversial actions to get it done. i applaud the superintendent. i feel bad for the other students, but we must put an end to the torture happening on high school campuses. >> should they be tried as adults much. >> i don't think they should be charged as adult. i think one losing a scholarship. they are facing time in the juvenile or adult court. i want them to be rehabilitate. that can't happen in state prince. they can in a juvenile detention center, which is likely to be the punishment. >> if they are convicted, will they become sex offenders. >> yes, they'll have to be part of a sex registry. it will impact their lives forever. we heard about a college

scholarship exterminated. they'll be expelled, they'll probably have to finish high school in a juvenile decontinuings. it's sad. we are talking about teenagers, some as young as 15. sometimes kids make decisions with life-changing impacts. that's the case with respect to the seven young boys. >> good to have you on the programme. >> thank you. >> it was 16 years ago this month that a gay college student in wyoming was beaten, tide to a fence and left for dead. his name was matthew shepherd. his death sparked nationwide protests over gay rights. today the hate crimes bars his name. we hear from the head of the matthew shepherd's foundation about his friend's life and legacy. >> matt, before becoming a symbol and a rallying cry for

the l.g.b.t. was a person from caspe wyoming who was going to university, who was openly gay, 21 years old, part of a small community of gay people in wyoming. and the fate that befell him made his name famous. and not as much is known about him as a person, and he had a tremendous interest in civil rights. he was interested in human rights around the world, particularly women's rights and developing nations and unquality in the world, and he was passionate about these things needed to be fixed while they mattered. matt's murderer was a major news story, and it illustrated the phenomenon of violence against lesbian and gay and transgender people in a way that captured the world attention. it put a face on this crime.

people knew that this kind of thing happened to gay people, but had no idea the severity of the level of violence, the competitive blows to the head that were hopelessly unnecessary for a fear robbery. it struck an emotional cord with countless people. a lot were gay people living in the closet. who went to work in the closet, who went to church in the closet, who didn't take advantage of their freedom to live their lives, and in large part i was one of those people. we continue 16 years later doing the work in matt's name to hear from people like myself, people that came from places like mat came from, rural areas, smaller communities that now are able to emerge from secrecy. matt's story is powerful today to take the step forward. we are possibly nearing the end

of a struggle for marriage equality, but we are at the beginning of a struggle for equal treatment in l.g.b.t. schools. bullying issues are grasping attention. statistically year over year there's a number of hate crimes. the number remains stubbornly at the same level. matt will be snapping his fingers saying don't give up. the fight is not over. we have a role to play with it. >> talk of change. a vatican document says gays have gifts and qualities to offer the christian communities. critics say the bishop's statement betrays family values. we have that story. >> reporter: this group of 200 bishops shows openness to an issue the church considers

controversial. >> we must consider, and being homosexual doesn't mean that it must not be recognised and promoted. >> reporter: homosexuality is an issue that the church says they need to explore and understand. they said in a report: gay rites advocates say the statement is a breakthrough. >> les by jps and gays that i know -- lesbians and gays that i know are happy. they are finally hearing words of welcome, that they wanted to hear for years and years. >> church teaches homosexual tendencies are not sinful, but homosexual acts are.

some denied communion are fired from church. pope francis signalled a new tone to homosexuality commenting who am i to judge. church conservatives blasted the bishop's report, calling it one of the worse documents drafted in church history saying: the bishops will issue a final report next week. it is gathering to change church doctrine, but is setting a tone and could lead to changes in catholicism. it didn't signal a change, but reiterated that marriage is between man and a woman. it called on pastors to treat divorced catholics who remarried with respect. >> roxanne sabbary reporting. what happiness to voters as elections near. it shows that republicans are

taking the lead with almost eight out of nine important issues. including fighting i.s.i.l., taxes and immigration. according to the gallop, an important issue that democrats are ahead on is equal pay for women. michael shure is a political contributor. why are democrats - why aren't they leveraging issues like the economy. >> that's a great question. if they know it's an important part of running for washington. it's a question as to why they wouldn't communicate better. they have the jobs and economy to run on. one thing to be cautious of, when you look at the numbers, you should be cautioned that these are a series of elections, where the global issues in that order matter. you read into the poll 50 to 34

say the democrats have a better appreciation of who we are, of the voters. the democrats can win on that. you saw tonight in the kentucky debase. mitch mcconnell and alison lundergan grimes, it was about who voted for who in the last election. you see alison lundergan grimes dodging whether they voted for obama. >> fighting i.s.i.l., does that help the republican party, or not? >> i think it does. i think you look at the missteps of the obama administration, and they translate that to the voters. it does translate. i'll take the arkansas race. tom cotton against mark pryor. tom cotton is a veteran, someone with military experience. he can go out and say this is how i will do it, giving him a bit of juice, foreign policies, and obama care is an issue off the charts.

unfortunately for republicans, they are not able to make hay out of it. the democrats can't capitalize on it. >> does that indicate the democrats are out of touch with the issues that voters care about. this sa struggle for the democrats. >> it is. they have to rely on the fact that people vote for the candidate. that goes back to the 30-34. the poll said the democrats identify with people and their problems. if the democrats do that. maybe they cap pull a surprise, where issues are not as important as who is on the ballot and what the people like. >> let me show a political add, and we have a quick sound byte by wendy davis. it's getting a lot of tension in texas. >> a tree fell on greg ab opt. he sued and got millions, since then he spent his career working against other convictions.

abbott argued a woman whose leg was amputated was not disabled because she had an artificial limb. he sided with a hospital failing to stop a surgeon who paralyzed patients. greg abbott - he's not for you. >> critics fear that abbott's disability is used against him. what do you thing? >> it's a jarring ad. i spoke to a reporter, what traction it's getting what people are saying. it's getting a bit of what davis wanted. she held a press conference and doubled down on the use of the ad. it has 400,000 hits on youtube. when you are talked about in politics, even if it's not so good, it gives you the attention that you want. it remind people about a retiring senator, saying that he

was showing pictures of bin laden, sometimes you have unseemly adds that resonate with the public, and make them speak, in this case about hypocrisy on the issue of americans with disabilities. >> thank you. our picture of the day is next - plus from movies to music, actress molly ringwald talks about her career outside of hollywood.

this storm has turned into a hurricane, making its way across iguala and to the virgin islands. it will get stronger in the next couple of hours. we don't expect a land fall in port-au-prince. the showers are starting. this is what we expect to see. right now a category 1 storm

becoming a category 2 to the north of the island. we are out of clear. until we get to the weekend, we are talking about bermuda. that could be seeing a category 2 storm. it's expected to be a major hurricane. we are looking at severe weather pushing in. it's going to be ohio, west virginia to the carolinas. as we go from the rest of the week, that'll move out to maine, and the rest of the united states will be clear. temperatures will be warm. anywhere from new york. that is fuelling the weather. we have cooler temperatures coming in. more news is coming up after this.

molly ringwald is synonymous with the '80s, starring in "great in pink", and others. now she's taking on a job as a jazz singer. i sat to talk to her. >> i was a jazz singer before i did anything else. my father, bob ringwald is a jazz mousse irnal. -- musician. i started to sing with him. that's pretty much what i did. i was doing community theatre and getting interested in that, and i switched to the acting and

focussed on that. >> jazz was your first love. >> yes. ♪ i want to... >> in addition to your father, who were your influences? >> pretty much everyone my dad played for me. i wanted to be betsy smith. in the second grade there was an assignment to come to class dressed as a famous american. the boys wept as thomas smith or jefferson. and the women were others, and i dressed as betsy smith and brought in my father. i thought it would happen. i thought i would grow up black. happen. my focus changed. my early influences were betsy

smith, ella fitzgerald and buddy hollow day. >> one of my favourites is your interpretation of "don't forget about me", what's your thoughts behind that? >> when i put the album together, tom hughes passed away. he directed the films that i'm known for "the breakfast club", "16 candles", and "pretty in pink." it was a surprise, he died young. i was thinking about him a lot. it came out of a rehearse am. i said to the pianist, is there any way to do a jazz version. i don't think there's an original cord in my version. i thought it would be a nice tribe out to him. ♪ don't you ♪ forget about me i want to talk about the

past and the present. you are at the carlisle now. >> i'm at the hotel carlisle until the 18th, tuesday through saturday. sundays and mondays off. >> a multifaceted career. all of us go back to the films. when people say you were great in the films, you did so long. how does that grab you? >> obviously the movies i did with john hues are the most well-known. no matter what i do, i'll be known for that. then i have people that love the books that i have written, and they know the music or have only seen me in the stand or loved the sidney sherman movie. i have done a lot of different things. >> at a young age, how did you deal with the success. >> in certain ways it was overwhelming. i have a great family and a strong survival instinct. and i thing that i was always in

it for the long haul. >> i told you i have a 17-year-old, and we watched with my 17-year-old last week. first of all, it holds up. not just holds up, but is a film that resonates later. but it speaks to kids in a big way. in this generation. which is a real flattering comment about that film, i think. >> it's true, and it speaks to a wide-ranging of people. i notice when i do performances. i sign c.d.s, and i have people coming up to me, and a hot of them are the parents of the kids that watched it in the first place, and the grown up kids that watch it. these films are something that they can agree upon. it's amazing. >> do you think music is your

passion, and will that continue. >> well, i'm definitely passionate about music, but i feel like i don't really want to have to choose. i think i spent a long time thinking i could only do one thing. there's something about our society that tells us you have to pick one thing, and that's it. i bought into that until i turned 40, and i realised why do i think i can only do one thing, and it kicked me into high gear, and i thought this is the time i'll do all that i want to do. >> it's a pleasure to meet you, and i hope you don't have to choose. >> now for a look at our picture of the day. the freeze frame comes from n.a.s.a. here halloween came a little early. they took the photo of a sun looking like a jacko lantern. people are calling it the

pumpkin son. that's our news cast. "america tonight" with joie chen is next. we'll see you here tomorrow night. >> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america

>> on "america tonight": how did it happen? a dallas health worker becomes the first in the u.s. to contract ebola while trying to help a sick patient. are u.s. health officials doing enough fast enough do they know enough to protect us? fears from the airport gates to hospital corridors. >> we're anxious every day. i look at the reports about our monitoring of people and it's a concerning thing. >> with "america tonight's" adam may in dallas, a city reeling with questions about how to stop