weekend. >> hi everyone, this is al jazeera america? i'm john siegenthaler in new york. direct hit, in the path of hurricane gonzalo. missing in the himalayas. expanding the search, stranded. the ebola czar who will now lead the u.s. response to the disease. and alaska. how america's biggest state could play an important role in the mid term election?

our personal report. we begin tonight in ber yeud w . feeling the hurricane force of hurricane gonzalo. it has battled this island with terrific waves and sustained winds, it's the most powerful to hit the island in a decade. paul beban has the latest. >> reporter: hurricane gonzalo has already been a powerful and destructive storm. one sailor was killed when it hit the island and others have fled. >> all you need to do is get ready for it. pray to the lord. and everything will go fine. >> reporter: islanders were

prepared to prepare for a powerful hit and hurricane gonzalo is delivering. storm surge is a big concern. there are reports of flooding near ber meu bermuda's airport. wind speed of hurricane fabian back in 2003, that storm caused $300 million in damage and took eight lives. gonzalo weakened when it hit bermuda but more is expected. >> for more, on hurricane bermuda let's go to our meteorologist, kevin corriveau. kevin. >> significant damage across the country, especially waking up at 7:00 a.m., when the sunrises. we are looking at the storm pushing through. i want to show you the radar

from the bermuda meteorological center. what they have experienced is the part of the storm, the northern part of the eye wall, moving north. calmer conditions because they are getting into the eye of the storm, right here. it's not going to last that long. once the eye moves over the island, we'll see the southern part of the storm and that's going to bring westerly winds. the storm is going to move through after midnight, things are going to duet much better once the storm moves through but 25 million people plus are without power. there. >> thank you kevin.

david lahada, journalist, you are seeing the effects of the eye right now. >> right in the middle of the eye. quite an eerie feeling. all you hear is the chirping of tree frogs, in the islands of bermuda, it's the calm before another storm which i do feel is going ocome hit us again any time soon john. >> what can you see? can you see any of the damage outside? >> i can. fortunately i'm situated in a very protected valley and i -- my personal home faces northwest. so i'm well protected. but you know, unfortunately

there are quite a few houses that are facing south, that you know, i noticed earlier in the day, when i was out and about, that are all -- that were, you know, in anticipation of what was coming. what i can see now is quite frankly a black night. i've lost power since 2:00 p.m. today. all my neighbors have lost power.all i see is darkness. i can't even see a glow of a street light which would be a normal thing for me to see right at this point. everything is quite dark. the only thing i do see is folks in the distance shining flashlights into the night sky because it is again, the quiet of the eye right now. so i think everyone is wondering what's about to happen next. >> david, thank you so much for talking to us tonight.

there are new developments in the case of the missing nigerian school girls. more than 200 girls were abducted by boko haram fighters. they struck a ceasefire deal with the rebel group and there's word that could include the girls' release and no confirmation from boko haram. >> reporter: the nigerian government says a ceasefire deal has been reached and talks to get the girls released is coming. president god luck jonathan has come under criticism. >> we're a bit concerned to see how many girls we're going to see and what condition they're going to be in because if some of them have been given out as wives, then what is the assurance that we have that when people say oh, none have them

have been harmed, they have been kept together and the rest of it, we don't know. >> president johnson is expected to announce his reelection bid. it's a convenient time, some feel. >> away we have discussed and some level of confidentiality. i can tell you categorically, we agreed next week. >> further details on the terms of the agreement including what happens to other prisoners still being held by boko haram remain unclear. some nigerians are skeptical. they don't believe the ceasefire will hold. the priority of the families of the missing girls is getting them home.

the administration hasn't given a time frame for when that will happen. al jazeera, lagos. >> there were concerns the girls would never be found. jonathan betz looks back. >> it was six months ago today, april 14th, 276 girls were taken from their boarding school in northern noornlg. nigeria. days later boko haram's leaders threatens to sell the girls as slave brides. first lady michelle obama joins others to demand their recovery. criticism of the nigerian government froze, in july, three months after the kidnapping,

president goodluck jonathan meets with their parents. >> director of social impact at technology firm thought works, welcome, thank you for being with us. >> great to be with you. >> what do you make of this announcement? >> well, i think for many we have the sense of cautious optimism. i think there is a sense there has been such a degradation of human dignity, both sides both for boko haram as well as for the nigerian military and that coming to an end of these atrocities would be a good thing all around. bringing forward a ceasefire, having that ceasefire fold would be a step forward. but it is cautious optimism because we don't know the

fullness of this agreement, in terms of what this means for not only northern nigeria but the rest of the country. the electoral process going to the presidential elections in 2015 and what it means for human rights and human dignity more broadly. >> the parents and families have had hopes before and those hopes have been dashed. we haven't heard from boko haram, we have heard from the government. does that raise concerns as well? >> well, i think we still have to understand. what is in this deal and on both sides. on the side of the government as well as the side of boko haram. so clearly, there's still -- we are waiting with baited breath to hear more detail. from the side of boko haram for many this abduction of the schoolchildren was just really the last straw. it was a sense that the atrocities had reached just a tipping point where ordinary people throughout the country said enough is enough. that the scale of violence and

the scale of disregard for human life was just disproportionate to anything acceptable. and so you know i think for boko haram coming the an end, coming to a ceasefire is something that they would also welcome because quite frankly, their brand if you can call it that, has taken a hit. because of the -- this incident, and the mass disregard for human life. >> so you're suggesting that maybe they crossed a line, and they might welcome a peace deal? >> well, i think for many, you know, especially people who are wanting to you ar support issuef justice and human dignity, coming to a resolution like this that has cost so many lives, whether it's nigerian military or boko haram, coming to a negotiated resolution of this crisis is one that many would welcome but the real test would

be to what extent, can the schoolchildren and other who have been held hostage, could their release be secured. >> we appreciate your appearance. >> thank you. >> many, teaching trainees were last seen in the southwestern state of guerrero, in cooperation with drug gangs, officials found mass dpraifs in the area where the students -- graves in the area where the students disappeared. so far no graves have been linked to the missing students. in the mountains of nepal, at least 31 people died in a freak snow storm on the popular anapurna trail. dozens are still missing. as rescue efforts expands expan.

sabina stresta with the latest. >> it's been four days since a snow storm hit the anapurna portion of nepal, guides taken shelter in valleys, continued their trek towards the 5400 meter pass, all had to be rescued. helicopters were transporting people in and out all day. while army medics treated the injured. and as the last few trekkers are brought to base, a body of a trekker is also throw flown in. this woman is visibly upset. >> my husband is still over there. he is make dying there too.

>> the leader tries to calm her. >> you see the weather is improving. assume that rolling cloud goes something left or something right. don't worry, madam we are not leaving your husband anywhere. >> the total lack of disaster preparedness, but also, the lack of communication since the disaster happened. the rescuers had to use most of their aviation fuel in recovering, rescuing, evacuating people who are trying to cross the torum pass. >> friends of the dead trekker identify the body. there is a window in the weather and the chopper takes off again. the last of the trekkers is brought, but there is no room for the people who rescued him. >> you are waiting in coldness for three hours or four hours, there was no rescue. >> as the weather takes a turn

for the worse, the army rescue team is left on the mountain. sabina shesta, al jazeera. >> some blame for the ebola outbreak in west africa. in a draft document obtained by the associated press the w.h.o. said it botched the initial response, lack of information. slow bureaucracy and internal corruption in its local office. the w.h.o. has not released the report publicly. more than 4500 people have died in the outbreak, half the cases so far. tonight president obama has put a former white house aid in charge of the ebola response. ron clane will be the ebola czar. >> lisa stark has the story.

>> mr. obama has tapped ron clane, seen here in 2009, hardly a household name but well-known in washington. >> googood afternoon. >> leaves his job with a venture capital firm for now. asked, why pick someone with no medical expertise? >> what we were looking for was not an ebola expert but rather an implementation expert. that's exactly what ron clane is, extensive management experience when it comes to the private sector. >> reporter: thursday night the president after meeting with his ebola team signaled that he was ready to consider an ebola czar. >> so it may make sense for us to add one person in part, just so that after this initial surge of activity, we can have a more

regular process just to make sure we are crossing all the ts and dotting all the is. >> there is much to coordinate. including the cdc's efforts to track anyone who might have been exposed to the virus. the screening of travelers at key u.s. efforts. u.s. a.i.d. struggling under thousands of ebola cases. the military effort could cost $750 million in the next six months but it is not enough. according to secretary of state john kerry. kerry says the rest of the world must step up its help. >> no one country. no individual group of nations is going to resolve this problem by themselves. this is going to take a

collective global response, all hands on deck. >> reporter: kerry warned if the outbreak in west africa is not stopped ebola has the potential to become like hiv or polio. a health hazard the world will be fighting for decades. secretary kerry says the united sayunitednations needs a billios for being control but has pledges for nearly half of that. >> the first dallas nurse to become infected with ebola, nina pham, has been moved. her condition has been upgraded from good to fair. >> i said she was in fair condition which implies that she does still have some symptoms. she is in good spirits. she is a highly intelligent, aware person who knows exactly what's going on. we fully intend to have this

patient walk out of this hospital. and we'll do everything we possibly can to make that happen. >> the second dallas nurse who contracted ebola from thomas eric duncan is in isolation in emory hospital in atlanta. the hospital has not released information about amber vinson's condition, that wos violate her confidentiawould violate her confidentiality. >> the ship, since ebola came to the u.s., we have learned some tough lessons about america's health care system. tonight we look at how the virus could affect the uninsured and

undocumented. our science and technology editor jake ward joins us. jake. >> especially how you consider this outbreak could have ripped through poorest and least prepared people when it came to health care. the people most at risk of ebola infection have been relatively easy to track down on this case, they were on board a plane together. anyone presenting certain symptoms will hopefully come into a hospital and get checked out but with 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the united states that's one out of every 28 people who can't afford either the cost of treatment or the legal exposure of a stay in the hospital. an outbreak in that community could have been much worse. those without health insurance typically put off care the longest. how could the cdc have reached them, where would they have gone for help? of the four largest states,

texas has the most uninsured residents. north africa, west african and shows that it's very hard to reach these people with any kind of health services much less the kind that come with an outbreak of something like ebola. in the face of possible symptoms someone without money or citizenship isn't necessarily going to come in for health care. >> you don't know what their day is like and it may involve these choices of medicine for me or food for whoever i'm taking care of in my house. when you look at things like this national crisis if you will, if it's the innon influenr ebola, you face these same challenges, food, ebola, i've got more problems that are more important for me to be

addressing right now. >> reporter: because of those difficulties, information doesn't move through this kind of american society in the kind of efficient way one would want during an outbreak. >> i would love to have smiesmsf or my health providers go directly, at those points but it's the intermediaries, tell us about us and get them on in here. >> ebola poses an almost insignificant threat to the u.s. population as compared to something like hiv, cancer or car accidents. but it has been revealed that in an outbreak the wrong kind of health care or, worse, not having access to it, is a danger to everyone. this john really goes to show that everyone needs to be brought up to the same standard

of care if we're going to be ready for a bigger more dangerous outbreak in the future. >> very true, jake ward in dallas thank you very much. coming up. stopping the advance of i.s.i.l. and how a brutal murder made its way into a nasty political ad in alaska.

>> a warning tonight from the commander of u.s. military forces in the middle east. army general lloyd austin, says it's possible that the syrian city of kobani could end up in i.s.i.l. hands. we'll get more from bernard smith. >> reporter: a barrage of u.s. led coalition air strikes in and around kobani in the last four days have halted the advance of fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant.

kurdish bodies are littering the streets. >> translator: i.s.i.l. fighters are still positioned in the southern and eastern suburbs of kobani. we are currently engaged in street battles with them. sometimes they manage to hide. >> reporter: the battle for kobani has taken place without the involvement of the the turkish military. the government here wants to target the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad as well as i.s.i.l. but the u.s. has only i.s.i.l. in its sights. if they send weaponry and ammunition for ypg the battle will be end in soon. and just few days. but if situation stays like this, the battle will be long. unfortunately. >> reporter: on friday afternoon, i.s.i.l. shelled

close to kobani's border with turkey. kurdish fighters say they want to send their wounded fighters to turkey for treatment. the more determined i.s.i.l. seems to be to take this town. they have sent in more and more fighters for reenforcements. that's why u.s. says there's more air strikes, they've had more targets to hit. the battle for this town is far from ever. bernard smith, al jazeera, turkish-syrian border. >> the crisis that have grouped the region for weeks, earlier thousands of pro-democracy protestors clashed with police earlier, police used batons and pepper spray on the crowds. 26 protesters arrested. up next, a different take on the

american debate. our special report five days in alaska, how they're discussing health care, the environment and marijuana, in america's last frontier. plus: >> i'm allen schauffler in alaska. a nasty political ad battle, pitting the biggest state in the union with an amazing price tag. >> we can't trust dan sullivan. >> an on air fight that could tip the balance of power in the u.s. senate. that story just ahead. ahead.

>> america's last frontier. fewer than a million voters could decide which party controls the senate. a state that's different. >> i feel like we're really rich because of all the resources we have. >> bigger, more expensive. >> you get that itemized bill and it's $25 for aspirin. >> debating health care cost, big bi business versus the environment. and legalizing marijuana. our special report, america votes, 2014, five days in alaska. >> the state of alaska is a mystery to most americans.

it's enormous when you interimpose a map of alaska over the lower 48 states. it also stretches from the atlantic to the pacific ocean. nearly 95% of the state is uninhabited but in 17 days alaska could be one of a handful of states that determines the fate of congress. republicans need to pick up six senate seats to get a majority. there are 11 democrats, fighting to keep their jobs. alaska senate candidate mark begich is one of them. alaska is still a tossup. allen schauffler went to alaska to talk to the peek about issues, real issues that voters are talking about. like the lower 48, alaskans are being bombarded by campaign ads. one of them in particular got a lot of negative attention. allen schauffler has that story. >> from the big it is to the far

flung corner of this large state, inescapable. >> alaska get ripped off. dan sullivan didn't stand up for alaskans. >> begich acts like our friend when he wants our vote. >> more than $43 million has already been spent on this campaign. that is $160 plus per eligible voter. the race between incumbent senator democrat mark begich and dan sullivan in this traditionally very red state could tip the balance of power in the u.s. senate. one controversial television ad might have backfired. >> ike mark begich and i approved this spot. >> this spot to a light sentence given a sex offender an offender on the day of his release allegedly committed horrific

crimes. >> one of them got out of prison is now charged with break out of that apartment building, murdering a senior couple and sexually assaulting their two-year-old granddaughter. >> it was a clerical error that led to his release date, something that happened before sullivan became attorney general. how the notorious case was being exploited. an attorney for the family says that ad was tearing them up and they're now considering leaving the state for good. they're worried it could taint the jury pool and they accuse the senator of paying politics with a terrible event in their lives. pollster ivan moore has been tracking campaigns for 25 years. >> was it a mistake? >> it was a huge mistake. >> you might have seen the dishonest ad.

>> i personally put criminals away for life and that's exactly where jerry acta belongs. mark begich's lies about this are unthinkable. >> most l polls show sullivan making big gains as the controversies swirl. moore who is doing internal apology for a candidate in a different race believes begich hurt his own cause and the commercial mess may have cost him two to four points in what is expected to be an extremely close vote. >> a very, very politically savvy person who just gets it in an intuitive hard-wired way. what's smart and what isn't. and i don't know. i don't know why that happened. it's crazy. >> senator begich won in 2008 by just 4,000 votes, about one percentage point so if that add-

ad did cost him a couple of points it might cost him quite a lot. >> you think it did? >> the apology -- the polling, when that ad ran and the sullivan response ad ran, most polls are showing sullivan with a bit of a lead, a couple point lead. >> do i get a sense in alaska tv ads have more impact than possibly other states? >> you know i'm not sure about that, in terms of the actual viewer and the actual voter but i can tell you this race has absolutely choked out the television market and prevented any of the other candidates from buying tv time there, they have time booked and they have completely blanketed the air waves. everyone you hear from says it's too much.

>> and -- >> about 25 million comes from outside outside the state of that $43 million we're talking about. most of it from pacs, slightly lesser amounts from dark money and the candidates themselves spending a lot of money. both parties, republican and democrat clearly realizing that mark begich is vulnerable and sullivan is a possibility. >> allen schauffler, thank you. 23 million into the alaskan senate campaign, according to the center for responsive politics. paul blumenthat'll inthal is he. why is this spent in alaska? >> alaska is one of the pivotal races that is going to decide which party controls the senate for the last two years of barack obama's presidential administration. this is a really big deal who

wins this race, right now it's held by the democrat mark begich and if dan sullivan wins, this is one of the few races that will really determine whether republicans can get over that 50-vote margin and win the senate and that's why you're seeing so much money being poured in especially by these outside groups that as is mentioned has already topped $20 million, more than half of all the campaign spending in the entire race. >> to what extent is alaska change following the death of senator ted stephens from alaska? >> i think alaska is really at a crossroads right now. ted stephens was sort of the grandfather of the state. he helped found it back in the 1950s and 60s. served as senator for decades until his defeat at the hands of begich in 1988.

and the election and the money being spent in it sort of exemplifies the difference you see. whether the state is going to line up behind the traditional issues that the people tend to care about, whether that's fishing whether that's the energy industry whether that's the independence that alaskans really see themselves as having or whether this is going to be sort of a straight par sedan response to six years of barack obama, a state that's traditionally republican, whether they're going to vote that way just to stick to this party line. >> key sources of money, where does the money come from and is it difficult to figure it out? >> well, a lot of the money coming into alaska is actually coming from these nonprofit groups that don't disclose their donors. over $12 million already of the total in outside spending has come from these kind of groups. the advantage majorities of that

comes from groups controlled by the billionaire kohch brothers, this money is not covered by disclosure laws. there are also groups like the senate majority pac, the major pac who is funding the group backing senator begich. this is being churned through different pacs and presented to alaskan voters as having sort of an alaskan feel to it. >> grass roots feel. paul blumenthal thank you very much thank you very much. the supreme court denied alaska's right to stop gay marriages. the state will not appeal. 31 states now recognize same sex marriage.

the cost of health care schans feeling every denies alaskans feel every day. here again is allen schauffler. >> hello. >> lunch rush at the oldest steak house in anchorage, club paris, they have always paid for their employees' health care and today those costs are soaring. >> about 16 to $18,000 a month for health care for 25 people. >> reporter: with so few employees, club paris is not legally required to provide hearlt shurn opportunity forecast but they do it anyway because that's the way stan's dad would have wanted it. coverage has 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. >> in alaska the word outside is

often capitalized. capital o, a proper noun, a place name 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 will pay for treatment in the lower 48 rather than here, it is cheaper that way. specialty care can cost four times the u.s. average. primary care is 30% higher. basic hospital cost, 50% higher. as club paris waitress sheila discovered. >> you get those itemized bill, $25 for aspirin. they rent you a blanket, it adds up, it adds up. >> under the affordable care act, in a tight an contentious senate rate between mark begichh

and dan sullivan. >> limit health care choices for alaska women. >> as in races all over the country, sullivan links his democratic opponent whenever possible to obamacare. >> back at club paris, sheila hestes says she will make ballot decisions based on what's best for her family and count her blessings that for her work means health care coverage. >> i couldn't afford to stay here if i didn't have it point blank. >> and dan sellman looks forward and hopes he can still afford that coverage for his employees. >> i hate to be doom and bloom but we're a small family owned

business, i figure you can only sell a piece of meat for only so much money. >> allen schauffler, al jazeera, alaska. whether to support a $500 billion mine or protect alaska's famed fishing industry. and debate against legalized pot in a state that's struggling against substance buche abuse.

>> america votes, 2014. >> tomorrow is alaska day, a legal hol hollywood holiday in .

alaska has vast resources, oil gold and copper ailz critical to thall critical tothe state's ec. that's what makes one of the state's ballot initiatives so interesting. allen schauffler explains. >> the pebble mine could be as deep as the grand canyon. the entire operation including waste dump sites would cover an area the size of manhattan. the stakes are huge. there could be $500 billion wofort of gold and-- worth of gold and copper here. the fishing port of dillingham, where the pebble mine is not popular, especially among native alaskan tribes who rely on salmon harvest for money and food. here, called the last frontier, federal meddling on matters is even more frowned on than the

lower 48. alaskans are known for their independence and self-sufficient nature. asking outsiders for their help not exactly their style. but in the case of the pebble mine, that's what six local people did. >> some folks say federal government you stay out of my backyard but at the same time, we need to fix our harbor. we need them to make sure we have clean water. we need to make sure that we have clean air. and how can you have both? you know. >> reporter: the mine site is in the mountains above bristol bay, one of the richest and most productive salmon fisheries in the world. many worry the mine could damage the stream where salmon spawn and cripple the industry. the season has been over for a lot of months. we are going to the paf marine services where there are lots of

boats up on block. how you doing? the fishing season is high and dry, the short but lucrative sockeye season is over. they oppose the mine and see the epa as a potential savior. >> there is no alternative to mining. a lot of folks point out this mine is in the wrong place in the wrong time. >> in a lawsuit, the state of alaska challenged the epa authority to act pr act preempt. ballot measure would give the state legislature the final say on the project. possibly neutralizing epa action on this and future mine proposals in the area. can we do both can we preserve what's still here and still go

after what is still in the ground? >> we absolutely can. >> in terms of pebble mine? >> absolutely, absolutely. >> mining interest says the pebble vote is confusing and unnecessary, politicizing what should be a science based process and could slow investment and development in the state. >> it is horribly unfair to the state of alaska what future revenue we could receive, it is horribly unfair to future job opportunities and people in that region. it is one of the most economically depressed fleedges our state. >> regions in our state. >> figure 2,000 permits a season 2,000 boats that can fish for salmon on bristol bay, say four people on each boat fishing, are 8,000 jobs. then add in the cannery workers, the people on shore repairing boats, the people operating the tenders bringing fish to shore, 14,000 jobs are at risk and much

more. >> there's nothing more that i love more than setting that first net and watching that first hit. >> mining supporters say they're not against salmon. it is natural resource icon versus natural resource icon in the far north, no clear answers ahead. allen schauffler, al jazeera, alaska. >> at this timstill ahead, burnh cash spent on pot. the state's marijuana debate.

>> america votes, 2014. >> recreational marijuana is already legal in washington state and in colorado. in a few weeks voters in alaska could join them. the state has a tradition of tolerance when it comes to pot but in america's last frontier, substance abuse is a complex issue. allen schauffler went to one of the native communities worried about broad legalization. >> manakodic, what residents simply call the bush. flying is the easiest way in. it's 4,000 miles from washington, d.c. where the

campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol, has its roots in money. >> why would someone push legalization of marijuana in alaska? i don't think that's right. >> this is a place where local control is important. a matter of health and safety. we're here visiting this little town in many communities in alaska, it's completely dry, no alcohol allowed. we're here to see what they think about the possibility of broad legalization of recreational marijuana. >> federal studies have shown alcohol related deaths are nearly nine times u.s. average. booze has been banned here since the town was founded 42 years ago. it is a local option allowed under state law, and used by more than 100 communities. >> alcohol distorts minds, and make people do things that they shouldn't do. >> reporter: but there's not the same kind of local option

built into the proposed pot law. and much of the pro-marijuana campaign is built on branding it as safer than alcohol. manakodik leaders would like to make their own decisions about marijuana. but leaders have a different idea. >> they are tired for this wasteful prohibition and they are wanting another approach. >> have you ever been to manakodik? >> i have not. >> the mpp has contributed more than $700,000 to this campaign, part of a statewide strategy. big political victory for legal weed after yes votes in bright blue colorado and washington. still rempert calls this a little disingenuous.

>> the mpp is running the campaign has made no secret of it. >> our chair and our board is made up of alaskans and they provide vital input every step of the way. >> virtually 100% funded by the mpp. >> not 100%. >> 95? >> yes. >> back in the village at a care caribou cleaning session. >> what do you think the residents think about legalizing marijuana? >> i think they're happy about it. >> do you think it would be a problem? >> yes, i think it will be a problem. they're ask money from their parents or their uncles, aunts. >> i just talked to a 19-year-old girl, camera shy who said, frankly, a lot of people in this village smoke marijuana.

teens and young adults about 30% more likely to smoke marijuana and the numbers are up. >> manakodik, a tiny player that could bring huge di differenceso the states of alaska. >> the law would allow retail sales of marijuana products all of that for people 21 or older. oregonians and the people of district of columbia voting for that as well. >> alaska, what's going on with the northwest? >> well, clearly a very sort of libertarian strain in the pacific northwest and frankly a lot of people like to smoke their weed and that's the case in alaska too as we saw in that piece. there are a lot of alaska pot smokers there and it's been a legal in a sense in alaska since

1975. the supreme court there said it's legal to have a little bit, to smoke a little bit, in your own home. and that has been challenged at various times in the past but that has stood. so alaskans are familiar with the concept of weed being legal. it will be now if it passes be much more widely available. >> allen what are things that are tough to see from the outside that even were difficult to show in your stories? >> well, interesting from the outside of the political circus that is the state of alaska, we have a couple of things going on. there is an election on a measure in the city of anchorage about a labor bill. it's a fight between organized labor and the city of anchorage. and anchorage is where 40% of the state is, if organized labor has got the vote out the way they've historically showed they could do, that could help everything. >> and could help democrats?

>> it could help mark begich, bring more people out that would vote for minimum wage we talked about for legalizing pot all those things. keeping a mind on how many people are coming out in anchorage because of that labor vote. >> you've pointed out some things, what else are they upset about? >> they are very upset about the fact that the election is dominating their lives right now. you talk to them, their mailboxes are stuffed with fliers, the air waves are stuffed, people are tired of the tenor of the campaign and tired of the volume of the ads and all that but people up there john where things are much, much bigger than normal are really, really tight. >> you spent some time up there, what surprised you about it this time? >> i didn't understand the history of the straight's relationship with marijuana and that was very interesting to me. it's a place that legalized it

in 1998 for medical purposes and has had a couple of measures up there one run by the marijuana policy project who is really in charge of this race that failed. and the fact that since '75 it's pen part of people's lives up there and now that they may foirlformalize it, really is interesting. >> it's so close in the senate and a number of these races are very close. what can we expect that night as far as timing? >> well, that's another one of the x factors in an clan electioalaskanelection, maybe 8e is expected to be counted on election night. they just have so far for ballots to come. so far for votes to be tallied from all these far influencing districts that they just traditionally don't have much or all of the vote counted on election night. it can be days, it can be a week before we get a final renumber in alaska.

so if everything has gone in interesting ways in the lower 48 and that senate race really counts in alaska, it could be days, weeks before we get anything from alaska. and we know we have a similar thing going on in louisiana, we are expecting a delayed result. it could be the same thing with the great state of alaska. we could all be waiting a long time. unless it is a blowout for one man or the other in the snrat, e we could be twiddling our thumbs and waiting. >> allen schauffler, thank you. and that's our special report. thanks for watching. i'm john siegenthaler.

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