team of power politics. i'm michael shuster. thanks for watching. . >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm thomas graten, here are the stories we're following right now. questions but very few answers from the explosion of virgin galactic spaceship two. just three days left before the heat of the midterm elections. >> one group is trying to save endangered chea cheetahs.

a commercial space plane fell apart during a test fly in california. photos from the ground show the engine igniting after it was released from the launch plane. one pilot was killed, the other ejected but seriously injured. the ntsb investigation is already under way. we're joined live with more on the failed flight, good evening. >> virgin galactic found the aircraft known as spaceship two was under development. he offered condolences and praised the courage of the test pie pilots.

>> we do understand the risks involved, and we're not going to push on blindly. to do so would be an insult to all those affected by this tragedy. >> reporter: the virgin galactic spacecraft crashed after what the company called an in-flight anomaly after a test flight on friday. >> we're determined to honor the bravery of the pilots and the teams here by learning from this tragedy. only then can we move forward, united by a collective desire to push the boundaries of human endeavor. >> reporter: the pilot was killed and the co-pilot was seriously injured despite being ejected over the crash. an experienced pilot co-piloted the same craft when it broken the sound barrier last year. he worked for scaled composites for more than a decade and reportedly logged seven flights in the last four years.

the spacecraft spaceship two took off in a test flight the company called a halloween treat. after the rocket's engine fired after release, it crashed and it became clear that something had gone terribly wrong. the engine ignited. it was the first flight using its fuel. virgin galactic has completed more than 54 test flights independently after being released from its mothership but the program has suffered a number of setbacks. >> this is the biggest test program ever carried out in commercial aviation history. precisely to ensure that this never happens to the public. >> reporter: branson was due to be on board the launch now scheduled for march of 2015, but expected that friday's crash may further slow down the space tourism program.

>> once we found out what went wrong, if we can overcome it, we'll make absolutely certain that the dream lives on. whale branson said he would refund the $250,000 tickets for travelers set to travel on virgin space ships, some 700 ticket holders have come forward to say they're still planning to fly even after friday's crash. lady a ga-ga, angelina jolie and brad pitt are among the ticket holders. richard branson reaffirmed his commitment to its space program. >> more answers to come. courtney, thank you. for more on the crash and the future of space travel, i'm joined by derek pitts from philadelphia. good to see you. i do have to ask you here how big of a setback is this for the space and tourism industry? >> this really is a learning opportunity. it is a teachable moment. it is a teachable moment because of the fact that these kinds of

things happen during the testing phase. as branson said this is why the testing is done. the testing is extensive so they can beat all the bugging out of the system so that look like this would happen during regular commercial operation. what happens now they figure out what happened, and figure out how to prevent this from ever happening again, and they move on. of course, they can't move on until they figure out exactly what happened. that is the most important thing that they can do to keep their momentum going forward in reaching their goal. >> and the questions are being asked tonight perhaps rightfully so, are the risks associated with space travel. >> there are always great risks taken. you have to figure out whether the risks are really worth it. when we look at similar industries like the aviation industry it's a direct analog to how aviation developed. there were tests in the early stages of aviation.

plenty of crashes that took place, and there were people, unfortunately, who gave their lives for the advancement of the technology. if we look at where we are today with aviation, there are incidents that happen, and we all continue to fly. i believe the number is something like 5,000 aircraft in the air at any one time, so if we look at it that way what happens when this industry begins to expand we'll look back on this as the history of, and say that we are glad we're thankful to those people who gave their lives to press the envelope further. >> many are anxious to look for a space flight here in the future. how long until the kinks in the industry are ironed out? >> it's hard to say. it would be great to iron them out quickly, but you have to go through the testing work. that takes time. nothing else can be done but to go through it methodically, carefully, and with great analytical care to make sure that all the is are dotted and all the ts are crossed.

it could take a year, we're looking at something six months out for virgin galactic to begin pressing forward. >> is there a down side when we see more private companies enter space flight? >> i don't think there is a down side necessarily if we can figure out how to do this on the commercial side. then it only enhances what we want to do on the research side. we can look at nasa as a research arm that does the big heavy lifting of space exploration, and the company that companies like space ex-and virgin galactic are doing that are easier. really nothing is easy when it comes to space exploration, not one thing is easy. but at the same time that's where this really is becoming very, very helpful. the lighter work or the more routine work can be done by other companies while nasa does

the big work. >> with that said is there something that should be asked about space exploration? >> the thing that we should always ask ourselves: how can we make it safer. the questions we always have to ask ourselves, is there anything else we can do to get the risks down to zero. we have to accept, thomas, there will always be an element of risk. if we want to make advances in technology and for the betterment of everybody on the planet sometimes those risks can be quite costly. >> space contributor dirk pitts, always good to see you. >> thanks. >> in the fight against isil kurdsish fighters are on the ground to engage in the fight in kobane. fighters brought in heavy weapons like artillery, machine guns and anti-tank missiles.

syrians hope to retake areas under isil control. gentleman hall al shayel has more. >> reporter: we're just a few kilometers away from kobane where the sound of sporadic fighting and shelling has persisted throughout sat. behind me is where the iraqi kurdish peshmerga forces crossed over bringing with them much needed reinforcements for the syrian kurdish fighters who have been combating isil. the peshmerga forces when they entered in the western part of the city, and they brought with them pickup trucks that were carrying anti-aircraft guns, rocket launchers, about about

a did yobazukas and the like. allies of the syrian army had been calling for several weeks to say that they needed to swing the battle in their favor away from the advancements of isil. as it stands now both sides continue to hold the positions they held prior to the peshmerga forces entering with one side that is isil side, controlling the eastern and southern parts of kobane, and those who have been defending it against isil advance, holding the surgeon and western side of the town. >> al jazeera arabic corresponden correspondent has crossed into kobane. his report has been translated into english. >> reporter: we are now standing in the western neighborhoods commonly known as kobane.

these neighborhoods represent the springboard of which kurdish forces are fending off isil attacks who are now in desperate attempts to control these areas, and now have a firm grip on the areas to the east. to the right, the high ridges can be seen in the backdrop. on these ridges the turkish army and it's forces are positioned closely monitoring the fighting taking place inside the city. beyond opposition groups who have recently joined the kurdish forces are now deployed to the front lines fighting isil, awaiting orders from the joint command, who are in turn waiting for the arrival of peshmerga kurdish forces with equipment. this will shift the balance of power on the ground. sources say that the syrian kurdish forces are planning a new assault against isil positions in kobane. >> demonstrators in several cities took to the streets to support an international day of solidarity with kobane. about a thousand people marched

in berlin. many carried flags and banners expressing support. in france many came out to protest the turkish president's visit to france. they feel he could be doing more in the fight against isil. in turkey thousands marched in solidarity. they welcomed the peshmerga fighters who joined the battle in kobane. in iraq, the killing of a total of 17 people, a suicide-bomber drove a truck into a police checkpoint south of baghdad. another bomber blew up his tar in eastern baghdad. candidates make their final push before tuesday's midterm elections. and really in the control of the senate lies in the balance. we'll look at which party has the edge. plus a food fight in oregon. details of a ballot initiative

which could change the way people go grocery shopper. and will weather play a policier? winter storms are raising turn out concerns.

>> welcome back. with three days to go before the 2014 midterm election president obama is hitting the campaign trail for one last time. the president is in michigan tonight stomping for gary peters and mark shower the candidates for senate and governor. the reality of modern politics follows a simple pattern. in every election outside influence and money must flow leaving voters deciding who to believe rather whom to vote for. david shuster has more on what the documentary midterm series is doing to break that pattern. >> this is the most expensive election going on in our country

right now. right here in north carolina. >> no sooner had iowa, colorado, and north carolina been targeted as the linchpins in the midterm battle for congress, outside interest groups started pouring multimillion dollars waves of negativity in those hotly contested battles. >> he wants to be an iowa senator, and he threatens to sue us over chickens. >> it's not very neighborly. >> it's not very iowa. >> now those extreme campaign ads are all that voters are talking about, and too often those ads are doing more talking than the candidates themselves. >> some of the ads, okay, in the documently series "mid material" airing on al jazeera america, director a.j. snooks spends time with the candidates on the ground after debates offering a true picture of the candidates and what they actually have to

say. >> but it's me its just me. of course i approve this message. >> i'm keeping it affordable. >> we want to find those moment where is they're interacting with the con tit went, where they're talking with their staff, hanging out with their family in a hotel sweet, green room, something that shows you who these people are. >> we're going to keep him as u.s. senator. >> hey, we're going to fire them. >> they're probably going to cancel each other out, so you're left with what you can do on the ground. >> i'm filling in.

>> are we to fight back? [applause] >> even with tens of millions of dollars of dark money over the airwaves the message principles remain the same as it's always been. you decide. >> you're not running against these other people. you're running against me. >> you can see the documentary on sunday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern on al jazeera america. i want to bring in the man who knows everything that there is to no by politics, our political contributor michael shure. >> everything, tom? >> everything there is to know. how critical is this weekend. >> this weekend is where you carry momentum. if you have it, you carry momentum. if you don't have it, you look in those pockets of your base to try to get them to come out. sundays traditionally are the days that you get the final push of getting those voters who are

church goers out to the polls on tuesday. there are the souls to the polls, doingible in some states but not in others because of early votes. it's really about carrying momentum or getting your base out. getting the people you need to motivate to vote. >> does it matter? we're days away. interest "r" there undecided voters. >> there are undecided voters, and there are voters who are deciding in some states where a third-party candidate is in play. if the third-party candidate does not seem viable that's when they jump off the ship and get on with another candidate. there is a little play there. >> looking at the poll's early voting, are we expecting an early turn out? >> yes or no. the early voting, yes. in terms of ballots received in some states ahead of where they were in 2010, the last midterm. but in general if you see how few people vote in america. four in ten registered voters

voting, it's not terribly exciting when it comes to increased turn out. >> you know there is a map for everything. republicans need to pick up six seats to gain the majority. what are the odds? >> the odds if you go by the recent polling the odds are in their favor. there are races that they didn't think they would have to contest, georgia, kansas, south dakota coming to mind. there are races that they're running away now that felt would be contested. that's arkansas right now. mark pryor is really running uphill in arkansas. the surprising element in the polling north is the women's vote is breaking in kentucky. allison lundergren grime behind, and same in louisiana with mary landrieu. >> why is that the case? >> what they've been able to find in kentucky the anti-obama is more important than the pro-woman vote.

an any sort of association between east grimes or senator landrieu with the president makes people say, whoa, wait a second, i don't care what their priorities are, i don't want anyone who is that close. >> is the president hurt democrats? >> it's interesting. i think that's a wednesday oh morning question. but i think democrats have already hurt the president. i think by not inviting him to talk about the record, and come in and help. we talk about what could happen last minute very often our president going in to the base and bringing them out to vote is one of the most important things that can happen last minute. the president has not helped. he probably has heard in some areas because he and his white house has not been able to articulate their successes to the electorate. >> what are some of the key issues? a lot of times it's the economy. but i received a mailer. >> you looked at me and said--

said--the flyers said that president obama has failed to deliver on isil, ebola, are those issues that we see slip into the campaigns. >> when you look at the number of people who say that ebola is an issue that matters to them in this election. fewer than 5% of the voters are saying that. i think where you look at the issues that have mattered, it's the type of jobs that have been part of his economic recovery. people in states where they were making a living then they lost their jobs during the recession. they come back, and the job they get to replace that job is not quite as good as the one they had. the jobs numbers are up. the types of jobs, the types of wages they're getting are not there before. >> a number of races we should be keeping our eyes on. >> this is the first time you have a wave of governors that won four years ago, and their number is now up. and a lot of came in as tea party governors, i put that in quotations in some places but it

was part of the tea party wave. scott walk center wisconsin. scott walker is someone that we talked about for 2016. he has won two elections, won one election since his first because of the fact that they tried to recall him. 's a known quantity. 2016 candidate. he could very well lose tuesday night. that race would matter. charlie crist and rick scott in florida. that's the most expensive race in this cycle in the country. the rebuke of rick scott would be a rebuke of the tea party policy that he has put in place. same as sam brownback in kansas. he was a cut jobs, cut spending, and you see it in the way that they're reacting in the polls. >> quickly, the mid terms could be a tell tail sign to 2016. >> they always are to a degree. the next two years will be determinative of how both parties run for 2016. >> our political contributor,

aka, the man who knows everything. >> thomas, thanks so much. >> the record-setting weather in the carolinas. snow blanketed parts of north and south carolina. this is the earliest snowfall that south carolina has erre in recorded history. temperatures were in the 80s, weren't they. >> meteorologist: then they were, 80's, that's not a typical temperature that you would her when talking about snow. it's quite the jump, and a lot of us are feeling the jumps with temperatures falling claimly on both coasts, west and east. we're getting a significant amount of snow in the mountains of idaho and montana, we're going to get snowfall in parts of maine as well. the smokey mountains. but these are parts of the u.s. that are going to stay cooler initially. and our focus is on election day weather. in fact, we look at tuesday. jumping ahead we have got enough of a warm up moving in that

we'll get significant rainfall in oregon for western oregon especially. but also in text, and note how that rain will stretch all the way up past the great lakes towards buffalo. the question, will it be snow. not for dallas. this is where heavier rainfall on the line of half inch to inch of rain in southern texas, and half inch to inch of rain expected in parts of western oregon on tuesday. but temperatures on tuesday starting out cool in a few areas. it will be warm enough we expect primarily rain to be the main issue here. we're going to be looking at wind concerns coming up. thomas? >> you know that weather plays a factor in voter turn out. thank you. on tuesday oregon voters will decide if they have a right to know what is in the food they buy. we look at measure 92. >> this food fight has been fought before. in vermont the legislature approved the labeling law earlier this year. but in washington and

california, genetic labeling lost twice. some polls suggest that oregon could be different. >> we're going to do some shopping. >> this is all about what shoppers will see on the food they buy. people in favor of new labeling say genetic engineering could present health risks. opponents say there is no proof of that, and initiative would be expensive for food producers and consumers. >> would every banana have to be labeled? >> no, you can see the label on the bin. you have a couple of two words here that would say genetically engineered. it's in a simple. >> most of what you see in the average grocery store would have to be relabeled. >> consumer reports took 80 common food items and tested their i dna, and found products that were labeled natural, they all had significant levels of genetic engineering.

>> you're adding words to the label. >> but a lot of food would not be covered, restaurant food, food packaged to go, food derived from animals raised on genetically engineered feed. the yes side coming from organic food. the nos funded by farming and grocery giants like monsanto and general mills. >> they've gotten trickier and cuter with the language but it's still the same flawed measure. >> what does a label reading partially genetically engineered really tell us? >> you can see here's one that survived the herbicide treatment. this is an genetically enginee engineered plant. >> they say that they have eaten

ge food and most of us have for decades. >> i think that kind of information should be available to consumers, but it's not useful unless you know what has been genetically engineered, what gene has been put in. >> spaghetti and pumpkin pie. >> i should have gotten some that have steak. >> don't forget to join al jazeera america on november 4th for a complete round up of election results and in-depth analysis. our coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on al jazeera america. there is a controversial election scheduled for tomorrow. voters in the donetsk region of eastern ukraine will be choosing their government. >> i respected the lieutenanted, and i respect them for the service that they do every day. >> one of the few submariners face unique challenges below the surface. her story coming up on al jazeera america.

>> welcome back to al jazeera

america. here are the top stories we're following right now. kurdish fighters from iraq are on the ground in syria to engage isil forces in the battle for kobane. 150 fighters crossed turkey's border into syria last night. they brought in urgently needed heavy weapons like artillery, heavy machine guns and anti-tank missiles. control of the u.s. senate is at stake as are all of the seats in the u.s. house of representatives. and 36 states will elect governors. now leading the investigation into that deadly crash of a commercial space rocket. virgin galactic's spaceship two exploded above the ground. one test pilot was killed. the other was seriously injured despite ejecting. virgin galactic planned to take

passengers into the space by spring. 700 people had paid $250,000 for their ticket. >> it's the set back for a company vying to take tourists into space. they set the groundwork for space travel. >> hopefully to make space travel for the masses. >> virgin galactic to shuttle tourists to the engine of space, a dedicated spake craft manufacturing arm the spaceship company was formed. partnering with scaled composites, the spaceship company designed the mother ship to ferry the six-passenger,

two-piloted spaceship two to launch into space. >> i'm going, and i hope you'll be joining me. >> originally slated to start commercial service in 2011 virgin galactic suffered numerous accidents. including an accident that claimed the lives working on the system. it is unclear whether friday's fatal crash will delay that dream yet again. patricia sagba, al jazeera. >> eastern ukraine separatist leaders say sunday's vote is a step towards legitimacy. but after months of fighting residents are worried that the election won't bring change.

>> the competition included athletes from breakaway regions of luhansk. they were regional teams of an united ukraine. times are hard right now. there are a lot of changes. which hope that we'll become a recognized republic, and it will be possible. >> reporter: careful liqueur graphed campaigns beamed on local television, it's meant to signal that donetsk is on its way to statehood. it's a pressing reality to deal with near the front line where people have nothing left but fear and misery. they live hidden away in these dark, damp, underground bunkers. this shelter was built during the second world war. it's cold. and there is no sanitation. >> this is where we sleep and here is a sick man. he has not come out in six months. >> this man had a stroke

recently. he asked for medicine and said that all the aid is going to the fighters. >> 22 people have lived here for months. they have not received pensions. others come and go depending on the fighting. the sound of war is ever present here. hopes of a lasting cease-fire dwindled with each bullet. there is also fatigue among the fighters. >> maybe after the elections there will be intelligent enough to ends this fight. six months ago it was one country. we didn't hate each other. now people who live 100 kilometers away hit us. i hope our government will find a compromise but i doubt it. >> alexander is the frontrunner for the leadership. he promises to build a new state and expand its borders. >> i support a politically peaceful solution but we're ready for any military action. i'm not afraid.

this is our land. our brothers are living in land occupied by ukraine. we need to live in a single state with them. >> for those living in these dark days the question of ukraine or a new donetsk people's republic does not matter that much any more. as long as they return living above ground, she sees. al jazeera, donetsk. >> after days of unrest, burkina faso has a knew leader to lead the country back to democracy. it comes after president copaore resigned. >> reporter: in bukina faso clean up has begun after recent protests. >> we want to forget what happened and get back to normal. we hope that our fight will be a listen for all africans. >> the calmness follows days of upheaval and the chaos may not

have ended yet. presidential colonel zida says he is now head of state. >> while we way for consensus of the people and all political parties, i unfortunately will take responsibility for this transitional group. >> and the army said he has its backing. >> the military hierarchy that lt. col. zida has been elected to lead following president copaore. >> but many reject what they call zida's seizure of power. they also refuse to support army chief traore, who announced he would lead the transitional government. but zida does enjoy support from

some sections of the public. >> when the declaration happened people continued to protest particularly the youth. in the end it was zida who declared himself and i think most people will back him. >> it was former president comboare's attempt to extend his 27-year rule that sparked days of protest. comaore's resignation was welcomed by many. he is now in the ivory coast, but he has left behind a country that faces an uncertain future. >> in nigeria boko haram is denying a cease-fire with the government, and has no plans to release the missing girls. in the video the group's leader said that they have been converted to islam and matter off following the abduction. government officials announced a

cease-fire with boko haram and that the girls would soon be freed. we have more from abuja. >> the video that has broken many hearts, it shows a man reported to be a leader of boko haram, who says that the more than 200 girls it's group kidnapped in april have been converted to islam and matter off. >> don't you know that over 200 school girls have converted to islam. they've now memorized two chapters of the qur'an. >> hhe deny agreement to a cease-fire. >> what negotiation. we do not negotiate with anyone. that is a lie. we do not negotiate. what is our business with negotiation? allah said that we should not. >> last week the government announced that it had reached a peace agreement with the armed group raising homes that the kidnapped girls would be returned. >> we receive a cease-fire, and w because of the previous hay

arrangement for the release. >> the authorities have yet to come forward after the release of the video by boko haram, but many hope that it will lead to a breakthrough. >> boko haram has denied any talks with the government. and it's attacks are continuing. many people think this is another failed attempt to end the violence that has killed thousands and displays hundreds of thousands in northern niger nigeria. >> in the past week there have been more breaches by the boko haram group. now with the new video released by boko haram all nigeriaens can do is wait. wait for either a breakthrough or some decisive victory by the government. al jazeera, abuja. >> in yemen tonight rival political factions have signed an agreement to form a new government, but fight something flaring up in parts of the

country. yemen mass signed a deal. prime minister and president are now mandated to form a new government. the new government will include houthi rebels who took control of the capitol sanaa after weeks of anti-government protests. separate attacks killed 20 soldiers today. in egypt the court convicted eight men who appeared to be taking part in a same sex wedding. men exchanging rings and embracing among friends who were cheering. egypt's chief prosecutor said that the video was, quote, shameful to god and offensive to public morals. the men said that it was made as a joke. they were each sentenced to three years in prison. no. egypt its been 308 days since three al jazeera journalists were arrested and falsely an accused of aiding terrorism. mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste remain locked up. they were sentenced to seven years in prison, and baher

mohammed was sentenced to three more years. are a bean was gunned down at a peace rally in the very location in 1995. he won the nobel peace prize in 1994. perez spoke at today's valley. he said those who have renounced making peace are not patriots. in jerusalem tensions are running high where demonstration and one mortar round was fired. the sacred side wa site was reopened to men over a 50. the tension started when security forces killed a palestinian man suspected of shooting a jewish activist. israel then closed access to the al aqsa mosque for the first

time in more than a decade. we'll take a deeper look at the situation tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern, 5:00 pacific. a massive pow outage left much of bangladesh in the dark friday night. engineers hope to have the electrical supply fully restored by sunday morning. but hospitals and other services struggled to make due with emergency generators. >> this is is mission to continue to treat patients. the thing is the hospital has been functioning on a power generator since 1:00 a.m. because a failure has resulted in the grid of bangladesh shutting down. the problem now is that everyone is running out of fuel. the entire country of 150 million people have been affected by this blackout, and while many of the neighborhoods especially the ones that are

industrial centers or home to upper middle class households are also starting to run out of fuel. this gas station does not have diesel left because all these people have been coming to them to keep the lights on. the fear in the back of every's head is what happens if the natural grid problem is not resolved in the next few hours and the generators die? >> coming up on al jazeera america, an update on an u.s. marine freed from prison in mexico. some female sailors dive in world's formerly known only by their female counterparts. and good news for a doctor in new york fighting ebola.

you. >> the city's historic annual hall starting tomorrow morning. he served as the city's mayor for more than two decades. he was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year shortly after leaving office. an u.s. veteran of the afghan war is home after being

arrested in mexico. marine sergeant andrew temorisi crossed the border with loaded guns. he's back in south florida after a judge in mexico ordered his release. the marine said that he crossed the border by accident and did not mean to bring weapons into mexico. women are diving into new assignments in the u.s. navy. seniors enlisting female sailors will be added to crews seen. >> reporter: traveling the depths of the ocean. they call themselves the silent service. for 110 years a dedicated brotherhood of mariners, no women allowed. grue. >> so this is a popular place. >> this is absolutely a popular place. >> until four years ago when the u.s. navy allowed female officers below ballistic submarines. >> you're the only woman here. >> i am. one of four women officers serving on a crew of nearly 150 men.

>> so this is what we call the supply shack. this is where our specialists will manage the repair parts on board of the submarine. i'm in here a solid ten hours a day. >> long hours and tight spaces are the reality of submarine life. crew members spend up to three months at sea. >> here is an example of living quarters. hallways are two feet wide. around the corner is anest state room. this is where the officers sleep and spend personal time. here are their beds, often three to a room. when enlisted women are allowed on board there will be nine to a room. slightly bigger. >> now they'll allow enlisted women not just officers as part of an effort to integrate the force in 2020. when they're welcome to board they won't have the same amount of privacy. >> first reaction was, whoa,

they're probably going to be in trouble. because they're going to be in an enclosed space for a really long time with a lot of men. women in those situations can be at high risk for sexual assault. >> sara is an retired army captain nurse and author of a book about abuse in the military. >> we spoke with an officer who served on a submarine for two years, and she said she has had no problem. >> that's good. that's really good. but i know i interviewed 60 women, women that world war ii up to current day, and i know that officers have a very different experience than enlisted. >> the report on sexual assault found that the vast majority of victims were young enlisted women. officers represent 6% of reported assaults. we talked to a navy veteran who had grave concerns about the safety of women on submarines from sexual assault and sexual

harassment. what is the navy doing to combat that. >> sailors will tell you that they're used to that usual drum beat, treating each other with dignity and putting sexual assault in the past is what we're after. >> one of the highest achievements for a sub mariner, she understands she's forging a path. tonya mosley, al jazeera, washington. >> the global death toll from the ebola virus continues to rise. the "world health organization" puts the number of dead at 4,951 out of more than 13.5000 confirmed cases. almost all of those cases are confined to three west african nations. and their neighbors are take nothing chances. we have reports now from ghana. >> if health workers are preparing for a video they hope they will not have to fast they're learning how to treat a patient with bole. it's the first time that such

training has taken place. the permanent protective equipment is hot and uncomfortable but it's necessary. >> this treatment can take up to ten patients. there are others being built in the country. the government wants to ape sure people that it is making preparations in vent of the ebola outbreak. but they say that the preparations are not moving fast enough. >> by now we should have to insure that this is all in place. and every health worker should have an idea of how to manage a case. >> the man in charge of this training rejects the accusation. >> you do not treat everyone. you focus on your response team for the realtime training, and

then you focus on the second level team to let them learn how to identify a case. but it's one step at a time. if not, you get careless. >> ghana is in the spotlight because the u.n. response mission on 'ol has its headquarters here. supplies are can'tly being sent to the affected countries. and it's led to a debate whether the country is exposing itself to further risk. observers say it's all the more reason for ghana to be prepared. what these health workers are experiencing is just a small taste of what those who are going through it for real are going through. al jazeera. ghana. >> dr. craig spencer being treated for ebola in new york hospital is now in stable condition. he contracted ebola while working in west africa.

he's being treated with an experimental drug. his fiancé is also under quarantine in their argument but has not seen symptoms. nina pham has been reunited with her dog. she contracted the disease while treating a patient in dallas. roughly 50,000 runners around the globe are preparing for tomorrow's new york city marathon. we'll look at what officials are doing to keep them safe. >> for the first time mother, and she's done really, really well. >> they were just 30 of them left in the world until now. a record setting litter of king cheetahs giving new hope to an endangered species.

>> we're following strong storms out east. rebecca stevenson joining us

with the weather. >> meteorologist: yes, we have snow coming down in a few years stretching up to the northeast, but most that have snow will be happening overnight into tomorrow morning. what we have facing us now are flood concerns right along the coast line stretching up from massachusetts into main as the waves rapid around low pressure are slamming onshore. and we have winter storm warnings going into effect as we go into the overnight hours for maine in addition to those powerful wind gusts. wind gusts, 30 to 40 mph with potential to be higher. this is what we're looking at as we talk about the new york city marathon tomorrow. it will be a blustery cool day for a run. now expect some strong wins to be along the eastern shore of massachusetts. boston has that potential for some power outages with 50 mph gusts. we even have cooler weather moving in to the west coast for california, but it will be a cool day. >> it will be a chilly marathon. 50,000 people are expected to fill the streets of new york

city tomorrow. the annual marathon will be run tomorrow. participates are out celebrating. 4,000 police officers, 20 boats will be on duty to protect the runners and spectators. king cheetahs are an endangered species. >> reporter: a daisy and eli are siblings. almost two months old these cubs are part of a litter of eight born to a rare king cheetah here. >> her name is mona lisa. she's one believed to be about 30 king cheetahs in the world. she's a first-time mother, and she has done really, really well. we hear her purring. >> the not-for-profit center is

now home for hundreds of anima animals. from penguins, giraffes and ostriches, it is limited to visitors, she said she has welcomed plenty of babies, but the birth of these cubs is extra special. cheetahs are extremely difficult to breed in captivity, and the wild population that once spanned africa and asia has dwindled 90% over the last century. the species are extremely vulnerable. there are fewer than 7,500 left in the wild. >> cheetahs need a huge territory up to 57 square miles. that is well overlapping the boundaries of our nature preserves. when they do come in contact with humans, you know, we're both exeating for the same land. they both want the beautiful savannah land for a cheetah is perfect for hunting and running. but for people who live there,

that's perfect for crazing land for cattle and goats. >> leone said that the center is focused on genetic diversity. they'll be able to pass on the king cheetah gene to zoo programs. >> their offspring will be released back in the wild. >> we along with our wild partners have pioneered a program where cheetahs are captive bread, and then through careful long process released out in the wild. their monitored collars. in this program two cheetahs have reproduced in the wild that were captive bread. so there is hope. >> hope that begins with these cubs for a species that is running out of time. al jazeera, connecticut. >> well, that will do it for this hour. i'll be back with more news,

"real money" is coming up next. thanks for watching. >> we're in the mexican state of veracruz, one of the most violent areas in the country. this is el diamante ranch - it is here where the remains of 31 people were found a month ago. the bodies were dumped in a mass grave just below this house. those who were killed are believed to have been held here after they were kidnapped. only a few of the bodies have been identified. kidnappings have increased