the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can effect and surprise us... >> don't try this at home... >> tech know, where technology meets humanity only on al jazeera america this is al jazeera america, i'm thomas drayton in new york. let's get you caught up on the top score in this hour. after month of captivity in north korea, kenneth bae and matthew miller heading home and loreta lynch the first african-american female to lead the justice department a stern warning from former soviet union leader mikkel gorbachev. >> this time the governments of the west did not give way

25 years after the fall of the berlin wall, a deeper look. should it be illegal to feed the homeless? why some cities want the practice to stop. the last two americans being detained in north korea are coming home. kenneth bea was in detention, forced to serve in a labour camp. matthew todd miller had been in prison. they are on a plane bound for the u.s. james clapper, director of national intelligence, is with them. rosalind jordan has more. >> reporter: the days of life in a prison camp are over for kenneth bae and matthew miller. they were released on tuesday

and boarded a plane for the u.s. >> it's a wonderful day for them and their families. we are happy for their safe return. doing a great job on what was obviously a challenging mission. >> director clapper is james clapper, the u.s.'s director of national intelligence. in a statement, the u.s. state department called clapper to release: it's not clear why clapper was brought in to negotiate. the north koreans prefer to negotiate with either former president or high profile diplomat on the fate of u.s. citizens. >> there's some speculation that

by releasing the men, kim jong un may be trying to soften his country's image. north korea faces sanctions because it refuses to stop the nuclear weapons programme, the the u.n. security council could refer kim to the international criminal court for human rights violations. kenneth bae, a christian missionary, had been convicted for trying to convert north koreans. miller was gaoled for disturbing the peace. neither will be prosecuted for travelling to north korea. the obama administration is warning other americans it's not a good idea to visit u.n. secretary of state john kerry ban ki-moon was among leaders -- u.n. screcial ban ki-moon was among those expresses delight:.

>> a. >> what does this many for the two countries. joining us is katherine moonfrom brookings institute. great to have you with us. >> thank you. >> what do you make of the latest olive branch. does it offer hope of progress between pyongyang and washington? >> i think it does offer some hope, but again, with north korea, we have to watch for consistent substantive action, and so what is interesting is that in the last six months, north korea has shown in chooump, japan, europe, japan, south korea. that jeffrey fowl, and the two gentlemen released today, this is consistent in terms of

substantive actions. if they continue this way, there's hope for some creative and engagement between the u.s. and north korea you bring up a good point. you mention the release. north korea released four prisoners, late in 2013, three this year, and jeffrey fowl as you mentioned last month. what value does that carry for north korea. >> there are several ways to look at the value. one is to ask what value does north korea have or gain by keeping the people. i move as one. getting rid of baggage that north korea doesn't know what to do with any more. they kept mr kenneth bae close two years. he's frail, ill, if he got more frail or very ill, or god forbid to die on their watch, the world would definitely be eyeing north korea with more than a horrible

look. and matthew miller is so young. to lock him up for six years, what is the point. on the one hand it's an opportunity for the north koreans to settle this hostage taking situation and try to move beyond it. i think what it can gain is immediately it's trying to lobby for a better image so that the european, the jap neerks the united nations -- japanese, the united nations, the americans, will not press for the north korean leadership, kim jong un, to be brought to the international criminal court. >> a lot of questions about its human right record. >> right. >> president obama praised the effort of james clapper, the director of national intelligence. does his actions raise eyebrows back at home? >> i had to admit when i read

and watched the news, it's an unusual choice on the part of the united states. i am sure there was a lot of negotiation within the u.s. government and the nooe eens about who to -- north koreans about who to send. i think mr clapper is a smart choice for the americans. why? he's not a traditional diplomat, he has cabinet standing and occupies an important position in terms of safeguarding, looking out for america's security. >> from north korean's perspecti perspective, a person who is the head of intelligence could sound like a heavy weight kind of guy. in that sense it's an interesting move. i think it's a little strange that the north koreans would have welcomed him in this way, received him, because as the director of national intelligence, this is a person trained to watch and know and pick up every signal. if i was a north korean

official, i would be nervous. they seem to have accepted the americans offer, and most importantly mr clapper seems to have been able to deliver. >> we'll see what this means moving forward. katherine moon, senior fellow at brookings institute. appreciate your time president obama nominated loreta lynch to be the next u.s. attorney-general. lynch is a new york posterior who nose her way around washington. president obama made the announcement of his new pick of the attorney-general, with his outgoing ag holder by her side. the president prayed lynch. >> loreta may be the only lawyer who battles mobsters, terrorists, and drug lords and has the reputation of being a charming people person.

loreta is not looking to make headlines, but a difference. >> she needs to get through senate confirmation twice. she serves as a u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york. encompassing all of new york city, except for manhattan. the other four burrows, we are talking millions. she received a lou degree from harvard in 1984. she's 55 years old and from greens bro north carolina. the president pointed out she's the daughter of a librarian and a baptist minister. she comes from outside the president's inner circle, she has attorneys with eric holder, she chaired the ag's advisory committee. it's a question of when the confirmation will happen. democrats are in charge of the senate judiciary. they may start the process. the white house is not going to try to ram this in. it may lead over into the republican-led senate.

the incoming majority leader mitch mcconnell weighed in on the pick saying: senator mitch mcconnell pushing republicans to work on her confirmation process. loreta lynch, for her part, talked about the moment in time, what it meant for her as an individual to get here with the help and support of family, friends and colleagues, and reflected on the significance of being part of the justice department. >> the department of justice is the only cabinet department named for an ideal. and this is actually appropriate. because our work is about aspirational and grounded and gritty reality. >> this is a landmark nomination. if loreta lynch is confirmed by the senate, she'll we the first female african american to serve as attorney-general. >> libby casey in washington

the president is headed to china. the first stop is beijing for the asia pacific economic summit. president obama says focussing on chinese american relations will be a major prior othery. after the meetings, the president heads to myanmar, and enters travels with a second trip to shouz. more on the preparation for apec in beijing. beijing has been preparing for it for months, spending billions of dollars. this is the result. pristine facilities set amongst carefully manicured grounds. ready to host the asia pacific forum or apec. this is what beijing will not show the delegates. it's gritty, poorer neighbourhoods that the economic boom left behind. we look at the two rooms shared with a wife and son, and the

family. this man earns $350 u.s. a month. clearing garbage in the neighbourhood, in a city home to more billionaires than many mainland chinese cities. >> they lead different lives to us. they live in nice places and have money. i don't know how i can live like them. >> conditions for the urban poor have been improving in recent years, as a shortage of blue-collar workers has been pushing up wages faster than for white collar jobs. it's in the countryside where the wealth gap is stark, with an estimated 100 people living in poverty. with the potential for social unrest. the government is aware of discontent that wealth and equality can cause, and it will help the poor in the countryside. >> such policies like social security.

they have increased income of the rural household, more substantially. chang moved here when he could no longer support his family through farming. they recently got clean-running water for the first time and have enough to eat, they tell us, and tells us that things for the children could be better than he had had. >> we'll have more on the president's asian tour sunday night on the week ahead. find out details of plans to improve economic relations with china. that's tomorrow night over the last 24 hour, the fight against i.s.i.l. intensified. a wave of explosions across iraq killed 48, injuring nearly 100 others of the reports detailed booby trapped homes and truck bombs. in syria the battle is no

beater. kobane, the battle ground is desolate. the city is caught in the middle of the coalition said fight. this is what is left. a shell of what it was. 200,000 fled. >> in an air strike attack u.s. coalition forces reported hitting a gathering of leaders. the strike happened last night. a convoy of 10 armed trucks near the northern city of mosul was targeted. they would not comment which leaders were there. >> 20 people were killed by a car bomb in baghdad. the latest round resembles previous bombings by i.s.i.l. five soldiers were among those killed. no one claimed responsibility. >> a commando of troops warns that al qaeda is hiding out in afghanistan. it's startling considering the mission in 2001 was to eradicate al qaeda. >> on board an afghan army,

patrolling the province, an area hotly contested by the taliban. local people are salafists. it's where afghanistan and pakistan merge into one, an easy place for al qaeda to operate. as n.a.t.o. forces pull out of the conflict. the top commander in afghanistan tells al jazeera that the group they came to wipe out is still here. >> there continues to be an al qaeda presence here. i think that there has been a continued fight against that of the last 13 years. there has been a lot of damage on some of the leadership. there continues to be an al qaeda presence in afghanistan. >> was the mission to eradicate al qaeda from afghanistan impossible. >> i'm not going to say it's knbility. that's 13 -- impossible. that's 13 years ago. the mission evolved. we continued to take a hard look at al qaeda, and other groups that facilitate them.

if you sit in the united states, in england today you don't worry about al qaeda. >> these african soldiers are worried. their base comes under repeated attack. they held the ground until now thanks to n.a.t.o. support. >> translation: our only need is for air support for planes. whenever we go on an operation, we need to be in contact with the air. when we case the enemy, we need air strikes. it's impossible to do the job without it. >> the air force is not just needed in the fight, but to evacuate the wounded. the general says the afghan airport is growing in strength. >> we continue to train the pilots and their nurses, their medics to be able to perform this care. they continue to get better and better. >> the new afghan president does not grey. president ashraf ghani voiced

concerns if afghan troops were injured on the battle ground, his forces would not evacuate them. >> translation: i cannot look at an injured policeman, intelligence officer or soldier to tell him i can not evacuate him. our heroes need a strong air force. >> after 13 years of conflict. n.a.t.o. is leaving afghanistan, with the battle far from over the the most the forces hope to do is contain the taliban and the al qaeda fighters in the country. general campbell insists they are up to the tack former soviet leader mikkel gorbachev. he issued a warning marking the 25th anniversary of the berlin wall coming down. >> the world is on the brink of a new cold war. some say it has begun. >> gorbachev says the u.n.

security council is not doing enough to mediate coming up we look at the berlin wall and discuss the impact of the event 25 years later. pope francis made a move reflecting his progressive trend on major social issues. he dem ode a cardinal -- demoted a cardinal openly against providing communion. pope francis has progressive stances such as welcoming homosexuals and called for no-cost marriage annulments a fifth stupid died following a shooting at a washington state high school two weeks ago. 15-year-old andrew fryeburg passed away. he was the last wounded student the hospitalized. jaylen fryeburg was andrew's cousin. jay line took his own life after opening fair in the school coming up, a 90-year-old man

is facing gaol time for feeding the homeless in fort lauderdale. the latest city passing an ordinance restricting help tore those in need voters in catalonia are set to vote to breakaway from spain. >> and in germany, the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. we look at that event next.

i can't welcome back. tomorrow marks 25 years since the fall of the berlin wall. we look at how int folded and what it phones. first, courtney keeley on why the wall was built >> reporter: at the end of world war ii, germany was occupied, it became independent east germany, the other west. after the country was divided it

was all but impossible for germans from the east to seek freedom in the west. there was a loophole. berlin was divided and agreements along the four powers promised freedom of movement between the country's sectors. capitalists, west berlin, was stuck like a bone in the soviet's threat. by the summer, thousands of germans fled to the west, embarrassing the rub jrnings that on august -- rush diswlarnings on august 12th -- russian, on august 12th permission was given to close the wall. a barbed wire and barrier was built. >> east berliners coveting jobs in the west were told to stay home. >> reporter: the east called is antifascist. the rest of the world called it

the berlin wall. over the years, what was coils of barbed wire grew to a 100 mile double white concrete wall that snaked around west berlin, cutting off streets and dividing families and friends. >> behind it on the east german side was a death strip. soft sand showing footprints, machine guns and soldiers with orders to shot on site. 80 east germans were killed trying to flee over the wall between 1961 and 1989. more than 5,000 east germans, including 600 border guards crossed by jumping out of windows, climbing over barbed wire, crawling through the sewers and driving through unfortified parts of the wall at high speeds. >> some of the daring including an east german who drove a train. german soldiers tore up the tracks to prevent anyone else

doing the same. another used and armoured car smashed into the wall. another drove his car without a windshield to help his mother and grandmother hiding in the trunk defect to the west. >> in the world of freedom... >> reporter: western leaders offered words of support, but remained unable to effect change. >> mr gorbachev, open this gate. [ cheering and applause ] >> mr gorbachev, tear down this wall. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: while it's widely believed that western ideology prevailed and toppled the berlin wall. economics played a key role. with increasing numbers of east germans fleeing to the west in the summer of 1989, mikhail

gorbachev visited the east and told the leaders they were on their own. on the afternoon of november 8th, an east german spokesman announced new travel telling a room that east germans would be able to travel to the west immediately. >> at 11:30 that night a lieutenant colonel surrounded by a crowd made the decision to open the crossing. >> the berlin wall was built to keep those detecting to the west. february 1989 was the last time a person was shot and killed. in may, hungary opened its borders, allowing movement between warsaw pact and nato countries. east germans fought to move west. creating a crisis.

on october 18th, the leader was forced to resign. the following month anti-government demonstrators reached a peak. as 1 million rallied in east berlin. five days later the east german government lifted travel restrictions. within hours, demonstrators were celebrating. on september 3rd, u.s. president bush and gorbachev announced an end to the cold war, and the following year east and west general assembly re-un ited, something barely conceivable when the process began a year earlier. to talk more about the fall of the u.s. wall, let's bring in timothy fry, from colombus university. and a professor of global leadership, history and public policy at the university of texas. did the moment mark the end of the cold war? >> i think when the berlin wall

came down, it was a symbolic moment. it was clear to everyone that fundamental political and economic change was on the way. it's important to bear in mind that the culmination of political and economic change in russia, and demonstrations throughout europe were those driving the forces of the call of the wall. >> was that your take at that moment? >> it was. it represented the end of the cold war in three ways fitting with what tim said. people recognised that those that had been the feared enemies were no longer their enemies. it was a mutual perception. the economics of the relationship changed as well, as the west began to not only trade with the east, but provide loans. and the third significant shift was the movement away from the fear of nuclear conflict between

the two enemies. americans lived and soviets with the fear of nuclear war. that went away by the end of the 1980s. >> when we looked back at that night. did anyone know what to expect? >> no, i was a first semester graduate student in columbia. i was in the midst of many that knew about the region. as we look out over the last 15-20 years were unfull filled. you could have made a lot of money by betting people. several countries would be mem betters of n.a.t.o. and join the e.u. the level of violence would be as low as it was. we can't diminish the war in yugoslavia and ukraine. but many predicted ethnic

violence and clashes between countries, and we haven't seen that. >> the demonstration was peaceful. one single shot. any push back by the east germans, history could have changed. how much credit does gosh get for that? >> -- gorbachev get for that. >> we have to give enormous credit to gasha chov. he called for an opening up of the system he inherited in 1985 when he became the leader third, gosh made it clear -- gorbachev made it clear to most around him, that he did not want to use force. it is different to the policy in other areas, or in poland in 1980/"81. everything would have been

different in mikhail gorbachev was not on the scene. >> your thoughts? >> i agree. you have to take into account the economic situation was dire. the soviet union was dependent on oil to finance the budget. what makes gorbachev a remarkable individual, he was not the first to recognise deep problems in the soviet system. the problem is in order to conduct liberalization one needed to conduct political reform. he was able to push them much further than any of his predecessors. he was brave enough to risk putting - he was grave enough to risk the - introducing the political chains that were open-ended to save the economy.

some give credit for the fall of the berlin wall. >> i think it's an&angeration. i don't think we can exclude the united states. gorbachev was the key actor. there were moves made by the united states, and president ronald reagan. many close advisors, including the then director of the central intelligence and robert gates opposed efforts to reach out to gorbachev and were sceptical about what he was doing. regan was convinced he could work with gorbachev, that he could be a friend. regan was not the key actor, but

he played an important role there's a hot of leaders that are -- host of leaders that are part of the story. >> absolutely. >> if i can pick up on this. the west was important in the model that it served. own apart from policy decisions, the model giving people something to shoot for was motivating. >> do you think it transformed societies. by the late 1980s, they were well educated.

the political and economic system was a bat fit for society -- bad fit for society. they could look across the border and see people that looked and addressed like 'em people would say they want to the live in such a society. >> 25 years later. there's cultural differences. what have we learnt. you one thing that is imminent is culture, and the change. there are certain memories, assumeses, and prejudgments of a

people last and are held. russians have a suspicion, and it's felt in reverse. what we see in ukraine are some vestiges of that. within germany, it's taken 25 years for the east and west to see themselves as part of one country. >> why do you think the right wing politicians prospered in the east? >> i think right-wing politicians prospered in the east because easterners were not living as well as their western cousins and brothers even after unification, and many distrippeded the new fellow systems. right wing play on fear and distrust. it was no different in east germany as anyone else. >> i agree with germany. if we look at the countries of

eastern europe and the baltic states, they look like countries of latin america at their stage of economic development. people with middle income countries, with all the problems of middle income countries. transformation is not pretty. we look at what has changed. if we look at. >> if we compare the baltic states, the differences are less than we would have expected, given the legacy of socialism. >> do you think capitalism came too vast? >> the data is convincing. those that suffered reforms are those that saw the drops in g.d.p. per capita, and did their

best engendering economic growth. those countries were unwilling to introduce economic reforms, choosing graduate paths where the cost is higher. the evidence is clear. former soviet gasha chov says the -- gorbachev says the world is on the brink. what do you say? >> it's dangerous. gorbachev is feeling a great deal of remorse for a variety of reasons. i don't think we should take it seriously. the cold war was a global struggle between two ideological systems. we do not have that between two systems today. we have a lot of regional issues and conflicts. ukraine is one. the islands off china are another. the middle east is filled with regional conflicts. thee are not global between two systems devoted to the anhilation or the subjugation of the other one. we should be happy not to live

in the cold war, and not be nostalgic for the cold car. >> with all the respect i have for mikhail gorbachev. i think it's an overstatement. when i was in school i remember doing duck and cover drills to prepare us for the inevitable nuclear war that people expected. we don't have a sense of that. ukraine is a serious problem. relations between the u.s. and russia is bad. the crisis in ukraine is not the cuban missile crisis. we need perspective. >> 25 years of change. we'll leave it there. great to have you with us. >> thank you coming up a nurse that defied a qut for ebola quarantine makes another announce: and the weather. >> what goes up must come down,

it's down so low in some places that we have a monster storm bringing an outbreak of arctic air to the united states. your details on that and the forecast coming up.

welcome back, voters in kata lopia will define the government and vote on independence and possibly force a constitutional vote. we go to catalonia, where many live as if they are in a separate nation. >> reporter: imagine a future in which catalonia becomes a nation. these children can. >> we want catalonia to be a free country, we want the right to vote for independence. >> reporter: this dream is shared by many. on sunday catalans take part in

a public consultation on independence, after the government blocked a referendum on the same day, calling it illegal. despite the resistance, some have long flown the independence flag. >> in 2012, this major declared the land free catalan territory. 600 towns stopped paying to madrid and sent to catalonia's government instead. >> the spanish government doesn't understand the more it tries to stop. the mar we'll react. >> sunday's public consultation is not recognised by the spanish government, to many it is a refferenta in all -- referenda in all but names. given the numbers, it is clear that many support independence.

catalans claim because of their history culture and traditions, and despite event, they insist the time for independence is now a development in saudi arabia when it came to women's right. the saudi king's advisory council is reporting that the female ban be lifted on women drivers. the council recommends that women over 30 be allowed to drive as long as they are off the road after 6:00 p.m. they would need permission from a male relative the mexican government says three suspects confessed to killing the missing 43 students. the families say they will not accept the news without proof. >> reporter: outrage and indignation continues to be

expressed in mexico after moves on friday when the attorney-general announced that three suspects confessed to killing 43 students that went missing at the hands of local police six weeks ago. during the press conference, he showed clips of the confession, where the suspects talked about how they killed the 43 students, then burnt their bodies, mutilate them and tossed the remains into the river. we saw scenes of forensic experts combing the area. lots of bones, teeth and clothing be longing to the men. the parents came out and denied the claims of the attorney-general, saying they would not accept them until they had independent proof from argentine forensic experts that have been called in by the families to verify the d.n.a. the d.n.a. collected by the

mexican government is in austria, and will take several days, if not weeks, for confirmation. the outrage continues in mexico, but abroad. this tragedy brought home on an international scale the level of violence that mexicans live with daily, not just from criminal organizations, but politicians and corrupt police. the president of mexico did express outrage, and his condolences, but he, too, is receiving a lot of criticism home and abroad. people are saying he didn't ask fast enough and is failing to deliver on a promise to bring down violence. >> raging waters and rain lasted throughout the night. winds were blowing at 62 miles per hour, um rooting trees and tearing the roofs off homes.

look at the scene. air forts stopped operating. forecasters say it could continue through next week. through next week? >> yes, there's another storm coming in for italy. it will be hit hard with the rain and the wind. it's interesting to look at this type of issue, especially around venice, where there was so much flooding measuring 3.5 feet. we expect to see the winds. it's a colloquial term. it means that it's coming up out of the south east very fast, pushing waves up, and flooding through venice. now with the storm coming through, we have a round of horrific flooding going on in northern italy. higher elevations, mountain snow. it is around milan. major flooding is possible.

it will be lighter amounts of rain. heavy, and bringing in a flood threat for a large portion of italy through the course of the next two days. now let's get to the monster storm. it really was. this storm's low pressure was so low it was pushing down on the ocean surface, shoving waves up 50 feet in height. this potentially is a new record low pressure recorded so far in the last check, 920. the satellite showing the storm tracking, taking a turn. but the impact that this storm has is to force a trough of low pressure on the other side of the rocky mountains. that low pressure as it dies - what goes up over the west coast must come down into the rockies, sucking cold arctic air.

temperatures will be plummeting, and then a lot of snow out of this. this will hit places around sas cat u wan that this custodies recorded yesterday. snow up to a foot across the canadian border. we'll see snow as we go south, to the colorado rockies and denver. 1-3 inches. the low temperatures starting to drop. we'll feel the chill coming into the upper midwest. colder on monday. and we'll be dropping below zero in the upper midwest on tuesday. >> cold temperatures and the snow on top it of. thank you coming up on al jazeera america - feeding the homeless. many cities are passing ordinances making serving meals to the homeless in public places il.

>> al jazeera america presents the best documentaries >> i felt like i was just nothing >> for this young girl, times were hard >> doris had a racist, impoverished setting had a major impact >> but with looks charm.... >> i just wanted to take care of my momma... >> and no remorse... >> she giggles everytime she steps into the revolving door of justice >> she became legendary... >> the finer the store, the bigger the challenge >> al jazeera america presents the life and crimes of doris payne welcome back.

the american nurse that fought back against ebola in maine says she's moving. kasi hickox spent the last two weeks and she and her boyfriend are looking to move outside the state an elderly fort lauderdale man is facing charges for feeding the homeless in public. many cities are passing ordnances that restrict where homeless can be served. some say it's hard to get aid for those in need. >> a compromise would be if the city of ford lauderdale or a city in the downtown areas make sure there are indoor food sharing programs available three times a day, seven days a week. that would reduce the number of people forced to wait for good samaritans to come by, hoping

and praying that some group would show up on a weekend or weekday. an indoor food sharing programme will reduce how many are in the parks. there'll still be food sharing. there's a moral obligation to share food with those individuals. that was the director organising the national coalition for the home also. richelle carey spoke earlier. we'll have that report at 11:00pm eastern this week a federal judge approved detroit's plan to yim out of the bankruptcy, allowing them to cut $7 million in debt. "real money"s ali velshi explains. >> a federal government approved detroit's bankruptcy plan, 16 months after the city became the largest municipal bankruptcy history. the go ahead came after a

2-month trial costing the city 150 million in fees. by all accounts it was a speedy resolution for an incredibly complicated process, full of political negotiations and financial deal making. when detroit filed for bankruptcy the city racked up $18 billion in debt. under the plan $7 billion was wiped out entirely. here is how that happened. some creditors settled for less than they owed or they are taking cash, long-term leases or real estate. a key piece to the puzzle fell in place when bond insurers secured redevelopment rights in downtown detroit. city workers agreed to a 4.5% cut to pension checks and a 90% reduction in health care. mainly, in what has been called the grand bargain, the state of

michigan, various foundations and private phil an throughists kicked in there 1816 million to avoid the sale of art and pension cuts. looking forward the plan calls for $275 million in new borrowing, and another $1.7 billion to remove blighted buildings and shore up neglected services. ultimately the city's long-term viability depend on boosting tax revenue. that means more economic growth, better jobs, and above all a need for people to move back and reinvest in detroit. it's a city that with the big three automakers was a powerful symbol of that country's manufacturing might. it has, for too long, become representative of how far america has fallen. in the near future, detroit will not be on its own. a financial oversight board monitors the processes for a

dozen years, and the fund investment will be under supervision "real money" ali velshi breaking it down doris payne is her name, she was a jewellery chief. she used beauty and sophistication to steal millions. we'll tell her story in "the life and crimes of doris payne." >> she is so famous her life story is about to become a movie starring halle berry. >> my methodology of stealing jewellery took me over the world. >> she made a life-long career out of stealing. >> she starts the slight of hand game and how she plays it. which is to get several pieces, look at them, look at them, look at them. and she'll say what happened to the 6 carat yellow diamond with few inclusions. "oh, it was here, let me look."

doris will find it, "no, here it is." oh, she's trustworthy, and then she has you. >> it was a challenge. the finer the store, the bigger the challenge. new york, milan, paris, rome, london - even rodeo drive - i didn't know it was it, i went. he gave me $148,000 $92,000. $38,000 pounds, eight or nine carr at weight. zurich $78,000. i went to japan, london, paris, italy and took jewellery. i could pull it off anywhere. >> we invite you to join us for the debut of al jazeera - the life and times of doris payne coming up next, why 845,000 ceramic poppies are covering the

tower of london.

100 years after the start of the first world war the poppy symbolizes the huge loss of life. peter sharp reports how the flower came to symbolize something more. >> in flankeders fields the poppies grow, beneath the row on

row. >> in one line of birth it linked the poppy to the great war. 100 years later the blood-red flower is a symbol of a nation's determination never to forget. at the tower of london, a river of ceramic poppies encircles the med evil royal palace. each flower representing a soldier that died in the first world war. there's 888,000, 246 poppies in this dramatic installation entitled blood swept lands and seas of red. for many of the 3 million visitors, an emotionally charged experience. >> it's an incredible concept for a tribute that is necessary. i'm struck by how many are here. that's wonderful. >> it was an emotional memory, i think, as well. seeing the poppy sparkling in the sun, it's almost wrong that they should sparkle like that when they are here for the reason they are. >> most people here lost someone

in the great wall and it's a tribute to them. >> along the railings, families created galleries, pictures of me that never made it back. connecting their lose to 100 years ago and today's tributes. those that believe that over the years the meaning of the poppy is subverted. >> the poppy comes to symbolize more loyalty to the country. it's always dangerous. it's particularly dangerous when we have a toxic debate about immigration, when muslims are targeted in british society to prove their loyalty. and the poppy is becoming a vehicle for that. >> that is a minority view. the field is a national landmark, attracting millions of people. paying respects to 840 british and commonwealth soldiers who died during the great war. each remembered by a single

poppy. >> that will do it for this hour. thank you for joining us, i'm thomas drayton in new york. i'll be back with another hour of news at 11:00pm eastern, 8:00 pacific. stay tuned. "consider this" starts now. blood bath, disaster, drubbing - they are the nicer terms used to describe the democrats debacle in tuesday's midterms. also award winning journalist on how she believes the government put her under surveillance for investigating the plt and why so many veterans struggle with an addiction to war. i'm antonio mora, welcome to "consider this". those stories and more ahead. >> the american political map is a s