mission arrives on mars. until then, the counter fleet of spacecraft carries out vital scientific research. >> and a reminder that you can keep up to date with all the news on the website. the address aljazeera.com. >> crowds fill the national mall in washington as the pope prepares to speak to congress. >> not everyone is happy with the pope's visit, controversy swirls among republican lawmakers critical of his views. >> a stampede kills more than 400 muslim pilgrims during the haming, the worst tragedy there in nine years.

this is aljazeera america. good morning. live from new york city, i'm randall pinkston. pope francis will make history once again this morning on his first visit to the u.s. he is becoming the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of congress. thousands will watch the historic address inside and outside the capital. the pope's first day in the u.s. was a whirlwind. he visited the white house and met privately with president obama, then he thrilled huge crowds during a parade along d.c. streets before a special mass to canonize the saint. you are taking a live look at the national mall where some 30,000 people are expected to gather. del walters is there, too, where he will hear the pope's address. del, tell us what's going to happen outside the capital building. >> what you are hearing is the

national anthem as a climate day rally is kicking off, co in crieding with the papal address that will take place inside congress at 9:20 this morning. there are expect to go 40,000 people on the mal. to give you an example of how the day is going to proceed, he will be ushered into the east side opposite of where i'm standing. he will hold a private meeting with house speaker john boehner and after that meeting be ushered into that joint meeting of congress. members of congress have been told to not dilly or tarry, told not to take picture with the pope or engage in conversations, as they want to get him in to his address. it is summed up by saying prayers, politics and passion, more concerned this pope is

spending too much time on politics, not enough on passion. >> an old -- not old, personned washington hand, how does the pope's visit compare to other events that you've witnessed. >> one of the things interesting about the pope visit and you're right, i've been here for the million man march, this malfilled with people, concerns about security and that many people coming to town. there was absolutely no violence that week at all. i was here for barack obama's nomination. there were fears they would have to shut down washington inside the beltway. that didn't happen. i guess what's different about this one is the tone and tenor when the pope arrived and he departed that procession in a fiat. this is a man of the people. this is the people's house. if anything, washington is not changing the pope, the pope

seems to be changing washington. the question is when he leaves, will it catch on. >> what are people there telling you about witnessing history? >> what's fascinating is we spent an awful lot of time talking about the issue of history. one of the things that happens in washington is what they don't talk about. what they are not talking about is what they talked about last week. they talked about deposting 11 million people in this country, now talk about ordering up the border as opposed to building fences, talking about bringing in syrian refugees for asylum from the wars. they are talking about the little girl, 5-year-old trophy cruz who was plucked out of the crowd. she said i am the face of what they have been be talking about so much on television, i'm one of those anchor babies. she used her words. she said i was born in this country, therefore i am a u.s.

citizen, but my parents are not, she asked the pope please do something about that. that is what everybody is talking about. they talking about what the pope wants them to talking about. as you know, there is at least one member of congress that says he is spending too much time on politics, arizona congressman paul gozar said he will not be here, because he wants the pontiff to spend more time on prayer and passion. >> pope francis said climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to future generation, today, several environmental groups are there for a rally on the national mall to spread that message. >> organizers say this is another opportunity to bring more attention to the issue of climate change. this rally has been dubbed the rally for moral action on

climate and justice. it's an opportunity for environmental activists as well as faith leaders to come here just to in the shadow of the u.s. capitol to talk about bio change. thank you for joining us. one of the issues we talked about earlier was about the issue of not only reducing emissions. you say that is half of the problem here. >> that's half of the equation. the sources are part of the equation, but where the carbon goes is what we haven't investigated yet. we really need to pay attention to getting carbon out of the also mere and into the ground. >> how do we do that. >> by growing green plants, which pull carbons into complex molecules and puts them deep in the ground, increase land productivity, make it possible

for communities to be self sufficient, particularly in the developing world, but also near. we can take enough carbon out of the atmosphere within a couple of decades to actually start reversing global warning. we can go back to industrial levels if we get serious about this. it eventually pays for itself because of the increase in productivity. it doesn't require fossil fuel inputs. it's nature's package deal. >> we're going to hear from more environmental activists as well as faith leaders and artists to brick more attention to the issue of climate change as the pope speaks to congress later this morning. >> thanks. the pope addresses a meeting of congress.

we are live on capitol hill. libby, we have heard that at least one member of congress won't be there in part because pope francis has had political messages that some members of congress don't like. what do you think he'll be saying in congress today? >> ran d.l., that's right. as we talked about, there is an arizona congressman whose not attending, saying the pope sounds too much like a leftist. the hope has defended his standings, saying i'm not a leftist, i'm fog in a long tradition of poles of leaders of church. we expect him to deliver a message morning that is a mix of humility, faith, but also of action, consulting on members of congress to put aside partisanship, to put aside sort of rhetoric and get to work and have dialogue. he has been bringing up some touchy subjects to some here during his trip in washington.

while he spoke about climate change yesterday with president obama and a very good sense of synergy. if he brings that up this morning on capitol hill, it is more a look warm issue, because the republican dominated congress has concerns about that. we don't expect the pope to shy away from it. he may talk about issues that are less comfortable for democrats, so the pope may make everyone in the chamber at moments feel a little uncomfortable, but he also will couch all of that in a message we certainly expect of warmth, of collegiality and of humility. as we talked about this morning, don't expect to see these typical partisanship that you might see if the president were addressing congress. we are not expecting to see cheering and whooping. this is supposed to be as speaker boehner called for, a moment to listen. the house speaker that called for members to open their hearts and try to receive the message.

>> speaker boehner has been trying for a long time to get the pope to address congress. this for speaker boehner at least is certainly a moment of triumph. >> it is, and it's deeply personal. he is saying all i know about the speech today is that it will be in english, one of the fore addresses the pope will address. he will use a teleprompter. he said i am just there to listen. there are other catholic members of congress who will be there, including the top democratic nancy pelosi and then others will attend. john kerry, the secretary of state. we expect to see four supreme court justice attend. three of them actually went to the mass yesterday. it's not required attendance, so the fact that other justice are not coming, including three catholics should not be seen as a rejection of this, but you'll note that the three catholic

justice not attending are all on the more conservative side of the spectrum. >> some are outraged that the pope canonized an 18th sentry missionary who they say it is brutal and repressive efforts to bring converts to clickism. cat. >> on wednesday, pope francis said junipo serra, we claire and define him to be a saint and enroll him among the saints, that he is to be convenient rated as such by the whole church, in the name of the father and the of the son and of

the holy spirit. >> the canonization has come under criticism from some californians, but particularly from native americans. serra may have spread the gospel in the new world but as part of european lon nication, his mission system brought suffering and death to natives. 5,000 indians were baptized, not all by choice. for many native american groups, father serra is not a saint, but a sinner. 100,000 indians are said to have died. >> at the same moment of the canonization, on the west coast, native americans convened to protest the ceremony. >> do we believe that people who commit crimes should be held responsible for them? yes, but the church doesn't believe that serra should be held responsible for the crimes against the native people, and

that's what hurts. >> the vatican has acknowledged the troubles the church brought to north america, but says that junipo serra was a moderating influence against the worse aspects of spanish conquest. perhaps as an olive branch, the ceremony included the participation of the descendents of mission indians. not to neglect the rest of america's diverse catholics, as part of mass, the church included readings in korean, and other languages. father junipo serra is not just a saint but also a latino and with millions of catholic latinos in the u.s., a cause for great celebration for that community. >> it's a bises day for the pope. after his address to congress,

the pope will have lunch at a food pantry in washington. hundreds of people are expected to dine with him. this afternoon, pope francis heads to new york, where he will hold an evening prayer service at saint patrick's cathedral. >> the new york police department says it is ready to handle what it is calling the largest security challenge ever for the city. 170 world leaders are also in town for the united nations general assembly. many city streets are already closed. air space will be restricted. in our next hour, we'll take a closer look at the preparations in new york city. >> be sure to stay with aljazeera america all day for special coverage of pope francis's address to canning and his travels to new york city. the pope is expected to speak about social issues during his address to congress as republicans and democrats are locked in a funding battle that could lead to a funding shutdown. another measure would defund

planned parenthood. it is expected to fail. the senate may then consider a separate temporary funding bill to avoid a shut down. >> china's leader heads to washington for a state visit with president obama. how his time in seattle has already gained his nation billions in new business.

>> authorities in saudi arabia now say more than 450 people

have been killed in stampedes outside mecca. they were performing the holiday procession of hajj. more than 700 others have been injured. despite the stampede, pilgrims are continuing with their rituals. >> judging from watching live pictures on saudi t.v. and also from my vantage point, i see a smooth process happening. jill just explain to you. this is to the east of the holy city of mecca, it's a big massive tent city, more than 160,000 tents are located there and it's full of pilgrims. it's a huge number. it's a headache for the saudi authorities to try to control the flow of such a big number of pilgrims. >> we are looking live at the aftermath in mecca, which is a

few miles from where the stampede occurred during what's known as the stoning of the devil ceremony, celebrating the hajj. >> the president of chain in a met with tech leaders. >> china will open up still wider to the outside world. we will be firmly committed to the strategy of opening up and continue to draw strength from the world for development and bring more benefits to the world through our own development. >> xi visited bow wing's production facility and toured microsoft. china just inked a $38 billion deal with bowing. xi hopes to remove barriers to foreign trade and move to remove

restrictions on trade through china. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell for the weather. >> getting to the midsection of the country, you can see this offshore element moving more onshore to the southeast. heavy rain in place like iowa and nebraska, you could see hit and miss flooding right now. this will lose its moisture. today is the bigger rain day, tomorrow improves, we can see that on the outlook. more rain fluctuates inward add we get to the coastline. this is needed rain. we have states like south carolina that are over 90% in dry and drought conditions. this is beneficial. that also keeps this area of the southeast cool while a lot of the rest of the country are seeing temperatures that maybe are just a little above average. back to you. >> thanks, nicole. >> regulating education at home. why some states are proposing

new laws to protect children being homeschooled.

>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target weeknights 10:30p et >> another legal set back for county clerk kim davis, denied a stay over the order requiring her to issue marriage licenses. her attorney said she has made a good faith effort to comply. several couples that filed suit saying she interfered by taking her name off their marriage licenses. >> a new policy in effect in seattle public schools. elementary school students con no longer be suspended. the school board unanimously approved the change last night.

the new resolution calls on the superintendent to create plans for staff training and alternative disciplinary programs. >> some states are introducing new laws to regulate home schooling. 28 states do not require parents to submit tests or assessments to prove they are actually educating their children. some critics argue that means kids aren't learning the basics. ♪ >> december is still months away, but 12-year-old william daniel hopkins is already rehearsing holiday songs with new york university's children's chorus. >> dark things got me all teary-eyed. >> his mother has been home schooling her son for four years. the family lives in new york, a state that monitors homeschoolers. hawkins said the family sort of fell into home schooling. >> we went through the first year, and i fell in love with

home schooling, frankly, so did he. every year i ask him, do you want to go back to school? no, mom, i want home school. >> some states exert no oversight, making it harder to detect case of child abuse. the executive director at the coalition for home responsible education, her team collected child abuse numbers from news reports and court documents. with that data, she asked the question. >> what would be the proportional fatal of fatalities to expect if they were the same in homeschool settings compared to school settings, and we ultimately found the number we have in homeschool is higher. >> one case made headlines in 2003 in new jersey. 19-year-old bruce jackson was found on the street weighing just 45 pounds. he was searching for food in the garbage to feed himself and his three underfed foster brothers. their case fell through the cracks, because all four were

being homeschooled in a state with no oversight. >> did you give them money? >> i did. >> new jersey state senator was shocked by the case, so she tried to introduce a few home schooling laws in the state legislature. wineburg said in all her years in public office she has never experienced such hostile backlash. >> we were jammed with phone calls, our voice male couldn't take anymore messages. >> she eventually gave up on the bill. >> you have the choice of doing the previous one or going to the new one. >> in contrast, new york state has much more regulation, and that's just fine with hawkins. >> i do find it helpful personally to have some level of structure about what i'm expected to report back. >> coleman said the cases of gross abuse are harder to get away with while a child is attending school. >> home schooling really offers

them a powerful tool that they wouldn't have had otherwise. >> how can kins says yes, coleman's research is disturbing, but she says too much oversight may not be the answer. >> we say hey, if there are these sort of one off situations, how can we look at that systematically, not just as one off. that's a great conversation. i think the conversation i keep hearing is more how can we make sure these homeschoolers are doing what they're supposed to be doing. >> al jazeera, new york. >> thank you for joining us. stephanie sy is back in two minute witness more aljazeera america morning news. we are switching now to live pictures of the capitol. 30,000 people are expected to gather outside the building to hear pope francis' historic address to congress in just a few hours. keep up throughout the day on aljazeera.com. beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive

into the stories that are making our world what it is.

>> it's full of pilgrims. it's a huge number, a headache for the saudi authorities to try and control the flow of such a big number of pilgrims. >> around 2 million people are in mecca for the pilgrimage. it ends today. it is followed by the muslim holiday. tragedies like this one, this morning have happened in the past. in 2006, 360 pilgrims were killed in a stampede in the same

location. two years earlier, a similar i want left 244 people dead on the final day of the pilgrim only. in 2001, a stampede killed 35 people, but the worst hajj related tragedy happened in 1990. 1426 were killed then in a tunnel leading to holy sites. we will continue to follow the hajj stampede with updates as they become available. >> more on the pope's visit to the united states. pope francis will speak before a joint meeting of congress in two hours. libby casey is live on capitol hill. there is a climate change rally nearby. let's begin with del walters on the national mall. what you are witnesses among the throngs of people there? i can see the giant video screen there behind you. >> those giant video screens are set up because they anticipate that as many as 40,000 people

will gather here on the national mall within the next two hours. we have been here since about 6:00 this morning eastern time and slowly, they are starting to trickle in. they are without, they are black, hispanic, faithful, catholic, non-catholic. they are coming here to see the man who has become known as the people's pope. what is going on behind me exactly is a climate rally. when the pope begins to speak, they will then dim those monitors that are set up so that we can listen to the pope and not the music that is going on behind me.

♪ >> the reason is so difficult to hear lin and others soft spoken, that is acclimate rally. among the people this morning, we are trying to shout over them. that's what it's going to be like down here on the national mall. stephanie. >> with we heard at least the enthusiasm there. libby casey for us live on capitol hill joins us. not everyone is excited to hear from the pope where you are. >> that's true, stephanie. one congressman is planning to sit this out because he's concerned about the message of

pope francis. some of the pope's more progressive messages during his two and a half years in the papacy have put the congress in an awkward position. >> pope francis has called capitalism's excesses the dung of the devil. >> human beings and nature must not be at the service of money. let us say no to an economy of exclusion and inequality where money rules rather than service. >> in june, the pope called for global action to fight climate change. conservative commentators unleashed a furious response, radio host russia limbaugh saying he sounds like a marxist. >> there are a few issues that get a lot of attention because they are flash points of disagreement between the vatican and conservatives and especially the republican majority in

congress. >> like the pope says support of the iran nuclear deal and his crucial role mediating the relationship between the u.s. and cuba, very different positions than that of the man who invited pope francis to address congress, house speaker john boehner a devout catholic. >> one thing we know about this pope, he's not afraid to take on the status quo and not afraid to say what he really thinks. i'm not about to get myself into an argument with the pope. >> speaker boehner will have a rare private audience with the pope. >> i suspect that what the speaker is hoping to do is just ensure that the pope is able to have a positive reception from congress. >> six republican presidential candidates are click, all sorting out how to react to the pope's messages on the campaign trail, like jeb bush back in june. >> i don't get economic policy from my bishop or my pope.

>> some have long held opinions on gay marriage and birth control. >> boston college professor said the pope's message will transcend politics but not ignore it. >> this man not as a politician but a spill leader will be addressing issues that are deeply political and social, and real relevance to our societies and cultures. >> many say the pope's address is historic, an opportunity to listen and put politics aside for a morning. >> stephanie, the speaker has asked members to have decorum during this morning's speech. they are not supposed to clap or cheer or sit solemnly. this is going to be a little different than when the president talks to congress. you can expect the mope to touch on climate change within income inequality and education.

>> besides the members of congress, who else is expected to be in the house chamber for this speech? >> the vice president will be there. you can expect to see john kerry and four supreme court justice will attend. all not nine. it's not mandatory to come. they are invited. three catholic justice are planning not to come and you will note that they are the more conservative justice on the court. you can read into that what you with i will, but it will be a packed house this morning, literally. tickets were precious items and people are really excited to be here. >> libby casey, we'll check back in with you in a bit. >> in his speech at the white house on wednesday, pope francis said climate change is a problem which con no longer be left to future generations. >> we are living at a critical

moment of history. we still have time to make the change needed to bring about sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. >> today, several environmental groups are there for a rally on the national mall in washington. you heard del talk about that. they are there to spread their message. hope to get the attention of the pope. we are there this morning. what are the organizers of this event hoping to achieve? >> good morning, as you can tell, it's a very lively crowd gathering here. environmental activists, musicians and artists are gathering here to bring more attention to the issue of climate change ahead of the pope's address in congress where it is expect to feature

prominently. one organizer of the rally is here with us now. tell us how significant the pope's stance and the encyclical of june is to the issue of climate change. >> it's absolutely critical. he obviously amplified the message. he is a force of good in the world. he has the respect of so many people. he is a thought leader who is really raising the consciousness now of all people. especially our elected officials. >> how much of an impact do you think it will have particularly on conservatives who are resistant to some of the things that you are pushing for. >> i think it's going to have enormous impact. can you imagine, really, this man standing in front of the world, telling people that we need action on climate change. i think there are going to be a lot of people who are going to recognize that deferring to the moral forces of pope is something that we all want to do. >> what do you hope to accomplish with this rally?

>> this rally is to show our solidarity behind the pope and to amplify his message to our leaders. after all, the pope didn't come as a tourist. he came on a mission to tell our leaders that he wants them to take action on climate and we are saying we are the public face of america, and we are asking them to take action on climate, too. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks so much. >> as you've been mentioning, the pope is speaking to congress just in a short while this morning. at least one conservative republican from arizona has announced that he would boycott that particularly because of the climate change issue. on the other hand. we've seen organizations like the university of notre dame saying they are going to stop burning coal for electricity. the question is how this is going to be received just beyond what the pope said in congress, and whether it had capital that would push change forward. activists here believe that it does. >> they hope that it does. is the pope expected to address

this june at all? >> i'm sorry, say that again. >> is the pope expected to address these environmental interfaith groups. >> that is the hope. that's one of the things that people have been talking about is how much the pope has been interacting as we've seen just in the last day since he's been here, the idea that the pope is as he's been dubbed, the pope of the people and that the issues are porn to him and that's something they hope to see later when he addresses congress. >> the crowds are gathering. joining us is patrick hornbeck. climate change is going to come up again in this meeting with congress. why is this issue so important from a religious perspective. >> pope francis talks about what

he calls the care of our common home. that means something very significant for him, the notion that we have this earth in common isn't just for him about protecting the environment, although that's been a major theme of his papacy, it's protecting every human being from poverty, war, discrimination. there's tentacle that is reach out into all of the different issues. i think climate change is one of the ones that's become controversy, because there's such significant differences of opinion still among political leaders here in the u.s. >> you never know which group the pope will meet with. he paid an unplanned visit to little sisters of the poor, fighting provisions of the affordable care act about contraception. was that a clear political gesture? >> it's a difficult one. we know that he went to see the little cities officers. while he was there, he didn't specific live address the lawsuit. he didn't specifically address their activism. the vatican spokesperson said

this was a sign of solidarity with them. the pope has to sort of thread the needle when it comes to issues of religious freedom and government regulations here in the u.s. that's an issue that comes up around same-sex marriage. it's an issue that comes up around contraception or abortion. the pope's been addressing both sides of that issue, talking about the need to ensure the religious freedom is respected and that no one is discriminated against. this is a really difficult circle for him to square but important to address both sides of the issue. >> in two hours, he enters the corridors of power in the richest country in the word. one thing we have not heard him talking about yet is this unfettered capitalism and his criticisms of the income inequality we are seeing around the world but particularly in this country. would you expect him to address that to congress? >> i think so.

you can't talk about climate change if you're pope francis unless youage that the burdens of climate change fall disproportionately on the word's poor. those are the people so often exploited by what he calls this unfettered capitalism. for pope francis, they are all one, about preserving and promoting the human dignity in every person. >> during his talk yesterday, he talked about the narcissism. i wonder if that is something that we might also hear as a chastisement to congress when he speaks today. >> absolutely. when he was speaking with the bishops yesterday, i thought it was one of the most powerful texts we've heard from the pope thus far, not for a secular audience, but a church audience. he was addressing bishops who have seen their moral credibility erode in pretty significant ways and saying to them the way that you reach out to people is by being among the people. don't live in fancy homes, don't

have fancy cars. i can't imagine that some people in congress won't be squirming if he has a similar mental for them today. >> patrick hornbeck who be joining us throughout the morning, thank you. >> the issue of immigration got personal for the pope while he was greeting crowds yesterday in washington. a 5-year-old and her family traveled from the los angeles to d.c.king to see him and sophie broke through the barrier to reach francis. security tried to stop her, but the pope motioned for the girl to come and she was brought to the pope mobile. she also passed him a written plea. >> i gived him a letter. >> sophie is the daughter of two undocumented immigrants. she says she's worried her parents could soon be deported. >> the pope has another busy schedule today after that address to the joint meeting of

congress. the pope will have lunch as a food pantry in washington. hundreds of people are expected to dine with him. this afternoon, the pope francis heads to new york for an evening prayer service. >> coming up in our next half hour, we will look at unprecedented security preparations in new york city to prepare for the pope. be sure to stay with al jazeera all day for special custom of the pope's address to congress and his travels to new york city. >> china's president goes to washington. xi jingpinwill meet with the president today. the pilot uses a roadway as a runway when he encouplers an emergency in the air. a live look now where the pope is staying. as you can see, crowds have already gathered to watch pope francis, hoping that he comes out and greets them as he did yesterday. we'll have continuing coverage of his final day in washington before he travels to new york.

>> china's president meets with president obama today. he kick started his visit to the u.s. yesterday with a stop in seattle. xi visited bowing and toured microsoft. he hopes to remove barriers to foreign trade and work to improve restrictions on technology and the internet within china. we have more. >> meshing american business interests and chinese requirements for operating there has never been easy. at a round table discussion in seattle involving many of both countries best nope c.e.o.'s, he spoke of challenges. >> china will open up still wired to the outside world. we will be firmly committed to the strategy of opening up and continue to draw strength from

the word for development and bring more benefits to the world through our own development. >> after a meeting, a trip north to bowing. the visit to the production line comes as china's official news agency and bowing announce a huge deal, 300 planes, worth tens of billions of dollars at list prices going to chinese companies, with the chicago based jet maker committing to building its first completion plant and you said the j in china where interiors are installed and paint jobs are done before delivery. >> china is the largest aviation market in the world and our partnering is creating jobs in china and the u.s. >> he gave a brief address. >> the keeps market is going to be a tremendous opportunity for international suppliers and manufactures going forward and

all of this will create enormous business opportunities for american corporations, including boeing. >> the big deal is a hard sell among workers. boeing's local machinists have grave concerns about plans to transfer aero space jobs out of state but needs for details. more talk of business trade and opportunities and issues as a u.s.-china internet forum. >> the tech industry wants continued access to the chinese market and wants assurance that is being in the chinese market, they are not going to lose their intellectual property, that it will be protected. >> a topic that will be on the table when president xi and president obama meet for talks in the other washington. al jazeera, seattle. >> colombia announced a breakthrough in peace talks with the farc. president santos held a

face-to-face meeting with rebel leaders in cuba. they have agreed to hold a special war crimes tribunal, form a truth commission and provide reparations for victims. secretary of state john kerry called colombia's president to congratulate him on the deal. >> european union leaders agreed to give $1 billion to agency that is assist refugees, including the united nations and world food program. hungary is reporting a new record in this ref fee and migrant crisis. hungary said a little over 10,000 asylum seekers entered the country on wednesday. >> volkswagen stock is rebounding this morning after its c.e.o. resigned in an emissions scandal, up 5.2% after closing at its lowest price since 2011. the c.e.o. stepped down wednesday after admitting the automakers installed software that tricked emissions tests. >> rain is making its way through parts of the south and the midwest this morning. let's bring in meteorologist

nicole mitchell for for. good morning. >> couple areas, a lot of the country looking good for the first full day of small. this is rain, isolated storms we've had. this will start to dry out somewhat. it's the system into the southeast that is going to become more robust and bring us more rain. the midwest sets the chance for our best spotty flash flooding, warnings and watches are up, but mostly not doing too badly. >> this one is where more of the rain is going to be and it will drift northward over the next couple of days, but not until after the events with the pope. this is needed rain. we have a lot of dry conditions. places like south carolina, over 90% in dry conditions. this is also keeping the temperatures a little cooler here. look at atlanta at 77 with some of that moisture, at least in

the area versus memphis at 90. of course our warm spot across the country is still into the southwest where it's drying everything out once again. i mentioned that forecast for all the different events going on. washington, d.c. today gorgeous, new york tomorrow, philadelphia on saturday, all really good forecasts. all the people outside will benefit from that. >> picture perfect, nicole mitchell thank you. >> thousands are gathering in front of the capitol this hour for another historic day in washington. pope francis is injecting politics into this with a joint meeting of congress this morning. he is expected to talk about social issues, perhaps including abortion while planned parent hood is taking center stage.

>> taking a look at today's top stories, in about half an hour, pope francis will make his way to the capitol to address a joint meeting of congress. tens of thousands of people have gathered outside to watch the speech on that large screens. >> chinese president is heading to washington to meet with president obama this afternoon. the pair are expected to talk about national trade and internet security. tomorrow, xi heads to new york for the united nations general assembly. >> there has been a deadly stampede at hajj. more than 450 people have been killed at the annual pilgrimage to mecca. more than 700 others have been injured. mecca is still reeling from a tragedy weeks ago when a construction crane collapsed near the main mosque, killing

nearly 100 people, injuring 200. 2 million people are in mecca. the pilgrimage ends today, followed by the muslim holiday. the director of the institute for gulf anniversary joins us. good morning. talk to us about the dangers of having millions of people convened at hajj. >> this has been very dangerous activity over the past 30 years. 7,000 people have died in stampedes, fires, hotel collapse and like we saw earlier in the month, the collapse in the grand mall. there is mismanagement and the processes, interns of the stampede, it's really caused mostly by the fact that the

saudi government has allowed the security mindset to take over. the people who organize are the ministry of interior, we are talking about soldiers who have no clue or experience in managing crowds or control. that's the cause of stampedes, because they have been the greatest killer of pilgrims over the decades. >> that is what is surprising. it has happened in previous years. sometimes more people have died. why can't the saudi authorities get a handle on this? they know the event is coming and that some 2 million people are going to arrive each year. >> again, it has to do with the security mindsets and in 1998, 2,000 people, between two to 3,000 people died in a stampede and it was caused by the behavior of security officer who

closed the tunnel. it is really has to do with the saudi government must not allow the ministry of interior who organize the hajj. this is not even the largest religious gathering in the word, but it's the most deadliest. that's why we need serious recognition of the problem, changing the way the hajj is organized is really the best way to avoid these deaths, because it's going to happen, and we had an accident less than two weeks ago. today, we have 500 people dying. really, this is a huge problem that must be addressed, can't be blamed on weather or on god's act. this is really has to do with the failure have the sawed government in organizing this hajj. they need to get help from around the world. >> the death toll continues to

rise, at 450. >> we return to our top story, pope francis spending his te day in washington before traveling to new york. del walters is on the national mall right now. people must be getting very excited to even get a glimpse of pope francis. >> in fact, stephanie, it seems like there is church going on. >> the pope will depart the. a pal resident in 20 minutes. it will take 15 minutes to arrive on the southeast i'd of

the capitol. he will be greeted by house speaker john boehner and have a meeting for 20-25 minutes and on to the joint meeting of congress, which we will carry live here on the national mall. until then, the festivities continue. this is perhaps my favorite person that i've seen this morning. there is a huge poster that a man is walking around with called flat francis. he wants you to take your picture with this flat francis and tweet your message about climate change or whatever, so that this pope who is well known on social media will use his power of social media to bring about change. it is a festive atmosphere down here. >> i know that you have spoken to some folks down there on the mall. what are they telling you about why this pope is so special to them and are you speaking to mostly catholics or are there people outside of the faith that are also interested in seeing

him? >> they are white, black, hispanic, protestant, catholic, from all denomination. what you hear people talk about a lot is what is called the francis effect and that is that people now are talking about things that we weren't talking about a week ago. a week ago, we were talking about politics. we were talking about building a wall between mexico and the united states and deporting 11 million people who may or may not be in this country without the proper documentation. now, we're talking about that 5-year-old girl who emerged from the crowd as the pope made his way down constitution avenue, little sophie cruz who said i'm the face are anchor babies. she was born in this country, therefore she is a u.s. citizen, but her parents were not and because they weren't, she says i fear that my parents will be deported. she asked the pope to do something. in this city, the larger the motorcade, the more important the person, they are saying that because of that fiat, now people

are thinking small and talking about climate change, which is what the pope was talking about yesterday. the headline in the washington post this morning saying prayer, politics, passion. some want the pope to be a little less political but they like the prayer and passion. >> del, thank you. a lot of people will be watching to see exactly what francis says when he's inside the house chamber. david shuster has more an what we might expect. >> pageantry, there are a lot of people who watch the pope's speech. the house and senate are invited. you have an official processional and then you have the members of the supreme court and then you have members of the cabinet and finally, the pope. what's so different about this is unlike state of the union, where you have some members of congress who are so desperate to shake the president's happened

and wave with that the leadership assigned 50 members of congress to take three seats on either side of the center i'll with instructions to essentially act as blocking mats. members of congress have been told don't shake hands, don't try to high five. they want decorum. >> they want the beefed behaved on the front rows. >> leadership on both sides have called a truce. in the past, state of the union if somebody mentioned something they like, they all stand and cheer. both sides have said let's not stand a cheer except at the beginning. you can appreciate the political temptation when the pope starts talking about climate change, joe biden starts to stand and what does john boehner do sitting in the shot as well. >> the vatican has approved only one standing ovation, but who knows. speaking of speaker boehner, apparently he has in the past have it popes to come address congress, but this is the first one. i would expect that he is going

to be very emotional on this day. what does it mean to him personally? >> that is so interesting about the picture we see. we look at the two people who will be behind the pope in this speech. you have john boehner who both wear the heart on the sleeve. this is such a big deal for me, a little catholic kid to ohio. he made the representation before the speech this morning, he will have a private meeting with the pope and that ceremonial speakers office, which is just off the house floor, there will be picture of that. john boehner will go into the well of the house and introduce the pope. it's a huge deal, and perhaps more emotional for john boehner. boehner may be fighting for his political life. he has this incredible moment of the pope being there, someone idolized and he has to balance all the politics and visuals, as well. >> we're going to have a segment

about the potential shutdown of the government. >> from washington, pope francis heads to new york. the city said it is propped for its largest ever security challenge. what are they doing to prepare for the trip? >> police commissioner made a statement the other day between the visit of pope francis and u.n. general assembly, the as i will have about 90% of the word leaders in the city at one time. i have not been able to verify his math in that regard, but what i can verify is that the city has undertaken massive, if often inconvenience security efforts. >> people that drive or commute to work driving are going to have a really, really hard time. >> parts of new york city are being locked down for the pope's two day visit. >> we believe that this event is going to be the largest security

challenge that the department and city have ever faced. >> the pope won't be the only v.i.p. in town opinion united nations dig tears are coming here, as well. >> in addition to the pope, we will have 170 confirmed world leaders in this city. >> the new york police department, along with members of the f.b.i., the secret service and 48 other agencies have been rehearsing for this day for months, practicing their response from a bottom to a power outage. eye security command centers where police will monitor the streets and the now restricted air space. as of today, the nypd is deploying an additional 6,000 officers, as well as 1200 patrol cars. >> we have the resources they need. they have the equipment, the personnel. >> on that friday, the pope visits central park, now fortified with miles of fencing. >> there will be 80,000 people

in central park on friday. >> there is the added challenge of protecting a man who likes to mingle with the people. >> if we could, we'll keep as tight a bubble as we could, but this pope has made it quite clear as he's traveled around the world that that's not what he does. >> friday evening, pope francis celebrates mass with 20,000 people at madison square gardens. the venue happens to be right on top of penn station, one of the cities busiest transportation hubs. >> how are you going to move? >> we have seen all kinds of things in new york city. we'll manage it. >> about a million and a half people commute to work in manhattan each and every day. about half of them through the aforementioned penn station across the street from us here in manhattan. there will be some hard commuting days ahead for people here in the city as pope francis makes his visit. at one woman put it to me on the

way over here, it's the pope. we will manage. >> we will. john henry smith, thank you. >> pope francis has a jampacked schedule in new york city. friday morning, he will be addressing world leaders as john mentioned at the u.n. then he will visit the 9/11 memorial. in the afternoon, he will visit children at a catholic school, and he will celebrate mass in the evening at madison square gardens. stay with al jazeera all day for special coverage of the pope's address to congress and travels to new york city. >> the pope i can expected to speak about social issues to congress. as republicans and democrats are locked in a funding battle that could lead to a government shutdown, the senate plans to vote form over another measure that would defund planned parenthood. it is expect to fail. the senate may consider a separate temporary funding bill to avoid a shutdown.

dave levinthal joins us. good to see you had. how strong is the push among republicans to hold up a spending bill ocean of defunding planned parenthood? >> you have a contingent on the right wing of the republican party that is really pressing, stephanie, as hard as they possibly can to make a political point here. they feel passionately about defunding planned parenthood. they're willing to let the government shut down to get that done. you have a situation where they're going to pressure john boehner and the republican leadership. ultimately the question is is it really going to happen. if you have to put money on it, i would say congress is going to avoid a shutdown. >> what is the point of this from the vantage point of the hardliners? what is this actually about? >> this is about politics and making a point, and ultimately, this is the best stage that this

contingent of the republican party has to make the point that in their opinion, planned parenthood should be receiving no government support. ultimately, you have democrats and republicans who have a very limited amount of time right now to come to some kind of conclusion to avoid what would, if not be catastrophic, be a major, major problem for the entire united states not only in d.c. where you would have hundreds of thousands of people not going to work but across the country where you have other federal workers, where you have people who do, with the government. it would cause a great deal of consternation and problems just as it did two years ago when the government did shut down for half a month. >> you have to wonder whether the strategy of attacking planned parenthood and several gop presidential hope was said they would defund planned parenthood ends up back firing. 92 american men and women use

the clinics. abortion is 3% of what they do and no federal funds go to that. is there concern among the republican establishment that this back fires. >> it could backfire and alienate people. it could also energize a lot of people who believe that the government does have no role in funding an organization such as planned parenthood. this is going to come down to is this a moment to make that political point. the leadership both in the democratic and republican party have to come to some conclusion here ultimately to keep the government open, whether it's now, whether it's after the government shuts down, and what's a likely scenario is that they're goings to ok, we're going to punt, cool off here, we're going to pass what's called a continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels and make an ultimate decision on this and negotiate sometime later this year by the end of this year. it's a likely scenario and maybe

the one we have before october first, the deadline to get this done. >> thank you for joining us. >> a new on line campaign ends to end criticism against planned parenthood. we have more. tell us more about this. >> i spoke to the crater of the hash tag shout your abortion. it has sparked reaction on both sides of the issue. >> it's an attention grabbing hash tag gone viral, shout your abortion. a 30-year-old is a co crater. she posted about the abortion she had last year. >> i started to feel there is a disparity between how i feel about abortion, that it is in no way immoral and i am grateful to have had access to abortion last year, which i had at planned parenthood in my neighborhood in seattle, washington. i just knew in that moment that i needed to sort of use my own voice to attack this stigma.

>> the hash tag is prompting all sorts of reactions from solidarity to anger, with one person tweeting i'm glad my 15-year-old biological mom didn't abort me but instead gave me a chance to live by choosing adoption. >> another saying this disgusts me, feel proud of tearing apart your baby and ripping his or her life away should make you feel remorseful. she said her experience isn't meant to invalidate the feelings of sadness of some women. >> there is nothing about the hash tag that is saying we love abortions, everyone have more abortions. all we're doing is elevating our own voices for us to shout about abortion. all that means is we're doing the opposite of being silent which we have been for far too long. >> she is not the only one speaking out about women's issues in social media. there is an app to show where politicians stand.

>> i believe an abortion provider should be treated like sex offenders. >> what if we made an app that looks like the apps that they use, and then show them that there's hundreds and hundreds of people that are in some way, shape or form judging them be a legislating against them, and not wanting them to live the lifestyle they deem they want to live. >> they want the women to have a right to have an abortion if they need it. states have enacted 51 new restrictions on the procedure. >> the co crater of shout your abortion said she has received death threats, but that won't stop her from speaking out about the issue. >> such a devise issue issue. we wonder if the pope will address it with congress today. >> another legal setback for kentucky clerk kim davis. a federal judge has once again denied her a stay over his order

requiring her office to issue marriage licenses. her attorneys she has made a good faith effort to comply with court orders. several couples have filed suit, saying she interfered by taking her names off the lies. >> new video out this morning of an unexpected encounter an a california highway. this dash cam video shows cars turning the corner and finding a plane in the middle of the road. the small aircraft approached a local airport where its engine failed. no one was hurt in the landing. >> a coach makes an admission about the blindsiding of a referee. what he reportedly said to spur the attack and how those responsible will be punished. >> a live look at the residence where the pope is staying. the pope is here and you can see his fiat waiting for him. you hear the cheers from the crowds waiting outside, hoping as he makes his exit, he greets them with the hugs and hand

shakes that we saw yesterday. we'll cover this live, coming up.

>> every saturday night.

>> we see the pope greeting the folks. this is the end of his trip to washington, his final day in the state capitol. he has a packed schedule, again beginning today with this receiving line, then at the state capitol, there are thousands of people that will be watching the pope address congress. there he is with a hug. this is a pope known for his hugs and affection for people. again, this is where he seems most in his element. you see him at times holding on

to the heads of some of these children, giving them his blessing, everyone trying to shake his hands. he stays at the vatican equivalent of an embassy. joining us now is the head of the theology department at fordham university. patrick, 24 hours ago, we saw a similar image of the pope greetingis flock. >> absolutely, stephanie. once again this morning, we're seeing just how excited the pope is when he's around people. we are commenting that this is a pope who doesn't seem enthused about the big as her moneys, the pomp and circumstance, he lights up like when he lifted up that little girl yesterday. here a long embrace. these are not the sorts of behaviors that we've seen from his predecessors.

just this morning, i saw in social media someone who filmed a 10 second encounter with the pope yesterday morning. you can hear the pope so very clearly yesterday say pray for me. pray for me. it's a remarkable thing to hear him saying this to another jesuit priest. >> to hear the head of the catholic church say pray for me. >> it's something that is part of his message from the very beginning of his time at pope. you may remember when he was elected he walked on to that balcony and said before i can bless you, i need to but a down and receive your blessing. so many people around the world fell in love with this man at that very moment. >> we saw the fiat that the pope has been riding around in from event to event. it is always accompanied by a motorcade of really big, scary looking s.u.v.'s, but we've spoken so much about the gestures that he makes, the humility that he breaches about.

even though he is about to address the u.s. congress, wearing the as her simple garb that he always wears. >> that's exactly right. yesterday, he was late two times on his official schedule, both times it was because he wanted to spend more time with the crowd, with the group outside here yesterday morning and before the canonization of junipo serra, he took a spin around the crowd in the pope mobile. he keeps the president of the united states, the congress, the bishops waiting for a few minutes so he can be out among the people and offer them his greetings and his blessings, just as we see him doing here. it's a remarkable statement which his priorities. >> we see a lot of young people in this rope line as we did yesterday. how has the pope managed to sort of bring young people back to the church, particularly in this country where the numbers in the catholic church have been

falling. >> it's a great question. we haven't seen numbers of people coming back to the church. enthusiasm for the pope is greater, enthusiasm and positive feelings for the catholic church are certainly higher than when he took office. the so-called francis effect, where that's meant to translate into more people in the pews, more money in the collection plate, we haven't seen that yet. one of the things we do know is that religious observance in general in the u.s. is declining among young people. 30% of those under age 35 don't identify with any region whatsoever. it's a remarkable shift. >> there is the pope entering his vehicle there in just a moment. i want to bring in my colleague, del walters who is waiting on the national mall with thousands of other people. you may have heard us talk about the young people that pope may

be trying to reach out to. are you seeing a lot of young people gathered where you are? >> what's interesting, as i see young people gathering where i am, this pope who is 70 seems to be reaching out to younger people of the catholic faith and they seem to be responding in kind, the pope called a twitter pope. the festival going on behind me right now is about climate change. that is an issue that is near and dear to the young people of this country, because as the pope yesterday said at the white house, this is an issue that cannot be passed down to future generation, it must be addressed now. they see this as their rallying cry. they are showing up in droves here, some 40,000 expect to be here on the malwhen the pope speaks. you are seeing him as you indicated in that fiat. he is leaving northwest washington. it's going to take him about 15

minutes before he arrives here on the east side of the capital. once inside, he will be greeted by house speaker john boehner, who himself is a devout click and in the the capital will speak with speaker boehner 220 minutes before he will be ushered in before that joint meeting of congress. everywhere this pope has gone and you see the papal procession leaving and what is so strange about it is the thing that they are talking about, which is that you see all of these large s.u.v.'s, that is the security detail for this man who has become embraced not only by washington but by the world because of his simplicity, living the life of a fan as i say can monk is what he wanted to do. things have calmed down as this

climate change rally begins and as the pope begins to speak, which we anticipate in about 20 minutes, they are going to be silent here behind me so that the crowd that is gathering can listen to the pope, so that they can listen to his address, because that is the main event as they say. that is the reason that everybody is here. stephanie, it is more like a festival, more like church than anything else here on the national mall. >> i wonder if you can talk the logistics surrounding this. we have heard it described as sort of an inauguration and a state of the union and a state visit, all sort of mixed into one. i can only imagine the security challenge, even for a city like washington, d.c., which is pretty battened down anyway. what was it like to get through security and traffic on to the national mall? what was it like for you? >> it was easy for me getting in, because i'm in what is now the non-secured area. about a block up behind me,

there has been away security sweep. that is what the bomb sniffing dogs and security went through. they are being searched. they are not allowed to bring backpacks, umbrellas, anything. it is a very sunny day in the nation's capitol. it's not a day where they have to battle the elements. this event is special because it is the pope and it is as you saw a moment ago when you were talking about him coming out, this is a guy that likes to be with the people. he does not like to be insulated from the people that he is supposed to serve. as a result, that creates a special security challenge. there have been 41 major events in terms of the secret service since the secret service has been keeping record of these events. four of them will be taking place this week alone. there was yesterday's arrival where he was at the white house. there would be the address before congress, before the united nation and another at madison square gardens.