patrols and new laws to come in force in the next year to protect the region for again rayes to come. gerald tan, al jazeera. and if you want to keep up to date with all those stories we have been telling you about just head over to al jazeera.com. a tense meeting between president obama and putin ends with an agreement to try to evened the crisis in syria, but little common ground on how to get it done. granite state appears to have the votes to keep government going through december but republican lawmakers say they will not stop fighting planned parenthood. a powerful typhoon hits mainland china after kill at least three people and leaving tens of thousands without power in

taiwan. ♪ this is "al jazeera america." good morning t i am randall pinkston. this morning, america's plan to defeat isil will be front and is noter at the united nations. on top of the agenda for the counterterrorism summit on the sidelines of the u.s. general assembly. the president will sit down with more than 100 world leaders at the summit. it's still not clear if russia's president will be one of them. during face to face talks on monday, president obama and vladimir putin failed to resolve their differences over the war in syria. and as mike vaqeira reports, the tense relationship shows few signs of resolving. >> we are face extraordinary

challenges today, ones that test our capacity to work together. >> there was a cordial moment when mr. obama and mr. putin toasted the united neighborhoods but moments later, a metaphor for the disconnect when putin took a phone call at the table [applause.] >> in his speech to the general assembly, mr. obama chastised putin's actions in ukraine and syria. >> the dangerous currents risk pulling us back into a darker, more disordered world. >> as putin makes his flay syria, backing the regime of assad with tanks and the military personnel to use them mr. obama warned against what he says is an outdated approach where might equals right in foreign affairs. >> in accordance with this logic, we should support tie scented did like assad who drops barrel bombs to massacre children because the alternative is worse. >> still mr. obama said he would work with russia and assad's pat ron, iran, to try to find a solution in syria.

later, the two leaders met face to face for the first time in more than a year. t >> any progress on syria? >> both ignored reporters' shouted questions. white house officials insisted ukraine would be the primary topic of the meeting with putin who many suspect is trying to change the subject with his actions in syria. but a year and a half after the ukraine crisis began, russia is still there. in the his address, mr. obama vowed to keep sanctions on russia until it reverses course. >> we cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated. if that happens without sequence in ukraine, it could happen to any nation gathered here today. >> mike vaquiera, new york the 90 minute meeting with president putin began with an awkward handshake and ended with the leaders failing to find common

ground over assad. p peter sharp has more from moscow on what political analysts are say there about the meeting. >> they have been going through the text of what the obama said and putin and it's revealed very little common -- very little common ground between the two. obama has effectively fundamentally ruled out a return to the status quo in syria. he's called assad a tie rapt who drops barrel bombs on innocent children and putin stood up and said, you are making a grave mistake not to cooperate with the syrian government whose forces are confronting terrorism face to face. so no common ground there. we are getting a gradual movement in diplomacy. the assistant foreign minister in moscow said yesterday that russia and america joined by iran, saudi arabia, turkey and

egypt will be gathering in geneva sometime in october. we don't know what level. it could be foreign ministers or perhaps not even that. and, also, while that's going on, the military steps are building up. russia has now sent another two vessels out to syria and they begin a week of exercises tomorrow. so things are moving in different directions but we are not getting what they hoped for would be some sort of common ground between the two leaders. >> peter sharp in moscow. a pentagon official this morning is denying reports that a u.s. program to train and equip syrian opposition forces has been suspended. >> program has been a defendant key part of the president's policy in syria. our national security correspondent, jamie mcintire reports from the pentagon. >> reporter: pentagon courses concede russia's deployment of troops, attacks to syria under the justification of battling

isil out flanked the u.s. and caught it flat-footed. the pentagon professes to be unsure about putin's motives even though the russian president hasn't made ist secret that he is backing long-time ally assad, the manual president obama keeps insisting must go. >> there is no other solution to the syrian crisis than strengthening the effective government structures and rendering them help in fighting terrorism. >> reporter: with russian support, president assad is going nowhere any time soon and as in ukraine, the u.s. is powerless to stop putin's military moves. reduced instead to issuing dire warnings that moscow simply warns. >> to pursue the defeat of isil without at the same time pursuing a political transition is to fuel the very kind of extremism that may underlies isil. >> and if that's the russian

view, that's a logical contradiction. >> according to some observers, russia is in the driver's seat because it's willing to do what the u.s. is not: namely put forces on the ground. retired general david p. etraeus told congress that putin's bold actions were a direct result of president obama's inaction. >> russia's recently military escalation in syria is a further reminder that when the u.s. does not take the initiative, others will fill the vacuum. often in ways that are harmful to our interests the. >> every time the u.s. turns around, putin is a step ahead. he entered into an anti-isil intel sdwlens sharing agreement with iran, syria and u.s. partner rack: something the u.s. has been forced to accept. anthony blinken, deputy secretary of state told cnn, iraq is a sovereign country and

has the right to the decide where it gets help from. in iraq t the much heralded counteroffensive to retake ramadin which started months ago with shaping operations is going nowhere. the official explanation: it's taking take to clear minefields of ieds. but u.s. military sources in iraq say a bigger problem is that the largely shia/iraqi forces are not anxious to liberate the mostly sunni city. jamie mcintire, the pentagon. >> president obama meets with cuban president castro on the sidelines on the side lienlz of the u.n. general assembly today. it is their first meeting since the u.s. and cuba re-opened embassies in washington and havana. john terrett it live at the u.n. this morning. john, relations as we all know have improved drastically between the two current trees, of course, but in his speech at the u.n., castro made some problematic demands for president obama. >> reporter: he really did,

randall. good morning from the united nations. history made at the general assembly again yesterday in so many ways, not least of all because raoul draftro, the 84-year-old president of cuba, brother of if i had he will, leader of the cuban revolution back in 1959 coming to the general assembly for the very first time. to be honest with you ramdz, what he said yesterday could have been said by any cuban leader going back over the last 50 years but there was common ground with the president obama because castro called for lifting of the trade embargo imposed by washington and so did president obama when he addressed the general assembly yesterday when he gave a list of diplomatic successes, he listed iran and cuba, called for the trade embargo to be lifted but it is not in the gift of the president, only the congress can lift that trade embargo. none the less, here is more of what castro had to say in his address yesterday gently chiding the united states in his own

way >> translator: now, a long processes begins towards the you don't recall normalization of relation this will only be achieved with the end of the economic commercial and financial blockade against cuba, the return to our country of the territory, the success of radio and t.v. broadcasts and of subversive and destabilizing programs against the island. and when our people are co compensated for the human and economic damages they still endure. >> he wants guantanamo bay back. that's unlikely to happen. what he is talking about is roof and t.v. marte. it's not very good. most cubans don't hear it. some hear it online if they have online access. that's what he is talking about about radio and television broadcasts. they will talk about that but in particular, lifting the trade embargo when they meet later

today here in new york. >> we see the flag raising going up behind you as they get ready for another day of business at a time u.n. general assembly. what are some other key issues we should keep an eye out for told? >> another busy day here at the general assembly. we are going to hear from the european union. we are going to hear from the british. god bless them. we are going to hear from and about yemen and the ukraine and, president obama is still in town. he will be addressing a major summit on the issue of isil. and as he was saying just now, we don't know for certain whether he will be joined by president putin or not. >> we howill keep watch. president obama says 50 current trees have pledged to contribute more than 40,000 new peacekeepers. of the dproiment marks a significant surge in the united nieingsz's peace-keeping effort. right now, there are 125,000 troops working 16 peace missions across the globe. t the u.s. pays for a quarter of the peacekeeping budget but c

contributes fewer than 100 troops. join us later this morning for coverage of president obama's speech at the u.n. summit on countering isil and terrorism at tep:30 eastern, 7:30 pacific. >> the afghan president is vowing to retake a key city from the taliban. taliban fighters captured kunduz monday on of in an assault that took afghan officials by surprise. today, u.s. air strikes are backing afghan attempts to retake the city. national security forces are told they are retaking government buildings. congress has two days left to pass legislation and avoid a government shutdown. the senate advanced a measure that would fund the government through december, for all federal agencies including planned parenthood. the senate is expected to passes that bill. then the battle will go to the house. libby casey is live for us in

washington this morning. libby, how likely is a government shutdown at this point? >> reporter: very unlikely, randall. at least for this week. the senate easily cleared this bill last night and moved it forward. it needed 60 votes. it got 77. despite that, some like senator ted cruz are very unhappy. he railed against it last night on the senate floor. >> the votes were always cooked he here the democrats plus republican leadership in the and the votes that they bring with them enl sure votes that plans obama kay and planned parenthood and this catastrophic nuclear deal. >> cr is a continuing resolution what the senate is expected to pass and we think the house will have the votes to get it through. but we may be revisiting this government shutdown scenario in just a couple of months' time,

randall, december 11th. that's how long this would funneled the government until. randall? >> of course, we are still, shall we say, adjusting to the shocking stunning news of speaker boehner's resignation. how does his decision to step down but remain in mrour play into the shutdown debate? >> that's the real game changer. a week ago, it looked very likely conservative republicans would push things to the brink and shut down the government, trying to defund or damage planted parenthood. speaker boehner is no longer behold en to that ultra conservative part of the republican caucus. so he can work with democrats to get this clean bill passed. a new speaker of the house will be in place come december. there is a race for who that will be. the emerging can dade is kevin be mccarthy, the majority leader. he seems to be locking up votes pretty well. the concern, though, is: will he get a challenge from the right and will he be able to bring in enough moderates and

korfftives into tort him, randall. >> tell us about planned parenthoodses ceo who will be on the hill today. >> she will be testifying before the oversight committing, one of four alonging into planned parenthood. don't expect her, though, to be on defense. in fact, she will be on offense. and ask congress why they are not investigating the man who made the videos that are they heart of the controskrers e that claimed planned parenthood is profiting from selling fetal tissue. planned parenthood said it is not. 1% of its nearly 700 clinics use fetal tissue for medical research. they pass that along at cost and so planned parenthood is pushing back today. they are having a national pinkout day in cities across the nation including here in washington trying to real support and show congress as well as the population at large that they have a lot of people who believe in their mission,

randall. >> thank you, libby casey live for us in washington. a federal judge tossed out several bribery charges against men endes. prosecutors indicted him and his donor back in april. the men were accused of bribery, fraud and corruption. they face more than a dozen charges. men endez could go on trial next fall. >> meteorologist nicole mitchell will have the latest plus a look at the wet weather hitting the southern u.s.

let's bring in nicole mitchell. flood warnings are in effect? >> the first one is what i would call a tropical entity that never actually developed into a storm but brought us the rain anyway. we have a tropical storm. i will mention the storm first. prettiedes to pick up that area. joachin, winds of 40 miles per hour.

this will track us away to the north and parallel the coastline so we have some time to watch this at least in the next several days. not any immediate impact expected. this, hoe, i mentioned the area different quite develop but had a lot of tropical moisture with it. that's what we have been dealing with in the south. you can see that tap has kind of turned off. in the meantime, the moisture that came on is migrating this way northward but before everything was said and done it left a lot of rain in places like destin. there was a six-hour period in destin yesterday where just over almost 10 inches of rain just in that six-hour period and then there was more rain through the rest of the day. images like this and you don't know how deep the water is. that's why they advise you to turn it back around. i mentioned that rain is moving this way northward and going to intersect with a front moving through the mid west. the combination of all of this coming together is going to funnel that rain and cause some problems. this goes through the next couple of days and the initial band comes through but then we

have more lingering so it's going to be a couple of days of chances for rain. already enough expected that we have different advisories up for potential flood & especially the areas you see the green, those places, anywhere from parts of pennsylvania up to new england coastline, three to five inches consistent but wreck see some clouds with even more. >> would be the flood risk. cool temperatures. northern north dakota and minnesota has some freeze watches in advisories. >> 35 degrees? say it isn't so. thank you, nicole. doctors in london have assumption em planned embree onic stem cells into a blind woman's eye. she is the first of a dozen patients participating in experiment aim to go reverse blindness. doctors don't know the results yet, but say the initial ones are promising. the procedure only target did a certain type of blindness resulting from defective blood

vessels. new technology to keep your money safe. banks are issuing new credit cards that put more pressure on retailers. and nasa discovers water on the red planet. what it could mean for life on mars.

>> 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 saying they will ask customers to swap out the old

software. the cost is expected to cost vw since and a half billion dollars. >> a new standard for retailers with credit card purchases. they will have to insert the cards because of a new security chip called an emv. as ai velshi describes they are decide to protect you against fraud. >> you traveled to calendar canada, europe, around the world, most people have this chip and they use a pin or sign. the system is called emv, stands for europay, mastercard and visa those are the companies that provide the cards. they say the move is to protect consumers against fraud. it also protects those card issuers against responsibility. currently bangs and card companies take the hit for almost all fraudulent transactions retailers will be

forced to pay. the micro chips are harder to physically copy than the magnetic stripes in use. they create a unique transaction code for every purchase this limits the amount of personal data exchanged. if you steal a card, no get other information. instead of your social security numbers, hackers get this useless one-time-only transaction code. they can't keep using it. they still use the card, a hacker wican still get it. credit card fraud costs $16,000,000,000 here in the united states. 37% of that was counterfit fraud when you remake a card. >> supporters of the credit card chip say this technology is long overdue in the u.s. scientists are expeding iting se sending a manned mission to mars

after a thridril thrilling disc >> under certain circumstances, liquid water has been found on mars. >> nasa announced it was wetter than we ever thought. the agency's or bitter captured streaks of water across mars and found a water cycle similar to that on earth. >> raises the possibility of microbial life which would make it easier for explorers to sustain themselves while exploring the red planet. thank you for joining us. i am randall pinkston. stephanie sy back with more morning news. keep up with the news throughout the day. check us out onnays.com.

a u.s. air strike against the talibantable. president obama and vladimir putin meet at the united nations and remain at odds over who should be in charge in syria. planned parenthood's approximately goes to congress to defend fetal tissue research. it's the groups celtics who face an uphill battle in their attempt to shut the government

down. >> we will meet miska, the sea otter, as far as we know, the only asmatic sea on the ter, teaching her to use an inhaler like humans do. >> this is "al jazeera america" life from new york city. i am stephanie sy. the united states is launching air strooikdz to try to help afghan forces in their file to seize the northern city of kunduz. fighters tooing control on monday taking some of the afghan military by surprise. the talibantable seized government buildings and freed inmates from a prison. not a long ago, afghanistan's president vowed to take the city back. abdullah shahud is live in cabell. what can you tell us about where afghan forces are in seizing kunduz back?

>> reporter: as you say, this morning, the u.s. military in afghanistan has carried out an airstrike in the northern afghan city of kunduz that was captured by taliban the previous day. spokesperson for the u.s. and nato mission here in afghanistan says that the airstrike earlier tuesday was conducted in order to eliminate threats to the forces afghan forces have launched an operation on several fronts around kunduz trying to retake the city. hawaiians of afghan forces, special forces, afghan army, afghan local police, have been mobilized in northern kunduz province to take the control of the city. however, afghan forces have tried to enter the city but they

couldn't. some of the convoys were ambushed along the way to kunduz. there were booby traps along the entrances to the city and that made it difficult for the forces to try to enter the city. >> abdullah, as you know, kunduz was a taliban stronghold in 2001 before the u.s.-led invasion. what does it say that the taliban has been able to take the city back and does it imply that the residents of that city now support the talibantable? >> well, this is the biggest victory for taliban since being ousted from pour in 2001, but by taking control of the city for the first time, now taliban are trying to send a message to

afghan government and international community that they are getting strategic advancements and it is a show of their force. >> all right, abdullah shahood live with us in the latest in kabul. thank you. this morning, the obama administration's plans to defeat isil will be front and center at the united nations? >> a counter terrorism on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly, sitting down with more than 100 world leaders. it is not clear if russia's president will be one of them. during face to face talks on monday, president obama and vladimir putin did not reds off their differences over the war in syria but there was a handshake. let's go to mike vacquiera. they have different positions on how to deal with the syrian conflict. was the ball moved at all? >> it doesn't appear so although what we are hearing from the white house and this morning, secretary of state john kerry, they are trying to put the best face on this saying they agree

on the fundamentals and at least now, the united states says it's clear on what russia's aims are. when he bowl sisters assad by sending fighter jets and tanked into syria as asad had suffered battlefield loss ins recent days. tvenings an extraordinary day of both diplomacy and acrimony and it all happened in public. you are right. first, there was dueling speeches before the general al assembly with each leader and an extraordinary moment taking out after each other, criticizing each other explicitly, implicitly and explicitly. then later in the day, there was that photo op lasting all of 15 seconds which has to set some sort of record as one of the most tense and acward photo ops you will see and that meeting lasting overtime by about 30 minutes at the end of which white house officials saying they agree they both agree that isil must be defeated but where they sharply disagree is the

future of assad. putin said it publically before the united nations and privately with president obama. he thinks bashar al-assad should stay. >> they seemed to disagree on strategy. we have heard putin in recent days including at his speech at the u.n. slamming the u.s. train and equip strategy. is that something that the obama administration is now re-exam anything? >> it appears they are. by any measure, that program has been an abject failure. the united states said they were going to be training some 5,000 of the so-called moderate vetted opposition to take up arms against isil, not the assad register e-mail but against isil. as we learned last week in a public setting, the top commander of coalition forces said this will exactly 4, perhaps five that were trained. there are disputed reports coming out of the pentagon that they are going to disband that effort. those reports being knocked down at this hour but that is something that's not going to be

a lynchpin of u.s. policy going forward. >> mike, what happens next as regards to syria? will there be more talks? there there be peace talks? and will putin be a part of this? >> everybody is waiting to see what role russia is going to play. last night, according to senior white how the officials, when the two leaders met, president putin expressed an interest in perhaps joining the airco al list, the u.s.-led coalition in the fight against isil. one other concern, stephanie, that we probably should mention with the u.s. now bombing isil but the russian forces sworn to fight anybody who is fighting assad, those are overlapping interests but they don't necessarily coincide everywhere they could be at odds. part of the talks between the united states and russia is this term of diplomacy to deconflict. in other words, to en shire that there is non-an inadvertent conflict between u.s. russian forces or coalition and russian forces over the skies in syria or on the ground. stephanie. >> mike vaquera, thank the

former aeciv apt secretary for public affairs and a fellow at the institute for public diplomacy and global commune cakes in george washington university, pj, good morning and thank you for your time. u.s. policy to train and equip is not working. now, russia has put its own troops on the ground. it has skin in the game. some including the frontrunner for the g.o.p. no, ma'am nation, donald trump say let russia fight isil in then syria while we focus on iraq. is that a viable strategy? >> well, the question is whether russia is prepared to do that. i am not sure that they are. vladimir putin wants to reframe this challenge in syria as about the sys lammic state, not about assad. but, in fact, russia has done very little to comebad the islamic state. you can make a sound argument that we are where we are because russia has been propping up along with iran assad for the past four years. so, the first question is: is russia actually going to join the fight? how do you make that happen at a

tactical level but obviously, the hole in the middle of the u.s. strategy is this disagreement over the future of assad and the inability, you know, to put forward a viable alternative for the people of syria, you know, to assad. >> remains the greatest challenge. >> putin and obama spoke of a common cause but if both sides stick to their guns on assad -- and there are reports there may be some compromise -- is there a way to cooperate against isil in the short-term? >> well, ban ki-moon in his opening statement yesterday said, you know, look, there are five current trees that will really have a major role in determining what happens in syria: the united states, russia, iran, turkey, and saudi arabia. the real question is: can you get these five and others who have an interest in syria, you know, to yelled a common path forward. now, part of that, the lowest common denominator is fighting the islamic state. that will means retaking

territory on the iraqi side and at least stabilize the situation, you know, on the syrian side. you know, the then the leap forward has to be, you know, can russia and iran, you know, envision a syria down the road that does not include bashar al assad. russia makes a valid point: if it's not assad, then what's the alternative? you know, so you can envision a situation where you fight the islamic state sooner, trying to figure out how you close this very significant gap that does exist strajegecally over the future of the country. >> do you feel russia is in a better position than the estate with earn coalition led by the u.s. to determine outcomes in syria at this point, including whether assad remains in power or who his predecessor might be? >> i think vladimir putin is playing a very weak hand very well, and obviously by inserting forces into syria in recent

months, he strengthened his hand so that he is basically saying to the region and to the united states: whatever you think you are going to do in syria, i am going to be part of that process. so he's insinuated himself in to, you know, the challenge of finding a solution to syria but he still has a very weak hand. ultimately, this dynamic between, you know, syria and iraq, the solution has to come from the region supported from the outside and you get back to this kind of central question, you know: can the key players in this struggle find a common solution and find a way, you know, to change the reality on the ground that remains the central challenge. >> resolving the civil war aside, there is a present problem there. 250,000 syrians have lost their lives in this conflict. millions are fleeing the country. has enough attention been paid

to what can be done in the short-term as far as options and getting humanitarian aid into that country or perhaps establishing some kind of safe zone for those that remain in syria? >> well, the challenge with the safe zone is at that point, you are in essence going to war against bashar al assad because, you know, unlike, say, iraq where the coalition that is fighting, you know, the islamic state there has been invited in, you know, by the government of iraq. you know, bashar al-assad is not going to agree, you know, to a safe zone that basically legitimizes the dismemberment of the state of syria. you know, that's a very profound step. it's easy to say, you know, we will establish a safe zone but there are grave i mplications t that. obviously more needs to be done. for example, king abdullah of jordan yesterday, very compelling said, look. we need more hem, speaking for jordan, turkey, lebanon, that

have been shouldering a significant share of the humanitarian burden here i think part of the implication of what we see in terms of the ref uming e flows in to europe is that both for people inside syria. the question is: are they giving up on the concept syria, the state they once knew? this is the greatest challenge, as you kind of look at what the potential solutions are, you've got to ask a fundamental question, you know: can you recreate, you know, the state of syria that existed before 2011? >> a profound question whether syria today is one state or syria today is maybe three, four, or five states and whether it can be put back together again. we don't know the answer to that question. >> question being asked of other

countries as well. p j. crawley thank you for your insights. join us later for coverage of president obama's speech at the u.n. summit on countering terrorism. 10:30 eastern, 7:30 pacific. >> the u.s. is cop deming a strike on a wedding, by the sawed edes targeting houthi fighters. 135 people were killed. the saudi-led coalition denies reports saying it's forces were not even in the area during the attack. let's go there for more. do we have any more clarity on who was behind this strike? >> reporter: what we know, there was a wedding in the seaport city and villagers said while they were attending the wedding, they heard a fighter

jet flying over the area and then a huge explosion, more than 130 people were killed, mostly women and children. saudi arabia said it was not involved in the attack, it's fighter jets were not operating in the area. however, residents there, the houthi did, forces loyal to abdullah sadr said this was an airstrike conducted by saudi-led coalition. >> talk about civilian furualties in general in yemen since the saudi-striked began. >> basically, the united nations and human rights activists operating on the ground say that more than 4,500 people were killed since the start of the conflict in yemen about seven months ago and that half of those people killed were mostly civilian, either caught in the cross fire, in the fighting between the houthis and forces

loyal to former president abdullah sadr on one hand and the -- and troomdz local to the exile president hadi. all of those were targeted by saudi-led air strikes in different parts of the country, particularly in sada, a houthi stronghold in the northern part of the can you tree, in taiz and also the capitol, sanaa. a very delicate situation because the moment the saudis said they were taking on the houthis, it was quite that's airstrikes on their own won't give them more leverage when it comes to defeating the houthis as there were huge concerns about potential civilian casualties in the conflict. this is exactly why the international community now is starting to talk about the need for an immediate cessation of host atthetimeties in yemen and urging both faxes, rival faxes to start political talks to put an end to this bloody conflict. >> jut another example of the continuing turmoil in the middle

east. reporting live for us. h hasham, thank you. as of this morning, congress has two days to figure out how it will funneled the government and avoid a government shutdown. the senate advanced a stop-gap measure on monday that would provide funds through december. the meds you're continues funding for all federal agencies including plant parenthood which far right conservatives rallied against. the meds you're expected to passes senate and head to the deeply divided houses. libby casey is live in washington. how likely is a government shutdown at this point? >> stephanie, a week ago, it looked almost inevitable but not anymore. the playing field has really changed. >> the g.o.p.'s right flank is willing to push to shut down the government this week to stop federal funding for planned parenthood. but don't expect that to happen since speaker boehner no longer had to listen to them. instead, boehner and senate republicans plan to pass a short term spending bill in a classic case of kicking the can down the road until december.

thinking then it will fall to a new house speaker to navigate, but who? the top candidate, current second in command, kevin mccarthy of california. he has served five terms and never held a chairman's gavel but is a mop lar, proven if you would raiser. he announced can dancy in a letter to members writing if elected speaker, i promise you well have the courage to lead the fight for our conservative principles. it's conservative that mccarthy must convince like nick mulvany. >> kevin has the inside track for the position being our leader and so forth. i think that the important question is: will things change? will they change for the better, or are we simply replacing mr. boehner with someone else who will do the same thing. >> offering mccarthy a challenge, daniel webster, another battle brewing. rep me 70tive tom price winning significant endorsements from mainstream and conservative members. republicans are meeting tuesday evening at the capitol to discusses strategy.

but there is no date on the calendar yet for their leadership election. >> the reason why we are all watching the number 2 slot, stephanie, is that expected to be an ultra conservative, someone who could pair with kevin mccarthy. >> might make him a little more acceptable to the right flank feeling a lot of victory since john boehner is stepping down. stephanie. >> libby, it's that right flank we have been talking about that wants to defund planned parenthood. the head of that organization is going to be on the hill today. >> that's right. testifying before the house oversight committee, one of four looking into planned parenthood but she will be on offense saying they should instead be investigating the manual who made these videos this summer that have been at the heart of the controversy, videos that claim planned parenthood is profiting from selling fetal tissue. richards says that's not the case. one percent of 700 clinics across the country do obtain fetal tissue that they sell at

cost for medical research and planned parenthood is trying to show support across the country today in a national pinkout day in more than 80 cities. >> libby casey for us in washington. thank you. >> hundreds of thousands of homes are still without power or water this morning in taiwan after a hit from the powerful typhoon named dudwin. three people died during the storm. crew searching for six mountain climbers who went missing. in mainland china, tourist atracks are closed. authorities are backgroundstion flietsdz and stopping any ships from leaving harbor. on the other side of the planet, a new tropical storm has formed in the atlantic this morning and it's not the only one. let's bring in meet robert nico nicole mitchell with more. >> some of this influences us in the continental united states as well. the typhoon as it hit taiwan, what we would consider a category 4 strong, a very strong storm. some places saw almost two feet of rain. it was flooding. it was wind all at the same time

and up to 2 million people possibly without power. now, as it passed across the taiwan straight, that was cooler water. it was moving over land, dryer air. it was a lesser system moving in to china. the last report on this has now been written. so form dprochlt from now on. we have to deal with what happened. this is a in that one. joachin off of the atlantic. remember going do see over the next couple of days, it will slowly turn to the north. it's not going to be a land impact for a few days. winds to 40 miles per hour. this is something we watch. this might not ever make it to land before it dies out. something to monitor. we've also had tropical moisture not a system but the moisture from it that was able to hit places like florida. >> is heading northward. it will be impacting the northeast along with something else. i will have more on that coming up. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. crossing the kremlin, the story of an american invest offer in russia la bled a threat to that country's national

security and how he fought back. i am jake ward in oakland, california. a new breed of company is trying to create a sort of uber for private air travel. they are about to fight the f.a.a. to offer that service. i will explain more in a moment. >> fear and distrust in baltimore... >> they've just been pepper spraying people at very close range... >> years of tension between the community and police erupt... >> she was on her way home to her kid, and she never made it... >> a former cop speaks out... >> if you had taken steps when a man was assaulted, maybe freddie gray didn't have to die. >> is there still a blue wall of silence in american cities? >> did somebody get shot? fault lines baltimore rising only on al jazeera america

counting down the hours to a scheduled execution. he cysts he is in any event. a parole board is hearing a last-minute appeal. supporter hope her sentence will

be commuted to life in prison. >> supporters have been calling the 47-year-old al changed woman and pray her life be spared. >> she interestingly enough was not on site for the murder of her husband. the gentleman who actually killed her husband, his sentence has been commuted to life. this is really non-sensical. georgia is better than this. >> a jury convicted her of convincing her lover to kill her husband in 1997. gregory owen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life. prosecute orders offered gisindaner the same deal. she is on course to be the first woman executed in georgia in 70 years. support want her life spared. they say she has been a defendant model prisoner. >> i first came to know kelly through other women who were in the theology class i thought at lee arendale prison and they loved her and told stories about

how she touched them and shaved their liechz. >> the original execution diet was postponed after prison officials found the lethal injerks drug appearing cloudy. courts have given the state drug cocktail the okay. a lethal drug combination is scheduled to believe used on witness in florida on richard glossen. >> looking at the evidence there is no doubt he might be innocent on monday, a court in oklahoma said his lethal injection execution should proceed. the court said in the two weeks since his last-minute stay of execution, attorneys for the twice convicted killer had not proven be his innocence. in the murder of motel owner barry bontrice. attorneys have arrested there was no figuphysical evidence ty the 52-year-old to the crime and that the state's case against him was based upon an unreliable, drug-addicted informant. glosip's attorneys say they will appeal to the u.s. supreme court. if they fail, he will be the

first oklahoma inmate to die by lethal injection since the u.s. support gave the go ahead to use medazolam. >> that drug has been blamed for inmates waking up during your their discussions and feeling pain. stephanie. >> john henry smith, thank you very much. a judge in baltimore is expected to decide today when to set a trial date in the case of freddy gray. all six officers accused in his death are to be tried individually. the first trial is tentatively set for october 13th. it is likely to be pushed back toirnlingz for the six officers accident for the trial to be moved outside baltimore. >> request has so far been denied. >> flying for less. what beener did to revolution aize taxi travel another wants to do for plane travel. the sea otter learning to breeze easier with help from something most as mattics use: an inhaler.

welcome back to "al jazeera america." 8:29 eastern. a look at today's top stories. u.s. air strikes are backing afghan military efforts to seize back the northern afghan city of kunduz. taliban fighters captured the city monday in an assault that took afghan officials by surprise. this morning, afghan president ghani has vow today retake kunduz. he said security 40ss have retaken some government buildings. congress has just two days to agree how to fund the government. the senate advanced a measure that continues money for all federal agencies including planned parenthood. the bill is expected to pass the senate and head to the house. president obama is about to meet with cuban president raoul

castro on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly today. this morning will be their first meeting since u.s. and cuba re-opened embassies in washington and havana. john terrett is live at the u.n. relations have improved between these two countries. but there are still sticking points including the embargo. we had a bit of history yesterday of the general assembly when 84 raoul castro, brother of if i had he will came here to the general assembly for the very first time and deliver a speech. to be honest, that speech could have been delivered by any cuban leader going back over the last 50 years, but there was common ground between what raoul castro had to say and president obama had to say earlier in the day. both calling for the lifting of the trade embargo against havan a from washington, d.c. now, the great irony, of course,

is that the does have that in his gift. nonetheless both called for it, especially castro as you might ma'amming. here is more of what he had to say gently chiding the united states in his own way. take a license. >> now t a long and complex process begins towards the normalization of relations. this will only be achieved with the end of the economic commercial and financial blockade against cuba. the return to our country of the territory illegally occupied by the guantanamo naval bays. the cessation of radio and t.v. broadcasts and of subversive and destabilizing forces. >> when our people are comen sated for the human and comic damages they still endure. >> the united states pays for

the right. they write a check every year. cubans don't bank that check. i think it's likely they are going to get guantanamo back any time soon. that's one of tthe top e. they are talking about radio and t.v. broadcasts the dissipate department runs appear broadcast. the signal is poor. i don't know how many listen to it on the kroor. some might listen online if they have internet access. many do. but particularly the trade embargo will be on the agenda as obama and castro meet face to face here in new york around about now. stephanie? >> appreciate the preview. jop terrett live at the u.n. this morning. the number of ref uming ease who have entered into europe this year now top half a million. international organization for migration says 522,000 people have traveled by sea to reach the continent. more than a third were from syria, the largest number from any one country nearly 3,000 people have died making the

crossing. this morning, volks wagon says it will refit and overhaul as many as 11 million vehicles with illegal emissions tracking software. the epa discovered volks wagon cheating on emissions tests for diesel powered cars. the company says they will ask customers to bring in swap out software. do you jones says next week it will drop volkswagon from the leading sustainability index. the company has admitted using software that only turns on emissions controls during testing. volkswagon says nearly 2 million diesel general vehicles were affected. all of this will raises the question: how much can americans trust the car city? tyson slocumb is the director of the public citizenship energy program. he joins us from washington, d.c. this morning to discuss this that you are for being with us. who else has cheated on the epa test in the past? do we think other companies are trying to hack the regulations

in some way? >> yeah. a number of companies have been caught red-handed, cheating. just last year, hyundai was forced to pay a $100 million fine for lying about its fuel economy ratings. going back a number of years but nothing on this scale. what's unique about this volks wagon case is that the company deliberately installed a significant piece of software in every diesel car that its sole purpose was to deceive regulators and conservers and so that's taking it many steps away from what we have seen with other scandals with other auto makers. so, i think all of the pressure that's coming on volkswagon is deserved at this point. this is a major scandal.

i am not sure other auto makers need to be viewed with the same kind of skepticism because i don't think other auto maker were installing programs to deliberately minutes lead regulators the way that volkswagon has. >> the liabilities are higher when it comes to the vw indicates. talking about billions of dollars of fines, litigation. what makes a car company take that kind of risk? >> obviously. they thought they could get away with it. it appears they got away with it for 7 years. i think what happened here is that the company was unable to make clean diesel technology work at a price point that would make it's diesel cars competitive in the u.s. and european markets and so at some point, a number of executives at multiple levels in volks wagon signed off on an idea to simplily. it's a stunning development at a

it company that up until now had a fairly good reputation with volks in the industry and with consumers. sot volkswagon brand has been damaged. it's unclear to me how volkswagon can successfully navigate with all of these huge looming financial liabilities. they are looking at $18,000,000,000 in civil penalties just for violations of the u.s. clean air act. they are looking at massive class action lawsuits by consumers who were defrauded. they are looking at a shareholder lawsuit because the stock price has gone down it's unclear to me that the company has enough cash or other assets to cover all of these mounting liabilities. >> tyson slocum, thank you for joining us this morning. tune in to inside story tonight add 6:30 p.m. eastern for an

in-depth look at the volkswagon scandal only on "al jazeera america." wall street set bracing this morning for turbulence. concerns about china and u.s. rate increases have unsettled global markets. asian stokt markets ended sharply lower with japan closing down at about 4%. monday's tense meeting between president obama and russia's vladimir putin is one example of the tension between those two countries. one highly successful american investor nodes how that feels. he got riverbank investing in russian current trees. hez worth grew to more than a billion dollars. then things took a turn and he found himself an enemy of the state. ali velshi explains. >> obviously, russian authorities are extremely angry with me. i think they would love to kill me if they could get away with it. >> a kid born in the south side of chicago winds up being at the center of a russian scandal. his lawyer, dead and a warrant

for his arrest. in the early '90s, bill browder began one of the first and ultimately the biggest hedge funds to invest in russia. >> i moved to moscow from london. his company, herm taj capital soared to over a billion dollars in 1997. by 1998, all that changed as russia's quest for a new democracy proved difficult. >> it's a disaster for the economy and for the country russia was on the brick of financial collapse. it defaulted on debts. browder's fund lost almost ev y everything. his billion dollars shank to 100 million. corruption ruled as rich busy men with huge political influence took control the economy. >> they embarked on an orgy of stealing that has been unprecedented in the history of business browder didn't abandoned the country. he fought back. he formed a team with a sole

purpose, to expose the oligarchs to the rest of the world. his plan was successful. >> from 1999 until 2004, we would research, ex mos and then the problems would stop. the share prices went up. >> browder's plan put him in the crosshairs of a man who had previously supported his efforts, the new president of russia, vladimir putin. the hunter became the hunted. >> things unraveled quickly. in 2005, he was denied reentry into moscow after living there for a decade. by 2007, the house that bill built started to crumble. the russian interior ministry raided the funds moscow offices and charged hermitage capital with tax fraud. most fled cents for his tax attorney, sergey manifski, taken from his home and jailed for almost 400 days and then things turned tragic.

>> they chained him to the bed and eight riot guards came into that cell and beat him until he died. >> you can watch ali velshi "on target" at 10:30 eastern here on al jazeera america. there is a new startup company some are chauling the uber of the skies and like uber, the company faces legal hurdle did. in this case, the battle is with the agency that protects air safety. jacob ward reports from san francisco. >> as a college student, matt vaska who flew planes in illinois spotted what he considered a wasted resource. >> look at the number of airports that commercial planes fly to. it's about 500 in the united states. if you are looking at general aviation, you are going to 5,000. so, it's a 10 x improvement of places you can go to. >> vaska knew about the informal process of offering a ride in the plane for the exchange of gas money. it's a practice allowed by the f.a.a. so he helped to create

flight now to move the arrangement on to the web. >> in august of last year, 2014, that's when we got a response back from the faa stating that any pilot who was using flight now's platform would be operating illegally. and that's with a what changed the game. >> operating illegally because offering a ride over the web makes a pilot a common carrier, a commercial operator which involves meeting tougher safety standards. now, vaska is in court to argue that fly in and out's requirements already exceed the f.a.a.'s. but should this serve be held to commercial standards? roughly one person dies every 2 million hours in a car. co compare that to 21 people dying in the as a result amount of time in private plains. the difference in risk is why the standards are so different. as an aviation attorney, michael devork a n doesn't often filed himself on the same side as the

f.a.a. administration. >> they are our most formidable adverse satisfy. but he points outs there is a difference between flying a commercial airline and bumming a ride with a private pilate. >> most general aviation liability policies have very, very, very low limits, low limits to the point where you would probably not drive your car if you had such low limits. based upon my understanding of the law, and as much as i am intrigued by, you know, disruptive companies, i think flight now has some major, major obstacles. >> the concept is incredibly atractive. fly where you want when you want. but these sorts of flights may be delayed indefinitely. jacob ward, al jazeera, san francisco. >> there are mixed reviews this morning for republican presidential frontrunner donald trump's plan to revamp the u.s.

tax code. he said it reduces the deductions and loopholes for special interests and wealthy americans and that low income workers would benefit the most. >> if you are singi and earn less that 25,000 or married and jointly earn less than 50,000, you will not pay any income tax. nothing. this eliminates very strongly and quickly the marriage penalty, very unfair penalty. >> trump's plan has four tax brackets instead of the current 7. the highest income tax rates: 25%. that's down from about 40%. the plan would also eliminate estate taxes. crittedics argue it would add to the nation's debt and deficit and cost trillions of dollars. the popular dating app, tender, is demanding a los angeles based aids health group take down a billboard that links deating aps

a manual labeled tender face to face with a woman labeled clamidia and ghon he rra. they say they will not take the bill board down. a chunk of the company is waking up to cloudy skies and wet weather. let's bring in nicole for more. >> it's on the move. if you haven't had it yet, you might get your chance. this is the broad picture. we have had that moisture from the south now intersecting with a front coming through the mid west. in the mean time, especially that tropical entity, is bringing in rain for places like destin. not only did we get rain most of the day but there was a six-hour period where we got about 10 inches just in six hours. definitely, you know, that's why we says turn around. don't drown because you don't know how deep that water is when you try to get in to it.

as i said, all of that moisture is on the move now. these two things coming together mean we could get heavy rain and even more swiped spread basis as this gets into the northeast. there have been some showers start to move in. it's the next couple of days things get more interesting. so, it all comes together tomorrow probably the wettest day for many but some lingers into thursday, too, in addition to the rain today and we are going to see some significant totals. so because of all of that, there is already flood watches up where you see the corridor space enthusiasts are this morning trying to figure out the meaning of nasa's announcement it has formed strong evidence of flow water on mars. it is a potential breakthrough not only in the search for life beyond earth but in hopes of some day sending humans to the red planet. john hendron has more.

>> nasa scientists say the red planet is not the das let dry place they long thought it was? >> we are revolutionizing our understanding of this planet. our rovers are finding there is a lot more humidity in the air than we ever imagined. as we ingest the soils that are moist, hydrated, if you will of water. mars is not the dry, arid planet we thought of in the past. today, we are going to announce that under certain circumstances, liquid wat has been found on marches. >> researchers say a few billions years ago, mars was covered with possibly an ocean but they believe only al small amount of frozen water remained. a camera captured streaks of flowing, briny water on the planet, a basic building block of life. they say there is a water cycle that changes over the courts of the year much like the water cycle on earth. >> these are dark streaks that

form in late spring, grow through the summer, sands is dap disappear by life. >> it makes it easier for explorers to sustain themselves while exploring the planet, as nasa hoped to do by 2013. >> today's announcesment of a fascinating result about the current water on marches is one of the reasons why i feel it's even more impairty that we send after the rote biologist and planetary scientist to mars to explore the question of: is there current life on mars? >> the possibility of life on mars has been envision in science fiction but largely dismissed. >> it's weird. there is nothing here. >> it's mars. >> nasa managers say their latest mystery leads many unres ofltd. they don't know whatp where the water comes from. john hendron, arrests. >> michael sharra is the curateo

in new york. he explains why it has been so difficult to prove that there is water on mars. >> we don't have identify yes from mars. we only have still images. you need to compare images taken day i see, weeks, months apart. most of the time, 99.999% of the time, you don't see any changes. you have to look through huge amounts of information before you find those tell-it witale d streaks. it takes years to figure out how to analyze them. there was only one instrument orbiting mars trying to do that may analysis. >> shara says humans have to drill on the surface of mars to know if life can survive. >> daily debut, a new host at the helm of "the daily show."

>> new study finds a type of genetic testing can tell doctors which patients with early stage breast cancer need chemotherapy. it analyzes 21 genes. patients who fell into the test's low risk category were given hormone blocking drugs instead of chemotherapy. of that group, 99% did not develop met a static breast cancer five years after surgery. they are the smallest marine ma'amals but they have allotted inch common with humans sea on thers. one in particular. alan shaufller has her story it seattle. >> you want to get a sea hotter's attention? try full-tilt s. shi. >> cut up fish, herring and some shrimp, all kinds of different restaurant quality seafood. >> behind the scenes a team

gargers up, a 45 pound patient. >> meet miska was a sea on the ter pup with a serious problem >> see the heart outlined here these darker areas are the lung. >> a problem shared by an estimated 25 million americans, human americans. >> reactive airway syndrome or asthma is what she has. >> they are training her to use an inhaler, the puffer, used by so many two-legged asthma sufferers. she has to learn to press her face there and breathe the medicine. drugs available by prescription. >> the same drug that a human would use. she is being trained to use albuterol, more of a rescue inhaler. >> in case of an attack? >> the if you are quality has to

be immaculate for them to stay warm. >> the staff hopes miska, the first on the ter ever diagnosed with asthma can teach lessons. miska we want into a if you can this summer when wildfires purposed crosses the mountains into seattle. she had trouble breathing, needed oxygen and drugs. medical imaging sealed the diagnosis. >> it is alarming to think of a marine mammal. she is doing great so far. >> astmaa hits cats and horses whether on thetors might be susceptible. this is designed by the staff and this is all experiment in progress. >> nice job, baby. >> at thisthaning session, mishka eyeball did ourcam occasionally but earns plenty of fresh fish, the thick-furred

medical pioneer proving to be a quick study. >> she let plea place it on her nose for several seconds. a big improvement. i gave her a big jackpot of food. yeah, you did really good. >> or they are training us probably more than anything in what they want. so they are very smart. >> hopefully it will mean relief for mishka and with human cases on the rides, possibly education on asthma and the environment and the rest of us. seattle. something a lot of simpsons fans have been wondering: there is confirmition, mr. smithers is gay. the iconic character with the show since 1987 will come out on the series 27th season the producer says smithers will come out to his bosstion mr. burns in a two-episode special. marge's sister patty was the first simpsons character to say she was gay back in 2005. steven colbert welcome a special

guest. michelle obama told him about her 62 million girls initiative. it highlights the girls who aren't getting an education. the first lady had laughs with colbert explaining what she can't wait to do as soon as she and her family leave the white house. >> i want to do little things like, you know, open a window. >> i'm sorry? >> i want to go to target. i want to drive. >> you don't have security clearance to open that window. >> colbert asked her if she would leave the first quote next lady note if a certain woman becomes the next president. the reviews are mostly positive for the first ever episode of the daily show without jon stewart. noah took over. he began in daily show fashion. >> i am not going to lie. growing up in a dusty streets of south sfrikdz, i never dreamed i would one day have, well, two

things really: an indoor toilet and a job as host of "the daily show." and now, i have both, and i am quite comfortable with one of them. >> many people have questions. for example, why isn't a woman hosting the show? because surely it's about time. well, it turns out the comedy central did ask a woman to host and she turned the job down because they had better things to do and clearly knew something i didn't. also, why didn't they get an american to host? comedy central tried. those people also declined. so once more, a job americans rejected is now being done by an immigrant. >> the dimples help. he made several references to his predecessor. jon stewart left the show after 16 years. coming up in two minutes from our newsroom in doha, the afghan army's attempts to retake

kunduz. that's it for us here in new york. i am stephanie sy.

this is al jazeera. from al jazeera's headquarters in doha, this is the news hour. i'm adrian finnegan. in the next 60 minutes, afghan security forces under heavy attack as they try to retake a city from the taliban. the u.n.'s chief calls for an end to the fighting in yemen after reporting that more than 100 people were killed in a strike on a wedding party. p pretending to be syrian t get asylum. germany says thousands are doing