conservatives fear that this will cause problems in the classroom, but debate will go on however. just a reminder, you can always keep up to date with the news on our website, aljazeera.com. >> an american journalist jason rezaian is convicted in ran. his newspaper plans arched appeal to get him out of jail after more than a year. >> turkey is close to identifying one of two saturday bombers suspected of killing nearly 100 people during a peace rally. republicans scramble to find the right candidate to replace john boehner as house speaker. one name keeps cropping up.

>> the washington post promises to appeal the conviction of its bureau chief in tehran. iran state t.v. said jason rezaian had been found guilty object espionage charges. tehran has been tight lipped about his case since day one, holding his trial behind closed doors. we are following developments. what is the washington post saying about this verdict? >> the post editor calls the verdict an outrageous injustice and says the paper is working with his family to appeal. there are no details about his sense. according to the newspaper, his lawyer will ask that enreleased on bail. >> it's increasingly clear that the final decision about how jason's case will be handled

will be made by political authorities, not by judicial ones. >> the washington post journalists activity sparks a campaign for release, calling the legal proceedings in iran a sham. they are calling on iran's leaders to resolve the case. >> we've heard from president rouhani and others that iran is willing to move vase son's case towards conclusion if the united states will do something in unreturn. the final decision needs to be made by iran's highest authorities. >> he was detained along with his wife in july of 2014. she was later released, but the iranian american was tried in secret and charged with espionage. his family has insisted he's innocent. >> since he was a little boy, my son loved iran. his love for iran is so infectious that he has made a clear of sharing its beauty with others.

>> the washington post has been working for months to release him, appealing to the unit nations for help. more than 450,000 people have signed a petition for his release. even president obama spoke about the case at a black tie dinner in washington. >> jason has been imprisoned in tehran for nothing more than writing about the hopes and fears of the iranian people. >> during the recent nuclear negotiations, the fate of americans held in iran was brought up repeatedly on the sidelines. >> jason rezaian has been imprisoned now for over a year. is his release a part of the deal? >> we are working very hard on that. >> he can appeal within 20 days. >> the iranian president said the release of rezaian and two other americans held in iran could be expedited if the u.s. would release raines held here. tehran claims there are 19 citizens held by the u.s., something the obama administration has not confirmed. >> there is precedent for the iranian judiciary to convict

journalists on espionage chars and later release them. >> the nuclear deal with iran is under fire this morning, both in washington and tehran. on sunday, the iranian parliament voted in favor of moving forward with the agreement. the vote came after a heated debate, one lawmaker calling the deal a disgrace. the bill calls for the government to withdraw from the agreement with the sanctions are not lifted. >> a test of a new long-range missile system was broadcast on iranian state television. iran said the missiles can hit targets as far away as israel. western officials are trying to determine with the test violated a ban on iran developing weapons that could carry a nuclear warhead. tehran said it doesn't need permission to improve its defenses. >> turkish investigators say they are close to identifying one bomber who carried out twin attacks in ankara.

officials suspect isil is behind the attacks. >> 97 people were killed. there are concerns similar attacks will take place ahead of next month's general elections. we are in ankara with the latest. >> with funerals happening throughout the day for the victim of that horrific attack in ankara, tensions are still very much on the rise in turkey at this moment. the kurdish minority in this country feeling very aggrieved right now, accusing the government time and again of not having done enough to protect them, especially at rallies like the one that was held the other day that was attacked in which close to 100 people were killed and hubs more wounded. that is the third rally in which people were killed. the one that happened in july, at least 30 people were killed

in that attack hundredses wounded. >> this is coming at a time of political divisions when the government is calling for unity. today, we are expecting in ankara, the cabinet will meet and discuss the on going investigation, try to determine who's behind these horrific attacks that happened. we're expecting the spokesperson for the government will be coming out with a statement once again calling for unity. turkey is ensnared in multiple fights including against the p.k.k. and isil. it doesn't look like it's going to be getting any easier anytime soon.

>> despite isil being the focus of the bombing investigation, the prime minister said the government has not ruled out p.k.k. rebels and the revolutionary people's liberation party front. >> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu just finished speaking to the israeli knesset about growing violence between israelis and palestinians. netanyahu is moving to reassure parliament that his government has the situation under control, but today, there were more attacks israeli forces shot two dead after knife attacks against settlers. mike, what else did netanyahu say in his speech to the knesset? >> he was attempting to ensure that he had the situation under control, outlining measurements his government had taken in a

bid to guarantee as he put it security for israelis. he mentioned the demolition of houses of those who had been involved in attacks on israelis he mentioned legislation for mandatory sentences for those who throw stones and parents of minors who throw stones should be fined, asking the opposition for support. strong words of criticism from netanyahu for members of the joint list, the palestinian-israeli members of parliament, some of whom he accused of inciting the situation on the ground, very serious allegation. this is some of what netanyahu had to say. >> we are fighting on all the fronts. we have added forces and border police in jerusalem and all over the country. we are taking responsibility on ourselves, destroying terrorist houses, and we are wiping out people who are against us.

we are fighting against the molotov cocktails and the stones and taking revenge for the people who have been killed. i expect the support of the opposition party in these actions, and also in establishing the law against this wave of terror june it sounds like benjamin netanyahu is issuing a fierce response. can you give us an update today in jerusalem? >> once again, it was another day and more in the series of these sporadic unorganized, unexpected knife attacks. there were attacks just outside the old city of jerusalem, in jerusalem itself and in a settlement just outside jerusalem. in a couple of cases, the attackers were shot and killed. in one case, the attacker was shot and wounded. very difficult to ascertain exactly what happens. we gets statements from the

police but it's not known or clear the exact circumstances of what happens in these attacks for example, is there an example for police to arrest the attacker instead of shooting them and in most cases shooting them fatally. >> you said these are otherwise. do we know if these attacks are coordinated in any way? >> no, this is something that is very clear. the police have made very clear, intelligence sources have made very clear that these attacks are completely uncoordinated, completely unorganized, they are sporadic. it's for this reason police say that they are so difficult to deal with that. there is no participate of the attacks or profile of the type of pepper who is going to carry it out. for the police, this is the most difficult thing of all, a sporadic, random, unorganized series of attacks which are actually based in emotion rather than any planning or logic.

it makes it all the more difficult to deal with, stephanie. >> the so-called lone wolf attacks. mike hanna reporting from jerusalem, thank you. >> nato today is investigating a military helicopter crash in afghanistan that killed five people, another five were injured in this accident in kabul. the chopper crashed after it hit a monitoring balloon as it was landing. they have not confirmed if any victim were american forces. >> nato is also looking into a bombing in kabul that targeted a convoy of british troops. the taliban has said it was responsible, but it is unclear if the attack on sunday was from a suicide bomber or roadside bomb. several civilians were injured, including women and children. >> britons foreign secretary said his country is willing to work with syria said leaders short term to end the fighting there, saying there is no way bashar al assad can stay in power. >> we're very clear that we cannot work with assad as the long term solution for the

future of syria. we can be flexible about the mapper of his departure, flexible about the timing of his departure. >> today, syrian government troops launched another new offensive supported by a series of russian airstrikes. russiarussian president vladimin said his goal is as to stabilize the syrian government, but that strategy runs counter to that of the white house. president obama insisted that putin's new military engagement is showing weakness, not strength. >> if you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in in order to prop up your only ally is leadership, then we've got a different definition of leadership. >> the president says isil will not be defeated until it's the sunni tribes are willing to get rid of them. >> new developments on the ground in syria this morning, syrian kurdish forces fighting isil say they are joining forces with some arab rebel groups. al jazeera's zeina hodor has

more from beirut. >> this is a significant development, the y.p.g., the syrian kurdish force in northeastern syria, as well as some arab groups, christian fighting brigades on the ground, now these, all these groups have fought together against isil in previous operations, but now they have formalized an existing alliance. what we understand their role to be, it will be to fight isil and for what they are calling a democratic and secular syria where all the different groups can live side by side. and they're also telling me that they're hoping that this alliance will be the nucleus of a new army in syria. i managed to speak to a high-ranking official in what is known as the democratic autonomous area in the northeast, an area under the control of a kurdish administration. what he is saying is that this unification on the ground was necessary because of changing dynamics, and he talked about

the russian military intervention. what he also told me was that this new force has the backing of both the united states and russia, and signs on the ground really indicate that or lends really credence to those claims. >> zeina hodor reporting from beirut. >> the u.s. has not formally responded yet to news of this new alliance. >> making a statement in new hampshire, across the political spectrum, live to manchester where presidential hope was from both parties are hoping to appeal to undecided voters.

>> a big stretch of i-95 in south carolina has audibly reopened more than a week after rains inundated the state. the southbound lanes opened. the northbound may open today or tomorrow. many drivers were forced to take two hour detours. state transportation crews are working on bridgion and roads closed due to storm damage. >> thousands of undeclared voters are hearing from some of the people who want to be president. they are gathered in manchester new hampshire as a forum dedicated to cutting across the political divide. jonathan bets is live this morning at the no labels convention in manchester. what is the no labels movement and why is it so important for this election? >> this no labels movement is relatively new, from about five years ago to try to bring

politicians follow both sides of the i'll to try to solve the countries biggest issues. there are thousands of people here, a south after group, undecided new hampshire voters. this convention, called the problem solver question has brought these undecided voters here for the rare opportunity to hear from a bunch of different presidential candidates on the same day from both political parties. there are eight candidates here that are going to be speaking throughout the day, three democrats, five republicans, all to appeal to these independent voters gathered inside here. now earlier, we heard from governor martin o'malley, a democratic running for president. he spoke about several issues that were very dear to him, but what's interesting about this particular gathering is that it is open to the public and the public is encouraged to ask questions, no matter if they're wearing a costume or not. >> my question is, governor, you

talked about how you would be a bipartisan president. within your first 100 days of office, which bipartisan restaurant would you take john boehner to, or, you know, whoever. >> i didn't know that restaurants were partisan. i thought that food and alcohol in fact were decidedly non-partisan. this is what i've learned as mayor and governor, you have to call the legislature all the time and you have to make sure that you relate and talk to people like people. >> so governor o'malley speaking via satellite, preparing for the debate in las vegas tomorrow. people are anxious to hear from bernie sanders and donald trump. we expect donald trump to take the stage within the next minutes. organizers say this is the first

time we've had sanders and trump, two very different men speaking to the same audience here. >> that could definitely get interesting. i think the kid thought he was at comi comic con. >> lindsey graham just left the stage. he talked about immigration, the need for immigration reform. he also talked about the fight with isil, saying that it needs to be a more forceful approach, there needs to be a no fly zone in syria. he spoke about the issue here that is very important to many here, which is trying to bridge the divide between the two parties. >> do you agree that america is worth fighting for? [ applause ] >> do you think it's worth dying for?

[ applause ] >> yeah. is it worth compromising for? [ cheers and applause ] >> in many ways, it's easier to go to afghanistan than it is washington. at least you know who the enemy is. >> two candidates have spoken, many more are expect throughout the day, including donald trump expected in the next couple of minutes. >> refreshing to hear from these other candidates. jonathan betz in new hampshire, thank you. >> on capitol hill, republicans struggling to find the next speaker of the house. this morning, the communication director for paul ryan repeated in a tweet what the republican congressman has had to say. he has said he is not interested as the job, but is still talked about as the next speaker of the house. >> as republicans scramble to find a new speaker to replace outgoing john boehner, one name

keeps cropping up with, paul ryan from wisconsin, mitt romney's vice presidential candidate in the 2012 election, who many republicans believe is the only member of the house who can unit the party. >> i know that paul is a committee guy. he likes when the committees are allowed to work, so i think he's already mentally committed to many of the same things that we want. if he can convince us of that, i think we can convince an overwhelming majority. >> while many push him into the race, so far, he remains non-committal, saying he's not running for speaker, because the job requires too much travel, fundraising and less time with the family. >> i think i shocked some of you, huh? >> his name rose to the top of the list after kevin mccarthy dropped out of the race after failing to win over the 40 strong freedom caucus associated with the tea party. >> if i can't unite everybody, better to find somebody who can. >> it's not clear if the caucus can live with paul ryan either,

saying only they would look favorably upon him. >> i think our group would be favorable towards him, but we are not there yet. >> others are in the running, daniel webster from florida a freedom caucus favorite and chaffetz is another front runner. for now, the election to speaker is on ice. john boehner still holds the gavel and this week, it's all eyes on paul ryan to make the next move. job terrett, al jazeera, new york. >> today is columbus day, but not every city in the u.s. is celebrating. how some are choosing to mark the holiday.

>> zimbabwe announced it will not charge an american dentist for killing cecil the lion, saying there will be no charges because walter palmer obtained the proper permits for his hunting trip. the dentist has been criticized worldwide for killing the prized lion. he said he relied on his guides and had no idea the lion he killed was one of zimbabwe's treasured animals. california has banned the use of redskins by sports teams. public schools are barred from using the nickname. last year, a federal panel ruled that the trademark for the nfl's washington redskins should be canceled. the team is challenging the decision. >> it is columbus day here in the u.s., but controversy

surrounds the holiday. a growing number of cities and states seek to abolish it. in albuquerque new mexico, the city recognizes native americans, instead. >> christopher columbus has long been described as discovering a new world from 500 plus years ago. indigenous activists say that was impossible, people were already living there. others call him a pirate whose actions led to the murder of millions of native people. i personally felt it myself growing up, and it's just time to change it so they can be proud of themselves and not honor a man that murdered their family. >> in 1492, columbus arrived on the island today that is split between haiti and the dominican republic. his own journal describes the enslaving and extermination of the local population. italian americans argue that the day is the recognition of columbus as an explorer and

changing it is an insult to their culture and heritage. >> the city of seattle is named for a native american leader but an effort to celebrate both columbus day and indigenous people's day was shot down. washington is one state that decided not to recognize columbus day on the state level. it's still a federal holiday, mail isn't delivered and banks closed. south america has renamed it native americans day and in hawaii, the holiday is known at discoverer's day. >> del confirmed one of the biggest technology deals in history, announcing a takeover of e.m.c., a storage technology firm. the deal is said to be worth more than $67 billion, dell executives say buying the company gives more tools to

clients. it is one of the biggest names in computer data storm. >> for just the third time in 40 years, millions of social security recipient, disabled veterans and federal retirees cannot expect increase in benefits next year. the annual cola raise is based on the government measure of inflation. that is being dragged down by lower prices at the gas pump. the government is expected to announce the lack of cola thursday when it releases the consumer price index for september. >> the nobel prize for economics is out this morning and has gone to a professor at princeton. he was awarded the top honor by the committee in sweden earlier this morning. he studies global inequality and argued that the rising economic tide worldwide hasn't helped the least fortunate. he has been on the short list of potential prize winners for several years. thanks for watching. the understood continues next, live follow doha. have a great morning.

♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ from al jazeera's headquarters in doha this is the news hour, here is what is coming up, in the next 60 minutes, at least two palestinians are dead and two israelis critically injured following more violence in jerusalem and the occupied west bank, funerals from saturday's bomb attack and government says i.s.i.l. is the prime suspect. kurdish fighters in syria joined forces with a mix of other rebel groups and a