jupit jupiter's distinctive giant red spot is continuing to shrink, and scientists aren't sure why. photos reveal the dramatic change. the spot is now half the size it was a hundred years ago. ♪ ♪ president obama plans to announce he is keeping more u.s. troops on the ground in afghanistan. a major policy reversal as the taliban presents new security threats. [ gunfire ] reports of a stepped up syrian offensive in homs. the government goes after rebels with the help of russian jets. and germany orders the recall of nearly 2.5 million

volkswagen diesel cars. the growing scandal over emissions. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. in about a half hour, the white house says president obama will announce he is slowing down the withdrawal of u.s. forces from afghanistan. top u.s. commanders in recent weeks had openly questioned the pace of those withdrawals, and the u.s. has been helping afghan forces battle a resurgent taliban around kunduz. the current force will stay on for most of next year. 5500 will remain by the time president obama leaves office. jamie mcintyre joins us from the pentagon now. jamie, tell us more about this new strategy, and what prompted the change? >> reporter: well, it really is a case of reality setting in.

the president's plan which was to try to wrap up the war in afghanistan by the time he left office simply didn't mesh with the reality on the ground in afghanistan, and that was illustrated graphically with this recent incident with which the taliban for two weeks took over the city of kunduz in north, and although afghan security forces were able to retake the city, there was a lot of damage done there, prisoners released. it was a very dicey situation. so this has been going on for months now, the pentagon and the president have been reviewing the strategy, u.s. military commanders recommended they leave an additional force after the president leaves in order not to repeat the mistake that many believe was made in iraq where u.s. troops left completely, and then the situation deteriorated. a big difference, though, between the situation in iraq, where then prime minister maliki

did not want the u.s. to stay, and the cur reng situation in afghanistan, where the president ghani and the -- and the prime minister both want a u.s. troop presence to remain in afghanistan. so the -- all of these factors combined to have the president have to reluctantly give up his plan to end the complete presence of u.s. troops in afghanistan, and so he has reluctantly agreed to leave a residual force of about 5500 past his exit of office in january of 2017. >> the new plan sets guidelines through 2017, but is it likely obama's successor could extend that even longer? >> absolutely. it will be up to the next president to decide whether to bring those troops home, add more troops or make a decision based on the conditions on the ground. that was one of the big arguments here. one of the sharpist krit

circumstances, senator mccain has complained that the president's strategy was calendar driven, and it needed to be based on conditions on the ground. today after -- senator mccain issued a statement saying he is still not satisfied with the 5000 number. one is to advise and assist and the other is to conduct anti-terrorist offensives against al-qaeda. so he would like to have seen the entire, roughly 10,000 troops remain until the next president takes office, so that the next president can decide the prudent thing to do in terms of the continued troop presence. >> what is the plan going to cost, and what is the thought that it continue toss be worth

it for u.s. interests. >> reporter: if you put the cost in dollars, it's about $14 billion that this will cost. that is a little more than what we are spending now in afghanistan. but there's of course the risk to u.s. troops and the risk of wlon -- the question, whether or not these additional troops will really help afghanistan standing up on its own two feet and take control of the situation. >> jamie mcintyre reporting from the pentagon. jamie, thank you. we're going to go to jennifer glasse now in kabul. with the afghan government consulted, and is there any hope afghans will be able to control their country any time soon without a foreign military? >> reporter: stephanie, not only was the afghan government consulted, the chief executive officer in new york just a couple of weeks ago at the u.n. general assembly in side bar

meetings with the u.s. requested this extension. when kunduz city fell last month, the afghan government said it did not really show the strength of the taliban, but the shortcomings of their military. they needed international help. we saw it in kunduz city. with air strikes to fight back taliban advances. and the tragic air strike on the doctors without borders hospital as well. in the south, earlier this year, when it looked like an area would fall to the taliban, u.s. special forces went down there as well. when you heard jamie mcinty mcintyre -- talk about their

anti-terrorism plan, that is going to continue through 2017. and one other big change, stephanie. it's not just the numbers which you could argue whether they are significant or not, but the fact that those forces will remain in bases around afghanistan. there is that thousand force troop that president obama wanted to keep. that has all changed. the big change in strategy, the 5,500 that will remain in 2017 will be in four bases across afghanistan. based here in kabul, in the east and in the south. so u.s. presence around the country as well, stephanie. >> jennifer, president ghani's government came under criticism when kunduz fell to the taliban. is his government doing enough to protect these cities? are they doing enough on their end? >> reporter: well, they know that they have shortcomings, they know that kunduz was a big

blow for them. goesny city was attacked on monday night, and the afghan forces were able to repel that advance. so maybe they learned some of the lesssons they needed to learn from kunduz. but there are also a lot of desertions and problems with recruitment as well. so it's a very, very difficult fight for afghan forces around the country, as i said for four days they held a highway between kabul and kandahar, a major transit route, really, almost like interstate 95 if you will. so i think the afghanistan security forces will welcome the u.s. announcement that their

forces will remain through 2017. >> jen thank you. and we will bring you the president's announcement on this live in the next hour. in syria this morning, government troops and their allies are now taking aim at rebel-held towns north of the city of homs. they began the offensive overnight. recapturing the area would help the syrian president reassert control over the main population centers of western syria. zana hoda has been monitoring the fighting. i asked her who is the target of the syrian army offensive in homs? >> reporter: there are a number of groups on the ground. many are affiliated to what is known as the free syrian army. a lot of those people are from the area, or defected from the syrian army years ago. but there are more conservative groups as well as the al-qaeda-linked al-nusra front.

all of these groups have a common goal, and that is the toppling of the syrian government, but they do not share the same ideologies, but the russian intervention in the syrian conflict as well as the air campaign, which has been targeting opposition groups on the ground united these rebels. they have now joined forces. they have created a joint operations room. now russia is calling this war against terrorism. but it doesn't shy away from the fact that isil is not the only group it is targeting. we have heard russian officials, even the president himself say that we consider many groups in syria, terrorist organizations and we have a long list of targets. if you talk those in the opposition, they believe that russia's military campaign has one aim, and that is to help the syrian government, strengthen their position militarily and

politically. and that's what we have seen on the ground. these air strikes have now put the opposition on the defensive. before the air strikes began, they were threatening the government's strong hold. so now the second major ground offensive underway an air and ground offensive, cooperation between the russian air force as well as the syrian army and its allies on the ground. >> today's offensive in homs comes as syrian forces are also preparing for a ground operation around aleppo. there is a tense calm in israel right now, following days of violent turmoil. the israeli military is on the streets of major cities to prevent attacks. and tel-aviv has now eased restrictions on gun ownership for israelis. mike hanna is in east jerusalem. >> reporter: there is increasing

tension in israel, in some cases hysteria. there were scenes of panic in a jerusalem mall overnight. also on a train that was brought to an emergency stop. passengers believed than attack was about to occur. but as the tension rises, so do does the extent of the security clampdown in occupied east jerusalem. many roads have been blocked off in neighborhoods, traffic being funneled through check points that have been established around the perimeters of most neighborhoods. also on social media there is a picture of a dark-complexed israeli wearing a t-shirt that says relax i'm an yemenite. there have been a number of attacks on israelis on fellow israeli jewish citizens mistaking them for palestinians. and certainly the way in which

people live, the day-to-day life has been utterly altered by the action of a few individuals armed with knives. >> mike hanna with the latest in jerusalem. israeli police are also on high alert in tel-aviv right now after arresting two palestinians they say were planning an attack. volkswagen's emission problems may extend out further than first thought. what the company is now saying about its 2016 diesel models. and one state leader's proposal for gun control. ♪

♪ new trouble for volkswagen this morning as it deals with the fallout from its emissions scandal. germany has ordered the company to recall 2.4 million cars. and there is software on a later model car that could also lead to false emissions. >> reporter: this new suspect software is in 2016-year models. the software makes the pollution control catalyst heat up faster, improving performance. vw never disclosed its existence to regulators, which all car makers have to do to sell their cars in the u.s.

this is different than the defeat devices. the presence of those devices, designed to fool emissions tests has the company facing billions of dollars in recalls, fines and civil lawsuits. the company insists its top executives never signed off on those devices. >> to my best knowledge, no one has authorized this, but this was a couple of software engineers who put it in for whatever reasons. >> reporter: but the man who will become the new leader has retired rather than take the job. in a statement the company said, quote: vw's ceo martin winterkorn was forced out shortly after the scandal came to light. oscar pistorius will be getting out of prison next week.

a parole board decided he can serve under house arrest. corrects officials say the parole board made the decision after hearing from prison officials and his girlfriend's family. california's lieutenant governor is expected to propose a tough new gun law. he wants a 2016 ballot initiative that would restrict ammunition sales and require owners to turn in large assault-style magazines. if adopted california would become the first state to require background checks at the point of sale for ammunition. the increasing number of incarcerated americans is leading to a boom in private prisons. and ines ferre explains. >> reporter: i'm in arizona, this facility holds about 1500

immigrants that are here illegally. about 62% of the prisons in the u.s. are run by for-profit companies. critics say the cost savings are far from proven, and focusing on the bottom line can result in inhumane and even lethal conditions. >> when immigrants are being held in these obscure middle of nowhere detention centers. >> reporter: it's a federal facility under ice. but day-to-day operations here are run by a private company. it's part of what activists carlos garcia says a troubling trend towards immigration detention. >> when prisons become for-profit, we see what is important is the bottom line.

>> reporter: he runs a grass root's group based in phoenix. >> we have seen people lose their babies. not have access to food, legal services. others have complained of being treated as slaves. people inside these private facilities work for a dollar a day. >> reporter: specific allegations of mistreatment made by detainees are hard to confirm. and cca says that work programs are in full compliance with all ice standards. tonight we'll be speaking with some detainees from this facility and their family members, and we'll be looking at the private industry behind these detention centers. >> watch her full record at 10:30 eastern. open enrollment under the affordable care act is just days away, and millions of people rely on it for their healthcare, but is the system working? ♪

♪ open enrollment for buying health insurance through the affordable care act is about to begin, and millions have signed up since enrollment began. but as ray suarez telling us this time around it may be harder to convince americans to buy insurance. >> reporter: in a few weeks, ads like these will be back.

♪ >> reporter: encouraging millions of inuninsured americans to buy health insurance policies under the affordable care act. >> we want people to realize this is an opportunity for them to be covered. >> alexandra. >> reporter: but as the campaign gets underway, the program is facing another challenge. keeping the enrollees it already has. in february of this year, about 11.7 million people were enrolled in federal and state-run marketplaces, but by the end of june that number dropped down to 9.9 million. >> a lot of people got insurances, maybe waiting for ab you, others thought it would be cheaper, some people were ineligible to receive subsidies. >> reporter: the cost of healthcare is challenging for many families even with

subsidies. some of the most difficult places to afford healthcare are in these 20 states. but the obama administration insists, despite the challenges, the new system is working. >> five years in, and millions have new coverage, and the annual uninsured rate has been reduced to the lowest number on record. >> reporter: health officials estimate about 10.5 million uninsured people are still eligible for coverage. this new enrollment period will be the toughest yet. >> the people who really benefit the most have already enrolled. the next step will be convincing people who may think they don't need insurance, convincing them that they actually do need insurance. that's going to be a challenge.

>> while our goals may be harder to reach, we're working smarter to reach them. we know americans are depending on us, and we're doing everything we can to help them find the coverage they need. >> reporter: the obama administration will concentrate on marketing to key areas. analysts say 2016 and 2017 will be the true test for the affordable care act, and this time, the ads will need to be a lot more convincing. ray suarez reporting there. you can watch "inside story" with ray at 6:30 pm eastern. dole fresh vegetables is voluntarily recalling bagged spinach with salmonella contamination.

a debate over sex education in louisiana is heating up. jonathan martin reports from new orleans. >> you know what this class is about, right? >> reporter: these students in new orleans are getting a lesson about sex. >> we cover hiv, other infections, we also cover contraceptive methods, safer sex practices. >> reporter: but classes like this are rare in louisiana's public schools. the state leaves it up to local school boards to decide whether to teach sex education. even with the state's hiv infection rate triple the national average, and teen pregnancy among the highest in the country, efforts to widen the curriculum have repeatedly failed. >> i think it's vitally important. >> reporter: this state representative has sponsored bills that would put louisiana

in line with 22 other states that mandate some type of sex education. bishop is pushing for a comprehensive curriculum in middle and high schools. most recently he narrowed his proposal to just include his new orleans district. in that too was rejected. >> we're doing a very poor job of providing information to our young people, and then young people are making bad choices. >> reporter: the resistance has mainly come from powerful conservative and catholic groups in louisiana. others insist schools have no business teaching anything about sex. >> i firmly believe that's the parent's job, and it's my right as a parent to decide when my child is old enough to handle that information. >> reporter: while there's no sex ed mandate, schools are allowed to offer their own programs, but most don't, either because of the controversy or a

lack of resources and training. >> what can you tell me about the anatomy. >> reporter: a few school boards have called on non-profits to teach education, but parents can opt out. >> we actually put on a condom on a model. they taught us about contraceptive methods, things like that. and they also gave us that abstinence option. >> reporter: one program will eventually reach 4,000 students in schools that want sex education. but that's a small fraction of students across the state. >> definitely there is a need. and we have seen a sustained and in some areas an increased need and demand. >> reporter: with louisiana set to elect a new governor and

legislature this month, one man is hoping things will change. thanks for watching. i'm stephanie sy the news continues next from doha. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello from al jazeera's headquarters in doha, i'm jane doeston. coming up, barack obama to announce that u.s. troops will stay in afghanistan. government forces launch a major offensive in syria. it will be a huge blow to opposition fighters if they win. europe's refugee crisis back on the agenda in brussel. the e.u. has a an