security. but the museum is hoping the exhibit will plant ideas in people's minds about how we get what we eat. the worldwide web, aljazeera.com for all of your global news. another day of tensions between israelis and palestinians, but a moment of peace today shown at one of the holiest sites in the region. south african students protesting the government raising their tuition, we'll tell you what jacob zuma is doing to try to end the violence. secretary of state john kerry working on a plan to end the syrian conflict, but it's a community in michigan looking to help the refugees find a home.

♪ this is al jazeera america live in new york city. i'm del walters. for the first time in weeks, israel allowing muslims of all ages to enter the al-aqsa mosque compound. access to the holy site has been one of the triggers of that recent violence that has killed dozens of palestinians and jews. >> reporter: young and old, male and female arrive for friday prayers. unlike in recent weeks there was no age or gender restriction for worshippers going to the al-aqsa mosque come pound, and no police check points to navigate. those closely checking identity on past friday, now relaxing and simply watching. the scenes were not as peaceful in many parts of the occupied west bank, activists groups had declared what they call addai of

rage, and there was sporadic fighting in a number of areas. the wider israeli occupation remains in police, a critical context for the easing of restrictions at the al-aqsa mosque compound. >> this must end the occupy. this is the only country in the whole world has been occupied and treating people miserable. we have had enough. palestinians need to be free. >> reporter: but this tenuous calm on this day in this place, a chink of hope for those diplomats who have been seeking a reduction in the level of conflict. >> we asked the israeli's prime minister office whether there's any connection between the lifting of restrictions and the meeting benjamin netenyahu had with the u.s. secretary of state. we are told it's the situation on the ground that determines the level of security that is in force. but the question many ask in the light of the calm that has prevailed since the restrictions have been lifted, why were the restrictions imposed in the

first place? mike hanna, al jazeera. secretary of state john kerry is in vienna talking about the war in syria. he is meeting with his russian counterpart, and the two are likely to discuss russia's military operations there. there are growing concerns that russia's bombing campaigns with giving the syrian government in the upper hand in that war. barnaby phillips is in vienna. >> reporter: a flurry of diplomatic activity here in austria over the future of syria, and talks that bring together several avowed opponents of the syrian regime, that is the americans, the saudis and the turkish governments with its most crucial military backer; that is, of course, the russians, and i would imagine that sergei lavrov, the russian foreign minister is facing tough questions over russia's true

motivations, what it wants in syria exactly, and what promises it may have extracted from president assad of syria over his future. what did he say to president putin in moscow a couple of days ago? the rur shans see themselves firmly at the middle of anyonings. and there have been bilateral meetings. and the russians said they had agreed to, quote, coordinate their military activities in syria, so that's an indication of where the russians would like things to be going in these talks. and that is barnaby phillips reporting. we want to take you life now and show you these images coming out of vienna, you can see the microphones that are there as reporters await secretary of state john kerry to come out of that meeting. south africa's president changing his mind about a plan to raise college fees in that

country. massive crowds gathering outside the offices of the president in pretoria today. police fired stun grenades and used water cannons on the crowd. they say the proposed increase would make education out of reach for thousands of students. the president says he will work on a long-term solution trying to fix that country's education system. >> that is the short-term solution in terms of the pleating that took place today. but it was agreed that the [ inaudible ] with the university consults, the vice chancellor, the department of education, and student organization, to look at a long-term solution, which would take into account not only the raising of fees, but also the whole question of -- of -- of fees, whether they should be gradually done away with, to a point where a parent pays zero

percent of any fees for student's ed a decision. in that matter is now firmly on the table, and it was agreed that there needs to be more meetings to discuss that matter. the point is that the issue of the fees is but one of the many issues. there was an issue about [ inaudible ] universities where students admits to be reviewed. then there is the issue of the capping of salaries of senior university staff members, were earning quite a lot of money. is there has been the issue of the curriculum in the universities, but it has been compromised because costs were [ inaudible ] so all of these issues are now going to be on the table to find a lasting solution. >> and that is keith with the anc. mexico today in the cross hairs of a monster hurricane, patricia, now a cat 5 storm.

forecasters are saying it is the strongest hurricane on record in the western hemisphere. and gerald tan tells us people are getting ready for the worst. >> reporter: mexicans living along the pacific coast prepare their homes and businesses for what forecasters warn could be a catastrophic storm. >> translator: it's better to prevent than to regret, because i have windows, i put in wood panels. the truth is, i don't know how the hurricane will hit. >> hurricane patricia is sweeping across the pacific with winds topping 260 kilometers an hour. it has grown into the highest category 5 storm. the hurricane is expected to make landfall on friday afternoon, mexico time. >> translator: given the situation and the reports presented by the national emergency commission, the secretary of the interior has

instructed the extrordanaire emergency declaration, in three states of the country. >> reporter: the bustling port city here is in the direct path of patricia, but not everyone is worried. >> translator: we decided to buy some basic goods in case some roads are closed, we'll have essentials at home. >> translator: we really didn't buy that much, because they regularly say a hurricane will come, but sometimes they don't hit. that's why i think the majority don't participate that much. >> reporter: many villages have been evacuated and orders to close schools and ports. government leaders say they are bracing for what is threatening to become the most intense hurricane to hit mexico's pacific coast. now there are three. former senator and rhode island governor linson -- lincoln

chaffy dropping out of the race for president a little while ago. paul ryan is one step closer to becoming the next speaker of the house. thursday he officially announced his bid for the job. but as randall pinkston reports, speaker ryan could be in for a bumpy ride. >> reporter: while many were pushing ryan to enter the race, he resisted, saying the job requires too much travel and less time with his family. this week he amended that, saying he would run if the house republican conference united behind him. >> i know that paul is a committee guy. he likes when the committees are allowed to work. so i think he is already mentally committed to many of the same things we want. if we can convince us of that, i

think we can present an overwhelmi overwhelming support. >> reporter: mccarthy lost support almost immediately by publicly implying that the house benghazi investigation was designed to damage hillary clinton's presidential chances. that cost him any support from the freedom caucus. >> i can't unite everybody. and it's better to fine somebody who can. >> reporter: ryan said in a letter, quote: that unity, however, may still be illusive for the wisconsin republican. while he won the backing of the conservative republican study committee, and the more moderate group, he failed to get an actual endorsement from the freedom caucus.

many of its members say ryan is too willing to compromise. >> i think he would be a great messenger. i think our group would be favorable towards him. but we're not there yet. >> reporter: still he instantly becomes the front runner. while europe struggles to handle the growing influx of refugees, there's a place near detroit that may have the answer for syrians trying to find a new home.

secretary of state john kerry is holding talks with his russian counterpart in vienna today. the major topic of concern, syria. he is sitting down with sergei lavrov. there are growing concerns that russian's bombing campaigns are now giving the syrian government the upper hand. many displaced by the syrian war are part of this sea of humanity. the u.n. saying 5,000 asylum speakers are in a small town there trying to keep warm as the temperatures in that region continue to drop. so far the u.s. has taken in only a small number of syrian refugee. the michigan governor says his state should do more. not everyone agrees.

>> reporter: good afternoon, del. this summit is an opportunity for american arab leaders from across the country to come together and focus on a platform ahead of the presidential election, and the conflict in syria has really taken center stage here, as you mentioned about 4 million, it's estimated 4 million syrians have fled the country over the past couple of years, and the majority are women and small children. the u.s. has pledged to take in 10,000 syrian refugees, but arab american leaders here in dearborn, michigan say more needs to be done. >> four years now. in the beginning we startled by some of the numbers, and hoping the situation would get better so less would leave. and each year those numbers continue to grow as oppose to decrease, and it's just something that i think requires us to do more. >> reporter: and right now,

michigan governor rick sni snide -- sneijder is talking about ways to except for refugees into the state. but he is facing some pushback. this man and his family moved here in july. >> translator: we were facing danger on a daily basis, where we were living, there were continuous daily flashes. our lives were at constant threat. >> reporter: when the civil war broke out more than four years ago, the family fled to turkey and lived at a syrian refugee camp for three years before being admitted to the u.s. >> translator: after we crossed borders to turkey, i sat down and wept. i started looking at my village. i cried for an hour. >> we're a country founded on

immigrants. >> reporter: sean is with lutheran social services of michigan, a non-profit that has helped resettle some of the 100 syrian refugees that have arrived in the state so far this year. >> what we have seen historically and in research is that refugee resettlement and immigration can add to economic growth pretty significantly. so we also see it as an economic development tool for the city. >> reporter: but this congresswoman has been vocal about her concern with terrorism. >> that's why i continuously say, we need a plan to vet that, and we need to be sensitive to that, because right now it's not we're choosing. it's a crisis, and we're just getting a mass of people who want to come to the united states. >> reporter: the government says it can take up to two years to

review the backgrounds of refugees. >> translator: we will have a future here, but our children's future is far more important than ours. >> reporter: it's unclear how many syrians will resettle in michigan, but tanball says he feels fortunate that he and his family are here and able to rebuild a life torn apart by war. the goal is for arab american leaders to figure out ways to get lawmakers, leaders to get more syrians here into the united states. this is a three-day event, and it attracted political figures from around the country. >> bisi the pictures tell a thousand words. bisi onile-ere in dearborn, michigan. thank you. a florida church is going to be hosting a townhall meeting to discuss the death of a black man shot by police. the family of corey jones said

he never fired his gun during the enkour ter. the officer they say fired his weapon six times. ines ferre has more. >> reporter: we spoke to the aunt and godmother of corey jones who says they were close. and she didn't believe he isn't here anymore. the family has more questions than answers around his death and they are leaning on the community to support them. >> reporter: those chants coming from hundreds who gathered at a rally thursday for cory jones. the 31-year-old drummer was fatally shot by a plain-clothed officer early sunday morning after his car broke down on the side of the road. now jones's family says new details about the confrontation between jones and the officer has raised even more troubling questions about the deadly encounter. >> i need to know why!

why my son is gone today! why! >> reporter: the family met with the state attorney's office, they were told corey's body was found 80 to 100 feet from his car, and he did not use his gun. police are offering little information about what happened when the officer stopped to investigate what looked like an abandoned car. the police have said the officer was confronted by an armed subject. lawyers for the family say he fired at him six times and hit him three times. they also say he didn't identify himself. jones's death is being investigated by the sheriff's office and state attorney's office.

his brother insists the shooting goes beyond race. >> our lives do matter. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: going forward, what do you want to see happen? >> we want justice. we want transparency. i miss him. i miss him so much. i miss him so much. ♪ >> keep corey's beat alive. >> reporter: the community hopes to receive some more answers from the townhall meeting scheduled for tonight, and the family says that the information they have received from the state attorney's office comes from statements the officer made to investigators after the shooting. they say they are frustrated because there was no dash cam, he did not have a body camera on and without that the only version they have is from the officer. honoring the monument spin. they receive a treasure of their own.

in washington state there is a battle between church and state in all of places a high school football game. it began when a coach tried to copy what was done in facing

your giants, or winning through prayer. john henry smith has the story. >> reporter: for nine years running this football coach joe kennedy has been leading his players in postgame prayers. but when he continued that tradition last friday night, he was violating on order from the district that said, quote: >> i don't want to break the law. and i -- don't want to set a bad example, and i don't want to jeopardize the program we have set up if something goes wrong and we get sued. >> reporter: many players and parents say they support him. >> he shouldn't lose his job for what he practices at the end of the game. >> reporter: and the school district has said it has no plans to fire kennedy, writing in a statement:

the conservative liberty institute, a legal defense sfund backing the coach. in a letter to the school district, it says: >> private citizens on the own time have a right to practice their faith, and we think it's very important at liberty institute to protect that right. >> i don't understand how this can be wrong. i'm not establishing religion, i'm not preachy with anybody. 22 people under arrest today after police uncovered a secret tunnel connects mexico and the u.s. it is about 2400 feet long, 30 feet deep, well lit, ventilated and equipped with a rail system. authorities confiscating 12 tons of marijuana.

their lives were made famous in the movie the monuments men. they risked their lives to recover more than 5 million stolen artifacts across europe. 75 years later a grateful nation sayi saying allen schauffler reports. >> reporter: they were an unlikely bunch. scholars not soldiers, but it was their job to fine and save some of the world's greatest works of art. the german leader had been keen to take as many treasures as possible. when he was defeated it became up to this group to track them down. this one. he left for the u.s. sa in 1938. he helped return what had been looted. >> we did not take it. i did not see to it that it was

sent to [ inaudible ]. i saw it to, in my case, we had quite a number of paintings that belonged to the museum in the city that i was born three blocks away. >> reporter: he and the rest of his unit have been awarded america's highest civilian honor. >> because knowing who we're from shows our children what they can be. no task is more pressure than that. no award is greater than this. and so for the monuments men, the united states [ inaudible ] the congressional medal of honor. >> reporter: they often went in to where the bullets were flying, and in the end they recovered almost 5 million pieces of art. among them rembrandts rare self

portrait. the man who wrote the book to highlight the work of the men says they were hugely dig about. >> works of art define who we are as people. americans don't think to think about this as much, but people around the world, their art and cultural treasures, their work belongs to them. >> they did a remarkable job, i just wish they could do it where isis is, where they are destroying all of the monuments. the congressional medal of honor has been won by sports stars, and soldiers too, but not solders like these. thanks for joining us. i'm del walters in new york. the news continues next live from london, and a reminder, you can always check us out 24 hours a day by going to our website, aljazeera.com, where the news

never stops. ♪ ♪ [ explosion ] [ shouting ] >> students try to storm south africa's seat of government, forcing the president to standing down on an increase in their fees. ♪ >> i'm david foster. also coming up in the next 30 minutes. escaping hurricane patricia, mexico braces itself for the biggest storm ever in the western misfear. 10s of thousands pray at the