>> hi everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler. strategic shift - we must hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against i.s.i.l. rethinking the attack against i.s.i.l. >> showdown. a stand off in the china sea and a growing dispute between

washington and beijing guns in america... >> it is easier in some community to find a gun than it is to find fresh vegetables taking his case for reform to chicago. president obama's message to communities in the crossfire. >> plus, walls of sound. inside the legendary electric lady stoodies built by jimmy hennedic hendriks, the birthplace to countless hits we begin with a shift in u.s. strategy in the battle against i.s.i.l. the plan calls for more air strikes, raids on the group's strong holds in the iraq and syria. after saying no for so long, maybe more american troops on the ground in the most dangerous parts of the region.

national security, jamie mcintyre, has that story. >> secretary carter's testimony before the senate arm's committee was a tacit emission that the u.s. led war against i.s.i.l. ground to a stalemate and challenges are needed to regain the momentum. secretary ash carter pointed to the rescue of 70 i.s.i.l. captives by iraq kurdish fighters backed by u.s. delta force commandos as an example of willingness to put americans in harms way to help turn the tide of battle against i.s.i.l. >> we will not hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against i.s.i.l. or conducting missions directly, whether by strikes from the airar direct action on the ground. >> reporter: the policies increases the risk to u.s. troops. a highly decorated soldiers with bronze stars was killed during the operation. insisting that the laid on the prison, and an earlier one in

syria shows that none is behind u.s. reach. carter insisted that the strategy hinges on having american forces helping not substituting for fighters. with the u.s. efforts to train and admit syrian rebels, carterer outlined the latest idea. >> the old approach was to train and equip new persons outside of syria before sending them in to the fight. the new approach is to work with leaders and groups that are fighting i.s.i.l. and provide equipment and training to them, and support their provisions with air power. >> committee members expressed frustration that the tweaks to the strategy do nothing to stop u.s. bombs in syria or to counter-vladimir putin's propping up bashar al-assad. >> all i can say it will be a

sad day for america, and the region will pay hell for this. the people in spiria will not accept this. this is a half arsed strategy at best. carter took a lot of heat for enforcing a no-fly zone in syria. >> what you are saying it the strongest nation with capable military cannot establish no-fly zone to protect people by bashar al-assad. that is an embarrassing moment. >> we could do it. >> of course we could do it. people like general petraeus and general keane and every other - all we have to do is it protect it and tell them not to fly into it. history shows that they won't if they'll get shot down. >> reporter: while secretary carter says a no-fly zone has not been ruled out. he argues it would be

complicated because it would have to be enforced in the west where the u.s. flies and syria has air defense. he didn't say it may risk a dog fight between u.s. and russian pilots who are using it every day to cut air strikes. >> jamie mcintyre, thanks,: national security contributors serving at the iraq national security council, and a fellow, a new america, is in washington. doug, you heard what senator lindsay graham and john mccain said, what do you think? >> well they certainly have strong opinions. i think in general we see the administration present a series of tweaks that might, when put together give us real changes here in the region. >> how successful do you think the plan has been so far? >> well certainly it has taken a while to come together.

no one is happy with the lack of speed at which maybe the iraqis have moved, and that we have been able to try to push back anyone, anywhere in syria. but, we have seen some successes in iraq, with the iraqi's advisory, and we are seeing essentially something - you know, numbering the i.s.i.l. forces on all sides. the kurds in the north, the iraqis from the south. now, of course, the russians do give a different take on this in western syria. but in general we are seeing pressure against i.s.i.l. >> i go back to the question though - i mean, hasn't this been a total failure on the part of the united states? >> well, total failure is a bit much. but certainly this has not moved as favorite as we would like, and i think this is still going to take another year or two to work out. this has been highlighted by a

number of prominent failures. most notably training the syrian rebels, which we all acknowledge went nowhere. the performance of the iraqis has been disappointing. again, we have seen some better successes around baiji lately. the kurds have been reinforced by jaysoc in the north, explaining a lot of successes. yes, we are not happy with the progress. >> doesn't the united states have to put boots on the ground to make a difference or get out? >> i say a lot, famously lawrence of arabia say it's better the arabs do it deceptively than we do it perfectly. yes, we could send a lot of americans on the ground and solve the problem in short order. it puts ourselves in the same situation once baghdad fell, the same situation we funds ourselves in once we took kaboom, afghanistan - what do we

do now, who runs this place, how do we do that. our partners in the region do it slowly but more deliberately. but when it's done, they are there on the ground, they are local, they can figure out what to do. >> the defense secretary is focussing u.s. efforts on i.s.i.l. stronghold of raqqa. can you explain to me why that part of northern syria is so important? >> the other thing that we are seeing - we are emphasising where we have forces that can do something. the belief in syria is that with the y.p.g. kurds, just about 30km to the north of raqqa, and air forces there. the belief is we can reinforce

them. i think that - all three things emphasised. this is all a reality check. these are all things that we have partners, and our own forces can do. we are no longer talking about doing grand manoeuvre to take mosul, that we have no one that will hep us do. we have forces near raqqa, we think that's achievable. iraqis are surrounding ramadi, and jaysoc can do raids whenever we need them to. >> what about the no-fly zone, can that work? >> the dod was clear that the cost of putting up a no-fly zone - they believe, i think the administration believes - is too high. the united states can do it if it wants to. that instantly puts us into a conflict with the russians in syria. i don't think any of us think any of us have equities in syria - senator mccain may

differ - that we would want to get into a shooting war with the russians over. it's not something we'll do soon, at least not under this administration. >> always good to talk to you, doug. thank you more evidence today on i.s.i.l.'s ruthlessness knows few bounds. they reportedly tied three prisoners to colums in syria's ancient city of palmyra and blew them up. the killings took place on monday. i.s.i.l. destroyed most of palmyra, one of the significant roman relics in syria's history. >> iran has been invited to talks in vienna on thursday - the goal to end four years of civil war that devastated the county, creating the refugee crisis for the syrian refugees. iran has not applied.

ayatollah khamenei forbidding talks with the u.s., calling them the great satan. >> now to the disputed china sea, china saying the u.s. damaged relations and peace. the american navy sent a warship to sea today. a challenge to china's change of sovereignty there, and a move beijing is promising to counter. rob mcbride reports. >> reporter: the united states has been signalling that it would make the significant sail pass. china warned it would respond appropriately and both have been good to their word. the patrol by the u.s.s. larsen came within 12 miles of the disputed spratly islands in the south china sea, the limit of a nation's territorial name normally. not accepted by the u.s., who says it's international waters, open to anyone. china said it shadowed the u.s.

vessel accusing of it harming regional piece and stability. >> translation: we want to urge the u.s. to respect our position and correct its mistake immediately. it should not conduct dangerous productive actions threatening china's sovereignty and security and should not take sides in the dispute so as not to further harm. china-u.s. relationship the waters of the south china sea are disputed by china and its neighbours, among them the philippines, which welcomed the move by the u.s., saying it was operating in international waters. >> the balance of power says it's not a single voice that must be adhered to, but a large amount of voices when all parties are effected by changes of reality on the ground. >> reporter: another ally, japan, has a territorial dispute with china in the east china

sea. it went further expressing concern at the island building ac -- activities in the south china sea. >> the uniformal conduct to change by building platforms in the south china sea are a common concern for the international community. as the prime minister said, it's important that the international community unites to maintain peace and stability in the south china sea. we are conducting intelligence information with the united states. >> reporter: the united states says the decision to send the warship close to the disputed island reaffirms its right to sail in international waters. china is responding in terms that it will safeguard what it sees as its territory, there's widespread regional support from china's neighbours for north america's actions dozens wounded in demonstrations across the occupied west bank.

palestinians clashed with israeli army forces in what local political parties called a day of rage. in hebron palestinian groups hurled rocks at israeli soldiers, they responded by firing live rounds. several hundred jewish settlers live in the city of hebron, which is home to more than 150,000 palestinians. in yemen a hospital run by doctors without borders has been destroyed. the aid agency says war planes from the saudi-led coalition are to blame. the saudis deny responsibility. minor injuries have been reported. in a similar incident this month an american air strike killed more than 20 people at a doctors without borders hospital in afghanistan now to the aftermath of the 7.5 mag ni feud earthquake in -- magnitude earthquake. it occurred in the curb

mountains, many killed, thousands injured. jennifer glasse reports from northern afghanistan. >> reporter: 12 afghan girls, some of the first to die in the earthquake are laid to rest, draped in the colours of their nation, they were killed during a stampede to get out of their school in northern afghanistan. in eastern afghanistan's kunar province, adobe traditional walls collapsed. reducing the village to rubble. survivors bundled up what belongings they could salvage, not everyone survived. >> translation: during the earthquake, when the wall was shaking, one of my sisters came out of the house. when she came out, she disappeared under the wall. there were others inside. the wall collapse said on her. >> reporter: walls cracked. ceilings fell in. much of the village is uninhabitable and winter is

approaching. >> our house has been destroyed by the earthquake, we have nowhere else to go, we are living outside. we ask the government to help us. >> reporter: the injured and dead were taken to hospitals. there has been a number of casualties suffered. 42 are dead. officials fear the numbers could rise as afghans gain access to remote locations. further south the same scenes at jalalabad. a ward full of children injured while they play together. >> there was a wedding ceremony, all the kids were playing, and there was prayer time when the earthquake started. one wall fell on the children. two broke their arms. 20 were injured and killed in the incident. >> afghan accordies -- that right -- authorities are

assessing the damage. >> the after gan has been telling fighters to support them. the president ashraf ghani convened the security council to coordinate aid efforts, and they'll decide whether to accept outside help once the full extent of devastation is known next, ben carson's challenge, a poll has him leading the republican field nationally. he bett trump in the debate on the economy compromise on capitol hill, the 2-year budget deal and what it means for the american people.

stakes are high for the republican presidential debate. the newcomers donald trump and ben carson are leading the bolls. neither has a significant lead. michael shure reports. >> reporter: since the republicans last debated at the regan library in california, the group has gotten smaller. >> i will suspend my campaign immediately. >> reporter: the rhetoric is the same. >> bush has no money. he's cutting, meeting with mummy and daddy today, and they are working on the campaign. >> reporter: and they have shown up on someone's enemy's list. >> probably the republicans. >> reporter: this time the republican candidates are set to debate in boulder, colorado,

hardly a hotbed of politics with democrats outbidding republicans 2:1. recent polls suggest a position of ben carson passing donald trump. wednesday's debate, your money, your vote, billed that way by c.b.c., gives trump an opportunity to hammer ben carson. >> i'm a deal maker, i'll make great deals. ben can't do that, he's a doctor, not a deal maker. >> reporter: ben carson, for his part, will debate on his evangelical message, which is successful, but find less relevance in a debate on financial messages. >> i don't change my message from one group to another - i think people sort of that. >> reporter: when it comes to finances, jed bush is strong, but hubbles into boulder after a bush family wow wow with descending poll numbers and public displays of frustration. >> i have a lot of cool things to do other than sit around

being miserable, listen to people demonize me and me compelled to demonize them. that is a joke. >> reporter: marco rubio hopes to seize on some much bush's lost ground, despite having to defend allegations that he has a poor attendance record for voting in the senate. >> being in the senate to cast a vote - that's a small part. >> carley fiorina saw fleeting popularity out of the debate. in is in her comfort zone - money and business. john kassig may talk a lot about taxes. making their points on budgets and taxes in the familiar territory of the earlier debate for those not polling is carlos santana, bobby jindal george pet abbingy and lindsay graham, all

with a big mountain to climb in the debate dave levinthal is a senior reporter with the center for public integrity, our partners, what issues - let's talk about taxes and budget. how do they different themselves on those issues? >> well, donald trump and carley fiorina, this is in their wheelhouse. they had strong debates in the last couple, particularly fiorina. trump has been up and down. he's done great or not well at all. when it comes to business, they'll be at the forefront. john kassig, lost in the midst has a heck of a record to run on. while you have fiorina and trump, the outsider candidates, you have a couple in the mix who a practical, state-level experience, balancing budgets, cutting taxes and dealing with

economic issues, and iowa is a great state to show where things are bad and also good as a result of political actions. it's about cutting taxes according to republicans, isn't it about raising revenue and running the government. >> it is, and expect to hear that from donald trump, who says he'll do everything. but expect the moderators to press him on issues. this is a debate about economics, finances, jobs, taxation, and in all the various things that go into pocket book issues. as a result, we'll have a narrowly tailored debate focussing on that issue, and all the candidates will have to talk about the issue, which could be a problem for a ben carson, who may not have the forte by economic issues in the way other candidates do. >> let's put these candidates in a group - christy, kassig, ted

cruz, paul. is this almost a do or die for some of those candidates? >> it may not be do or die, but we are getting close to that. we have to remember the first primaries and caucuses are coming up in february. some may seem a ways away with thanksgiving and christmas to come. for rand paul, chris christie, these are candidates that bumbled their way into october. they have not been fundraising well at all. they are in the doldrums, poll numbers are bad, a lot of malice that they have. they are looking for an aha moment. an exciting moment that will capt vate the headlines and volt them back into the midst. there's a lot of talk about this. do you think that marco rubio can replace jed bush as an establishment candidate. >> a lot think he can.

you talk to some people, the affirmament, the establishment, they like what they see in marco rubio, at the same time too, he has issues of his own. he doesn't have necessarily the longest track record in the world when it comes to the federal service. and he has a long track record at the state level in florida, he's someone that hasn't captured nearly the excitement from the grassroots, from people making small dollar donations to campaigns, like you see people making to ben carson and donald trunt. hasn't got the excitement. he's another guy that will need a strong debate performance to stand out from the crowd. >> good to see you. join us tomorrow. ali velshi and tony harris will have a preview of the debate at 7:00 eastern time. house republicans are moving to impeach the head of the irf.

accusing him of making false statements understand death are oath, and he failed to supply with a subpoena and documents destroyed on his watch. the chairman of the oversight committee and 18 members have a resolution to begin impeachment. >> and the new budget - speaker john boehner reached a deal with the white house, many conservatives say john boehner gave too much away to the democrats. libby casey has more. >> john, the budget deal increases spending by $80 billion. 1% of the federal budgets. it lifts caps on military and nondefense spending and raises or suspends national debt limits until march 2017. we are facing a deadline for that next week. there are pay fors, including changes to social security and medicare disability benefits.

president obama says the deal is good new and is urging congress to votes for it. >> and it's a bipartisan compromise, which happens nts happened in washington a lot lately. two years of funding for budgets freeing us from the cycle of shut down threats and last-minute patch-work fixes, allowing us to plan for the future and allow your departments to plan for the future. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner is calling this a good deal saying it's a win for republicans, because it includes entitlement reform, and also it strengthens national security. >> the agreement is not perfect by any means, but the alternative was an increase without any additional support for the troops and without implement reforms. this is a good deal for the troops, for the taxpayers and for the american people. >> and while house speaker john boehner says there's no reason not to vote for the bill, we are hearing dissent from some

republicans, including some presidential candidates. rand paul, a senator, plans to try to filibuster this, stop it in this track. the first step is that it comes up before the house tomorrow. one republican that is not voicing support for if in the house is the expected future speaker - paul ryan. he believes the process stinks. he is able to distance himself a little bit from the deal that john boehner has crafted. speaker john boehner said he wants to clean out the barn before he hands over the speaker gavel to paul ryan. as mr ryan distances himself from the deal, he may benefit from politically what john boehner is doing now. >> libby, thank you. the ink is barely dry on a different deal in washington. a u.s. air contract was awarded, worth $50 billion, defense

secretary ash carter announcing boeing and lockheed martin was beaten out. it delivers new aircraft. the largest contract awarded by the pentagon in years. the air force is trying to replace the ageing bomber fleet. coming up next. while the tough gun laws have not stopped a spike in violence. and major league dreams, new relations with the u.s. - how it will affect cuba's baseball tar tars. stars.

hi everyone, this is al jazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler gundebate, president obama calls for tougher restrictions. fewer gun safety laws do not mean more freedom. they mean more danger. >> why cities with strict gun control like chicago are plagued by gun violence playing baseball. >> i play anywhere. >> how relations between the u.s. and cuba could reshape

baseball on both shores. >> plus, soundproof - you can tell when something came from the electrics. >> inside electric lady studios where some of the biggest bands recorded their big hits president obama called for tougher gun laws when he talked to police chiefs in chicago. he pushed for criminal justice reform and intended police officers and have been criticise the for racial bias in using excessive force. mike viqueira has more from washington. recurring gun violence, police tactics and video gone viral serving as a backdrop for the wide-ranging speech before a group that has a stake in all of it. the international association of police chiefs president obama walked a fine line, praising the gathering of law enforcement around the country.

while keeping with his call for police to reform the way they operate in minorities. >> we have to have departments to fairly address it, and not close ranks or stands down. >> police deserve the benefit of the doubt. president obama said. incidents too quickly become a story of law enforcement and mine your arorities at -- minorities at odds. >> what is served up to us by news media seeking ratings, tweets seeking re tweet or political candidates. >> the tweet, an encounter between an officer and high school student? south carolina. and the day after president obama's federal bureau of investigation director speculated about the so-called ferguson effect,blaming a rise in crime in some cities on reluxance of police to engage in fear of criticism.

the president seemed to take issues. >> divides are not as deep as some suggest. i don't know anyone in the minority community that does not want strong effective law enforcement. >> president obama spoke in his adopted town of chicago, ahead of a background of rising crime. last weekend shootings there left 28 wounded and six dead. the homicide rate the highest in three years. he did not put forward proposals on guns. part of blame was on neighbouring indiana, where the lack of gun control flows into chicago, where they are used in crime. >> it's easier for a lot of young people in the city, and in some of your communities to buy a gun than a book. >> criminal justice and sentencing reforms, something that is making rare bipartisan progress, passing a key senate committee last week. the president will travel to newark new jersey on monday to continue that push. >> thank you.

chicago, like many cities is plagued by gun violence, and has some of the toughest gun laws on record record. >> 7,000 illegal guns have been taken off the streets last year. city officials say the free flow of firearms needs to be addressed through gun regulation behind the borders. >> reporter: chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. but so far this year there has been more than 400 homicides in the city. the problem, according to city officials, an abundant supply of firearms and penalties. >> people do not go to gaol for illegal gun, if they do not fear the criminal justice system. if they fear repercussions from the gang they belong to,

outweighs the sanction. we'll stay in the position. >> it's been a central topic at the gathering of the international association of chiefs of police in chicago. on tuesday president obama will address 14,000 officials from around the country. calling for widespread gun control laws. >> time to be honest. fewer gun safety laws don't mean more freedom. they mean more danger. certainly more danger to the police. more fallen officers, more grieving families. >> reporter: around the country, state by state and in some cases municipality by municipality, gun regulations form a patchwork of laws. in chicago there's no gunshots. activists argue that local restrictions are circumvented by driving across the city and state lines. between 2009 and 2013, 20% of

guns recovered from gun scenes were recovered by dealers. >> it's money issues. they have been left alone because it's a big tax base. >> unlike california and new york, the state of illinois does not licence or regulate leaders, leaving it up to cities and municipalities. 25 states and the district of columbia adopted laws, with other states requiring dealers to conduct background checks or report to law enforcement. illinois is not one. >> if chicago tightened regulations which the supreme court said don't go further, even then there would be a large number of guns from name ouring states. that's why many people believe that the only solution lies with a uniform regulation. >> with disagreement over the effectiveness of the gun regulation and impact on violence, and polls split on the

idea of more gun control. it's unlikely there'll be consensus on gun laws soon. >> john. they'll have the political will to push further. it is a tall order. >> thank you very much philip banks a former chief of department for the new york city police department and a 28-year veteran of the force. he's in chicago, where he attended president obama's speech. welcome, it's good to have you on the programme. let me ask you, what was the reaction to what the president said. >> i think the president was right on his remarks. he started out paying tribute to officer holden, and the sacrifices that he made. the ultimate sacrifice. he credited law enforcement with the great work we have been doing in the last 30, 50 years cutting crime rate down and placed his report in the remaining report as a president, to continue to support the

efforts. interestingly enough, right fully so, though great work has been done, more needs to be done. people have been critical, many of us still make and continue to make progress that was necessary. i thought the president was on point with the peace. >> what did you think he said about gun control? >> i support what he says about gun control. in this particular country there are many people who have access to guns that should not have it. i'm talking about criminals, individuals with mental health defects, not law-abiding citizens or the lack of laws making it too easy for people who do not have weapons, who intend to do harm to society to achieve them. i think the legislation needs to take a good look at that. it can be part of the solution of helping us. >> it seems like the year of the video, and the video phone, and

there's a video of a police officer flipping a student, a white police officer swiping an african american student in her - in her classroom while she sat. she was trying to get her to get up. he moved her. did you see that video? what did you think? >> i did see the video. i think that the officer is entitled to due process. but if you ask me what i say, i didn't like what i saw. it appeared to be very excessive, unwarranted. she certainly didn't appear to be resisting in any fashion. i did not like what i saw, i think it needs to be looked upon. a question that needs to be answered is what was the officer there for in the first place. who called the officer, who signalled the officer to come into the room and for what reason. by just seeing a snapshot, which doesn't always tell the full pictures. didn't like what i saw.

i believe it needs to be investigated. >> as a proud police officer for 28 years at the new york city police department, what do you think is going on here. are we seeing more of these because they are phones, they are being recorded. are there more incidents? >> well - well, you know, 25 years ago, there wasn't proliferation of video cameras, there are some in the community that will tell you that this has happened all along, and they are probably accurate. acts like this have been happening all along. i think that the effect of taking the videos in the long term will be positive, it's going to show transparency, it will unveil shortcomings in law enforcements that need to be aggressively dealt with. for the long term, it's positive to bring the things out into the light. and the video cameras will vindicate and show the police officers in a positive light. that they have not been shown in

the past. i hope that the totality of the circumstances are taken into account. >> thanks for being on the programme. >> you're welcome. thank you. >> a south carolina prosecutor says no criminal charges will be filed in the police killing of an unarmed 19-year-old during a drug sting in july. lieutenant mark tiller says he fired when zachary hammond drove his car towards him. dash cam footages shows him shooting him through a side window. the justice department is investigating federal charges a manhunt under way in kentucky, for a fugitive accused of firing at two police officers this weekend. tennessee say 62-year-old floyd webb cook is armed and dangerous. an officer was wounded, save by a bulletproof vest. school officials cancelled classes for the second day in a rural area where the manhunt is taking place after years of false starts

and debate, appears congress is on its way to pass a bill in relation to cyber attacks. 74-71 was the vote to encourage government and companies to share information. lisa stark has the story. >> reporter: there's widespread agreement cyber security threats are growing and becoming more sophisticated - with individuals, companies and the government at risk. even the c.i.a. director is not immune. last week john brennan's emails were made public, he was hacked. tuesday he said he was outs raged. >> it underscores how vulnerable people are to those that want to cause arm. >> reporter: the senate bill may not prevent the attacks, but could stop them spread of course, allowing companies to share information with each other and the government. about threats to the computer networks. >> right now, the same cyber

intrusions are used is gain and again to penetrate different targets. that should not happen. if someone sees a particular virus or harmful cyber signature. they should tell others. so they can protect themselves. >> it's voluntary, and companies get legal protection for any information they pass on, first to the department of homeland security, which can share it with the federal bureau of investigation. c.i.a. and n.s.a. businesses are supposed to wipe personal data before it's shared. the bill's requirement to protect consumer's privacy is not strict enough. >> sharing information without robust standard creates as many problems as it may solve. >> supporters of the bill argue it already has good privacy protections, and they prevailed. cyber security experts call this legislation a necessary first stech. >> i think we have -- first

step. >> i think we have to trust the government to do the best it can in a difficult situation, changing rapidly every day. >> reporter: it's bank said by the chamber of commerce, banking and retail industries. some tech giants - twitter, yelp and apple are opposed to it over privacy concerns. >> ayes are 74 and the nays 21. the bill as amended is past. >> reporter: in the isn't amount the bill had bipartisan input and support. a key to its success. >> it is incredible that we have got to vote with overwhelming bipartisan support. but one that is a very technical and confenious bill from the stand point of issues it -- contentious bill from the stand point of issues it deals with. >> reporter: now the two sides will huddle and try to work out the differences and get a final

measure to the president's desk today the united nations general assembly condemned the u.s. embargo. the resolution passed 100 top 91, to 2, it included new language praising ties between the nations. only congress can end the embargo which has cost $2 million since 1960. a cuban commodity that flows into the country of top-notch baseball players. many had to defect to join the m.l.b., but improved relations could climate change that. melissa chan reports. >> reporter: these men are the future of cuban baseball. if they play well in the team, they may join cuba's version of

the new york yankees. but some dream of a future beyond that in the united states. >> if you play baseball anywhere, you want to compete in u.s. it's a high form, there's no league in the world like it. >> reporter: to get to the u.s. cuban ball players defect to a third country first, to negotiate international free agents. >> cuban players would prefer to sign a third country where they can establish free agencies and sign in an open mark, and not be subject to the restrictions that the draft imposes on players. >> as a result of that strategy the best cuban players won top contracts in the states. there's johens $36 million or:. >> the salaries do not come easy, they had to risk their

lives and leave their families. >> i think it should be easier. both governments are looking for ways to cut ties, and i'd like my family with me. >> reporter: more than 350 players left cuba. normalization sparked an exodus. 100 players left in the past 12 months alone. players are worried major league baseball could negotiate with the cuban government. meaning smaller paychecks. escobar plays with the washington nationals, but grew up in havana. these men, his childhood friends, played baseball in the streets with him. . translation: some of them play baseball and want to be like escobar. he has not been forgotten and won't be in this neighbourhood

>> reporter: alcides escobar once played for cuba, he has been labelled defectors, athletes that abandoned the country. when alcides escobar's team won the nationals he was given this house. when he left, the government confiscated it. >> the cuban sports officials, the government, will say - has an images amount of power over the players. >> reporter: because of that it's unlikely cuba will open its doors the way the dominican republic has, complete with dismiss. it's likely to work like it does with japan, where the big-league teams play japanese teams with the right to negotiate with players. >> the u.s. entity will be negotiating with a foreign government so that they can ultimately sign a contract with

a private individual. >> cuba makes considerable investments in its players from a young age, and faces a future where it would lose more of its top talent. the u.s. would be paying for that now, now that things have changed directly to the cuban government. >> now to a different kind of american pastime. searching for the motive gunned russia's global -- behind russia's global powerplays. >> it's a grim pastime, the attempts to get in the mind of vladimir putin. ever since moscow got involved in syria. before syria there was ukraine and the unrest driven by the kremlin, in what many believe was an attempt to have russia seen as a global influential player. i spoke to marvin cal of the brookings institute who wrote a book about cute jip, and he said the -- vooutedin, and he -- vladimir putin, and he said the president is thinking in a

communist way of thinking. >> he knew in a rational way that it made no sense for russia to take all of ukraine, it's not necessary. he controls the destiny of ukraine by controlling the area called the dunbas in the south-east corner of the country more of my interview with marvin cal in the next hour, including what he believes, you cannot trust the polls saying vladimir putin is popular in russia. >> some people never change. >> he's one of them. >> thank you next - where the music was made. inside jimmie hendriks legendary studios. studios.

in our hearts and culture segment studio magic. for decades people have gone to the electric lady studio, it's an institution, tonight we take you inside the historic recording space. it's a mecca of music. electric lady studios. walking the halls is like taking a trip through platinum selling history - stevie wonder, led zeppelin, carlo sentena, the clash, a c.d.c., just a few of the artists cutting classic tracks in these rooms.

>> you can tell when something came from electric lady, i have no idea how to explain that. >> electric lady studio is not just for musicians, created jimi hendrix, turning an old clubhouse into a recording lair. artwork crayses the walls. -- graces the walls. >> he had an artist come in and paint the murals, he gave them to the artist, and said i want to feel like i'm in a spaceship it's given birth to popular rock, wrap and sole songs - from lou reed, do the stones, and blondy. ♪ i met you in a restaurant . >> nile first came here and played for def lady. ♪ we came too far...

. >> 30 years earlier, it was where he and his band made "le freak" an inspiration. he told us the orjigrins. >> i played a grove. [ ♪ ] . >> and we are going to... >> [ ♪ ] ♪ ah, f-off. ♪ . >> what makes electric lady special. >> the great thing about the studio in a place like this, about the history, you'll be inspired. for musicians, it's a studio, a magical place where music comes to life. ♪ i'm coming out ♪ i want the world to know recently electric lady hosted gwen stephani, jay z and sheryl crow. that's the broadcast, i'm john

seigenthaler, i'll see you back tomorrow night. the news continues next with antonio mora. antonio mora.

[ ♪ ] . >> shifting strategy. >> we will not hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against i.s.i.l. or conducting missions directly, whether by strikes from the air or action from the ground. >> defense secretary carter says the u.s. is considering intensifying attacks on i.s.i.l., using troops in combat showdown at sea.