doubling down. president obama authorizes 1500 extra noncombat troops to iraq and asks congress for billions to fund the fight. a devastating confession. officials say gang members in mexico admitted to killing those 43 missing students. and one year later, how the philippines is recovering or not from the strongest storm in modern history. hello and welcome to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world you're watching cnn. i'm natalie allen. the united states is stepping up its battle against isis. the white house is sending up to 1500 more troops from the next several weeks to serve in

noncombat royals. u.s. president obama also requested more money to fund the mission. chief u.s. security correspondent jim sciutto has details. >> reporter: iraqi forces in battle against isis, encouraged by recent iraqi successes against the terrorist group including the retaking of a key border crossing with syria, now the president is authorizing another 1500 troops doubling the number of u.s. forces on the ground and the orders will put them closer to the front lines adding two more operation centers beyond baghdad and irbil and in several more sites around the country to train iraqi and kurdish brigades. their role is not changing, advise, assist and train but it is a major expansion of u.s. boots on the ground. >> there's no intent to put the trainers out in the field with these units once they're trained. >> reporter: to finance the expansion the president is asking congress for nearly $6

billion to support the fight against isis including $1.5 billion to train and equip forces. the president was briefed on the pentagon's request ahead of his meeting with congressional lead sdmrers we have to make sure that our efforts against isil are properly funded so there will be an opportunity for secretary of defense hagel to brief us on the progress in our campaign against isil. >> reporter: to date the cost of the air campaign against isis is already total add more than $700 million. the price tag of more than 800 air strikes and more than 2,000 bombs and rockets. top republicans still not ready to sign a check sight unseen. >> they said they would make a proposal so we'll have appropriations look at it and present to members so we'll see. >> jim sciutto reporting there. senior administration officials say there will be no ground forces or advisers in syria. the plan there, to train moderate syrian rebels but

outside of the country. the pentagon press secretary spoke with cnn about concerns that this is mission creep. >> mission creep, not at all. it's when it changes or morphs into something it didn't originally start out to be this. is very much in keeping with the missions that we've been performing in iraq since june which is secure assistance for our people and facilities and advise the iraqi security forces to help them get better in the battlefield and battle space and, of course, supporting humanitarian missions. these advisers are going to be doing exactly the same thing that the teams on the ground are doing right now, just they're going to be doing it in different places. >> the administration won't say this is the final deployment of u.s. forces but they do say there are no current plans to extend the commitment beyond 3,000 troops. the former navy s.e.a.l. who claims he fired the shot that killed osama bin laden says the al qaeda leader died afraid. rob o'neal publicly identified

himself as the shooter this week. he previously released details of the mission to "esquire" magazine and in a series of interviews with journalist alex quade over the past year and a half he said he was prepared to die on that mission. >> so how do you feel about 9/11 today. >> i feel good on 9/11. i woke up early which was 8:00 eastern time, so the first plane hit at 8:50 -- 8:48, 8:47. >> then 9:03. >> yeah so i woke up before and i was to see them start reading the names. so even on the helicopter ride in for the bin laden raid when we knew we were going to die we didn't do it for us. we did it for the people that didn't want to die but they

chose to, you know? >> did you actually have that going through your head. >> yeah, we all talked about it. >> before launching. >> the 3 days before the time we were given 9 green light and we launched, so those 2 1/2 day, we talked about that. and we knew we were going to die. we knew we weren't coming back, let's put it that way. it was really cool. >> you all talked about 9/11 and stuff. >> oh, no, we talked about -- >> and we all -- >> the single mom who went to work on a tuesday morning and later, a few minutes later decided to jump instead of burning to death at her last gesture of human dignity was straighten out her skirt and then she jumped. you know, that's why we went, for her. and, you know, for all the people at cantor fitzgerald, for the scott brady who was on a

golf trip and his entire office was lost and his brother was killed. >> was this all mindfully taught -- >> we're talking about no. you have to pump yourself up to die so we would talk about this. >> to get your guys' head in the right place. >> we didn't need it in the right place. we just needed the rejustification of that this is it. we're going to die but we're going die when the house blows up but knowing that [ bleep ] face blew up too. >> so going around your [ bleep ] to get your elbow answer is, yeah, 9/11 is very significant. >> i was pisseb when that came out -- >> i'm sorry. >> "esquire" article. >> that was time in your life or -- >> i mean little things from shooting osama bin laden three weeks later getting passed over for promotion. and just getting blackballed for doing something that everyone was so close to doing and even

now, there are guys now saying i'm a [ bleep ]. but, you know, they -- you only know what you're told unless you're in the room and fortunately for me there were two people in the room and one is dead, osama bin laden. >> getting back to your role, it's a cliche term, everyone says closure -- >> again, i don't think vets need closure. i think the people need closure. and every time -- like i mean you can quote me on this, every time i'm not speaking i need to be careful when i say this, i'm outed, when i'm out speaking i never mention the bin laden benbut whenever someone says my brother died at cantor fitzgerald, i tell them bin laden died like a [ bleep ]. that's all i'm telling you. just so you know, he died afraid. every range their gets out,

every army guy that writes a book, they're lauded as heroes. you do it as a s.e.a.l. and you're a [ bleep ] villain -- >> you guys are -- >> no, we're not. no one's quiet. delta force like, we don't say anything. you know why? you don't [ bleep ] do anything. how about that? sorry we did everything. why did they send s.e.a.l. team six -- >> i'll call that the interservice rivalry that's very friendly. >> why did they send s.e.a.l. team six to get osama bin laden and not delta force? they wanted him dead. in their defense i will say this if delta was given the mission they would have done exactly what we did. we're better but they're really good. most important thing i've learned in the last two years is to me it doesn't matter anymore if i am the shooter. the team got him. it was a successful mission. regardless of the negativity that comes with it, i don't give

a [ bleep ]. we got him. we brought him out and we lived. and obviously will go down his tore lick but i don't care if i'm the shooter. >> o'neill says some details were longer classified because they had been leaked in the aft aftermath by high-level officials. mexico's attorney general says gang members confessed to killing 43 college students all massacred. they've been missing since september. the case has outraged the public and sparked protests against the government. now searchers have found human remains in a river. we learn more from rafael romo in mexico. >> reporter: badly burnt human remains, teeth and bone fragments, a gruesome discovery in a river located in southern mexico. the mexican attorney general says authorities are dealing with a massive homicide, the victims he said could be 43

students who disappeared in late september in the city of igala. the students are in their late teens or early 20s, a order of the mayor, police abducted the students and turned them over to a gang. the gang which allegedly has deep ties to the mayor reportedly killed the students and burnt their bodies before throwing the remains in a river. identifying the bodies, he said, will be a huge challenge. he said the remains are so badly burnt that obtaining reliable dna samples to identify the victims will be extremely difficult. as a result, he said, officials have not been able to determine for certain that those are the students' remains. the mexican attorney general said so far 74 suspects have been arrested and police are looking for at least 10 more. this investigation, he said, it's still wide open and no effort will be spared to punish

those responsible. among those arrested are the mayor and his wife. authorities suspect he ordered t this because they would disrupt an event led by his wife. the president promised swift justice. >> translator: the find inings outrage us. with determine nation, the capture of those who ordered it isn't enough. we will arrest everyone who participated. >> reporter: the parents of the missing said they don't trust the government's investigation. to publish that kind of news without any scientific proof is highly irresponsible, the parents said by phone. the mexican government said dna samples will be sent to a university in austria. rafael romo. >> i can't imagine what the

parents are going through. in other news, a fourth teenager wounded in last month's school shooting in the state of washington has died. hospital officials in seattle say 15-year-old andrew friberg passed away friday. he was a cousin of jalen fryberg. he killed three other students all girls and then killed himself. palestinian protesters throw molotov cocktails in jerusalem. why some fear the violence could be the start of a new intefadeh. plus, so-called lone wolf attacks like this one is israel are happening more frequently. what law enforcement authorities think is behind this trend.

welcome back. palestinian med ticks day at least 340 were wounded after the latest street battles with israeli security forces in jerusalem. for the latest here's cnn international correspondent nic robertson. he's there. >> reporter: clashes continuing after nightfall. this one in east jerusalem. palestinian youths burning tires, throwing firecrackers at israeli police. earlier riots reveweber rating

through this neighborhood. at least 30 were hit by israeli police rubber bullets. this neighborhood home to a member of hamas, the man whose action this is week helped spike tensions when he drove his van into israeli border guards at a jerusalem tram stop. he was shot and killed at the scene wednesday as he attacked police with an iron bar. friday, a second person dying of injuries sustained in that attack. a 17-year-old israeli religious student. security tight all day. much focusing on the lightning rod of the current violence, the al aqsa mosque revered by jews as the temple mount. the rabbi shot for pushing rights for jews to pray there now reported by his family to be regaining consciousness and communicating with them. across the west bank, protests

rumbled on, repercussions of the rabbi shooting of tensions at al aqsa mosque, the van attack. each event fueling the next. apparently unconnected to that chain of discontent, discord among leading political factions. ten homes of fatah party offici officials destroyed. so far unexplained. nic robertson, cnn, jerusalem. >> ukrainian officials say a russian military convoy bound for separatist rebels crossed the border again and contains trucks filled with fighters. this video is from august, the last time ukraine accused russia of breaching its border. moscow says the reports are rumors meant to inflame tensions. to the u.k. where investigators say they have made four new arrests in an effort to

prevent islamist related terrorism. atika schubert has that and more on britain's practice to thwart homegrown attacks. >> reporter: they are arrested and it took place mostly in west london but one in high wickam. all young men between 19 and 27 and a number of hopes and vehicles searched. what's interesting, the metropolitan police made a point to say that they were working in connection not only with the counterterror unit but mi5 which is the domestic intelligence gathering unit here in the uk. that investigation is still ongoing and the latest round of arrests by counterterror police here. police arrests resulted in several young men being charged with obtaining a firearm for the purpose of preparing a terrorist attack. those cases are ongoing. now one of the biggest concerns here in london but across europe is the possibility of an attack

inspierd by i will lambic militants in syria. that attack in canada has put london and a number of cities in europe on heighten alert. atika schubert, cnn, london. there are new indications that recent terror attacks may be tied to the war on isis. the incidents come just weeks after an isis leader called for supporters to use their vehicles as weapons. we get more from brian todd in washington. >> reporter: a van slams into pedestrians at a railtation in jerusalem. a deadly attack praised by hamas. it's one of three recent vehicle attacks in israel. at the canadian parliament, a gunman wielding a long rifle kills a guard, exchanges fire inside the chambers. and a radicalized muslim convert wounds two new york police officers with an ax. the threat of lone wolf attacks appears to be growing and it's now a top concern of police

officials from l.a. to london to new york. >> the threats are growing, they are real andier going to have to redouble our efforts to ensure the worst of times do not occur with such frequency that they create an undue fear. >> reporter: but the fear is out there because it's almost impossible to stop someone planning an attack where the blueprints are only in their mind. >> if they don't put it out there publicly that that's their intent there's going to be no way to know until they do it. >> reporter: these are attacks that don't require a lot of surveillance or specialized training beforehand. >> one individual can become a jihadist without learning how to shoot a gun or make a bomb or do anything along those lines, they can drive their car and kill civilians walking down the sidewalk or eating at an outdoor restaurant. >> reporter: intelligence ovals tell cnn the war on isis has been a driving force for lone wolves increasing the likelihood that isis sympathizers could

launch attacks with no warning. a danger heightened not long before the recent terror strikes when an isis spokesman told followers to kill nonbelievers by whatever means possible, a knife, rock, poison or, quote, run him over with your car. how can law enforcement and counterterror officials prevent those? experts say they have to keep tabs on people showing changes in behavior especially online and in social media and try to get to those closest to them. >> often one of the recourses police have is looking to family members and trying to talk to them. sometimes tips have even come from people who are very close to an individual who is radic radicali radicalized. >> reporter: with isis losing momentum, we may see fewer people inside north america and europe inspired by isis to launch lone wolf attacks. his concern now is that westerners currently fighting with isis on those battlefields may abandon isis and return to the west to launch those attacks. brian todd, cnn, washington.

>> germans lived with the berlin wall for nearly 30 years but a quarter century later the line that once divided their country and the world has been lit up in a celebration of freedom. we'll take you live to berlin for this weekend's anniversary festivities next.

well, a very sweshl weekend is under way in germany. thousands of lann turns are marking a quarter century since the fall of the bur lynn wall. they're lining 15 kilometers where the wall once stood. that's a pretty cool shot right there. the lantern also be released sunday, the 25th anniversary of the opening of the wall. friday, former soviet president mikhail gorbachev visited checkpoint charlie between east and west berlin during the cold war. he was instrumental in the fall of communism in east germany. we all remember mr. reagan telling mr. gorbachev to tear down that wall and that he did and a lot of other people tore down, as well, bit by bit. joining us from berlin where it's past 9:00 a.m. is cnn's frederik pleitgen. this must be quite a weekend for the people that have lived through this historic moment from the young and the not so

young. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. natalie, it's a very important weekend and nice. we're lucky to have this great weather this morning, of course, one of the main attractions for the fall of the wall festivities is our own cnn trovant. the little girl is the daughter of our camera woman claudia, sophie and she's waving back. but behind me is the other main attraction which is, of course, the berlin wall, this is the east side gallery which is the longest remaining stretch of the berlin wall that is still standing turninged too an art gallery when artists simply came over here and started painting on the wall and it has survived until today and now is today one of the main attractions and next to that wall, you have those lanterns that you were talking about before that border of lights which is going to be lit up every evening and then on november 9th at precisely 7:20 p.m. local time those balloons

will be released into the air because that was the exact moment when one of the members of the east germany politburo announced the wall was going to be open at that point. of course, the announcement was made by mistake but at that point there were so many east germans at those border crossings the guards couldn't hold up so it is a great mood here in this town. i have to say a lot of people in the run-up to it said it wasn't that important because it's 25 year, you know, they thought 20 years is important, but 25, maybe not so much but now that things are getting closer people are certainly in the mood and see more and more tourist coming here as well to experience these festivity, natalie >> i'm sure. are there many dignitariedignit? we got to see a glimpse of mikhail gorbachev there. >> reporter: mikhail gorbachev will be there and angela merkel is the other major player. not too many foreign dignitary also come here. a very local sort of celebration

but also a lot of stars coming. peter gabriel will play at the berlin wall. there will be a bunch of other celebrities playing at a big festival at the brandenburg gate which was one of the major areas where the wall divided east and west and is now the big symbol of german unity so that's going to be a large celebration there as well and as i said, a lot of this is going to be a little bit of dignitaries speaking, the president of the european parliament lu by and large this will be a festival of the people for the people so the main event is going to be a big public festival at the brandenburg gate and certainly a lot of people will be looking forward to that, as well, natalie. >> we can't wait. i just hope sophie there knows that you can't drive that car. we saw you try to do it the other day. >> reporter: i can drive it. not very well. i wouldn't take her for a spin in that thing. >> yeah, right. it is kind of cute. fred, thanks so much. see you soon.

we are just kicking off our entire weekend of special coverage here on cnn for our international viewers, fred, jim clancy and hala gorani will be at the brandenburg gate and don't miss sunday's ceremonial events starting at 10:00 a.m. and hear from angela merkel on her country's historic day. one year ago typhoon taiyan slammed into the philippines, strongest storm ever recorded to make landfall. has the country recovered? not really at all. we'll talk to someone on the ground to see what the problem is. plus, concerns over women's rights in afghanistan. hear why some activists think some of their hard-won freedoms could slip away next year.

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welcome back to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i'm natalie allen. our top story, the united states is sending up to 1500 more troops to iraq to serve in noncombat roles in the fight against isis. that's double the number of u.s. advisers already there. u.s. president barack obama is also requesting an additional $5.6 billion to fund the mission. a fourth teenager wounded in last month's school shooting in the u.s. state of washington has now died. hospital officials say 15-year-old andrew fryberg who you just saw passed away friday. a fellow student opened fire on his classmates in the cafeteria before killing himself. three other students have died, all girls. a gang in mexico is believed to have killed 43 college

students missing since september. the country's attorney general says three members confessed gang members confessed to murdering the students then burning their bodies and dumping them in a river. a mayor allegedly ordered police to kidnap the students and give them to the gang. when international troops pull out of afghanistan next month, it could have a huge impact on women there. some activists are afraid of a return to the oppressive ways of the taliban but there are signs things will keep getting better. here's cnn's anna coren. >> reporter: gray skies hang over kabul as winter fast approaches. the change in season marking the end of the year and the end of america's war in afghanistan. by the 31st of december, all u.s. and nato troops will have withdrawn except for a residual force of less than 10,000 who will stay on to advise and assist until the end of 2016.

a decision that has many people concerned especially the women of afghanistan. >> i think if the war continued to expand, women and girls might be the pain victim so not only they will be deprived of their basics rights but also they will be victim in a way of taliban interpretation of islam. >> reporter: since the fall of the taliban in 2001, women's rights have dramatically improved. ♪ millions of girls go to school, thousands attend university. and the country has female members of parliament. but despite these gains women and girls face human rights violations on a daily basis. with domestic and sexual violence, an epidemic. but there are positive signs afghan society is refusing to go back to the days of the taliban. last month a mullah was sentenced to 20 years for raping

a 10-year-old girl. >> the mullah read from the koran and said he's a single guy. he should be given what the koran said 100 lashes and let him marry her and the judge said, no, she was a child. you're getting 0 years s is in prison. that was the most significant part for me. >> reporter: the election of the president there has also brought hope. while he's a strong supporter of women's rights it's his wife rurul ach rula who is breaking with tradition appearing by her husband's side in public and giving interviews. >> i'm very happy that his wife is so vocal and wants to be involved and aspects of afghan life. i think it's a very positive step. we afghan women need a role model like that so visible. >> reporter: already it seems women are feeling empowered like this young filmmaker driving a car. a taboo in afghanistan where normally men are mind tbehind t

wheel. >> it's not easy but i believe that if we like woman -- like me, we start to be part of the big changes so it will be good for maybe the next generation. >> reporter: she has hopes and aspirations of so many afghan women desperate for a brighter future. anna coren, cnn. >> we certainly hope that happens for them. well, it has been one year since super typhoon haiwan swept through the philippines killing more than 6,000 and people are still looking for a brighter future. it hasn't come. towns may be rebuilding. their problems are far from over. cnn's chrissy lou stout reports. >> reporter: one aftyear after haiwan swept through they're getting back on their feet. new houses being built. shops and businesses have

re-opened but there's still a long way to go. with tens of thousands of people still forced to live in temporary housing. according to officials, social problems like domestic violence have spiked as people struggle to find jobs or rebuild their lives. many are frustrated at the slow pace of progress. long delays mean a major government rebuilding program was only just approved last month. the nearly $4 billion master plan is designed to create millions of jobs and reconstruct devastated areas. the central aid is to build back better and safer. so the philippines of the future can withstand these powerful storms. haiwan's strength was un pr unprecedented in history but with around 20 hityphoons affecting them every year they must face it head on. kristie lu stout, cnn.

250 residents have been permanently located since haiwan struck a year ago today. 250, more than 4 million were left homeless from the storm. more than 70,000 still live in danger zones if another storm were to hit. what would happen to them? many are afraid to stay but don't have any other choice. joined now by andrew, the director of world vision, haiwan's response center. you have been there since march. thank you for joining us. when you arrived there, i'm curious, what did you see? what was your response to what had or had not still been done? >> well, when i arrived about eight months ago, i had been working in relief, humanitarian relief for about 25 years, i was absolutely amazed at the level of destruction that occurred in tacloban in particular and throughout the philippines in the path of the storm. the city of tacloban felt like a

bomb had been dropped on it. i hadn't in my experience in the past 25 years i hadn't seen that magnitude of destruction. >> right and i can't imagine what the people of just have gone through just trying to live as they have without anything and their city being wiped out. i remember this video first started running. it was just unbelievable. so looking at this, you understand why this is taking so long or is there something that the government just can't get together because so many people, one group in particular said they have seen a year's worth of the government's vicious abandonment, corruption, deceit and repression. are those reports substantiated? >> well, you know, having worked a number of different emergencies, i would say that the speed of recovery and the speed of work that has been done

is actually better than many that i've seen compared to let's say band aceh or haiti. the speed of recovery, i think we're on target. there are issues of coordination and so on but i do feel that the international community along with the government is doing its level best to move this response forward. >> you've been involved in many things like this. you said the international community is doing a good job. has there been enough from the international community, enough people on the ground, enough resources? >> absolutely. in terms of responses, this is really one for the record books in my experience, we happen to have major security constraints. we haven't had funding constraints. the outpouring of support from the international government and governments sump as the u.s. government, the canadian government, also the filipino

die as pore ra has been exemp r exemplary so we have not been resource poor. we're one year into it. the next year will be critical in terms of really bringing us around the corner and making sure the people can stand on their own. >> you've been there for eight months. what's the most heartbreaking things that maybe you've experienced or seen since you've been there? >> working with colleagues here, one of the more profound moment something discovering one of my colleagues was on demrament for world vision in another location on the island for an earthquake that happened a few weeks before typhoon yolanda made landfall. she was actually on deployment responding to another emergency with her family in tacloban when the typhoon made landfall. so her family was stranded.

she was separated from her family and fortunately they were one of the lucky one, all reunited but what has impressed me is the capacity of her and the rest of the people that i work with here in the philippines to rise above and beyond the struggles, the hurdles placed in front of them. that, again, this my experience is something for the record books. very impress sflifshg we see the video like we are seeing now, you certainly understand why this has been an over, overwhelming task and hope, as you say, in another year things will have really progressed for these people who had very little to start with and now this. we really appreciate you joining us. thanks so much. andrew, good luck to you. >> thank you very much. china and japan are locked in another deep sea dispute. up next we'll see why the timing of this one couldn't be worse. and people in the u.s.

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president obama and the u.s. is expected to announce lorette la lynch as his choice for the next attorney general. she is currently the u.s. attorney in new york's eastern district. if confirmed lynch would become the first african-american

female attorney general. on another note it seems many on twitter confused her with country music legend lorette loh loretta lynn. we'll try to keep that straight. a showdown is loonling between japan and china over allegations of coral poaching. temperatures are already frayed over disputed islands in the east china sea. will ripley reports from tokyo. >> reporter: right now the japanese government is launching a special operation, boosting the number of coast guard and police near the ogasaka islands, in response to a dramatic increase in illegal red coral poachers from china. the coast guard is reporting as many as 200 illegal chinese fishing boats this japanese territorial waters in recent days. prices are skyrocketing for expensive red coral jewelry and

ornaments popular among wealthy chinese. japanese lawmakers in tokyo are outraged saying the poachers are pulling the slow growing coral out by its roots an action they call barbaric and the chinese government said they are taking steps to crack down on this but as the number of illegal boats keeps rises so does the potential for a standoff. japan and china are clashing over the islands. this latest sea showdown is only adding to that tension. all of this comes as japanese prime minister shinzo abe and the chinese president are trying to arrange some kind of meeting at next week's apec summit. but experts worry even a dispute over coral could lower the chances of any meaningful discussions. a lot at stake as tensions remain high between asia's two biggest economies. will ripley, cnn, tokyo. well, people across the u.s. suffered through a cold air invasion last winter and guess

what, they tell us another is on the way. weather experts say the polar vortex is to blame. cnn meteorologist jennifer gray explains. >> reporter: remember this? winter of 2013, 2014 is one many want to forget. reporters standing in the frozen tundra. >> let's go. >> kind of worked. >> reporter: while much of the nation was bundled and digging out for months, it was also the season of new hashtags, snowjam 2014 in atlanta, snowpocalypse and snowmageddon. but the one trending term that may have a cringing grip on you as much as the cold, polar vortex. we heard it over and over last winter as if it was something new. now that we've all had a chance to thaw out a bit, let's set the record straight on what it is and what it isn't. it's not a storm, it's not a

hurricane of cold air, it's not even something that can come and get you. the only way to be in the polar vortex is to be in an airplane. it exists in the upper levels of 9 atmosphere and always there. area of low pressure around the arctic circle locked in place and houses very cold air. sometimes different weather patterns can influence it and cause it to become distorted as this happens, a large dip in the jet stream allows very cold air to spill into the u.s. that's the cold air you feel. the air that lives beneath the polar vortex. air that many times is so cold it can feel like something out of this world. and you may want to dig out your winter gear next week because the polar air is coming back. one of the strongest nontropical storms ever is currently churning off the coast of alaska, which will have a domino effect across the country. it will cause a huge dip in the jet stream allowing temperatures to plummet. much of the country will experience the coldest

temperatures of the season with highs only in the 20s and 30s for the midwest by early next week. jennifer gray, cnn, atlanta. >> well, that's all i got to say. is that a meteorological term. derek van dam with us. >> what an intro. >> i mean, you know, we can't drive in the snow. >> it means it's going to be cold. >> yeah, golly. that polar vortex, i'm glad you understand it. that was way too many swirling things for me to comprehend. >> polar vortex or not, we would rather stay clear of that terminology but the bottom line is we are in store for an arctic blast over the eastern half of north america that includes the great lakes, all way to the new york city and it's all thanks to the remnants of what was typhoon nuri which is now an extra tropical storm that is located across the bering sea.

this is alaska. there's the aleutian islands. this storm is bombing out and when i say, that means it's dropping 24 millibars of pressure in a 24-hour period. so it is rapidly intensifying, however it doesn't have tropical characteristics any longer. this is actually considered extra tropical. but it is going to continue to just amplify what is called the jet stream and this is going to have profound impacts on the weather across north america. let me explain. the amplification of this jet stream, the lines that natalie talked about a moment ago is basically just going to allow for that cold air that sits underneath the polar vortex that jennifer just talked about a few minutes ago, you can see it will warm up or be responsible for warm temperatures over the western half of the united states while the eastern parts and even the central midwest of the u.s. will be gripped by very, very cold weather and it's going to come in waves, in fact, we can monitor that on

temperature map in just one second. again this, is the polar vortex, it's an upper level feature in the atmosphere and thanks to our remnants of nuri which is currently over the aleutian islands and the bering strait it's going to tap into that cold air, in fact, here it is. you can see it, the air indicated with this dark shading of purple and pink. there's the remnants of nuri, some of the cool weather associated with that but as i set this in motion, pay attention to the clock at the top portion of your tv screen. look at the cold air just continuing to funnel into north america. there it is, you can see montana, michigan, wisconsin, minnesota, north dakota, right through next weekend. we'll see wave after wave of cold air and it starts now, we're expecting temperatures to be very, very chilly. look at the difference between anchorage, international falls, chicago this, is for saturday and it gets colder from here. >> unbelievable. wow. i think it's time for you and i to go to the miami bureau for

cnn. >> i like that. >> thanks, derek. this one is hard to believe. and i'm sorry we have to show you but one man has made it his mission to be eaten alive by a snake. but some experts say his plan just won't work. that's coming next.

all right. we promised you so here it is, why would anyone in their right

mind, maybe they don't have a right mind want to be swallowed by a giant snake? maybe so if it were for a reality tv show but as jeanne moos says it is a little too much for most people to swallow. >> reporter: not since the movie "anaconda" have we had to imagine what it's like to be swallow add live by the massive snake. >> anaconda. >> got you. >> reporter: but will this guy get an inside view? >> i'm about to be the first person eaten alive by an anaconda. >> reporter: promos for the special -- >> eaten alive. >> reporter: shows paul wearing a snakeproof suit complete with helmet and what seems to be an oxygen supply. he says he smeared pig blood on himself to smell appetizing and the tether implies that if he were swallowed he will be pulled back out but tell this to a snake expert. >> the plausibility of this taking place -- >> reporter: you can't even keep

a straight face. >> i really can't. >> reporter: terry phillips says an anaconda simply wouldn't identify a man as a food item. i don't know about this story, sounds like a stretch to me. and if you've watched your nat geo -- >> they squeeze prey to death. >> reporter: they only consume a food item after it's dead. it was shot and its hero still very much alive. >> i will stake my reputation that this guy is not going to be swallowed by an anaconda. >> reporter: though hypothetically says you could pull something back out if it were tethered. the experts say anacondas can die from stress and animal activists started a petition to boycott the discovery channel. peta called him a fool. if you know me i would never hurt a living thing, he tweeted. it had al smothering.

♪ >> reporter: wrong anaconda, al. ♪ my anaconda don't >> reporter: when it comes to -- >> eaten alive. >> reporter: it's being eaten alive by critics. when you saw this, what did you do? jeanne moos, cnn -- ♪ my anaconda don't >> reporter: -- new york. >> just want to leave that anaconda alone. and keep it away from dumb humans. well, if not all serious science stuff going on at the international space station, check out this cool gopro experiment. guess what where they put it? nasa astronauts put the camera inside a floating bubble of water and, of course, posted the video online for all of us. this orbiting bubble cam. there it is, as they're calling it fun to watch but really does have a real purpose. hey, guys, it was to explore the phenomenon of water surface tension in micro graft.

yeah, whatever. it's just cool. thank you for watching our special coverage here on cnn. i'm natalie allen. up next my colleague zain asher with another hour. please stay with us. in allen.

what authorities say happened to the students, and how some police officers may have been involved. president obama ups the anti-in the coalition effort to defeat isis by sending more u.s. manpower.