they won't be going to work in the morning. their government has now partially shut down putting nonessential services on hold. democrats and republicans in congress failed to reach an agreement over a budge bill. the democrat-controlled senate and the republican-led house of representatives bounced the bill back and forth. house lawmakers added an amendment that would delay by one year part of president obama's health care reform. senators voted down the revised bill. lawmakers needed to strike a deal by midnight on monday before the start of the new fiscal year on tuesday to keep things running. many civil servants will now be forced to take time off. passport offices will stop operating, museums and national parks will close as well. offices for defense, national security, disaster management and medical care are staying open. people are now watching the financial markets to see how they react.

researchers on both sides of the pacific are working to track the effects of japan's nuclear accident on blue fin tuna. a team of american scientists at stanfordniversity reported last year they detected low levels of radioactive cesium in 33 of 50 blue fin caught off the coast of california. team members said damaged fukushima daiichi plant was the source of the contamination. they made their conclusion based on levels o cesium 134 which has half life of about two years and only produced by nuclear reactors. the japanese and u.s. researchers are trying to start a joint study to determine how the toxins got into tuna. nhk world in-depth."

>> reporter: professor yamasaki has been studying marine creatures in the waters off fukushima prefecture. >> translator: we estimated concentration levels to be so low they wouldn't be detectable in the u.s., but fact they found contaminated fish off the coast of the u.s. really shocked us. even if the figures are extremely low. >> reporter: yamazaki says the level of contamination doesn't pose a threat to human health, but he says he wants to share his data with the u.s. researchers to figure out how the tuna pick up the radioactive material. yamazaki says it takes time for tuna to accumulate radioactive substances since they're at the top of the marine food chain. tiny creatures such as plankton absorb radioactive substances first. small sh then eat the plankton and big fish like tuna eat the

smaller ones. recent studies show blue fin tuna spend their juvenile period in japan's coastal waters. the fish then take one to four month to migrate across the pacific to the u.s. west coast. yamazaki says he thinks he can figure out where and how the blue fin tuna accumulate radioactivity by studying fish on both sides of the ocean. he asked the u.s. researchers to collaborate with his team. >> translator: japan needs to work with people from different sides to gather and assess the same oat of data. we need to provide the public with reliable information. >> reporter: researchers at stamford university in april sent 20 30-gram slices of tuna to japan but customs agents at kansai international airport

stopped them. they said proper documentation was missing. customs credence is tough for blue fin tuna because of stock conservation requirements. they said the document that proves the samples are not from the atlantic ocean is needed to start import procedures. but the u.s. government does not issue such paperwork for research purposes. so the samples are still at the airport frozen six months on. >> translator: this is an urgent situation. we need customs officials to understand just how critical this is and facilitate the timely transportation of materials that need to be studied. >> reporter: scientists in the u.s. and japan are calling for international cooperation and flexibility so they can better

study the effects of the nuclear accident. nhk world. a japanese government official has told nhk world that authorities are considering the request by the scientists to release the samples. now, japan's nuclear regulate a regulator is coming under fire from a group of leading experts. they say the body charged with overseeing the aftermath of the accident in fukushima is too bureaucratic. they fielded comments on monday from six experts studying the crisis in fukushima. they looked at the nra's first year of operation. one of the experts is a lawyer who served on a diet panel that investigated the accident. >> translator: the regulators are acting like bureaucrats. when something goes wrong, they summon tepco officials and demand explanations. people must doubt that the regulators are really getting the truth. >> another expert said drafting

rules and standards isn't enough to win public trust. he urged regulators to take a more proactive stance in dealing with the crisis. others pressed for reforms at nra secretariat. it's staffed mostly by personnel from the previous regulators. they were under a government umbrella that promoted nuclear power. nra chief tanaka says he feels the organization is given a mandate that's beyond its abilities, but he said nra members will try their best. the president of iran is making another move that could help peel away the layers of poor relations with the united states. hassan rowhani has directed his government to study the resumption of direct flights between the countries. the route has been frozen for more than 30 years. a senior government official in tehran says rowhani wants to examine the possibility of re-opening it. direct flights would make travel

much easier for the more than 300,000 iranians who live in california and elsewhere in the u.s. the move is seen as another gesture by iran's new predent to reach out to american leaders. rowhani took a call from president obama last friday after he wrapped up his visit to the u.n. general assembly in new york. it was the highest level of contact between the nations since they cut off diplomatic ties more than three decades ago. but the head of islamic revolutionary guards says rowhani's conversation with obama was premature. he argues rowhani should have rejected the call and waited for the u.s. government to take concrete action such as lifting sanctions. president rowhani's tone isn't swaying leaders in israel. they remain convinced the iranians are using their nuclear program to build a bomb. president obama is trying to reassure them that the u.s. will maintain its tough stance on the issue. obama met at the white house with israeli prime minister

benjamin netanyahu. >> i believe that it's the combination of a credible military threat and the pressure of those sanctions that have brought iran to the negotiating table. >> our hope is that we can resolve this diplomatically, but as president of the united states, i've said before and i will repeat that we take no options off the table including military options. >> obama added that rowhani must back up his words with actions to prove to the u.s. and other nations that iran is not trying to make a nuclear weapon. seyrisyria's foreign minist blaming western powers for supporting terrorism in his country. he told the u.n. general assembly by backing rebel forces, the u.s. and other nations are backing al qaeda-linked militants. at the same time, he vowed syrian leaders are cooperating with an international effort to eliminate their chemical weapons. >> translator: i assure you syria is committed to the full

implementation of the provisions of the chemical weapons convention and cooperating with the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. as a state party to the convention. >> western leaders say syrian forces are behind a poison gas attack in august that killed hundreds. he accused anti-government forces of using chemical weapons in the ongoing conflict. he said they received the weapons from neighboring nations and the west. >> translator: how can some countries hit by the same terrorism we are suffering now in syria claim to fight terrorism in all parts of the world while supporting it in my country? >> an advanced team of 20 inspectors from the opcw is heading to syria from the hague. they're scheduled to arrive in damascus later in the day. u.s. air force officials have shown off their next generation training tool for pilot target practice. they released video and test flight involving an unmanned retrofitted f-16 fighter jet.

personnel from the air force and manufacturer, boeing, carried out the test in mid-september at a base in florida. the unmanned jet took off at full throttle. it flew for about an hour controlled by pilots on the ground. the drone reached supersonic speeds and even performed a barrel roll. an officer said the air force now has an aerial target it can use even under severe conditions. commanders plan to begin using the drones as target practices for jets pilots in about two years. china's leaders have been trying to reverse the economic slowdown and jump-start growth. now they're looking abroad for help. an experimental store opened in an attempt to attract foreign investors. other projects are also in the works. nhk world shows us.

>> reporter: thousands of visitors turned up at a major heavy equipment fair in urumuchi city. they check out heavy machinery made by more than 200 companies. >> translator: china has a huge population with a need for infrastructure. i hope the market for construction equipment keeps growing. >> translator: i think that the development of the country's western areas will go ahead, and the construction industry will benefit. >> reporter: china, giant equipment shovels away mountains. it also helps reclaim coastal areas for new cities and industrial projects. time and again, this has been the story behind the country's growth.

but economic growth has recently slowed. as a result, not enough tenants for the new buildings. the city of tangshan is a two-hour drive east from beijing. here, authorities are trying something different. they're building a massive industrial park. the site on the course of the bohai sea takes up 310 square kilometers, the same size of the u.s. city of detroit. the park will be one of northern china's largest industrial hubs. it's 2/3 completed. the port is 36 meters deep. large enough for 300,000-ton supertanker. the project cost $30 billion. some of china's largest steel producers already operate here.

but the park needs a lot more tenants. in september, city authorities hosted the promotional event for foreign companies. representatives of 200 firms attended. they were briefed on the advantages of setting up here. they also toured the area. officials cited the region's national resources and how cheaply firms operate here. >> translator: we've developed our industrial zone as a place to get things done efficiently. we welcome foreign companies. we are determined to make this park a going concern. >> translator: i'm really impressed that the local government has built such a huge industrial zone. i expect that they put a high priority on it.

>> translator: i'm a bit worried about whether they will be able to fill all the available space, but this area is close to beijing, so i think central government officials will also keep a close eye on it. >> reporter: authorities understand building massive projects is no longer enough. they have to be the ones that attract a lot of foreign manufacturers who invest huge ams of money in china's economy. akihiro mikoda, nhk world, china. populous. prosperous. pushing ahead. china's rise brought it wealth, power, and problems. an income gap divides its people. pollution threatens their health. and disputes at sea strain relations with its neighbors. find out about the challenges china faces, on "newsline."

september grand sumo tournament wrapped up 15 days of action on sunday. sumo reporter hiro morita joined us earlier. >> in the september sumo tournament the big ef showdown took place on saturday. grand champion hakiro needed one more win to clinch the championship. he looked fired up for the title and also vindicate himself for losing to the same opponent in the previous tournament. if he could beat hakuro this time, he would keep the race alive with the runner up and in contention for the championship. the two titans charge and lock up. it's will against will and power versus power. he slips away and slaps him down to take match. it's hakuro's fourth straight championship and 27th overall.

with 27 titles, the 28-year-old ranks third on the all-time list of most championships won and he's closing in on the two men who rank above him. taiho and chiyonofuji. at hakuho's current winning pace, i expect him to surpass them in two years. while he walked away with the top prize, his arch rival disappointed the fans with another lackluster performance. the recent four outings have been a big factor in winning his fourth straight emperors cup. he's been competing with a banged up body a that's held him back from doing what he's

capable of. here's harumafuji's recent record. these numbers don't come those to what's expected for a man at the top. he needs a fresh start, otherwise the sumo elders might give him an ultimatum to retire. there's another who received a lot of praise during the tournament. he fights at the third highest rank. he won the outstanding performance award for his excellence. and i also like to give an update on the man we've kept our eye on throughout the competition. he's endo who made his top division debut in the autumn tourney. first a look, how excellent was he? well, how about beating one and three ozeki? many believe that he'll be the next fighter to rise to the ozeki rank.

now the rookie sensation endo. this was 22-year-old's very first tournament in the top division, but he didn't hesitate to show what he's made of by racking up nine wins. there's no doubt he's the real deal. unfortunately the rookie had to sit out the last two days after spraining an ankle, but he'll be back for the next competition. and speaking of the next grand tournament, it will be held in november in fukuoka southwestern japan. it will be the final tournament of the year, so please check in for complete covage. it's raining here in tokyo, but the situation is a lot more severe for those in indochina peninsula. let's turn to mai shoji for the updates. >> the strong typhoon that hit central vietnam has downgraded and is now heading toward northern thailand this afternoon as a tropical depression. the gusts have wound down.

however, the tropical moisture will keep on surging and bringing flooding rain across indochina peninsula. on top of that, we have another storm system that is actually enhancing the southwestern monsoonal flow over the indochina peninsula, so the rain will be nonstop. as much as 150 millimeters to 200 millimeters in localized areas will be continuing across much of the coastal regions here in the eastern indochina peninsula as well as the west. thailand, vietnam has already seen about topping 200 millimeters in the past couple of days. on top of that, additional rain certainly ups risk of mudslides. this is the other storm that is east of the philippines as of now, but despite the proximity, it's surging all the moisture and dumping it as heavy rain. and across the philippines into the next few days. this is fito we're talking about which will be aiming toward southwestern islands of japan into the weekend. as a strong typhoon status, it will be intensifying over the

warm water. and it is now slowly moving, packing gusts of 90 kilometers per hour. and also another storm system that we are tracking that could impact our country, japan, as a tropical storm status on wednesday local time. as we progress through the midweek, it looks like it will be moving parallel to the eastern seaboards, and that waves will be picked up as much as 3 meters high. already the gusts are pretty strong at 108 kilometers per hour. looks like it will be maintaining its intensity, so due to the storm surge, the high waves and the rain that will be pounding the eastern seaboards, low-lying areas especially will see a high chance of flooding. we see another system which could be the one we talked about, but looks like we don't know the predicted path yet. these are very unpredictable. but if it does come through our way, it will be pounding these areas including konto and tokyo metropolitan areas the next couple days with huge amounts of

rain. now to northeastern china. we have another system that is bringing moderate rain to beijing which is kind of good news for the area where we're seeing serious air pollution. here across europe, we have messy conditions in the balkans. it looks like it will be persisting over the next couple days. severe weather includes thunderstorms, gusts and even hail. it's quite dry across the scandinavian peninsula. we're looking at temperatures in the single digits in some areas. moscow, it's snowing at 4 degrees. low could be going down as much as minus 1 degree. stockholm, you'll see double digits back again on your wednesday and on your thursday. all right. moving over to the americas. an incoming system still is inundating this area. especially western washington where you have about 400 millimeters of significant amounts of rainfall since last friday. more rain to come there as well as winter storm on your way across the higher elevations, especially the sierras and the

coast mountains. down toward the gulf states, thundershowers will be persisting. houston at 32 degrees. hot spot here at phoenix. we're also looking at nice sunshiny day across some of these areas as well. new york hitting 29 on your wednesday. you're looking at nice foliage coming from michigan and a rainbow here in kansas. there's always a rainbow after a storm. on that note, here's your extended forecast.

and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. thank you very much for joining us.

we will pivot to a conversation with m. night shyamalan. thes known for taking us to

edge of our seats. he is tackling another subject that has given nightmares to many in this country, how to reform the education system "i got schooled. he has a new book out that is called "i got schooled." -- he has got a new book out called "i got schooled." >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

tavis: we have been here before, depending on wher when the program airs. the government is either shut down or still open for business, barely. that is one crisis we are dealing with. joining me now to get an assessment on what discontinued x-men ship means for the rest of thisaul krugman -- and continued brinksmanship means for the rest of us, paul krugman. president spoke earlier today and it appears the moment to be standing firm, for those who think that his standing firm represents recalcitrance, not wanting to negotiate, not wanting to work with the other side, so the argument goes, your

thoughts about his standing firm today? >> no, what is going on right now, this has no president. we have -- precedent. a political party said we're going to destroy the government, we will destroy the economy unless you give us what we want and you do not give in to that. you do not -- you have to take a stand that this is not a legitimate form of behavior. this is not something we bargain over. because this is something that is in everybody plus interest to keep functioning. to keep our credit good. he has to say we're not going to blink and this has to be resolved, this has to be the time. >> since this brinkmanship is so unprecedented, and i am not naïve and asking about this book for those who have not been following this everyday, how do we get to the point where the government could be held hostage again?

different.nd of had hostage have crises of a kind. we had a government shutdown in 1995, 1996 the cousin newt gingrich was trying to extract cuts to medicare and we had threatened default on the debt anding in 2011 a current -- the republicans had won big in the midterms and trying to blackmail and succeeded to a certain extent. what is funny about this is the publicans are off having lost an election. it is quite clear that the republican leadership is not in control. that it is running scared of the extreme wing of its own party. this is actually in some ways worse. there is nobody to talk to. gone is -- this is a party basically crazy. this is a party that has lost it