it's one of 49 pieces of a new gracey art mansion art installation, chosen in close consultation with the city's first family. >> they conferred with us and approved all the pieces, and this is their home. >> this is what they're going to see every day. >> reporter: it's been 15 months since the de blasio family moved from their park sol rowhouse to the people's house on the upper east side. since then it's been closed to the public. after undergoing renovations next month, it will be reopened for tours but only once a week. de blasio's new home, they were chosen to paint a new picture of city life, perhaps in the 18th century when the de blasio mansion was built. one in five workers were slaves. soon you'll find abolitionist douglas in the peach room. you won't find this picture of first lady wagoner. visitors will see the gradual emancipation act of 1789 calling for children as slave be to see freed in adulthood. headed for this bare blue wall in the library, a collection called "the cries of new york," containing the age-old struggle to get by in this city, a popular de blasio them

one in particular, gracey's boyfriend. last year he came in fifth.own hopes for this weekend, to beat your girlfriend or win the race. >> both equally important, i think. >> reporter: it is still fairly niche intaernationally. >> i hope someone can get to formula 1 to prove to everyone that we can do it. >> reporter: for now they are just the stars of this race. this is all part of the razzmatazz that goes with the big race, but it is in the driving seat that these women earn respect. they want more women to do the same. >>> plenty more stories for you at anytime on our website. the address is aljazeera.com, and you can watch us by clicking the watch now icon. ♪ >>> finding a new leader. house republicans debate on who should be the new speaker. >>> what he knew, and what hen knew it. the head of volkswagen america testifies on capitol hill. >>> plus a town in michigan struggles to find a fast solution to lead in their water. ♪

. >>> we have a look at gracey mansion and the changes that have been been made since he took office. >>> a beach scare but it wasn't what she thought. we'll be back in two minutes. -are you happy with your bathroom? i wasn't. until i learned about bath fitter. bath fitter puts a new bathtub right over your old one. isn't that amazing? bath fitter will measure, right over your existing tub. and only bath fitter has seamless walls, which guarantees a watertight fit. plus, they do it all in just one day. listen up new york. there's a new drug out there. and it's trying to destroy our generation. it's called synthetics. . . so, some guy thought it might be a good idea to spray poison on some herbs, and then sell it to you. no, it's not marijuana. it goes by names like k2, spice, rocks. causes hallucinations, rapid heart-beat. vomiting, seizures. and it can kill you the first time you smoke it. we gotta have each other's backs. this is our future. and the future of new york is saying no to synthetics! go to oasas.ny.gov, or call or

last year gracey's boyfriend came fifth. >> your own hopes for this weekend? to beat your girlfriend? >> i won't hear the end of it if she beats me. >> the supercar racing is still fairly nearbys niche. niche. >> in the hopes someone can get to formula 1 so prove to everyone we can do it. >> this is all part of the razzmatazz that goes in the racing seat. they want more women to be in. andrew thomas, al jazeera, bathhurst. >> there is aljazeera.com, the address on your screen, that's aljazeera.com. >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight need for speed. the nationwide broadband battle, leaving customers caught in the middle. plus solar oil. how the dirty job of drilling for crude could go green. the battle for economic prosperity in the 21st century has convinced many american cities that they will be left in the dust if they don't offer

now gracey mansion is getting ready to open its doors to the public. you can go online to enter to win tickets to open house on sunday. head over the nyc.gov. the mansion has been mostly off limits to visitors since the first family moved in last year. >> coming up, are you a dog or cat person? new yorkers have spoken. we'll tell you who has a paw up in the city. >> first an i team update. she was arrested for panhandling with her newborn baby. tonight she is on the run. team starts practice today. coach called to see how i was doing. i blew out my knee last year. programs began calling me. i didn't realize i'd get hooked on the pain pills the doctor gave me. i never thought my life could change so fast. for now at least, football and college are going to have to wait. don't let addiction sideline your dreams. with a look at what's ahead. >> coming up tonight we're going to have the latest on the nbc wall street journal pole and take a look at the government effort to gain control over drones. a hobby that's grown over the past couple of years. a small

. >>> and we're going to take an exclusive look inside gracey mansion. wow, time warner cable really upgraded their network. 300 meg internet, clearer picture. i know, we get almost 20,000 movies and shows on demand. our new dvr records six shows at once. why didn't we switch sooner? right? everything's better. [bad violin playing] well, almost everything. we're making things better. enhanced dvr, nearly 20,000 on demand titles, and up to 300 meg internet. including free wifi at home and on the go. switch today and ask how you could get a $300 reward card. time warner cable. >>> a live look there at the gowanus expressway. moving nicely on this wednesday morning. >>> we're getting a new look at the artwork people will see when tours begin once again at gracie mansion. the first family helped choose 49 pieces that are now on display. a portrait of president george washington will be replaced with pierre tussant, a former slave turned philanthropist. and approved all the pieces. this is their home. this is work they're going to see every day. >> another it

. >>> and happening today, gracey mansion reopens to the public with a new focus on the past of new york city. there will be an open house to celebrate the opening. it now features more than 40 historic paintings, sculptures and documents. today's event is already sold out, but future tours can be made online. enjoy the tour. a nice peek into the mayoral -- it was built in 1799. new construction. >> it is time for an upgrade. >> really nice. >>> coming up on this sunday morning, ib texas it is another night of heavy rainfall. look at this. there is more to come as the >>> it has been another night of heavy rain in texas and there is still even more to come. the remnants of hurricane patricia and heavy rain saturday swamped some communities in texas. roads washed out and highways as well. if it wasn't soaked then it was pulled by the weather by high winds that torn down fences and rooftops and left plenty of debris over the streets. >> i would say on a scale from one to ten, my residence is a ten. >> some people have been in this traffic up there for five hours. >> man, look at that pictu

one in particular, racing against them will gracey's boyfriend.or this weekend to beat your girlfriend or win the race? >> equally important i think. >> reporter: the supercar racing is still fairly niche national, formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor sport. >> i hope there's more females in general racing in the hopes someone can get to formula 1 to prove to everyone we can do it. >> reporter: for now they are just the stars of this race. this is all part of the razzmatazz that goes with the big race, but it's in the driving seat that these women earn respect. >>> there's much more sport on our website. for all of the latest check out aljazeera.com/sport. we have got blogs and video clips from our correspondent around the world. and that's all your sport for now. more later. >>> farah, thank you. scientists are warning that huge areas of coral reef could be wiped out this year, because the oceans are getting hotter. researcher believe a warm patch known as the blob may be partly to blame. not much is known about what caused it, but it covers a wide

. >> annaleague, got to start with you, your inspiration was a certain little creature, gracey. >> yes. i have a toy australian shepherd. she's 6 and her name is gracie and she's named after gracie allen. oh, look it. there she is. gracie. you made it. >> nice dog. >> you made the "today" show. oh, my god. how about that. my family is probably like screaming. >> explain how gracie was your inspiration for your role. >> well, gracie and i took obedience, agility and sheep herding classes this summer and it was the most method i've ever been with a role in my life but does something every day that works her way into a play. thank god i had a dog. what would i have done? >> it's hard. >> amen. >> your character greg is married. >> yes. >> ant dog comes into -- sylvia comes into the picture and now you've got this love triangle which i rehate to because my dog pepper. >> pepper? >> has really come in and insinuated herself between me and my wife. >> that's what they do. >> they do that. >> yeah, they like attention and, yeah, sometimes the man goes crazy over the dog or the jealousys can f

it's called a wake for gracey. >> al wean is just around the corner.ween is just around the corner. whether you want to seduce or scare, we have a place to find out what was popular this year. plenty of masks of the presidents, kennedy and obama. and star wars and batman costume are the top sellers this time around >> i ral want to -- really want to wear the body suit. so boba fett and this ninja one. >> i like dressing up, no one knows who we really are. >> that's a good plan. a bonus for party-goers for star wars. several people we spoke to said they're going to wear the new outfits again. >> the costume aren't necessarily cheap. nice if you can get a couple of instances to wear them a couple of time. >> princess leia? >> work on the hair. >>> coming up, going to talk about an event that is going to help diseases with a battle on the dance floor. >> when you can expect the latest installment of the harry potter series. and why it's going to cost you a pretty penny. >> boo at the zoo today. you can go over there to get a sweet treat and animals and of