. >> i'm jessica taft. if week one of the nfl is foreshadowing of what's coming up, buckle up.antastic if she from last night, later on in sports. >> four men convicted of a gang rape that sparked outrage in india face a sentencing of hanging. we have more from new]q delhi. >> nine months after the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old student in new delhi, a special fast-tracked court announced that the four remaining accused in the case are convicted of the crime. they haven't pronounce sentencing, and may later this week, but there's tremendous public pressure for the maximum, death penalty. there's been intense public interest in the case in india and over seas. under this pressure, the government has changed several laws relating to sex crimes in india, stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment have been criminalized for the first time. they have increased punishment for convicted rapists, but many activists say these changes don't go far enough. they say that marital rape in india is still not considered a crime and they're asking the courts and the politicians to do more to

in manhattan, jessica taft, al jazeera. >>> check out grandma.aught the ball off of the bat of todd helton, and she made it look so easy. look at that. the 70-year-old started dancing for joy and getting high fives, this grandmother of 16 and great grandmother of 15 will have a story to tell all of her kids. >> that's amazing. >> you go grandma. >> yeah, give that fan a contract. all right. ross, thank you. >>> hundreds of thousands of people have shown their support for making one part of spain an independent state. emma has more from barcelona. >> reporter: this was the moment they came together in a show of unity. in a symbolic gesture those from the north and south of the region joined handing calls for catalonia to be independent from spain. this human chain stretched 400 kilometers. it's countryside, towns and villages, and the number of people who took part far exceeded expectations. there is a sense among the people here that the time has come for them to be able to have a say on the future of catalonia, and they want a referendum as soon

in manhattan, jessica taft, al jazeera. >> as for th the new york yanke, they continue to spend moneyits monopoly money. this year they'll be paying the $29 million luxury tax, and it's more than the entire payroll for the houston astros. let that marinate for a minute. they paid luxury taxes ever since this system was implemen implemented in 2003. since they're a first time offender their bill is $29 million. the houston astros have an entire payroll of $21 million. >> ross, let's talk about money well spent. are they going to be in the playoffs? >> they're on the outside looking in. >> how much are their taxes with the. >> $29 million. >> money can't buy your championship or love. >> it sure can't. most artists would be devastated if their work fell into the gulf of mexico, but one painter can't wait to put his work underwater. he attaches his paintings, and then divers rescue them after they're covered inial apology, and they're recovered with the sea life still on them. and then the paintings are sold to up to $15,000 a piece. >> you may have a favorite one before you bring them d

. ♪ >>> i'm jessica taft, week 3 of the nfl kicked off tonight with plenty of drama as andy reid returnselphia for the first time since being fired as the head coach. reid knows the way off of the bus. he is now turning the tide with kansas city, and has the chiefs off to a 2-0 start which matches their entire win total from last season. and the game also marking the return of donovan mcnabb. he came with reid to get to the super bowl, but the relationship ultimately ended rocky when an aging mcnabb was benched by his head coach. and the dodgers have become the first team to punch their ticket into the nl west playoffs. we'll have much more after the break on al jazeera. ♪ real money. victoria azarenko >>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm jonathan betz here are the top stories tonight. >>> secretary of state john kerry is sending a message to the un regarding syria, hurry up. he urged them to be prepared to t act next week. he also calls for transparency and accountability. >>> the death toll continues to rise in mexico as rescue workers continue to search for people caught in landslides.

she says: >> week three of the nfl had plenty of highs and lows and jessica taft is here with the latest. >> it's been fun to watch this season. what we've learned early on in the nfl season is that there are plenty of surprises, mainly having to do with which teams unbeaten and others yet to get a win. jay cutler and the bears, part of the former group, big ben roethlisberger and company part of the latter. this may be why steelers with the turnover and then bears wasted no time taking advantage of the short field, matt forte running it in to oh give chicago a 10-0 lead. the steelers' woes continue. here comes big ben, up the gut, over the middle, picked off by major wright, taking it 38 yards the other way to the house. bears up 24-3. the steel curtain wouldn't bow out so early, big ben cutting into the deficit. he gets this bomb all the way out to antonio brown who makes a great grab there and able to keep his two feet in. the steelers back within seven, but it's all the closer they would get. cutler and the bears continue to put points on the board, this time courtesy of earl bennett

. >> jessica taft here in sports. it was a remarkable thing that happened in washington, d.c. tragic shooting, but also the response was incredible. >> absolutely. when baseball players, when they played in yet' game it helped everyone else in the navy yard. just an emotional day all around national park. baseball is just a game, it can also be a nice escape. for those in the washington, d.c. area today's braves-nationals game was a nice way to move away from the shooting deaths just blocks away. navy were on hand to thank the nationals for the help yesterday. for players it was time to gain perspective on an emotional day all around that they never could have imagined. >> it was a funny feeling, i was driving around, i saw a lot of police cars. you know, it will take a couple of days before you feel safe or you realize what has happened really hasn't sunk in yet. but just 24 hours. >> it's almost certificate reel and unbelievable because you wake up in the morning and there are people getting shot at a block from the stadium. when you think about your day, you don't think tha

al jazeera's jessica taft tells us the key for jaguars. >> most dread training camp, now maurie jonesis season was cut short from a foot injury where he was sidelined for the rest of the season. >> i just want to go out there with my teammates. >> what does the road of recovery look like to you? >> it's long. it's very long. you have to be patient. mentally every time you're off for a while. i didn't play football for ten months, you have--i don't want to call it doubt, but you have a little concern can i get back to it. but you know, it's like riding a bike. you get back out and your body naturally starts making these moves. yeah, you get a little sore and things here and there, but getting back out there and stick with it. >> this may be the end of the line for maurice jones-drew. however, he has made a living out of proving his critics wrong. he wears number 32 as a motivational tool signifying all 32 teams that passed on the pro poler on the fateful night in 6:00. >> you have tin 2006. >> you have to find ways to motivate yourself. i just look down that number a ands the thought i

jessica taft sat down with one of cincinnati's young defensive stars. >> last season, he was the leadinger north cincinnati bengals, racking up 127. he wasn't even a starter until week three, making the feet even more impressive, it marked the best season ever by a rookie free agent in bengal history. expectations are he and the improved bengals are high this season. >> we're in a high division, we have browns, and ravens and they're not nothing easy. for us, it's doing the little things right. >> what a difference a year makes. he sounds like a veteran now, but to truly understand the weight of that rookie season one have to understand how it began. >> he was a projected first round nfl draft pick. he had a less than stall larr junior season at arizona state and unimpressive nfl combine. they painted the picture of a player who lost focus, was slow and troubled and every nfl team passed him up. >> when i was at home, watching the draft, i'm like i know i'm better than that guy. i know i'm better than that guy. i think it was a lesson learned, maybe humbled. >> why did the bengals take a

jessica taft will have more on that. asked the indian media ♪ >>> one of the most ambitious ship salvage operations in history is underway right now in italy. these are live pictures. and 32 people died last year when the cruise ship ran aground. al jazeera's charlie angela has more on this complicated salvage project. >> reporter: after 20 months of lying off the coast, the concordia is slowly coming up right. the line of trust and scrum rising in the sea proved that the operation is on course. from inside the control room, they operate a system of wenches, pulleys, and cables that are wrapped around the wreck. they will eventually rest the liner on an underground platform. slowly filling out thousands of liters of filthy water. engineers said they are well prepared. >> translator: at the moment i honestly don't see anything to worry us. at the moment. naturally we're keeping a close eye on the situation, we're ready in case anything happens. >> reporter: while this is an impressive feet of engineering, it is also the s

jessica taft is here with the latest on the walters curse. >> i know your disappointed about the redskins least they scored. at least they scored. if you thought things could get worse for the new york giants, you were wrong. when asked what went wrong for his former team after the giants first game, his response was simply what went right? making matters worse, another 0-2 team they are playing against, they completely dismantled the giants. a two-yard score, and then the panthers neve took their foot off the gas. cam newton took the reigns. another touchdown, and then newton would toss three touchdowns on the day, also run for a touchdown to finish with 268 total yards of offense. the giants managed just 60 yards rushing, never got into the end zone. tough on eli manning, six sacks on the day. tom coughlin is not happy with that 0-3 start to the season. >> i thought that we were in a position today that we would put our best foot forward. we didn't play well offensively. we didn't give ourselves anything to build on. we didn't do a good job protecting and giving ourselves to be in a pos

. >> i'm jessica taft.e've got rafael nadal once dubbed the king of play, now showing fans why he's been perfect on the hard court in 2013, as well. that's all later on inspires. president obama arrives in russia for the g-20 summit. normally, the global economy is the main focus. this year that is overshadowed by the crisis in syria. at home, the senate foreign relations committee authorizing limited strikes on syria, sending it to the full senate for a vote. >> same sex spouses are the beneficiaries of the striking down of the limits for veterans. >> firefighters say it could be several more weeks before the rim fire is completely under control. >> president obama is now in russia for a round of high stakes diplomacy aimed at lining up allies to take on syria. white house correspondent mike mike has more. >> the trip to stockholm was the fallback plan brought about after president obama delivered a very public snub to putin, canceling a summit in moscow already announced. the president came to stockholm a

because it is the opening week in the nfl and jessica taft is here to talk about football.ootball, of all things. >> thank you, del. the long road, as you know it is a long one to the superbowl. thursday night the nfl season kicks off with a matchup featuring the defending superbowl champion versus peyton manning and the broncos. to match the return of football, we will have one-on-one interviews with some of the best players. we begin with future hall of famer troy palamalu. among the topics, the steelers chances in 2013, plus the controversial and illegal hits the nfl has banned for its player safety. >> where are the steelers in 2013, a team in transition, reloaded or ready for one last run with the familiar faces? >> it all depends on how things, you know, how healthy we can be throughout the season, how this team can, the camaraderie and how this team is built. that's been our strength. >> what will your defense be missing this year with james harrison gone and signed with the cincinnati bengals. >> obviously his game speaks for himself. he was the intimidator, the guy

. >> we'll explain by jessica taft is smiling and del walters is not. >> i feel a little bald for you. while i was showing these highlights, last season, rg3 took the nfl by storm. he gave the redskins something to cheer about. what a difference a year makes. the versatile q.b. is coming off major knee surgery. he faced the eagles team with a new head coach, trying to prove his high octane offense was going to work in the nfl. chip kelly's mission accomplished. 33-year-old michael vick leading the attack. the eagles ran 53 plays in the first 30 minute half and had a 26 appointment lead in the third. rumbling for 184 yards, and a score, rg3 led a late rally surge in the fourth, but the damage was done. chip kelly gets his first nfl coaching win, 33-27. >> philip rivers and company looking to get a win for their new coach. this touchdown pass one of four for rivers as he picked apart houston's defense. never trailed the entire game until the last play of the game when the texans would erase a 21-point deficit. check this out, one swift kick by randy, 31-28 your final there. >> in june,