i'm thomas drayton with a look at today's top stories.he senate just passed a bill that would ban employers from discriminating against gay, bye sexual and transgender americans. it faces a battle in the house of representatives. >>> the fda says it wants to phase out trans fat. the fda says eliminating artificial trans fat will prevent around 20,000 heart attacks. >>> top-rated spy chiefs spoke to parliament today. they said spying has kept the country safer and leaks by edward snowden have been harmful to national security. >>> swiss scientistsw

i'm thomas drayton.in and heavy snow hampered much of the southwest, now is headed for the east coast just before millions of travelers hit the road before thanksgiving. we have more on this serious storm. >> this storm is so serious, it has a name. bereas is collapsing roof took place and causing car crashes like the one in new mexico that killed a 4-year-old girl. now it's bearing down on the northeast just in time for one of the busiest travel days of the year. >> icy temps, freezing rains, flash floods and heavy snow. the deadly western storm is not letting up after slamming the southwest, moving into the midwest and now barren for the northeast. the winery conditions caused hundreds of spinouts, rollovers and pileups. those car crashes blamed for almost all of the eight people killed in the storm's path. in california, rescue teams found a body near downed power lines and a woman was killed when a tree fell on her parked car. in texas and oklahoma, ice halted the highways and caused treacherous trav

i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy.survivors try to find oh food, water, critical supplies, some turned to looting. the nation declared a state of calamity. >> there are reports of mass graves and bodies lining the streets. the government puts the death count near 1800 and it is expected to rise to tens of thousands once officials reach remote areas. >> relieve organizations are answering the call for help. we have more from manila on i do groups stepping up to help. >> this government warehouse has been busy for days, even before typhoon haiyan came. they were already working to prepare relief goods for people in the central philippines that they knew would be affected by the super storm, but the government wasn't aware of exactly how bad it was going to be. nothing could prepare them for that. since the storm hit on friday, thousands of volunteers have come here to this warehouse, which is just off of manila's domestic airport, asking the government to let them help. all the people you see behind me here, volunteers,

i'm thomas drayton.phoon haiyan are without power, food, water and shelter. hospitals are overrun. >> the philippines red cross says at least 1200 people were killed in the storm, but local officials fear the death toll could be as worse, topping 10,000. slowly relief is trickling into areas cut off. >> desperate survivors arrived sunday looking for supplies for a way out. a $2 million relief program from the united nations food program is underway and u.s. marines are on the ground to help with search and rescue efforts. >> as aid is rushed to the philippines from around the world, rescuers face another problem, how to reach stranded victims in isolated areas. we have more from manila. >> there is no shortage of aid that's coming in, even locally, there are so many volunteers wanting to basically help out. this is a 10th of the countries population affected by the storm, and everybody else who saw it happen just feels i am potent and now volunteered to work with the government, aid agencies, n.g.o.'s, e

i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy.t's a scary scene in the philippines several days into the tragedy. we're getting reports of people not getting food and water, so difficult to get supplies to the areas. we're going to hear from filipino americans in the country trying to help. >> they don't have the basics and images we've seen all morning long are troubling. >> back here at home, president obama's set to meet with leaders from several native american tribes. this is his fifth meeting, so what's new? we'll talk about that. >> in a few minutes, we'll speak with the representatives of two dozen tribes. >> there are issues with that community. getting back to our top story, typhoon survivors are growing desperate for food, water and medical supplies in the philippines, pushing parts of the country into anarchy and disorder. aljazeera is in cebu with more. >> the state of emergency is meant to stabilize the situation in the worst affected areas or at least try to. a curfew is imposed in tacloban to try to stop looting ta

i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy.s in the philippines. there are 4 million people displaced, that's like the population of kentucky or oregon. in a moment, we're going to be talking take a public health expert about the public health challenge as well as rebuilding. >> so many challenges ahead. also this morning, an ivy league university causing a stir with its plan to stop the spread of meningitis on campus. seven students have been diagnosed. they have since recovered. the school plans to use a vaccine that hasn't been approved here in the u.s. >> the u.s. is approaching a deadline in afghanistan to withdraw troops by the end of next year. we'll hear from tribal leaders about concerns about u.s. troops and how they operate in that country from here on end. it's an important deal. >> we'll have more in a moment. heading to the pill teens, the shortage of supplies is critical especially in pelo. the city suffered the highest percentage of deaths. aljazeera takes you there. >> welcome to the district. this district saw

i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy.snow season, but thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes were triggered. twisters tore through the region unleashing powerful winds that demolished entire neighborhoods. >> the brunt of the devastation was felt in central illinois. officials say at least six people are dead. >> the storms later passed south of chicago before moving into michigan and indiana. when it was over, the storm had left an expansive trail of wreckage across the region. >> aljazeera's diane esther brook joins us now from hard hit washington, illinois. you're standing in one of the worst-hit areas. what are people doing this morning? >> well, at this point, there is still a curfew in effect and it will be for another hour. most are at temp rather shelters or staying with friends and families. this area is used to getting tornadoes, but they don't usually see them this time of year. usually you see tornadoes of this magnitude in the spring or summer, and that took a lot of people by surprise. we talked you to a resident

i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy. the relief effort i have the philippines is picking up today. >> the uss george washington will provide massive air support, tripling the number of available helicopters. they will deliver hundreds of thousands of gallons of water every day. >> in addition to the arrival of that ship, the past 24 hours has seen some progress in relief efforts. on wednesday, 49,000 people in tacloban finally received water, as well as rice, canned goods and busy cuts. the u.n. says it's enough to feed a family for two to three days, but more is needed as soon as possible. >> the situation is dismal. those able to leave have done so. many more are trying, and we saw thousands of people at the airport. people are extremely vulnerable and in desperate need of help. >> the body count is still rising. officials today said the death toll climbed above 2300. the u.n. warns that number will spike once rescue workers reach remote areas. >> the red cross is preparing to send 1500 more body bags to accommodate th

. >> i'm thomas drayton. good to have you with us. we begin with the future of american troops in afghanistan. a surprise statement from the of a fan president urging a council of elders to accept a bilateral security deal. >> at the end of his address, he said even if the council accepts the deal, he won't sign it until after elections in april. up to this point, karzai was pushing for an immediate decision from tribal leaders. >> american troops have been in afghanistan since 2001, shortly after 9/11. right now, there are 60,000 american troops there. that is down from a peak of just over 100,000. at least 2100 american servicemen have died in afghanistan since 2001. 1300 afghan civilians were killed in just this half of the year alone. >> jane ferguson has been covering the meeting. i understand the afghan president has been speaking for hours to this council of elders, but it was what he said right before he finished that could change things significantly. good morning. >> >> good morning. when the of a fan president arrived this

i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy.this disaster in the philippines, the huge filipino community here in the u.s. is really pitching in to send aid. we're going to have a live report from a community in new jersey that's doing just that, helping their family members, as well as total strangers. >> it's a tight knit community, certainly in pain. we're going to take you down to florida. a billion dollar industry is under threat over a legal battle for fresh water. this could end generations of fisherman. we'll have that story in a moment. >> i know you have some acting chops. maybe you want to head to chick, because the next star wars film, they are casting for a couple major roles. >> people are lining up already. >> the general public is lining up in chicago to try to be in the next star wars. >> these are big roles. >> it's a huge film franchise, one of the biggest ever. >> the story coming up. >> it's been a week since typhoon haiyan did he have stated the philippines. a new estimate says 44 must not of dead and thous

i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy. negotiators from iran and six word powers will be back in the bargaining table today in geneva, offering to ease sanctions if iran agrees to freeze its nuclear program. >> each time they meet, they inch closer to a deal. u.s. and other leaders want a six month stop on any nuclear work, a sticking point that brought the last talks to a halt. >> hardliners in iran are pushing back, the supreme leader saying its nation would not step back from its nuclear rights. >> on tuesday, president obama asked all parties to give diplomacy a chance. >> let's look, let's test the proposition that over the next six months, we can resolve this in a diplomatic fashion, while maintaining the sanctions architecture and at president of the united states, me maintaining all options to prevent them from getting nuclear weapons. >> aljazeera's phil ittner joins us from geneva. phil, this is the third such meeting of the so-called p5 plus one. are they any closer to a deal? >> they came very close last time.

i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy.ne of the most powerful storms ever recorded, battering the fill teens now. >> super typhoon haiyan hit the islands early today. winds reached 195 miles an hour when the storm came ashore. with peek gusts up to 235 miles an hour. >> weather experts say it is causing catastrophic damage, forcing millions into shelters. to get an idea of the size, it's more than 500 miles wide, an area roughly the same as the distance between new york and charlotte. >> the storm couldn't have come at a worse time. hundred was thousands lost their homes just a few weeks ago in a powerful earthquake. the storm is not expected to hit the capital city of manila, which is prone to heavy flooding. >> we go live to aljazeera's craig lease son, live from hong kong. good morning. who is most affected right now by this monster storm? >> well, as you mentioned, it reached landfall at 4:00 a.m. local time in the philippines, and cut a path across some of the smaller eastern islands before hitting some of the bigger

. >> thomas drayton joins us with a look at the next hour. >>> a major storm crossing the country hits the east coast on a busy travel day. delays are expected on the roads and airports. >>> tensions increase between china and japan. china monitored two u.s. bombers that flew over the area on tuesday during a training exercise. >>> we are keeping an eye on several protests, including in the ukraine. >>> we discuss the dispute between china and japan - and how the u.s. is involved. >> thomas pickering is with us for discussion. >> seattle sea hawks may be 10 and 1. details about the latest suspended sea hawk. >>> the storm system racing up the east coast causing the travel problems. what does it mean for the holidays, i'll have a forecast. >> thomas and i are back with you in 2.5 minutes. straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day f

thomas drayton and i will have all of the day's top news. >> they say they did it because they were trying to protect my children. they didn't protect my children, they traumatized them. >> fault lines examines why so many native american kids are caught in the child welfare system. >> any time they see a social worker its like seeing a police officer. the immediate response is, "they're here to take my kids". >> from the indian perspective who sees this in terms of history, this is as about as adversarial as it gets. >> a landslide victory for republican chris christie in new jersey while democratic terry mcauliffe takes virginia by a nose. the election of two governors seen as a barometer of the national mood. >> secretary of state john kerry calling for real compromises and hard decisions pushing for renewed talks between israelis and palestinian. >> an nfl player speaking out. >> changes to the controversial stand your ground laws in the wake of the death of trayvon martin. ♪ theme >> welcome to aljazeera america, and good morning. i'm stephanie sy. >> very good morning to you on this

i'm thomas drayton. good to have you with us. ago, america and the world were shocked by the assassination of john f. kennedy on a sunny dallas afternoon. in a few minutes, we'll talk with an author who sat down with the most notable people about what kennedy was like behind the scenes. first, a look at our top stories. >> another delay in the colorado shooting case. the judge is postponing the trial indefinitely, giving attorneys time to argue whether holmes should undergo another psychiatric evaluation. he pleaded inning by reason of insanity to killing 12 people at the theater in aurora in july of last year. >> the killer of a toddler has pleaded inning. her body was found in a cooler along a new york city highway. her identity remained a miss city until a few months ago. juarez was charged with second degree murder. he could face 25 years to life in prison. >> a 14-year-old massachusetts boy faces new charges in the rape and murder of his teacher. an indictment claims suspect phillip chisholm was armed with a box cutter and u