mike viqueira at the white house, mike, unusual this year in the sense of two things. the command center chief over the last few terms has not been a veteran of any war, and correct me if i'm wrong, didn't the last world war ii veteran pass away this year? >> well, the last world war i veteran, i believe you're correct. there are no more somber or solemn ceremony or setting than arlington national cemetery. and they're at the too many of the unknown soldier which was created after world war i, and this holiday the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11 month, and here is the president. >> for being a tireless advocate on behalf of the our veterans. vice president biden and dr dr. jill biden, secretary hagel and general buchanan, most of all to our outstanding veteran service organizations, our men and women in uniform, and to the proud veterans and family members joining us in this sacred place. michelle and i are incredibly honored to be with you all here today again. to the gold star families, to the brothers and sisters in arms who walk the paths of these hallowed grou

mike viqueira joins us from the white house.hat he is trying to accomplish with this middle east tour they >> they are downing playing the differences with the longstanding allies they are not

mike viqueira has the story from virginia. >> mike mcculloff won. it had hil him winning five to e reports. >> tim couc kuchne. wililli.and he was out spent by $15 million. he had the help of national democrats. and president obama ca campaign here on sunday. mccullough by joe biden. and not enough to close the gap. and for the economy there and in the tied water area and ham den road and virk beach and nor coming area. it's heavily depend ant on the military. not liking the government showb at all. those are two reasons why cuccinel limit. couldn't pull it off. mcallive wa nfi. mike viqueira reporting from virginia. >> for the first time in 20 years new york city will have a democratic mayor. >> new york city voters decided it was tile for a change. electing capital saying he would build more aformeddable housing and call for well think new york citiers. those making more than $500,000 a year to pay slightly higher taxes in order to fund pre-school programs for all children. de biasio of o says new yorkers raise to higher heights when they all work

we go to mike viqueira at the house for more. how serious is this and why is the u.s. getting involved? >> it is quite serious. there is flying big lumbering-year-old b52s through an enormous rival nation, china. these are islands south of the japanese island of okinawa. and these are islands that have always been claimed by japan and always in dispute. but the united states recognizes japanese claims to these islands. and the chinese said that any aircraft that fly around these islands will have to identify themselves, well, the american military immediately in a place important disregard for their claim flew the planes through there and were not in communication with the chinese whatsoever. the u.s. has been in contact with their japanese counterparts, chuck hagel in particular. it calls the chinese move destabilizing, and dell, it's important to recognize what is at steak here. with the united states and japan, dating back to world war ii, the united states have always depended on the japanese to demend the islands. the japanese call their own forces the self-defens

mike viqueira has more from the white house. >> it was a remarkable appearance by president obama. he was contrite, apologetic, shouldered a lot of the blame and propose add -- proposed a solution, a fix. >> with republicans and democrats on the verge of a revolt president obama decided it was time for a mea culpa. >> it's on me. >> the president denied he was aware of pre launch tests that warned of disaster. >> i was not informed correctly that the website would not be working. i don't think i'm stupid enough to say this is going to be like shopping an amazon or travelosity a week before the website opened if i thought it wasn't going to work. >> with millions seeing existing policies cancelled as a result of the law, the president proposed a fix. >> insurers can extent current plans into 2014, and americans whose plans have been cancelled can choose to reenrol in the same kind of plan. >> there's no guarantee insurers will offer the old plan. in a statement top lobbyists slam the proposal. changing the rules after plans met the requirements of the law could destabilize the marke

mike viqueira has more from the white house. >> there are continuing questions about who knew what whenin terms of the troubled rollout and problems it would face for healthcare.gov over the course of the last six months, it's a government inept attitude problem that continues to undermine confidence in the enterprise, and a political disaster. a new revelation today - a private consulting form, mckenzie&company, had a meeting with the government, predict ght the glitches that brought disaster to the health care rollout. insufficient testing, no set targets. the white house admitted the president had been briefed about the report, but again they repeat what they said all along. no one could have anticipated, they say, the size or scope of the problems by this website and the rollout of the affordable care act. president obama was across town at a forum sponsored by "the wall street journal" and was asked about the health care law. >> we probably underestimated the complexities of building out a website that needed to work the way it should. there is a larger problem that i probably spea

mike viqueira, al jazeera, washington. >>> i'm meteorologist dave warren.hing to stop this cold air coming in from the north. you can see the line, a little darker shade, that's the cold air pushing in from the north. rain changing to snow in colorado and eventually start to see some rain fall into that cold air, and it could freeze before it hits the ground and may not be snow. and it will continue overnight tonight and by tomorrow morning, could be waking up to a slippery roadway here. temperatures are still slowly dropping. it has not quite dropped yet in kansas or oklahoma but it will, and there is that mix across dallas. saturday 45 degrees, clearing out and a little warmer on sunday. >> dave, thank you very much. and thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "the stream" is next. and we are oh so close again on the dow. up 89 points, just a tick shy of dow 16,000. ♪

mike viqueira has more on the meeting. >> there's no question that things are tense between the allies - the united states and saudi arabia. secretary of state john kerry visiting re-ard earlier on monday, meeting with king abdullah and the foreign minister. the flashpoints - downplaying the issues. >> syria - that the united states did not go forward with it air strikes, going with a russian plan to take away the weapons. on iran - again the saudi arabia dismnts. a diplomatic opening, secretary kerry described it as a window opening, wanting to give iran a chance to demonstrate that their nuclear program is civilian, not military persons. here is john kerry with the saudi prime minister. >> nothing that we are doing with respect to this negotiation will alter or upset or get in the way of the relationship between the united states and saudi arabia. and the relationship in this region. >> in addition to syria in iran, another point of disagreement - egypt. saudi arabia - the government led by abdul fatah al-sisi. weeks ago the united states curtailing aid to that very government. secre

mike viqueira reports from washington. >> it's not the catastrophe that healthcare.gov is. it's a log on the fire of the anger and frustration that many are filling. even administration officials conceded it's a disaster and a debacle. a one-year delay. if you own a small business, you are in no way compelled or required to offer employee-sponsored health insurance. many want to do that. this website was designed to help them do that, and there are tax credits involved if small business owners want to move forward and offer the insurance. what happened now, as a result of many of the problems, they are so focused on fixing healthcare.gov for the individual marketplace for those that don't get employee focused care that they've been unable to turn attention to the other website. as a result it will be delayed by a year. there is good news. those small businessmen can go to insurance agents to work through them. >> al jazeera's mike viqueira reporting. online for small businesses is schedule had said to begin november next year. >>> a leaked document indicates that n.s.a. has

we turn from heidi to mike viqueira in washington.> they are. first of all you see an honor corps lining the white house behind me. they are here for the arrival of the king of morocco. but at this hour, the president is in a way observing the legacy of john f. kennedy. he is on the telephone with peace corps volunteers in tanzan tanzania. and everyone knows that his brother created the peace corps. earlier on monday, the president joining former president bill clinton and their spouses, making the trip across the potomac over the memorial bridge to the eternal flame where john -- john f. kennedy was laid to rest. and this is how most people got their information in 1963, and it really does send a chill down one's spine when you can appreciate, when you read these accounts, the grief, the shock, the disbelief, really, the chaotic questions surrounding the line of succession. the new president lyndon johnson was set to address congress. oswald shot to death is the third item down here. which gives you an idea of those tumultuous events

mike viqueira is in washington and mike before we go to iran, i want you to take a look at the latestolls. the president's approval rating is now 42%. the disapproval rating is 55%. that is his worst number ever. his favorable only at 46%. so when the president speaks with numbers like this, do members of the senate listen? >> i think you can connect the dots to a certain extent, dell, although this involving the middle east, the volatile region, and some long-held beliefs about what the united states should do and its stance towards iran. there is a correlation, but you can't draw a direct cause and effect. certainly the president's sinking approval rating, he is at george w. bush levels at this point in his presidency. but what was different about this meeting today it was democrats and republicans who were serious about foreign policy, members of the armed services committee, and foreign relations committee, were here to talk to the president because many thing the delegation is being too soft. they are about to be had. they point to north korea who for years has been yanking the c

let's bring in white house corse upocorrespondent mike viqueira.e, this is a six month deal. what are the leaders hoping to get out of this. >> to prevent iran from investigate developing a nuclea. and during the six months during the negotiations that are going to follow towards this goal. the permanent five members of the united nations plus germany have struck this deal with iran to sharply curtail their nuclear capability. in the meantime as they try to negotiate this deal. this is the compromise. what the deal will do is halt the iranian enrichment. they have pledged to halt their enrichment above a 5% threshold. above that you have weapons-grade your rai uranium t can be quickly converted into new colounuclear wemtion. weapons there will be no additional sentr sens centrifug. many say it's not deal unless the sent feujs ar centrifuges a. >> there is a place called iraq which is using heavy water that could be conceivably converted into plutonium. another nuclear weapon deal. john kerry and all down the line call this is a first step. the insp

mike viqueira is in washington. >> dell, it appears there are many who are angry over these talks areran. they simply believe the united states and its allies, these six powers that are talking with iran about giving up any military implications for the nuclear program, believe they are giving up so much. the saudis are very upset with the united states. they think this is ill timed and ill conceived. and there are senators, democrats and republicans, in congress who believe what is needed are tougher sanctions against iran, not an easing of sanctions, and that is just what is on the table now as secretary of state john kerry heads back to geneva. the white house calls for is on the table now in exchange for curtailing the nuclear program, a temporary easing of sanctions. the white house says this is reversible if iran does not prove it citizen sere. >> we believe there is the potential to initiate the first phase of an agreement that would see iran halting progress on its program, and rolling back certain aspects of it, and as we -- and then -- and therefore, basically stalling progr

mike viqueira reports from the white house. >> administration officials set a target date - november 30th. they said at that time the vast ma majority would have an experience that runs smoothly. today we learnt the white house definition of vast majority. eight in 10 americans log on to the website and buy insurance. >> who won't be alt. who are the two in 10 - those having technical difficulties, those too frustrated and who give up. and those who insurance policies are so complicated they'll have to talk face to face or have their hands held through it. jay carney, the white house speaksman, explained. >> we need to make sure there are other avenues for people with expression situations or people who would rather not perform this purchase online. that's why we have calling center and why we beat them up and have in-person counsellors who can work with american consumers around the country to make decisions and review options when it comes to health care coverage. >> part of the problem is after november 30th, enrollees will have two weeks if they are to do so successfully and beco

. >> let's bring in white house correspondent mike viqueira. mike, six months, that's the extent of this deal. what are world leaders hoping will happen during that time? >> reporter: at the end of that time, they are hoping they can come to a larger deal that will prevent iran from developing a nuclear weapon. they have instittuted steps that they believe will present iran from turning the corner. they call it "a breakout" to take the uranium and plutonium and turning it into a nuclear weapon. under the provisions of this deal, they would halt enrichment of uranium above five %. they would dilute at a time uranium they have 20% and make that inoperable. there will be no additional 7 triv fuse. that a great deal of criticism. many people who are against this deal called it a sucker's deal believe the centrifuges would have to be destroyed in an interim deal. there is something called a heavy water reactor that could produce plutonium at a place called iraq within iran and within the provisions of this deal, that facility will not be brought onl

. >> write house correspondent mi mike viqueira has more on reaction from washington. >> in genervgeneva, the preside emphasizing this is a first step toward a simple goal ensuring iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. they are concerned that iran with its current program is on the path toward doing just that, a so-called breakout going from a civilian oriented nuclear program that can produce domestic energy to a program that can produce a nuclear weapon. no one wants to see that happen and that is what the president has emphasized saying no options are off of the table but for now iran has the 5% threshold or below over which it starts to creep into to dilute to neutralize that no sent tro fuses. they are saying they should be destroyed interim or no interim deal. this is a concern with three facilities. one is a place called iraq, a heavy water facility with the potential to turn around and create plutonium, another we hope's great material. to verify all of this is taking place. john kerry spoke about that this morning. now, the hard part begins. >> that's the effort to get the compr

mike viqueira is at the white house. we're heading to the holiday dump which appears to be more bad news for the administration. >> reporter: it's a cascading affect from all the problems that obama has had with the roll out of the affordable act. the official news just released moments ago is that this online component for small businesses, del, if you're a small business defined as having 50 or fewer employees. you want to supply your employees with insurance. offer it through your business. now you cannot do that online. the goal was to have that up and running this month. there is an one-year delay, largely the result of all the problems, and the glitches that have been the result of online.com. first of all, small businesses are not compelled to offer insurance. but the online component of that would have allowed them and still can allow them if they go through agents through through insurers to get tax credits to make it more affordable for health insurance. this is more bad news and cascading bad news and mitch mc

let's go to mike viqueira at the white house. we're standing by to see the tape of the meeting between the president and iraq's prime minister neur naturey al maliki. the they'll take questions for reporters, and the tape is rolling now. let's hear the president of the united states. >> thank you, thank you. >> either that means we need to recue it or we missed it. i'm sure we didn't miss it. let's go back to you. we're expecting to hear comments from the president on the meeting of prime minister nouri al maliki, through a translator, of course, and we are expect to hear comments from the president about the shooting at l.a.x. >> reporter: right, he said we have full reports coming from inside the oval office. he's very concerned, and he has been getting updates. i don't think there is any more meat to it than that. the president has been kept abreast of anything, chiefly is the threat or potential threat to homeland security and connections in that regard. but back to this meeting with nouri al maliki. it has been a long time c

mike viqueira joins us from the white house.hat he is trying to accomplish with this middle east tour they >> they are downing playing the differences with the longstanding allies they are not denying them the saddie sawdie e dispintedisappointed the route e taking. taking. and backing away from the military force on iran. her again the saudis are disappointed there is this diplomacy the sudden opening between the united states and iran. the united states is testing to see if iran is going to cooperate and let the world see that their nuclear program is purely for civilian purpose. and in egypt the saudis back the midterm government, the united states taking away in the last few weeks or curtailing sharply the annual aid that goes from the united states too egypt. secretary kerry had a press conference with the foreign minister there. here is a little bit of what he had to say a few hours ago. >> there is no difference about our mutually agreed upon objective in syria. as i have said many times before assad has lost all legitima

for a closer look let's bring in mike viqueira. a 6-month deal is a chance for iran to prove itself to the world. what is the international community, world leaders - what do they hope they'll do during the six months. >> they hope they'll validate the decision. obviously iran has agreed to curtail its enrichment production and not produce plutonium from a separate plant there. the united states and the obama administration face criticism from israel and saudi arabia, on the same side in this controversy, this issue. from congress the democratic leader saying he was going to move forward strengthening sanctions. president obama appeared late at night saturday in the state dining room to talk about the deal. >> as president and commander-in-chief i will do what is yeses are to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. i have a responsibility to resolve our differences peacefully rather than rush to conflict. >> the president leaving no doubt as the criticism is mounteds if it does not work out all options on the table. >> tell u

mike viqueira at the white house, i feel like we need a drum roll here. >> reporter: the white house has spent the last couple of weeks furiously trying to lower expectations, and now we understand why, the numbers are anemic. they play hide the ball here, and that is how many americans have been able to sign up. 16,185 americans have enrolled in healthcare. 26,000, note that 106,000. and it appears through website a third of the people who have signed up signed up in california. they run their own website that is not the healthcare.gov website, it is bad news all around. john boehner calling on the administration and congress to scrap the entire healthcare law because of a calamity, and democrats are getting very nervous about this. there are democratic cosponsors in the house and senate to bills that would allow people to keep the plans they had. almost 4 million people its estimated had lost their plans because they were deemed unworthy. they did not meet the standards and criteria set forth in the affordable care act. those bills were on the floor later this week, on the floor of

mike viqueira for us. >> yes, mike, thank you. it is a deal that creates the world' biggest airline. earlier today the justice department signed off on a merger with american airlines and u.s. airwaves, and they blocked the merger until now. john terrett has that story. >> reporter: the merger being able to take off after all. >> one, it will eliminate overlapping routes that they both shared. and those prices are going to go up. but it will make a more efficient airline in some ways where planes that were under sold on certain roots will be at capacity. so that will drive ticket prices down. >> reporter: there was suing to stop the merger. they filed the lawsuit back in august arguing that the corporations, the parent bankrupt american airlines, should be forced to scrap it on the grounds. if they went ahead more than 80% of all u.s. commercial aviation would be in the hands of just four companies. but now the u.s. american deal is back on. but there is a price to pay for the new mega airline. landing slots and gates at dozen maj

we begin with mike viqueira at the white house. mike?> john, if it's a scandal it is not necessarily of who knew what when, it's a scandal of government inneptude. today this morning on the front of the "washington post," a leak that ended up having a hearing, a document six months before the law from mackenzie and company, a private outside consultant warning of some of the problems with the website. the president was informed. he was briefed about this report. the white house has said time and time again and again today repeated in response, that no one could have anticipated the size and scope of what was to come in terms of the problems and glitches as they initially called them. the president earlier today in georgetown at a hotel, a forum sponsored by the "wall street journal," of course he was asked about the trowelled rollout. >> we probably underestimated the complexities of rolling out the website. there is a larger problem, that i probably speak personally but also as the administration could have identified earlier, and that

mike viqueira is at the white house, mike, 16 awards given. three of those people no longer with us, and one unable to attend. >> a welcome break from the poisonous atmosphere in washington, remembers of the sports world, the entertainment world as well, one of my person favorites, arturo sandoval, and ernie banks still i have a 1969 card still. it was a joyous occasion in the east room. the president honoring so many people, and so a great event, and now we are awaiting the presidential motorcade to de part with bill clinton joined by hillary clinton and michelle obama. they're heading across the river. you can see it just outside that east room where they were earlier today at arsenal nationanational cemetery where e president will be visiting the gravesite. >> each time there is this ceremony in washington, the freedom awards, how does the white house choose hose who are honored? >> reporter: these are all distinguished folks, most of them americans, and on down the line. not all of them are americans, one of them angela merkel, but there i

mike viqueira has more from the white house. >> there are questions about who knew what when, in terms. troubled rollout and the problems for healthcare.gov over the last six months. it's a government inept attitude problem, threatening to undermine public confidence in the enterprise, not to mention a political disaster. a new revelation, a consulting firm six months before the launch, mckenzie&company had a meeting with the government and outlined the problems, predicting many glitches - more than glitches that brought disaster in the words of administration officials - inefficient testing, no set targets. the president was briefed about the report, but they reported in reaction to the report no one could have anticipated, they say, the size and scope of the problems faced by this website and the rollout of the affordable care act. president obama was across town at a forum sponsored by the "wall street journal" and was asked about his troubled law. >> we probably underestimated the complexities of building out a website that needed to work the way it should. there's a larger problem

mike viqueira joins us from washington.ike, the white house knew there was a good chance the supreme court would hear this case. what has been the obama administration response? >> they are confidence in that hobby lobby is one of dozens of companies who have brought a lawsuit. the administration welcomes the high court's decision to review this case. they say they asked the supreme court to do so way back in the spring. and president obama has been over the last couple of days on a fund-raising swing on the west coast, but the white house was quick to punt out a statement in response to the decision. it reads in part . . . and of course the white house, the statement went on to point out that through the rule-making process, as the affordable care act has got underway they have exempted religious organizations that they are not forced to provide contraceptive care or coverage within their policies. it's important to note, however, that the affordable care act for everyone else including private companies like hobby lobby r

and mike viqueira has more on this. he's at the white house for us. how about this timing heading into the holidays, and we get this dump of bad news from the administration. >> reporter: yeah, that's right oh out of the standard public relations playbook here in washington. bad news before the weekend. something that is more significant was dumped out into the news environment, and that is a delay in the employer mandate to supply a health insurance to its employees. this is not the quite the catastrophe that the healthcare.gov launched two months old has been. all the frustration and anger that people are feeling as they try to get enrolled in healthcare. something that they're going to have to do. if you're a small businessman you're not compelled to supply or offer healthcare coverage to your employees. if you want that, the idea is you could go online and shop around, find a policy, be eligible for tax credits to make it affordable for you. but they could not get that together. with everything else that is going on and all the around the clock wo

mike viqueira from the white house, mike, what are they saying about lack of a deal. >> reporter: there is sharp disagreement. france is with the united states trying to negotiate something with iran. their foreign minister called what was on the table a sucker's deal. the nation with the most at stake in these negotiations is not at the table, that, of course, israel. benjamin netanyahu exchanging sharp words with secretary kerry over the weekend. he said the deal that is on the table would threaten the very existence of israel. there is a lot of disagreement there as well. john kerry, he was in the middle of an eight-nation tour of the region. he interrupted that to go over the weekend to geneva to sit down with these powers because it appeared that an negotiated deal was on the table, that they could iron out. it turns out they did not have it. john kerry went to abu dhabi, and he explained why. >> there was unity, but iran couldn't take it at that particular moment. they were not able to accept that particular agreement. so hard work was done. progress was made. the p5+1 was united.

. >> joining us, mike viqueira. mike, there was reaction over the weekend. reaction today. what are they saying? >> reporter: well, the administration were president obama on down, administration officials describe this as a first step to a larger goal to work towards six months time. that goal is to make sure that iran will never develop a nuclear weapon. there is a >> the president had key senators in last week ben rhodes, the deputy national security adviser and he spoke with al jazeera america's inside story. here's what he had to say about sanctions in congress. >> well, we said it's the sanctions that they help put in place brought us where we are today by bringing it to the table but now is the not the time to pursue new sanctions. that de rail sanctions before we have a chance to get to an agreement. >> reporter: it's a lack of trust not only among congress, and benjamin netanyahu has been very outspoken as this taken shape. saudi arabia is also very upset. bob corker, the top republican on the senate relations committee, there is lack of trust. many have spoken to

. >> mike viqueira from the white house. a pair of u.s. bombers flew through air space china said was its own. al jazeera's rosalind jordan has more. >> on monday night the u.s. military says two b52 bombers like this flew over the senkakku islands over japan for training purposes. the u.s. official denied the response was in relation to budget's decision to control the airspace. islands which were long claimed as their own. >> this unilateral action is an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the china sea. it will raise confrontation and accident. we have made the case to china. >> on saturday beijing declared the space over the diaoyu island as part of its airdefense identification zone. it requires foreign aircraft to identify themselves before entering the zone or face military action. a chinese warship was seen on patrol in the south china sea. >> it's national. it's the right of every country to defend its air space and also to make sure that it's sovereignty are safe guarded. >> the u.s. says none of its aircraft, commer

mike viqueira is live in washington. how likely is this bill going to pass today?> it is remarkable how quickly the shift in public opinion is translating to legislative victories, and a victory here at the white house even with president obama's only personal beliefs coming about marriage equality coming just before the election. really this has come up in the senate before. it has failed. one big fly in the ointment is the house of representatives, john boehner indicating earlier this very week that he does not support the passage in the house. it could be stuck in limbo. but a roster of republicans and some surprises among them, expected to meet that 60-vote threshold in just a few minutes. this is the so-called cloture vote, if they pass that 60-vote threshold, it's pretty much done. let's talk about some of these conservatives. pat toomey, a very conservative member from pennsylvania. this was pat toomey on the floor just moments ago. >> every individual is entitled to dignity, respect. a person's sexual orientation is irrelevant to their ability to be a good

we begin our coverage with mike viqueira at the whitehouse. mike? >> reporter: john, the white house, the administration spent weeks furiously trying to lower expectations, anticipating this released to and now, we know why. you read the figures: only one 06,000 have enrolled thus far. >> that's far short of the half a million that was expected was projected in a memo leaked by house republicans. but of that number, only -- exactly 26,784 have successfully enrolled through that federal website, the troubled website, healthcare.gov that administration officials have dubbed a debacle and disaster. 36 statements are running that website. only 14 running a state website, california, for example, enrolled 35,000 people through their website. it's the federal website that is deeply troubled. catholic cathol-- kathleen sebe rolled out these numbers. she said for those who are frustrated with the website, they should stick with it. let's listen. >> we are clearly here on the 13th of november not where we want to be. by the 30th of november, i know we have i

mike viqueira is here for us. mike, fill us in on some of the reaction coming from those in washington reporter>> the president, secretary of state, top administration officials describe this as a first step toward a simple goal, ensuring that iran does not develop a nuclear weapon that would destablize the region and provoke a military response. the president has left it on the table time and time again to prevent iran from doing so. the president says give this a chance. iran, we will give them six months to demonstrate their sin te sarty. he is traveling on the west coast. it's largely a fund-raising trip. he had remarks on camera today in san francisco. here is what he had to say. >> if iran sees this is opportunity and chooses to join the global community, then we can begin to chip away at the mistrust that's existed for many, many years between our two nations. none of that -- none of that is going to be easy. huge challenges remain, but we cannot close the door on diplomacy. and we cannot rule out peaceful

mike viqueira is live in tysons corner, virginia where terry has just spoken to supporters. mike. >> reporter: john, if you be hear we're in the celebration stage here at the headquarters at tysons corner, virginia. we heard from the republican in this case, the sitting attorney general of the commonwealth. he came a lot closer than the polls indicated before the election, john. he said it came down to the wire. he was outspent by $15 million or at least outraised by the man behind me on stage celebrating with his family and fellow virginia elected officials from the democratic party. he said he was outspent by mcauliffe by $15 million. the thing that got him was a point and a half this evening of pulling off an upset and winning the race. according to cuccinelli it was obamacare. he stressed that during the closing weeks of the race. that was his closing argument in the face of the debacle in the launch of healthcare.gov website. that's one way to look at it. another way to look at it, john, is that a sitting president has not had a member of his own party, not seen a membe

. >> mike viqueira thank you very much. ernie banks to oprah winfrey.ike thank you. >>> elsewhere talks aimed attening the standoff over iran's nuclear program resumed in geneva. there is optimism that the world powers may be able to reach a deal with iran sometimes this week. this is the third meeting of the p5-plus-1. any thoughts that this time they might be closer to a deal? obviously we're having problems with phil ittner's live shot coming out of switzerland. we'll try to reestablish that communication shortly. the pentagon has been under fire for how it handles sexual assaults, and today the senate begins a measure that could change how those cases can handled. >> what is at stake dell is whether or not the military should have per view over sexual assault cases. kristin gillibrand wants to get it out of the hands of the commanders. here is senator gillibrand on abc sunday explaining why. >> we want to make sure the men and women who serve our military, have a justice system deserving of their sacrifice. they are literally giving their lives for

mike viqueira is live at the white house. mike how can the u.s. help with this situation in iraq?> there is no question there is a great deal of concern that iraq is sliding towards another civil war. the unitedations without a report today, more than 900 iraqis killed last month alone. among them, 852 civilians. another estimate has 5,000 iraqis killed since april as the country slides into more strife. the question is who is responsible? and this is his third day in washington and many believe this is not sectarian strife. many suspect that his forces are attacking sunnis, and a non-stop violence of sectarian violence continues today. not so says malaki. he says this is al-qaeda. what does he what from the united states? what can the united states do to stop these killings? he wants more m hardware apache helicopters and other items from the administration. there are many influential members from congress who say he is attacking sunnis, criticizing him for allowing iran to overflying iraqi territory to supply bashar al-assad in syria. and there is not much that the united states

mike viqueira is standing by at the white house. a contrite president it seems with a solution to those that their insurance companies have dropped their plans. >> the president came out and faced the music. he was retenant. last week in a one-on-one interview he apologized and today he came out before the full national press corps and said this is on me. he has democrats in revolt on capitol hill and they threatening to jump ship. he said yes the quebe website is fouled up and if you like your plan you can keep your plan. grandfathering in some of these plans is insufficient. what he announced today a lot of people considered to be insufficient. if you have a plan insurance companies and through insurance commissioners can still offer the old plans even if they are not come pliechbt compliant wite affordable care act. here is what the president had to say. >> regardless of what congress does i'm the president of the united states and they expect me to do something about it. >> interms of how i intend to approach it, i will just kee

mike viqueira explains why. >> it was their first face to face meeting in two years. it comes as iraq faces new threats and doubts over its stability. >> unfortunately al qaeda has still been active and has grown more active recently. so we had a lot of discussion about how we can work together to push back against that terrorist organization that operates not only in iraq, but also as a threat to the region and the united states. >> president obama and prime minister nouri al-maliki blame al qaeda for the surge in violence in iraq. >> translation: we have a common vision about all the issues we discuss when it comes to diagnosing the return of terrorism, and how to counter terrorism. >> over the last year the security situation in iraq has taken a dramatic downturn. in october alone 979 iraqis were killed in terror attacks. 852 of them civilians. more than 7,000 died sings -- since the beginning of this year. nouri al-maliki is in washington asking for more american weapons to help in the fight, including apache helicopters. critics say it is not just al qaeda, but m

mike viqueira, at the whitehouse for us. if the afghan security packet isn't signed. >>> chair at this funded by international donors are in jeopardy. that could mean really an about-face for the children who have recently been able to go back to school. jane ferguson reports now from kabul >> reporter: amanula and his little brother, elham used to spend all day picking rubbish off of the street to sell for a few dollars. now, they go to school courtesy of a local charity, ashiana which helps children working on the streets catch up on studies and get back into the state educational system. >> i was collecting paper and the head of the school came to me. he asked me if i wanted to go to school, and i said, yes. >> chair at this funded by international donors are ang issue. a dispute between the americans and hamid karzai threat ends to jeopardize foreign donations if he doesn't sign a security packet with the u.s. soon. on monday, heated discussions between karzai and obama's national security advisor susan rice went nowhere

mike viqueira how are they observing today? >> we saw president obama joined by president clinton as well as hillary clinton and michelle obama on wednesday and head across the river to arlington national cemetery. with the wreath laying at the turnal flame. most of the eyes i think today are pointed towards dallas. it's hard to imagine, 50 years later the impact this had on this city, and the impact that the kenendys had on this city, and how they changed washington in many ways. first i want to show you some of the headlines. these were saved by my family during those four tumultuous days. when you start opening these headlines and you look at all of the different singles to this story, and you really begin to appreciate all over again the shock, the disbelief that encompassed this city, this nation, and the world, it really brings the point home. the kenendys came here -- the first house member and then senator kennedy lived in georgetown. in the 40s and 50s gorge continue to wasn't the swanky address that it is today. the k

mike viqueira joins on that. >> it really was a welcome break from the toxic atmosphere in washingtond.c. the president heading over to arlington national cemetery with bill clinton, and hillary clinton, and michelle obama to lay wreath at the eternal flame of president kennedy. but the ceremony of the medal of freedom. 500 individuals have received this award over the years. ernie banks from the sports well as well as dean smith, a legendary basketball coach, there were people there from the world of civil rights as well. reverend ct vivian, patricia wald a jurist, oprah winfr winfrwinfrey reta lynn. we saw mr. cub from the president's adopted hometown of chicago. a happy moment, the president now heads off across the river to arlington, dell. >> mike thank you very much. >>> coming up a florida congressman goes to court on drug charges. that story and much more when al jazeera america returns. interactive television. in fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> i think you've o

. >> mike viqueira at the white house. mike, thank you very much. some items from jfk's funeral will be on display for the first time special artifacts including a flag draped over the president's casket, and clothes worn by those who went to the funeral part of the exhibit "a nation remembers" that opens friday and goes through president's day. >>> iran's supreme leader is speaking out about talks on his country's nuclear program. he said there are limits to what iran is willing to concede. white house officials say it will be very hard to reach an agreement this week. the comments coming as negotiations between iran and six world powers including the u.s. resume in geneva today. al jazeera's phil ittner is there. this is the third time, is it going to be a charm? >> tit is going to be difficult. that is directly from an u.s. official. the official saying if this was easy it would have been done a long time ago. nevertheless, there remains a sense of optimism on the ground here within geneva. there are a number of things outlined in that press brie

nick schifrin is in jerusalem, but we'll go to mike viqueira at the white house. many reactions on capitol hill. this one seeming to defy party lines. >> reporter: that is true, and the hard part, president obama fating opposition not simply from republicans, that's to be expected, but democrats as well. chuck schumer, the number three democrat in the senate obviously very influential. many people coming out and criticizing this. it all comes down to a question of trust. there is no trust among key members of congress for iran. the parallel is drawn between years and years where the united states has tried to deter north korea from its nuclear program only to see north korea initially appearing to be compliant going back on its word. they point to the fact that much of iran's nuclear capability remains intact. they're able to enrich uranium. the question is does iran have a right to enrich uranium? the agreement itself leaves that question unanswered, but 5% was the level below weapons-grade uranium enrichment. there is a lot of criticism coming from republicans a

mike viqueira has the story. >> it was their first face-to-face meeting in two years.nd it comes as iraq faces new threats and doubt over it's stablity. >> unfortunately al qaeda has still been active and has dproan more active recently. so we had a lot of discussion about how we can work together, to push back against that terrorist organization that operates not only in iraq but alsos a threat to the entire region and to the united states. >> both president obama and the prime minister maul ki blame al qaeda for the surge of violence in iraq. >> we have a commonly vision about all of the issues we discussed when we talk about the return of terrorism and how to counter terrorism. >> over the last year the security situation in iraq has taken a dramatic downturn. in october alone 979 iraqis were killed in terror attacks. 852 were civilians. more than 7000 have died since the beginning of this year. with no u.s. combat troops remaining in iraq an no chance for american troops on the ground for future, maul ki is in washington to ask for more american weapons to fight. i

mike viqueira has it for us. >> the eternal flame draws visit scores from around the world. it was supposed to burn in boston. as the nation reeled from tragedy some in the kennedy family wanted john f. kennedy laid to rest at home. in 1962 paul fuqua was a part-time tour guide at arlington house. it sits atop a hill overlooking the cemetery. one day, eight months before dallas he had an unexpected visitor. >> it was late afternoon, early evening. cars pulled up. gentlemen with ear phones popped out and said the president was here. >> almost unthinkable now. the president was out on a lashing. >> he said he and his friend from driving around looking at the city, looked up here. neither had been here so they thought they'd come here. >> paul fuqua led them on a tour of the house. >> we came out here. the city was incredible. >> we paused a little longer, and the city was beautiful. then they said, "you know, this is so lovely i could stay here forever." >> a friend with the president remembered those words as the family debated the site of the burial. he told them the story.

. >> mike viqueira, aljazeera, the white house. >> the leading industry trade group warned the president'sncrease premiums. >> president obama's vision for health care reform has evolved since he first ran for president. this is what then senator obama told americans in 2007 during his presidential bid. >> let's be the generation that says righted here, right now, we will have universal health care in america by the end of the next president's first term! >> the president took a different tack in june of 2009 when he was selling the affordable care act to the country. >> if you like your plan and you like your doctor, you won't have to do a thing, you keep your plan. >> in the fall of 2009, president obama was working to get congress to pass it and here's what he promised americans. >> now is what we must bring the best ideas of both parties together and show the american people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. now is the time to deliver on health care. >> when it was time to sign the bill in march of 2010, the president again assured americans they could keep their plans

mike viqueira joins me now from washington. mike, give us a read-out on the president's meeting?ny indication that the president tipped off to members of congress that there is a deal. >> what the president was saying is give negotiate yateses a chance. many are unhappy and they think that iran is duping the west. and the six powers that are in talks about iran. by sharply curtailing their poa potential to have a nuclear weapon. he had these members of congress and the members of the senate and both republican and democrat from the white house for two hours. there was a comprehensive presentation asking them to load back on even tougher sanctions. >> the white house has said time and time again it's sanctions that it has imposed that brought iran to the table to begin with. the top republican emerged from the west wing and here is what he had to say about the meeting. i think you had some folks in the room that were satisfied and some folks in the room that were unsatisfied and i think you had some folks listening to what has been said and trying to figure out the best way for co

mike viqueira from the white house. >> in the past 48 hours we have heard a lot about uranium enrichmentnd what does that mean and how does it slow iran's nuclear program. johnathajohnathan betz is here k it down. >> it starts were putting are uranium in a sen centrifuge andt is called enren enrichment. it's expensive and takes a lot of time and it's out of reach for many countries. iran has been working on it for decades. the deal allows them to enrich uranium but only in small doses. that is enough for nuclear power but not a bomb. iran had enriched a lot of uranium to 20%. that is close to having enough for a bomb and perhaps just even a few months away. iran has agreed to get rid of or dilute the stockpile. that sets them back by months but iran can keep the centre s e centrifuges. and as a reward for all of this, $7 billion worth of sanctions will be lifted. it keeps iran for the moment from getting closer to a bomb. >> johnathan, appreciate it, thank you. >> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been critical of the iran nuclear deal. he has called it a hi historic mistake.

. >> mike viqueira reporting for us tonight from the white house. >>> it is the most highly anticipated tech launch sinc, tr joined wall street. twtwitter listed as twtr among wouldn't popular users at the beginning bell. twitter's highly anticipated debut, it's stock searched 73% from its initial public offering. for more we turn now to real money's ali velshi. >> reporter: david, i'm exhausted with all the references to the 73% gain in twitter stalk. find me someone who was able to buy the stock at $26. most people are not institutional investor. if you're not a high roller or institutional investor you bought it at the market price. that meant many institutional high rollers who got a piece of the ipo dumped it on you and scored a sweet gain of 73%. that means your loss was .5% since the stock closed lower at 4$44.90. this is not a commentary on twitter. it's not. this is a commo common tear on . twitter has millions of active users but losses in the first nine months of this year, and one analyst has already downgraded the stock. a guy name brian wiser of profittal research said to

mike viqueira joins us from the white house, mike, you were telling us that the numbers were likely to be bad. how bad is it? >> it's worse than it was yesterday. it seems to be less than that. if you're counting the people who were trying to enroll through that healthcare.gov website. only 26,794 people, we'll call it 27,000, were able to register through those states. there were 36 states who declined to do this themselves. they're relying on the federal government to get them enrolled. all told, the rest of the states, had now who have their own website, the total is 106,185. when you consider the fact that ththe congressional budget offie project the number that would be enrolled in the first month, they're certainly falling short, and there is more trouble on the horizon. do you remember the president assigned a technology czar to straighten this whole thing out. they said the website would be up and running by the end of the month. they're slightly changing their pro direction on that. there is still trouble with these website and the figures lower than the administration, which