there is so much focus on harbin and the residents there with the pollution. yes, i just came back from other cities that are deeply enshrouded in smog and many areas of china are affected by the same area pollution problem. the thing that china has now compressed over a century of industrialization and urba urbanization until a few decades, and now with all of the pollution. secondly, the rise of the middle class and everybody wants a car, and rising explosion of car ownership. there are more cars in china than in america. and thirdly china relies still on coal. coal accounts for 95% of energy demand, and all of this is highly pol polluting. and it has been combined with the weather conditions so you have a situation where the whole city is now being shutdown. it's a very serious challenge to the sustainability of china's economic bold. >> andrew, how do citizens react? we hear about schools being closed, and how does the government react? >> when you have cities shutting down everyone is affected, and the government is worried because nowadays all the party

but in harbin in northeast china, the pollution has been off the charts. dense, acrid, smog brought this city of 10 million to a standstill. schools are shut, dozens of flights canceled, highways closed. visibility down to almost zero. pollution, 40 times the who recommended standard. the local government blamed it on harbin's coal-powered central heating turned on over the weekend. but critics say china's pollution is a terrifying side effect of the country's decades long obsession with growth. weary of social unrest, communist party officials have announced new stringent measures. they want to meet their own acceptable standards by 2020, w.h.o. standards by 2050. >> you you have to breathe through your nose. >> that's good nose for lau's growing business. he's struggling to keep up with demand. catering to all kinds of tastes. is heing a product for the new reality of china. >> do you think people are getting used to wearing something like this? >> i think it's okay. >> it's a reality that could last for decades. david mckenzie, cnn, beijing. >> a new re

. >>> severe smog has smothered china's north eastern city harbin. air traffic has been interrupted and schools have suspended classes. the schools remained closed for a second straight day. poor visibility at the international airport caused cancellations of flights. particles called pm 2.5 are far above national standards. they are considered harmful to health. air pollution in the northeast is severe enough to break measuring equipment. the rise in pollution may have been caused by the city's coal burning heating system recently started. they say farmers burning corn sta stalks after the season are causing problems. >>> firefighters in eastern australia are trying to make every minute count working to contain wildfires. flames have burned through vast tracks of land and destroyed more than 200 homes. one has died. nhk world reports from sidney. >> reporter: some 60 wildfires are burning in australia's state of new whales. some people have been told to evacuate their homes and head to shelters. firefighters have been trying to keep the fires from m

they say they expect more smog to cover the city of harbin. fine particles in air have left residents in a haze. the density in some locations was 38 times the level considered safe by the world health organization. poor visibility on monday shut down the international airport and kept buses off the road. in harbin, city officials closed most schools. the weather in the region has turned colder. some experts blame the pollution on an increase in the burning of coal to heat homes and other buildings. the heating system kicked in on sunday. the forecasters predict light winds during the day will not be strong enough to clear the smog away. >>> a suicide bomber has blown up a bus in southern russia. the explosion killed six university students and hurt at least 30 other people. the attack occurred on a bus. witnesses said a female passenger detonated the bomb then flames engulfed the vehicle. authorities are investigating whether islamic extremists might be involved. militants in southern russia have said they want to disrupt the 2014 winter olym

. >> we are thousands of miles from harbin and we couldn't see far across the harbor. the particulate matter was at 1,000. to give you some depth of that, 300 is considered hazardous, you can imagine at 1,000 the air was considered not only toxic but deadly in harbin today. most of china is fueled in terms of energy by coal-thermal power stations. people use coal to cook in stoves and ovens which causes very heavy particulate matter and causes a great deal of respiratory issues. it's become an increasing problem which china will have to tackle because this sort of issue also creates a great deal of social unrest. >> the housing market could have been cooling off a bit. sales of existing homes fell in september for the first time in three months. sales dropping nearly 2%. higher mortgage rates and home prices are blamed for the decline. analysts are warning that this could be the start of a weak trend in the market. >> housing indicators some slowing from the torrid pace that we have witnessed over the course of recent months and quarters with respect to improvements in

administrators in harbin have closed all primary and middle schools. and officials suspended bus services. they began providing central heating to homes over the weekend. some say a sharp rise in the amount of coal burned for the service is causing the smog. >>> a series of suicide bombings in iraq has killed at least 50 people and wounded 70. sectarian violence has been escalating and sunnis are increasingly frustrated with the primarily shia government. one of the attacks took place at a cafe in southern baghdad on sunday night. security authorities say the blast killed at least 37 people and injured 42. the authorities say the cafe in the mainly shia district of the capital was led by a group leading to al qaeda. bombings in a town 300 kilometers northwest of baghdad and another north of the capital killed at least ten people and injured dozens. >>> gunmen have attacked wedding guests at a church near cairo, killing at least four people, including an 8-year-old girl. egyptian security authorities say two masked men on a motorcycle opened fire. 17 pe

the air was considered not only toxic but deadly in harbin today. and most of china is fueled in terms of energy by coal-thermal power stations. likewise people use to cook coal stoves and ovens which creates very heavy particulate matter, and causes a great deal of respiratory problems, many hundreds of thousands of people die each year due to pollution and it's becoming an increasing problem which china will have to tackle. because this issue also creates a great deal of social unrest. >> ah yes, jessica is here now with your sports headlines. >> thank you sthank you very mu. the colts got a huge win over their form he quarterback andrew luck's favorite target is done for the season. chicago bears are also going to lose their favorite defensive weapon, jay cutler. and tigers managers jim leyland stepped down as the manager of the tigers following detroit's al championship loss to boston. the 68-year-old manager saying he is not retiring, he just doesn't want to be in the dugout anymore. >>> and the nfl has lost one of its long time owners. bud ada

. >> reporter: mark harbin was piloting the other boat with his grandchildren. and in court, dwyer's attorneys said it was mark harbin's fault for the accident. >> being drunk and speeding, seems to me to be ray crime. >> it would have been nice for him to acknowledge what happened and stop denying. acknowledge. stop denying. had he not been driving drunk, the accident probably would not have happened. >> once you admit you're an exactly alcoholic, it doesn't ga. -- go away. >> hey will take judge cliff's words and put them into action by making sure that he remains sober for the rest of his life. >> reporter: or at least the next three years he's on probation. the judge ordered him to stay out of any place that serves or sells alcohol. step inside. the judge said he will sentence dwyer to a year in jail. >> reporter: well, dwyer will be allowed to serve his 60 days on weekends, beginning next mont. and he must also continue using an alcohol sensor tied into his ignition. >>> as for his political future, his lawyer says he plans to continue serving out his term

. >> reporter: mash harbin was piloting the other boat. and in court, he said it was harbin's fault. >> being drunk and speeding, seems to be a crime. >> it was nice for him to -- would have been nice for him to apologize. what happened? stop denying? the accident probably wouldn't have happened. >> once you're willing to admit you're an alcoholic, it's not something that goes away. it's something you deal with the rest of your life. >> reporter: dwyer's efforts to do that helped the jail time go down. >> he said he will take judge cliff's words and put them into action, by making sure he remains sober for the rest of his life. >> reporter: at least the next three years he's on probation. the judge ordered him to stay out of any place that serves or sells alcohol. step inside, the judge said he will sentence dwyer to a year in jail. >> reporter: well, dwyer will be allowed to serve 60 days on weekends. and that will begin next month. he must also continue using an alcohol sensor tied to his car's emission. >> as to his political future, dw

. >> reporter: mark harbin was piloting the other boat with his grandchildren. and in court, they said it was harbin's fault, the accident happened. >> be speed and to be drunk and not even to be watching where you're going, seems to me to be a crime. >> would have been nice for him to arc knowledge, a -- acknowledge, apologize, stop denying and apologize for what happened. had he not been driving drunk, the accident probably would not have happened. >> once you're willing to admit you're an alcoholic, it's not something that goes away. it's something you deal with the rest of your life. >> reporter: dwyer's efforts to do that helped the jail time go down. >> he will take the judge's words and put them into action by making sure he is sober for the rest of his life. >> reporter: at least the next three years on probation. he is ordered to stay away from any place that sells alcohol. step inside, and the judge says he will serve a year in jail. >> reporter: dwyer will begin his weekends on the 9th. >> dwyer says he plans to continue serving out his term as a dele

in harbin the unhealthy fog also lead to schools being closed public bus routes not being used and the airport needing to stop operations. breathing is also a problem. the pollution levels in many areas are going beyond hazardous on international measuring scales. the accuse pollution is also a political issue. the smog has become a symbol of excess and feeds in growing public anger. information on pollution levels and its effect on health is now easily available. the central government needs to show sthat serious about handling the problem. it is pushing for a shift to cleaner engive and will allocate over $800 million as further incentive to regions that reduce pollution by the end of the year. >> [ inaudible ] for instance [ inaudible ] china, by reducing this overcapacity, we actually save a lot of energy use, and then china has to have a lot of potential on energy efficiency. and that's another solution for china. >> reporter: much has to change in china and change quickly. the world health organization recently reported that air pollution leads to cappencer. it's time now to turn

> reporter: he was piloting the other boat with his grandchildren in court, his lawyers said it was harbin's fault. >> to speed and be drunk and not watching where you are going? >> apologized and stop denying acknowledge what happened? stop denying had he not been drunk the action probably wouldn't have happened. >> once you are willing to admit you are an alcoholic it is not something that goes away. >> reporter: his efforts to do that helped keep his jail time down. >> if he takes the judges words and put them into action making sure he remains sober the rest of his life. >> reporter: or at least the next three years he is on probation. he is ordered to stay out of any place that serves or sells alcohol. step inside he will sentence him to a year in jail. he will serve his 60 days on weekends beginning november 9th back to you. >>> as to his political future his lawyer says he plans to continue serving out his term as a delegate to anne arundel county. >>> crackdown on the roads, state troopers on the lookout for drivers who violate the move over law this after several of their own are in

. >>> and one of china's largest cities harbin shut down because of choking smog, and declaring air pollution as a major cause of cancer. those are the headlines. i'm tony harris in new york city. inside story is next on al jazeera. >> the nation's biggest bank may be on the verge of paying the biggest penalty t to date in the wake of the financial markets collapse. that's tonight's "inside story." >> hello, i'm libby casey in washington. in the five years since the mortgage security meltdown triggered the financial crisis and the great recession many have wondered whether the big banks on wall street will ever be held responsible for their role. the answer is yes. according to insider reports, an agreements with struck between bank ceo jamie dimon and eric holder. if it holds up homeowners could get relief and the bank could still be subject to criminal prosecution. jp morgan chase reached a tentative deal with the justice department on friday. it finalized an agreement that was hashed out for months, that would settle a longstanding issue of toxic mortgages leading up to the crash, but it w

. >> reporter: a thick blanket of smog cloaked the city of harbin for three straight days this week. bility in some areas was less than ten meters. local media reported that the level of pollution was too high for measuring equipment to read. the air quality in beijing is not much better. the chief concern is tiny air pollutants known as pm 2.5. they're just 1/30th the width of a human hair, which means they can penetrate deep into the lungs. >> translator: we don't go out when the air looks highly polluted. i only take my son out to the park on clear days. >> reporter: beijing officials on tuesday announced new countermeasures. from now on, air pollution warnings will include a forecast for how long the smog will linger. if the forecast predicts extreme conditions for three days or longer, officials will order a 50% reduction in vehicle traffic. they will also shut down public schools and some factories. >> translator: we ask citizens not only to protect themselves, but to cooperate in protecting the environment by reducing pollutants. >> reporter: the weather is getting colder. coa

pollution is in the city of harbin. it is more than 30 times the level considered safe. in some areas, visibility is less than a hundred feoffment >> unbelievable. >> yeah. don't complain next time you have to get your car smogged. >> exactly, right. you don't want that. it was their first cold morning. people thought it was a blizzard outside. it wasn't snowing. it was smog. >> dirt. >> pretty nasty stuff. >>> we have fog around here. big difference when it comes to air quality. you will start off foggy because it's already foggy outside right now. looking outside hsuan fran weave had low cloud cover and fog pretty much all evening long. that will just continue to spread as we roll through the night and into tomorrow morning a foggy start throughout the bay area. let's talk temperatures for you and what you'll have when the kids head off to school tomorrow. another chilly one, fremont down to 46. natural pa, santa rosa not only will it be chilly for you but you're under a dense fog advisory. all of our north bay valleys including napa and sonoma, marin, as well. visibil

harbin, china, a home to more people than live in the entire state of new jersey frozen in a soup. on the roads, it's hard to even make out red from green traffic lights. warnings to stay indoors. for those venturing out a mask is the only defense. winter is the start of smog season in china. billowing coal used for heat. some say the smog is nearly five times as bad as today's reading in bakersfield, california. america's smoggiest spot. in the capitol city of beijing, headlines last january, smog so bad it was hard to see the sun. your eyes itched and throat burned. watch me wipe a thin layer that's accumulated on most cars. that's soot and grime. this is my own air purifier. watch this. look, that's what we're breathing in beijing. one expert told me it's like becoming an instant smoker. in china today a mind blowing 1.2 million premature deaths are blamed on air pollution. it's being called an air-pocalypse and with winter setting in the forecast is only for more smog. gloria riveria, abc news, beijing. >>> from china to mexico, look there, off the coast, churning in the pacifi

but on tell harbin to washington d.c. and here's what's coming up tonight on the big picture. joe mccarthy were alive today chances are you've been pretty jealous of carson.

. >> reporter:these are images from the city of harbin, which is about 600 miles northeast of bejing. a lack of wind and high humidity combined with pollution from coal fired power plants and burning farm fields has created this very thick smog. >> reporter:cars and busses are getting lost, roads are closed, this is a shot from the airport where you can barely see the planes. >> reporter:now, the pollution isn't just an inconvenience, the particulate matter here has reached as high as 1000 micrograms per cubic meter. the world health organization considers anything over 300 to be hazardous. they say that severe respiratory problems could develop if this goes on much longer. >> reporter:even though these pictures are from thousands of miles away some of this smog could eventually reach our shores. scientists have long known that westerly wind flows across the pacific carry chinese pollution in our direction but in a study published earlier this year, researchers revealed just how bad the problem is. scientist studied six months worth of air samples taken from the chabot observatory and

. >>> the northeastern city of harbin is blanketed, more than three times what the world health organization considers hazardous. those are the headlines. "consider this" is up next. get the latest news online at aljazeera.com. ♪ >>> a bribery scandal could sink several top u.s. naval commanders. charges that navy ships were sent to certain ports in asia in exchange for high-priced trips, tickets to shows, and even prostitution. are we seeing a worrisome growing trend? plus an nsa faux pas causes an american riff in paris. president obama has to do damage control. >>> and a new nightmare for american parents kids connect with friends over social media, but are the popular websites forcing preteens into very question super boablebehavior. >>> we begin with the allegations of a major scandal in the navy. as serious as these allegations are, al jazeera reports, they are from the only scandals to year. >> reporter: according to federal prosecutors the chief executive of glen defense asia pried navy officers with cash, tickets, luxury hotel rooms, and in exchange they provided inside informatio

index measuring pollution reached levels of 1,000 in the city of harbin. to put that in perspective, a level above 300 is hazardous. the world health organization is recommending a daily level no more than 20. the levels forced schools to close and roads closed and shut down the airport. boy. melissa: amazon is making a amazing move to cut out the competition. actually moving into warehouses to get products straight from the source. it's genius! how does it help your bottom line? we'll explain. >>> plus, you think wal-mart is old school? it is ramping up efforts to engage with social media. what it is doing could be a model for your business. don't go anywhere. do you ever have too much money? [ male announcer ] the founder of mercedes-benz once wrote something on a sheet of paper and placed it in his factory for all to see. ♪ four simple words where the meaning has never been lost. the challenge always accepted. and the calling forever answered. ♪ introducing the all-new 2014 s-class. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. melissa: so you probably don't

check out shares of harbin international. it reported profits and sales helped along by demand for higher-end audio from higher-end carmakers like ferrari and daimler, the makers of mercedes-benz. an interesting tidbit, german automakers make up about one-third of sales at harman. back to you. >>> another fun fact if you've been living under a rock, today is halloween. that's the whole intro i have for you. roll the tape. >> the markets are starting resemble a bubble. >> we might be in a bubble. >> i think the markets are bubbling, and all asset prices are bubbling. >> don't let your family suffer the same fate. >> profit margins are bubbling. >> too violent, too deadly for you to imagine. >> let me throw out something that will be her rhettetical. margin debt is at historic levels. >> i think it's going to force the federal reserve to push off the tapering at the very least to march but maybe as late as june. >> no! no! no! no! >> they're here. >> wow, spooky, spooky. kelly he have abevans, bubble, toil and trouble? >> just

. >> reporter: people >> ifill: people in harbin, china, faced a blanket of toxic smog today that set new records. authorities shut down schools and grounded flights, after air pollution levels soared to 40 times the international standard. the region has entered its "high-smog season," as more coal is being burned for heating. we'll have more on this, later in the program. evacuees who lived near japan's fukushima nuclear plant could wait three more years before they go home. the environment ministry said today they're delaying cleanup for six of the 11 affected villages, as they determine where to store and dispose of contaminated waste. an earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown of three reactors at the plant in march 2011. wall street had a quiet day to begin the week. the dow jones industrial average lost seven points to close at 15,392. the nasdaq rose five points to close at 3920. also ahead on the newshour, how the stumbling rollout of healthcare.gov could slow the enactment of the affordable care act; an update on gay marriage in the states; bringing back detroit from ban

welcome back to the big picture i'm john harbin coming up in this half hour late last month former republican congressman tom de lay had his money laundering convictions overturned by a texas appeal court and now there are fresh accusations that he was part of a criminal conspiracy that helped to land a democratic lawmaker in jail i'll talk with brad friedman of the brad log to get the scoop on what that may mean for jailed former alabama governor don siegelman and as the government shutdown grinds along democrats are really blaming republicans for brain our country to its knees but in reality republicans are just a puppet that's it yours doing the bidding of the people who are really in control of capitol hill and no it's not the builder burgers or on that internets do. you know the news late last month former republican congressman tom de lay's twenty ten money laundering convictions were overturned by a partisan three judge texas appeals court panel meanwhile former democratic governor of alabama done siegelman is still sitting in jail serving a six and a half year sentence at a federal co

harbin near the russian border is home to 11 million people. dennis: can the states do it better than the feds? former utah governor and health and human services former secretary mike leavitt says the answer is yes when it comes to reducing health care costs and he joins us next. lori: tough week for the dollar. why fiscal monetary policy working against the greenback, as we head off to break. dollar and how it is faring against major trading partners. back in a moment. [ woman ] if you have the audacity to believe your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ woman ] if you have the nerve to believe that cookie cutters should be for cookies, not your investment strategy. if you believe in the sheer brilliance of a simple explanation. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do: face time and think time make a difference. join us. [ male announcer ] at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing. [ male announcer ] at edward jones, help the gulf when we made r

credit agreement worth up to $1 in chin smog in china is smothering and thus northeast and city of harbin. you can see just how does it is. some areas of the city had visibility down to less the 65 ft.. some people out walking or mask over their mouths, and drivers who braved the road used their hazard lights. schools were ordered to suspend classes' and flights were canceled. >> twisitter has secured a credit agreement worth up to $1 billion. the company will now have more financial flexibility going into the highly anticipated ipo. twitter has yet to set the exact price or timing for its market debut but it is widely expected to be complete by thanksgiving. its shares will trade on the new york stock exchange under the ticker "twtr". twitter also said in the filing that it expects to close on its acquisition of mobile advertising exchange mopub in november. >> there is some good nils on college tuition. the cost has gone up but not as much as in past. the college board says the the average public cost for in-state students to attend a 4 year college is to a a $47 more this year and now

air pollution virtually shutting down harbin, china. thick smog is responsible that is the air at ground level! thick smog closing area seals and airport causing huge traffic jams on a index that measures particles in the air the world health organization recommends no higher than 20. anything over 300, that's dangerous. the level there, some parts of the of city reaching 1,000. this pollution is expected to last 24 hours. dennis: wow. let's carbon emissions as we do in the u.s. as we do every 15 minutes let's check in with nicole petallides rat the new york stock exchange with today's winners. >> we're watching netflix later today. the stock is up over $16 at 350.08. that is a gain of 5%. the stock is hitting a all-time high which is worth noting. it's a real winner up 27% for the year 2013. "house of cards" and others that they have a lost original programing and boosting what they offered to their subscribers. three emmys. "after the bell", we'll watch netflix and some others very closely in the 4:00 p.m. show as we get in the number

harbin, china, a home to more people than live in the entire state of new jersey, frozen in a soup. on the roads it is hard to make out red from green traffic lights. warnings to stay indoors. for those venturing out, mask is the only defense. winter is the start of smog season in china. some measurements from the smog are five times as bad as bakersfield, california, america's smoggiest spot. in beijing, headlines last january. smog so bad it was hard to see the sun. your eyes itched and throat burned. watch me wipe a thin layer that accumulated on cars. that is soot and grime. this is my own air purifier. watch this. that is what we are breathing in beijing. one expert told me it is like becoming an instant smoker. in china today, a mind-blowing 1.2 million premature deaths are blamed on air pollution. it is called airpocalypse. and with winter setting in, the forecast is only for more smog. gloria rivera, abc news, beijing. >> stunning. >>> the usually sunny pacific coast of mexico will get a healthy dose of rain today thanks to hurricane raymond. the storm is stationary with win