welcome to al jazeera america. here are the stories we are following for you. >> we are very pleases we remain very concerned about the need to add jut the city's debt. >> detroit gets the go ahead to file for bankruptcy. the white house prepares to hard sell the affordable care act, again, and the family of allen gross fights to bring him home for cuba. detroit has officially become the largest city in u.s. history to enter bankruptcy. a federal judge has ruled

that the motor city is eligible for protection under chapter nine of the bankruptcy code. the decision clears the way for the city to deal with billions of dollars in debt. but it will also have far reaching implications for its kress tors and pensioners. i have been in touch with legal experts that they thought this was is jut come, and they were right. now there is a goaling that we know where the city of detroit stands now let's move forward. and that was the point that they made during the press conference shortly after the judges ruling. we have a lot of work ahead of us, i would ask our creditors none of

which filed objection to our eligibility, but equally our labor partners top to come forward with us and take this opportunity even in the process of litigation and appeals to get at the sorely needed reform that this city has to achieve, so we can move forward. >> when orr made this filing back in july, unions came out saying that pensions were protected and i think if anything what shocked people is know that's not the case. now, they are down right terrified because it sounds like cuts are inevitable. his determine up is up in desks but he also addressed the issue, and he understands that he said that he understands that there's a lot of

pain that goes through this, but that now there's a start for a new beginning. take a listen. >> it is a process that i think we need to take a lot of care there will be pain. for a lot of different people. but in the long run, i think the future of the city will be bright. there are a lot of positive things that are now happening. there are things that are in cue that will happen in 2014. and once again we all need to get into the same boat pull together as tough as it will be as important of the future of the city. is that we get this behind us. >> they know they stand but they are not giving up without a fight. i did speak with a representative and she said they have already filed their appeal. so this is just another legal battle. >> what are we expecting

to hear from the president today. >> it is simply going to be the president making an effort to turn the page. touted all of the things we have heard more times before. >> the bill was even passed at the bill signing and crier callly every day since then. they hope to have that behind them, now the president will be talking about those items that he sees them. no lifetime limits on insurance, you cannot be barred from buying insurance, because of preexisting conditions. you can stay on your parents policy up to the age of 26. many people are familiar with it, and many are not. and with three weeks to go now, december 23rd being the deadline by which everybody who enters those exchanges

via the website, or some other means wants insurance by january 1st, the day that the affordable care act, and let's see if president obama still calls it obama-care, we haven't heard him use it lately, but this is crunch time. going back on offense and trying to turn the page over the last two months. we will also make an impact on how it is making a difference. the benefits of these protections will only accumulate in the weeks and months ahead. some of them i just mentioned.

people gather near the white house today to call on president obama to do more to help treat allen gross. the american contractor has been held in a cuban prison for four years. he was there to set up internet service. but cuba says it was part of a blot to undermine its government. he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in jail. libby casey joins us now, libby, what happened at the vigil that was held today. >> allen gross lives outside of d.c., and he was very involved in the jewish community, and what he had gone down to do was set up internet hubs. he was a sun con track for the u.s. government,

the agency for international development. so judy gross, just says that her husband was doing his job and time for the u.s. government to get more active and more involved in bringing him hold. she wants to put a personal face to the story. by now after 2004 years in a cuban prison he has changed. he has lost a lot of weight, he is not the man he used to be, and she is doing everything she can to pressure president obama to get more involved. >> i unction that he made an appeal on this the four year anniversary of his detention? is. >> and he says that he feels abandoned by the u.s. government. he also points out in the letter that u.s. officials have gone to measures in the past to try to free american

whose are imprisoned abroad. and he talked about his current conditions. he says he spends nearly 23 hour as day in his cell, in his cuban detention center, and he just talks about the physical toll it has taken. also the emotional toll. he is in his 60's, and he just wants to come home. once again trying to make that personal connection to the president. >> okay, reporting from washington, thank you. hi has supported gorillas during the korean war. former members of that group were expecting to meet merrell newman at the airport when he learned of his detention. newman was arrested more than a month ago, moments before his plane was scheduled to take off. he served there the korean war, and authorities say they are holding him there to investigate war crimes. he was shown on north korean t.v. reading what korean officials said was an apology, the u.s. calling for his immediate release.

>> a french team investigating the test of former palestinian leader says he was not poisoned but dies of a brain hemorrhage. the finding co tradition a swiss study that al jazeera reporting on. reggers say they found high levels of the radio active element polonium 210 in statutes of his ribs and hips. the widow disagrees with the findings. can plant to what extent i'm upset by these contradictions regarding the best experts on the matter. what should one think? the french findings bring little closure nearly ten years after his death. there's a major change in the way the taye government is handling the on going protests.

and allow them on to government property. this change comes as authorities try to bring order the capitol after ten days of protests. here is how the clashes started. it began with fighting between the establishment, again to the four supporters of the current prime minister. and her brother, a former prime minister. chef ousted in a military coupe in 2006, and now lives in self-imposed exile. he is widely seen as the power behind the current government. many accuse the government of corruption, and undermining the monarch question. >> it was expected to be another violent day, riot police and antigovernment protestors plan to trade tier gas and rocks. outside the headquarters of the police. >> instead they work together to around the

corner, there was a similar scene. the protestors were allowed to pass through the wattle line. >> those try to push the political change were unable to enter the ground of the government. >> to the ground of government now. and now antigovernment protestors are about to storm in. they were told by their leaders not to enter the building itself. instead they enjoy add brief stay on the lawn in what was clearly a year graphed moment, after an hour they left. >> . >> this government has no right to run the country.

that's why it's time people cake here to show their power. it is a symbol we own the country. >> but the goal of removing the government hasn't been reached. the prime minister is sill in charge. where she talked to the head of the army. they have been involved in talks between the opposing sides in recent days. it seems they won't back down for long. they claim add partial victory and repeated his well worn line that the governments must go. >> at the end of a confusing day, cleaners moved into the area around the office. but the protestors are still on the streets and the government is still in power. leaving people here no closer to a clear outcome. >> a similar situation in ukraine where there's been nearly two weeks of antigovernment protests,

texass remain high. the opposition called for the vote because the current president blocked a deal calling for closer ties with the e.u. the latest. >> ukraine's parliament is no strange tore angry scenes and on the day the government survived a vote on a motion calling for them to resign, things got heated once again lines of riot police where are on hand to hold back protestors who want this administration gone, though at times it seems calmer outside than in. >> the government should resign, because it is not fulfilling its duties. there are barricades outside key buildings and thousands still in the square. >> it is not the primary

concern, thousands of protestors in the square. what care most about is removing president from power. and they say they are not going to leave the streets until they have done that. >> they have biology to china on a schedule diplomatic visit. they fear there will be a crack down abroad, but at the moment, there's a stalemate with neither government nor the protestors showing signs of giving up. al jazeera. nigerian authorities have posted a 24 hour curfew after an armed group attacks several military facilities. the military says dozens attacked an air force base. personals say 24 insurgents were killed along be two air force personnel. the military also says several aircraft were either damaged or

destroys in the attack. the u.s. vice president has offered words of reassurance to japan, on tuesday. he said he is deeply concerned about china's actions in introducing this new air defense nobody is quite sure what it means but obviously there's a grave risk of some kind of accident when the chinese side and the japanese side. so the fact that joe biden has come out quite so strongly, in support of japan, should serve as a strong message to china to reflect on its actions. joe biden also said today quoting the words of his father, there's nothing worse than an intentional war than an unintentional one.

and obviously that reflects again the great concerns that people have about thens thats of an accident between aircraft between different nations and what that might mean in the future should that happen. >> stephanie reporting. >> one man's claims of being racially profiled over 200 times. next on al jazeera america. reports of a police department singling out people at a convenient store p p lap weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america

investigation recently revealed that for years the miami gardens police department racially profiled clients and employees of one particular convenient store. a closer look at one man that has been searched over 250 times. it was the summer of 2012, the 28-year-old was stocking soda at the quick stop in miami gardens. you can see a police officer come inside, and arrest sampson while at the store. police call the area a hot spot for crime. known for drugs and loitering. they don't buy that sampson is actually an employee. he was charged with trespassing and spent that night in jail. he says while he does have a small rap sheet, he has never commit add felony, yet he says in the last four years miami gardens police officers have stopped him 258 times for petty crimes

such as trez passing and loitering. and arrested him 52 times. often while he is doing his job. >> i am just an animal. >> his boss is fed up. he alleges the police department is engaged in rampant racial profiling of sampson and his customers. he also claims that his store was subjected to unlawful searches. so he installed 16 surveillance cameras to keep an eye not on criminal activity but the police. >> it is saturday, because but the way the police officer was abouting to this commute was really sad. >> they won't say much about the case, due to the pending federal civil rights lawsuit hi filed against the department, the department had also been conducting its own investigation.

it says it uses data not profiling to fight crime. >> if you have a black chief, african-american mayor, african-american city manager, that does not make sense in a prodetermine innocently african-american city. >> i know the department didn't do inning wrong. >> he initially agreed to participate in the program. because of the crime in the area, it is an aggressive approach, which focuses on targeting small crimes like trespassing to prevent bigger ones. six years ago it was the 13th most violent city, last year it drops. >> police must take any concerns about racial profiling very seriously. or lose trust. >> by abusing the rights

you ail len nate communities and this is a breeding ground for crime. >> disenchanted he has now dropped out of the zero tolerance program, as for sampson, he says he now looks at the police as a potential jailer, not a protector. >> al jazeera, miami gardens. >> the record setting streak on wall street is quickly fading from memory. the dow down right now 142 points. another losing session would be the third in a row for the blue chips and that hasn't happened since late september. the protection bureau will now be looking at companies that service the majority of those loans. also already overseas banks. thanks to a boot from

small phones cyber monday sales jumped 21% this year, that's a much slower pace than in recent years. by the way, 17 pest of all sales were on handheld devices. and to reach that goal, some people are trading on their 401 k funds. that's getting a thumbs up from a lot of investors, but a thumbs down from financial companies. >> the stop of my list, china, antarctica, and i want to go to them freely, and not worrying about pensioning pennys. >> sandy arc single mother who does not believe social security will be around when she retires has been saving

money 410 k for 20 years. even though she pays close attention to the market, and managing the fund, she realized that the rate her money was growing she couldn't possibly have enough for her golden years. in sedge for more, she let compass investors and it starts by looking at people from an individual basis. the strategy get to that magic number as quickly as possible. and gives you traders every three weeks. it also tells them to bypass funds if you don't hold them for more than five weeks. >> i want to provide income forever, and you can do that by growing your accounts large enough, and then putting them into guarantees vehicles that will pay you essentially in interest everything that you would have been getting from your salary.

>> compass which charged 600-dollars a year is not the only player in this space. active 401 k live be you suggestions. easy tracker suggests monthly trades for $85 a year. maximizer does the same for about $100 a year. >> unlike compass, the lower costs offer generally trading and it is up to you to pick a strategy. critics point out these companies and their trading advice is not regulated and they are not held accountable for what they say and do. >> you are not giving me time to let my pieces play out to see that i was right, because you are forcing me to sell the position. >> this manager's job is to create opportunities that are going to be useful for somebody who is 22.

or somebody that is 65 and about to retire. they are not looking at sandy. >> making toys in prison, coming up on al jazeera america, inmates help out local charities.

jazeera america.to al

here are today's headlinings. a judge has ruled the city of detroit is eligible for bankruptcy. >> the city may cut the pensions as well as workers. president obama is congressional democrats are trying to reshape the debate over the affordable care act. they will launch an effort to explain the benefits and why it was passed. the president is scheduled to speak in a few minutes. vice president joe biden is in japan, voicing his solidarity with the american allies. at issue china's claim they own air space over disputed islands. the u.s. will not tolerate what he calls the aggressive move, and says he will deliver that message directly to beijing. a big storm will impact much of the country in different ways over the next few days. right now bringing arctic

air, and pulling warm up from the south. right in the middle we will see that storm continue to develop. as the storm really intensifies tuesday and wednesday. here is the front. two blast we will call it, and then the temperatures will really drop along the wind chill. kit be down to 20, 30, even 30 we low zero along with the snow coming down. three to six inches in north dakota. another storm developing could dump a foot in colorado, these are the wind chills by wednesday evening, 20 to 30 below zero. gets even colder wednesday to thursday morning. now the next part of the storm will be that cold air moving to texas but this front stalls out and becomes stationary. sits over the same area, and then we get warm air coming up at the surface.

thursday and friday, these temperatures are high, 50 to 60 degrees ahead of this front, and you have 20 to third around chicago and ten to 20 of that wind chill about 30 degrees below zero thursday. by friday and sank, it is always the coast bringing rain to new york and new england, follows by a little chill, you will notice by saturday and sunday, the temperatures going from the 50's, back into the 30's. thank you. >> some louisiana prison inmates are doing their part to help children in need this holiday season. at the louisiana state penitentiary have volunteered to make christmas presents for needy children. the toys will be distributed by law enforcement groups to churches and other charities. the prisoners make an estimated 5,000 toys every year. thank you for watching al jazeera america, stephanie cy earth rise

is next, and you can get updates throughout the day on aljazeera.com. . (footballnames.ecl) i'm amanda purr row. >> i'm in the jordan valley looking at how simple principles are bringing the desert to life. >> i'm in new york, where