>> good evening everyone welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. weapons end up in the wrong hands and concern grows for ref yorefugees. person of the year, pope francis collects another honor, why he has quickly become a superstar. plus. >> they are using our members and they're using the mairch people for their own -- american people for their own goals. >> conservatives support the new budget agreement, the vote is less than a day away. and posttraumatic stress,

both civilians and service members are suffering, the technology that can help. >> we begin tonight with confusing and conflicting developments in syria's civil war. some of the nonlethal military help the u.s. has been sending to syrian rebels may have gotten into the long hands. fighters are now control of warehouses full of weapons. hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled the violence. nisrsreeen of al jazeera has the report. >> this is where the majority of

destitute syrian refugees, have built this flimsy accommodation themselves because they can't afford to pay rent. >> look how bad it is here. the children are suffering. we don't have any fuel to keep them warm. there are those who are cold and there are those who are dietion from thdying from the cold. >> reporter: the storm is expected to last through the weekend, the misery of these syrians here are also felt by 280 other tented communities across the valley. those who have not registered with the u.n. refugee agency have yet to receive any aid. >> we arrived yesterday we still need to register with the u.n. agency but the office is so far away from here. we called but nobody answered. maybe it's because of the weather conditions. we don't know what will happen

to us. >> the u.n. agency has been working to provide thermal blankets. but to deliver aid to a large community is a challenge. a better solution is needed. >> what we have done is identify pieces of land that could serve as transit sites where we could build up to standard tents that could host refugees that would be more weather proof. >> but the lebanese government has so far refused to set up rebel camps. that would encourage syrians to stay, just like the palestinian refugees have stayed. a mostly susa mostly sunni popu. >> the united states has already spent $1.4 billion in humanitarian assistance to the syrian people.

but now, the nonlethal pr are aid includes body armor and communications equipment. mike viqueria is in new york. fighting among the syrian rebels is not new. why suspend aid now? >> this has been the subject of debate all throughout the syrian civil war and particularly since last june after that notorious chemical attack, after calls to help the syrian rebels. the argument was, you don't know who you are giving aid to, armaments to, they could fall into the wrong hands. that scenario appears to have actually played out. the islamic front, now seizing a facility, main recipient from the united states, the end response, the united states government has cancelled what in

its terms is nonlethal aid. josh earnest here is how he described the situation. >> we are still gathering facts and consulting with generalidris to inventory the supplies that have been provided. the united states has suspended all further deliveries of nonlethal aid into northern syria. our humanitarian assistance distributed through are organizations including the united nations is not are affected 50 suspension. >> nonlethal aid, how about lethal aid, the administration has not admitted that as going forward. the small munitions were finally starting to flow to rebel forces. they won't comment on that having not acknowledged that to begin with. you are correct, about $1.3 billion in humanitarian aid has gone forward over the last couple of years, that continues

to go forward, that comes from the united states. it's administered by the united states and other organizations, but that nonlethal aid is quasimilitary aid, including vehicles, everything from meals ready to eat, the mres to communications gear, that's the concern right now in those warehouses and fasts in northern syria john. >> what about the rebels the u.s. supports, any response? >> what they've done is asked more time for the situation to become clear. obviously they have become dependent to a certain degree to u.s. aid, u.k. aid and western aid. this is certainly bad news for them even as that rebel front that coalition seems to be splintering, john. >> mike viqueria at the white house, mike thank you. the vatican is home to "time" magazine's person of the year. time chose pope francis as the person who most influenced the

news in 2013. changing the image of the catholic church in a matter of months. young people seem to be noticing. mtv's college network has named the pontiff as their man of the year. wall street journal poll, 57% of americans surveyed said they have a positive impression of the pontiff. only 5% say they view him negatively. b.s. onlieri has nor. >> the 76-year-old pontiff was born in south america. when he was named in march his impact was almost instant. he had earned a reputation for humility and commitment to the poor. becoming pope wouldn't change that. images of him kissing the face of a disfigured man would resonate around the world. kissing the feet of an inmate, and reaching out to all catholics with a survey asking

for their views on controversial issues. and just this month, pope francis set up a commission to address the abuse of children by priests. >> as i think up until now there has been such focus on the judicial parts of this. but the pras o pass pastoral reo that the holy father is concerned about that. >> that alone sets him apart from the 264 popes in front of him. he has replaced the papal mercedes with a discussed up ford focus. the pope adding to his down to earth image recently revealed he was once a bouncer at an argentine night club. more than 3 million people turned out to see him in rio de

janeiro last summer. poan francis was the most popular topic globally on facebook, ahead of the royal baby, prince george, the harlem shake and miley cyrus. reporting a rise of the number of people returning to mass and calling it the fran sick effect. the appeal of pope francis to young people, chris stephaik. chris welcome. >> it's good to be on. >> not since john xxiii has a pope captured the imagination of the u.s. and the world. why do you think that is? >> you know, pope francis without changing any of the teachings of the church, the things that make it a hard sell to the western world, he's really managed to give those teachings a context.

by the way he lives. and by the way he talks about christianity. and that conis the message of the gospel, that god is love and we should be loving and serving the people. a man who lives that out by so much authenticity, it is a universally appealing beauty of that, which is evidenced by "time" magazine's naming him as person of the year. >> there aren't many who view him negatively. but thos who do call him commune it's, and severing the poor, what do you say to that? >> i think 36 church doesn't fit the hyperpoliticized paradigm that we tend to see everything through in american culture. we are not allied to any

political party. we are right of center when it comes to abortion, we're left of center when it comes to immigration and caring for the poor. when it comes to all these ethical issues and care of the poor, the center of teaching is the dignity of the human person. now pope francis he spoke against trickle down economics but not against capitalism. he spoke against an unbridled capitalism that would enable people to trample on the poor. >> how is that going for him now? >> i think he's going to roughly feathers throughout the entire world. i think living christianity in a radical way does. when someone is that powerful in the church and that open, that honest, is going to roughly feathers, but in a beautiful way. we are coming from an area of the church in america when we largely lost our moral compass

when the sexual abuse broke. a lot of that was cut open when francis came on the scene. >> has it really? >> i work in youth ministry and the past 15 years, i tell you what if you want to volunteer to clean up a church now, it's like getting clearance to go into a nuclear facility. we are one of the safest facilities in america when it comes to protecting children. >> while there play have been changes made that there are still lots of secrets in the catholic church about the sex scandals that haven't been revealed and there are plenty of critics of the church in that area as well. do you think he's done enough on that? >> i think he'll continue to do more. much of it has been cleaned up. but i think he is ushering in a new era that's giving our voice back. he's a trustworthy person. people look at him and believe the direction he's going in. even being a bounce ner bouncea

bar, you know what i mean? >> chris thanks very much. >> thank you, it's a good day to be catholic. >> south africans and mourners around the world, bringing nelson mandela to the building where he had been sworn in as the first black leader of south africa. mandela will be laid to rest at his childhood home. nick schiff rin joinrin joins u. >> tonight these areas are shrines. in order to see mandela to acknowledge his sacrifice. >> black and white, young and old, they became came to say

good-bye. >> i can't wait until i see him. >> it's so long. >> it's going to be worth it? >> definitely. definitely. just to have that closure. >> those that spent years with him in jail. >> lot of respect of mandela. >> and those born in the free state mandela helped create. >> even though his spirit is not like really in him, as long as we could see him. >> american ken cook brought his six and nine-year-old girls who are half afrikan. in the morning mandela's body arrived and for nine hours the mood was somber. less about celebrating his life and more about mourning. >> the man who felt for our country, now he's gone. all i can say is rest in peace, madiba. we will remember you each and every day of our lives. ♪ >> a famous singer here, she

calls mandela her ancestor. she'll miss his guidance. >> i feel a little bit sad. who is going to lead us? who is going to lead our children? who is going olead our grandchildren? >> for many parents the answer to that question is mandela himself. >> i think it's important to teach the girls about the legacy that nelson left behind, equality, to be treated as equals, and the one thing i really teach them is you know they talked about black and white. but we're all just different shades of brown. it's important that they are brought up believing that as well. >> they were too young to know him but they, too, seek his guidance. >> i have to say, felt like he was talking to me, next to me, while i was looking at him. >> and what did you think? >> that he died for us. he was a good person, and everyone loved him. >> love is perhaps mandela's biggest legacy, uniting a

country once so divided. >> echoing a long line of voters in 1994, that was the first time that black south africans were able to participate in an election. mandela won that vote. a poignant reminder how far he brought this country and how much south africans have given him in return. >> nick thank you. now some images of wintery weather caught our eye, lake effect snow north of sir queues. lake effect snow happens when colder air moves over a warmer body of water. the ice storms in texas are over for now anyway but look at the fallout, chunks of ice cascading over a rooftop. our own kevin corriveau is here. kevin. >> that's dangerous, do not

stand under a roof when that comes down. this is lake ontario lake erie. when will it end? this is what happens. as john said you have that cold air moving over the warmer waters of the great lakes. now i was checking some of the temperatures of the water. they range from 37° to 46 depending on where you are. the later we go in the winter the temperature of the water comes down and the temperature of lake effect snow gets colder. it doesn't pick up as much moisture and it doesn't drop it on the other side of the lake. so as we go towards later december, january, it's going to be less and less of a factor. right now though toronto, temperatures are 18, can you see albany at 28 -- you can see albany at 28°. still a lot of snow in these areas. especially here just to the east of lake erie, right in this area here another two feet of snow is expected to fall over the next

couple of days but you can see the rest of the east coast is knot looking too bad. we do though have a big storm coming a little later on in the week. john back to you. >> kevin, thank you very much. there's a new rule for police in dallas, texas and quite controversial, it comes after an officer shot a mentally ill man. mark schneider has more. in october a dallas police officer shot and wounded a mental reply ill man seen on surveillance video doing nothing threatening. the officers said the suspect had a knife and lunged at the officer, and the police fired the officer, and a month later the department announced a new policy. the police chief wouldn't talk to us about it but a police union vice president would. >> i think the whole goal is to get what happened, get it right, get it accurate. >> dallas police officers involved in a shooting now have their own right to remain silent

for 72 hours after the incident. >> it's not that they're trying to cover up, or mislead what happened, they legitimately can't remember what happened. >> george milner represents the officer involved in that shooting. >> i think it is geared towards making certain there are no material inconsistencies in any officers' statements that could later be used against the city in civil litigation. >> detective sayer says every officer handles the trauma differently. >> you don't want to rush the investigation for the sake of rushing it. you want the officer to give a good, accurate recollection of what happened. >> i agree with him. but would we do the same thing with every single person who's being investigated for homicide or shooting crime? >> detective sayer says he feels

this will prove to be good for not only the department but the citizens, and will lead to more thorough and accurate investigations. mark schneider, al jazeera, dallas. the first vote on the budget deal could take place tomorrow. have been telling you in the san joaquim river, freeze warnings in effect.

never seen too much in terms of rain. los angeles, you are going to be seeing some beautiful weather all the way to sunday even into the low 70 did or high 60s, partly cloudy conditions, overnight, about 44 degrees. texas also dry for you as well. we saw rain showers and a mix of precip just a little bit up here towards the north. temperatures for dallas at about 42. san antonio at 55. for houston, well, you are going to be seeing rain by the time we end the week. 59 degrees there. >> al jazeera america is

committed to telling the stories of those in the united states, we call it, post traumatic stress disorder, a new research from the rand corporation, civilians in war zones may

suffer more. recreating war zones. lindsey morgan has more. the department of defense is finding encouraging results through participation, the institute for creative technologies has created brave mind, a clinical interactive virtual reality tool. gradually immersed in combat environments. the numerous digital scenarios can be manipulated to recreate the exact location and situation that first brought on a soldier's traumatic stress. jonathan warren is a purple heart vet having served two tours in iraq. has this virtual reality

treatment helped you in terms of coping with the president south? good. >> i knew i was given tools to evaluate what my anxiety was all about. in iraq it's an afternoon and i'm on a no-name route driving enthuse the city, i see that the women and children are all heading back in the house. as soon as i turn right we get hid by an ied. at this moment i woke up, and just surrounded by flames. i just took a deep breath and it just sin singed my lungs. >> lind say, you are a trained

cia operative. yet you were uns comfortable about it. tell us what it was like. >> the thing most astounding to me was not just the visuals but the noises, it put me in a situation like a village situation where you hear loud voices in another language it is very disconcerting. i really felt like i was there and the psychologist actually made a car explode on screen and i jumped. i mean i visibly jumped. also i'm a little bit claustrophobic so i because put in kind of a maze like adobe structure not knowing what was around the corner. even not having war time experiences to draw off, i felt it very unsettling. >> why video games? >> it's interesting. they don't like to call them video games because this is really a treatment. but this is a generation. a generation that has been affected by the ongoing wars. they are kind of comfortable

with video games. they know how to use consoles, they grew up with them. this is a way for many of them to recreate the actual scene of war without having to verbalize it. they give the input and the advanced graphics do the rest. hyper baric chamber treatment, what could once heal visible wounds and physical wounds may be able to heal invisible wounds like traumatic brain injury and ptsd. >> lindsay morgan, great to see you. thrrchtion. >> thanks. >> be sure to tune in to techknow this weekend.

the captain of the asiana flight explains what led to the crash at san francisco airport. plus battle over boeing. states fight over who will get to build its new jumbo jet. and what the british prime minister is saying about that selfie with president obama. the anger all one sided? i hear rumblings from the people who cover the heat that the heat are not in love with players in the payer side, there is real hate here. >> there better be. they can really mess it up for them. when they dislike there, yeah, i think there is dislike but they've got the bravado. they got their chests out. it's still their game. but that's where the home court advantage is important, this game is important because miami used game seven to advance to the championship. they don't get one tonight, i mean, they don't get one in the end, that game seven here in indianapolis could be a problem.

>> welcome back to joorms. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. here are our top stories. thousands of south africans are paying their respect to nelson mandela. thousands of people had to be turned away today because there are too many in line and many long lines are expected thursday. aid is ending up in the wrong hands so the administration is ending nonlethal aid to syrians. lake effect snow warning is in

effect. the heavy snow occurs between that occurs when below-freezing winds blow across the warmer waters of the great lakes. holiday travel means big business especially for the airline industry and new data, into the fatal are asi asiana aircraft creash. >> all aspects of the accident one key focus it became clear today that the pilot who was in command, he was a trainee learning this new jumbo jet didn't fully understand how the cockpit automat automation work. surveillance video showed how

violent the crash was. pilots realized they were coming in too low and too slow. they tried to correct. the tail snapped off sending the plane skidding. three passengers, teenagers died. how pilots use sophisticated cockpit automation. we need to, when it comes to the interaction between the aircraft and the human being. >> in the asiana crash the captain disconnected the autopilot to take over the controls but didn't realize that also disabled the automatic speed control. >> the planes are becoming so automated and they are removing human judgment from so many aspects of flight that pilots

really are becoming somewhat complacent. >> it has been a challenge for other airlines, too. in 2009 an air france jet plunged into the atlantic and a colgan air crash happened in buffalo, partially over confusion about cockpit automation when the autopilot kicked off. just last month the faa issued a report that found that pilots are so reliant on the automated systems on airplanes that they are sometimes losing their skill to actually take over and fly the plane in an emergency. the report said pilots should be given the chance to practice their basic flying skills both in the plane and during training. >> working on manual flying skills is always a good thing and we should continue to make sure that we create opportunities for us to kind of refresh that muscle memory if you will. >> also critical automation design. new documents reveal that even

before the asiana flight. >> as we apply automation to aid the pilot not replace the pilot. >> we should make clear that everyone agrees that automated flight systems has combined to make air travel as safe as it's ever been. >> is this a possibility or an indication that airline pilots are undertrained? >> well, they're definitely looking at the training at asiana, and what pilots have told me they're not necessarily undertrained but it's the kind of training they're getting. they need more training manually

flying these planes and obviously in some cases they need a much better understanding how these systems work. >> lisa stark in washington, lisa thank you. boeing is trying to hammer out a deal to build its newest commercial airplanes. washington state, home to the company's plant is hoping the building stays put. >> the machinists are making it clear they want to build the company's newest plane the 777x. >> i want to keep it here at the time everett factory. >> the contract would have cut health benefits and eliminated benefits for future hires. it would have also assured assembly of the 777x in everett, washington. now the company wants formal negotiations to begin again. 8500 jobs are at stake, and the company has gone shopping, soliciting tbid bids to the assy

line. >> any new vocation to replicate what is here in everett, washington. >> at least 15 states are believed to be part of the bidding war. as ever this week missouri is offering $1.7 billion in tax breaks but wark washington stats offering five times as much. state director of aerospace alex pete says it is a pricey but worthwhile investment in the state's future. >> we think that will yield $21 billion in new revenue to the state over that same 16 year period. >> tax breaks are not the only requirements for state that will ultimately build the 777x. among the requirements, boeing is looking for low-cost land a skilled workforce and a 9,000 foot long runway all of which

the boeing plant in everett has. but they still have yet to come to a contract agreement with machinists and hamilton believes that could be a defining factor on which bid boeing chooses. >> right now, both sides are in their respective corners doing their testosterone battle. who's going to be the one to make the first move? >> losing the 777x would be a devastating blow to washington state. >> it's huge. without the 777x i see the whole plant closing up in a matter of years. >> production beginning in 2017. tanya moseley, al jazeera, everett, washington. >> as of late this evening, the machinists union presented boeing with a preliminary contract they hope will secure the 777 wing, a union representative expects boeing to

respond to the offer on thursday. in washington, d.c, some are calling it a temporary end to partisan gridlock, agreed to a deal to keep the government running for the next two years. the house could hold its first vote on that tomorrow. house speaker john boehner had a stern message for conservative groups that want to vote the deal down. >> they are using our members and using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. >> now the tentative budget deal uses a combination of reforms and nontax revenues like fees to redisor some funding to several programs. they have been hit with mandatory spending cuts known as the sequester. patty culhane reports. >> it becomes washington's dirty word. >> sequester. >> sequester. >> sequester. >> sequester the name of the deal that they approved that cuts most federal programs by about 7%. but this is what it means for

dwight jones on his very first visit to a food bank feeding his three children with charity. >> i basically have been looking for a new position since the end of march. i've not been able to secure a new job yet. and unfortunately, a lot of the financial burdens are piling up right now. >> he says he was a government contractor making a six-figure salary fired because of the sequester. under the new deal they worked out about half of the money from cuts, about $46 billion, will go back into the budget next year, $20 billion more in 2015. that will come from people paying more to fly, a reduction to federal workers, and retirees and doctors and hospitals who treat the poor will get a pay cut. what they couldn't agree to, extending unemployment benefits for people who have been out of work for more than six months. meaning at the end of this month, 1.3 million americans

will stop getting government help. >> the president will continue to advocate for this. there have been a few previous occasions where we've come to the wire on this and through president cajoling and advocating we've gotten movement in washington. >> the bottom line may go up on his getting a job but even if he doesn't need a job, at least a million more people will. patty culhane, al jazeera, washington. >> it's time to go to joie chen on what's coming up on america tonight. joie. >> we'll talk about sexual assault in the military and a shocking number of reports by men who have been victimized. based on information from the pentagon that thousands of men have been sexually assaulted but remain silent sometimes for decades. the impact on their lives could indeed last a whole lifetime and long time struggles with ptsd.

lori jane gliha will give us a look at the therapy that has helped these men move forward with their lives. >> i'm ashamed that we've been talking to victims for the past 40 years, we've been having hearings and nothing has been done and affecting the national defense of our country. >> america tonight's lori jane gliha will join us with her report. that's coming up at the top of the hour on america tonight, john. >> joie, thank you very much. thousands of people showed up in pretoria south africa to view the body of nelson mandela. he had been sworn in as the country's first democratically elected leader. mandela's body will be lying in state until friday, and will be moved to qunu where he will be buried on sunday.

a fake sign language interpreter at monday's mandela service. the man is not recognized as a professional and unknown in the deaf community. the interpreter's hand signals were rubbish and meaningless. david cameron is being criticized for a selfie he took, several british newspapers labeled the incident a huge mistake and disrespectful of mandela. cameron said he was only being polite. >> the television cameras are always on but in my defense, i would say nelson mandela played an extraordinary role in bringing people together. when the member of the kinnet family asked me for a photograph i thought it was only polite to say yes. >> president obama was also criticized by papers like the new york daily news and the washington post.

well, from trash to treasure. detroit's new business of recyclinrecycling old homes. and a rising star is done in d.c. ross shimabuku, explains why the change if direction for the washington redskins. >> they worked side by side for freedom, now president carter talks about mandela's global impact. a revealing interview you won't see anywhere else. >> i've never heard him say, that he was grateful to the united states... >> talk to al jazeera with jimmy carter only on al jazeera america most of the students are black or latino, some with an undocumented parent. none were born with a silver spoon in their house. 98% qualify for free or reduced price launches.

>> the majority of them face a challenge. it may not be their skin colour. it may be socioeconomic status. it may be being homeless. >> the children are quick to connect nelson mandela. >> i heard that he was, r martin luther king in another state. ms klieforth says her students are bringing their personal experiences to the classroom. >> the kids tell stories. i walked into a store and felt like people treated me differently. it. >> it's cool. what he did - he didn't came, if consider this: the news of the day plus so much more. >> we begin with the government shutdown. >> answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what. >> antonio mora, award winning

and hard hitting. >> we've heard you talk about the history of suicide in your family. >> there's no status quo, just the bottom line. >> but, what about buying shares in a professional athlete? >> ross shimabuku is here with sports. big change for the washington redskins. >> we thought it was going to be a coach change but it is a quarterback change. rg 3 is getting hit too often. last time i heard, football is a contact sport!

redskins have lost five in a row, shutting down the reigning quarterback of the year, bottom line rg iii is done for the season. he will be backed up by rex grossman. it was a circus at today's press conference because shanahan's got the some splainin to do. >> talking about the hits that robert has had. any time you're hit as many times as he's been hit, i thought it was in his best interest, the organization, to talk about if we should continue playing robert, if he's hit as many times as he's been hit. and you know, dan thought bit and talked to bruce about it. and at the end of the day, we felt that the best thing to do

for robert was to not play him, tbich kirk an opportunity to play so he could go into an offseason healthy. >> division title throwing 20 touchdowns but in their playoff loss to the seahawks griffin suffered a serious injury, his production has declined since and griffin is not the same player. the most telling stat, he had seven rushing touchdowns last season. this season he had zero. so how did griffin do with this benching? >> we talked. i talked to coach, he talked to me about it. and i expressed my desire to play, you know i of course i want to be out there and finish the season with my guys, see it through. and he explained to me his reasoning and at the end of the day, coach's decision is what we go with. and that's what it's always

been. so you know, i have to do that, i have to sit here and do whatever i can to help kirk, do whatever i can to help this team win and that's what we got to do for the next three weeks going into the off-season. >> dave dire, sports editor for the nation, joins us. i know redskins are 3 and 10 but why is mike shanahan making this move now? >> three reasons. first and foremost shanahan is trying to get fired. he denies that, one more year on his contract, $7 million due if he is fired he gets all that money. the second is: mike shanahan is trying to get fired with his reputation intact. by benching robert griffin, he, first of all, drafting kirk cousins, this guy knows quarterbacks, second it's one last big you-know-what.

by dan schneider, and is repulsed by how close the situation has become between dan schneider and robert griffin iii. >> is r rg iii just a abandon? >> he chose to enter into this very public very buddy buddy relationship with dan schneider, if by all accounts upset the coach and the locker room as well. this is all on dan schneider make no mistake about that, but it does take two to tango, with all the cameras in the public places. i'll say this it's great when you are winning but when you're not, it becomes the front page story about a dysfunctional franchise. >> robert griffin iii, what kind of damage has this done to his

image? >> tremendous damage. robert griffin iii is the inactivity third string quarterback, who would have guessed it this summer when he was in every other tv commercial? what washington football legend brian mitchell always said, if you don't take care of your business on the field first and foremost, the intoarmts are note not going to come. . >> for $7 million, that way he can sit on the beach and collect his money. >> thanks very much. appreciate it. in detroit one of every five houses is vacant. at 75,000 structures, tearing them down has become a top priority for city officials but some entrepreneurs have another idea. david hawkins reports. >> where some people see trash

others see treasure or in the case of these abandoned houses a lumber yard. >> the lumber that weet get out of these old houses is commercially unavailable, it's beautiful stuff. >> chris rutherford founded reclaim detroit, to salvage wood from houses slated for destruction. >> when i first saw this lumber i said, we got to do something, got to be saving this and putting people back to work. >> it costs about $9,000 to demolish a house. many have been stripped by scavengers who steal copper pipes. most abandoned houses still contain about $10,000 worth of lumber, flooring, two by fours and plywood. entrepreneurs want to reclaim that wood and recycle it instead of seeing it wasted and ruined. >> we're doing what we can to snow people the inherent beauty and opportunity within this wood. >> james willer an architect and

third generation master carpenter, designs furniture. >> on a fundamental level to people the natural quality of it, the fact that it just has a story behind it. all of our pieces come with its own unique detroit address. >> more and more, architects and interior decorators are using reclaimed wood for their environmentally conscious clients. >> we are offering species, compared to destroying a rain forest. >> but reclaimed wood is not just about recycling. it creates jobs, they call it deconstruction. >> deconstruction is instead of assembling a house we take it down from the top down. >> it takes more time skill and labor than just knocking it down

and carting the debris off to the landfill. >> we've got six workers on this one right now. it's coming down pretty quickly. just to demolish a house you got a machine and maybe you know two guys, two or three guys. >> before being turned into a cutting board dinin dining tablr counter, every step in the process means more jobs and that's probably what detroit needs just about more than anything else. david hawkins, al jazeera detroit. >> how one town is struggling to rebuild after last month's devastating tornado.

while you were asleep news was happening.

>> some of the most significant weather in the world now is happening in the middle east. we are looking at a major storm system making its way over the mediterranean, affecting hundreds of thousands of syrian refugees living in camps or makeshift tents, to the north in

turkey it's about ten inches of snow has been falling. more to come. the system is making its way across from the mediterranean across the coastline. temperatures are below freezing. wind chill factors are about minus, we're talking about sella very low number. pushing across the area now we're going to be seeing quite a bit of snow coming out of this, in the next day or so. off of lake erie we do expect 20 inches in the next two days. we have warnings in effect and can you see how much it stretches across parts of new york. pennsylvania right now you are fetting out clean from this -- getting out clean from this situation. the warnings and watches that are in effect this will stay at least for the next day. now temperatures across the united states right now are fairly cool but not as cold as

they were for parts of minneapolis right now, 18° there, chicago not far behind at 19. tomorrow, a fairly quiet day, that lake effect will stay in effect, snow to the north but then we get our next weather system on friday. you can see most of the south, the bottom of the mississippi river valley getting some rain, ohio river valley that's where the snow is going to begin. that is going to be the next one we'll watch very carefully. friday into saturday, the system makes its way a little bit to the east, here across new england we do expect to see light snow in new york as well as up towards boston. delays are going to be a problem. john back to you. >> all right kevin thank you. loom month after tornadoes hit illinois people continue to assess the devastation. governor pat quinn says over $1

million will be put towards help. >> after an ef 4 tornado ripped through washington, illinois last month, debris is waiting by the curb for removal, while cox makes plans to reconstruction where her old place stood. >> our kids are grown so our needs are a little bit different. so we'll probably build something a little bit different. >> nearly 600 homes were leveled, another 400 damaged. city crews continue clearing away tons of twisted metal and splintered wood left by the storms. while some neighborhoods look destroyed, others are recovering. insurance agent roger hickman,

says about 270 of his clients, including cox, have gotten money for their damage. hickman says final settlements on properties that need to be rebuilt could take weeks or months. >> the contractor would need to know, hey, this is the house i'm going to build. state farm are you okay request that? there will have to be a meeting of the minds so to speak as far as what type of home and how much money it's going to cost. >> weather could be a real wild card for washington. since the tornado hit so close to winter months of cold weather could make it hard for homeowners to build in the same spot come spring. that's because the weather could damage foundations exposed to the elements. washington's planning and development director john oliphant is warning residents for that as they are applying

for building permits. >> that's why we are requiring that a structural engineer go out and certify that every one of those is okay prior to us issuing a building permit for its. >> it could take years for washington to recover from the tornado. cox is taking it one day at a time. last week she got a new car to replace the one lost in the tornado. next year she hopes to have a new home. diane estabrook, al jazeera, washington, illinois. police say two signed damian hurst paintings, signature multicolored dots. we'll have the news in 15

seconds. welcome to "al jazeera america." i'm john seigenthaler in new york, and here are the top stories. the u.s. is suspended aid to rebel fighters in northern syria after a report u.s. supplies were seized by fighters. the house could vote on a bipartisan budget deal as soon as tomorrow. if passed the senate could take up the measure next week. some conservative groups complain it includes too much government spending. kathleen sebelius says she asked for an independent investigation into the troubled rollout of the health care website. a hearing on capitol hill she called the problems unacceptable. the white house says about 365,000 americans have signed up