>> the house could vote on a bipartisan deal as early as today. the speaker of the house, boep is facing opposition to the plan. lights out in thailand. anti-government protesters cut off power to the prime minister's compound. now they are threatening to force their way in if the police don't leave. when i went into a house and saw the number i thought, "we have to do something." >> local entrepreneurs finding a unique opportunity in abandoned homes in detroit. >> i don't have the ability. >> the real face of homelessness

in america. how a young mother is fighting to get her family off the treats. -- off the streets. [ ♪ music ] good morning. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. today the house is said to vote an a new deal that would prevent a government shutdown. the bipartisan deal had the backing of house speaker john boehner, who is lashing out at conservative groups. erica pitzi jops us with the latest. >> bipartisan is the key ward. democrats and republicans had to compromise on the deal, undercluesing $85 billion. both sides are not overly satisfied, the deal represents a ceasefire if it gets through

congress. >> praise and criticism a day after republican congressman agreed on a bipartisan budget plan to avoid a shutdown. >> we want to deep a quost open and get a traj ectory of savings. that's what we'll do. >> it's absolutely outrageous that we should leave the congress and go home for the holidays when too many people, over a million people will not get their unemployment benefit. >> democrats did give up the fight for expending unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of the month for 1.3 million. they got the way on the sequester, easing spending cuts to programs covering health, education, research and development. on wednesday, ryan, the 2012

vice president nominee called it a win for both sides. >> we'll play with the composition after spending that we believe in. it means congress exercises power. we haven't been able to do that. >> that has not scoped members of ryan's party saying the cuts don't go deep enough or touch other proposals. >> we did nothing on social security. i'm frightened about getting into a hole so deep that when we get to the solutions they'll be so painful it will cause chaos. >> some republicans vowed to vote no. when asked about groups against any plan, house speaker john boehner pushed back. >> they are using our members and the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous.

if you are for more deficit reduction, you are for the agreement. >> the house journeys for the year on friday. the vote is cutting it close. the isn'tate will vote on the deal. president obama said he will sign it. if if the deal goes through it will be funded until 2015. this deal does not increase the debt ceiling. congress could face a battle on that in february. >> a lot of people in washington holding their breath. thank you. >> senate republicans are holding a talka thon that would last to the weekend. they are upset at democrats triggering the nuclear option. we are looking at live pictures from the senate floor. still going on the talka thon. making it easier for the democrats to push through executive and judicial

nomination. the democrats hope it passes and stall 10 nominations. it could make it difficult to wrap up business before the holida holidays. >> newly released video shows the crash of asiano flight 216. it captures the moment when the boeing 747 came in short for a land k. it hit a seawall and broke apart as it skidded down the runway. investigator are focussing on cockpit automation. >> they are removing human judgment that pilots are becoming somewhat complacent. >> before the crash of 214 there were concerns about an automatic system that will not kick in.

he thought the plane's speed control system was always on. >> the u.s. is considering sanctions against ukraine as the country sinks into political instability. >> the state department is not suggesting what sanctions might be pursued, but all policy options are on the table. >> the announcement came as riot police moved protesters in the capital kiev. the country's president offered direct talks. >> i'm calling on representatives on all political forces. rebel fathers and society to a national dialogue. i'm ready to take part in a roundtable, to reach a compromise, not to refuse or go along the path.

>> the ukrainian president backed away from the trade deal to pursue closer ties with russia. this morning russian's president vladimir putin hopes that it there will be a political solution. >> demonstrators warn police they'll force their way in in officers don't get out of the way. jz's harry fawcett has more from bangkok. >> this is day three since suthep thaugsuban declared on monday, after a mass rally of anti-government protesters. no sign that yingluck shinawatra or her party is preparing to set down and leave the role. which is what the protesters are calling for.

there was a number that cut the wall, calling on police to leave the compound, leave it to the military. all eyes on the military, because the protest leader called on the military to take a stand and stand by the people. people who support him and his side of thai politics. he wants a meeding today. there are no indications yet. there was a report that they rejected it last night. we spoke to spokespeople who say they are considering the top brass as to whether they will heed the call and meet with suthep thaugsuban and the people around him. it is a key development if the ministry takes the side of the anti-government protesters. they stepped back from the fray. they say they have learnt the

lessons of 2006 and perhaps they'll help to meadiate. they wouldn't take one side or the others. >> u.s. military planes are playing a role in the central african republic. they airlifted troops. french troops asked for help to stop the ongoing violence. as many as 500 have been killed in the capital bangui. france pledged to send 1500 troops. the central african republic has been plagued with violent uprisings since march when muslim forces overthrew the cost. >> an explosion in kabul gave american documents a square. a bomb score stored in a weapons depot led to accidental

ignition. it was a day after a scuffed bomber attacked a convoy. >> the white house is soft nipping its stance on a deal in afghanistan. the president has been urged to sign an agreement by the end of this year. the white house said the deadline would flip. men combat operations have been due to end in 2014. afghan elders endorsed the troops. hamid karzai wants his successor to sign the agreement. cold air is gripping the country. metrologist is not sheer. she is here to explain why we are could be feeling dry. you are like me, hitting the ocean because of the cold air. the basic neary is cold air holds less moisture. we can only hold so much. you hear us talking about the dew point.

when you take the actual temperatures, it's the moisture in the atmosphere. it can't go above that. once you hit that you are saturated and you'll get fog. temperature of minus 26. that means with a dew point dry, under this equation the real reallyive hum aidity is 21. you heed it uch. when you have the dry air the relative humidity is one. in a desert it may rup in the 20s. so one is drier that the desert once you heat that air or breathe it in and it heats up inside your body. all that moisture is sucked out. wep end up with a dry skip. some people, as you breathe in

the dry air end up with science us problems and bloody noses. your furniture can shrimming. floors will be cracked. if you feel like the weather has been oppressive, it has been. it gets dry. >> that explains a lot. >> for a second day thousands of south africans are lining up to bid. >> these are live pictures from the union pictures in the capital pretore why. nelson mandela's coffin will be on display for the rest of the day and tomorrow. people have been waiting for hours to get a glimpse of the president. many mourners have been turned away. tania paige, what has the atmosphere been like there? >> i think the atmosphere over

the last couple of days has been more solemn than the mood, the exuberant mood displayed at the memorial service. here, people were consent to wait quietly and queue for the most part. people reflected on why they are here, what madeba as he assist known here out of respect means to him. i talked to people. they say it wouldn't matter if i had to drive two hours to 12 hours, i met someone from cape town. this is an important moment, peep want to pay their respects and the possibility of seeing madeba's body in person makes it more tangible. remember that inside, alongside the coffin is a member of the madeba family and connecting with a member of his family makes it personal. people coming out of viewing

nelson mandela's body affected by the experience. >> i can imagine why. there has been complaints, i understand, about the long security process to see nelson mandela's body. is there a chance that not everyone who sees it will make it inside. >> i think you are right. not everyone will get inside. they have to bring ids, not a lot of people have done that. they are not allowed to bring a camera in. they have to find a friend to leave it with. that's at the request of madeba's family. they don't want photos of their beloved one lies in state. we saw thousands not able to get inside. despite the fact that 2,000 an hour came past the coffin.

tonight we'll see the same thing, people content to come back tomorrow. friday, i think, scenes could be a little different. as you said, people are coming early in the morning, travelling from all over the countrist it one of those things. they could have him lying in state and they'd never get everyone who wanted to see him through. it's unfortunate. the plan are locked in place. there's a state funeral and burial on sunday. i don't think the family will want to see that. >> tania paige reporting from pretoria. >> relief is slow getting to some areas of the philippines. how some villages band together to solve their own problems instead of waiting for hech. >> this is the opposite. >> using abandoned buildings in

detroit to build a new business. >> medical reasons meant i had to quit that job. >> a homeless mum shares her peernal struggle in here own word

>> into good morning. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. just ahead we'll focus on the ways the typhoon victims are helping each other survive after a monster storm nearly wiped them out. >> first, let's see what temperatures are doing. temperatures are running 20-30 degrees below average. we are running at 34. the cold front that impacted and never got that far south. this is the time of year when we called back relatives. we are looking at cold temperatures. we were looking at humidity.

even those temperatures in the 20s and 30s. that's when they heated up in the home. we are very dry across the country. i mentioned single dimming -- dimming its in the mid west. >> there's a push to make marijuana legal in new york. washington and colorado are the only states where it is legal. some lawmakers say tax on pot would add $34 million to the state budget. more them in the city were arrested. $600,000 were arrested in the state for 1997. canada's postal service is ending home deliver in an effort to cut costs. they plan to convert to a system of nail boxes. they cut $800 jobs. canada post, like the u.s., has

been struggling with major losses. many turn to the internet to pay bills. a think tank predicted that if canada post didn't make changes, it was on track to lose by 2020. the u.s. postal service had $5 billion losses. >> 20% ever houses in detroit are empty. >> as david hawkins reports local entrepreneurs are capitalizing on thatment. >> where some see trash, others see treasure. in the case of these aband jobbed houses. >> the stuff out of the houses are beautiful. >> chris rutherford claimed it, reclaiming the wood. >> when i went into one of these houses we have to start saving

this. >> it costs about $9,000 to demolish a house. many have been stripped by scavengers, aplipss and details. most contain $10,000 of lumber, flooring. entrepreneurs want to reclaim the wood and recycle it instead of seeing it wasted and ruined. we are doing what we can. >> jaixes, an architect, designs and sells furniture from reclaimed bum bar. >> i feel this material has a huge appeal on a fundamental level. the quality of it the fact that it has a story behind it. all of our pieces come with a unique address. >> more and more architects and

decorators are using reclaimed wood. >> we are not just profit driven, we protecting the environment. obviously what is exotic wood species, compared to destroying a rainforest. reclaimed would was about recycling. they call it deconstruction work. >> deconstruction is the opposite of construction. instead of building from the house up we take it down. >> deconstructing a house takes more time and labour. we have 600 on this one right now. it's coming down quickly. just to demolish a house you have a machine and two or three guys. before being turned into a cutting board, dining table, reclaimed lumber needs to be

sanded, planed and finished. every step means more jobs and that's probably what detroit needs, more than anything else. detroit's newly launched blythe task force is attempting to count every structure. >> jpmorgan is reportedly close to a deal in the bernie madoff case. the new york times is reporting that they'll pay roughly $2 billion in settlement. it falls the bang for turning a blind eye to madoff's scope. the deposit will use a portion of the money to compensate madoff's victims. we learn if retailers have a merry season. sales are expected this morning. one retail analyst says retail

sales data will be uninspiring. >> several monday and black friday was pushed to the month of november, which is why we care so much. holy shopping is not going to impose anyone on wall street or in the retail room. >> the retail number is the last wees of major commisk data ahead of the fed meeting. wall street is not paying moves, losses are being pointed to. the nasdaq and s&b posted large declines. >> overseas - european markets are down for a third-straight day. >> facebook is raising its status on wault. let's than two years after

becoming a publicly traded company it's joining the s&p index. shares are now worth about 30% more than their initial price. >> hilton is returning as a public company. the archest chain is pricingists initial public offering at $20 per chair, with plans to raise $2.4 billion. it's unlikely. m >> the philippines has been holding interest rates at lows to boost the crippled economy. damage from typhoon haiyan is expected to slow check growth through the first half of next year. many on the ground are waiting for international aid to arrive. some are taking matters into their own hands.

>> helicopters that once brought aid face into the distance. like other fishing communities washed away by typhoon haiyan. people have to cope on their own. they have lost family members. homes and lily hoods and are -- livelihoods and are left with the task of rebuilding. aid is stockpiled a short distance away. the people are not forgotten. but the problem is how to get aid to reach those who need it most. >> the philippine government is mapping out a man on how to spend the aid that's been pouring in, villages couldn't afford to sit and weight. they found a solution to solve the problem themselves. >> romeo has been self-reliant

when it comes to making a living at the sea. he lost his boat. >> i couldn't sit around and wait. nobody knew when said would come. so i figured it out on my own. >> from the debris of the storm he found a way to feed his family. >> the idea came to me. i only had my fishing net. i needed something to sail me to see right away. >> a mistake shift vote made from a refridge rater. if may be basic. but three days after the typhoon he was punishing. an ingenious beside idea. they know it's a temporary fix. they have materials to build proper ones. the village may have lost everything, but they are not

hungry. it's resilience they learn the hard way. in the end they only had themselves to rely on. >> finding ways to survive. the government is seeking $9 billion in infrastructure and investments which will speed the delivery of international aid in hard to reach commupt yis -- communities. >> thousands who fled syria are living in makeshift camps. >> a college freshman died - an investigation in his death and a game that may have claimed his life. >> the reality is homelessness is about women with no place to go. >> you'll hear what it's like being homeless in america, from some living with it every day.

>> i'm mark morgan, with mark shanahan's future in doubt. he makes a decision he said is best. >> the talk athong - republicans are trying to hold up a vote. we are back after the break.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. these are the top stories at this hour. the house was expected to vote on a bipartisan budget deal that if approved will present the government from shutting down. house speaker john boehner took aim at critics and want republicans to vote against it. he called their opposition to

the deal ridiculous. >> the u.s. a calling for sanctions against the ukrainian government protesters want the president to step down after refusing a deal with the e.u. >> protesters in thailand cut four the prime minister's office in bangkok. yiping yingluck shinawatra was not in her office. >> aiation as fact-finding group will present a report on weapons. it will not be discussed by members of the security council. it was created in march to look into allegations of chemical attacks, including incidents in aleppo. life continues to be a daily struggle for $2 million syrians

that fled the country. refugees are facing another battle against brutal weather. >> it's the third winter some syrian refugees spend in makeshift shelters. storm lexa hit lebon, next-door the bored are of sare why. this is where they settled in makeshift tented chupty. they build flimsy accomodation. they can't afford to pay represent. >> translation: look how bad it is, the children are suffering. there are those cold and those dying from the cold. >> the storm is expected to last through the weekend with heavy snow. the misery is felt by 280 other tented communities. those who have not registered with a u.n. agency are yet to

receive much-needed aid. >> we are arrived yesterday and need to register as refugees. the office is so far away from here. we called, no one aped. maybe it's because of the weather conditions. we don't know what will happen. the u.n. refugee agency has been working with the army to provide blanket and sheeting. delivering aid to a community is a challenge. a better solution is needed. >> we work with the government of lebanon and the ministry of social affairs identifying land where we could build standards that could host refugees. the lebanese governments refused to set up refugee camps. lebanese people fear that camps would encourage lebanese to stay, like the plips stayed.

a sunni community is seep as a threat to the democrato graphic balance. >> and joining us from beirut is sonya, country director of save the children, doing work in lebanon. thanks for joining us. sorry if this sounds obtuse, but whipters in the bacabe valley, it's not surprising. why were they set up there. >> it's not surprising. this is the third winter. this is where people are crossing the border, an access point that they can come through from syria. they are settling with relatives, family members and people they know. there are camps in the north, settlement in the north and people are coming over in tripoli and parts of southern lebanon. >> the winter storm in lebanon

is threatening thousands. what are the main challenges confronting the refugees in this weather? >> yes, save the children have been working around the clock with other agencies to provide shelter. there's a multi layered challenge. the situation is horrific. we knew it would be the storm, it's a rapid onset of winter. we have people who were living in tents, people living in garges in un -- garages in buildings with no action to heating with open doors. we are seeing inside lebanon and syria, we'll see children die. they'll die of these conditions. >> what do we do about that? >> we ask the world to not

forget. how do we keep the children from dying in winter in the refugee camps? >> we provide everything that we currently are providing and keep going and make sure there's funding to continue. we are providing fuel, heaters, blankets, trying to fix some of these buildings m we have been doing this for month, working towards getting this done. across the boarder and inside syria we are asking for access to people who we cannot reach. the humanitarian community need access. >> how do you get the access. who can give you that access. >> this is what we are acting the international community, the political dialogue. that we must have access inside. for lebanon we are reaching

840,000 people inside lebanon. syrian refugees fleeing horrific circumstances. we hear stories of death, torture and maiming. they are coming in and facing cans we are dealing with. we are working around the clock. this could be why something that sticks with me all the time, and the mother of three children. this could be me and my country. when you are there and seeing what you live through, it's awful. >> i hope mothers like he and you can keep the story on the radar. the country director of "saving mr banks in lebanon. thank for joining us. >> same-sex couples in australia are outraged off the first gay marriage law was overrule.

more than 200 calls will have their union annulled. recently laws changed but the national government said it was inconsistent with federal laws. >> the innedian government is looking at a way to strike down a ruling making home sexuality illegal. yesterday a 2009 did i say wgs overruled. u.n. human rights officials say the digs to reinstate the ban is a step backward for india. the war has been in place for 150 years. >> a former new orleans police officers has been aquite for killing a gan. david warne was serving a sentence after fate alley killing henry glover.

the conviction was overturned, warning that warren should have been tried separately. >> karen testified monday that he feared for his life when he shot glover. >> lis are negotiating the death an of college freshman. >> the incident involving pledges bean blindfolded and knocked to the ground. >> college freshman chan and four others who stayed at a rental home with 30 frat erpty members. the 19-year-old was hoping to gain admittance into the group, an asian american frat. early sunday morning something went wrong. according to the monroe country district attorney's office den collapsed. no ambulance was called. mean could not believe something

like this would happen. the challenge part of the city university of new york is a commuter school. >> i would never expect that for the school. >> i visited friends at penn state. albany, they have systems, i never have seen anything crazy here. >> the mon row country dna said members took him inside the house before driving him to the emergency room. he was put on life support and died. the school issued this statement: snoop neighbours say the rental

house known for its late night parties have been a problem in the past. >> people get on the deck. they use profanities. >> people are no better. everywhere else at the party should know better. it should not happen. barook is undertaking an investigation. >> a toxicology report and autopsy has been undertaken. the incident is under investigation. the us government is launching a spanish u.s. version of the health care site. officials will increase advertising over the next month. healthcare.gov had technical problems presenting thousands from enrolling in coverage. the secretary of health and human services said at a cil hearing that the website is on

track. we are seeing point of view trends. it's about not only just the numbers of individuals but at the end of the day getting the right mix and a lot of younger americans are tech savvy, want a fully-functioning easy to operate site. getting healthcare.gov up and running correctly helps with some of those targeted numbers. >> the white house says 365,000 people have signed up for insurance. triple the enrolment from october. less than a third the number of people projected by this tie. >> some republican senators call for president obama's repeal. "usa today" wrote: >> tens of thousands of women

may be able to bypass cancer treatment without risking odds of survival. the studies were aimed at preventing overtreatment. researchers suggest skipping surgery, heavy chemo and radiation may curb trauma. in the nfl the season is over. mark morgan has that and more in sports. >> rather odd decision for a head coach to make this late in the season. controversy continues to quirl around the washington redskins. mike shanahan decided to bench robert griffin the i ii for the final three games. he says rg3 is not hurt but is shutting him down to protect him. he is seeming to send a message to schneider and griffin as

well. he's sitting for the rest of the season replaced by kurt cousins. rg3 is third on the depth charge. shanahan explained his decision. >> what we have to do, or at least as an organization, what is in the best interests of robert. what is the best thing going forward, the experience of going through the reps or having them healthy in the off seep. >> what is the deal with erin rogers. the packers quarterback is recovering from a broken collarbone. he's fighting to make the play offs. the packers face the cowboys. he's not been clear to play. >> we'll work out tomorrow. as part of his rehab. he'll be evaluated by the

doctor. they'll do things tomorrow that they didn't do last week. he's not medically cleared. yesterday - he is has hurdles to get over. medicry he's not clear. we'll play when he's ready. >> the number three car will be returning to the sprint cup series. austin dillion is driving the car, made famous by 7-time series ledgend. the number has not been used by any other. richard decided that the timing is right for its return. >> there's so much heritage behind the history of the three and deller and hart made it famous, i drove it, richard and

buddy baker here food drove it. so much history. my hoping is that the dell earnhard fans will be reenergeized. you won't please everyone. we know that. >> you get someone a million bucks. we'll do our best to make them proud. the new fans will learn more by watching this. there'll be a lot more talk and energy around it. that's a key thing i wanted to do. >> one of the more dramatic moments in baseball will be gone. the home plate collision. the rules committee plans to eliminate collisions and possibly as soon as next season. among the changes, catchers will not be able to block home plates. umpires will have video review.

baseball owners are expected to vote on the rule changes. that wraps up sport. a study find more than a third homeless are families. >> how cap a mum, you know, make that decision. how can a mum have that reasoning, that logic. >> one woman shares her struggle to find a safe place for her and her child. problems for the international space station. what broke down as the outer space outpost celebrated its 15th anniversary. the snow machine is still going. i'll have the details. here is a look at nasa's mission control in houston. keeping an eye on the space station. more on that after the break.tñ

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. ahead a single mother struggling with homelessness shares her

story. first a look at where the snow and rain may fall. metrologist nicole mitchell is here. after the storm system things have quietened down. you'll pick up a clipper system to the north and as we head across the great lakes, that's the other place we are dealing with the snow. was we get around the great lakes, there was one report, red field with 44 inches as of last night. almost four feet of snow. a lot of places got a food. as it wind down there's more possible for today and tomorrow. watch for that. in the mid west ss light know with the system coming through. as the fcc looks at changing rules many americans want them turned off on the airlines.

48% of americans oppose the use of cell phones for voice calls in flight. 19% want to use their phones. 30% could go either way. the opposition is higher amongst frequent pliers. 59% of those flew more than once and the opposition sources 78%. >> nasa is investigating a malfunction aboard the international space station. one of the stations two cooling systems broke down. it's up and running. the 6-person crew was never in danger, said nasa. they celebrated their 15th anniversary. >> hunger and homelessness is being surveyed in our cities. 30% of homeless have severe mental illness. 17% are physically disabled and 16% are victims of domestic

violence. for many breaking the cycle is not easy. to get a better sense of what it's like. al jazee al jazeera spent time with julia cooley, a teachers's assistant with a 4-year-old son. >> it's 10 to fix. i commute for a total of five hours. i am technically home, i'm place to place and i don't have the ability. i take turns, spending time with my partner or grandparents. >> one of the myths is that a momentless person is sleeping under a bridge or suffering from mental illness. for the variety of families we sort of homelessness is women and children with nowhere to go. >> today is the day i'm going to

pick up the keys to my new place, my apartment. it's a huge day. wait on me buddy. julia is a parent that came to our house to participate in the town development credential string. >> put it up here. >> it was natural for me, loved singing the songs. our house provides childhood education. >> i became homeless in may 2008. i received a job, found out i was pregnant. for medical reasons i had to quit the job. it put me in a cycle of unemployment. mum was, "we think you'll do better in a shelter." i'm like, "how can a mum make that decision, have that reasoning." >> for many of the families when they come in, their lines are like a deck of cards. they are stacking successor.

like a deck of cards, if you remove the wrong card. it can tumble down. >> now i'm working towards financial stability to pay my bills and have enough money to take my son to a movie. i love you, have the best day. it with will be good for me and my son to be in our own space and environment. come monday we'll be in one place. let's get the keys. >> what happened? >> no keys. have to get the gas company situated. >> things that happened to julia are unfortunately typical when it comes to families moving forward. the reason is there's requirements that every agency has to have. >> i wanted to feel the keys in my hand and say, "look, lady, we have the keys." for him, a happy

meal will do. >> to hear more visit julia's website. thomas joins us with a look at what we are following for the next hour. >> good morning, the house is set to vote on a new deal to prevent is government shut down for the next two years. if has the backing of house speaker john boehner, who is lashing out at groups urging the government to vote against it. >> the u.s. is considering sanctions against the ukraine. the anounlsment as riot place try to remove protesters from their bases. >> thousands of south africans line up to bid farewell to nelson mandela. >> the one-year anniversary of the sandy hook shooting is approaching. >> providing support in care for the mentally ill. >> a florida community getting unwanted attention because of the people that live there.

we'll tell you about a village that is trying to give 100 sex offenders a place to turn their life around. >> it's a story rivalry and football - army-navy. >> i'm metrologist nicole mitchell. the term tours are dropped. i'm plain the toll temperatures take on us. >> and i'm stephanie sy. we'll be back with more in a moment.

story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. (vo) we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol. (vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news.

>> an al jazeera america exclusive... former president jimmy carter reflects on the life and legacy of nelson mandela. >> that spirit of nelson mandela is embedded deeply in the heart and soul of the south africans... >> 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

>> in any cockpit in any country in the world, there are cultural issues and in the ntsb, our job is to be very fair. >> did cultural issues play a role in the airline crash in san francisco last summer? as federal investigators search for a cause, newly released video of the incident raises more questions about pilots and automation. >> thai protests, anti-government protestors scaled the walls of the government house and call on the powerful military to join forces with them in their efforts to out of the the prime minister. >> mental health in marrying, the white house announces a

$100 million initiative, shining a light on the issue once again, one year after the sandy hook elementary school shooting forced it into the spotlight. >> cultivating cotton. that why a demand for egyptian cotton is high around the world. in egypt, a notion that cotton is no longer king. >> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm steph stay. >> i'm thomas drayton. ntsb or focusing in on trouble in the cock bit as the reason behind the crash on flight 214. the pilot was unfamiliar with the plane's auto makes systems and junior pilots too scared to warn a superior that the flight was in grave danger. >> new video showed the moment the plane crashed short of the

runway while landing in san francisco. it hit a sea wall before it cartwheeled down the runway. >> the crash claimed three lives. we have more. >> surveillance camera video released at the hearing shows how violent the accident was. moments before the crash, pilots realized they were coming in too low and too slow. they tried to correct. it was too late. the jumbo jet hit a sea wall near the end of the runway, snapping off its tail, sending the plane skidding. three teenage girls died. >> we do have an issue in aviation that needs to be dealt with with respect to automation and performance when it comes to the interaction between the aircraft and the human being.

>> in the crash, the captain disconnected the auto pilot to take over controls but did not realize that also disabled the automatic speed control on the bowing 777. the crew failed to notice the speed was dropping. >> 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 ban challenge for other airlines, too. in 2009, an air france jet plunged into the atlantic and an air flight crashed in buffalo. investigators blamed both accidents partly on confusion about cockpit automation and the pilot's failure to handle the controls correctly when the auto pilot kicked off. >> just last month, the f.a.a. issued a report that found that pilots are so reliant on the automated systems on airplanes that they're 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 an important thing and we need to find ways to refresh that muscle memory. >> new documents reveal that even before the crash, there were concerns about bowing's automatic speed system, which will not kick back on in certain settings. the pilot told investigators he thought the system to maintain air speed was always working. bowing defend said its design and pointed out ultimately, it's the pilot in control. >> as we apply out mix as a basic tool to aid the pilot, not replace the pilot. >> it will be months before the investigation is finished.

there will likely be negotiations to balance the dance between man and machine. >> the pilot had concerns about flight 214 even before the plane left south korea. he had less than 45 hours before the controls before the crash. he was worried that he might fail his flight and would be embarrassed. >> opposition protestors in thailand cut power to get the prime minister's office in bangkok. they've been trying for weeks to get her to step down. demonstrators have warned the police officers guarding her office to get out. aljazeera has more from bangkok. >> this is day three of the extra three days that the protest leader declared on monday after that mass rally of anti-government protestors. so far, no sign of her that her

party is preparing to step down or leave its current caretaker administration role, which is what the protestors are calling for. there was a grew that of student protestors that cut the wall and cut barbed wire there, call on police inside to leave the compound to the military to guard. we understand there are negotiations underway on that at the moment. the protest leader has called on the military to take a stand and stand by the people, what he defines as the people, the people who support him and his side of thai politics. he wants a meeting sometime today. there is no indications yet that the military has succeeded to that. we've spoken to military spokes people to say that they're still considering the top brass as to whether they will heed this call and meet publicly with the protest the leader and the people around him.

if the military does take the side publicly of the anti-government protestors, that's what they want. so far, they've stepped back from the fray in all this, saying they've learned the lessons of the 2006 military coup and will perhaps mediate without taking a side. >> russian president putin delivered his annual state of the nation address to a joint session of parliament thursday. he said that russia does not aspire to be a super power reaching for global and regional dominance. he ejected allegations that his country pressured ukraine to opt out of a trade agreement to the european union. he said that he hopes ukraine's government can resolve its turmoil after calling for closer ties with the e.u. >> the u.s. is considering sanctions against ukraine if security forces ramp up a crackdown on demonstrators.

tensions flared wednesday at riot police attempted to push anti-government protestors out of key areas in the capitol city key every. the state department is considering legislation to deny visas to ukrainian officials or seize their assets if the violence escalate. >> a powerful bomb blast near kabul turned out to be an accident. it accidentally detonated this morning. there were no immediate reports of casualties and afghan officials quickly said it was an electrical error and not terrorism related. a false alarm comes today after a bomber talked a convoy near the airport. >> house speaker john boehner is backing a plan and lashing out at conservative groups calling on republicans to vote against it. >> they are using our members and they're using the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous.

>> the budget plan uses a mix of reforms and non-tax revenues like fees to restore funding to programs that have recently been hit by mandatory spending cuts. >> right now, a talk-a-thon is being held by senate republicans which could stretch into the weekend. they've been going all night. they are upset democratic majority leader harry reid triggered the nuclear option, making fill busters easier. since the rule changed, democrats have gotten through three nominations. they've gotten those through the senate. >> federal health care enrollment numbers are picking up, but still far behind what officials originally expected. 365,000 people have now signed up for insurance. that's more than triple the enrollment from october when the healthcare.gov website was rolled out, but still less than one third the number of people they predicted would apply.

users have until december 23 to sign up for coverage that would kick on january 1. >> kathleen sebelius faced more tough questions at a hearing on capitol hill about the rollout of the affordable care act website. she said the site is now on track. >> we're seeing very, very positive trends, we're seeing a lot of people reengage, and it's about not only just the numbers of individuals, but at the end of the day, hopefully, getting the right mix of individuals and we know that a lot of younger americans are very tech savvy, want a fully functioning, easy-to-operate site and so getting holt care.gov up and running correctly helps with some of those targeted numbers. >> some republicans want sebelius to be fired over the problems with the website.

>> american supplied equipment fell into the wrong hands. humanitarian assistance will continue to flow. for now, the u.s. and britain will withhold equipment including communication equipment and lap tops. >> snow blanketed refugee camps covered structures with ice and tent camps across lebanon, refugees huddled in camps. it delayed aid from iraq to syria. >> freezing temperatures, if you haven't felt, are gripping much of the u.s. >> bundle up, right? >> for more, lets bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. good morning, nicole. >> i've been hitting the lotion like mad recently. that's what happens when these temperatures get colder. last story, i did a calculation at well below zero. if you hear us talk about the

dewpoint, that's the moisture in the atmosphere and that dewpoint temperature can never pass the air temperature, because that means we would be saturated. that would be either when you get fog or precipitation would come out, you can't get more moisture. cold air just doesn't hold as much moisture. looking at that central park temperature right now of 24, the dewpoint is at four. this is kind of typical weather. if you you look at it based on the temperature, the relative humidity is 42%. that's already low, but what we do is we take this air that's already dry, already has a low moisture content and we heat it up, because we want the indoor not to be 24 degrees, so we heat it up let's say to an indoor temperature of 70. then you take that still dewpoint at four, because we haven't added moisture to it, that brings the relative humid down to seven. a dessert can run with a relative humidity in the 20's, so we are well below dessert air

in materials of being dry. breathing it in, even outside, you are bringing it into a warmer body. you can get dehydrated very quickly in the winter, because the air is so dry and moisture content just isn't there. >> that explains a whole not, nicole mitchell, thank you. >> for a second day in a row, thousands of south africans are lining up to bid farewell to nelson mandela. this is in the capitol where the body is lying in state. mandela's coffin will be on display today and tomorrow. people have been waiting hours to get a glimpse of the beloved former approximate the. many power players are returning for a second day after being turned away on wednesday. >> two sufficient air force c17's will begin airlifting africans. as many as 500 people have been killed there since last week. france plans to send 1600 troops to add to the 6,000 african

union troops in the country. the central african republic have been plagued by violence since the government was overthrown. >> in may be parts of the country, there are no peacekeepers at all. we have this report. >> there are so many wounded people, there is no more room in the hospitals. the tents are now wards. benjamin moved his wife and 10 children to the airport. he was shot as he tried to leave. >> i've been there for three days. that we haven't eaten anything and the kids haven't either. i went to the market to try to get food. there was shooting at the market. >> for now, fighters seem to be

off the streets. in must rim areas of town, it is mainly african union soldiers keeping watch. there is anger as more bodies are brought to the mosque. >> it's not up to us muslims to bring peace. it's the duty of our christian brothers, too, everyone is suffering today, children, women, innocent people who are dying. >> french soldiers are here to stop the killing, but france risks being drawn into a complex and dangerous urban wall. >> well after the deaths of two french soldiers, the forces here are being extremely cautious. the challenge for the french is to convince people from both the christians and muslim communities that they are on their side. >> this is a former french

colony. there have always been some french soldiers in the country and accusations of political manipulation. there is mistrust again about france's intentions here. >> there are muslim and christian neighborhood yous. the muslim population is perhaps less happy than the christian population in the sense that zelda used to protect them. >> with no credible army or police force, enter nat peacekeepers must fill the gap. that will not be an easy task. >> western nations pledged financial sport to the african led troops. the europeanin will give $50 million, while the u.s. has

pledged to give $40 million. >> the right to remain silent for police officers. >> the dallas police department says it has a new policy after a police shooting, and it is aimed at seeking the truth. >> for some, the controversial initiative is raising false hopes and cries of a double standard. >> one major bank is nearing a settlement with the government over ties to bernie madoff's fraud. >> 49 that $.8 billion is today's big number and how much one state run oil company is missing from its books.

fight drug trafficking and forbid marijuana consumption, or let the

>> today's big number, $49.8 billion, that's the amount of money nigerian bank officials suggest was miss appropriated by the state run oil company. the figure is from a september letter written to the nigerian president from the bank, claiming the petroleum corporation failed to claim oil sold. the nearly $50 billion shortfall

amounts to 76% of the crude oil sold during the span. the allegations have been rejected. hard to hide that kind of money. good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. >> we're going to talk about a new policy for the dallas police department giving the officers the ability to remain silent if they're involved in a shooting. we'll see why the department is instituting that policy. >> lets look at temperatures across the nation today. meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. >> good morning. it's still much colder than average, but let's just find some silver linings out here. places like fargo and bismarck. wind chill temperatures that are above zero, it's been a while since we had that. this is a warm up for some of these cities. we still have below zero wind

chills, chicago feeling like minus 11. if we head southward, all of this cold air didn't make it to florida. georgia, alabama in the 40's, taking the family trip, you hope you picked miami. >> a dallas police officer is under scrutiny for shooting a man for no apparent reason. a witness says he saw a police officer shoot a 19-year-old carjacking suspect while his hands were raised in surrender. now, the dallas police department is allowing its officers to take the fifth temporarily if involved in a shooting. we have more on the controversial new policy. >> in october, a dallas police officer shot and wounded a mentally ill man seen on surveillance video doing nothing threatening. the officer's partner said the suspect held a knife and lunged

at the officer who ultimately fired the shots. the police chief fired the officer who shot the man and suspended the other for making false statements. a month later, the democratic announced a new policy. the police chief wouldn't talk to us about it, but a police union vice president would. >> the whole goal is to get what happened, get it right, you know, and get it accurate. >> dallas police officers involved in a shooting now have their own right to remain silent for 72 hours after the incident. that. >> it's not that they're trying to cover up or mislead what happened. they legitimately can't remember everything that happened. >> dallas defense attorney george milner represents the victim in that surveillance video shooting. >> i think it is geared toward making certain there are no material inconsist's that could

be used later in litigation. >> you don't want to rush an investigation for the sake of rushing it. you want an officer to be able 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 some type of mom side or other shooting crime? >> the detective is sure this policy will prove to be good for the officers and the department and citizens, saying it will lead to more thorough and accurate investigations. >> the policy change also gives police officers time to review video and other materials related to a shooting before making a statement. >> let's get you caught up on business headlines this morning. a major development in the battle over where the bowing 7x will be built. the company's machinist union is

making a new proposal. bowing has threatened to move production without a new deal. the union expects bowing to respond today. separately, bowing is scoring a big win over the air bus, labeledding an order with air canada. >> j.p. morgan is close to a deal in the bernie madoff case. the bank will pay a penalty to compensate victims and escape criminal charges. madoff's relationship with j.p. morgan spanned two decades. >> we'll learn today if retailers are having a merry season so far. retail sales for november are reported this morning. one retail analyst said heavy discounting will hurt profit margins. >> we discount in the month of november.

this black friday, cyber monday. we look for sales to increase rapidly. we are seeing small numbers. with these aggressive discounts, you're going to hurt your profit margins obviously. >> the retail number is the last piece of major economic data ahead of next week's fed meeting. >> wall street seems to be experiencing buyer fatigue, futures down 25 points. stocks posted their biggest decline in five weeks yesterday. the dow jones industrial average kicks off well blow the sip thousand mark. the nasdaq at 40,003. in asia, markets ended with losses, nikkei leading down one percent. >> as the debate about minute come wage increases, we have the

story. >> when you see images like these, it's easy to understand the emotional argument for raising minimum wage. many researchers argue the link between minimum wage and economic stability is overgrown. sighting evidence of states that pay more than the federal minimum level. >> very few people are paid the minimum wage. most of the people paid the minimum wage are relatively young. over a quarter of minimum wage earners are college and high school students. >> the five states with with the highest minimum wage, washington tops the list at $9.19 an hour. number two, oregon at $8.95, where one in five households rely on food stamps, the highest proposition in the country. >> vermont with at $8.60, recalculates the wage every year, taking inflation into account. at $8.25, connecticut has the

fourth highest minimum wage in the nation and fourth highest cost of groceries in the nation and one of the most expensive states to live in. >> illinois is $8.25, but has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. how much of an impact does a higher minimum wage really have? in oregon, a planned 15-cent increase on january 1, 2014 will put an extra $234 a year into the pockets of employees working 30 to 40 hours a week. >> i don't see where that very small amount of money could possibly spark economic growth. those funds are coming from someone else who now no longer has that money to spend. >> while the majority of minimum age workers are young, there are those struggling. many minority groups disproportionately depend on

minimum wage, single mothers trying to raise a family on $15,000 a year. many experts say there are better options out there. >> there are options like the earned income tax credit, maxing out at $6,000 for a family with children that are much more powerful at helping people get out of poverty. they are targeted at low income families rather than like the minimum wage, a blunt instrument that ends up transferring more funds to the teenage children of upper middle class families than to the working poor. >> with the emotion surrounding minimum wage, that will be the focus of the economy at state and federal level. >> aljazeera, new york. >> 21 states will have a higher minimum wage than the national average at $7.25 an hour. >> still ahead, chilling new images are the airlines crash. >> the tape comes as federal officials layout what they believe was behind the accident.

>> the role cultural issues may have played in that crash. >> my neighbor is a sex offender, my best friend is a sex offender now. i feel more safe than i could ever be anywhere else, right here. >> the community giving sex offenders a place to live after searching their time and a chance to rebuild their lives. >> one year later as the anniversary of the sandy hook massacre approaches. we will speak to the mental health issues that have led to such incidents at sandy hook. >> in sports, the preview of the 114th renewle of a big game.

wrong way to go to start to cut entitlements or at least slow the growth of entitlements. both of them came to a neutral, compromised ground. this is a compromise of the sort that people have been asking for for quite some time. the bottom line here, those conservative objections are getting some traction, but the betting is now this evening that this is going to pass the house of representatives on thursday and go to the senate the next week and end up on the president's desk, joie. >> mike, thanks for being with us. we'll follow up. ahead. the international space station marks 15 years. are we getting enough bang for our buck, or is it just taking up space? get it?

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy.

>> good to have you with us. we are getting a fresh look at the fresh crash of asiana airlines. the plane hit a sea wall upon landing. officials layout what they believe may have been behind the accident. we'll talk with aljazeera's transportation contributor ted curtis and breakdown -- todd curtis rather about what happened here. >> a lot of important questions raised in that investigation. thomas, saturday marks the one year anniversary of the newtown shooting in connecticut. the violence sparked a debate not only about gun control, about how to treat mental health in this country and its role in these kind of acts. we're going to take a look at where we stand in these issues one year later.

>> ntsb investigators held a hearing in washington on wednesday to help determine what caused the crash of asiana airline flight last summer. newly released video of the crash shows just how vital the accident was as the plane broke apart after hitting a sea wall while attending a landing. investigators highlighted a number of problems, including confusion about the automated control system and pilot concern about landing the plane without visual assistance. >> we do have an issue that needs to be dealt with with respect to automation and performance when it comes t to e interaction between the aircraft and a human being. >> the man at the controls, a student pilot on the 777 said he was afraid to make the decision to abort the landing out of respect for his instructor in the cockpit. he finally pushed the throttle forward just seconds before impact. >> a lot of questions remain.

joining us now to discuss the hearing in the investigation is todd curtis, an aljazeera transportation contributor from massachusetts this morning. good to have you with us. >> thanks for having me. >> human error appears to have been the cause of the crash. are the pilots solely to blame or is this more complicated here, todd? >> the pilots of course are responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft no matter the circumstances. like you mention, it is a very complicated issue, because what we have here is a set of assumptions. the pilot's assumptions about how the aircraft behaves and the organization's assumption about how they should train those pilots, and even bowing's assumptions about what pilots should know before they train them. >> questions have been raised about the thoughtles. first of all, what are they? >> the auto throttle is in essence an out made the system to help control the thrust of the aircraft.

it works in conjunction with other automated systems like the auto pilot. much like a cruise control, the speed of a car, the auto throttle in conjunction with other parts of the automated system, controls certain aspects of the aircrafts behavior. >> are they different from aircraft to aircraft. >> the way that it operates will depend on the aircraft model even within the same air draft family. the auto throttles on a bashar al assad 747 might behave differently from that of a 747. that's one of the functions of the extensive training all pilots go through before they transition in the aircraft. >> the pilot told investigators he had been concerned about his approach to san francisco without precise veryicalle guidance. are pilots too reliant on automated systems? >> that's one of those complicated issues, because obviously, the systems that were in place at san francisco, some

of them were not in operation. this is widely known to all the pilots flying in there. whether or not a particular pilot is comfortable with a landing will depend on that pilot's training and especially on the procedures of that particular airline company, and one of the reasons there was an extensive discussion about this, not just at the hearing, but during the entire investigation is its unclear how much reliance the company was put on those automated systems, not just that crew. >> are the training standards the same for foreign pilots as american pilots? >> the level of training is very high for crews around the world, especially those flying a sophisticated aircraft like the 777. this is one of those complicating factors. every country has somewhat different requirements for their pilots and even different airline companies within the same country might have different standards, but again, they're all very high, they just may go about the same procedure

somewhat differently and that's one of the things that will have to be teased out in the rest of this investigation. >> so many questions remain. todd, thanks for joining us this morning. >> george zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch captain cleared of manslaughter charges after shooting and killing teenager trayvon martin is off the hook again. florida prosecutors suspect he committed aggravated assault but will not pursue that case. his girlfriend accused him of pointinging a long barrel shotgun at her. now she says she doesn't want him charged and has accused police of pressuring her. >> sex crime rates are among the highest in florida and for offenders finding a place to live can be challenging. laws aim to keep them away from locations children gather. one community is trying an alternative. it's called miracle village, and it's home to just 200 people. more than half of those residents, 115 of them, are registered sex offenders.

we take you inside. >> deep into florida sugar contain country, just off a two lane highway, there's a 23-acre patch of tiny neutral colored homes. this is miracle village, population 200, including 115 sex that offenders. >> they are hopeless, they come here and there's like new life. >> patrick flowers co founded the village in 2008, along with a pastor of matthew 25 ministries. pours is a registered sex offender and knows how hard it is to find a place to live after leaving prison. >> here underneath the causeway, several years ago, they came up with the plan. in municipalities across the state, including here, that

distance is increased to 2500 feet to stay away from children. >> the men have formed a band. no serial rapist or diagnosed pedophiles are allowed. drinking and doing drugs aren't tolerated. 22-year-old christopher dawson is the youngest resident. >> i had sex with my girlfriend at the time. she was 14. i did not know her age. she lied to me about her age. i thought she was 17, turning 18, i was 19. >> despite the isolation and the fact that they've been unmoored from their families, he and other residents have found a home. >> even my neighbor is a sex offender. my best friend is a sex offender now. i feel more safe than i could ever be anywhere else right here. >> here i have peace. i have hope. it would also be great if we didn't need a place like this. >> law professor tamara agrees,

calling the residency laws cruel. >> they are wrong-headed and cruel, result in ostracizing people, making it difficult to find work, to be with with their families and all those things, homelessness, all the problems that result make it more likely that people are going to lapse into being criminals. >> having affordable housing built for offenders and predators away from the general population is a good thing to have happen, but see, what they want you to believe is that the residency restrictions what created their problem. that's not what created their problem. their criminality, their sexually descent behaviors created the problem. >> the sex offender we spoke to say they don't want to live in miracle village for the rest of their lives. they want to live freely. >> why wouldn't you want us to become normal, back in society?

>> miracle village officials say they hope one day this place doesn't exist but for now have plans to expand what they feel is a model community for society's ultimate outcasts. >> aljazeera, palm beach county, florida. >> miracle village receives about 100 applications for residents every week. once again, medically diagnosed pedestrian files and people who commit violent acts of rape are not admitted. >> nearing the one year anniversary of sandy hook, the issue of mental health is again in the spotlight. the obama administration announced a $100 million increase in funding for mental health care facilities and providers. while 36 states along with the district of columbia have increased funding, six states decreased funding. new york and florida have made no change in state funding since the shooting almost a year ago. joining us now to discuss the state of mental health in america is doris fuller, executive director of treatment

advocacy center, joining us from washington. thanks for being with us. after the sandy hook shootings and navy yard shooting, people focused on gun control and mental health. those events didn't lead to much action on gun control, but were they a tipping point to how mental health is prioritized in this country? >> well, i think the real tipping appointment was a year ago with sandy hook, although every one of these incidents raises more awareness of the important of getting treatment to people that are at the most risk for violent acts. it's unfortunate it takes that but seems to be the case. what we've seen in the last year is probably the most interest in mental heal legislation that we've seen in this country in 50 years. we have seen states passing laws to make treatment more available to people who have the most

severe mental illnesses, people at most risk for things like homelessness, arrest, victimization, violence, suicide and so fort. we're beginning to see some interest at the federal level. there will be an announcement this morning of a package of federal legislation from representative tim murphy of pennsylvania addressing some issues, so there's a lot of interest. there have been laws passed at the state level, there may be laws passed at the federal level. >> obamacare prioritizes mental health with parity on mental illness, as well. the bottom line is could better mental health reduce the number of shooting incidents or is that assuming too much? >> we're dealing with a treatable illness. most people with mental illness are never violent, but when you have the small population that is at risk to be violent, and they are at risk because they

have a disease that can be treated, if we treat the disease, it makes sense that we'll reduce the i wants. >> i'm just wondering, because in the case of a navy yard shooter for example, people did actually see red flags of mental illness and he was even treated for it, yet he was till able to get a gun and kill peel. what could have happened differently as far as treatment to prevent that tragedy? >> that's a really good question, stephanie. treatment for people who are at most risk is often regulated by state laws that control who can be picked up for an emergency evaluation, who can be ordered into a hospital and so fort. in states that don't have laws that allow for team that open this avenue to treatment for people who are most ill, they fall through the cracks. that appears to be part of the factor. >> what can we as communities and families do help people

better understand mental illness and spot the signs of it and not have people fall through the cracks? >> well, it would help if we all understood more about mental illness. we all know what some of the risk factors are for say heart attack, high cholesterol level and overweight and smoking and so on and so forth. people are much less informed about mental illness and its symptoms and the red flags. more information, more awareness, more support for laws that help people get treatment would be helpful. >> thanks very much. doris fuller, executive director of treatment at sock kaz center. >> college football games coming up saturday. we have a preview of an important matchup. >> my father was in the army when i was a kid and told me how important this game is, called the greatest rival, army against

navy. they will meet this saturday in philadelphia for the 114t 114th time. our michael eaves has more. >> on paper, this game doesn't figure to be much of a battle. of course the games aren't played on paper. this long-standing rivalry is more than just an athletic contest, featuring two teams made up of america's finest young men. army versus navy is america's game and played with pride. >> we're playing for the pure level of the game. we have two schools who have got a ton of respect for each other, trying to beat them in a game of football. >> there's hype leading up to the game, people get excited, especially in bancroft haul, army week. it's important and a challenge for guys on the team to stay focused. >> i think there is an added level of emotion simply because it is the army navy game, just

like we would have in the air force. it gives us an energy boost. >> you've just got to relax and tell guys it's still a football game. as much as the emotions of this game, our biggest emphasis is playing the game between the white lines. >> records don't matter, both teams are going to play extremely hard. >> navy has won 11 straight games against army. while the players and coaches try to block out the distraction and focus on the task at hand. the they hope to end the season on a high note. >> yesterday, i had a teammate and we were walking to the locker room. i examined how are you doing? he said ready to change history was the first thing that came out of his mouth. i said i like the way you think. that encapsulates the way we want to change this game. >> guys want to end it and prove that army need to take the

reigns back. >> it's just another game for us. that's kind of how we have to look the a it. putting on the pressure, there's no way we can pull out the victory. going with the attitude that that's the next game, the last game for seen years, we'll have a chance. >> whether army finally snaps the streak here or navy continues its recent dominance, this will add simply another chapter to one of sports biggest rivalries and definitely one of its most respected. >> redskins coach mike shanahan decided to bench robert griffin iii. he says rg3 is not hurt. he is shutting him down to protect him for the off-season. i seems to be sending a message to the owner and to rg3 that he is calling the shots.

rg3 has been sacked 24 times in the last five games. now he's sitting for the rest of the season, replaced by kirk cousins, backed up by rex grossman, so rg3 is now third on the depth chart. that's a wrap of sports this hour. >> fighting breast cancer with less. >> doctors issuing new guidance for women. >> how that could curve the danger of overtreatment of the disease. >> cotton crash, the struggle the once popular fiber is facing in one country. >> how the state of california is creating supply issues for a hot sauce.

>> this isn't a new channel, this is a watershed momenttñ

>> good morning, to aljazeera america. i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy. egypts glory days of cotton production are behind them. we'll look at the adverse conditions there. >> first, let's go to

meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> after travel problems late last week, this is a nice radar picture. we have a clipper, a little bit of lake effect snow. some has been significant, but in the midwest, light snow going through today. more significant around the great lakes with that flow. in fact, we have one report of over three, almost four feet, but a lot of this is going to wind down over the next couple of days. back to you guys. >> tens of thousands of women may be able to by pass grueling cancer treatments without risking their odds of survival according to new research presented at the san antonio breast cancer symposium. researchers suggest heavy chemo and radiation to curb trauma and life long side effects. >> fans of the popular hot sauce soraco are going to have wait to

get more until mid january. the food company is caught in a legal battle with neighbors who say odors from the company are causing health issues. suppliers say the delay could lead to a shortage, since demand for hot sauce often peaks in cold months. >> it was called egypts wide gold and cultivated there. competition has sent cotton production into steep decline. farmers are growing less, forcing factories to close and prices to drop. >> this worker has been working since sunrise. picking this cotton all day will earn her less than $5, but as she explains, this is all she knows. >> i've been doing this ever since i was a child. we spent all day in the sun picking cotton. >> cotton was once the cash crop

in the nile delta and elsewhere, but now, the area of land devoted to it is less than a quarter of what it was just 20 years ago. the product in this field represents around a thousand dollars in value, but the farmer will only oh get half of that. cultivating the cotton requires good irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides to keep the soil healthy. in a good year, these costs can easily be recouped, but not this career, because as we explain, the harvest is poor. >> it's bad this year. the seeds themselves are not strong. we don't have enough fertilizers. all our costs this year have us only breaking even. >> the appeals of cotton gathered will end up in factories like this one. declining demand has had its

effect here, too. tens of thousands of textile workers have lost their jobs as factories have shut down. in 13 month period last year, cotton experts fell by more than 40%. retail stores like this one in cairo now attract few customers. only 100% egyptian cotton is stocked. she said demand for her product is down. >> the process goes up and this is affected badly by the selling every day. the selling every day compared this year and the year before, the year before is better than this year. >> the best egyptian cotton is prized around the world for its quality, but with cheap imports plummeting demand and ongoing economic instability, some fear egyptian cotton might one day become a thing of the past. dominic contain, aljazeera, cairo.

>> many farmers in egypt are now switching to produce more profitable crop. >> thomas has a look at what we're following this morning. >> the house is set to vote on a new budget deal that would prevent a government shut down for two years and has the backing of john boehner, who is lashing out at conservative groups calling out for republicans to vote against it. >> an announcement comes at riot police try to remove anti-government protestors in key every. >> for a second day in a row, thousands are south africans are lining up to bid farewell to nelson mandela. mourners are returning for a second day after being turned away yesterday. >> sigourney weaver is talking about a national haven in new york city for dwellers and out of towners alike. the new york botanical garden is getting in the holiday spirit.

we'll talk to her about that and what else is grabbing her attention right here in the big apple. >> a college student looking to get into a fraternity is dead. what happened during a hazing ritual that turned tragic. >> we head to the hard court and emotional return for doc rivers in boston. that and more coming up in sports. >> temperatures have dropped recently. you might have noticed how much drier the air seems. i'll explain the toll cold air takes on us. >> the aljazeera morning news continues in just two and a half minutes.

to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news. 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. that will will last one day. your weekend should look better with a high of 63. over here towards the southeast, some rain showers pushing through orlando right now. atlanta is going to be about 56. an american auto maker making history. the newer ground general motor is making as it names its latest ceo.

>> the house could vote on the bipartisan budget deal as early as today, but the speaker of the house john boehner is facing opposition to the plan. >> lights out in thailand, anti-government protestors cut power to the prime minister's compound. now they threaten to force their way in if the police don't leave. >> when i first went into one of these house us and saw that, we've got to do something. we've got to start saving this, and put people to work. >> local entrepreneurs finding a unique business opportunity in abandoned homes in detroit. >> a conversation with as scar-nominated actress sigourney

weaver an an iconic landmark she holds close to her heart. >> we want to get right to breaking news this morning coming out of virginia. an amtrak train has collided with a car along route 40 in the town of waverly. there are injuries and emergency personnel is on the scene. as you know, the accident comes less than two weeks after a metro north train crashed outside new york city, leaving four dead. we will bring you more details on the virginia accident as soon as they become available. >> good morning, and welcome to aljazeera america. i'm thomas drayton. it is good to have you with us. a new bipartisan budget deal could get its first federal green light from congress as the house gets set to vote on it later today. even though this is a compromise between the two parties, it

doesn't come without controversy, does it no. >> that's exactly right, thomas. the deal hat backing of house speaker john boehner who is lashing out at conservative groups urging republicans to vote against it. despite that, gop leaders are confident this deal will pass the house and that's a good thing, because this will prevent a government shutdown for the next two years. >> praise and criticism one day after democratic senator patty murray and paul ryan agreed on a bipartisan budget plan to avoid another government shut down. >> what we want to do is keep the government open, but get a trajectory of savings for now. i think that's the right thing to do and what their man ryan has done artfully is gotten what there is to get. >> it is absolutely outrageous that we should leave this congress and go home for the holidays when too many people, over a million people, will not be getting their unemployment

benefits. >> democrats did give up the fight for extending unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of the month for more than 1.3 million people, but got their way on the so-called quester, ease in the automatic spending cuts to federal programs covering health, education and research and development. on wednesday, ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee calls it a win for both sides, citing a budget reduction of $23 billion. >> that's a 10 in the right direction. it means congress gets to exercise the power to pressure. we'll have an appropriations process. we haven't been able to do that for years. that's a good step in the right direction. >> that has not stopped members of ryan's party saying the cuts do not go deep enough. >> we did virtually nothing on social security and medicare and i'm frightened, very frightened about getting ourselves into a hole so deep that finally when we get to the collusion aspect, the solutions are going to be so

painful that it's going to cause chaos in the country. >> some republicans have vowed to vote no. when asked about conservative groups against any plan that does not cut spending, house speaker john boehner pushed back in blunt terms. >> they are using our members and the american people for their own goals. this is ridiculous. listen, if you're for more deficit reduction, you're for this agreement. >> the house adjourns for the year tomorrow, so the vote today is cutting it close. the senate is expected to vote on the package next week and president obama said he will sign it. if this deal goes through, it means the government is funded through 2015, which will come after the mid term elections. one more thing on the government spending just to be clear, this deal does not increase the debt ceiling. congress could face another battle on that in a few months. >> they have a lot of work ahead. thank you. >> senate republicans are holding a talk-a-thon that could last into the weekend.

they're upset with democrats triggering the so-called nuclear option. you're looking at those conversations right now live. the nuclear option, they triggered that last month, changing filibuster rules making it easy to push through executives and nominations. republicans hold the chat fest will hold up the nominations. the stalling tactic could make it difficult to wrap up legislate you have business before the holidays. >> newly released camera video captured the moment of the asiana crash in san francisco. it shows the bowing seven february 7 hitting a sea wall, breaking apart and cartwheeling down the runway. three were killed in the july 6 crash. testimony focused on cockpit automation. >> they were removing human judgment from so many aspects of flight that pilots really are

becoming somewhat complacent. >> even before the crash of the flight, there were concerns about the flight system. the pilot thought the speed control system was always on. >> the u.s. is threatening sanctions against ukraine as the country sinks defer into inat that time. the tate department is considering legislation to deny visas to ukrainian officials or freeze assets if the violence escalates. the announcement comes as riot police try to remove anti-government protestors from the bases in the capitol key every. the countries president is now offering direct talks with opposition parties. >> i'm calling on representatives of all political forces to an overall national

dialogue. i'm personally ready to take part in such a round table so reach a compromise on calling on the opposition not to refuse, not to go along the path of standoff and ultimatum. >> the protest began when the ukrainian president backed away from a trade deal with the european union to seek ties with russia. this morning, putin it is he hopes ukraine finds a solution to the current crisis. we are joined now from key every. we are receiving reports that the u.n. policy chief has said that the eight craneian president may do an about face on the deal. what exactly can you tell us? >> she's reported back to brussels now. she's pent a couple of days here, spoke to the president and told the blessing brussels that

he's indicated that he still wants to eventually at least sign this trade pact with the european union, but of course, as she was saying, spark this whole controversy and this massive display of protests behind me here in the first place. now, earlier this week, he indicated that he did not want to completely write off the idea of moving closer towards europe, but the real question is how does he do it and would moscow, his traditional ally allow him to do it. up to now, i said ukraine's economy's in such a mess, we really can't afford to fulfill the conditions that the european union would demand in order to sign this had deal, but perhaps we're beginning to see movement. president poo tin inside annual address to parliament has said he would like to keep ukraine tied to him at least economically, but said he

doesn't want to impose anything object anyone, and catherine ashton, the main e.u. envoy emphasizing if the conditions should be right, sign up to europe. perhaps we're seeing some give. >> what is the feeling in the capitol city? is there a chance to end this peacefully? >> well, i don't see any real change of mood among the protestors on the ground. i've just walked across the square, come through the barricades, which they are allowing you to do if you're not the enemy, as it were, that is the riot police, who are still poised in bares, ready to roll and push back demonstrators. they know it and are building

defenses. >> opposition protests in thailand ever cut the power to the prime minister's office in bangkok. >> the demonstrators of tried for weeks to get the prime minister to step down. she was not inside her office when power was cut. she gave a televised address just a short time later saying she has no plans to 10 down. >> for a second day in a row, thousands of south africans are lining up for one last moment with nelson mandela. you're about to look at live pictures from the union building in the capitol where his bowed is lying in state.

mandela's coffin will be on display. tomorrow, people have been waiting hours to get a glimpse of the former beloved president. many mourners returned after getting turned away yesterday. joining us now is morgan radford. you know some of the mandela family well. have you had any contact? how are they handling this? >> good morning, thomas, yes, i do. i spoke to one of the grand sons, and widely seen as one of the future leaders of the family, and he spoke with me actually right after the memorial service. it's been hard on the family, a hard time of transition but they are prepared to move forward you with the legacy that their grandfather left. >> i want to talk about the mood and the viewing. is there still an international presence or have most of the foreigners left? >> that's an interesting question, thomas. you know right now, you can really feel just how personal

mandela's legacy is from any africans, because a lot of the foreign dignitaries have left and the south african government have asked people not to take pictures of the body laying in state and ask them to take them down from twitter and facebook feeds, saying this is a national private momentum. right now, this is just the second day of having the body in state where mourners are coming from all over the country you, traveling miles, some for days just to get a glimpse of the man this entire nation calls father. >> i want to talk about a bizarre moment during a ceremony. what's the latest on the sign language interpreter? what do we know about him. >> that was super bizarre. this was an interpreter on tuesday and he was signing.

basically they found that he wasn't saying anything that meant anything in actual sign language. he actually just came on the radio today to defend himself, saying look, i was having a schizophrenic episode. then the manager of the company said he actually doesn't speak english that well. then they back tracked and said i've done big engagements anytime in the past and never had complaints. members of parliament who are deaf have said look, that wasn't anything in sign language and that doesn't mean anything to me. right now, the company that hired the man has virtually all but disappeared. >> it was a bizarre moment, certainly no the to overshadow the great events we have seen. morgan, thank you. >> this time, even santa needs help delivering packages. we'll take a look at the huge surge in shipping. >> relief is slow to getting to some area of the philippines.

some villagers are banding together to solve their own problems instead of waiting for help to arrive. you're looking at the many people who are saying those final goodbyes with nelson mandela live in pretoreia south africa.

higher. this is it is the largest shipping center in the entire world. a break right now before the chaos and am of workers come in. you can look out on this runway. in about two hours, there will be a string, a huge amount of jumbo jets coming in from around the world, which will be unloading and load in shipments from all over the country and shipping to over 200 countries. i'm going to have my cameraman turn around as we walk inside this massive facility here in louisville, kentucky.

>> there will be over 50,000 workers here at some point today. one of these giant fire proof tubs that will be packed up with shipments and be put on airplanes, yesterday we spent the entire day here in the facility, looking at sights and sounds, and here they are. >> millions of packages, hundred was airplanes, thousands are workers, a facility the size of 90 football fields, and a shorter shipping season this year. >> these folks are taking the containers out of the building. this is the big time, if you will. there are tons of packages and they are counting on us. >> this is the u.p.s. world port in louisville, kentucky where nearly 200 cargo jets will land, load up and fly around the world each day until christmas. a fully automated facility,

where 155 miles of conveyor belts move along packages, sorting, stacking and loading them. >> it's the crown jewel of u.p.s. in the airline system. it is our largest hub for parcel handling and the largest parcel handling facility in the world. >> on the peek day, december 23, they are expected to process over 4 million packages. >> nationwide, u.p.s. has hired over 55,000 seasonal workers and the company expects volume to be up nearly 10% this year. >> i fly around the world, so i'm going on a trip starting tomorrow where i am going to hit every weather system in the world. >> here at world port, there are five full time meteorologists, watching weather around the planet, helping to make sure the 132 million packages in the air and on the ground will be delivered safely the week before christmas. >> when that product gets made

in china or overseas and comes back here and gets delivered around the world, we can make that happen. we are a part of so many people's lives. >> according to many of the employees, every day until christmas will feel like the superbowl for them, long hours, precision pace and adrenaline. >> now, the c.e.o. of u.p.s., scott davis, has said this week that he's expecting an uptick of between eight and 10% shipping this holiday season. next week is peak when it's going to be absolutely rocking and rolling here with shipments coming in and out of this facility here, the world port in louisville, kentucky. to put this into perspective, how busy it actually gets here, a plane actually takes off and lands about every two minutes during the peak, which is next week, so in the next few hours, when we come back to you live here, you should see a flurry of

activity behind me, and out on the runway. back to you guys. >> it's going to be very busy. you didn't see a package with my name on it, did you you, robert, by any chance? i have a feeling easy going to be looking over the next hour. robert gray reporting for us, thank you. the postal service recommends sending packages early, saying december 14 is the last day to ensure on time delivery for regular mail. for priority mail, the deadline is december 17, first class december 20 and for procrastinators out there, express mail parcels can be sent december 23 to make it by christmas morning. >> j.p. morgan will pay more than a billion dollars for turning a blind eye to bernie madoff working his ponzi scheme.

some of it will compensate victims. madoff's relationship with with j.p. morgan spanned two decades before his arrest five years ago. >> a major development in the battle over where the bowing 777x will be built, the companies machinist union is making a new contract proposal after the rank and file rejected a deal that the plane be produced in the seattle area. bowing has threatened to move the production elsewhere. >> bowing landed a $6.5 billion order with air canada. >> we'll learn shortly if retailers are having a very happy holiday season with retail sales for november. economists expect it will be auto sales driving numbers higher. >> what we're seeing is cyber monday got pushed into the entire month of november. holiday shopping is probably not

going to impress anyone on wall street or in these retail borders. >> the retail number is the last piece of major economic data ahead of next week's if he had meeting. >> wall street picking up with more selling, do you futures down 21 points. stocks post the their biggest decline in nearly five weeks yesterday. the dow jones industrial average kicks offer blow the 16,000 mark. the s&p stands at 1,082. >> even with yesterday's losses, the dow is up 21% this year and the stock market boom is very good news for pensioners. j.p. morgan choice finds because of wall street gains, corporate pension funds will be able the to cover 96% of future obligations. last year, that number was just

77%. public pension funds are seeing solid gains. >> the philippines has been hold in interest rates at record lows to help boost its crippled economy. damage from the typhoon is expected to slow economic growth there through the first half of next year. >> many people on the ground are waiting for international aid to arrive. some of taking matters into their own hands. >> helicopters that once brought aid now fade into the distance. like other communities washed away, people here cope on their own. they have lost family members, homes and livelihoods and now are left with the task of rebuilding. a short distance away at the government compound, aid is still being stock piled.

it is said these people are not forgotten but admit the problem is how to get aid to those who need it most. while the philippine that government continue to map out a plan on how to spend the multi-million dollar aid pouring in, villagers here couldn't afford to sit down and wait so found a solution to solve the problem themselves. romeo has always been self reliant when it comes to making a living in the sea. he lost his boat in the storm, but didn't wait for someone to help him. >> i couldn't just sit around here and wait. nobody new when aid would come, so i figured it out on my own. >> he found a way to feed his family. >> like that, the idea came to me. i only had my fishing net left. i needed something to sale me out to sea right away. >> a makeshift boat made from an

old refrigerator. it may be basic, he says, but just three days after the typhoon, he was fishing again. an ingenius idea said fellow fishermen, and did the same. they are not hungry. it is the kind of resilience they say they learned the hard way. to get back on their feet, they know in the end, they only have themselves to rely on fill teens. >> the philippine government is seeking $9 billion in intra structure investments to speed the deliver of aid to hard to reach communities. >> thousands are trying to escape the violence in the central african republic. we'll show you where some of the

refugees are seeking safety. >> a college freshman dies allegedly because of a fraternity ritual. the game that may have claimed his life. >> act stress sigourney weaver will join us live to talk about a special holiday tradition and the big apples commitment to the arts.

he wanted to cut the growth in cost of living adjustments and others that felt that was the wrong way to go to start to cut entitlements or at least slow the growth of entitlements. both of them came to a neutral, compromised ground. this is a compromise of the sort that people have been asking for for quite some time. the bottom line here, those conservative objections are getting some traction, but the betting is now this evening that this is going to pass the house of representatives on thursday and go to the senate the next week and end up on the president's desk, joie. >> mike, thanks for being with us. we'll follow up. ahead. the international space station marks 15 years. are we getting enough bang for our buck, or is it just taking up space? get it?

>> u.s. military planes are now playing a role in the central african republic with, airlifting peace keeping troops to the troubled country. tens of thousands of people fleeing have south shelter near the airport. 500 people have been killed there in the last week alone.

aljazeera is in the capitol with more. >> we are on the edge of the international airport and the situation here is just terrible. there are around 40,000 people here who are forced to stay in shelter here close to the french and african forces because they don't feel safe enough to come hole. i can show you where some people are sleeping and setting up camps underneath old airplanes. in a is an international airport, but this side is where old abandoned planes are, you can see people are sheltering under them, because the sun is so hot, they don't have tents. there's nothing for them here. at the moment, they don't have enough food and water. everybody who's come up to us asks us for assistance. we've told them we're journalists, there's nothing we can do, all we can do is just

tell their atory. the world food program has been here giving health assistance, but the situation here as you can see is just terrible for these people and it's not just here at the airport. that there are more than 100,000 people all over the city and around 30 flights unable to return. in the countryside, we're looking at hundreds of thousands of people. in and out people here have some limited protection from african forces and also the french, but the situation here in this camp is very, very tense, as you can imagine. the problem is that they need to get help as soon as possible, but humanitarian agencies don't feel safe enough at the moment to come here. >> reporting from the central african republic. >> the indian government is looking at ways to strike down a

ruling making homosexuality illegal. the a 2009 decision was overruled that decriminalized gay self. one lawmaker said all opposites are being considered to retain l.g.b.t. rights. the law has been in place for more than 150 years since british colonialle rule. >> australia's highest court struck down a landmark law that loud the countries first gay marriages. >> police are vetting the death of a college freshman killed in an apparent hazing ritual. the incident which allegedly

involved pledges blindfolded and repeatedly knocked to the ground happened in virginia. >> five pledges were staying at this rental home with 30 fraternity members last weekend. the 19-year-old hoped to gain admittance into the asian american frat, but something went wrong. according to the district attorney's office, he collapsed and suffered major brain trauma in a hazing ritual involving physical abuse. no ambulance was called. many could not believe something like this could happen. the college, part of the city university of new york is mostly a commuter school and has a small greek system. >> i would never expect that would happen at this school. >> i visited friends at penn state, albany, rutgers. they have real greek systems. i've never seen anything crazy here, no. >> the monroe county d.a. said when he went unresponsive,

members of the fraternity took him independence the house for some time before driving him to the emergency room. he was put on life support and died monday. police are investigating the death and the amount of time between his injury and when he was taken to the hospital. the school issued this statement: neighbors say the rental house known for its late night parties has been a problem in the past. >> people get out on that deck, they use profanity, i've seen marijuana smoking, i've seen nothing but headaches. >> people are no better certainly. everybody at the party should know better. this should not be happening. >> an internal investigation is being conducted and the rights of the fraternity have been suspended on campus.

>> the county coroner's office performed a toxicology report and autopsy. the incident is still under investigation. >> tens of thousands of women may be able to by pass grueling cancer treatment without risking odds of survival. that's according to research. the studies were aimed at preventing overtreatment. researchers suggest skipping surgery, and heavy ratation may curb trauma and life long side effects. >> cold air is gripping the country, are you feeling dry? >> have you been hitting the lotion, chap stick and when you brush your hair, it does the static thing. cold is causing elements to be drier out there. chicago, one degree today. i've been doing different cities with different temperatures through the morning to show justify anywhere with the cold air seeing this dry weather. at the dewpoint is a measurement

of what we would have to get to, the dewpoint matches the temperature, you're saturated. we are not that far off at a temperature of one, meaning the relative humidity is 1%. when we heat that air, we are not adding moisture to that. same thing if we breathe it into our warm bodies, so it dehydrates it. you take that same dewpoint with the 70-degree temperature inside your house, relative humidity of five. desserts run in the 20% range, so that is drier than dessert air, both inside your house and also as you breathe it in, so you need to keep the water flowing all through the winter if you're outside, if the animals are outside, it's easy to dehydrate and causes dry kin can be the static electricity, even the dry air into your nose, the sign thuses that can cause problems. believe it or not, it can cause your furnitures to shrink.

floors can crack, doors might not fit right. it causes problems. if you have been hitting the lotion, you have not been imagining it. >> let's warm things a little bit. three time oscar nominee sigourney weaver battled aliens, and has appeared in countless hits including "ghost busters" and gorillas in the mist and" avatar." a very good morning to you. >> good morning, thomas. >> i'm going to have to ask you how did you go from battling aliens to battling spectacular gardens? >> i guess it was a logical antidote for tackling aliens. i've always loved gardening.

i've always loved the new york botanical garden and this train show to me is one of the most unusual and enchanting things that happen at the garden and happen in new york. >> you're standing in the garden's conserve atory, located in the bronx. we saw a moment ago behind you, it shows a little bit of manhattan, right? >> it does show a little piece of beloved manhattan. behind me is the metropolitan life building, the empire state building, the chrysler building, rockefeller center, the new york stock exchange. it's sort of the business area, and each of these buildings are constructed very lovingly by the trained team that finds seed pods and magnolia leaves and radish seeds and all kinds of

other things that they use to build these amaze in buildings, and they're so incredibly beautiful and so organic. >> it really is a spectacular sight. >> the stone buildings made of seed pods. >> this really brings me back to my childhood here. this is for the young and young at heart, isn't it? >> it really is. you know, i certainly think it's for the whole family. children will be fascinated by the trains and by the buildings, but, you know, it's for the much older people like myself, as well, because it just, the attention to detail and the artistry and construction of these fantastic buildings, a lot of which don't exist anymore, like pen station, it's just a

lovely gift to new york. >> we'll call ourselves the big kids. the conserve atory itself, the building opened in 1902, it's the a very beautiful building. can you tell us about the history. >> it is, yes. it was built in 1902. i think you it's one of the largest conserve atorys anywhere, and if you walk through, you can go through the rain forest, and then into the dessert and then into the, you know, they're like i don't know how many different sections, but you walk into a complete world of that section, of that part of the world, and it's, you know, we get a lot of kids coming here. we have a big outreach program, a understand this is such an education, and such a transformation for all of us. >> i hope the big kids and little kidsed will be able to check it out. i do want to talk about the theater here.

you often appear on the new york stage, your husband jim simpson is art aistic director in downtown manhattan. i know in the aftermath of 9/11, you thought the theater days were numbered. can you tell us about the dramatic turnaround? >> we started the flee just a few of us as an experiment to honor the work of off off broadway, which is mostly new work. after 9/11, that whole part of the city was closed down and we felt our days were numbered, and then jim simpson found a play about a fire captain and an upper west side journalist and that ran for a year. i think it sort of gave us a new life. we got a board, a wonderful managing producer, and now we

have 150 young people that are always in shows, you know, at all hours of the night, and young directors, young designers, and i'm so proud of it, and now we've actually bought a building and we are building a building, so a beautiful theater with three different spaces. it's a great place for a lot of young groups to come together and sort of cross pollenate, groups that can't perform and shouldn't have their own building, because it's a lot of administration, but we'll be able to serve downtown, the emerging theater community and artists like myself. >> we showed a rendering of that center just a moment ago. what does this say for new york's commitment to the arts? you know, the city officials who

came, supported us, scott stringer and margaret chen, it's in her district, they've just been amazing. they know how important it is to keep young people in our city who are interested in the arts, and so they've been incredible to us, and so has the mayor's administration. we wouldn't have been ail to do it. with we started raising money at the end of 2008, so it's taken us a while to raise the money, but, you know, we've been paying, when we first moved to the flee now, we were paying about $3,000 a month and were across from a strip joint, now we're going to own our own building. none of that money will go to rent, it will go to maintenance and production in the building. >> what's next for sigourney

weaver? i loved you in political animals. what's next. >> thank you. i just played an egyptian queen in the book of exodus for ridley scott and i'm on my way to south africa to do chappy, kneel black camps new film. i play an american c.e.o. and it's got a great cast. i think he's an amazing director. >> we look forward to the work. i won't even ask you when you sleep. thanks so much for joining us. so good to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> let's talk sports here. the nba had an emotional return of a beloved head coach or beloved coach. we have more on that. >> this usually doesn't happen and this was pretty cool. when head coaches leave teams abruptly, it can cause hard

feelings. riley was booed relentlessly every time he returned to madison square garden. doc rivers returned to boston for the first time last night to a heroes welcome. he was saluted by the crowd on multiple occasions, beginning with his first appearance for pregame warm ups, the love pouring from the fans. celtics up by six at the half. after the break, the clips began to take over. chris paul with the jumper, paul with 22 on the night. later, paul with his specialty, one of his nine assists. crawford, that's a long three. the clippers win 96 owe 88 but this night was all about doc rivers. >> it was just a really nice day. this is the -- it's a classic

place here and so it was a... it was really nice when i walked out and, you know, i'm not used to walking out on that side, and all those guys, people lined up, and i was basically useless for the first 18 minutes of the game, i thought. you know, that was just nice. it didn't surprise me. that's just the way you got to live here to understand that. that's just the way they are. it's just an that amazing fan base. it really is. you know, i just want everything to go well for him. >> meantime, the new york knicks trying to return to mediocrity. teague in the lane, that doesn't

go, but noah's tip does. tied at 74. stoudemire played 30 minutes, playing the second of a back-to-back, 7-11 from the field. the knicks took control and won it 83-78. >> golden state hosting dallas, the mavericks led much of this game. that was carter connecting, mavs up by 12. seth curry for three pulse golden state within three. currie had six triples on the night. nowitzki gives a bit of a pad. a pump fake and another one fade away, bam, dallas up six, dirk had 21. golden state with the ball, who gets it, currie and game winner, he had 33 be the warriors take it 95-93. >> turning to baseball now, with young phenom following tommy

john surgery, the mets have added a veteran arm, reaching an agreement with bartolo colon. 18-6 with an e.r.a. of 2.65 with the a's last season. >> corey hart reached a deal, one year, $6 million. with incentives, he could earn $13 million. he hit .270 with the brewers in 2012. >> in other news for the winter meetings, the yankees have rejected a straight up offer from the reds including brandon phillips for brett gardner. that's it for sports. >> moor deals to come. >> you bet. >> saving detroit by tearing it down. >> it is the option of construction. instead of building it from the ground up, we take it from the

top down. >> building a new kind of business. >> problems mar a big moment for the international space station. what broke down as the outer space outpost celebrated its 15th anniversary. >> much of the country is seeing quiet weather today. we have an exception with the lake effect snow areas. i'll have your forecast.

>> an al jazeera america exclusive...

>> welcome back oh aljazeera america. giving new life to detroit's forgotten homes, how entrepreneurs are finding opportunity. >> first, lets look at where the snow and rain may be falling across the country today. >> just a little bit ago, i talked about how the cold air holds less moisture, which is why we always feel dried out this time of year. just a couple areas that we're watching for any problems. we have a clipper going through the midwest, not a lot of snow hitting the ground here, but you might see a knew flakes go by. a little more significant into right around the great lakes,

pores of western new york are still under lake effect snow warnings between today and to really. if you get right under one band, you could get an additional foot or more and some reduced visibility. on the dry air, once hit, the humidifiers work, maybe on your christmas list. >> as the f.c.c. considers changing rules banning the use of cell phones an airplanes, many americans want to keep them turned off. the associated press poll shows 48% of americans oppose the use of cell phones for voice calls in flight. just 19% say they would like to use their phones while flying. another 30% could go either way. the opposition is higher among frequent flyers. 59% of those who have flown more than once this year are against it. the opposition source to 78% for passengers who took more than four flights the. >> 20% of all the houses in

detroit are empty. one of the city's main goals is to tear down the thousands of abandoned homes, but as david hawkins reports, some local entrepreneurs are capitalizing on that. >> where some people see trash, others see treasure or in the case of these abandoned houses, a lumber yard. >> the lumber we get out of these old houses is beautiful stuff. >> it reclaimed detroit to salvage valuable wood from houses ready for demolition. >> i thought we've got to start saving this, and put people to work. >> it costs about $9,000 to demolish a house. many have already been stripped by scavengers who steal pipes, and architectural detail. that most abandoned houses contain about $10,000 worth of lumber, flooring, two by fours

and plywood. entrepreneurs want to recycle it. >> we're doing what we can to show people the inherent beauty and opportunity within this wood. >> james, an arc tech and third generation master carpenter sells and designs furniture made from reclaimed lumber. >> i feel this material has a huge appeal on a fundamental level. the fact that it has a story behind it, all of our pieces come with its own unique detroit address. >> more people are using reclaimed wood for their environmentally conscious clients. >> we're not just profit-driven, we're protecting the environment, and offering basically what is exotic wood species compared to destroying a rain forest. >> reclaimed wood isn't just about recycling. it creates jobs. they call it deconstruction

work. >> deconstruction is the opposite of construction, so instead of building the house from the ground up, we take it down from the top down. >> contractors say deconstructing a house takes more skill, time and labor than knocking it down and carting the debris off to a landfill. >> so far, we've got six workers on this one right now. this is coming out pretty quickly. you've got a machine and maybe two guys, two or three guys. >> before being turned into a cutting board, dining table or coffee shop, it needs to be sanded, replaned and finished. every 10 means more jobs, and right now, that's probably what detroit needs more than just about anything else. david hawkins, aljazeera, detroit. >> detroit's newly launched blight task force is attempting to count every empty structure in the city. >> nasa is investigating a

malfunction board the international space station. the cooling system has had problems, the six person crew was never in any danger. space station celebrated its 15th anniversary this week. >> thanks for being with us. i'm thomas drayton. aljazeera america has more news straight ahead. you can always go on line at aljazeera.com.

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. that will will last one day. your weekend should look better with a high of 63. over here towards the southeast, some rain showers pushing through orlando right now. atlanta is going to be about 56. an american auto maker making history. the newer ground general motor is making as it names its latest ceo. 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?