♪ mass transportation is coming under the microscope two weeks after the deadly commuter train derailment, federal feshls call for the first-officer top to bottom review of a passenger railroad and plus they are putting the brakes on buses that may be unsafe. north korea kim jong-un has been executed and he betrayed him and the country. and a scathing new report says europe is not doing enough to provide them with a safe haven. ♪ and using the power of music to battle dementia.

♪ good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie si, following a state of accidents on the roads and the rails federal transportation authorities are instituting an unprecedented safety crack down, they shut down 52 bus companies nationwide and pulled 340 buses off the roads. during operation quick strike especially trained investigators pulled the plug on carriers in 22 states. and after a train derailment in new york city last month left four people dead federal officials ordered a complete safety review of the north train system. the first such investigation ever conducted on a u.s. passenger railroad. transportation secretary anthony fox said of the review safety is our top priority and this in-depth investigation will help

ensure that metro north is doing everything possible to improve the safety record. the 60-day review of metro north begins on monday and it will focus on procedures that control centers where dispatchers communicate with operators and look at rail and systems to alert them of sharp turns. it will shine a spotlight on engineer fatigue, that is something that may have contributed to the metro north accident in the bronx and as lisa stark learned it's not the first time an accident has been blamed on a lack of sleep. >> it's too soon to know just what caused the train wreck in new york but if william rockefeller did nod off and nearly fall asleep at the controls this accident would be another in a long list. >> if fatigue is an instigator in all modes of transportation. >> reporter: an investigation in the 2011 tour bus crash found

the driver had hardly slept in three days. 15 people died. in 2009 the ntsb said a tired trucker who had been on the road for ten hours killed ten in oklahoma. in 2004 investigators say an exhausted crew's freight train slammed into another train releasing lethal chlorine and three died. in missouri that year ntsb said pilots on duty 14 hours crashed short of the runway, 13 died. the ntsb has made more than 200 safe tiff recommendations on fatigue, former managing director peter calls it a challenging problem. >> it still may not be taken seriously by either the operators or management. you know, there tends to be an macho facility of we will power through, if i'm feeling a little tired i will power through it. >> this is what can happen if you doze off, watch this tired

trucker as he careens across the highway. in some cases those at the controls of a truck, plane or even car may not realize just how tired they are. >> just like we talk about how people are very bad judge of whether they have had too much to drink to get behind the wheel we may also be a very bad judge of whether we are too sleepy to drive. >> reporter: drowsy driving causes 100,000 a year killing 1500 and injuring 40,000. it's hard to say individual drivers and there is no breathalyzer for fatigue they they put in rules for pilots, truck drivers, bus operators and crews requiring shorter workdays and longer rest periods. safety experts say those rules are long overdue. still there is no full proof answer. the train engineer reportedly

had a full night sleep but he was two weeks into a new early morning shift. sleep experts say his body may not have adjusted. technology may help. everything from eye and face tracking to warn truckers they are falling asleep to sophisticated systems that can automatically stop or slow a train if the engineer fails to. but sleep researchers say what also needs to change is attitudes. >> the first wish i would make is for everyone to start thinking about their sleep seriously. >> kit be a matter of life and death. that was lisa stark reporting from washington. after an eight-month investigation known as operation quick strike transportation officials shut down 52 bus companies in 22 states and it was launched in april after two deadly bus crashes and one in december of last year in oregon and another in february in southern california. the bus drivers in both incidents had been under investigation for safety violations and they found poorly

maintained buses, inadequate drug and alcohol testing and overworked drivers. making cell phone calls on planes may be one step closer to reality. the fcc did not see any technical reason to prevent calls and took an initial vote thursday to lift the ban. >> and if technology eliminates the need, eliminates interference and therefore eliminates the need for an interference protection rule, then we ought to eliminate the rule. >> reporter: but in a surprise announcement the transportation department is considering its own ban saying chatting on cell phones may not be fair to all passengers, it is considering whether to allow texting and internet surfing. by partisan budget deal is now heads to the senate. the house approved the plan that will keep the government running for another two years, and

thursday's vote easily passed by an overwhelming number of republicans and democrats, the white house is calling it an important moment of cooperation. danielle lee has more from washington. >> it was a rare show of team work in the house. as lawmakers easily passed the two-year budget deal. >> it's not perfect, it's a start. that's how it works in the government. >> reporter: the white house called it an important moment of by partisan cooperation and in the last press conference of the year john boehner attacked the groups who oppose the plan and tried to convince tea party members to do the same. >> when you criticize something and you have no idea what you are criticizing it under mines your credibility. >> reporter: the two-year agreement reduces the deficit by $23 billion and reverses some automatic spending cuts and the passage depends on the senate. >> i'm hopeful we can keep it going and i think it's a very

important step forward. >> reporter: but for now progress is on hold, a power struggle over the president's nominees has forced the senate into a marathon session that will likely occupy them into saturday. >> i can't wave a magic wand and heal hurt feelings but appeal to colleagues to be reasonable to work with. >> reporter: and time is tight to finish the job. >> and danielle reporting from washington. and they passed a $620 billion defense bill and includes two dozen provisions on sexual assault in the military and provide victims with legal council and prohibit commanders from tossing out or reducing convictions and the pentagon says they were sexually assaulted last year and the bill has to be approved by the senate. a presidential task force is recommending that the nsa be reigned in. the white house taps the panel to review the spay agency's activities and according to

several published reports the task force has broad restraints on how nsa collects data on every phone call in the u.s. and suggests the white house review the nsa program the same way it reviews action taken by the cia. the once powerful uncle of north kroern leader young-un has been executed days after he was removed from his military post for allegedly trying to over throw the government and rob mcbride reports it's widely seen as a way for kim to bolster his power. >> his fall from grace absolutely and for all the world to see, photographs of jong appearing before the special tribunal to pass the death sentence were released through a north korean website with the speed and openness rarely seen before. on the streets of the north korean capitol residents were digesting the news that the man

considered the mentor of their leader and always seen at his side was an enemy of the people. >> translator: he is like an enemy who dares to be crazy enough to take over power from the leader and look what he did to people's lives and got what he deserved. >> translator: for this group of traitors who were going to destroy or single hearted unity execution is too lien ents and should be torn up and thrown in the rubbish bin of history. >> reporter: the down fall began with his dramatic removal from a party meeting last week and after which he was branded a traitor. confirmation of his execution was accompanied by a statement from the official north korean news agency that read the accused is a traitor to the nation for all ages who perpetrated antiparty, county revolution refractional acts in a bid to over throw the leadership of party, state and

the socialist system and referred to as scum jong worse than a dog and given the fall out beyond the borders there has been understandable concern from east asia neighbors and south korea is following events closely and prepared for any developments. >> translator: the south korean government has deep concerns about a resent series of developments in north korea and watching the situation closely and make sure we are prepared for possibilities in a calm manner and the government will cooperate closely with allies and related nations. >> reporter: once regarded as indispensable and smoothed the transition of power from father to son something went very wrong. >> that was rob mcbride reporting and it has been six

weeks since the typhoon went through the philippines and the death toll is 6,000 with 1700 people still missing. officials fear the number could go up as more bodies are recovered everyday, it flattened millions of homes in the philippines and could take at least three years before new houses are built. in taliban many displaced by the storm are living in temporary shelters. a big storm is moving across the country and nicole mitchell has been tracking it and which areas will be hit the hardest? >> we have some places feeling the impact especially heading into the weekend. one piece of energy is a clipper we have coming down, light snow with that and another developing system in the southern plains and already rain this morning in texas e oklahoma, isolated strip of freezing precipitation but is this system to the south develops and pulls in the gulf moisture and we also have reenforcing of the shot from the clipper and see some problems over the next couple days and

already moisture hitting the ground in place like oklahoma and the north is the rain side and we have so much cold air across the country that a lot of this is snow from missouri moving into ohio river valley and watch for snow and advisories starting to pop up and some of the totals could be 6" or more in some ice laid spots especially in the core of all of this. as i said this system is still in those developing stages so here is what happened, we have two pieces of energy, they will be coming together and becoming one more potent storm as we move along and then moving into the east coast. already by tomorrow as we get into the afternoon and evening in the ohio river valley this is off the coastline and this could become off the coastline with the wind flow around it and technically a nor'easter and bring some cold air and wind especially into new england as we get into late saturday and into the day on sunday. this is the moisture as we get into saturday.

you see a core of warm air and means we could have some rain switched to sleet or some snow switched to sleet or rain on the very tail end but a big mess on the east coast tomorrow and problems today too and back to you. >> thank you nicole, thousands of protesters are still camped out in independent square in kiav, ukraine despite a promise to sign a trade deal with the european union which is what protesters said they wanted. the deputy prime minister said thursday the country would sign the agreement after eu promised more aid, that marks a reversal by the ukraine president who shelved the deal in favor of one with russia and we are learning that the opposition leader said he will attend roundtable talks with the president. one last chance to say good-bye to a global icon, these are live

pictures from pretoria, south africa for a third and final day thousands of mourners are filing through the union buildings to say farewell to nelson mandela. the former south african president's body has been lying in state everyday since wednesday, his body will be returned to his childhood home on saturday and funeral services will take place on sunday. these aerial pictures show this sheer size and magnitude of the line of people waiting to semen -- see, mandela and 50,000 have lined up today as park and ride facilities in pretoria to pay respects and we are joined by the reporter in the eastern province and tell me about the significance of where you are standing, of this location. >> well, this is where nelson mandela spent some childhood and this is where the elders used to

meet about the village, and they would hide and listen to the conversation and knew what they were doing is wrong but he said that is when his mind was open and learned about politics, asking questions, asking things like why are black people different from whites, what is apartheid, where is the country going et cetera. his people and family live in this particular compound and some are still here and tried to preserve as much as they can and the green walls and thatched is where he used to sleep as a boy. >> what kinds of ceremony is being planned for the arrival of mandela's remains? >> well, many people are coming, many vip and some heads of states and people here in the village are seeing the people lining up to see nelson mandela in pretoria and they say when

the body gets here they are in charge and want an additional furn ral and certain customs have to be done according to african traditions and if the things are not done that means his spirits won't rest in peace and if he doesn't rest in peace that means his family won't be in peace as well. they want to make sure certain rituals are done and they understand he is a man of the world and there are elms that will be included in the funeral but need time and space to give nelson mandela a fitting and traditional ceremony because if that is not done the ancestors in the other life and world won't be happy. >> and we are joined by the eastern province and thank you. some of the workers who processed the nuts you buy at the supermarket are making 5 cents an hour, the controversy over the cashew industry and the country that produces more than half of the world supply. they are slamming europe and

saying they are not doing enough to help refugees and they have a journey of one man escaping the civil war in search of a safe haven. >> she is used to be an independent and now she has to be dependent so in that respect it's a big change and an acceptance. >> reporter: families struggling with dementia are finding support to help them deal with a difficult illness. taking a live look at pretoria, south africa where long lines continue for a third and final day, nelson mandela will be lying in state. ♪

good morning and welcome back, i'm stephanie si, the nuts you buy in the store may cost a few dollars a pound but workers who get them to you are making pennies an hour, the criticism hitting the country that processes 60% of the world's cashews and let's look at what temperatures we will see across the nation and nicole mitchell

is back. >> below average for the eastern half of the country and will impact the storm system we have been watching for you. on the southern end of this highs in the 40s and little rock and moisture coming in more likely to stay rain. on the northern edge of this, we are definitely seeing places like indianapolis right at the 32 degree mark and that is briefly, that is the high temperature and most of the day below freezing and what we get in terms of precipitation is snow and you get the heavier wet snow sometimes and hard to shovel and be careful dealing with that. in the day tomorrow more of the same as it hits the east coast. a lot of temperatures you will notice in the 30s. i mentioned the warm up, as the low pressure comes out and develops along the coast and for a second there you see the temperatures kind of nudge up and the colors, see the brighter greens, we could on the back end get a little bit of this converting to rain but most of this definitely is going to be snow. back to you.

>> thank you. turning now to the day's business news, the battle over where the boeing 777 x will be built continues, the machine rejected the latest contract offer from boeing, the proposal would have guaranteed the plane would be produced in the seattle area, a major sticking point in the contract negotiation eliminating the traditional pension plan for a 401(k) style plan and 22 states have lined up eager for the jobs. ford is beefing up its workforce. the auto maker will be hiring 5,000 more workers to meet growing demand. ford has added 14,000 jobs the past two years. the company planned 16 new vehicle launches in north america in 2014 including the new mustang and, wall street bouncing back and gains at the open after falling to the worst level in a month yesterday, the dow starting the day at 15,731, s&p 5 00's 1775.

nasdaq below 4,000 level. one market watcher said they could spoil the party for stocks if it pulls back on stimulus. >> earnings are improving and close to all time high and economy that is improving and washington is getting the act together and right now the tun mentals are in place to kind of justify the allegedly -- rally but it is the fundamental. >> and they are on pace for their second weekly drop. in asia markets ended the week higher and they snapped a three-day losing streak. 60% of cashews consumed globally are processed in india and they earn just 5 cents an hour, less than a dollar a day, one bag at the super market costs four times that amount which is why some are calling for higher salaries and better conditions for workers and we have more. >> these women are just a few of

the nearly 1 million cashew workers across india. at this government-run facility not much has changed since the industry took off in the 1920s. here they are grown locally or brought in and open and roasted before being peeled and sorted. but the deshellers especially it's back-breaking work literally. >> translator: many women here have pain in back and knee and i know some people who died from medical problems but now we don't get acid on our fingers anymore. >> reporter: this government processing facility is better than most private ones. here workers have covers to protect their fingers and a fan to keep them cool but they have to squat on the floor for more than 7 hours a day and that causing long-term pain in their knees and back. >> translator: no one knows that better than sarah who only

goes by one name, deshelling cashews for 34 years led to major body pain and having her uterus removed due to years of constant squatting on the floor and now the 63-year-old helps current workers from getting medical help to being paid on time. >> translator: at least the medical care we should get, government facilities give medical treatment but only sometimes. we had to protest and even strike a few times just to get wages or pension owed to us so the amount is still not enough, not when inflation keeps rising. >> reporter: the government body that runs this unit says medical facilities are available to workers and the government has looked at ways to make the cashew peeling process less stressful as the demand for more workers keeps rising. >> we are trying to make it better by sitting in chairs. were did a lot of experiment in that but most of our people say

it's comfortable on the floor for them. >> she doesn't buy it and say conditions for workers have not improved in years. she believes while processors and retailers are making money from the cashews workers like her are paying the real price. i'm with al jazeera. >> reporter: the u.s. is a major market for indian cashews exported to at least 50 countries around the world. it's been almost one year since the deadly shooting at sandy hook elementary school. the impact, the tragedies that had across the country and why it did very little to change the nation's gun laws. the journey of a syrian refugee and one man's mission to find a safe place to live and allowing families to end the lives of terminally ill children, we will focus on a country that is one step closer to approving mercy killings. and quarterback leads the

hopefuls and we will have a preview of contenders later in sports. >> lines of people continue to pour through the government buildings where nelson mandela is lying in state for a third and final day, mandela will be buried on sunday. ♪ 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. >> 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

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie si and these are the top stories at this hour, transcript taeshl officials -- transportation shut down 52 buses and inadequate drug and alcohol testing and overworked drivers. federal officials have ordered a complete safety review of the metro north train system and comes after the train derailment

in new york city earlier this month that left four people dead, the first investigation ever conducted on a u.s. passenger railroad. kim jong-un's uncle is executed and guilty of treason and once considered the second most powerful man. the white house says if it's true it's an example of the extreme brutality of the north korean regime. syria confirmed additional chemical weapons attacks and a new report finds that it was used in august and a thousand people died in the attack and chemicals were used in up to 7 additional incidents including attacks on soldiers. the report does not say whether the government or the opposition were responsible for the attacks. meanwhile humanitarian groups are accusing european countries not doing enough to help syrian refugees and ten countries offered to take them in and even

then they are only willing to accept 12000 people. the uk and italy have not offered to take any refugees at all, the british government is focusing aid efforts on the ground in syria, and phillips look to the extremes they take to get to europe illegally. >> reporter: escape from syria. and as dawn breaks mohamed runs from his country and makes it to the border and he will meet the smuggling gangs who say he can take him to europe for a price. >> translator: i have a two-year-old daughter and when they bomb the town she hid in the corner and covered her ears and screams daddy they are bombing us and thinks there is nothing i can do, if fear is a person then you can kill them but fear is a plane in the sky and who can cope with that?

>> reporter: in estambul they meet syria people who traveled here without her father and plan to go to greece by boat. but she does not know how to swim. it's a dangerous and illegal journey but there is no easy way for syrian refugees to get into europe. amnesty international says germany is the most generous country offering to take 10,000 syrians and the other 27 countries have offered to take just over 2000 between them. france has offered 500 places, spain 30, 18 eu countries including britain and italy have not offered any places at all. >> there has been so many given to the humanitarian efforts but we need to help the people under ground and suffering people with illnesses and disabilities who cannot get the care they need

because of who they are and they really need a safe place to go to that will provide to them what they need. >> reporter: amnesty figures don't tell the whole story, in sweden 20,000 have found refuge without help and britain helped with camps on the borders saying it's an efficient way of helping many people rather than offering resettlement to a few. mohamed does arrive in greece. he end up in a crowded camp on an island. he too wants to go to sweden, but for now that is just a dream. barnabie phillips al jazeera. >> neighboring countrys like lebanon, turkey, jordan and iraq are bearing the burden and taken on 2 million refugees since the syrian war broke out in 2011. there are fears that central african republic crisis could

descend into a civil war pitting muslims against christians and they are in camps on the capitol of bongi and 500 died in the past week alone and the u.s. are air lifting troops and there are troops from france and the african union in the country. the democratic republic of congo signed a peace deal with rebels and 800,000 people fleed their homes since it began in 2012 and the u.n. security council previously blamed the group for murder, abductions and violence and the deal between drc and the rebels transforms the group into a political party and it includes the release of prisoners and resettlement of refugees. john kerry is back in the middle east, his 9th trip to the region this year and sheping up to have a peace deal in place by may and he met with israeli prime

minister benjamin netanyahu and hopes the deal will address security issues, borders of a future palestinian state and the status of jerusalem and the fate of palestinian refugees and if a deal is not flushed out by the spring they will have at least a framework in place. israeli and pal stints agreed to negotiate for a minimum of nine months. with the first anniversary of the shootings at sandy hook an emotional gathering in washington d.c. >> one year after the shootings at sandy hook elementary school we still live with the gun violence. >> reporter: hundreds gathered on thursday at the national cathedral to remember the 20 children and 6 adults killed at the school and they called it a vigil for all victims of gun violence. >> it's hard for me to be here

today and talk about my deceased son. i have to. i'm his voice. >> this is a positive legacy that will come from our unimaginable loss. i will remember. >> reporter: newtown will not have any public ceremonies in the town to mark the anniversary of the tragedy. the newtown shooting reignited a fierce gun control debate in the country and patty looks at what it has on the nation's policy in the first part of a special series we are calling guns in america. >> these are the faces of newtown. these are the faces of 20 children who were murdered in their classroom. six and seven-year-olds killed in a constant stream of gunfire at the hands of a mentally ill man with an assault weapon. a crime that brought the country and its leader to tears and he promised their deaths would not

be in vain, the country would change gun laws and his vice president would make sure of it, they lobbied and so did the powerful national rifle association, the gun rights group won. the legislation to bring in universal background checks for gun owners and certain assault weapons and clips that hold large ammunition failed. >> all in all this was a pretty shameful day for washington. >> reporter: he promised he would keep fighting but since that day there is not a renewed push for federal legislation, both sides on the issue say the next election will determine what happens next. >> when you have constituent like moms getting involved and care more about the safety of their children than they do about a lunatic fridge that is basically holding the country hostage i think you will see things change. >> thankfully they have taken their time on this and won't get anything tremendously foolish that may come through so we are

always concerned about what may happen, we are doubly concerned about something especially as sensitive as a civil right in this country and what it may lead to down the road. >> they did have one concrete impact gun sales sky rocketed and no one keeps tracks on how many guns are sold in the united states but so far this year the government ran almost 19 million background checks, that is on course to beat last year meaning there could be as many as 19-20 million new guns the street. so in the year that passed after the tears have been shed, promises made and not kept politicians and lobbyist look to the future and next election but on the anniversary the nation will stop for one day to remember their futures, stolen forever. patty with al jazeera washington. >> reporter: coming up, in our next hour we will take a closer look at gun culture in the united kingdom. a court case out of texas has

people talking about a surprising new defense strategy called affluenza saying rich kids may have a built-in excuse for bad behavior and we have the story. >> he is free tonight, a judge's decision that some say was based on income, not evidence. >> money always seems to keep ethan out of trouble. >> reporter: the 16-year-old was behind the wheel and drunk on stolen beer when he crashed a pickup truck into four people on the side of a texas road, killing them all. couch admits to being under the influence at the time. while prosecutors wanted him to serve 20 years many prison his attorneys turned to a controversial defense. the strategy focused on something called affluenza basically meaning they make poor decisions clouded by material things and unguided by attentive parents and more susceptible to irresponsible behavior according to a defense psychologist.

the victim's families condemned it but the court may have been persuaded. in the end couch was spared prison time. instead he got ten years probation. his attorneys saying it was the right sentence. >> we applaud judge boyd for having the courage to issue the sentence that is going to give ethan couch a chance to develop into a productive citizen and try to make amends for his actions. >> reporter: eric boils whose wife and daughter were killed in the crash says justice was denied. >> probation for four lives and the two serious injuries, i don't get it. >> reporter: i'm with al jazeera new york. >> evan couch will do rehabilitation at a california center which will cost the family more than $450,000 for a year's treatment.

belgium upper house voted to extend mercy killing to terminally ill children amed an intense public debeat and allows for minors to ask for for euthenasia and the parents and 75% of people approve of the law but religious leaders oppose it saying it under mines the human life and it goes to the lower house which they hope will be approved before elections in may. women who have a strong family hbs of breast cancer may benefit from a drug called anastrozol and a new study partially paid for by the drug manufacturer followed nearly 4,000 high risk post menopausal woman and found people who took the pill for five years are less likely to develop cancer than on a placebo

and it may be more effective than other drugs with fewer side effects. and people are diagnosed with dementia and caring for victims is be hard and connecting with them can be even harder and randall met up with a choir group known as the unforgettables and brings music can bring families closer together. >> three times a year they perform to the delight of those who come to watch but this is no ordinary choir, they raised their voices in unity brought together by a tragic illness, dementia. >> anita was diagnosed in 2009. >> reporter: joe took early retirement to take on a new responsibility, caring for his wife as she gradually loses her mental function. >> she is used to being independent but now she has to be dependent, it's a big change and accept -- acceptance.

>> this came from the anling britain and they are improving the well-being of family caregivers of people with dementia. >> we thought about how it would be better if the person with dementia was included in the interventions and i thought about singing as being a more powerful intervention. >> it eases some of the burden of caregivers and builds self-esteem in the patient and brings the two together. >> i think what the chorus does is brings out the best in everyone. >> the choir is not a drop-off activity and required commitment to attend the reversals as well as performances and preliminary evidence says the chorus has a positive impact for people with dementia and alzheimer's and the caregivers. >> we sing and have fun and tell jokes.

>> look after each other. >> it's a good thing that happened to us. >> sweetie, have a seat, it will be easier okay. >> reporter: and this is her husband's caregiver. >> everything is acceptable and nothing you have to worry about, inappropriate behavior because everyone understands where you are. there are no apologies. middleman says families struggling with dementia should ask for help. >> if it's a secret and no one talks about it then you become isolated, then you don't get social support from your family and you probably don't get social support from your friends. ♪ and support is exactly what the members of the unforgettables receive, every time they raise their voices. randall pinkston. >> dementia is on the rise and people living with this will tripling by 2015 and alzheimer's

is the 6th leading cause of death in the u.s. and spend $200 billion caring for those with alzheimer's. officials at the university of california and santa barbara are fighting meningitis and want to use a european vaccine not approved in the u.s. and the school is handing out antibiotics to hundreds of students and four students at the school were diagnosed with meningitis in resent months, new jersey and princeton has been given permission to use the vaccine and the students there had a similar strain of the meningitis. heisman is this weekend and we have sports and a preview of that. >> good morning and it's the time to strike a pose and college football's honor will be be stowed on a candidate and who will have the statute and it's comprised of players you heard about all season long and some emerged late in the season and

we have more on the finalists. >> 2012 winner of the heisman memorial trophy is johnny mansel. at the start of the season texas won the award twice and archie did it in 74 and 75 for ohio state. and he three 33 touch downs and not enough to sway away from jamis winston. >> the best athlete in college football and has shown he is one of the best quarterbacks in college football. >> he had an incredible year and to watch him play week in and week out and the yards he is wracking up and if he doesn't win the heisman it will be a

travesty. >> and it speaks for itself and he lead the seminals to the bsc title game and undefeated record and number one ranking but an alleged sexual assault scandal that surfaced late in the season could have jeopardized his chances. >> all the adversity he is going through and sticking in there and still talk good about your team and don't go down and you throw two interceptions and like we have a chance and will do it and he is mature for his age and that is rare in a kid especially as a quarterback. >> he doesn't care what people say. he is confident enough in his ability in the team where he will go out and get the job done. as a leader, as a quarterback that is what gets your teammates to follow you and they follow him and even though he is a freshman. >> reporter: the top contender to come out of the midwest is jordan lynch, not only has the senior quarterback thrown 22 touchdowns and 7 interceptions

and rushed for 22 scores. >> the quarterback at northern illinois, i think it was in two different games this year and he ran for over 300 yards in a game and he is a big kid and throws the ball well. and alabama aj mccarran, he led the crimson tide to two national championships and lost three games holding the reigns at quarterback but for mccarran it will dash his heisman hopes. >> he is not going to have a chance to win his third national championship but that says a lot right there, that he barely missed his chance to win quarterback, a third national championship and his play and his leadership throughout his career at alabama, he had one of the great careers in college football. [cheering] one player who had a hand at ending alabama dominance is auburn running back trey mason and went to 164 yards rushing in

the iron bowl and followed up that performance with 304 yards rushing against missouri in the sec title game. mason scored at least one in all but one contest this season and the late surge will likely be enough to land him the top three finalists and the running back from boston college rounds out the finalist and the 2000 yard rusher since 2008 and williams averaged 6.4 yards carry and 17 touchdowns this season and the six trophy finalists are the most since 94 but only one will take home the trophy. i'm with al jazeera. >> reporter: and stephanie i will be there tomorrow for the action and we will have it for you here. >> we will follow that. it's fun seeing the old players commenting. >> and it may look different from when they were in high school. >> a tiny bit. >> and jessica thank you. pairing the old with the new, how famous heart work from the

16th century is going green, it could take 60 years to close the hole in the ozone layer and it's not just chemicals and the weather effects it. >> reporter: winter storm advisories are popping up and i will tell you how much snow we will be dealing with. ♪ the anger all one sided? i hear rumblings from the people who cover the heat that the heat are not in love with players in the payer side, there is real hate here. >> there better be. they can really mess it up for them. when they dislike there, yeah, i think there is dislike but they've got the bravado. they got their chests out. it's still their game. but that's where the home court advantage is important, this game is important because miami used game seven to advance to the championship. they don't get one tonight, i mean, they don't get one in the end, that game seven here in indianapolis could be a problem.

consider this: the news of the day plus so much m

♪ y plus so much m welcome back to al jazeera america, a museum that pairs master pieces with cutting edge technology, and first let's look at where the snow and rain may fall across the country and nicole mitchell is back. >> we will have both as we head into the friday and a big travel day. moisture has come in the northwest as well. don't want to forget about you this morning but you can see the combination of a clipper which also includes not only some right now, lighter snow and some cold air and then a system developing in the northern plains, well it will all come together. most energy is this piece in the southern plains and a lot of

rain for places like oklahoma, but as it continues to tap in the gulf moisture what we will see, the cold air is already in place so once we hit that this core, missouri through indiana, even ohio today and some places could get 6" or more and then all of this spreads to the east coast making a mess into saturday. back to you. >> thank you. new research from nasa says it could take 60 years before we close the hole in the ozone layer and the hole is linked to global warming and this is two decades after around the world they signed a treaty to ban chemicals that deplete the ozone and levels of that are falling as a result but not enough to have an shrinking effect on the hole until 2070 and the hole is geting smaller but scientists say year to year in the size are often the result of natural weather patterns. those same concerns about man's

environmental foot print have a museum in texas using this for sustainable energy and we go inside the kimball art museum. >> it's a geo thermal wells and the piano pav jan has 16th century master pieces in 21st century innovation. >> i think that it's lots of architects have been wondering what was going to happen here and to me i think the result is exquisit >> he flocked to study the architect of the piano, $135 million project broke ground in 2010 and opened this november. to admirers this is not just a museum, it's a temple. >> the museums around the world have been new cathedrals. >> it exemplifies the latest in

green building. part of the roof is sod offering installation and much of the building is under ground, then there is the way the pavilion harvests natural light and light comes in through the windows and bounces off the slanted wall and creates a well of light. >> natural light changes is more life to it and it's wonderful seeing works of art in natural light. >> reporter: museum director eric lee says the piano pavilion uses half the energy as the neighbor, the older lewis con building. solar cells cover the glass roof. >> much of our lighting is supplied by the energy produced by the cells. >> reporter: finally there is the breathing floors. >> you see little gaps between the floor boards and the air rises from between those little gaps. >> reporter: creating a subtle and efficient ventilation

system. >> i think what is impressive about the work is that piano has been trying to sort of expose the kind of inner workings of the building. >> reporter: not even a-month-old architecture says the piano pavilion opens a chapter in the marriage of art and technology. heidi with al jazeera fort worth. >> reporter: the inaugural exhibition will have works from michael angelo and rembrandt and others. >> good morning, transportation officials have shut down 52 interstate bus companies across the country and it's part of a safety program launched after a series of deadly bus crashes. the uncle of north korea's leader has been executed, kim jong is a traitor and nelson mandela is in pretoria, south

africa and will be buried this weekend. and a twist in mexico and why graffiti artists are not on the run from the law,, in fact, they are being embraced by the government. >> the broncos are in the afc driver seat and faced off against the charges and we will have that next in sports. >> and i'm nicole mitchell and a storm is brewing and rain and snow will pile up in time for the weekend >> al jazeera news continues and tom and i are back with you in just 2 1/2 minutes ♪

>> traitor kim jong-un's uncle helped play a role in his rise to power, now executed, accused of plotting a coup against his nephew. the toning fall from grace of a once powerful political figure. >> safety inspections. federal investigators order an extensive review of the nation's busiest r. system two weeks after a train goes off the tracks, killing four passengers. >> nobody worries about us. we don't need help from the government at all, and we just have to look after ourselves. >> as south africa mourns the

passing of nelson mandela, some moan about the past and better living conditions. what some call reverse apartheid, being white and poor in south africa. >> whooping cough as parents rush to vaccinate their kids against the infection. the growing debate about a growing anti immunization movement, striking the balance between vaccinations and individual rights. >> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> good morning, i'm thomas drayton. good to of you with with us. we begin with north korea, the uncle of leader kim jong-un has been executed days after he was abruptly removed from his military post for allegedly trying to overthrow the government. it concludes a surprising turn of events for a man once

regarded as the nation's second most powerful figure. we have the story. >> his fall from grace absolute and for all the word to see, photographs of jong appearing before the tribunal were released through a north korean website with the kind of speed and openness rarely seen before. on the streets of the north korean capitol, residents were digesting the news that the man considered the mentor of their leader and always seen as their side now vilified as an enemy of the people. >> he dares to be crazy enough to take over control from our party and leader. look how much harm he did to the people's lives. he got what he deserved. >> for this group of taters who were going to destroy our single hard unit, execution is too lenient. they should be torn and thrown into the rubbish bin of history.

>> the down fall began with his dramatic removal from a party meeting last week after which he was brand add traitor. confirmation of his excuse was accompanied by a statement from the official north korean news agency, i read: >> he's also referred to as despicable human scum who was worse than a dog. given the possible fallout of any instability way beyond north korea's borders, there has been understandable concern from east asian neighbors. south korea is following events closely and prepared for any developments. >> the south korean government has deep concerns about a recent series of developments in north

korea and is watching the situation closely. we will make sure we are prepared for all future possibility in a calm manner. the government will cooperate closely with allies and related nations. >> once rewarded as indispensable and one who smoothed the transition of power from father to son, something somehow went very wrong. >> we're going to bring in craig leeson from hong kong for more reaction on the story. craig, good morning. the uncle was the second most powerful figure in north korea, a trusted can if i can't, mentor to kim jong-un. do we have any idea what went wrong? >> this isn't the first time he

was purged. he was purged in 1978 and sent to a teal mill for rehe formation, and again in 2003. he's also quite a fighter, but this was to be his third and last purge if in fact his execution did go ahead as we've been told from north korea. interestingly that information was handed to the national media before it was -- >> we're having some problems. that was craig leeson report i can from hong kong. >> a new report claims an american who disappeared in iran may have been working for the c.i.a. retired f.b.i. agent robert levin son has been missing since 2007. for years, the u.s. government claimed he was a private as i send on a business trip. now an associated press investigation suggests levin son was part of a rogue operation gathering intelligence on iran. that team reportedly had no authority to run spy operations

and the entire operation was a major violation of c.i.a. rules. levin son's exact whereabouts are still unknown. >> the u.s. is black listing more than a dozen companies and individuals for evadingizations against iran. the move freezes the u.s. assets of firms in panama, singapore, ukraine and elsewhere for maintaining covert business with an iranian company. other companies involved in the proliferation of material used for weapons of mass drugs were also black listed from the u.s. market. iranian officials say the latest move violates the spirit of the deal reached with world powers in geneva last month. stepping up negotiations in the middle east, secretary of state john kerry is in the region hoping to have a security deal in place by may. he met with prime minister netanyahu today. they hope to come to an agreement on border issues in the future of a palestinian state. >> federal transportation

authorities are ins city tooting a crackdown after accidents on the roads and rails. regulators have shut down 52 bus companies nationwide and pulled 340 buses off the road during operation quick strike. specially trained investigators pulled the plug on carriers in 22 states. after this train derailment in new york city two weeks ago left four dead, federal officials ordered a complete safety review of the metro north train system. it's the first such train investigation ever conducted on a passenger r. we have more. >> the federal r. administration will begin its and you have thive review on monday, a 60 day review and one of the areas the agency will look at is fatigue management and whether the train company follows the rules on how long workers can work and how much rest they should get. fatigue is a big problem in transportation. it's a 24 hour a day business.

>> it's too soon to know just what caused the train wreck in new york. if it turns out that engineer william rockefeller did nod off, fall asleep at the controls, this accident would be another in a long list. >> fatigue is an insidious instigator of accidents in all modes of transportation. >> a national transportation safety board investigation into this 2011 tour bus crash found the driver had hardly slept in three days. 15 people died. un2009, the ntsb says a tired trucker who had been on the road for over 10 hours killed 10 in oklahoma. in 2004, investigators say an exhausted crew's freight train slammed into another train releasing lethal chlorine. three died. in missouri that year, the ntsb said pilots on duty 14 hours crashed short of the runway. 13 died. the ntsb has made more than 200

safety recommend is as on fatigue. former managing director calls it a challenging problem. >> it still may not be taken seriously by either the operators or management. you know, there tends to be a macho philosophy of we'll power through, if i'm feeling a little tired, i'll power through it. >> this is what can happen if you doze off. watch this tired trucker as he careens across the highway. in some cases, those at the controls of a truck, plane, even car may not realize just how tired they are. >> just like we talked about how people are very bad judge of whether they've had too much to drink to get behind the wheel, you might also be a very bad judge of whether we're too slopy to drive. >> drowsy driving causes 100,000

crashes a year, injuring 40,000, killing 1500. >> the department of transportation has put in new rules for pilots, truck drivers, bus operators and r. crews, requiring shorer work days and longer rest periods. safety experts say those rules are long overdue. >> still, there's no foolproof answer. the train engineer reportedly had a full night's sleep, but he was just two weeks into a new early morning shift. sleep experts say his body may not have adjusted. technology may help. everything from eye and face tracking to warn truckers they're falling asleep to sophisticated systems that can automatically stop or slow a train if the engineer fails to. sleep researchers say what also needs to change is attitudes. >> the first wish i would make is for everyone to tart thinking about their sleep seriously. >> it can be a matter of life and death.

>> the science of fatigue continues to evolve. one thing that some agencies are trying to do is not just put in rules to make for example pilots have enough sleep during the night, but rules that take into account the wake and sleep rhythms of our body. that's important to make sure that a worker truly is not fatigued. back to you. >> lisa, thank you. >> it has been six weeks now since typhoon haiyan barreled through the philippines, the death toll now at 6,000 with at least 1700 still missing. officials fear that number could go up as more bodies are recovered every day. millions of homes were flat understand. it could take three years before new homes are built. many displaced by the storm are living in temporary shelters. >> back here at home, we've got to talk about a messy storm for the weekend. >> we'll have a lot of folks from the mid atlantic pulling out the shovels. for more, let's bring in

meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> good morning, hopefully everyone is off to a good friday and if you could get off early, it might save you getting around this weather. already today, it's going to be the parts of the midwest and ohio road or valley. we've got one testimony to the north, the other one developing oh to the south. we're going to have the merge of the moisture and energy over the next couple of days and if all of that happens, that will eventually track this through the ohio river valley and right off to the east coast. that's what we're going to be dealing with over the weekend. already this morning, oklahoma starting to move into arkansas a little bit more. this side of the storm is warm enough we're seeing the rain side, although we could see a little icy mix in places like missouri. that northern piece of energy so far is snow. as that moisture pulls up from the gulf that is being tapped for moisture, you can see anywhere from missouri through ohio today, we already have the different winter storm advisories in effect. some of the core of this could

easily see six inches of snow. where you see the brighter blues here, the southern side is the rain. by the time this hits the coast tomorrow, rain southward, huh heavy snow possible on the north side of this. this is already where the low is as we get into the mid-day tomorrow. it moves off the coastline and up the coastline, kind of even a little nor'easter effect here. you can see still into the day sunday, parts of new england are going to get that heavy snow. it's going to impact a large area. if you have the weekend travel plans, certainly will be tracking all of that. i'll have the temperature side of this coming up. >> one last chance to say goodbye to nelson mandela. you're about to look at live pictures where for a third and final day, thousands of mourners filing through the union buildings to say farewell to the former south african president. mandela's body has been lying in state every day sips wednesday. his body will be returned to his childhood home saturday for

funeral services that will take place sunday. >> so many people hoping to say goodbye. far from the lines, life for many others in a squatter's camp negotiation on. for them, mandela's remembered as a man who did great things for south africa but who's vision has not been fulfilled. >> this feels a long way in every respect from the scenes of mourning and song following the death of nelson mandela. , in a squatters camp filled mostly with whites. it's not racially exclusive, there are a few black people here, just mutually poor. the government has been promising these people houses for years, but they're at the very end of a very long list. former civil servant an larue invited me into her home. she, like many, lost everything when history turned and the all why apartheid era civil service

became mostly black. >> i think we all are excluded, because they don't worry about us. we live in a squatters camp and nobody worries about us. we don't get help follow the government at all, and we just have to look after ourselves. >> just meters away from the camp, black families picnic under the trees. they are the new middle class in a town built when gold was discovered here. then few over and lost to the british in thing a low bore war, the park is used as a camp. this former park is again a prison of sorts. they may once have been the apartheid oppressors, but

history has not been kind to them. >> yes, we're disappointed about it, mandela tried to make things better, but his dream wasn't realized. apartheid has been put in reverse. it is now the blacks suppressing the whites with their economic policies. >> ann dreams of one day moving back to her home in the far away suburbs of johannesburg. >> i'm used to a better life than what's here. unfortunately, things have changed. >> the dreams of this community are not a priority. >> despite an average 3.6% growth rate for south africa over the last 10 years, poverty continues to rise in the entire nation, according to a survey. >> we're going to talk about the

mounting conflict in the central african republic. >> troops move in, their goal to prevent more revenge killings between muslims and christians and ease a growing humanitarian crisis. >> power to the people. looking at how residents say dealing with a major fuel shortage and crippling power failures. >> 2.8 million is today's big number, the population of one tate that is growing by leaps and bounds.

fight drug trafficking and forbid marijuana consumption, or let thetñ

>> a lot of people california dreaming these days. today's big number, 38.2 million is the amount of people who now live in the golden state. california added 332,000 people. the recovering job market is spurring the population boom. >> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america.

>> good to have you with us. coming up, the unique way in which residents living in the gaza strip are overcoming their power problems. >> first, let's look at temperatures across the nation. meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. >> good morning. , definitely still seeing temperatures that are running that below average and so as we start off the day anything from the teens and northern parts of the midwest still single did its in the northern plains, a lot of 20's and 30's for the country until you get farther southward where the temperatures are significant. we have more forties as our highs today and parts of the southern plains where we're getting the rain that is keeping that rain. on the northern side, chick or indianapolis right around that freezing mark. that means most of the moisture coming in is going to be snow. it means heavier show. into the day tomorrow, same thing, the northeast is going to see those temperatures that will depart the snowy side of this. as this comes in, there could be a core of warmth that switches

it to rain briefly, but watch out for the snow. >> a humanitarian crisis is looming in the central african republic. tens of thousands of fled the capitol, many seeking refuge at military bases. more than 500 people have been killed in the past week alone. >> aljazeera is live from paris with more. the french defense minister is visiting the central african republic today. what is he hoping to achieve? >> good morning, stephanie. the minister has gone to talk to french troops who have been shocked and maybe morale vented after two of their fellow soldiers were killed on monday when they are trying to disarm rebel fighters.

he's really going to restate their mission, namely to try to secure the country to try to stop this descent into a spiral of violence with interreligious killing between christians and muslims and try to secure supply routes, secure main roads so that aid agencies can get in to help people displaced, who are sick, malaria is certainly a very important threat there at the moment. the minister's also going to talk to the president, the transitional president of the central african republic, learned lying the message how could he just sit by and let this happen, claim to be president if he can't control what fighters are doing in his name, namely carrying out attacks against civilians, very violent attacks often using axes and machetes. >> as a former french colony, are the french people expressing

concern over this crisis and do they support the intervention? >> well, here in paris, i have to say that feelings are quite mixed in public opinion about this unitervention. french troops already in another former cool my in africa, the country of mali. france seems to be playing the role of policeman in africa. many ordinary people and politicians are asking where are the other europeans. they're contributing financially as has the united states, but why is it only the french who are the boots on the ground and the french who as we saw monday are taking the risk of injury or even being killed there. >> ukraine's president is

proposing amnesty for those detained during anti-government protest, ukraine's president prepared to sign a trade deal with the european union after europe promised more aid to the country. that rejecting the deal has been the point of contention for hundreds of thousands of citizens. >> there are fuel shortages in gaza. people are finding new ways to keep the lights on. >> the lights go out a lot in gaza, in fact every six hours, the ma'am has government pulls the power because of a fuel shortage. residents are adopting. you'll find these in a lot of homes, car battery indoors, charged a little from the money supply while the power is up, they drift enough electricity to bring the lights back on when it goes off. sammy has two in his lounge, but

with a big family, says they are essential, even if the batteries don't give off much juice. >> my wife, she wants to wash the floors, she's supposed to be waiting, but sometimes at 4:00 a.m., she has nothing to do, she has to wake up and go and turn on the washing machine. >> generators are the alternatives, but are expensive, unreliable and not easy to run in a place where fuel is hard to come by. smuggling tunnels used to be the main way into egypt but authorities have destroyed many. >> there is another way of charging the batteries, solar power. no fuel required, no main supply, just good life and there is plenty of that. the problem is the cost, this for example would come in at

around $2,500. >> he says there is little choice. palestinians here have to be in ventive if they're to have any chance of leading an ordinary life in what are extraordinary conditions. >> the solar panels are expensive for some people, but safer than generators. we can't turn a generator on for the whole day, but i can with solar power. the only problem is, it's expensive for ordinary people. >> the factories making the converters which charge the batteries are doing a roaring trade. it is the old story of supply and demand. for those without the money, candles will still have to do, that is of course until the power comes back on, albeit for a few precious hours. aljazeera, gaza. >> turkey donated $800,000 worth of fuel for back up generators. a united nation spokesperson

said it's enough to temporarily boost the power supply to hospitals. let's get you caught up on business headlines this morning. after three days of losses, wall street is showing some positives at this hour. dow futures are up, with a triple diligent decline yesterday. it starts with the day at 15,739. the s and p. stands at february 35, the nasdaq below the 7,000 mark. european markets are higher in asia. japan snapping a three day losing streak on the nikkei. >> the battle over where the bowing 77x will be built continues. a new contract labor offer eliminates the traditional pension plan for a 401k. bashar al assad said 22 states have expressed interest in building the plane.

>> four people are dead, killed by a victim of afflu ex-nza. >> some in texas believe justice was denied and the killer granted the right to go free. >> peyton manning and the broncos were in the driver's seat until the charmers gave them a little trouble behind the wheel. we'll have that later in sports. 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.

>> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing 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. >> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm thomas drayton. >> i'm stephanie sy.

welcome back to aljazeera marrying. >> stephanie, one step closer here, the battle over the budget a rare compromise by the republicans in the house of representatives. what does it say about how the deals are getting done in washington? we're going to examine that in a moment. >> i'm going to talk to an exspeaker about that. >> officials are voice in concern about patient reef gees dying and it is sea as they try to get to the united states. we'll be talking about that, as well a little later on. >> first, let's get you caught up on the morning's top stories. north korea said it has executed kim jong-un's uncle. he was found guilty of treason. he was once considered the second most powerful man. the white house says if the news is true, it's another example of the extreme brutality of the regime. >> federal officials ordered a complete review of the metra train system. a derailment left four dead.

it's the first investigation ever conducted on a passenger r. >> the bipartisan budget bill is one step closer to law. the house approved a deal to keep the government running for two years. the vote was passed by an overwhelming bipartisan total, how headed to the senate. >> that vote is seen as a rare compromise between the deeply divided republicans and democrats. it comes in the shadow of act's crippling partial government shutdown. joining us to discuss how deals get made in washington, including the back room wheeling and dealing is daniel desalvo from the manhattan institute and professor of political science. thanks for joining us this morning. your book opens the door on back room politics. i'm wondering is that how paul ryan and pat murray got this deal done no. >> well, any big budget deal like this that has lots of moving parts and lots of details

requires the heads of the big committees to sit down and negotiate it, usually behind closed doors and then they can present to the public and suffer the criticism or praise, such as the case may be. >> back room dealing goes deeper. doesn't it often lead to compromises and coalition building and maybe we need a little more of that in washington these days. >> you might say that, but it's hard to do a lot of back room dealing in washington these days, partly because it is so polarized and the media involvement. the close scrutiny that washington politics receives makes it very hard to go back to the era of lyndon johnson when things could be worked out in cloak rooms and in the hall ways of the house or senate. >> that also took president johnson and lyndon b. johnson was known for being particularly

adroit at building coalitions. some have criticized president obama's inability to do that. >> part of that is the case, the nature of the parties has changed dramatically in washington. this makes back room dealing more difficult because the parties are so far apart, they're not getting together in the back room. >> do you think the polarization is really a reflection of our country or is it a matter of sort of the extremes in both parties wielding more power? >> i think it's a bit of both. basically, if you look over the last three election cycles, we basically had a national tie in some respects, obama winning in 2008 and again in 2012, but the republicans having a strong victory in 2010, so there hasn't been a lot of movement in that respect. it's made it much more difficult. >> there's not really a clear mandate. is it gridlock and inability to pass real reform, a lot of people are saying this budget

doesn't deal with a lot of the important issues at hand, not to mention immigration, not to mention the farm bill, is this the new normal in washington. >> i think this probably is something like the new normal, barring some major shift in the system, that is a significant direction provided by the american people in an election, a major crisis, so either of those two factors could moderate the partisanship, but with such strong partisanship, the best you can hope for is very modest incrementallal deals. >> do you think political advocacy groups, yesterday, speaker boehner criticized conservative advocacy groups and the way they threaten republicans if they're not conservative enough and if they pass things like the budget deal is playing into this polelearization we are seeing. >> absolutely. the republican party is currently divided with a strong tea party faction within it that's tried to pull the entire house and senate caucuses to the

right, and put an enormous amount of public pressure, using a lot of the new media technologies that we were just speaking about to do that, to raise money for themselves and pressure legislators. speaker boehner is trying in some ways to deal with that division within his own party. >> all right. daniel, thanks so much for coming in this morning. >> my pleasure. >> i want to tell you about a court case out of texas that has people talking about a surprising new defense strategy. it's called affluenza and suggestion rich kids have a built-in excuse for bad behavior. >> ethan is free tonight, a judge's decision that some say was based on income, not evidence. >> money always seems to keep ethan out of trouble. >> the 16-year-old was behind the wheel and drunk on stolen beer when he crashed a pickup truck into four people on the side of a texas road, killing them all.

couch admits to being under the influence at the time, while prosecutors wanted him to serve 20 years in prison, his attorneys turned to a controversial defense. the strategy focused on something called affluenza, basically meaning rich kids make poor decisions, clouded by material things, unguided by inattentive parents. it makes them more susceptible to irresponsible behavior, according to a defense psychologist. the victim's family condemns it, but the court may have been persuaded. couch was spared prison time. instead, he got 10 years probation. his attorneys say it was the right sentence. >> we applaud judge boyd for having the courage to issue the sentence that's going to give ethan couch this sentence.

>> for probation for four lives and the two serious injuries, i don't get it. aljazeera, new york. >> we should point out ethan couch will do rehabilitation at a california center which will cost the family more than $450,000 for a year's treatment. >> with the first anniversary of the shootings at sandy hook elementary a day away, an emotional gathering in washington, d.c. >> my life will make change and communities kept safe. i will not be silent. >> hundreds gathered to remember the 20 children and six adults killed at the school. members of the new town foundation called it a vigil for all 60's of gun violence. new town will not have any public as her moneys in the town marking the anniversary of the tragedy.

>> a peace deal between the democratic republic of congo he and rebels is now in place. 800,000 people have fled their homes since the conflict began in 2012. the u.n. security council previously blamed the m23 rebel group for murder, abductions and sexual violence. the new deal transforms the insurgent group into a political party. it also includes the release of prisoners and the resettlement of refugees. >> the coast guard is facing a sudden increase in the number of haitians risking their lives to get to the u.s. more than 2,000 have been picked up this year. that's more than 10 times the number that have been stopped in the last eight years. aljazeera reports. >> ingrid said she was just 16 years old in 1980 when she stepped into a cramped boat and left haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, to find ref final in the u.s. >> 99 of us can barely sit down or lay down, sleep, and we spent

11 days, and it's 11 days of an incredible journey of survival. >> she said conditions in haiti at the time made it worth the risk and it may still be worth the risk now. while her story is one of success and triumph, it's an example the u.s. coast guard does not want others to follow. the message in a new public service announcement, do not risk your life in search of a better life. >> wrong, they are wrong. >> the message will be released here and eventually in haiti, the dominican republic and some other caribbean nations. >> some will tell you there's nothing to fear. >> the coast guard says it has stopped close to 2200 haitians trying to sale through treacherous waters. over the previous eight years, only 188 haitians have been found in those waters. the coast guard blames smuggling rings from the dominican

republic targeting haitians desperate to leave their homeland. >> do not put your lives in the hands of these ruthless smugglers, because they don't care about your dreams, your children, they don't care about your personal safety. all they care about is your money and they're willing to do anything to get it. >> when asked why such a recent increase in haitians attempting to flee the nation, haitian counsel general could not offer specific reasons. he did say his government is working to improve conditions in haiti, citing publicly funded programs and direct foreign investment to address poverty, employment and infrastructure. >> we have a government that's trying to do as much as it can in creating jobs, in creating conditions for people to have a better life, but it's not going to happen overnight. >> the misery is still there, the instability is still there. it's easy for one to come and say ok, don't risk your life,

but staying in haiti, you're risking your life, as well. >> while the. service announcement may be designed to save lives, she believes nothing will change until conditions in haiti improve. >> aljazeera, miami. >> there are nearly a million people of haitian descent living in the united states mostly in florida, new york and boston. >> belgians upper house passed a law allowing children to request euthanasia if they have a terminal illness. kids in great pain and no treatment options can request mercy killing as long as their doctors and parents agree. most of the belgian public is for the bill and hope it will pass before elections in may. a vocal religious minority say it undervalues human life. >> with winter comes the flu season, but whooping cough is

being called an epidemic. a vaccine used to prevent it is now stirring a heated debate. >> you're ok. >> this is the sound of the 100 day cough. more commonly known as whooping cough. this is the sound of a baby getting a shot to help keep it away. [ crying ] >> this mom is not taking chances with her four-month-old. >> there have been babies in her day care that have gotten it that have been out for a while. >> 2012 was the worst year for whooping cough in six decades with over 40,000 infections. 18 people died, 15 were infants, and 2013 is shaping up to be just as menacing. public health officials recommend immunizations as the best bet against whooping cough, but a growing anti immunization

movement claim the shots are an intrusion or individual rights. >> what other medical procedure are you willing to give up your bodily integrity for. if today you were forced to get a vaccination, tomorrow, what will you be forced to do? >> in colorado, parents sign a simple form to select medical religious or personal beliefs as reasons for refusal. in 2012, almost 2900 kindergarteners opted out. 93% of those selected personal beliefs. that is a broad loophole health officials and many parents want to close. >> they're creating these pockets of unvaccinated children, putting all of us at risk. it's very worrisome. >> whooping cough is contagious, everyone getting it infecting 15 others. >> at boulder high school, one girl got whooping cough even

though she was immunized. she had the vaccine and the booster, and she still got it. >> we don't yet have data on how long the immunity lasts. we do know that immunity will always fade over time. >> unvaccinated children are eight times more likely to become infected than vaccinated ones. >> the vaccine is your best chance for protecting yourself against whooping cough. >> in colorado, children are on the front lines of the vaccination fight, the battle cries of private health versus public health are just now sounding. aljazeera, denver. >> the whooping cough vaccine was first introduced in the 1940s. it was replaced in the 1990's because of side effects. the newer version is part of routine childhood vaccinations as well as adult booster shots. >> the nfl was an action that thursday night. jessica joins us with the heights and low lights. >> depending which side you're on, of course, going into thursday night's game, the

broncos were in the driver's seat, looking on target to grab the home field advantage for the playoffs. it seemed the only thing that could stop the prosecutingion of peyton manning's historic season was running into mike mccoy on a short week in the nfl. manning and the broncos a perfect 7-0 at home this season looking to make it eight. number 18 finding the first score for the 15-yard touchdown, manning's 46th touchdown pass this season. looked like the chargers were in for a long night, but philip rivers had other ideas. getting in for the score, tied at 10. rivers and company recognizing if you want to beat the broncos, tauon the field, keep it out of manning's hands and they did. that was rivers and allen again, leading the chargers offense that controlled the field for 39 minutes. they hand the broncos their first home loss, 27-20. more importantly, they have hurt

denvers chances at home field advantage for the playoffs. the broncos no longer control their own does in any with their third loss, falling to 11-3. the patriots are right on their tile at 10-3 and hold the tie breaker for the number one spot being that they defeated the broncos. the chiefs also have three losses, but were swept in the season series by the broncos and with the win, chargers are back knocking on the door of the postseason at 7-7. >> had i been outside of our locker room, i don't believe we'd come in here, either. it's a new group of guys, it's not the same team, but we've come in here six of the last eight and won. we did believe that some of the veterans had been part of those. we kept saying we go here and play well and let's go do it again. we believe we could. we knew we'd been playing good as of late. it's a loss. that's how i view it.

nothing besides that, so a division loss is disappointing, but we got beat by a team that played better than us today. >> violence continuing to playing nfl parking lots after football games. last night, after the broncos chargers game, three people, possibly four were stabbed in the parking lot while engaging in a fight. denver police confirmed that they have three suspects in custody. they are not looking for anyone else. one person is considered right now in critical condition from the incident. this is the third incident this season in an nfl parking lot, including just one last month where someone died due to injuries of an attack at the kansas city chief's stadium. >> thursday night, college football held their annual awards show. it is a precursor to the ultimate prize, the heisman trophy which will be awarded saturday night in new york. the nations top quarterback winning over his competitors,

the heisman trophy winner, however mckaren took home the top prize. winston addressed those allegation that had plagued him off the field all season long. >> i just want people to know that how much my family took from this, and my family just watching everything go on, and how my team just supported me through this whole thing. of course, i know i did nothing wrong, but the people just -- people got to realize my family and the coaches and coach fisher, they just supported me through this whole process. i feel so loved like that, you just don't understand how much you that means to me through this whole process. >> that is a look at sports. >> jessica, thank you. >> artists painting the town. >> they are using communities in mexico as their canvas. the push by the government to

turn creations into public works of art. >> parts of the middle east blanketed by a severe winter storm.

>> and now a techknow minute...

>> a very good friday morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. >> a move in mexico to turn graffiti into public works of art and police giving artists the space to paint the perfect picture. >> first, who's going to see the rain and know this morning. nicole. >> we already have widespread areas of rain. you can see that. oklahoma moving into arkansas, some of this is cold enough in that edge in missouri that in southern missouri we have freezing precipitation. watch those roads, as all of this moves along, brewing the northern edge close enough that we'll see snow. some could see missouri into ohio today. we go over six inches in those totals that's going to make for

a very pretty much russ go for the weekend. this is how all that moisture looks today, this shifts towards the east coast. we are already starting to see some watches go up for the potential snowfall in this area on saturday. it's going to be a little messy this weekend. >> all right, nicole, thank you. >> amnesty international said e.u. countries are not making the mack for failing to resettle refugees. the group is expressing concern about the 120,000 living in tents with the upcoming winter season. the group was severely critical of the united kingdom saying the government should hang its head in shame for the response to the refugee crisis. the u.k. and italy have offered no place for them to settle. >> graffiti lines the streets of mexico city. the local government is embracing the artists. the new generation of mural artists. >> artists at work in mexico

city, but this team it's legal. morales are becoming increasingly champion common in the capitol and its creators following in the footsteps of mexican mural giants. not only is the wall painting a sanction, it's the local government behind it. a dedicated unit from the local police is creating free spaces for them to do their thing. >> in 2008, our anti graffiti unit gave people free and fair spaces to paint legally, accompanied by a police control car instead of chasing them to top them from painting. >> the aim of the project is to get rid of graffiti like this, which is chon throughout mexicoty. the idea is by opening up spaces, it will encourage graffiti artists to paint more

pleasing images. >> like many works by great muralists, these carry images and messages backed by the state. here at the museum, this specialist said there's a new january reaction of artists more rebellious and independent than their forefathers. >> while they go over the past, the new artists do that, too, but using more drug history and recent violence and recent social problems, there's a more rebellious tone and freedom because they are free spaces. >> not all of mexicos muralists are government-backed. artists suggest the combined adrenaline with the painting of his own independent designs to adorn the streets and gallery walls. >> graffiti hadn't been seen at murals before, it was about making a piece. we're trying to combine techniques and motivate people

to do more murals than graffiti. >> whether it's official government messages or social protest, mexico's muralist tradition is live and well. >> graffiti that is non-government sanctioned can cost offenders $100 or a day in jail. >> at the end of our second hour, del walters joining us now with what we're following this morning. good morning. >> good morning. the uncle of kim jong-un has been executed, accused of betraying his nephew and country. >> federal investigators ordering a safety investigation of the metra north commuter following that deadly derailment. >> the bipartisan budget deal headed now to the senate comes after the plan that ends the threat of a government shutdown gets the green light from the house. >> he is a newtown resident and gun owner. he has become an advocate for gun control. we'll talk to eric milligram.

>> also, it's considered one of the largest movements of the poor to emerge in post apartheid south africa. we'll talk to a documentary filmmaker about an ambitious plan for housing for all. >> james winston breaks his silence about allegations that have plagued him all season. more coming up in the next hour with sports. >> a major storm brewing, rain, snow and delays will be piling up just in time for the weekend. i'll have that forecast. >> the aljazeera morning news continues. >> del walters is back with you in two and a half minutes. have a great morning.

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?

>> mass transportation under the microscope. two weeks after that deadly commuter train derailment, federal officials for the first top to bottom review of a passenger r. putting the brakes on buses that may be unsafe. >> in north korea, kim jong-un has his uncle executed. why he said his uncle betrayed him and the country. >> i feel like the system has failed every mother who has lost a child to gun violence. >> taking aim at guns in america, the surprising ways gun control laws have changed for better and for worse. >> the unique museum that talks about going green and takes it to a high art.

>> good morning and welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. following a rash of accidents on the roads and rails, federal transportation out that's are now cracking down. they are shutting down 52 bus companies across the country pulling 340 buses off the roads altogether. the crackdown is called operation quick strike. it's resulting in carriers in 22 states being shut down altogether, and after that deadly train derailment in new york city last month, federal officials have now ordered a complete safety review of the metra north train system, four people dying in that crash, the first such investigation ever conducted on a u.s. passenger r. following. transportation secretary saying safety is our top priority and saying they will ensure met

astro north is doing everything possible. it will focus on procedures with train operators, look at railway maintenance and the signal system used to notify operators of things such as sharp turns. it will focus on fatigue. that may have contributed to the accident in the bronx. this is not the first time fatigue is blamed. >> it's too soon to know what caused the train wreck in new york, but if it turns out engineer william rockefeller did nod off, merely fall asleep in the controls, this accident would be another in a long list. >> fatigue is an insidious instigator of accidents in all modes of transportation. >> a national transportation safety board investigation into this 2011 tour bus crash found the driver had hardly slept in

three days. 15 people died. >> in 2009, the ntsb says a tired trucker who had been on the road for over 10 hours killed 10 in oklahoma. in 2004, investigators say an exhausted crew's freight train slammed into another train releasing chlorine. three died. in missouri that year, pilots on duty 14 hours crashed short of the runway, 13 died. the ntsb made more than 200 safety recommend is as on fatigue. former managing director called it a challenging problem. >> it still may not be taken seriously by either the operators or management. you know, there tends to be a macho philosophy of we'll power through, if i'm feeling tired, i'll power through it. >> this is what can happen if you doze off. watch this tired trucker as he

careens across the highway. in some cases, those at the controls of a truck, plane, even car may not realize just how tired they are. >> just like we talk about how people are very bad judge of whether they've had too much to drink to get behind the wheel, we might be a bad judge of whether we're too sleepy to drive. >> the government estimates drowsy driving cause's 100,000 crashes a year, killing over 1500, injuring 40,000. >> it's hard to police individual drivers. there's no breath lieser test for fatigue, but the department of transportation has put in new rules for pilots, truck drivers, bus operators, and r. crews, requiring shorter work days and longer rest periods. safety experts say those rules are long overdo. still, there's no foolproof answer. the train engineer reportedly had a full night's sleep, but was justify two weeks into a new

early morning shift. sleep experts say his body may not have adjusted. technology may help. everything from eye and face tracking to warn truckers they're falling asleep to sophisticated systems that can automatically stop or slow a train if the engineer fails to. sleep researchers say what also needs to change is attitudes. >> the first wish i would make is for everyone to start thinking about their sleep seriously. >> it can be a matter of life and death. >> that is aljazeera's lisa stark reporting from washington. >> after an eight month investigation known aspiration quick strike, transportation officials shutting down 52 bus companies in 22 states, that program being launched in april after two deadly crashes on buses, one in december of last year in eastern oregon, another in february in california. the drivers of both accidents had already been under investigation for safety violations, investigators finding poorly maintained buses

and inadequate drug and alcohol testing and drivers who were overworked. >> you could be one step closer to making calls on your cell phone while flying. the initial vote was taken to lift the ban. >> if technology eliminates the need -- eliminates interference and therefore eliminates the need for an interference protection rule, then we ought to eliminate the rule. >> then a surprise announcement the transportation democratic now considering its own ban, saying chatting on cell phones may not be fair to all passengers. it's now considering whether to allow texting and internet surfing instead. >> a big storm is moving across the country again. nicole is tracking it. nicole, which areas are going to be hard evident hit. >> it seems the last couple weekends, we've been in undated

with these storm systems, not the best timing. here's the one we're dealing with now. we have peace of energy from the north and really the more developing of the two areas from the south, and all this is going to come together today witness we get into saturday, that's going to be more up and down the east coast. we have rain oklahoma into parts of arkansas. i am seeing a couple reports of southern missouri getting some freezing precipitation, watch for that. most of this as it spreads today is going to be the rain variety. north of this, though, we have the cold enough air in place this already getting the clipper coming in, but more moisture will funnel in from the south as all of this progresses, that means this core from missouri back into parts of ohio, we could see some places getting more than six inches of snow, so some of those interstates like 70 or 80 could be treacherous getting into later today. all of this is on the move. this is already by mid-day into tomorrow. this moves off the coast, picks

up more of that moisture and temporarily turns into what we classify as a nor'easter, bringing in winds to portions of new england, also bringing heavy snow along with it. this is how all this progresses during the day. sunday, still seeing some of that know northward into new england, but a lot of places already by morning, places such as philadelphia or new york will start to see the snow. might change to a little rain at the very end of that, but the core is going to be snow and this is going to make for some treacherous travel especially saturday into sunday. i know there's big games like it is army navy game, could be a mess. >> it has been six weeks sips the typhoon slammed the philippines, the death toll 6,000, 1700 missing. officials fear that number could rise as more bodies are found each and every day. millions of homes were

threatened. it could take three years before new houses can be built. until then, many displaced by the storm continue to live in temporary shelters. that bipartisan budget deal now headed to the senate, the house approval the plan to keep the government running for another two years. thursday's vote easily passing by an overwhelming number of republicans and democrats. the white house calls it an apparent moment of cooperation, coming on the heelings of that partial government shutdown in october. >> the house also passing a comprehensive $20 billion defense bill, including provisions on sexual assault in the military, providing 60's with legal counsel and stop commanders from tossing out or reducing convictions. more than 26,000 members were sexually assaulted last year. that bill now goes to the senate to be approved. >> the once powerful uncle of north korean leader kim jong-un has been executed, that coming just days after that uncle was

removed from power allegedly for trying to overthrow the government. rob mcbride reports. >> his fall from grace absolute for all the word to see, photographs of him appearing before the special tribunal that passed the death sentence were released with a kind of openness and speed rarely seen before. on the streets of the north korean capitol, residents were digesting the news that the man considered the mentor of their leader and always seen at his side was now vilified as an enemy of the people. >> he's like an enemy who dares to be crazy enough to take over party from our party and leader. look how much harm he did to the people's lives. he got what he deserved. >> for this group of traitors who were going to destroy our single hard unity, execution is too lenient. they should be torn up and thrown into the rubbish bin of

history. >> the downfall began with his removal from a party meeting last week after which he was branded a traitor. that confirmation of his execution was accompanied by a statement from the official north korean news agency. it read: he's also referred to as despicable human scum who was worse than a dog. given the fallout of instability way beyond north korea's borders, there has been understandable concern from east asian neighbors. south korea is following events closely and prepared for any developments. >> the south korean government has deep concerns about a recent series of developments in north

korea. it is watching the situation closely. we will make sure we are prepared for all future possibilities in a calm manner. in addition, the government will cooperate closely with its allies and related nations. >> once rewarded as indispensable and the one who smoothed the transition of power from father to son, something, somehow, went very wrong. >> the white house releasing a statement about that execution reads: >> a presidential task force is recommending that the n.s.a. be reigned in. the white house tapping the panel to review the spy agencies activities. according to special several reports, the panel is calling for broad restraints on how the n.s.a. collected data on every phone call made in the u.s. it is recommended it be reviewed the same waco vert actions are reviewed by the c.i.a.

>> retired f.b.i. agent robert levinson has been missing since 2007. the government has been claiming he was a private citizen on a business trip. now an associated press investigation suggestion that he was part of a rogue operation gathering intelligence out of iran. that team reportedly had no authority to spy operations and the entire operation was a major violation of c.i.a. rules. his exact whereabouts are still unknown. >> the u.s. is black listing a dozen companies for invading its sanctions against iran, the move freezing assets of officials in panama, singapore, ukraine and elsewhere for maintaining covert business with an iranian company. in iran, the latest move violates the spirit of that nuclear deal reached with the world powers in geneva last month. this is the third and final day nelson mandela will lie in state. as crowds continue to stream in

to pay their last respects, aljazeera takes a look at mandela's am bibs plan to ensure housing for all and the a youth movement trying to see that that dream is achieved. >> the president of ukraine promising amnesty for those detained during protests there. we'll look at the olive branch extended to the opposition. >> on the anniversary of the newtown attack, it's turning attention right back to guns in america. we're going to talk to a dad who had two kids inside sandy hook about where gun control is now. >> you're looking right now at the so-called talk-a-thon underway in the u.s. senate, republicans trying to postpone votes on presidential judicial nominees after democrats changed the filibuster rules.

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. just ahead, we'll talk about nelson mandela's legacy through the eyes of a younger generation of south africans, but first,

let's find out how cold it's going to be where you are and that though on the way once again. we turn to nicole mitchell. >> the two relate, because we've had colder than average temperatures, meaning more areas will see snow because that's what will be supported, given the temperatures. this morning, a lot of 30's up and down the east coast, still teens and single digits as we get to the midwest. the forecast today, as we hit the southern plains and a little more into the south and 40's and 50's, that means this area will stick more with the rain, although a couple places like southern missouri, still cold enough this morning that there's been a little freezing precipitation mixed in. we get to the north and look at some of these temperatures, those are right around freezing, and that's the high for the day. most of the day you will be below freezing. when you get near 32, it's more the wet snow, so it could pilion places six inches or more.

>> thousands are lining up to say goodbye to nelson mandela. we show you live pictures now from pretoria, south africa where mourners are saying goodbye. mandela's body has been lying in state. funeral services are set to take place on sunday. we are in the eastern cape province. what is the significance of your location? >> where i am now is very historical. when nelson mandela's father died, he was nine years old. his mother brought him to this particular village because this is where he was from. he used to watch the elders have meetings here, discussing issues of the day, discussing how the village should be run. he said he learned from here that a way to solve issues is through peace resolutions with,

not just conflict. because he was young, he couldn't actually sit here. he and his friends would hide in that cattle pen and listen to the conversations. they knew they were breaking the law, but he said it opened his mind and made him more rebellious to ask questions, like why is there apartheid. why are blacks treated differently from whites, which way is the country going. he said this place molded him. many years, he went to school year. he used to stay behind me, in the green walls and that mucid roof. that's where he slept as a young boy. he spent many years here, he heard people talk about him and how he was like growing up and how he was influenced by his cousins trying to go out and hang on you with friends and always being in trouble when he came back. it showed he was a rebellious kind of guy, had a streak to him. he was a person people loved, looked up to and the community

are preparing to give him a big final fitting farewell. >> there he is mandiva. what type of reception is being planned for mr. nelson mandela? >> it's going to be momentous. his body will arrive saturday from pretoria. it will drive to the ancestorial home. people know he's a man of the world, that there will be a western element to the funeral's home procession. as africans, they say that certain customs and rituals have to be done so his soul can rest in peace. they say if the elders aren't given time to do that, they are concerned he won't rest in peace. they want time to say their farewell in the old traditional way. >> thank you very much this morning. >> dear mandela is an award winning documentary that grew

out of the slums of south africa. young people protecting their shacks from being demolished is the story. what do those children want, what are they fighting for and who are they fighting against no. >> what these young people are fighting for is a better life for all that nelson mandela promised. one of the young people said to us the other day that when mandiva died, the struggle will continue, that this is just the beginning. they're fighting for housing. they're fighting for sanitation, they're fighting for access to electricity. >> i want to show you a clip of your film and then i want to talk about it on the back end. take a look. >> no one may have their home demolished without an order of court. >> are issues concerning house i can and eviction, are they being ignored in south africa? >> they are. unfortunately, the current south

african government is illegally demolishing houses, pushing people far outside of the city, and young people are being thrown to the side. i mean, they really don't have a place to live, and so yeah, i think that it's really, really important that these people continue to struggle, that they take mandela's legacy into the future. >> some are wondering how can this happen now where the leadership is black? has nothing changed no. >> yeah, there's a sense of tremendous disappointment. i think that right now the current leadership has maybe forgotten what mandela and his com address fought for, those many many years of struggle, sacrifice, mandela spent 27 years in prison. i think the young people right now that we followed in the film are really trying to make the african people remember that struggle. >> do they feel betrayed by mandela's legacy, i guess, so to speak?

>> they do, they do. mandela, he lives within the african constitution. mandela was the founding father of south africa's democracy. so yeah, absolutely. >> what direct comparisons can be made to mandela and apartheid, the situation right now we're seeing on the ground there? in other words, if nothing changes, it seems that nothing has really changed. >> unfortunately, we're seeing many of the same conditions that happened, forced evictions, people being shut shot at by police, peaceful protestors. since september, three activists have been killed. no longer are they shooting with rubber bullets, but we're seeing much more live ammunition shot at just as during the apartheid struggle, the soweto upthat rise in. it's really, really sad to see. there's still a lot of hope, the fact that these young people are organizing, they haven't given

up, continue to wage a non-violent struggle is very, very inspiring. >> a lot of them weren't even born when nelson mandela began his journey. do they see themselves as the struggle of south africa? >> absolutely. they see themselves as standing on the shoulders of these giants of the anti apartheid struggle. >> thank you very much for being with us, documentary filmmaker, co director of "dear mandela." >> thousands are protestors are camping out in the square in kiev despite the leaders signing the trade deal with the european union. the agreement will be signed after the e.u. promised more aid, marking a reversal by the ukraine president who shelved the deal in favor of one with russia. we are learning this morning this the ukrainian opposition

leader will hold talks. >> anti-government protestors in thailand, we have more. >> it was a triumph factual looking protest leader who walked into a news conference a day after the military supreme command agreed to hold a meeting with protestors. the goal is the controversial idea of having a non-elected body run the country while reforms are put in place. >> what we expect is when they have understood the situation, the problem and the solution proposed by us, they will consider the information from us before making their decision. no matter what decisions they make, it is their right. >> this is not the first time protestors have tried to derryl the military's loyalty. several weeks ago, more than a thousand of them entered the

army compound to deliver a letter. the military's answer then was the same as now. >> we support an end to this conflict but cannot conduct our role in a partial manner. we have to remain neutral. >> the a irma long played a role in thai poll six. it was a coup that ousted the prime minister's brother. that led to an endless cycle of political upheaval that continues to this day. the government has tried to dueful parliament and called for an early election. it is holding a public forum to try to find a solution to the political deadlock. >> that could be a social contract where political parties say whoever wins the election will carry on with this national reform agenda. >> so far, protestors have rejected all concessions offered by the government. protests are about to enter their fourth straight week, but

there are pure people out on the streets demonstrate i can. the power struggle seems to be taking place behind closed doors. >> in another development coming out of thailand, a former prime minister of the country has been charged with murder this in connection with a military crackdown against mass protests three years ago. there's what's making business news at this hour. amazon is taking on costco and other big box retailers. the internet's retailer is to start big box systems such as food and cleaning splice being shipped directly to homes and businesses. the new business will be named pantry. >> do you futures up 37 points, stocks falling to their lowest levels in a month yesterday. the average starting the day at 15,739, the s and p. at 17,075,

the nasdaq below 5,000. there is no bubble in stocks just yet. >> the numbers don't seem overly rich, but it doesn't look like it's screaming bargain, either. we're looking at the u.s. and globally at europe emerging markets, asia and looking where valuations are up. >> in asia, the markets entered the week higher, the nikkei napping its three day losing streak. the cold snap most of you lived through are driving the natural gas as you light up the furnace, gas futures hitting more than a two year high yesterday. half of homes are heated by natural gas. >> one year after the sandy hook school shootings, a father shares how it changed his life, turning him from a gun owner to a vocal advocate for gun control. >> we'll look at gun ownership in america and how much has really changed in the year since newtown.

>> the story of the spanish footballer who leads a double life, by day saves lives and by night leads his team on the field. that is later on in sports. on august 20th, al jazeera america introduced a new voice in journalism. >> good evening everyone, welcome to al jazeera. >> usa today says: >> ...writes the columbia journalism review. and the daily beast says: >> quality journalists once again on the air is a beautiful thing to behold. >> al jazeera america, there's more to it. 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. >> al jazeera's investigative unit

has tonight's exclusive report. >> stories that have impact... that make a difference... that open your world... >> this is what we do... >> america tonight weeknights 9et / 6pt only on al jazeera america >> welcome back to aljazeera america. u.n. inspectors in syria confirm now more chemical weapons attacks against civilians there. a new report finds sarin was used in damascus in august. a thousand people died in that attack. the weapons were used on seven other owe case is. the report does not assign blame. >> for syrians trying to escape

the violence, there are few appealing options, most crossing into lebanon, turkey and jordan. european countries should be doing more to help, say some. the u.k. and italy have not accepted any refugees. the british government said it is focusing on aid on the ground. >> tens of thousands of people have fled makeshift camps around the capitol of bangee. the u.s. has started airlifting peace keeping troops. there are already more than 4,000 troops from france in the african union inside that country. the future of where bowing's new plane will be built is up in the air. leadership of the company's machinist union have rejected

what bowing called its best and final offer, with production threatened to be moved without a deal. aljazeera has more. >> these machinists are making it clear, they want their team to build bowing's latest commercial aircraft, the triple 7x. >> i wanted to get something started, get some activists out here with me and try to keep it here. >> last month, the union rejected a contract offer from bowing. the contract would have cut health benefits and eliminated pensions for future hires. it would have also insured assembly in washington. these union members now want formal negotiations to begin again. 8500 jobs are at stake. the company has gone shopping, soliciting bids to land the assembly lines for its newest commercial aircraft. >> fundamentally what bowing is asking is for any new location to replicate what is here in everett, washington.

>> 15 states are believed to be part of the bidding war. as of this week, missouri is offering $1.7 billion in tax breaks. washington state is offering five times as much, $8.7 billion, the biggest corporate tax incentive in american history. the state of washington director of aero space says it is a pricey, but worthwhile investment in the state's future. >> yes, it's been valid at over $8 billion over the 16 years that we extended it, but we think that will yield $21 million in revenue over that same 16 year period. >> tax breaks are not the only requirements for the state that will ultimately build the plane. >> bowing is looking for low cost land, a skilled workforce and a 9,000-foot long runway, all of which the bowing plant in everett has. they still have yet to come to a contract agreement with machinists and hamilton believes it could be a defining factor in

which bid bowing chooses. >> right now, both sides are in their respective corners, doing their testosterone battle, who's going to be the one to make the first move. >> losing the plane would go a devastating blow to washington state. >> it's huge. without it, i see the whole factory closing up in a matter of years. >> bowing expects to make a site decision early next year with production beginning in 2017. aljazeera, everett washington. >> the 777x is one of the best selling models, seen as vital to the companies future for decades to come. >> belgium's upper house voted to extend mercy killing to terminally ill children, sparking public debate. that allows minors to ask for euthanasia when they're in great pain with no hope of surviving. parents have to sign off, along

with doctors. some religious leaders oppose the measure. supporters hope it will pass before elections come may. >> women with strong history of drug cancer may benefit from a new drug. a study paid for by the manufacture of the drug followed high risk postmenopausal women. it found those who took the pill for five years were half at likely to develop breast cancer. doctors say it is an important option for stopping breast cancer. it may be more effective than other drugs with pure side effects. >> in scotland, using sports as a way to take his mind away from tragedy. we have more in sports. >> this guy is burning the midnight oil for sure. frank mcewan may be the clark kent of sorts of scottish football. his day job kept the firefighter at the scene of a ho risk accident last month when a helicopter crashed through a

packed bar and killed 10. later that day off the clock, he went on to captain his football club in a scottish cup match. we have the story. >> a typical friday night in a glasgow bar ended in scenes of barely imaginable horror, a helicopter plunged into the roof, leading to 10 people dying with many more injured. fireman frank mcewan worked all night on the rescue operation, but frank is also a footballer, and later that day was needed to captain his team in their scottish cup match against clyde. >> just like anybody else has got a job to do. you've just got to do your job and it's important that it goes as smoothly as possible. >> what time did you leave for

the crashing? >> about half past seven that morning and then straight home. >> while his teammates can rely on their captain, he know how important their support has been. he said the squad is like a family. >> playing in the third tier of the scottish league, many juggle football with their day jobs. formed in 1870, the third oldest cup in scotland, one of the oldest in the world. they responded to conceding a

goal by scoring four of their own. the score was the right man at the right time. a reveered manager in this part of the world for him and you saily remarked that football is not a matter of life and death, it's more important than that. >> if anyone has the right perspective on this, it's frank mcewan. >> it's just a game at the end of the day. it makes you appreciate all you've got and makes you appreciate how lucky you are. >> aljazeera, glasgow. >> from one footballer to another, college football held their annual awards show thursday and winston won for best quarterback in the nation and spoke for the first time since being exonerated on sexual assault charges. >> i just want people to know that how much my family took from this and my family just

watching everything go on, and how my team just supported me through this whole thing. of course, i know i did nothing wrong, but the people just got to realize my family and the coaches and coach fisher just supported me through this whole process and i just feel so loved by that, you just don't understand how much that means to me through this whole process. >> that is a look at sports this hour. >> concerns about our environmental footprint have a lot of people looking at a museum in texas. that uses technology to support sustainable energy. we take a tour of the kimball art museum. >> it's where you find geo thermal wells under michael angelo and cells above picassos. the museums piano pavilion houses 16th century masterpieces in 21st century innovations. >> i think that you know, lots

of architects have been wondering what was going to happen here, and to me, i think the result is exquisite. >> albert marisol is among those who flocked to study the new work of the architect. the $135 million project broke ground in 2010 and opened this november. to admirers, the this isn't just a museum, it's a temple. >> the museums around the world have been at new cathedrals. >> part of the roof is sod, average insulation. >> it's wonderful seeing works of art in natural light.

>> museum director eric lee said the panel pavilion uses the energy as its neighbor. solar cells cover the building's glass roof. >> much of our lighting is supplied by the energy produced by the cells. >> finally, there's the breathing floors. >> you see little gaps between the floor boards and the air rises from between those gaps. >> creating a subtle but efficient ventilation system. >> i think what's impressive about the work is that piano has been trying to expose the inner workings of the building. >> not even a month old, architecture critics say the pavilion opens a new chapter in the marriage of art and technology. >> it was built to complement the museum next door and to

provide more space for the permanent collections there. >> on the anniversary of the sandy hook tragedy, we'll look at how gun control has changed in america for better or worse. we'll talk to a dad whose kids were in school and how it has totally changed his perspective. >> it might not look like much yet, but this brewing storm system is going to bring us chances from thunderstorms to flooding rain to snow that could snag travel. i'll have the details.

>> start with one issue education...

>> failing to pass any new gun legislation since sandy hook, state level laws are being adopted. >> the newtown tragedy forced a lot of lawmakers across the country to take action while stricter gun laws have been enforced, much of the legislation passed loosens restrictions on guns.

>> i never knew pain like this existed. >> natasha christopher, a mother of three lost her son last year. the 14-year-old was shot in the back of the head after leaving a new york party. the gun was never found, and neither was his killer. >> i'm not going to sit here and lie to you. i live in constant fear. >> despite new york state's strict gun laws, christopher believes more needs to be done to get illegal guns off the streets. >> i feel like the testimony has failed every mother who has last a child to gun violence. no mother should ever have to bury a child. >> in the year since the sandy hook school shootings, the gun debate has raged across the country. >> we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent tragedies like this regardless of the politics. >> new york imposed a stronger

assault weapons ban, requiring additional registration, and reducing the number of bullets allowed in magazines. according to the law center to prevent gun violence, 21 bills passed bills strengthening firearms restrictions this year. overall, more bills expanded gun rights to 39 bills to restrict them. illinois paled a concealed carry law, allowing people to carry guns in most public places with the permit, taking a stance on either side of the issue can come at a a cost. in colorado, two democratic lawmakers were recalled after pushing for tougher gun laws. jennifer kearns was behind that successful grassroots campaign. what she said is spreading. >> the night of the elections here in colorado, our phone started ringing off the hook with people in california saying please come help us. you have to help us do this here. >> that scarce leah, the

director of new yorkers against gun rye lens. her brother was shot and killed at his business. >> this is a public health crisis. this is not about politics. this is about keeping americans safe. >> pleased with the progress made on tate level, barrett remains frustrated congress has failed to pass federal gun laws. >> we have a very, very big problem. >> gun rights act visits say stricter gun laws don't equate to a drop in violence. >> as far as school shootings and that kind of violence, to me, it seems very, very shallow, and superficial to think that why having more restrictions on firearms that you're going to be able to restrict people from going into schools and malls and things like that. >> meanwhile, natasha kristoff continues to push for tough every gun laws. >> all i know is that we have to all come together and stand together, and say enough is

enough. >> there is a nonprofit called the brady campaign focused on enforcing public policy that addresses gun violence on both the federal and state level. every year, they release a scorecard ranking every state for laws dealing with guns and ammunition. 25 states failed their assessment. california scored the highest with an a minus. del. >> thank you very much. >> washington d.c. has some of the toughest gun laws in the country made even tighter in 2013. those laws did little to stop the year's mass shooting, 13 people killed when a gunman opened fire at government navy yard. gun advocates have been saying, tough allows, yet 13 killed. >> 12 killed and then the shooter was the 13th. d.c. has some of the strictest laws in the country.

aaron election sills violated the laws bringing a loaded gun in d.c. you can't carry a loaded gun or can cele, can't drive with a loaded gun in a car. if you bring a gun from outside d.c., you're supposed to register it. here's the thing. he bought his gun across the water in virginia. virginia has much more lax gun laws and in fact is considered one of those states where many guns are bought and brought to other states to commit crimes. in this area, yes, d.c. has very strict gun laws, but you don't have to go far to find states that do not. >> lisa, gun rights advocates argued that strict gun laws failed to curb higher murder rates, at one time the murder capitol of the world. >> in 2009, the district of columbia dropped off the list of the top 10 cities with the high homicide rates. that trend has continued, a very positive trend for the city.

although, i will say according to homicide watch d.c., it depends who you are and where you live. overall, the rate is down, but the rate of black homicides remains exceedingly high in this city, so gun laws one factor, but certainly not the only factor in gun violence. >> lisa stark joining us live from washington, d.c., the washington navy yard, 13 people killed there in a mass shooting. thank you very much. >> let's bring in a resident of notown connecticut. his son and daughter survived the sandy hook shootings. you were nodding your head a lot as lisa stark was speaking. i want to go back to that time. president obama wiping away a tear, vowing to the residents that something was going to be done. one year later, nothing is done. what do you say? >> couple things. president obama kept his promise, and told us when he me with us on sunday, the 16th, two days after the shooting i

can't do this alone, i'm going to push this for you to prevent something like this from happening again to put same laws in place, but i cannot do this alone. i need your support. he actually did take executive action, did what he could. it's congress that has refused to take action here. >> why is that? >> i think that -- >> is the n.r.a. that powerful as a lobby? >> they are, but it's the whole gun industry. proliferating gun is profitable, reducing gun violence is not. when you look at the cost of gun violence, it's being subsidized. if that industry had to internalize the costs, they would change that. the rest of society bears the cost. >> name one gun law that will actually stop what happened at sandy hook, what happened at the

washington navy yard? >> if weapons of military type caliber were not so readily proliferated, the been lobby did a great job over the years and the term assault weapon is not a political term. that was a marketing term. after the vietnam war when soldiers were coming back, the industry used that term to market weapons that were substantially equivalent, not exactly, but substantially to what these soldiers were using in vietnam. when that became a negative term for the industry, they wanted to change now it's called a sporting rival. there's sporting about an a.r.15. a lot of states ban it. it's made for killing or maliciously wounding people. if that weapon were not to highly proliferated, if high

caliber magazines were not so readily available. do drunk driving laws stop all drunk driving? >> no. >> do regulations for swimming pools stop drowning? >> washington, d.c. was the murder capitol of the world. prior to the glocks, they were killing people then, they have been killing people since. is it the gun, is it the law? what is the problem. >> there's two issues here that we need to really peel apart. number one, do you want to reduce mat shootings or reduce shooting in general? so, the two are -- they're not mutually exclusive. when you consider a 20-year-old kid with no military training can shoot his way into a school, in five minutes, shoot his way in and kill 26 people, what does that say when the gun rights people say that weapons don't matter, the choice of the weapon doesn't matter, they'll find a way to kill, that's incorrect.

>> jim brady, presidential press secretary shot, wounded, are we going to be sitting here one year from now saying the same thing and nothing happens again? >> people hold reagan as this iconic ideal, and this is not, you know, gun rye lens reduction is not just a democratic issue, not just a represent issue, but there are some fairly clear splits along those lines. do you know what reagan had to say about assault weapons and ak47s in particular? civilians don't need them. they should not have easy access to those weapons, but we are seeing a dangerous movement in this country. go look at certain other news outlets. when they use words like thugs, that's code words for black people or latino people, people not the color of me. this idea to ramp up the fear if you don't have these weapons,

these thugs or people that don't look like you, act like you are going to get you and your family, you must protect yourself, that's one strategy. the other is to make you think when you no longer like government policies because a half black man gets elected president, it's your right to overthrow the government, those are dangerous policies pro live rated by the gun industry. there used to be these back water kinds of fringe movements, it's becoming mainstream. >> it's sad that you have to be with us on a day like today. resident of newtown connecticut, his children survived sandy hook. that's going to do it for this hour of aljazeera america. thanks for being with us. there is more news, straight ahead.

>> this isn't a new channel, this is a watershed moment in media for america. >> this entire region is utterly devastated. >> people our here are struggling. >> the fire jumped the highway we took earlier. >> your average viewer want's to actually understand how the health care law is going to help them or hurt them. >> they know they can get extremist bickering somewhere else. >> people say that we're revolutionary. our revolution is just going back to doing the best in journalism. >> this is the place to go watch high quality journalism, period. 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? >> 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