>> welcome to aljazeera america, i'm del walters, and these are the stories we're following for you. >> they have failed every month who has lost a child to gun violence. >> aljazeera examines everything from gun control to conceal and carry. and it's not a real option for those fleeing the war. and plus, a new way to sell consumers. tomorrow marks one year since

sandy hook. 26 died. calling for tougher gun lawyers, after the attempted assassination of ronald reagan, it fell mostly on deaf ears, especially when it comes to congress. bisi joins us now. >> the president wiped a tear from his pace and vowed to do something. while stricter gun laws have been enforced, they have loosened restrictions on guns. >> i never had a pain like this. >> reporter: natasha christopher, a mother of three, lost her son, aquil, last year. he was shot in the back of the

head leaving a party. the gunman was never found. >> i live in fear. >> reporter: christopher believes that more needs to be done to get illegal guns off the streets. >> i feel like the system has failed every mother who has lost a child to gun violence. no mother should ever have to bury a child. >> reporter: in the years since the sandy hook shootings in neighboring connecticut, the gun control debate has raged across the country. >> we're going to have to come together with meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this. >> reporter: new york was the first to make an assault weapons ban, reducing the number of bullets in magazines. according to the center to prevent gun violence, 20 states passed gun violence laws this

year. and were there were 70 to expand and 39 bills to restrict them. illinois passed a conceal carry law, allowing people to carry guns in most public place was a permit. taking the other side of the issue can come at a cost. and in colorado, two democrat lawmakers were recalled after pushing for tougher gun laws. she was behind a mass grassroots campaign, and what she said is spreading. >> the night of the election in colorado, with phones ringing off the hook with people saying, please help us here. >> reporter: her brother was shot and killed at his business. >> it's a public health crisis. this is not about politics, it's about keeping america safe. >> reporter: the progress made on the state level, barrett remains frustrated that congress

has failed to pass tougher gun laws. >> we have a very very big problem. >> reporter: gun rights activists say that stricter gun laws don't equate to a drop-in violence. >> as far as a drop-in violence, it seems very very shallow and superficial to think that having more restrictions on firearms, you're going to be able to restrict people from going into schools and going into malls and things like that. >> reporter: meanwhile, natasha christopher continues to push for tougher gun laws of. >> all i know is that we have to all come together and say enough is enough. >> there's a non-profit called the brady campaign, focused on enforcing public policy that addresses gun violence on the federal and the state level. every year, they release a scorecard ranking every state with guns and ammunition.

california scored the highest with an a minus. to prove your point in texas, authorities shorted the training course for those wanting to carry concealed weapons, and made it easier to carry gun permits. people applying for a gun in texas no longer have to provide their social security number. with more on these changes, heidi, was this a direct response to sandy hook? >> reporter: sandy hook was suddenly a factor. governor rick perry said after the shooting that there was no gun law that could have prevented sandy hook, but it was more of a mental health issue, and he vowed to expand gun laws in texas, passing no less than eight pro-gun laws since sandy hook, including the one that you mentioned where it used to take

ten hours of classroom time to obtain, and now it takes four to six hours. >> heidi, when do those laws go into effect? >> reporter: after september 1st, del, it has made a big impact. it comes with very little opposition at the capital with handgun licensed instructors testifying in support of it. no one testifying in opposition. but at different schools in the area, some have supported it, and some have said that six hours isn't quite enough to get all of the lessons co condensed, and they're stretching their courses to be a little bit bigger, and since the year that it was passed in sandy hook, 230,000 licenses have been issued and tested, and that's a 150% increase over the year before. >> heidi jo castro joining us

live. set to vote next week on the bipartisan budget deal, it prevents another government shut down and eases the problems by sequestration. those benefits expire on december 28th. with the budget deal in place, the president now turning his attention back to jobs, meeting with a group of mayors at the white house white house. they will focus on creating jobs, and the president wants them to have a voice in what the federal government decides to do. secretary of state, john kerry, said that he wants a final peace deal. israel will release more palestinian prisoners on december 29th. the release is part of that deal to relaunch peace negotiations. amnesty international said

that european union should hang their heads in shame. they're talking about the low number of syrian refugees that they're taking n a report suggests that 28 countries have offered to take in syrians at war. the risk that some syrians take just to get to europe illegally. >> escape from syria. >> mohammed runs from his country and makes it to the border of turkey. now he'll meet the smuggling gangs who say that they will take him to europe for a price. >> i have a two-year-old daughter, when the bombs came at night, she went in the corner and screamed and covered her ears. daddy, they're bombing us.

>> in istanbul, mohammed meets other syrians, including an eight-year-old, who has traveled here without her father. they plan to go to greece by boat. she doesn't know how to swim. it's a dangerous and illegal journey, but there's no easy way for syrian refugees to get into europe. amnesty international said that germany is the easiest country, offering to take 10,000 syrians, and the other countries have offered to take just over 2,000 between them. france, 500 places, spain, 30, and other countries, including italy, have not offered any places at all. >> so much given to the effort, but what we need is to help the people who are really suffering. people with illnesses who cannot

get the care this they need, because of who they are, they need a safe place it go to that will provide what they need. >> amnesty figures don't tell the whole story. in sweden, 20,000 syrians have found refuge. but most have to make the long and dangerous journey themselves without any help. countries like britain have put caps on the borders, saying that this is the way to help them rather than resettlement. mohammed arrives in greece and ends up in a camp on a crowded island. he too to want go to sweden, but for now, that's just a dream. >> the u.s., by the way, has taken in only 90 syrian refugees since the war began filmed. >> the man in irarn wants the

u.s. to bring him home. after they revealed what he was doing in iran. levin son was working for the cia, part of an intelligence gathering mission that was not approved in 2007. the u.s. has not commented on it, but has urged the ap not to publish it. sending more troops into the african republic. an additional 2500 troops would bring the total to 6,000 on the ground. france also has troops there, working to stop the violence. and today was the final day for many in south africa to say their final good-byes to the man they called mandela. tens of thousands waiting it see nelson mandela's body. his body will be in his hometown on sunday. as many believe that nelson mandela did a lot for the country, many believe that he could have done more on the

issue of aids. >> a clinic in south africa is crowded with aids patients. this country struggling with more aids victims than any in the world. more than one in ten adults is infected. nobody knows why the numbers are so high. but they say that nelson mandela failed to acknowledge the problem and turned it into a disaster. forcing the president to look aids in the face. he was 11 when he spoke to the aids conference in 2000. >> a very little boy, i'm living with a foster family. but i'm strong, and healthy.

>> later, he lay close to death. by the time he died in 2001, nelson mandela had come to accept the scale of the problem and had begun to speak publicly about it. >> this young man, he was [ unintelligible ]. >> because of this very public tragedy came, set up by his foster mother, gayle, but nelson mandela was center of center ofe epidemic, but they paid a heavy price in coming to the terms of the disease. south africa's attitude toward

hiv and aids have changed, and no longer ostracized the way cozy was. but things might have been different. if nelson mandela, whose own son died of aids, had been more forceful. >> after his son passed away, what attitudes would have been if he had come public before? because that would have made it more real, that we are totally, or hiv is totally non-discriminating. you could be the president's son and be infected. >> the government, with nelson mandela at its head, danced around the issue for years. but johnson believes that there might have been far fewer for them to take care. aljazeera. >> right now u. there are more than 6 million people in south africa living with hiv and aids, and almost half are children.

coming up on aljazeera, we'll tell by a new business model that tells the art of telling a story.

>> something to think about as you snack this holiday season. 60% of the world's cashews come from india. despite that, the average worker earns 5 cents an hour, less than a dollar a day.

an >> these women are just a few of the 1 million cashew workers across india. at this government-run facility, not much has changed since the industry took off in the 1920s. here, cashews grown locally or imported from african and asian countries, are roasted. >> they have died from medical problems, and now -- >> they have private ones, and here they can cover their fingers. they're on the floor for more than seven hours every day, and that causes long-term pain in their knees and backs.

>> reporter: no one knows that better than sarah, who only goes by one name. shelling cashews for 34 years has left her with body pain and even having her uterus removed from squatting on the floor. now she helps current and past workers with everything from getting help to being paid on time. >> we should get help. government facilities have medical treatment, and we have had to strike a few times just to get wages or pensioned owed to us. so the amount is not enough, not when inflation keeps rising. >> the government body that runs this unit said medical facilities are available to workers, and the government has looked at ways to make the cashew peeling process less stressestressesful as the demanr workers keeps rising.

>> most of our people -- >> sarah doesn't buy that, and says conditions for workers haven't improved for years. she believes that while processers are making money from the cashews, it's workers like her with the real price. >> india used to be the largest supply of cashews to the united states, and now it's vietnam. >> struggling after three days of losses, the dow up 17. and stocks are on peace for their second week of declines. from 17, we're going down. coca-cola is shaking up it's operations so to speak. dividing up their operations

with two leaders. coca-cola america, and cola cola refreshments. all part of the plan to return to the local stores. amazon is getting ready to take on costco and other big box retailers. they will launch a bulk food service called pantry. they will be able to fill box was food and cleaning supplies. the boxes will be shipped directly to their homes and businesses. >> . >> this is the season to shop, but as popular as amazon and costco might be, you might want to consider shopping at a smaller business with a quirky concept. the idea of a store with storytelling. david schuster has our report. >> it's a new business model. it's a 2,000 square foot face. we reinvent it every 4-8 weeks like a gallery. >> she believes that the way to

reinvent retail is through storytelling. she comes up with a new story and the products that go along with it. >> one of them are the amazing t-shirts for kids. we have princess leia and mr. t and it cannums to life in someone's home. it's a hidden message. >> there are elements of a magazine all around. a letter from the editor on the wall. and little blushe little blurbsl and who makes it. >> it's a chance to support the smaller businesses beyond just the one store. >> she calls her wednesday model retail media, merchandise on one hand and sell the retail version of ads through sponsorship. >> we reach out to brands, such

as benjamin moore, when we told a color store, and they pay us a lot of money to be part of that. i can think holistically about what we do per square foot. >> that was david schuster. recreating masterpieces, up next on aljazeera america, we'll tell you about a museum that's taking efficiency to a whole new level. ñ

>> welcome book to aljazeera america. i'm del walters, and here are your headlines today. the african union is increasing the size of trying to control the violence over the last week. president obama is hosting mayors at the white house.

the conference is focused on creating new jobs. >> . >> robert levinson was working for the cia. he disappeared in 2007. he was part of an intelligence gathering mission that was not approved. >> . >> people are looking at a new museum in texas. it uses technology to promote new energy. part of the kimball art museum. >> it's where you find a geothermal well under michelangelo, the piano pavilion hosts master pieces in 21st century innovation. >> a lot of them were worrying about what was going to happen here, and to me the result is --

>> he's among those who flock to see the work of the piano. the $135 million project broke ground in 2010 and it opened this november. to admirers, this is not just a museum, it's a temple. >> the museums around the world have been new cathedrals. >> the pavilion emphasizes the latest in green building. part of the roof offers insulation, and much of the building is underground. and then there's the way that the pavilion harvests natural light. the staircase, the light comes in through the window and bounces off and creates a well of white. >> the natural light changes, there's life to it, and it's wonderful seeing it in natural light. >> eric lee says that the piano pavilion uses half of the energy per square foot as it's neighbor, the louis kahn

building. >> much of our lighting is supplied by the energy produced by the cells. >> finally, there's the breathing floors. >> you see the little gaps between the floor boards, and the air rises between the little gaps. >> reporter: creating a subtle and efficient ventilation system. >> i think that's impressive about the work is that piano is trying to sort of expose the kind of inner workings of the building. >> reporter: not even a month old, architecture critics say that the piano pavilion opens a new chapter in the marriage of art and technology. aljazeera, fort worth. >> i'm meteorologist, dave, and another storm coming in through

new england. this is a winter storm watch, and nothing happening in the area, but it will be developing here over the next 24 hours. the temperatures are cold enough for a mix of rain, sleet and snow. 39 in washington. memphis, and chicago is at 24°. here's where the storm is now. it does not look like muc much,t it will be changing. you start to see the mix around missouri and illinois, and that will continue to spread north. as it intensifies. so a large area of snow developing by tomorrow morning. it will be in the midwest and not just american pennsylvania, i-95 or new england yet. as the storm intensifies, another one redevelops off of the coast. and it gets complicated. it will keep the cold air in place. by saturday evening, here's the heavy snow, and then you get a large mixing area before it

clears out on sunday. here's the view of the timing of the storm. here's the first low pressure system over west virginia. that's by saturday afternoon. light snow coming down here. another one develops off of the coast of carolina. this is where it really intensifies and keeps the cold air in place. by saturday evening, 8:00 to 11:00, here's the heavy snow and changes over to freezing rain up i-95 and new york. this is what you'll be dealing with on saturday night and sunday. and then it will clear out and move off of the coast. as far as the snow goes, there's a sharp contrast between nothing and 6-10 inches of snow in new jersey and new york. 3-6 inches, and then mainly rain as the snows clears out and you get the transition to freezing rain. heavy thunderstorms on saturday afternoon and evening. so a lot going on.

>> thank you for watching aljazeera america. i'm del walters and inside story is next. yet it is likely you haven't heard much about it, the tpp is the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray swarez. two of the world's three biggest economies rising industrial powers some of the world's biggest natural resource ex-porters, 11 pacific countries in all, including the u.s. have