♪ an explosive attack in alepo syria leaves dozens dead including children and they reportedly dropped so called barrel bombs on the disputed city. >> angry and i just want to shoot everyone up. and that kind of thing can pass under the radar because guys say that kind of thing all the time. >> reporter: a community is coming to grips with the latest school shooting as a teenage victim wounded in the attack continues to struggle for her life. a building boom in the city by the bay, what is driving san francisco's growth and some residents aren't happy about it. for the first time in 40 years snapshots from the moon and

china is the third country to successfully land on the lunar surface. ♪ good morning and welcome to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy, we have breaking news out of south sudan and the u.s. embassy is closed and fighting at the presidential guard erupted and there is a curfew there and telling people to exchange extreme caution and said on twitter we urge citizens to remain where they are as travel in juba is not currently safe. we will advise if the security situation changes, stay safe and in doors and the army is those

supporting the president and those in favor of the former vice president. the president fired mashir and the rest of his cabinet in july to crush dissent in the government. the clashes are the first in south sudan and gaining independence from sudan years ago. 28 children are among the dead following an attack by syrian government forces on the northern city of alepo. syrian army helicopters dropped barrels filled with explosives on rebel portions of the city and 125 are killed and the worst attack on the city in six months. alepo is one of the main grounds since they launched an offensive there in 2012. since then the fighting has destroyed much of the city. syrian refugees in jordan and lebanon are dealing with another challenge, surviving harsh winter weather, a snowstorm

swept across the region sunday creating difficult conditions for people living in tents and humanitarian agencies are scrambling to distribute blankets and place it tarps and it's hope to the largest amount of refugees and more than 840,000 and jordan refugee camp is one of the largest in the world. al jazeera's anita is in istanbul, turkey and what about the weather and in countries around there and where you are in turkey? >> stephanie i think it's important to understand that the situation for the refugee populations, the ones we see in the tents is nothing compared to the misery of the situation that the refugees inside the country are suffering from. the conditions inside syria are the worst these various agencies have known. there is a shortage of medical supplies, a shortage of foot and

no shelter and insecurity and the refugees are suffering from three factors, from the weather, the insecurity and fighting and political difficulty which sees the various sides controlling the access to aid that is there and various areas get and enormous problems there, a medical crisis and humanitarian crisis unparallel and to give you an idea of cost the world food program says it's going to take up to $2 billion every month to feed 7 million people and it needs 9 people in urgent need of humanitarian need in and around syria and that is magnitude of the cost there and i'm sorry i seem to have lost the line with you so i may leave you there. >> we are in turkey reporting about the syrian refugee crisis this winter. the gaza strip only power plant is running again after receiving a fuel shipment in two months and israel had 120,000 gallons

in the territory over the weekend after a request from the u.s. israel provided for water pumps and allowed the transfer of gas for indoor heating and israel has been hit hard by the heaviest snowstorm in decades and hundreds of thousands have been without electricity for days and one is dead and five,000 evacuated in northern gaza after rains caused flooding and in some places the water rose to more than six feet and poor infrastructure in the strip and poorly-built homes made the flooding even worse. >> gaza has become a disaster zone with water as far as the eye can see in certain areas, two meters high, stranding tens of thousands of people and working 24/7, 4,000 workers working rounds the clock and distributed 5,000 liters of fuel so the pumping stations can work and going to facilities. this is disaster relief under

occupation. it's very, very problematic. >> reporter: the gaza strip is one of the world east most densely populated places, it's home mostly to refugees and let's bring in metrologist nicole mitchell and is this weather unusual for the middle east? >> it is and we had four consistent days of higher rain and snow for higher elevations and causing the u.n. to call this a disaster area, israeli netanyahu said this is basically a storm of a century and even the israeli metrologist going back 130 years this is the most snow they have seen from a storm and this really is a big storm out here. this is gaza we were talking about, the flooding and syria is to the northeast of that. the whole region is seeing problems. one other issue you get is for example the gaza strip poor drainage and now that the weather is starting to wind down you have snow melt to add to some water coming in the area and not a lot of places for it

to go and takes a while for the water to recede and people in the meantime and think back for us bolder, colorado and the images there is what is going on with this impressive storm and the weather is winding down but a few days to get back out of this. as we get back to the united states we have another clipper going through the great lakes region but just the wind flow is creating lake effect snow that we will stick with today and into tomorrow to some snow and you may wake up this morning around indianapolis for example. as we continue across the region. here is how all of this plays into motion and more chances of snow for the day in the coastline and northeast and maybe a few more chances as we get in the day tomorrow. but some of these lake effect areas could see an additional 6" of snow as well. we also still have temperatures running a little below average and more on that in a few minutes. >> thank you. an israeli soldier has been shot

to death along the israel, lebanon border, the gunman was a sniper from the lebanese military. israeli soldiers say they have returned fire and shot two lebanese soldiers, it's still unclear what prompted the exchange near the israeli town of rush and israel fought a war in 2006 against the hezbolah and led to the deaths of 100 liberty knees and 160 israelis, a girl shot at a colorado high school is in critical condition and the family says she is in a coma in a hospital in littleton and shot in the head friday after 18-year-old karl pierson went in the high school with a shotgun and he was recently suspended and kicked off the debate team after making a threat against his debate coach. >> he went to nationals with mr. murphy and i know they did not get along on the trip to nationals. and i know that at the beginning

of this year karl went to change some things about the team and i don't know what they were but karl threatened to kill mr. murphy half jokingly and he brought it to the administration and he was suspended. >> reporter: they said his daughter is not doing very well. he says doctors are worried about swelling on her brain. the hunt is on for two suspected killers in new jersey, they shot a man christmas shopping with his wife and happened at an up scale mall in essex county during a carjacking. the victim and wife were leaving the mall and confronted by the men in the parking garage. they took the vehicle and police are still searching for it. the victim died shortly after the shooting. france has a funeral for two soldiers killed in the central african republic and coffins will be led in a procession through the streets of paris. the soldiers are a casualty of the sectarian violence that killed hundreds of people since march. now the country's interim leader wants to hold talk with

malitia's involved and andrew simmons has the story. >> we have a situation going on nearby where a number of houses have been burned. antibalica fighters, we understand active in the area now attacking muslim homes. we have seen the smoke. we have had a report from an al jazeera staff member who told us that reports of deaths. we can't confirm that right now. but there seems to be a situation going on with a warning that could be retribution from some of the muslims but that is unclear. what we have here is effectively an microcausm the crisis effecting the poverty stricken county and this is a camp housing muslims around 7,000 who abandoned their houses after the attacks by antibalica members and antibalica means antimachete

and self-defense groups who say they have been attacked by the celica which is the former operators who actually formed the transitional government and supposed to have been disbanded. now we have celica nearby out of shot here and the central african peace force here as well. we have the french army a short distance away, it appears none of them have deployed in response to what is going on down the road. to give you an indicator of what the mood is like on the way from the capitol to here, a very long, six-hour drive on very rough roads. we happened to meet some malitia from a village and that is what their leader had to say. >> translator: people are human beings like us and if they live with us in harmony everything would have been all right and they turned the guns to us and we died in large numbers. >> reporter: you have children with you to fight as well.

>> translator: as the children are ready to fight. >> reporter: is it right that children this age are fighting? >> we are overwhelmed, when things are tough we have to sit back and cause fear to save ourselves. >> reporter: reconciliation is a word that really doesn't have any bearing on this situation right now. it has been the case that for the past ten days there has been some level of calm. this is a standoff because ten days ago the african peace keeping force actually fought very bravely to prevents a total massacre. there is an unknown number of deaths here. people are hiding in the bush. some are frightened to come here and there is a camp nearby of 36,000 christians and a hospital also full of people. this conflict certainly isn't being settled quickly and it would appear that it could only get worse unless there can be a reliable force in between and some attempt and try and

stabilize a government that is effectively, i mean the forces now effectively are on house arrest because this is the force that undid that brought down the previous government. and we do understand from our sources that the former president may have some involvement in mobilizing the christian malitia and making this more of a sectarian battle than it possibly should be. >> reporting from the central african republic. 16 people have been killed in protests in china and happened in the western province in xinjiang and the region has an increase in fighting among members of the muslim population, chew that linked them to a deadly attack in october where a car drive in at

the square. and jacob zuma has a 30 foot statute of the beloved leader in pretoria and part of reconciliation days which began the year after mandela helped end apartheid and it ended with his burial in the village where he grew up. it's a busy week in washington for the senate, a vote to pass a budget bill is expected to take place on tuesday. the plan has already passed a difficult plan in the house and po has promised to sign it, with lawmakers in the senate wrapping up the year on friday, passage of the budget bill is considered likely but not guaranteed. >> the ayes are 332. the nos are 94. the motion is agreed to. >> reporter: the budget bill heads to the senate this week after passing the house by an overwhelming vote, the bill would dampen the government shut down for the next two years.

we will need about 8 republicans to come our way. i feel we will have a good, strong showing from the democratic side but we need by partisan support to pass it. >> reporter: a tough sell for republicans who say the spending cuts don't go far enough. >> we are plagued by a government who continues to spend a lot more money than it's taking in. >> reporter: others not wanting another last-minute deadlock the bill is good enough. >> i hope it will pass the senate and i will do anything, not anything but we must not shut down the government again and we cannot do that to the people in the country and my state. >> reporter: wasting no time before the holidays harry reid took to the floor on sunday scheduling a closer vote for tuesday. >> mr. reed moves to concur. >> reporter: the measure requires 60 votes in order to bring the budget bill to the senate floor for a final vote. it will wrap up a year where nominations and bills on farming and immigration remain unresolved and busy 2014 for another likely show down in the spring, this time over the debt ceiling which the budget bill's

author say it's a fight for another time. >> we agreed the debt ceiling would not be part of this. i don't think that our country wants to see another crisis a to send our country into a tail spin so we will take that road when we get there. >> the reason we did this agreement is we didn't want to bring the controversies into these talks. >> reporter: adding to the senate's busy schedule this week passage of a defense bill and possible vote on president obama's janet yellen and there will be a confirmation with a simple majority. americans are concerned bt a rising insurance costs in the new year and blaming the affordable care act and a poll found half the people with insurance fear their policies will change for the worst and 59% expect the deductibles and copays to go up, 69% say the annual premiums will rise and 4 out of 5 blame the changes on president obama's healthcare

law. using builders to beautify a community, one city is using a housing boom to get parks, roads and sidewalks a much-needed make over. >> we don't know if they are each other but we know it. >> reporter: plus an unique idea that is not only helping immigrants find jobs but giving rise to a whole new way of life and china is celebrating the success of an lunar landing and the first picture sent from the moon rover and nfl teams fighting for play off position made for good sunday football and highlights and the playoff picture ahead in sports. ♪

. ♪ good morning and welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy, ahead how san francisco is durning a housing boom to update the parks and roads and we will look at the temperatures across the nation and metrologist nicole mitchell is back. >> we are running with temperatures slightly below average for the eastern half of the country and a little more than below average as we start

in minneapolis and two degrees and we have another clipper system going through and making the wind chill below 0 and fargo minus 14 and bundle up weather and fargo a new thing december-march is bundle up weather and we are pretty used to that. temperatures for today running not too bad and fargo warms up to 41 with drier skies and a little sunshine. if you want more warmth going to florida, key west is 76 and the temperature is similar across the country for tomorrow including 30s and 40s up and down the east coast and we will talk about the snow in a little bit. san francisco is hoping the resent construction boom will pump much-needed funds in the city. the growing tech industry is bringing thousands of residents and driving it up and fees for developers will pave the way for parks and transit projects but as lisa reports residents have mixed feelings about the rapid

growth. >> while cities like detroit struggle to pay their bills and have to make due with the infrastructure they have, san francisco is celebrating growth. if a developer wants to build here, san francisco requires the builder to pay to create a park, improve a sidewalk, fix a road or some other needed improvement as part of the project. city planner is thrilled that the impact fees are rolling in and going to good use. >> projects that were entitled on the front period as well as new projects came together to enable us to accomplish major infrastructure projects all at once. >> reporter: and she says the city anticipated $63 million for the next five years, instead it will get $110 million to improve the look of many of the city's neighborhoods. >> so this is going to be a new housing project with some retain on the ground floor. >> reporter: planners say 4600

new units are under construction in the city, the highest rate of production in more than ten years in san francisco. >> the landscaping goes all the way down the block, so it's a really nice public space. >> reporter: san francisco supervisor scott weiner says new buildings need to take care of their new tenants. >> as we got new housing we need to improve the street scape ings and improvements. >> she likes the renovation of the crosswalk here. >> it's more well defined. it looks safer. >> reporter: others are uncomfortable with the newly-built whole food store and condos in the neighborhood even though a new plaza was part of the project. >> a really pricey market across the street from safe way, for all the new rich people that are pushing everyone out of their long-term leases and homes. i think it's kind of

disgraceful. >> while some are struggling with the rapid growth most people like the idea of getting around more quickly. 50% of the impact fees go towards transportation improvements, adding a bus lien here will shave 6 minutes off the current travel time. leaders spent ten years investigating what each community needed to connect infrastructure with construction growth. with the new buildings and park now being built alongside of them, they feel all of the planning is now finally paying off, lisa bernard al jazeera san francisco. >> around san francisco thousands of workers are busy meeting demand of the growing number of residents, there are over 140 projects in the works rounds the city. some of the new projects popping up include the new trans bay public transit terminal with a five-acre rooftop park and for the high-speed rail line and for

the convention center and 17,000 skate park in the south of market area. major league baseball player ryan freel was suffering from degenerative brain disease cte when he committed suicide last year according to his family who got the results from a boston university report. cte is often associated with frequent concussions and believed he suffered at least ten concussions during his playing days and the first case where a professional baseball player was shown to have cte and it's often associated with nfl players. it was a busy day around the nfl on sunday with teams pushing for the post season and we will go to that now. >> high entertainment and the outcome of the patriots and dolphins the match had an effect on the top and bottom of the afc picture and what would tom brady do?

he would throw it to the receiver julian and 13 catches and 139 yards and the score for je is up three late and until quarterback hit marcus to give the dolphins 24-20 lead and 1:15 remaining and brady looking to pull off a second half rally for the fourth straight game and michael thomas fresh off the squad picks him off and miami wins which of course means the patriots lose on a day where they could have taken over the afc's number one playoff seize and the bengals knocked them out of seat two and got a bye in the process and playing in pittsburgh for the first time for the member of the bengals and saw fit not to send him or hardly any one else after him here. can't give big ben time and he has the belt for the 12-yard score and 14-0 steelers and

rough night and a snap away to the steelers and he gets anilated for the score and he fractured his jaw and they let a big opportunity slip away losing 30-20. if the post season were to start today denver would have home field advantage of number one and they are two -- at three and puts the patriots at two. the colts have a solid hole in the division and thus the number fo four, seed and miami put the pressure on ravens to win in detroit. if t if the ravens don't win it will be the final two weeks to get in. nfc and eagles lost in an early sunday game and meant the cowboys had a chance to tie them for the division lead and dallas

was hosting a packers squat to keep pace in the nfc north with the bears and lions and with packer store aaron rogers still too hurt to pay, 26-3 half time lead no team in the packers h, had ever come back from 23 down. in case you had doubt that was fore shadowing and touchdowns in all possessions and the score came after an romo interception with cowboys running out the clock and romo threw oath another one and it was 37-36 with a wild card for the long shot, the bears need to windy vision over lions and packers assure themselves a spot and got it done sunday in cleveland behind j cutler returning from injury and reclaiming his starting job over an effective josh by throwing and bears win 38-31. chicago's win gives them a

temporary lead and they would relinquish if the ravens win and seattle has home seed advantage throughout and san francisco and north carolina have top two spots in nfc and both can claim division titles if they go out. if they don't the cardinals are in striking distance at 9-5 and that is your sports report for this hour, stephanie. >> john henry smith thank you. tens of thousands of protesters march as they have talks with ukraine and what john mccain said to the government about any crack downs on demonstrators. one louisiana town is dealing with its violence past and cases to the ku klux klan are being solved and abuse of children at the hands of priests.

king's ransom, 62-year-old nick saban says, "i'm too darn old to start over", he did not adarn, he used the other word. he agreed to a multi year extension remain the coach of crimson tide. >> not one day during the school year goes by where a navy pleeb doesn't hollar beat army, or a cadet, "beat navy." the two oldest dismiss meet for the 114th time. michael eaves has more. >> on paper this game doesn't figure to be much of a battle.

7 and 4 navy against a team posting three wins. the games are not played on paper. the long-standing rivalry is more than a contest. >> 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.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy, u.s. senators john mccain traveled and told ukraine their future lies in the west, not the east and senator said congress would consider sanctions and americans support the demonstrations. >> you seek europe and ukraine will make europe better and europe will make ukraine better. >> reporter: demonstrations began when the president refused to sign a trade agreement with the european union but eu took the offer off the table and tweeted that the words and actions are far apart and

ukraine president will go to moscow and hoping they will loan the country money and lower gas prices. senator john mccain is criticizing the cia for not telling congress enough about robert elevenson, last week the associated press said he had been working on a covert mission in iran when he went missing 7 years ago and they said he is not their prisoner and do not know where he is. mccain says the cia didn't tell the truth to the american congress about levinson and believes the obama administration has not been forthcoming with information. secretary of state john kerry returned sunday to the waters he once patrolled during the vietnam war and the first time he visited the delta region as he served as a young navel officer in 1968 and visited farms and river trade and spoke

about how it has changed between the two countries. >> decades ago i was one of many who witnessed the difficult people in our shared history. today on these waters i'm bearing witness to how far our nations have come together and we are talking about the future. >> reporter: after visiting the delta kerry met with leaders in the country and they try to make a trade deal in the asian pacific region including vietnam. dozens of racially-motivated murders across the deep south have been left unsolved for decades and andy gallagher reports one small town in louisiana is hoping to close the chapter on the cold cases involving the ku klux klan. >> the archives of the local newspaper are a window in the small town's past. but among these dusty, yellow pages there are stories some

people would prefer to forget. >> this is september. three months before frank died and this is his advertisement. he ran it almost every week. >> reporter: the man who died almost 50 years ago was frank morris and he was successful and had a shoe repower shop and well liked by the entire community and his white customers would often let their children play in his shop and that was reason enough for the ku klux klan to target him. this is all that remains of frank's business, that night in 1964 it was set on fire and frank was forced to stay inside at gunpoint and last seen running from the corner of his buildings with his clothes on fire and as he ran for help he left bloody footprints on the road and he died four days later from burns. and what wasn't clear and after years investigating his death he pieced together what happened that night by talking to witnesses and going through old police reports. what he found shocked him.

>> but the more you go the more you realize there were some really bad people here and that what happened then were happening now the murders and beatings and whippings that were going on we would be, terrified. >> reporter: it's not unusual and deep south there are 70 unsolved murder cases, most of them brutal and racially motivated. >> the lord has a way of bringing justice. it may be a long time coming but it gets there. >> reporter: robert lee who remembers frank morris well there is some comfort that his murder may not have been in vain. >> at least somebody see it let's find out what happened to this man and who was responsible and now the world knows who frank morris was and knows what kind of person he was and has some idea who was responsible. >> reporter: despite fresh efforts to investigate these so called cold cases it's unlikely

that people will be brought to justice with dying and memories fading and taking secrets to the grave but the memory of frank merris lives on and for those left behind that may be the only justice they get. >> reporter: al jazeera's andy gallagher reporting. the archdiocese and part of a grand jury report and says it uncovered sexual abuse and a minor involving 58-year-old priest michael chapman and priests violated standards of behavior and boundaries. in a case unrelated to the grand jury report they placed father john paul on administrative leave following 2012 allegations he abused minors more than 40 years ago. a catholic church in argentina

and they are asking for forgiveness and the priest responsible for the abuse father jose is serving 14 years prison sentence and his church's apology is an essential step in making amends. >> translator: this is the next step for the church and the bishop and victims and what remains to be done is offer a public apology to continue with the process of healing of what these people have suffered. >> reporter: they have plans to sell off some property to provide compensation to the young people who were abused. it has been one year since the gang rape and murder of a young woman in the capitol sent shock waves around the world and attacked the medical student on a bus and four have been sentenced to death and sue hail reports they are debating the their country is any safer. >> central new deli one year ago

the police try to keep angry protesters back and outraged by the rape and murder of a medical student on her way home on a bus and the government responded by toughening sentences for crimes committed against women and doesn't seem to have helped much and dozens raped in the last few months and few men were prosecuted. it is happening slowly. >> we are reluctant to move to the next step to enter our lives and our families and our homes and letting it be understood that this violence can only be removed if we actually have equality and spirit. >> reporter: then there is enforcing those laws. police say they have increased patrols and more female officers on the beat. and many people are not convinced. but one stormer police officer says the authorities are working

harder to protect victims of rape. >> and get the magistrate much earlier which means the statements of witnesses and the victim are now gaining a lot of credibility. >> reporter: still that has not stopped the attacks. in the last year rapes of minor in new deli, a tourist in the state and a photo journal list in mumbai says that rape remains a major problem. this is where the medical student was attacked a year ago and since then politicians have been forced to address the issue of violence against women. in the resent state elections all three parties said they would make the capitol safer and with 600 rapes reported last year alone a lot more work has to be done. al jazeera and new deli. >> rape cases in india doubled over the last decade and according to the crime record bureau a new incident is reported every 22 minutes and

indians are taking to the street to talk b about out lawing gay sex again. >> equality. >> reporter: the band was put in place under british rule and it was repealed in 2009. supreme court reinstatement this week means homosexual acts are punishable up to ten years in prison and progay activists say it's a blow to human rights in the world's largest democracy. south america countries that a new leader and she has been elected for the second time and demand better distribution of wealth and education and we have the latest on the landslide victory. she is back, the most popular president now elected again on the promise of ambitious reforms to make south america's stable economy one that is more equal

too. >> translator: it is team for a new constitution, for a democracy that assures rights for people and guarantees that the feature voice of the poor majority will not be silenced in the minority. >> reporter: and the personal appear is questionable. >> translator: i'm thrilled and she is an amazing woman and fought for us and guaranty my son can study for free. >> reporter: and candidate evelyn was clearly no match whose real rivals seem to be the high abstention in the run out and the voter turn out a disappointment for the president. >> and they are making the point that it matters how many people go to vote because not a lot of people vote you don't have a mandate, right, you don't have a mandate you cannot do reforms you said you were going to do. >> reporter: but that is not the biggest challenge. over the last few weeks she has

half jokingly told crowds that people have high expectations of her and believe she can fix a marriage problem, this is a clear indication she is afraid that those expectations may be unrealistically high. from education for all and better distribution of wealth and a new constitution voters expect results. >> the economy is going to slow down so fulfilling her promises will be much more difficult and much more to see student protests and people on the streets protesting again next year than we are to see free education at the end of next year. >> and she may feel as she has the weight of the world on her shoulders but on this night it was time to simply savor her victory. >> reporter: and she is the first leader in chilly to serve two terms.

a navy charity scammer will be sentenced and the 67-year-old collected more than $100 million through the fundraiser and convicted in mid november of racketeering, money laundrying and identity theft in ohio and 41 years in prison. a 13-year-old girl is brain dead after checking in a hospital in california to have her tonsels removed and she arrived last monday at oakland children's hospital for surgery and they said removing her tonsels would help with sleep apnea but she has serious complications during recovery. >> my daughter had an actual clot sliding out of my mouth and said catch them with the cup so we can measure them. >> reporter: over the last few days she has taken a turn for the worst, hospital staffer asking the family considering removing her from life support and the family wants to keep her alive until after christmas.

census shows that immigrants coming to the u.s. are women and struggle to find work that pays a reasonable wage and face abuse and exploitation but one new york nonprofit is trying to help by giving immigrant woman careers in the kitchen and we have the story. >> in a little kitchen in harlem something hot is happening and big changes in women's lives are taking shape. holla-tortilla bredz from all over the world made by women from all over the world and trains low-income women to become master bread makers and she came to new york from maroco six months ago and shares the kitchen from women from mexico and the u.s. >> i know another language like spanish and sometimes. >> reporter: and rodriguez started the company in her

kitchen. and this is the idea that in most parts of the world women bake bread but in the u.s. and europe men are getting jobs in baking so i wanted to marry a market demand for ethnic bread for women to get better jobs in career and management track jobs. >> reporter: in the u.s. immigrant women have 8% of professional baking jobs. it started as a social justice enterprise six years ago and takes donations and hope to compete with the biggest bakeries and fine their programs with bread alone. it offers free english classes and it's the lifeline when she came here alone three years ago from morocco. >> first time to new york and it was my dream too. my family was difficult because you are going like another world and another world and nobody there, no family, no english, no

language with how you speak with the people but it was an experience for me to learn a lot of stuff. >> reporter: so far 45 women graduated from the program and found work in some of the city's biggest bakerys and others stayed here to teach other women to bake. >> help each other and we know it by bread. >> reporter: bread that provides a taste of home to women who have come here to make new lives on their own, al jazeera, new york. >> hot bread kitchen created the women bake bread scholarship to help start bakerys and rose $47,000 donors and i had the bread by the way and it's delicious. this is in the business world this morning, federal reserve will steal the show this week and fed policy makers kickoff a two-day meeting tomorrow and should decide scaling back the bond buying program until next year, don't expect the fed to

start reducing the economic stimulus this time around. >> by the time of january meeting occurs there will be enough good data to decide the economy is not good enough shape to withstand the start of that. >> reporter: wall street will start on a high note and pointing to gains at this hour, stocks posting the second weekly loss in a row on friday, the dow jones industrial average is 15,755. s&p 5 00's 1775. the nasdaq imagining above the 4,000 mark. overseas european markets are higher. business activity in the euro zone picked um and asia and the markets are lower after manufacturing fell to a three-month low in december. amazon facing strikes on both sides of the atlantic today and workers have protests at the e commerce seattle headquarters with planned strikes in germany. the dispute over pay with

amazon's german union has been ranging for months but the first time they took the issue directly outside the company's headquarters and it employs 9 how workers in germany. the first images from china's successful lunar landing. >> the rest of the country is dry but we still have lake effect we are dealing with and details on the snow coming up. >> looking life at the sun peeking up in the new york city skyline this monday morning, december 16. ♪

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welcome back to al jazeera america. just ahead the first images sent by china's new moon rover and where the sthoe and rain may fall in the country and nicole mitchell is back, nicole. >> i hope you are off to a nice and dry monday for the most part and the west coast we have some places like many parts of california running drier than

average. you are on the east coast you would be happy to share because it has been inundated on that side of the country and dealing with the weather today and a combination of another clipper going through and bringing snow to indiana and ohio but also the lake effect wind machine cranking up, so some of those locations especially the places we know that are prone to lake effect and buffalo you could get 6" of snow over the next couple of days. back to you. >> nicole thank you. countries rounds the world are struggling with tech trash, cell phones, laptop, computers and other electrons are choking landfills and producing toxins and eric has more. >> we buy more gadgets, toys, computers and appliances and they break or become obsolete and they end up being thrown out. they frequently contain gold, silver and copper and also lead and recycling them if it's done

like this in india is a dangerous and toxic job. >> it contains a lot of hazardous and scarce metals for example and not easy to treat and it's much needed the appropriate recycling is taking place and if these valuables are wasted then it's a loss of resources as well. >> reporter: some countries are moving towards safe recycling and e waste but increase of demand in electronics will overwhelm facilities and could see millions of tons do you remember ped into landfills and 48 tons of e waste was last year and expected to rise by 64 tons by 2017 and the biggest are china and u.s. and 11.1 million tons and 10 millions tons the respectively last year. each chinese person produced on

average 5.4 kilograms of high tech trash and the average american had six times this, 29.8 kilograms. a u.n. initiative has an interactive map and looks at 184 countries and locking at the e waste it generates and disposes. >> the e waste issue is an issue for both developing and transition country and developing worlds. even in the developed worlds we have the issue that we are facing here, low collection rate despite having very good e waste management systems into place. so the consumer also has to play a certain role here and he has to be aware and take action. >> reporter: let's hope the map will give governments and companies dealing in e waste a better sense of the problem and then perhaps they can move this mountain and ensure it's recycled or disposed of safely.

al jazeera. >> reporter: the u.n. report says by 2017 global electronic waste will way 200 empire state buildings. new images of the first flight to the moon and erica joins us to explain more about the big moment in space exploration and good morning erica. >> with this lunar landing it's the third country with the united states and former soviet union to land on the move and it's on the moon and gathering information for the next three months. >> translator: the mission went as planned and on saturday the lunar rover landed on the moon and state television had it live alongside a computer generated probe path so people could watch as the moon's surface got closer and closer until the unmanned space craft finally touched down. a celebration of hugs and

handshakes filed the initial announcement. from the chief commander from the arrow space control center, the rocket carrying the rover blasted off to with weeks ago and a waiting game ever sense and over the weekend in the control center dozens of space workers watched and waited as well as china's president himself that witnessed the final moments and applauding the landing and shook hands with the space team as china joined the united states and former soviet union as the only countries in the world to land on the moon. >> want to be with the big boys and the mission is the toughest and risky ones before to proof it. >> the soft lunar is the first since 1976 when they landed the luna-24 and they will look at the surface and look for natural resources. this is a monumentel moment for

china they lag behind u.s. and russia in technology. >> one small step for man. >> reporter: it has been nearly 50 years since neil armstrong was the first to go on the moon and the u.s. ended the manned missions to the moon but for china this successful space mission is the latest stage in a program that aims to eventually put a chinese astronaut on the moon and they will open a permanent space station in the earth's orbit and it's named u 2 and means jade rabbit and a public pole in china decided the name which comes from a chinese myth about the pet white rabbit of a goddess who lives on the moon. >> thank you. and thomas joins us with a look at what we are following for the next hour, good morning thomas >> good morning, at the end of the first hour this is what we are following this morning, 125 people were killed in an attack on the northern city of alepo.

helicopters dropped explosives on rebel held parts of the city. tens of thousand are protesting after the union broke off talks with the government and chilly the president has been reelected and food and supplies are air-lifted to syrian refugees struggling against bitter cold and fierce storms and the next hour a representative talks about aid group answer how they are teaming up to help with the crisis. the high-tech ways your company could be spying on you at work. i'm metrologist nicole mitchell, the lake effect snow machine is going again today and i'll explain the science of why the snow piled up near the great lakes. >> and thomas and i are back with you in just 2 1/2 minutes.

>> from our headquarters in new york, here are the headlines this hour. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> a deal in the senate may be at hand and just in the nick of time. >> thousands of new yorkers are marching in solidarity. >> we're following multiple developments on syria at this hour. >> every hour from reporters stationed around the world and across the country. >> only on al jazeera america.

>> an explosionive attack in syria leave dozens dead, including children. helicopters reportedly dropped so-called barrel bombs on the disputed city. >> american party for ukraine as the you're mean crane stops talks. >> whenever he'd get angry, he'd go i just want to shoot everyone up and that kind of thing. that can pass under the radar, because guys say that kind of thing all the time. >> a colorado community is trying to come to grips with the nation's latest shooting as a teenage victim wounded in the attack continues struggling for her life.

>> i see they don't get along, but today on this day, we see that we are getting along. >> bringing people together through the power of art. how ending a ban on graffiti is helping enemies find common ground. >> welcome to aljazeera america. i've stephanie sy. >> time thomas drayton. thanks for being with us. 28 chirp are among the dead after syrian army forces carried out a raid on the northern city of aeopo. >> barrels full of explosives were dropped on the city from helicopters. a warning, some of these images are graphic. >> [ screaming ] >> this is being described by

activists at one of the worst days of the syrian war in a long time. opposition groups say syrian forces used helicopters to drop barrel bombs on to at least 10 neighborhoods in ale approximate. po. volunteers are begging for help. >> we have not rested since morning. more than 10 different areas came under heavy bombardment, shelled by both explosive barrels and missiles. this is the only equipment the civil defense team has. we don't have any other tools or equipment. >> it's not the first time the government has used the bombs made of large as i will liniers or oil drums packed with exclosives and rolled out of the back of helicopters. they may be aimed at rebel fighters, but as the pictures show, they're not terribly accurate.

children were among the victims in these attacks on eastern aleppo the victims are struggling through one of the fierce evident winters people in the middle east have seen in decades. some international aid is starting to arrive, but it's unlikely to be enough for the millions forced from their homes. but right now, here in aleppo, all those people want is some help to find any survivors. aljazeera. >> aleppo has been one of the main battle grounds in the syrian civil war since an offense was launch said in 2012. 18 months of fighting has destroyed much of the city which has been split up into government held and rebel areas. >> the u.n. is appealing for a record $6.5 billion for those inside syria and for syrian refugees. harsh winter conditions are making things worse for refugees trying to survive in jordan and

lebanon. a heavy snowstorm swept across the region sunday, creating difficult conditions for syrians living in tents. relief groups trying to distribute blankets and plastic tarps to help. more than 840,000 refugees in one camp and in jordan, the largest in the world. >> the u.s. embassy in south sudan has been closed after heavy gunfire and explosions rocked the region. a curfew in the country is now in place. fighting between rival factions erupted overnight in the capitol city. the american embassy is urging u.s. citizens in the region to exercise extreme caution. south sudan's army is divided between those supporting the president and those in favor of the former vice president. the president fired the vice president and the rest of his cabinet in july to crush growing dissent within his government. today's clashes are the first in south sudan gaining independence

from sudan more than two years ago. >> an israeli soldier has been shot to death in gunfire on the lebanon border. israel says it has retaliated and shot two lebanese soldiers. it is unclear what prompted the shooting. this is the first incident of violence on the border since 2010. >> there is some relief from freezing temperatures in the gaza strip today. the region's only power plant is up and running again after receiving its first fuel shipment in two months. israelile allowed 120,000 gallons into the blocked territory after the weekend after a request from the u.s., israel provided four water pumps and allowed the transfer of gas for indoor heating. the area has been hit hard by heavy snow. hundred was thousands have been without electricity for days. >> it's not just snow affecting gaza this week.

days of heavy rains caused flooding in the northern area. that's forced 5,000 people to evacuate. in some places, water rose to more than six feet. poor infra structure in the gaza strip has made things world series as floodwaters damage poorly-built homes. >> gaza has water as far as the eye can see in certain areas, two-meters high, stranding tens of thousands of people. 4,000 workers have been working round the clock, distributing 5,000-liters of fuel to the pumping stations to work. we are taking people to facilities. this is disaster relief under blockade, under occupation, it's very, very problematic. >> the gaza strip is one of the world's most densely populated places, home mostly to refugees. >> protestors in ukraine were told that their future lice in the west, not the east. the senator said congress would

consider sanctions if the ukrainian government uses violence against the protestors and that americans support the demonstrations. >> the destiny you seek in europe, ukraine will make europe better and europe will make ukraine better. >> this past weekend, the e.u. took its offer off the table, and e.ure official tweeted to ukraine's president's worst and actions are far apart. the president said he will visit moscow thursday to talk about trade agreements with the russian government. he hopes that russia will loan his country money and lower gas prices. >> south america's wealthiest country has a new leader. leftwing candidate michelle has she reelected president for the second time, winning in a landslide victory sunday. her first term left three years ago. she left office with an 84%

approval rating. they are demanding better distribution of wealth and better education. >> a busy week for senators in washington as they wrap up for the year and head home for the holidays. after the house overwhelmingly passed a budget deal, the bill now moves to the senate. president obama has promised to sign the bill once reaches its desk. while both sides say they didn't get everything they want. they say this is the best deal to avoid another shutdown. >> we like the fact for the economy no shutdowns. we don't want the drama so that we can focus on replacing obamacare, focus on showing better ideas than what this is coming in. we don't think people like this law and we don't think it's going to get more popular. each of us get something out of this agreement that we think is good, but most importantly, the country is not going to see these shutdowns and congress is going to get back to the business of paying the bills and prioritize i can spending. >> despite voices of opposition, the bipartisan agreement is

expected to be approved tomorrow. >> many americans are concerned about rising insurance costs and are blaming the affordable care act. nearly half the people who have insurance fear their policies will change for the worst. 59% expect annual deductibles and copays to go up. 69% say their annual premiums will rise. four in five blame the changes on president obama's health care law. >> a 17-year-old girl shot at point-blank range a the a colorado high school is in critical condition. the family of claire davis said she's in a coma in little to know. she was shot after carl pearson barged into arrapaho high school. >> he went to nationals with mr. murphy. i know that they did not get along on this trip. i know that at the beginning of this year, carl wanted to change

some things about the team. i don't know what they were, but he threatened to kill mr. murphy half jokingly. mr. murphy brought it to the administration and carl got suspended. >> the girl is not doing well. her father said doctors are worried about swelling on her brain. >> the hunt is on for two suspected killers in new jersey who shot a man who was with his wife. it happened during an apparent carjacking. the victim and his wife were leave i can the mall when they were confronted by the men. the attackers took the vehicle. police are still searching for it this morning. the victim died shortly after the shooting. >> lake effect snow is paying up in parts of the u.s., adding to the accumulation. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> good morning. >> we talk about this a lot early in the year especially early in the winter season versus later. as you look on the radar, very easy to pick out the moving

snow, which is a clipper coming through versus lake effect. see these bands around the great lakes and smaller lakes produce this at times, as well. what exactly causes that? first you have to look at thements of the lake versus the air. the air heats and cools much more quickly, water retains temperature longer periods of time. if you look at some of the temperatures around the lake, some single digits this morning, some teens like cleaved at 12. the lake temperatures are mostly in the 40's, lake superior is more in the 30's, as you have winds coming across the lake, it's actually moving parcels of air, so to speak. we were talking last week about why it was so dry and the fact that cold air holds less moisture. you have the cold air coming across the warmer, moist source of the lake, so it's able to retain more of that moisture. once it hits the cold air over

land again, especially with terrain to help lift it up, it can't hold the major anymore so dumps it out as snow once it hits the cold air on the other side of the lake. that's why you see that banding effect, as long as the wind continues to do that. we'll talk about other temperatures across the country coming up. >> 16 people have been killed in protests incline in a. it happened in the western province. chinese state media said a group of police officers were mobbed by rioters carrying guns and explosives. two officers and 14 rioters were killed and two people have been arrested. the region has seen an increase among fighters of the muslim's weaker population. in october, a crowd drove into a crowd in beijing's tiananmen

square. >> there's been no official comment from chinese military about the south china sea where the u.s. was operating in international waters. the american ship, a cruiser, maneuvered to avoid a collision. the newspaper report said it came too close to a naval drill involving china's first aircraft carrier. >> the sectarian conflict is worsening. on sunday, the interim leader said he's considering amnesty for militia's involved in the christian-muslim violence only if they lay down their arms. france will ask britain and other european countries to send troops to help with the conflict. there are 1600 french troops fighting to curb the civil war there. canada announced it will contribute another $5 million for humanitarian needs in

central africa. canada has already contributed nearly $7 million in humanitarian assistance this year. >> south africa is memorializing nelson mandela today. the current president zuma unveiled a statue of the leader. it was part of reconciliation day as her moneys which helped the year after mandela helped end apartheid. he was buried yesterday. >> it was a beautiful ceremony yesterday as 4500 people gathered. >> still ahead, making a deal with edward snowden. >> a top n.s.a. investigator is suggesting the u.s. should think about granting amnesty. >> what they may want snowden to offer up in exchange for a deal. >> a debut bringing two countries closer together with a rail speed. why some are not satisfied with the super speed service. >> our big number of the day,

find out why one country is one of the largest exporters of a less than legal commodity. night with the combatants in their training base.

>> now to today's big number, $344 billion, that's the total amount of dirty money india exported in the decade ending in 2011. that figure released by global financial integrity, a washington, d.c. based advocacy group, saying the illicit money grew 10 fold during those 10 years. most of the cash came from crime, and corruption. >> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. >> good to have you with us on monday morning. it should come as no surprise that your you boss is likely keeping tabs on what you're doing on the job, perhaps christmas shopping this time of year. new technology is offering levels of surveillance we've never seen before. we'll look at ways employers are

keeping an eye on employees. >> first, let's look at what temperatures we can expect to see across the nation today. nick mitch is back. >> i was just talking about how some of the cold air versus the warmer lake i guess contributing to snow this morning opinion here's a taste that have colder air. chicago, eight degrees, we still have temperatures well far south of houston at 33, that's below having a to tart the day. for the midwest, you add in the winds and even not that much can push the wind chill blow zero, so far go minus 12 is what it feels like right now. overall, the high temperatures in the midwest fairly typical for this time of year, as we get to the south, still running not too bad, atlanta is at 56, tomorrow, a lot of the east coast in the 30's and 40's, so getting back to average. i'll talk more about where we'll see the snow coming up in a while. >> a navy charity scammer will be sentenced today, after

collecting more than $100 million through a fundraiser. he was convicted of racketeering, money laundering and main theft in ohio. he faces up to 41 years in prison. >> edward snowden may have somewhat of a friend in the n.s.a. an investigator said the u.s. should consider giving snowden asylum in exchange for documents snowden took with him. not everyone agrees, including the spy agencies director. a deal for amnesty would have to be approved by the justice democratic, which has south charges against the leaker. he was granted asylum in russia. >> top executives at eye kia france are being investigated for spying on staffers, accused of using police records to dig up dirt on its workers. in some cases, executives are accused of hiring private detectives to collect information about where their employees spend. four employees, including former c.e.o. were fired when the scandal became public last year.

>> employee monitoring is becoming increasingly common. bosses are finding new ways to keep tabs on their workers, often using sophisticated technology. david shuster shows us how being watched at work is becoming the new normal. >> at first glance, the small boston office looks like any other start up. >> if we don't get the updates. >> thanks so these unassuming white badges, every movement and conversation of these start up employees, even their stress levels is being tracked. >> as daniel and i are interacting right now, first of all, the badges figure out that i'm talking looking at the microphone, tone of voice and volume. >> sensors record everything from how often workers get up to their desks to their conversational patterns. it allows companies to collect hard data on the soft science of employee behavior. it may seem novel, but these are one example of an increasingly high level effort to monitor

workers in the name of productivity. >> the average employee spends anywhere between an hour and two hours a day on their computer for personal use while at work. >> brad miller, a c.e.o. of technology which sells monitoring software used by business and government agencies. >> we can see if there are certain alert words showing up more than others. >> alerts are set up when workers use words like sexy or visit on line websites. executives can receive notifications every time their name comes up in an employee email. as a failsafe, supervisors can even watch a recording of a screen. >> employers can protect their interests without this. >> president of the national work rights institute says in discriminate monitoring can actually hurt productivity, but miller counters that most

workers today accept workplace monitoring at part of the job and says the badge data is given without you individual employee names attached. >> now, sophisticated tracking technology is spreading, targeting the estimated 60 million people who work outside the office in industries like trucking, oil and gas, even construction. >> it's a blind spot for the business. what we do is turn on the light. >> a black box hard wired into the vehicle feeds data wirelessly to software back in company offices, giving supervisors realtime information on whether a driver's braking too hard, using fuel efficiently, or making deliveries on time. >> it's not really about watching the employee. it's really about how can we give them the tools that they need in the field to do a better job. >> david shuster, aljazeera. >> research has shown that being

watched can be effective at least for the companies. a recent study of 400 restaurants found using of the software cut back server theft by 20%. >> wall street is putting money back to work. dow is up 75 points, stocks posting their second weekly loss friday. the dow jones starts at 15,755. the s&p at 1775, the nasdaq staying just above the 4,000 mark. >> after manufacturing in china slipped to a three month low in december. >> the federal reserve is expected to steal the show this week, kicking off a two day meeting tomorrow with the fed to decide whether or not to scale back its bond-buying program or wait until next year. one economist said don't expect the fed to start reducing its economic stimulus this time around. >> by the time a january meeting

occurs, there will be enough good data in the back for the fed to decide that the economy in fact is in good enough shape to withstand the start up caper investors will look for comments from the fed on how likely it's able to keep the some rate low. >> christies is expected to place a price tag on 2800 pieces of art from detroit. the bankrupt city may sell the artwork to help pay creditors. there is a private campaign to raise $500 million to keep the artwork from being sold. christies may come up with alleyives, such as using the art as collateral to obtain credit. >> amazon is facing strikes today. workers are staging protests at the e commerce giant seattle headquarters in tandem with walkouts in germany. the dispute overpay with amazon's german union has been raging for months, but this is the first time the union has

taken it directly outside the company headquarters. amazon said german employees are already paid on the upper end of what workers in that industry earn. >> two u.s. senators are now calling for expanded safety inspections for the nation's r. senators chuck schumer and richard blumenthal are asking congress to meet the obama administration's request of 100 ate $5 million for the next fiscal year. it's a $15 million increase over this year's budget. this comes as the special team of federal safety inspectors arrives in new york today. they're going to conduct a 60 day probe into operations on metro north. a train for the commuter rail line derailed this month killing four. >> a high speed train from spain to france cuts travel time in half between the two countries, at aljazeera reports, not everyone is happy about it. >> although the cheapest fare costs more than $80, there was no shortage of willing passengers when the tickets went on sale.

sunday, those ticket holders streamed on to the platform to take the inaugural journey. >> it's a very good thing, not only do we win time, it's also a way to bring two countries closer in a very effective way. >> i wanted to be the first one to go to paris. i'm happy to make the first journey. >> high speed rail links are approval controversial in europe, with a tunnel under the alps costing $12.6 billion. london is linked with northern cities against opposition. in barcelona amid the excitement, there is some frustration initial approval to expand the travel was granted back in 1992. >> frankly, i feel we're 20 years too late. it's presented as good news, but

actually is bad. we've been waiting for it for 20 years now. the spanish government still works like it's in the past century. >> most were looking forward, not back. barcelona-paris will cut a 12 hour journey to less than 6.5. further improvements will slice another hour off that in the coming years. this is the start of not just one journey, but perhaps a whole new era for rail activity. paul brennan, aljazeera. >> the service will provide bullet train to say madrid and lyon. >> new problems facing syrian refugees. >> wintery weather is making an already difficult situation more challenging. >> we're talking with the world food program about steps they're taking to alleviate the problem. >> secretary of state john kerry issuing a warning over the execution of north korea's number two in command. why he called the death of kim jong-un's uncle a sign of danger. >> a revolution of film.

the cinema scene in cuba giving a new generation of filmmakers there hope. >> as the countdown to the winter olympics marches on, we put the spotlight on a legendary woman snowboarder still searching for that elusive gold. that's next in sports. >> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america

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take a new look at news. >> you're looking at a live picture of lady liberty on this blustery monday morning in new york city. good morning and welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> one of the cold effort days of the year in new york city. we have been talking about syria refugees facing a new battle. the weather in refugee camps is becoming a major problem, the harsh conditions making a differ situation worse, taking up to five months to get food aid to areas. it is creating a number of challenges. coming up, we'll talk with a member of the world food program about problems they face and what's being you done to help.

>> it really is a perfect storm of problems there. cuba is actually seeing a boom in its film industry. there's a recent festival that's allowed young independent filmmakers to showcase films, but there are certain economic limits. we'll see them making their film dreams a reality. >> officials in l.a. lifted a ban on street murals. it's not just a victory for the artists, but are bringing people together that northerly wouldn't associate with one another. we'll share that in a moment. >> first, at least 28 children are among the dead following an attacks by syrian government forces on the northern city of aleppo. >> syrian army helicopters dropped barrels filled with explosives on rebel held sections of the city. it's called the worst together on the city in six months.

since 2012, the fighting has destroyed much of that city. >> the number of syrian refugees in the middle east is likely to double over the next year. according to the u.n.'s latest estimate, more than four mill syrians will be refugees by the end of 2014. harsh winter conditions are adding another layer of misery for refugees struggling to survive. a heavy snowstorm swept across parts of the middle east sunday, creating difficult conditions for refugees in jordan and lebanon who are living intends r. tents. relief groups are trying to distribute blankets and plastic tarps to help out. >> we are tracking the conditions from istanbul. how often is the weather a factor now for refugees outside of syria, as well as those displaced inside the country no. >> well, indeed, it's the ones

inside suffering the most, the ones people can't reach. apart prom appalling pictures we saw of incidents like the bombing in aleppo, but the weather, the cold tomorrow alexa they called it affecting the entire region has been brutal and deadly in syria and it's affected the aid effort, too. we've seen planned airlifts of aid from northern iraq, relatively stable province of kurdish northern iraq into another curtish city in northern syria. they've been waiting for this aid for months. they haven't been able to get into the region since may, because of the instability there. the planes were delayed because of the snow, and in they've gone, but you're looking at figures moving exponentially now. you mentioned a figure of over 4 million refugees. i have to stress that's the

figure outside. the people displaced from their homes is far larger. with the refugees being squeezed out, we're going to see more than half of syria's population seriously affected in a deadly and life threatening way by the instability, the war and the ongoing conflict in the country. a large problem of the country is access and aid groups accessing the need in syria. is there any sign that may change, given the weather? >> well, the united nations has become increasingly vocal on insisting that it needs even-handed support from damascus and better behavior from the rebel fighters, as well. the united nations are stymied trying to work inside the country in all sorts of areas. according to its charter, the united states nations has to have its relationship with

damascus and needs its sign off wherever it goes and damascus doesn't always let the aid go where it needs it because it feels it might help the efforts against them. it is impossible at the moment to get either side to do more to assist civilians. they're the ones who are suffering here. >> reporting from istanbul, turkey, thank you. >> displaced families in northeast syria are facing one of the winter's hardest areas seen. organizations are coordinating efforts by plane. joining us to discuss aid reaching northeast syria is a senior regional public fer for the middle east with the world food program. she's joining us from damascus. it is so good to have you with us this morning. how dire is the situation now? how many people are in need of food? >> well, northeast syria has

been cut off from our supplies for over five months now. usually, we do send food to over people in this area. for the last five months, we've managed to send one truck load, two truck loads at the most, so that probably the conservative estimate is that we're talking about a quarter million people who need food assistance specifically and have not been able to get this allocation for the last few months. >> i know it's been a very difficult process. you just mentioned by land, it's taking some aid five months to get to the northeastern syrian area. how will these areas get aid to the region faster? >> this is -- we had the permission from the iraqi and syrian governments to airlift food supplies, and this is a very expensive operation. it's not something that's sustainable, but what we need to do is get the food aid in the

coldest months of the year to the most vulnerable families. last night, the first plane landed, and it's going to be moved onward to all areas to families displaced with women and children. over the next few days, we're expecting another 11 plane loads of food and other supplies on behalf of unicef and other areas to the most vulnerable people. some of the other areas in there, mainly the northeast, which has been very difficult to reach. >> how many people are being helped in the region? >> for the food supplies that are going -- the food baskets have what we have like rice, sugar, lentils, canned food,

wheat flour, vegetable oil, so basic, basic food supplies. in addition,. >> nicef is sending hygiene kits w. medical kits, so some of the basic humanitarian needs that any family would need. in terms of needs across the country, dispatching food enough to feed 4 million people. we've just launched our emergency operations where we will be feeding over 7 million people basically inside the country and the ones who fled to neighboring countries. this is going to be one of the largest operations in the world, and estimates now parole have the population of syria is becoming food insecure. >> the number of reef gees is going up in very harsh conditions. i though this is the start to a very long process. public information officer with the world food program joining

us via skype. thanks for joining us this morning. >> a judge is calling for a closed hearing on how they proceed with 9/11 conspiracy trials. this includes the trial of muhammed considered the mastermind behind the attack. it is on the table for discussion. no date has been set for the trial yet. >> after spending 12 years in afghanistan, australia's last combat troops have pulled out. andrew thomas reports from sydney. >> australian troops first went into afghanistan back in 2001 and since then, 25,000 australian soldiers have served there. forty of them have been killed, 261 seriously injured, but despite that, australia's involvement in afghanistan hasn't been in vain.

he said that for our country, for australia, afghanistan and for the wider world said it has been worth it, good for national security. he singled out a province where most australian troops ever served, saying conditions there have improved, girls get an education there, they weren't getting that when australian troops first arrived. back in october, when troops came to leave, you it was said they would leave with hope, hope that they were leaving afghanistan in a better state than they found the country. not all troops will leave. 400 will remain in a training capacity. all australians are aware that their troops have left the, the fighting in afghanistan isn't over yet. >> secretary of state john kerry focusing on north korea. over the weekend, he discussed the uncle of leader kim jong-un,

calling his death a sign of danger and instability in the region. >> it tells us about how ruthless and reckless he is and also tells us a lot about how insecure he is to a certain degree. it tells us a significant amount about the instability internally of the regime with the number of executions. this is not the first execution. >> kim jong-un's uncle was considered the second most powerful figure in north korea. state media reported his wife was promoted in the wake of his death. it may indicate she has not lost influence in the country. >> a bus crash in the philippines left more than 20 dead. the bus veered off the road and plunged on to a van below in the capitol city of manila. authorities are investigating the crash. local media said rain, heavy traffic and high speed may be to blame. the bus company involved in the accident has been suspended while the investigation continues. >> another setback for next

year's world cup in brazil, a construction worker has died at a venue in the amazon city. the 22-year-old fell over 100 feet from the stadium roof after a cable broke. he is the third worker to die at a world cup venue in recent weeks. fifa is not sure any of the stadiums will be completed in time for the world cup. >> the winter games in sochi, russia are growing closer. >> counting toward the winter olympic games. the united team is counting an a slew of medal winners to bring home more medals. gretchen bleiler badly wants the one reward that thus far has eluded her, an olympic gold med ale.

>> with all kinds of tricks and aerial displace, northbounding has become popular across the globe and the united states team is considered the greatest on planet earth. the chance of medaling in the halfpipe is gretchen bleiler, ranked third in the world and making her third olympic appearance. >> this will be my fourth olympic qualifying experience and hopefully my third olympics. i have the best case scenarios and worst. i ever the younger girls pushing me and i'm an example to them. we're all each other's big evident competitors. there are only four spots for the women. there are seven plus girls who should be on that team representing the u.s. >> in the 2006 winter olympics, bleiler hit the pinnacle of a storied career by winning the silver medal. in june of 2012, while practicing a double back flip on a trampoline, she overrotated,

kneeing herself in the face, making the journey back an almost impossible one. >> i shattered my eye sock, broke my nose and gave myself a pretty severe concussion. it's an amazing journey, the ups and downs, the things we learn along the way, the object steckels and triumphs, you learn a lot of life lessons. >> she has persevered and has a great chance to get back in sochi. >> for me as an athlete, i always work hard. if something doesn't work, i work harder. this is not the case. i kind of had to just take a 10 back, and accept where i was, and not compare myself to where i was the year before. it was kind of a different version of myself, and i had to just kind of start over again. >> after winning four golds and a silver medal at the winter x games and the olympic medal, she is considered the face of women's snowboarding, but she has a different view of her standing in the port sport.

>> there are so many women who have made this sport and that's another cool part of it. everyone has their strengths and everyone has brought snowboarding into a different light for the public and to the audiences who wouldn't normally have watched the olympics before. there's so many different characters and i think that's what's appealing about snowboarding. >> ross shimabuku, aljazeera. >> thanks so much, ross. once again, the winter games are only 52 days away. opening ceremony start february 7, 2014. as of right now, 97 american athletes have qualified to compete, but as olympic trials continue over the coming weeks, that number will climb quickly. in 2010, the winter count was 216 as that, you talk about the athletes and who competed in 2010, they brought home 37 medals including feingold, the third best medal count of any country. >> moving on to the monday night

football matchup, the lions and defending superbowl champion ravens meet with a lot at stake. both teams come in at 7-6, but the lions will have a raucous home crowd cheering them on. the ravens have lost their last three away from home. both teams are in danger of losing control of their playoff destinies with a loss last night. that's a look at sports right now. >> how cool is gretchen bleiler, by the way. >> she has a great life. >> cool evident girl in town. thank you. >> cuba is seeing a new revolution of sorts in its film industry. the story of cinema has not always had a happy ending. a recent film festival is giving a new generation of filmmakers hope. we have more from havana. >> the latin america film festival drawing to a close in havana is a celebration of all that's achieved in the region especially cuba. making films brings its own

particular challenges and rewards. >> we'll never of advantage, we'll always have limits, but having limited resources sometimes forces you to find alternatives or use what you've got in a different way or to search for in genius solutions. >> there are more young independent want filmmakers working in cuba than ever before, for a number of reasons. there's a state-run film school producing a new wave of directors and actors and changes affecting the rest of the world are reaching cuba. these fundamental changes in cuban cinema are due largely to the changing technology, which is lighter, cheaper and more accessible. this may be beautiful, but not exactly affordable. >> this is one of the vanguard of young cuban film makers. her movies have been shown in festivals, winning awards along

the way. >> this is a time of really great creativity. there are a lot of young directors making their first, sometimes second work. there is a no way of looking at cinema. you've seen new ways of making films. >> cuban cinema has enjoyed some fine moments typified by the international success of the 1993 production made for the countries leading filmmaker. the film industry's only now emerging from the economic cries of the 1990's, depicted in that movie. it's emerging optimistic and battling for an economic future. >> there's a new wave that belongs to these youngsters, who are the future and present. it means that independent cinema must be recognized. we are all in it together, the professionals and those just

starting. >> they are campaigning for a new law allowing foreign funding to reach the new independent productions, to boost the creativity being stifled by bureaucracy, shortage of funds and political control. >> alejandro is a producer from one of the most successful cuban films of recent years. >> i think the best way to feed our optimism is to keep busy, to do my thing, to tell many stories and fill the screens i don't against adverse city, but with enthusiasm and imagination, young cuban cinema appears to be entering a new golden era emboldened by the battle it still has to fight. >> the gathering in havana marks the 35th international festival of new latin cinema. >> coming together over art. >> one major u.s. city hopes the

return of a popular location for street art can help to unify competing gangs. >> the location that's helping the battles groups put aside their differences. >> remembering an acting legend, fans and colleagues remember the life and work of peter o'toole.

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm thomas drayton. >> up next, gaining activity remains a problem in los angeles, but a hot spot for street murals is helping rival groups come together. >> first, let's look and see what potential rain and snow we're going to see across the u.s. today. meteorologist nicole mitchell is joining us. >> pretty quiet for the most part, not too many chances for rain, but areas of snow. we see it is disturbance through the ohio river valley. tomorrow, as had hits the coastline and water could bring snow to the east coast, too. we'll watch for that and keep you posted.

we're also watching, you can see the wind set up and how that lends to areas of lake effect snow. we'll continue to deal with that until we get a little bit more on the wind shift. some places more prone to the lake effect snow, like buffalo could see isolated spots of as much as six inches. we'll talk more about the impact coming up. >> we're getting new images this morning of china's first successful flight to the moon, now the third country along with the u.s. and former soviet union to land on the lunar surface. the 300-pound solar powered rover is serving the surface and looking for natural resources for the next three months. >> los angeles recently lifted the ban on graffiti art across the city. the effects may surprise you, not only are gray walls brought to life, but conflicting groups are being brought together by the art. >> this is the south los angeles

most people know, two and a half square miles of rundown neighborhoods and house in projects controlled by rival gangs. this is the other side that most people don't see, a neighborhood of murals, street art telling the story of the city's troubled past, and hopes for the future. isabel is with the mural conservancy of l.a. >> the morales in los angeles always have been indicative of social economical issues, issues of empowerment and connecting with our roots. >> roots that extend across los angeles, but for more than 11 years, the art stopped after a city-wide ban on mural's went into effect back in 2002. >> can you imagine gray walls. are we gray walls? we are a richly diversity, one of the most creative cities in the world. i totally believe that murals should be part of our community. >> the city now agrees, and

earlier this year, lived the ban, so now color is returning to the treats. >> you can do like the bottom piece and i could do the to that. >> it is a rare multi-cultural collaboration. >> we have an artist who is latino, another herear american and we're in the middle of watts. there additionally two people that are kind of considered enemies here. >> i tried to figure out what's the best message we can send, to me, equality, unity, friendship, team work. >> the project is bringing together students from different schools. >> la teen knows and blacks don't really get along, but today, this day, we see that we are gettingual. >> it took about two hours to sketch out their ideas, but will take three days and more than 100 cans of spray paint to bring the great wall of watts to life. >> the hope is that once this

mural is completed, it will help change the narrative of this troubled neighborhood, telling all who see it of that day when the blacks and latinos came together, worked side by side. >> you come from the left, i'll come prom the right. >> to immediate in the middle. aljazeera, watts. >> it's a great idea. the city wide ban on murals was lifted in august. >> such a difference with cities that have so much blight. >> actor pete o'toole has passed away. he made his film debut in 19 sitting. his role two years later made him a superstar. he was nominated eight times for an academy award but never won. he was given an honorary oscar for his life's work in 2003. the 81-year-old died in london, a london hospital after a long illness. >> at the end of our second hour, del walters is joining us. >> 125 people dead after an attack on aleppo in northern

syria. helicopters dropped explosives on rebel held sections of that city. tens of thousands of people protesting in ukraine after the government broke off talks with the european union there. >> winning a landslide victory in a run off vote. >> president obama facing continued back lash over healthcare.gov causing anger among fellow departments. we'll find out where he stands with his own party and what that could remain for the remainder of his term in office. >> i'm meteorologist nicole mitchell. i'll have more on what is cause in devastating flooding in the middle east, plus your complete national forecast. >> del walters is back with you in just two and a half minutes. >> have a great morning.

>> from our headquarters in new york, here are the headlines this hour. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> a deal in the senate may be at hand and just in the nick of time. >> thousands of new yorkers are marching in solidarity. >> we're following multiple developments on syria at this hour. >> every hour from reporters stationed around the world and across the country. >> only on al jazeera america.

the homes of hundreds of muslims are burned in the central african republic as fierce fighting rages on. what one leader is saying about children joining the fight with vigilante gangs. that can pass under the radar. >> a community in colorado trying to come to grips with the nation's latest school shooting as a teenage victim continues to struggle for her life. that's the idea that in most parts of world women bake bread. >> the unique business using baking bread to give immigrant women a hand up in the country. for the first time in 40 years, snapshots from the moon.

china becoming just the third country to successfully land on the lunar surface. france is holding a national funeral today for the two soldiers killed in the central african republic. their coffins will lead a procession through the streets of paris. the sectarian violence has killed hundreds and now the interim leader wants to talk with leaders involved in the violence. andrew simmons has our story. >> reporter: we have a situation going on nearby where a number of houses have been burned. they're anti-balakar fighters sif in the area now attacking muslim homes. we've seen the smoke and we have a report from an al jazeera

member that has told us reports of death. we can't confirm that right now, but there seems to be a situation going on with a warning there could be retribution from some of the muslims. that is unclear. we'll with happy a microcosm of the crisis afflicting this poverty-stricken country. i'm standing now in a camp which is housing muslims, around 7,000, who have all abandoned their houses after the most atrocious attacks by anti-balakar, which means anti-mache anti-machete. they say they've been attacked by the seleka, the former operators that formed the government who are supposed to be disbanded. we have seleka nearby and the central african peace force as well and the french army a short distance away. it appears none of them have

deployed in response to what's going on down the road. to give you an indicator of what the mood is like, on the way from the capital to here, a very long six-hour drive on very rough roads. we happened to meet some militia from a village, and this is what the leader had to say. >> translator: they're human beings like us. if they had come to live with us in harmony, everybody would have been all right. they turned the guns for her, and we died in like numbers. >> reporter: you have children with you to fight as well? >> translator: all the children we have with us are ready to fight. >> reporter: is it right children at this age are fighting? >> translator: we have overwhelmed. whether things are tough, we have to shoot back and cause fear to save ourselves. >> reporter: reconciliation is a word that doesn't have any bearing on the situation right now. it has been the case that for the past ten days there has been some level of calm. this is a standoff, because ten days ago, the african peace

keeping force actually fought very bravely to prevent a total massacre. there have been an unknown number of deaths here. people are hiding in the bush and some are from ittened to come here. there's another camp nearby of 36,000 christians and a hospital also full of people. this conflict certainly isn't being settled quickly, and it would appear that it could only get worse unless there can be a reliable force in between -- and some attempt to try and stabilize a government that is effectively -- i mean, the fourses effectively are on house arrest, because this is the force that undeed and brought down the previous government. we do understand, from our sources, that the former president may have some involvement in mobilizing the christian militia and also making this more of a sectarian battle than it possibly should

be. >> that's andrews simmons reporting from the central african republic. a series of bombings across iraq this morning killing 65 people there. that's happening in tikrit and the capital of baghdad. in the green zone, that area was occupied by american troops and a marketplace also hit. at least 100 injured i. the u.s. embassy in south sudan is closed after heavy gunfire. fighting between rival factions of the presidential guard erupting overnight in the capital city. the country's president declared a curfew. the american embassy is urging american citizens in the region to use extreme caution. we urge citizens to stay where they are as travel is not safe. stay safe and indoors. they're divided between those supporting the country's president and those in favor of

the former vice president. the president fired the vice president and the rest of his cabinet in july trying to crush disdense in the government. this is the first clash since it gained independence from sudan more than two years ago. at least 28 children are among the dead following an attack by syrian northern forces on the northern city of aleppo. syrian army helicopters dropping barrels filled with explosives on rebel-held sections of the city. 125 people are dead in what's called the worst attack there in six months. aleppo is one of the main battlegrounds of the syrian civil war since 2012. since then fighting has destroyed much of that city. the u.n. launching its largest ever aid appeal for a single crisis and wants to raise $6.5 billion for syrian and the neighboring countries dealing with influx of refugees fleeing

syria. those refugees in jordan and lebanon have yet to deal with another challenge, freezing temperatures. a winter storm is sweeping through the region on sunday toppling tents that refuse knees were living in. they say the number of syrian refugees living in the middle east will double over the next year. more than 4 million syrians will be refugees by the end of 2014. al jazeera's anita mcnaught has been tracking the conditions from istanbul in turkey. how bad is the weather there and how is that a factor in turkey and jordan and lebanon for the refugees? >> reporter: well, del, the weather here has been freezing. in istanbul the weather over the region has been unprecedentedly cold. we need to make a point early on here. the refugees you and i are discussing at this moment, the ones we see in the u.n. camps under the tents in the containerized metal housing units. the ones we see are shivering

and battling to stay warm. that isn't the bulk of the problem. the sulk of the refugees we can't see and we call them internally displaced people, they are essentially the refugees inside syria who can't even escape the country to a safer place where they know at least they have access to some kind of shelter and some kind of medical attention. within syria there is a vastly greater humanitarian crisis going on, and these are people who don't have shelter, do not have medical care, do not have access to the food they need, can't travel around, and are subject, as we've been seeing on our screens today, to unpredictable attacks from government forces and, of course, on the other side of the fighting lines, at times they'll get caught by rebel forces, too, depending on which side of the divide they're in if they're unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire. a much larger problem in syria

beyond the reach of what western agencies would like to do, what the world's ngos would like to do. far, far more serious. >> that's only part of the problem as many refugees that flee are winding up in neighboring countries. their populations are swelling, and now we have a major winter storm. what effect is that having on those countries, and what strain is it putting on their budgets? >> reporter: it has been a massive logistical exercise for all the country's on syria's periphery trying to handle this number of people leaving. they have a number of problems. the simple problem of feeding and housing them has been enormously costly on the budget of the countries. turkey was best equipped to withstand it because it has a booming economy for the moment and political stability. the other countries around syria, iraq, jordan, lebanon, you see they're much, much more fragile politically and with a

smaller buffer zone financially to deal with it. the world is pitching in there. there are united nations subsidies and money for the countries, too, but they say it's not nearly enough. the danger is the longer the war goes on, and we see no end to it in sight, not politically or militarily, the more dangerous it becomes. >> anita, thank you very much. the only power mranlt in the gaza strip is up and running again of areceiving the fuel shipment. israel allowed 120,000 gallons of fuel to be delivered. the territory right now is under blockade. after a request from the u.s. israel provided four water pumps and allow the transfer of fwas for indoor heating. they have been hard-height by the snowstorm. hundreds of thousands have been without electricity now for days. one person is dead and at least 5,000 have fled parts of

northern gaza. days of heavy rain there causing flooding. in some places the water rising more than 6 feet. poor infrastructure in the gaza strip make it worse. many people were hurt as the floodwaters damaged homes poorly built. the united nations declaring that region a disaster area. >> reporter: gaza has become a disaster zone with water as far as the eye can stee in certain areas, two meters high stranding tens of thousands of people. they've been working 24/7, 4,000 workers working around the clock. we distributed 5,000 liters of fuel to the pumping stations, but this is disaster relief under blockade, under occupation. it's very, very problematic. >> the gaza strip is one of the world's most densely populated places. it's home mostly to refugees. the weather is causing concerns around the world. we turn for the latest to nicole mitche

mitchell. >> this is a prolific storm, the israeli prime minister saying this is a once in a century storm. they're going back in the higher elevations where they got the snow, biggest snow in over 130 years, back to the 1800s. that gives you an idea of the magnitude of this storm. we were just talking to someone in turkey. this system came through syria, the gaza strip. so all these krars impacted with different elements. not only the hes snow, but farther south to parts of israel, for example, the heavy rain day after day after day was part of the president bush. think back to the united states in boulder earlier this year. it wasn't a big rain and went on for days on end and saturated everything. there's poor drainage as we talk about the gaza strip. so it will take days even now that the weather has subsided for the flooding to recede. plus, some of the snow ♪ higher elevations is starting to melt, so that adds to the water situation. we're going to continue to see flooding problems as i said even now that the weather has started

to wind down. a very major storm causing widespread impact. let's go back to the united states quickly. we have a clipper going through. the ohio river valley bringing snow this morning and also areas of lake-effect. a lot of the country, though, much drier. we'll talk about plus what we're looking at temperature-wise in a little bit. >> nicole, thank you very much. an israeli soldier has been shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire on the border with lebanon. they say the gunman was a sniper from the lebanese military. israel says it has retaliated and since shot two lebanese soldiers. it's unclear what prompted the shooting. this is the first incidence of violence on that border since 2010. six people were killed in protests in china in a western province. state immediate said a group of police officers were mobbed by rioters carrying guns and explosiv explosives. two officers were killed.

that region has seen an increase in fighting among the muslim population. they blamed them with the deadly attack in october when a car drove into ba jinx's dinman's square. a 17-year-old girl shot at point-blank rain say these sh critical condition. she was shot in the head on friday by 18-year-old karl pierson. he barged into the high school with a shotgun. he was suspended recently and kicked off the debate teach after making a threat against the coach. >> he went to nationals with mr. murphy, and i know that they didn't get along on this trip to nationals. i know that at the beginning of this year, karl wanted to change some things about the team. i don't know what they were. karl had threatened to kill mr. murphy half-jokingly. he brought that to the administration and he got suspended for that. >> claire davidson's father says his daughter is not doing well.

doctors are worried about swelling on her brain. the hunt is on for two suspects that shot and killed a man in new jersey. he was christmas shopping with his wife at an upscale mall during an apparent carjacking. they were leaving the mall when they were confronted by the men mountain parking garage. they took the couple's vehicle and police are searching for it and them. the victim died shortly after shooting. u.s. senator john mccain and chris murphy traveling to kiev over the weekend. they told protesters in ukraine that their future lies with the east -- wes and not the east. he said that more americans support the protesters. >> the destiny you seek lies in europe. ukraine will make europe better, and europe will make ukraine better. >> demonstrations began whether ukraine's president refused to stein a trade deal with the european union. over this past weekend the eu

took its offer off the table. an eu official tweeting that the words and actions of ukraine's president are far apart. president victktor yanukovych wl meet with russia. he hopes russia will loan them money and lower gas prices. senator john mccain is criticizing the cia for not telling congress enough by robert levinson. they say he was working on a covert cia mission in iran when he went missing seven years ago. iran is maintaining he's not their prisoner and they don't know where he is. mccain is saying the cia did not tell the american public the truth or congress about levinson. he also believes the white house has not been forthcoming with information. president obama facing tough criticism over problems with the rollout of healthcare.gov. we're going to take a closer look at how that is affecting his standing inside the democratic party. plus, we'll tell you about one louisiana town that is

dealing with a violent past. how cold cases with ties to the ku klux klan are being solved. china is celebrating the success of a lunar landing. the first pictures sent back to earth from the moon from china.

good morning, and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. straight ahead we're going to talk about the obama presidency, and the president's standing within his own party. but first let's find out how cold it is going to be where you are. >> we have some below average temperatures out there. it is december, we are just about officially into winter. up and down the east coast 20s and 30s as well. places like new york at 27 this morning. we're not going to get much warmer today. just a couple of degrees. but at least there will be some peaks of sunshine, i always feel

like that makes it feel a little bit warming. and we're dealing with wind chills below zero in the midwest. one place warming up a little bit more, more in the south, 50s, 60s a even 70s as you get into the southern part of florida. and no big changes from what we're seeing today. >> thank you very much. south africa is now memorializing nelson mandela. the president unveiling a 30-foot bronze statute. the official ten-day mourning period ending yesterday. mandela being laid to rest in the village where he grew up. chile has a second..

her first term ended three years ago, but left office with an approval rating of 84%. what a couple of years it has been for the white house. beginning on that high note when the president won reelection easily. but that was then. now the white house is being met with some resistance from republicans as well as some democrats. safe to say that 2013 might be a year the white house would like to write off? >> yes, it has been a tough year. obama is obviously -- the health care issue, and a lot of democrats are very queasy about what it will have on future elections. >> you would think going into a

second term if history shows that almost every president preceding you has problems, why didn't this white house reach out and say how do i stop this from happening to me. it is almost like heading towards a wall at 100 miles an hour and not stopping in >> it is a conundrum, you would have thought this being the legacy of his presidency, the health care act, he would have had everything worked out. but that seems to be part of the deal if you get a second term, and the presidents from eisenhower, reagan, bill clinton, they have all had these issues. and you have to work your way through them. the big issue will be whether or not enough people sign up for

the health care plan. >> the president and a health care roll out, a website, something that these guys should have known because they were supposed to be the tech guys. what is it about presidents that they just don't seem to take the second term as seriously as the first term? do they take their eyes off of the prize? >> there may be an element of that. also when you get into a second term you are really starting to think about what you can accomplish in the final four years, and you can't -- you are almost a lame duck from the moment you get elected, so it becomes much more difficult to navigate the political waters. and then these unforeseen problems like the health care rollout have complicated any possibility that he can accomplish much more. >> i think we're also seeing that presidents are more concerned about history than the short-term headlines. is that what you are seeing and

if so, how will history regard this particular president? >> for all of the qualms the democrats about have obama they are also very proud of this man -- >> you couldn't hear that if you read the newspapers at times? >> of course. but he is the first black president. he won a second term. very few democrat presidents have won second terms. so he is a rather unique figure in american history. so i think from thatting point of view, there is a lot of leeway and reservoir of affection that obama brings to the presidency. >> let's talk about history, goran away from clinton when he squared off against george w. bush. and because of they some say he

lost the election. >> i think by the year 2016, i think most democrats are run on the obama record. i think the economy will have almost totally recovered. i think the people that signed up for the healthcare act will be happy with what they are seeing. i think the feeling that obama has accomplished quite a love of things on eight years, and it will be a good record to run on. >> thank you very much. a lot of americans are concerned about their rising insurance costs coming up. associated press poll finding nearly half of people who have policies now fear it will change for the worse. 69% saying their annual premiums

will rise. and four out of five blaming the president for those problems. if wall street is still worried about the fed pulling back on their stimulus program, investors don't seem to notice. a lot of economists don't expect anything to change this time around. >> by the time a january meeting occurs there will be enough good data in the bank to decide the economy is in good enough shape to withstand the taper. stocks posting their second weekly loss in a row.

overseas european markets trading higher this morning. in asia that market is ending the day lower, after manufacturing slipped to a three-month low in december. the united states post office expecting today to be their busiest day of the year. it's mates it will process over 600 million pieces of your mail. that is up 12% from last year. soaring demand for online video is forcing verizon to spend millions more. it has been caught off guard by data traffic. the company admits verizon services suffered in some key cities. economic optimism gains strength. we'll talk to a process from the university of maryland about

whether the economy is really back on its feet. we don't know the [ inaudible ]. plus a unique idea that is not only helping immigrants fine jobs but giving rise to a whole new way of life. peyton manning wins the first of what is expected to be many awards. his famous father sat down with us. we'll have that next in sports. >> 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.

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>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. it is going to be a busy week for the senate. they are expected to vote on that budget bill on tuesday. it has passed the house and the president has promised to sign it. passage in the senate is considered likely, but not

guaranteed. >> the ayes are 332, the noes are 94. the motion is agreed to. >> reporter: the budget bill heads to the senate this week. the bill would dumpen the threat of a government shutdown for the next two years. >> we will need about eight republicans to come our way. er i feel we'll have a good strong showing from the democratic side. but we need bipartisan support to pass it. >> reporter: a tough sell for some republicans. >> we are played by a government that continues to spend a lot more money than it is taking in. >> reporter: but for others the bill is good enough. >> i hope it will pass the senate. dial anything -- not anything, but we must not shut down the government again. >> reporter: wasting no time before senators go home for the holidays, harry reid took to the floor on sunday. >> mr. reid moves to concur.

>> reporter: the measure requires 60 vote togs bring the bill to the senate floor for a final vote. it will wrap up a year where issues on immigration and farming remain unresolved. this time it will be the debt ceiling, which the budget bill's author say is a fight for another time. >> we agree that the debt ceiling would not be part of this. i don't think that our country wants to see another crisis and to send our country into a tailspin. >> and the reason we did this agreement is we didn't want to bring those controversies into these talks. >> reporter: stephanie sy, al jazeera america. adding to the busy schedule this week, passage of the defense bill and the possibility of the nomination on janet yellen. so the threat of another government shutdown seems to be fading, the stock market is up, the unemployment rate is down,o?

we have the proprocessor of the other years, and we expect to rebound in 2014. tell us why we should think that way. what arengs are very

positive. also the rate of technological lot of experts. so i'm optimistic that the united states is on the gain. >> do of the day the

world didn't end. >> the 800-pound gorilla in the

leaders that don't want to read basic numbers. >> people are headed to the malls, they are back in thead a holiday season. retail sales have not been particularly strong. there is a lot of apparel on the shelves. i'm optimistic whengood.

>> thank you for joining us this morning. >> you are quite welcome. census numbers show that meese immigrants coming to the u.s. are women. many struggling to find work that they say pays a decent wage. but a nonprofit in new york is trying to give them help, by giving them careers in a kitchen. >> reporter: in a little kitchen in harlem, something hot is happening, and big changes in women's lives are taking shape. breads from all over the world made here by women all over the world. hot bread kitchen trains women to become master bread makers. this woman make from morocco six months ago. >> i like coming here and work and speak with people english,

and also another language. i know another language like spanish sometimes. [ laughter ] >> reporter: this woman started the company in her kitchen. >> in most parts of the world women bake bread. but in the u.s. and europe, men are getting jobs in professional baking. so i wanted to marry a market demand for interesting ethnic breads with a career path track. >> reporter: this company started as an enterprise six years ago. they hope to one day compete with the biggest bakeries. they also offer free english classes. they have been her lifeline since she came here from morocco by herself six years ago.

>> it was my first time here. and it was very difficult, because you are going like another world, nobody there, no english, like how you speak to the people, but it was a experience for me to learn a lot of stuff, to have responsibility for yourself. >> reporter: so far 45 people have graduated from the program and found work in some of the city's biggest brakeries. others have stayed here to teach new women to bake. bread that provides a taste of home to women who have come here to make new lives on their own. and hot bread kitchen recently created the women bake bread scholarship to help women start their own bakeries. a man who set up fake charities and collected more than $100 million through

fund-raising will be sentence today. if convicted he faces up to 41 years in prison. they were some of the most heinous crimes during the civil rights era. dozens of crimes that have gone unsolve for decades. some of those cases involving the kluwe cluks klan. this is september. three months before frank died. and this is his advertisement. >> reporter: the man that died almost 50 years ago was frank morris, a successful businessman who owned a shoe repair shop. he was well liked by the entire community.

that was reason enough for the ku klux klan to target him. in 1964 frank's business was set on fire. he was last seen running from the corner of the billing with his clothes on four. four days later he died from his burns. >> reporter: this man spent years investigating frank morris's death. what he found shocked him. >> the more you dug, the more you realized that there were some really bad people here, and that if what happened then were happening now, with the murders and beatings and whippings that were going on, we would be terrified. >> reporter: across the deep south there are still around 70 unsolved murder cases.

>> the lord has a way of bringing justice. it may be a long time coming, but he'll get there. >> reporter: but for people like this man who remembers frank well, there is some comfort that his murder may not have been in vein. >> let's find out what happened to this man, and who was responsible. and now the world knows who frank morris was, what kind of person he was, and have some idea who was responsible. it is unlikely many people will be brought to justice. memories are dying, and perpetrators taking their secrets to the grave. but the memory of frank morris lives on. the archdiocese of philadelphia has removed five priests as part of an internal investigation in child sex

abuse. the investigation uncovering a case of sexual abuse against a minor, involving a 58-year-old priest, michael chapman, and an unrelated case, following allegations that one priest sexually abused minors more than nine years ago. any cuban boy caught up in the international comment between cuba and the united states years ago. he has some bitter memories of that time. >> reporter: this elder gonzales cared for the 5 year old in his

home during his time in the united states. >> translator: we're happy he is alive, but a little upset we knew what was going to happen to him. >> reporter: gonzales is referring to comments his great nephew made last week. his first trip out of cuba in 14 years. >> translator: they have to realize that they behaved poorly and didn't do the right thing. but we don't hold grudges. >> reporter: in 1999 the little boy was caught in the middle of an international custody battle when he was the soul survivor of a raft crossing cuba. he was placed with his great uncle and other relatives who

fought to keep him in miami. but fidel castro sent the boy's father to the u.s. to bring him back to the island. the battle ended when u.s. federal agents seized the boy in the middle of the night to return to cuba. >> translator: he speaks what he doesn't know. he says what they tell him to say. i would tell him to seek the truth. >> reporter: and he fears for the young man's future. >> translator: when he's no longer useful, they will do what they do to others, push him aside, they'll take his cake, his steak, everything, and then either live in misery throw himself back into the ocean

again. for 13 years he maintained this house as a museum, but last years financial hardships forced him to close the museum, rent out the house. he is convinced that the boy would have been better in the us. >> translator: had he been able to stay here he could have chose his way to make a living. >> reporter: now he awaiting the day he can embrace him again the boy is now studying engineering in cuba. former [ inaudible ] was suffering from the brain disease cte when he committed suicide last year. it is often associated with frequent concussions.

it is believed he suffered at least 10 during his professional days. the accolades just continue to roll in from one of the nfl greats. john henry is here with that. >> yes, one of the greatest season ever. two years after many thought he might be done, peyton manning has won the sportsman of the year award. the 37-year-old is having one of the greatest ones anyone has ever had. we spoke with archie manning to discuss the unbelievable resurgence. >> we feel really blessed that he is playing football. he was so fortunate to stay

healthy and play, and then four neck surgeries and most people doubted he would play again. he had a great at ought to in that, i'm going to do everything i can to play, but if the doctors tell me i can't play, it has been a good trip. it but a huge transition for him to change teams. he -- they had a great run indianapolis. they decided to let him go, and they have done some good things in denver, and we're very proud of him. as for the closest playoff competition for the broncos and peyton manning. the patriot's miami game has some effect. 13 catches 139 yards, pats up 3 late. until the quarterback hit his

receive for a win. then michael thomas picks brady off, and that was that, miami wins, which means the patriots lose on a day when they could have taken off the number one playoff speed. instead the bengals had a chance to get a first round buy. james harrison playing in pittsburgh for the first time as a member of the bengals. the bengals saw fit not to send him nor hardly anybody else after big ben here. can't you give him that much time. 14-0 steelers. he fractured his jaw on the

play. the bengals let a big opportunity slip away by losing to the stealers. denver could have home field advantage, but the bengal's loss keeps them at 3 and puts the patriots at 2. moving on to the monday night football matchup the lions and ravens meet with a lot at stake. both teams come in at 7-6. but the lions will have a racous home crowd cheering them on. both teams are in danger of losing control of their playoff destinies with a loss tonight. >> i notice you didn't report the redskins lost their sixth in a row. >> i'm trying to be kind to you dell. new pictures coming out of

the moon. first images from china's successful lunar landing. most of the country is going to stay quiet and dryer today. but we do have some lake-effect snowment coming up. (vo) al jazeera america

welcome back to al jazeera america. straight ahead we'll show you a glimpse of the surface of the moon. the first images in more than 40 years, thanks to china. but first let's find out if it is going to rain or snow where you are today. >> good morning, i hope everyone is off to a good start on this monday. we're going to see more chances for the snow area especially around the great lakes. we see a couple clipper areas of snow and then around the great lakes itself. kind of around the boston region, you can see that wind flow. those places, a couple would be isolated higher than six. now the next little system could

redevelop off of the coast, cause some problems for the east coast into tuesday so watch for that. but today we're not looking too bad. dell? >> nicole, thank you very much. china's first successful flight to the moon puts that country in an elite club. >> dell, china is now the third country to land a rover on the moon. this 300-pound, solar powered rover is patrolling the moon's surface right now and for the next three months. experts say more than 80% of the technology on this chinese rover is being used for the first time. the mission went just as planned and on saturday, china's lunar rover landed on the moon. state television aired the

landing live so people could watch as images of the moon's surface got closer and closer until the unmanned spacecraft finally touched down. [ applause ] >> reporter: celebration of hugs and hand shakes followed the official announcement. as made by the chief commander from the beijing aerospace control center. the rocket blasted off two weeks ago. it has been a waiting game ever since. over the weekend, inside the control center, dozens of space workers watched and waited as well as china's president himself. he applauded the landing and shook hands with members of the space team as china joined the united states and the former soviet union, as the only countries to land on the moon. this so-called soft lunar landing is the first of its kind

since 1976 when the former sovi soviet union landed its rover. while this is a mon knew mental moment for china, the country lacks behind the united states and russia in the space industry. >> liftoff, the final liftoff of atlantis. >> reporter: for china this is the latest stage in a program that aims to eventually put a chinese astronaut on the moon. the rover has a name. 3 million people voted in an on-line poll to name the rover. >> big screen legend peter

o'toole has passed away. it was his role as this man, lawrence of arabia that made him a superstar. he was nominated 8 times for an award, but never won. he died in a london hospital after a long illness. he was 81 years old. and finally this morning, this one, the adorable photo of the president and the first family. but look just below the first lady. it was a cute little elf in the front row who made the picture priceless. more news straight ahead in just two and a half minutes.

>> from our headquarters in new york, here are the headlines this hour. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> a deal in the senate may be at hand and just in the nick of time. >> thousands of new yorkers are marching in solidarity. >> we're following multiple developments on syria at this hour. >> every hour from reporters stationed around the world and across the country. >> only on al jazeera america.