>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you: barrel bombs raining down on people caught up in syria's civil war - women and children among the dead. >> the house goes home, the senate trying to wrap up their voting >> china on top of the world, first-ever photos from the moon

students have been evacuated. we'll follow the story. >> the northern city of alaska has seen some of the worst violence. this week's attacks are no exception. barrel bombs dropped an aleppo. police are searching for survivors in the rebel, nicole johnston has the story. >> no child should have to experience war like this boy. he's clearly in shock. many people in aleppo will feel that way after a raid on the

city. in the neighbourhood bombs fell on a garage here. traps traps they call us >> translation: they call us terrorists. they are the terrorists. our cars were burnt with women and children inside. >> this is what is left after what activists say is one of the worst attacks on the city. 11 districts were hit. buildings were destroyed before and people killed. more than 100 people died and more were injured. >> we have not rested since morning. more than 10 different areas came under bombardment. they were shelled. as you can see this is the only equipment the civil defense team has. we have no other equipment. >> al jazeera's correspondent inside aleppo reports that 50 people are trapped under the rubble. and that the syrian military dropped barrels on people glow.

it's not the first time used in the war. they are made of types or oil drums packed with tnt, oil and nails and bolts, and pushed out the back of helicopters. crude but lethal. >> here a battle was dropped. there is no heavy machinery to get people out. >> as if syria was not miserable enough. people want to the survive. they want an end to the war. all they get is destruction. >> the u.n. is launching its biggest appeal for aid, asking for $6.5 billion to help the refugees. millions fleeing for homes in leb snon or jordan, running into a storm that could kill more. >> the sort of figures that the

war is generating is difficult to comprend. the world food program estimates it will cost $2 billion to feed the syrians. the united nations estimated today that the refugee crisis for syrians who left the country will be twice the size of what it is now by the end of 2014, if nothing is done to deal with the war raging inside the country. however bad the situation is for refugees outside, it's worse inside. syrians, if you like, are affected by three things - the war, political wrangling which effects who accesses who and how, and grievouslily the cold weather, which is killing young syrians and old syrians and impeding the arriving of

supplies. inside syria there's people without shelter and heating oil. many hospitals aren't able to operate. politics in syria is a problem for them. you an areas where fighting between rebel groups and the government is out of the control. also out of bounds for aid agencies, it's not safe. u.n. staff and red cross staff and journalists can't tell the story. >> here at home the house left washington for christmas and this is the senate's last week in session. there's a thro presidential nominations. mike viqueira joins us from the white house, what's the fir senn

marks along the lines. the house passed a budget, 332 votes in favour, more than 115 more than needed. a key vote. they need 50 votes. this will be a key vote tomorrow. they'll need 60 to get to it. it look like they'll have the votes. it's not a sure thing. >> what about the nominations through the senate. they had been blocked, 50 votes required. a lot of the judgeships had gone flow.

still vacant is the secretary of homeland security. jeh johnston could have a vote today. and janet yellen still on to he both are expected to pass. >> last week the year.

>> mike viqueira joining us from the white house. >> the population of guantanamo bay, the prison, is shrinking, two detainees have been transferred to saudi arabia, coming after a review of their cases. neither was charged with crime. there's 160 detainees at guantanamo bay. >> australia's role in afghanistan is over. the last of their troops eving afghanistan. that leaves a 12-year commitment for the country over. we have that story at sydney. >> with the lowering of the flag at the main base in afghanistan australia's combat role comes to an end. the handover was to afghan soldiers, and they'll pat roll where the australian troops will. the afghan flag will fly at the

taryn cout base. >> australian soldiers went in 2001. 40 australians were killed, more than 250 seriously injured. despite the sacrifices, the prime minister says australia's involvement has not been in veinful. >> we have ended our longest of troop deployment. this war is ending, not with victory or defeat, but with hope that afghanistan is a better place, and uruzgan is a better place for our presence. >> in sydney there's mixed reaction. they'll pull out and it will be like it was before. the taliban will move number of. >> i think they have done an amazing job in difficult circumstances. >> australian combat soldiers have left afghanistan, 400 will remain into next year, but only in a training capt afty.

>> australia's involvement was longer and tougher than expected. tony abbott said it has been worth the sacrifice. most are pleased the soldier are out of harm's way. there's no jubilation. >> a national funeral in france. a procession for two french soldiers killed in the central african republic. their coffins led through the streets of paris. they are a casualty of sectarian violence as you can see from the images. the interim leader wants to hold talks with militias involved in the muslim violence. andrew simmons has the story. >> we have a situation going on nearby where a number of houses have been burnt that are anti-balaka fighters active in the area, attacking muslim

homes. we saw the smoke and had a report that reports of deaths. we couldn't confirm that. there seems to be a situation were there could be retribution from muslims. it's a microcosm of the crisis afflicting this poverty-stricken country. i'm in a camp housing muslims, around 7,000, who abandoned their houses after atrocious attacks by anti-balaka members. anti-balaka means anti-machete. they are effectively self-defence groups who say they have been attacked by the seleka, the former operators who formed the transitional government who are supposed to have been disbanded.

the seleka is nearby, and the fremp army. none have deployed in response to what happened down the road. to give you an indicate or of what the move is like. on the way from the capital, a 6-hour drive on rough roads, we meet militia from a village. this is what the leader said. >> translation: seleka are human being like us. if they came to live in harmony everything would be all right. they turned the guns towards us. >> you have children with you to fight as well. >> all the children with us are ready to fight. >> is it right that children this anal are fighting. >> we are overwhelmed. when things are tough we have to shoot back and save ourselves. >> reconciliation doesn't bear on the situation now. it has been the case that for

the past 10 days there has been a level of cam. this is a standoff. 10 days ago the african peace-keeping force fought bravely to prevent a massacre. there has been an unknown number of deaths. people have been hiding in the bush. there's 36,000 christians and a hospital full of people. the conflict has been settled quickly, it will only get worse unless there's a force and attempt to stablilize a government - the force is now effectively on house arrest, because this is the force that undid, brought down the previous government. francois bozize, the former president, may have involvement in mobilising the christian militia and making

this more of a sectarian battle than it should be. >> that is andrew simmons with our story from the central african republic. an israeli soldier has been killed by a lebanese army sniper near the lebanon boarder. nick spicer has more from jerusalem. >> according to the latest report the israeli soldier was driving along a road near the lebanese boarder towards an outpost that runs a radar post. when it came to small arms fire. six or seven died. the israeli army at that time decided not to launch a counterattack, despite having seen lebanese soldiers or militants gathering on the other side of the border for fear the attack was diversionary. the israeli government reacted to the killing of a soldier, saying it reserved the right to

self-defence. the lebanese army says that one soldier has gone missing. there's no indication whether it's the triggerman. the united nations force that is deployed along the boarder urged both sides to exercise restraint. the israeli government is unlikely to launch an escalation at this point. >> next on al jazeera america, after becoming the third country to land on the moon china showing off new photos.

deef

>> welcome back, i'm del walters, a victory for those trying to fight detroit's bankruptcy, unions, retirees and others have been allowed to appeal directly to his court.

the city can go ahead with bankruptcy re-organisation upon a fear that it will cause cuts in the city's pension plans. >> the bulls are out in full force, meaning your 401 k is smiling. a couple of big corporate deals fuel the moves. the dow surged 138 points. the gains coming after stocks posted a big weekly drop since august last week. >> nine days to go until christmas, and the rush is on. the u.s. postal service expects the day to be the busiest of the year. it will process over 600 million pieces of mail. it's up 12% from last year. >> demand for video online forcing verizon to spend millions to upgrade its network. verizon was caught offguard by the flood of data traffic.

increased demand the result of customers using the smartphone to stream video. >> a lunar landing over the weekend making china the third country in the world to land on the moon. china joins the united states and the soviet union in doing so. erica pitzi has more. >> the mission went as planned. on saturday china's lunar rover landed on the move. state television aired the landing alongside a computer image of the path so people could watch as images of the moon's surface got closer until the spacecraft touched down. a celebration of hugs and hand shakes followed. as made by the chief commander. the rocket carrying the rever blasted off two week ago.

after the weekend dozens of workers watched and waited, as well as china's president who witnessed the final moments. he applauded the landing and shook hands as china joined the united states and soviet union was the only countries to land on the moon. >> they want to show they are among the big boys. this mission goes to prove that. >> this is the first of its kind sinces 1976 when the soviet union landed lunar 24. the chinas rover named yutu or jade rabbit will survey the geological structure and service and look for resources. this is a monumental moment, the country lags behind. >> it's been 50 years since lance armstrong was the first person to walk on the mon.

>> the u.s. ended manned missions to the moon. but for china it's the latest stage in a program to eventually put an astro nout an the moon. >> the lunar robot is named yutu, named after a goddess that lives on the moon, and was selected by an online poll. >> coming up - a town in louisiana dealing with a 50 million cold case that has ties to the ku klux klan. tñ

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the headlines of this hour: this is the senate's last week in session. they have a lot of business to take care of before heading home for the holidays. they are expected to vote on presidential nominees and the budget deal approved by the

house. the leader of the central african republic looks at them laying down arms. hundreds having killed. >> 125 people are dead in ale o aleppo. sooerian government helicopters dropping explosions. the u.n. is launching the biggest ever aid appeal, looking to raise 6.5 willion to help those fleeing syria. >> for many americans the ku klux klan is a horrifying part of our country's past. an unsolved murder in louisiana has some seeking justice 50 years later. andy gallagher has for. >> the archives of the ferriday's newspaper is an archive into the past. among the pages there are stories some prefer to forget.

>> this is september. free months before frank died. this is an advertisement. he ran it every week. >> the man that died 50 years ago was frank morris, a successful businessman who owned a shoe repair shop. he was liked by the community. white customers let their children play in their shop. that was reason enough for ku klux klan to target him. this is all that remains of frank's business. frank was forced to stay inside at kun point. he was last seen running from the fire, leaving bloody footprints on the road. four days later he died from his wounds. stanley nelson spent years investigating the death, piecing together what happened by talking to witnesses and going through police reports. what he found shocked him. >> the more you duck the more

you realised there were bad people here, and what happened then, if it happened now, the murders and beatings and whippings going on, we'd be terrified. >> what happened here is not unusual. across the deep south there's around 70 unsolved murder cases, most brutal and racially motivated. >> the lord has a way of bringing justice, you know. it may be a long-time coming but it gets there. >> for robert lee who remembers frank morris well, there's comfort that frank's murder may not be in vain. >> somebody said, "let's final out what happened to the man, and who was responsible." now the world knows who frank morris was and who was responsible. >> despite efforts to investigate the cold cases, it's unlikely many people will be brought to justice.

witnesses are dying and perpetrators taking their vets to the grave. for those left behind. it may be the only justice they get. >> there are 124 cases involving murder and the ku klux klan at least, and those are the cases that have been reported. metrologist dave warren. when the sun comes up there's a few clouds and a lot of white sitting there. that is the snow coming down with the last storm. a lot of it over new york and new england. speaking of the snow, close to a foot. as you get further north of the i-95 corridor, a lot of roadways deal with snow and ice. slippery roadways. that was a problem. the storm has cleared out,

drawing a line and another area of low pressure. fast-moving storms coming out of canada taking the path. it will give us snow. timing looks like tuesday morning. light snow coming down. it could intensify a little. more snow tuesday evening. it's moving quickly so it doesn't dump a lot of snow. the timing, tuesday overnight to wednesday morning - sun down and the snow coming heavier, could see a coating on the ground making for a tricky rush hour on wednesday morning as the texture drops below freezing. here is a look at the lake-effect snow. we'll see more snow filling in over the next 24-48 hours. temperatures off to a cold start. fresh snow the farther north and west gives a cold temperature in the morning. 20 in albany. here is the light snow forecast

tuesday. it looks like it gets heavy i don't remember. a lot of this coming down during the day, fairly light. the main road okay. the wednesday morning rush hour slippery. temperatures into the teens. a little coating and snow, not a lot. untreated surfaces on wednesday could be slip. we have snow tuesday, new york 36. then 37 on wednesday. look at the temperatures climbing into the 40s on thursday and friday. warms up into the mid 40s. a mild stretch of the weather coming up this middle of this week. >> thank you very much. unfortunately not warm enough. take off your pants - that's the first rule on a 5km run. santas streaking through colombus - it's not rite - it's the second annual dib yities

race. freezing weather didn't stop hundreds participating. i'm del walters from new york. "inside story" is n. amidst the nelson mandela tribute, the story of apartheid on "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. the world said goodbye and thank you to nelson mandela in an emotional memorial service in a stadium in