>> this is al jazeera america. live from new york city i'm tony harris with a look at the day's top stories. unconstitutional, arbitrary, just some of the words used by a judge as he rules against the nsa listening program. antibacterial soaps, that you see everywhere, are they really doing their job? is. >> a big blow today to the

national security agency secret surveillance program. a federal judge in washington says the nsa's bulk collection of telephone records is likely unconstitutional. the details were leaked by nsa former contractor edwardd, tech,

that is no longer a valid precedent tony. >> there was a moment, i want you to talk about, the white house was asked about justice.

jay carney spoke to that this parch. >> our position has not changed on that matter at all. and what i can tell you is that mr. snowden has been accused of leaking classified information, and he faced felony charges here in the united states. he should be returned to the united states as soon as possible where he will be

accorded all due process and protections in our system. so that's no way does he want to grant edward snowden amnesty. tony. >> now to syria where we are getting another example of how costly and gruesome the war is. the united nations is asking for more hem for those involved in the conflict which has left more than 100,000 dead. >> 2013 is the year in which the syrian conflict deteriorated beyond all imagination. the people of syria can knot afford another year, month, even another day of destruction.

>> activists say that as many as 22 children were killed in yesterday's attack. winter is coming. al jazeera's anita mcnaught has more from istanbul. >> the figures are becoming difficult to adequately comprehend. the world food program estimates for example it is going to cost it $2 billion every month to feed 7 billion syrian. the last figure were 9 million syrian in need of immediate aid. the emergency crisis for yns whs who have left the country if nothing is done to deal with the war raging inside the country, however bad the situation is for refugees night, it is infinitely

worse. they are being grievously affected by the cold weather, this weather is killing young syrians, old syrians and impeding the rival of supplies. -- arrival of supplies. you have many hospitals destroyed inoperable the access of any drugs whatever, and many agencies have complaibd that the politics of working -- complained that the politics of working inside syria, raging out of control in that area and are out of bounds for aid agencies are impossible, journalists can't tell the story either. >> the united nations is asking for $13 billion to help deal with humanitarian issues around the world. more than half of that will go

to helping syrian refugees. the u.n. is asking for $6.5 billion to hem, more than 4 billion will help those living outside their home land, al jazeera's james bays with more. >> reporter: without doubt, it's the worst humanitarian crisis. throughout 13 the numbers fleeing syria have continued to rise dramatically. the figure is now more than four times what it was a year ago. 2.3 million. and they predict during 2014, that could be 4.1 million refugees. add to that, 9.3 million people still in syria that the u.n. estimates are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

>> even if there were an end to the violence in syria tomorrow, we would still have a major humanitarian crisis on our hands. >> last january, world leaders gathered in kuwait to pledge funds for syria. in total, $4.4 billion was needed in 2013, only 60% of it was raised. the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon has this message: the international community must come up with $6.5 million -- billion. >> we have 9.5 million people who have been affected. this is almost a half of total population. >> one of the other problems is humanitarian access for those most in need in syria. the security council has talked about the issue but it's not

taken any action. it's not passed a resolution. on that as on so many things regarding syria there is stalemate. james bays, al jazeera. >> the weather has made things worse. kevin is here. >> that's right, tony. down to about 23° in some locations near iraq we were looking at temperatures that were close to about 2 or 3°. now living in a tent, can you imagine and not having enough fuel? very, very serious conditions. the weather though is normal for this time of year. unfortunately we are dealing with husband of thousands of people in these situations. we are talking about the gaza strip now over the last couple of days they have seen so much rain, actually more rain than they would normally see in

december. normally in december they would see 2.6 inches of rain on the gaza strip. already in ten days they saw 10.8 inches. you got to remember the infrastructure there does not handle the rainwater very well at all. we have a lot of standing water. good news is, it's not going to be raining for at least the next seven days. the challenge of getting aid to people in the middle of a civil war that has gone on for nearly three years now. antibacterial soaps, hoping to spread the spread of germs. soaps may do more harm than to make sure, lisa they are going to the

manufacturers and there are more than 2,000 products out there, saying you've got to prove they work, they may not work better than soap and water. secondly they are saying you have to prove they are safe. we are worried about the chemicals being used in these products antibacterial. there is a lot at stake wom the? >> they say they were per pleched by the. safe and effective and they said we will continue what about the potential health risks

antibiotic resistance. that's the problem right now. >> lisa stark, in washington, d.c. lisa good to see you. president obama's market act, has seen great amount of push want to be exempt from the affordable care act. robert ray joins us from atlanta. the bills proposed here involve forcing the fed to defiant groue

here to the state capitol in atlanta, and made initial points that were noteworthy. they said they don't want to fix obamacare, they want it out of the state of georgia. it is cannibalistic, they are proposing house bill 707 which will aim to ban the state to do with anything that has to do with obamacare, state university, medicaid, you name it, they want nothing to do with it. here is what one of the state senators had to say in the capitol. >> to test someone for simply being alive is peyton american, anticonstitution and 18th common sense. true health care reform would drive market control,

individual, thought individual marketplace cannot receive. georgia's families cannot afford to mandates nor can they afford to lose their coverage. as representatives of the citizens of georgia, it is our duty a fight on our hands it

looks like. >> yes yes, is that on the heels of similar legislation, a bill in south carolina, and maybe you can explain the legality of that

of politics being played here in the south tony. >> oh yes, robert rays. college presidents, dozens of them are making more than $1 million a year. who knew? we will break down the numbers. and on the other end of the spectrum, inmates achieving success from behind bars. >> an america tonight exclusive. mortgage fraud. how one woman spoke up and made a difference. >> i had seen a couple of the girls making up documentation at

a copier.

>> 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. >> finish that story in a moment. okay. a college degree is often seen

to as a ticket to the better life. but the lifetime of unwanted debt. college presidents take home a salary of over $1 million a year. john terrett is here. >> one reason college education is going up and up you is, perhaps, presidents of colleges were paid more than $1 million in 2011. paid more than 10 and 2009. the latest available tax returns we have from them. top three earners number 1, robert j. zimmer took home 3,3

3,327,000.17. i made that up. he didn't take home the 17 cents. the final man is this man, dennis j. murray, maish merritt college dr. zimmer's pay according to the chronicle, has doubled, dr. aroon's pay has dubilityd and murray's has quadrupled. the base pay was well over a million bucks. but they earned much more from their retirement packages, their bonus packages or indeed

deferred compensation. now the universities are pointing out that scuch awards are there as an incentive to retain successful presidents like these three. and they also recognize their achievements for the total tenure, not just one year. they also point out that a key part of their function these days, particularly private schools, is fundraising. and that takes up an awful lot of time and these guys bring in more money than they take home. that is certainly true. meanwhile it is also worth mentioning that student loan debt in this country now exceeds $1 trillion. and look at this figure here. this is average what is owed by students, $29,000. and that's the average. a lot of people in this building carry more debt than that. you know who own more than the presidents? >> yes? >> the college football coaches. that eclipses by five or six

times. >> how much does the president of the united states makes? >> not very much. >> $400,000, is the best i can find. $400,000. >> exactly. >> just to consider that. >> why didn't we go into education? >> hello. john, appreciate it. thank you. a bumper day for wall street ahead of a key meeting by the federal reserve. the dow gaining almost 130 points on positive economic news. it is a big rebound from last week and the second triple digit gain for the blue chips this month. there are the numbers. you can see them for yourself. 129 points. ali velshi will be want to --

44 so you want to sell off some of those stocks and p stocks will go

engineer. >> real money, ali velshi, thank you. more than 1 million people are in prison, officials in one women's prison in tennessee is looking to educate women behind bars. jonathan martin has a look. >> donna mccoy is serving a life sentence for first degree murder. in just a few moments she's swapping her prison uniform for a cap and gown. >> i feel like i'm being redeemed, restored. >> it was the first graduation for the tennessee prison for

women, every night lipps lipscom professors come teaching the prison everything from history to physics. >> i think i have really earned a dray. >> we were not looked down as inmates, we were always considered as students. >> each woman had to earn 63 credit hours. >> there have been a lot of voices in their life that tell them they don't matter and they don't count. and now they can illustrate that they are somebody, they can work hard and achieve success. and they can model that to their families, to their children and to the larger society. >> the program also allows traditional students to come into the prison and allowing students on the inside to experience a more traditional college setting. lipscom says the program is life-changing. pointing to studies that show

higher education reduces the likelihood of ex convicts to go back to prison. for antoinette hill, who's locked up for the next 38 years, the past seven years of work is a way to give back in community. >> this is a community. it may not be a community that is seen by the entire world on a daily basis but it is a community. now i have the tools to help them. >> why was it so important to finish this? >> to show her that even though i failed, i still can pick myself back up and grow. >> there are more than 30 women currently enrolled in lipscom's life program. the next class is said to graduate in less than two years. at 57 years old, donna mccoy knows she may never leave prison but with a diploma she knows she's found a different kind of prison. jonathan martin. nashville.

>> still ahead, south africa begins its next chapter without its spiritual leader. night with the combatants in their training base. tñ

>> welcome to al jazeera ameria. here are your top stories. the nsa program might have violated the fourth amendment ban on search and seizure. whether antibacterial soaps are safe? currently there's no prove that antibacterials help to prevent the spread of germs. $6.5 billion of aid to assist those fleeing the syrian civil war. the syrian government dumped barrels on citizens.

bettina luser is the u.n. spokesman. >> the world food program needs $2 billion. we're going to take care of 7 million people, just think of that, we are in some of the worst and most dangerous places on the earth. we're going otake care of 4 million inside syria and almost 3 million inside. the world really has to come together when something like this happens, you know you have to go out and say governments of the world, but also businesses and private citizens like you and me, we all have to do something together to help these folks. >> what is the issue here? i mean the pictures are horrendous, just horrendous. we now have the winter setting in and pictures of tents covered in snow. it's horrendous. what are we to make of this? what are we to say to the

international community? what are we going to think of the intrrnt community that recognizes that there is a humanitarian crises, not only a refugee crisis but internally displaced people. >> they are on the run. families have fled from one point to the next one to the next one. i mean we are taking care of four million inside so despite all of the challenges there, there is huge work that is being done on the ground. but in order to keep this momentum going it's really -- >> is it donor fatigue? >> i don't think it's donor fatigue. it is hard are for governments to come up with the money. they are eager to help. there has been a big conference where the governments will step up too but we need to do more to step up to hem the folks. the need is getting bigger. >> there isn't a humanitarian corridor inside syria. how are you able to do it to the extent you are, inside syria

without a humanitarian corridor and hot spots everywhere? >> there are areas we can't reach because of so many battles going on. just as an example, our people have 3,000 trucks every month that transparent food across -- transport food across battle lines. our people are accompanying these convoys in armored vehicles. just last sun we started an air lift from neighboring iraq because there were areas in northeast syria that we couldn't reach. >> it is that complicated? >> it is that complicated. for example there is one area we have to go to a neighboring country in order to circumvent you know a battle zone in order to get food to other people. it's very, very hard. this is a very browlt civil war. and you -- brutal civil war. >> are you getting any cooperation from either side? >> we are. you always appeal, negotiate

with both sides, but it has to be more. there are many areas we don't have access to and we are appealing to all sides to let us in. >> what is this? >> this is a special nutritional product, because we are very worried about the little kids between six months and three years old. we are worried about pregnant women who don't get enough food. in many places they were malnourished before the civil war even started. >> what is it? >> it is called plumpy dove. this is what you give to malnourished kids. based on peants an peanuts and . it's very yummy, tastes very good. >> sustenance. >> and nutrition. because if they don't get the

right food they will be damaged for life. so that is some of the things we are doing. the muslim president of central african republic says he is willing to negotiate. thousands have fled their homes, some have gone to a town just north of the capital, bangui. edward simmons went there to see the fallout. >> this time, no one is killed, it's feared the attackers are still here though. french soldiers are deployed. they go in search of the so-called antiballica, they have run off into the bush. the peace keeping force is set to aarriving. nearly everybody has -- to arrive. >> it is hardly any surprise, the level of fear here, the level of insecurity. the people look to the african

peace keeping force but they're here too late to do anything about this. the situation gets more critical by the day. and the reason is the cycle of violence is deeply set. the african peace keepers fought bravely to stop a massacre here ten days ago but dozens of people have died in a place now mired in distrust and a will to seek revenge. >> those in security should do more to stop this. otherwise, highways should be set on fire. >> on the six hour drive to reach basangoa from the capital ban imee, they have risen from the mostly muslim alliance which brought down the other government. >> seleka are like us. they turned the guns towards us and we died in large numbers.

>> in former basangoa, there are plans to disarm them but their commander says this shouldn't happen to a national army. over the road the african peace keepers keep a wary eye on them. makeshift camp for around 7,000 muslims living in dire conditions. a short drive down the road and beside the town's catholic church, 36,000 christians are packed in equally appalling conditions. add one more location, to this uneasy landscape, the french army base, and it's all a dangerous mix. one with no immediate solution in sight. andrew simmons, al jazeera, basangoa. south africa's president unveiled a 30 foot statute of nelson mandela. in the village he grew up,

sunday marked the official end to the ten day mourning period, part of reconciliation apartheid. nick schiffrin, good to see you. i'm wondering what souththey ar, how can we succeed without him? >> just a few miles from nelson mandela's burial site, yonela feels his legacy has been lost. >> we are oppressed more than we were oppressed before. >> her family has been living here for a decade, the same

black africa where mandela grew up. they have little economic freedom. >> are you worried about your own future? >> yes, i'm worried about my own future, i don't know if i'll be be able to find a job without having to move away to another place. >> and up the road to the closest city, 19-year-old untata is modernizing but suffers from drug use and crime. >> we have people being stabbed for their own thing. it's a really bad thing. security is not that tight. >> both wonder if south africa can prosper without the man they called father. >> right now, everyone has not questioned, what is going ohappen next and are we going to be able to survive the south africa that mandela posed. is it improve more or is it

falling. >> he was known all over the whole world. >> fred's father never had the opportunity he had. he warns him not to squander them. >> if they struggle to get to the top, if they don't sit down. >> parents who struggled to end apartheid urge their children to strive for a better life. >> i have a vision that my daughter can be something which is very important for the country not only for the home. >> it is a rallying cry that they both embrace. he wants to return home and build his community. >> we should also have that spirit that we shouldn't give up on where we want to go, what we want to do and how we want to do it. we should always strife for the best as he strived for freedom for us. >> his friends share the drive to right their own futures.

>> just beside the shop you will see people. their futures are vague right now. they are waiting for -- >> that's why they have to go. >> u nrveghts -- unella is following. >> a child sees that they can walk. when they know they can walk they run. why as a nation we are not doing that? use it wisely. >> a generation that receiveman.

>> thank you. other stories making headlines today. maria. >> tony, military officers from israel and lebanon met with a u.n. peace keeping force today following across a border shooting that left one israeli soldier dead. the meeting was an attempt to defuse tensions between both sides. the shooting was an isolated incident. ukraine's president will ask russia for a loan in order to stave off a crisis. demonstrators want the president to step down after he rejected a trade and investment deal with the european union last month. and meanwhile the mastermind behind a $100 million navy veterans charity fraud will have to spend 28 years behind bars. the judge handed down the

sentence against bobby thompson. >> why don't you do this piece as i'm coughing up a lung here. >> a run for its money. the tech giant, army contractor behind the world's fastest running robot. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> here are the headlines at this hour. >> only on al jazeera america.

(vo) al jazeera america we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. (vo) we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the

spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol. (vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to where it leads, all the way to >> got to tell you when it comes to turning science fiction to reality, google has acquired boston dynamics. responsible for robots like this. google also has robots that

resemble humans. it is the eighth robotics company they have pumped, giving ability. with robots. joining us from san francisco, jacob good to see you. is they'e after. google doesn't play by the rules that others play by. they have almost unlimited resources. it is an academic institution unto themselves. it is a broad scoop that they have, you know, used to bring all of these companies on board. and each of these companies that they've acquired over the past year has really been a different part of a really broad diverse portfolio of robotics. the idea here is, i think,

really mastering the collection of data. i think google recognizes that the future is going to involve robotics in many, many formation, from industrial to home use, with be first to the data and own the data in that market. >> so jacob, how did that amazie founder mark rayburn was one of the first to develop robotic imagery, if you want to scare a child show them a child some footage. my daughter is terrified of this, it is modeled on nature. it is a kind of constant

rebalancing that makes for incredible balance when i.t. comes to rubble, snow, you can shove the thing with your shoulder and it balance. this is the first move to a robot that can stand upright. >> google, this is the 8th company, i mentioned in the lead, that is gobbled up here, we never know what it planshumas that specializes in these walking devices, a future in which one in five people is going to be directly responsible for the care of the elderly. there's going to be all kinds of new automated manufacturing and i think google wants to be data

and softwaregeoning industries that don't exist today but will rest in the next five or ten years. >> all this reminds me of another company's foray into amazon's drone delivery of packages, is this in a way google's answer to that story? >> well, i think they're distinct in that in my opinion, and this is just my opinion, amazon really has been facing a great deal of public opinion trouble lately. and i

not let each other get away with big things. >> andrew ward, thank you. >> thanks a lot tony. starting with the world cup, the host country brazil. mark morgan is here with more. >> good to see you tony. construction of the stadiums, we want to give everybody an update. construction workers have walked off the job in the brazilian city of manou srveg after a worker fell to his death on saturday. what you're seeing now is footage of previous construction work at another stadium to show you what has been done up to this point. the workers are protesting safety conditions and what they have described as pressure to

speed up the project. >> one of the first thoughts, they wanted to find manchester united or mant city or arsenal, that was the two biggest teams in the second group. so it was better let for barcelona, let's wait and see what's happening in the game, you know. >> that was former real madrid's star with a round of 16 kicking off in february. here is a look at the draw. the manchester city-barcelona draw, a very high profile pairing, each seeded team will be on the road to begin the round. in other news, leon mess evergreen's father jorge, messey

sr. has been involved in drug gangs. the gangs have reportedly laundered money buying soccer tickets in bulk. that wraps it up for sports. i'm mark morgan. >> appreciate it, kevin is up next with a check of the forecast. also, if the it's the end of the road for the volkswagen bug. rolling off the assembly line, and then it is real money with ali velshi.

>> welcome back everyone.

saying farewell to a classic vehicle. the iconic voc waggen bus has been a staple on the road since the 1960s. gabriel alessandro reports from soo pausao paulo. >> the vehicle is a little beat up but full of personality, and quite reliable, he says. >> the only time i've ever had to take the motor out was in quito, ecuador to put some piston rings on it. that's it. >> the love of the combi is smple something different. >> i feel this car. >> panton and other vw bus

lovers gathered in sao paulo, scroak waggen is discontinuing production on the combi by the end of the year. this vw factory in sao paulo is the last place in the world the combi is made. now they are assembling the final few. is. >> all new vehicles sold have to come equipped standard with air bags and antilock breaks. there is no way to retrofit the vehicle to accommodate that. so the people at volkswagen say, it's better to retire it. >> back at the going away party there was nonstop talk about their adventures with the vehicle. a map inside his combi traces everywhere it's been, he's taken

it to three world cups and driven it to dozens of countries in four different continents. >> when i'm traveling in it it's where i eat, where i sleep. when i'm tired i stop the car and spend the night with it. >> spoken like a true combi lover will have to carry on the legacy of those still on the road, now that no more will be made. gabriel assandro, al jazeera, sao paulo. >> well, we have nor east terse, terse -- nor'easters, colorado lows, an area of low pressure moves out of canada very fast. goes over the border states and dumps some snow. but not as much snow as what you would normally see from a

nor'easter, because the faster it moves the less accumulation we'll have. that's what we expect to see across the great lakes and across new england. there is the snow already coming over parts of the great lakes. over the next couple of days this is what we expect to see if you are flying across detroit, erie, columbus, ohio, we will be having approximate on the forecast. we are already getting the lake effect snow, back across the west more effect there. that is all the way back, that is snow. not some dark blues that we would normally expect but anywhere from two to four inches of snow from any of these locations, here in new york about two to four inches as well over the next day but as we go towards wednesday it is going to end and maine and canadian maritimes unfortunately are you going to see a lot. that's the look at th at the we. have a good evening.

>> this is aljazeera america live from new york city. and a look at today's top stories. telephone calls made to and from thes you, most likely constitutional. the program violated the ban on searches and seizures, and demonstrated how phone tapping stops terror attacks. >> the u.n. appeal comes after syrian army helicopters dropped barrels full of explosive. more than 100 people were killed