>> good evening everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. right to privacy, nsa collecting phone records what the supreme court says about spying and civil liberties. plus. newly released video, 19 hot shot firefighters who perished in arizona. >> bought up by google. plans for these mesmerizing robots. plus, anchorman, will the hype

back fire? >> what edward snowden began may very well be fished by the u.s. supreme court. especially with the -- finished by the u.s. supreme court. the agency has been collecting phone records for some time now. tapping into conversations as part of the war on terror. but do it do so in contradiction to the constitution? mike viqueria reports. >> metadata is likely in violation of the constitution, specifically the fourth amendment prohibitions against unlawful search and seizure. no court has ever recognized a

special need to sufficiently justify continuous daily searches of virtually every american citizens. it is important in the ruling that judge lee oaf leon stayed s ruling. giving the government a chance to appeal. they have seen the court ruling they are studying it they go on, quote, we believe the program is constitutional as previous judges have found. we have no further comment at this time. they add for background, the fisa court that hears appeals and when the intelligence community wants to go for warrants, and other investigative tools, to look into potential terrorist threats or security threats they go to

the fisa court, the supreme court says the fisa court has on 35 different occasions authorized, what this lower court has today. the man at the center of the controversy, edward snowden, a secret program authorized by a secret court when exposed to the light of day found to violate america's rights, the first of many. in the view of edward snowden there will be many court cases like this that will strike down what the nsa, president obama hosing some heavy hitters from the technology world tomorrow including the ceos of apple, netflix and others, what technology problems that has had. the issue with surveillance and

the technology involved. remember the judge in the case today cited the almost i don't remember wellan data, some has authorized has been outed and the technology has changed considerably and that's the basis of his ruling now. >> mike viqueria from washington. data without showing any link between the data collected an terrorist threat i suspected that something like this would eventually happen. with t the timing could not be better. >> i want to carefully venture into this. the judge said this is probablyl

grounds of doing so and the judge is concerned that the fourth amendment's rights to privacy is being violated because the government didn't according to the judge present one piece of evidence linking te sensitive matters to the data collected. >> that was surprising. the government has been talking about this for some libertariane government doesn't have it, the government is over reaching, it needs to be curtailed in its

activities with respect to this kind of wholesale collection of data. i think it's interesting to point out the 1979 case that the government reliance on. the court also quite different three decades ago. >>t. the supreme court has to weigh in on this issue. >> so if the supreme court were to actually agree with this judge, could that mean the end e

seeing criminal defendants who say hey look the government use these tactics to obtain decisions that can be looked at, severe implications monumental >> reva good to see you. thanks for your insight. thanks john. >> now to a developing story, dozens of sailors who served on the supertanker the u.s.s. ronald reagan say they have cancer. 51 sailors believe they were exposed to high levels of radioactive material. they are suffering from

different types of cancer including leukemia. now to the ukraine, its president is looking for help from the kremlin, heading to moscow to meet with the russian president vladimir putin. they are ukraine to sign a trade deal with the european union, ukraine holds key energy appliance that much of europe depends on. this evening north korea commemorates the two year anniversary of kim jong-il's death. days after the execution of kim jong-un uncle and medicine or the. pledging to become human bullets to protect their leader. in syria the largest call for emergency aid in history. the united nations is asking for $6.are 5 billion to help

displaced people. the humanitarian crisis is becoming worse as winter falls over the region. fears over mass starvation and illness. our diplomatic correspondent james bays has more. >> without doubt, it's the most horrible humanitarian crisis in decades. throughout 2013, 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, there 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 for world leaders who must now come up with the even larger figure of $6.5 billion. >> the international community and particularly world leaders have a moral responsibility, political responsibility to help those people. 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 any resolution

on that as on so many things regarding syria there is stalemate. james bays, al jazeera, syria. >> senior officials from both cunls met with u.n. peace keepers following a deadly shooting saturday. a lebanese killed an israeli soldier. according to the u.n. both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the 2006 cease fire agreement. the deadly crisis unfolding in the central african republic. hundreds have been killed from the sectarian violence, hundreds of thousands are fleeing their homes. tonight a disturbin disturbing development. rebels using children to fight. andrew simmons reports. >> this time muslim homes, 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, the peace keepers are next to arrive, there is little anyone can do and nearly everyone has fled. this is once a tearc african ho. they're here too late to do anything about this. the situation gets more critical by the ar day. and the reason is the cycle of violence is deeply set. starting 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 these, otherwise christian houses will be set on

fire by angry muslims. >> from the capitol bangui, we encountered african americans,. >> seleca people are human beings like us. if they had come to live with us in harmony everything would have been all right. they turned their guns towards us and we died in large numbers. >> bass in basangoa this is the army of the traditional government. there are plans to disarm them. over the road the african peace keepers, keep a wary eye on them. camp of 7,000 muslims leading in dire conditions. a short trip down the road, 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. >> back home we're tracking another powerful storm that's beginning to threaten even more in the northeast. kevin. >> it's the alberta clipper. we're not seeing much across the northern area but over the great lakes in the next 24 hours. the problem will be the amount of snow we'll see across the northeast. temperatures are dropping, not a situation with how low those temperatures go. highs tomorrow minneapolis, 26° but look at the warnings that

are already out right now for parts of nengs. we are talking about winter weather advisories, 2 to 4 inches of snow are expected in many places and in some locations it's going to be up to six inches. if you are on highway 95 you need to be very careful. on monday -- consume on tuesday 33° in new york, we are looking for snow. after tuesday, though, it warms up, look at these temperatures warming up pretty nicely. john. >> thanks fire wall, the deadly inferno that claimed 19 heroes. plus the rich defense, the condition known as afluenza. the woman who coined the phrase. i

al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any other american news channel. >> tell us exactly what is behind this story. >> from more sources around the world. >> the situation has intensified here at the border. >> start every morning, every day 5am to 9 eastern. >> with al jazeera america.

gla an unusual late season wildlife sent people scrambling for safety in southern

california. about 100 people were forced to evacuate big sur, a popular tourist attraction. not surprising because this is one of the dryest years on record in southern california. 300 firefighters were called in to fight that blaze, no injuries were reported. the hot shots, instead of running from a fire, they go right in trying to contain and extinguish it. last summer, 19 of those hot shots were killed. >> haunting images from a hell meth camera, desperate attempt to reach 19 firefighters, along with the video there is the audio, the final words of the granite mountain hot shots, died in the line of duty battling the

yarnell hill fire. last year. the response comes though not immediately from the response center. >> how do you copy me? >> the recordings reveal confusion. here one unseen firefighter tries to identify the voice of another. >> knowing time is slipping away the dispatcher makes an urgent request for a helicopter. >> granite mountain 7! >> okay, i need you to quit and operations. >> okay, in trouble, go ahead. what you got going on. >> and then the final transmission.

granite mountain 7, being cut off. we are preparing a deployment site, burning brush around us, we will give you a call when we are under the shelters. >> the command center asks to confirm the location. >> you are in the fire then -- >> there was no reply. when the firefighters reached the men it was too late. they had all perished. an investigation concluded that a breakdown in communication may have contributed to the tragedy. >> and let's bringing in former hot shot kyle dickman. the associate editor of outside managed. kyle, welcome. >> thanks for having me. >> do you believe a communicationsproblem could problem and did it need to be solved in order to preventn.

i think it would be fair to say that it was in place long before this happened. i think we have to take into account when this actually -- when that video was from. it was shot about 4:30 in the afternoon about half an hour before the fiber blew up. the imran it mountain crew was watching this whole thing unfold. they made a decision to leave that ridge and walk down toward yarnell. they never communicated to any of the operations chief that that decision had been made. it came as a great shock to many on the scene that granite mountain which was once in a very safe were suddenly greatly threatened. >> there are as mu

one thing that happened was there was a thunder head that was over the fire and that blew out and pushed those 40 mile-an-hour winds out and started running at the town of yarnell. many fs resources on the -- of the resources on the scene were reacting to it. i wouldn't say it was desperate but there were a lot of things happening at once. granite mountain was oneort of y were facing i pretty good paych. others wise you would be washing

dishes or swinging a hammer. >> far away from where you would have been, why not just let these fires burn? is it rationalize the loss of these 19 men. why not let them burn? i mean politically it's difficult. if you let a wildfire burn next to a town and that town gets burned down, you are going to have a lot of angry homeowners. what was talked about was defensible space, removal of timber and brush right next to these houses. the homeowners take that dickman, thank you for

talking to us. >> thank you. >> another court decision in detroit, giving retired detroit workers new hope. the court says union and workers can appeal the decision. that would allow the union to put together its own plan for restructuring debt. under funded by $3.5 billion. general motors is betting on its factories. the auto maker will invest over $1 billion into its factories. gm says this will keep or create 1,000 jobs. is washing with antibacterial soap better than plain old soap and water? the food and drug administration wants to find out. try to determine if long term exposure is doing more harm than

good. kimberly howken reports. >> u.s. manufacturers have advertised getting rid of germs, antibacterial soaps are the answer. but now the food and drug administration says there is no toafd back up those -- evidence to back up those claims. only after an environmental group accused the fda of dlieg delaying action on triclosan. >> what we are worried about is folks are using them every single day. there are studies that show they may affect our hormones which are very important of brain function, of reproductive function. >> now in a preliminary ruling manufacturers must prove their products are more effective than soap and water and safe for long term use.

the new guidelines apply just to antibacterial soaps that require water, hand sanitizers used in places like hospital he are not affected. still two associations representing the soap manufacturers are vowing to challenge the ruling. in a statement they said we're perplexed that the agency suggests there is no evidence that antibacterial soaps are beneficial. as industry has long provided evidence about the safety and efficacy of these products. in 2010 the european union banned triclofan in areas where the products come in contact with food. the u.s. food and drug administration is taking its time. despite 40 years of investigation the fda says a time rule on antibacterial soaps for the u.s. won't be issued until 2016. kimberly helcutt, al jazeera,

washington. military robots, creepy and cool. they are now also the property of google, but why?

night with the combatants in their training base.

>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. the national security agency got hit with what could be the first of many legal challenges today. a federal judge ruled that the spy agency's spy control programs are probably unconstitutional. edward snowden released a statement supporting the judge's decision. 51 soldiers who served on the u.s.s. ronald reagan have cancer. they say it may have been from

their rescue efforts on fukushima nuclear melt down. they have filed a lawsuit against the owners of the plant. weeks after protests are scaring away investors desperately needed by urine's poorest country facing economic collapse. is it possible to be too rich to know right from wrong? a dallas judge says it is. the judge sentenced a teenager who killed four people in a drunk driving accident to probation. it was the first, too rich to know how to take responsibility an affliction called afffluenza, demanding harsher penalties. joining us is jessie o'neil who

popularized the termty traits which is a loss of emotional asset. >> should it be used jesse as a defensmary defense

in a murder case. >> like self defense? >> i don't understand. >> like self defense, let me stay that back. any kind of defense in a legal case you don't see that as real- >> what i mean is the that's the only legal way i've seen affluenza used. >> coined the term should it be used for a young man to get off

without much punishment from the court? >> no, i don't think so. >> i guess a lot of people sort of wonder, i mean, defense aside, whether or not this affluenza really exists. you say it's not about money. it's more obsession, a cultural malaise, nones that e

happy. >> so looking at that case in dallas do you think this kid had affluenza? >> yes, i think he did. >> what was it about him? >> from what i understand he was allowed to drink at an early age, drive at an early age. there were very few restrictions put on his behavior. what i call the buy-out principle, where the child is bought out of the consequences of their negative behavior and in that case they have no chance to build character. but i would not carry it so far as to say to know the difference between right and wrong. >> as the judge did i think in this case? >> right. it is a misuse of that term. >> there were so many people and the response was so strong after

the judge handed down this ruling it is juvenile court and we often treat juveniles dirchl tha prinched to privileged to, there

is outrage. >> thank you for joining us. speaking publicly about the circumstances surrounding his return to cuba in 2000. the elder gonzalez cared for the five-year-old in this home during his five months in the united states. >> translator: many we're happy he is alive but a little upsettle because we knew what was going to happen to him. gonzalez is reerve referring to comments his nephew was making his first trip out of cuba in 14 years. >> they have to realize that they waived poorly and didn't do the right thing.

we are willing to forgive him because we don't hold grudges. >> ithe little boy was the sole survivor of a raft crossing. his mother drown. relatives fought to keep him in miami. cuban leader fidel castro sent his father to miami to bring him back to the island. ended when armed federal agents seized the child in the middle of the night for return to cuba. gonzalez says his grand nephew is an instrument of the system. >> he speaks what he doesn't know. he says what they tell him to say. i would tell him to seek the truth. >> and he fears for the young man's future.

>> translator: when he's no longer useful they'll do what they do to others. push him aside. then they'll take his cake, his stake, everything then he'll either live in misery or throw himedz back into the ocean again. >> for 13 years delfine maintained this hoax as a museum, exactly as it was when elian was taken away, but circumstances forced him to put everything in storage and he rents a room in the back of the house. >> had he taid stayed here he would have been able to choose his own way of living. >> for now, delfin gonzalez awaits the day when he will

finally embrace elian again. 1.5 million people are behind bars in the united states, that's more than any other country in the world. jonathan martin reports how women behind bars are working to educate. >> for just a few hours she's able to swap her prison uniform for a cap and gown. >> i feel like i'm being redeemed. i'm being restored. >> it was the first graduation at the tennessee prison for women. eight inmates received associate degrees in liberal arts through david lipscom university in nashville. every many. >> the classes were easy so i feel like i have really earned, you know, a degree. >> we were never looked down on as inmates. we were always considered as

students. >> a little bit about vitamins and minerals. >> 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. 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 so i society. >> the program allows to bring in outside perspectives and allows the students inside to experience a more traditional classroom setting. lipscom says the program is life changing, reduces the likelihood of ex convicts. the next seven years is a way to give back to the prison. >> this is a community, it is

not a community that is perhaps seen by the outside community but now i have the tools to hem them. >> why was it so important to finish this? >> to show her that even though i failed i can still pick myself back up and grow. >> there are more than 30 women currently enrolled in lipscom's life program. the next are set to graduate in less than two years. at 57 years old donna mccoy knows she may never leave prison but she, with a diploma, has cheefachieved a different kind f freedom. a marketing push that is kind of a big deal, why anchorman 2's ron burgundy

appears to be everywhere. >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> i think you've offended everyone with that kathy. >> hold on, there's some room to offend people, i'm here. >> we have a right to know what's in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it from us. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> watch the stream. >> and join the conversation online @ajamstream. >> how important is the future of manufacturing industry? >> you're talking about something that's very complex. >> made in america equals jobs in america. >> welcome back. you're watching scenes from the documentary, made in the usa, a 30-day journey, it's a look at the workforce and consumers, and john paid that documentary, and he got interested in where the goods we buy come from after a plant closed in his hometown, and welcome to the show. >> thanks for having me, appreciate it.

>> so talk about how the closing of that plant impacted you and the community. >> well, the film sparred from century aluminum shutting down in my hometown in virginia, and 650 people lost their jobs, including my father-in-law, david nelson, and as time went on, it destroyed our local and regional economy. >> i'm meteorologist kevin corriveau. over the next couple of days things are going to change. we have an alberta clipper coming out of alberta, canada. we are already picking up snow across the montanas, as you can see right here, there is a storm you can almost see the track of it based on where those clouds are. we are going to see some

problems is detroit as well as over the next couple of days, and this is the snow we expect to see most of michigan as well as over here towards pennsylvania. now temperature-wise it is not going to get as cold as what we saw last week with the other storm system. minneapolis, you are staying above zero at 26°, omaha 39, south tulsa you're going to see a balmy 60° there. northeast, that's where the big problem is going to be. lot of snow here, 2 to 4 inches is expected in some locations. up to the north though it's going to be 4 to 6.

>> president obama will meet the geek squad. he's catching up with apple, twitter in the white house tech summit. the search giant google just bought boston dynamics, famous for creating some of the world's most dynamic robots, co-founded by the u.s. mill tri. a partnership google will honor. join joining a first responder,

potentially in the fukushima situation that was in japan. you could send one of these robots into that type of situation to try to contain the problem without loss of life. they could serve as military, actuaries where they are first on the ground in situations. so they're doing the job of a human but they're doing it in situations where a human might be put in harm's way. >> these look much more agile than the robots on days of old that sort of rolled around. are they and in fact how fast can they move around? >> they have different models that can pretty much mimic a lot of human motion. they have an atlas robot that credit bend, stretch, climb, squeeze into tight spaces. it actually can use tools as

well. so it can pretty much mimic all those functions that a regular human could do. and that was one of those robots that they were planning to use as a first responder. some four legged robots, big dog that everybody is talking about. that thing can carry 340 pounds. it can toss a cinder block 17 feet away from it. these robots can do those tasks that making work easier. >> why does google want these? >> nobody knows yet. they call that

purveyors in the world. they own more computers than any other company in the world. they can use them in-house, they want to start automating their they have a ten year vision for this whole thing. this kind of gets extrapolated out. a lot of the eight companies they have can have software that can integrate with google glass. the opportunities are really, really limitless in this technology. >> any idea what it cost they are not saying what they

paid for the boston quams. i know boston dynamics did make $140 million last year under government contract so that's probably ballpark what you're looking at when you are >> they are great to watch. thanks for talking stephanie. >> thanks john. many teams scrambling for playoff spots. mark morgan is here. welcome mark. >> if you bite your nails you're not going to have any nails. any indication we are in for quite a two weeks coming up. after tonight's action every nfl team has just two games remaining. case in point the ravens and lions squares off in the motor city tonight, each team just out of the playoff picture in the afc and nfc respectively.

ravens won three in a row coming in, the lions lost three out of the four. reggie bush got it off, justin tucker booted five field goals, 15-ten into the final six minutes. 14 yards, 16-15 detroit. then tucker final 40 seconds that's 61 yards. are you kidding me? just night the upright, wow! 33 field goals in a row for tucker, unbelievable. 18-16 ravens. look at jo flacco, is that going to go in? yeah, it is. players unbelieving on the sidelines. this is what it means. in the afc wild card chase, the ravens bump ahead of the

dolphins. ravens have the second identically record with the dolphins but the ravens own the tie breaker over miami. boy does it hurt the lions. they could play for a division lead in the nfc, they did not, they lost, look where they are in the wild card. panthers and the 49ers, and then with only two games to play a dead-even 500, desperately needing to win out and to get some help to reach the playoffs. texas head coach matt brown officially resigned after 16 years in austin. this year's squad a disappointing 8 and 4. brown is the 10th winningest

coach in history. i asked if she thought brown still wants to coach? >> i do. i think he's not done coaching. only 64 years old. you can tell, they the didn't win the scandal. in a position to win the big 12, it did. the fact that he still had the juice to get his team doing, i think that speaks volumes for what mack brown can do. there are teams that would be willing to take a chance on him and get good results. >> that's it for sports. we'll see where mack brown goes. i think there's going to be demand for him. >> thanks mark. tonight a love story, not between two people but a mini van.

the volkswagen combi. >> it's been three years since dave panton left him home in san diego, california to drive up and down south america in his volkswagen bus. the vehicle is a little beat up but full of personality and quite reliable he says. >> the only time i've had to take the motor out was in quito, ec war wa dor and put piston rings in it. >> their love of the vehicle is, well, something different. >> you don't buy a car. are you enter a relationship. i feel it. i feel this car. >> panton and other vw bus lovers gathered in sao paulo, to say good-bye to the combi 63 years after it was introduced.

volkswagen is discontinuing production of the combi before the end of the year. this factory is is the last place. there is a new law that goes into effect january 1st which says all vehicles sold have to come standard with air bags and antilock breaks. being with the combi, there is no way to comment that so the folks at volkswagen decided to retire it. back at the going-away party there was nonstop talk about their adventures with the vehicle. the map traces everywhere it's pen. he's driven to dozens of

countries. >> when i'm tired i stop the car and spend a night with her. >> 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 savmentsando, al jazeera, sao paulo. >> why paramount is paying millions to promote comorman 2. >> america tonight next only on al jazeera america

>> evey sunday night,

>> well, in case you haven'theas returning. anchor man 2 is just days away, but weeks of marketing push. >> from deep in the hinterlands to the greatest met ro metropoln the earth. >> there's a ron burgundy flavor, a museum and series of news hits. >> now jarrod joins us with a

first look at the forecast. jarrod how are you. >> the franchise has a solid fan base so why the huge marketing push? >> increasingly in the film business you need that marketing push. the hope is for a big first weekend. >> opening night even tougher to win at the box office but the cast seems confident so far. >> once we came one a concept that we liked, we thought this will be exciting. >> going to that key 18-34 guy demographic. i think it will be doing well about. >> tickets may not sell out on opening night, but the fan purchase of a wait array of anchorman products could put ron burgundy soldly in the black. >> al jazeera new york. >> wow, right off the limb.

>> the top stories are next. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. here are the top stories. a federal judge ruled that some of the tactics used by the national security agency probably are unconstitutional. he says the nsa phone call surveillance program could be a violation of privacy rights, former nsa systems analyst edward snowden issued a statement supporting the judge's rulings. sailors have cancer and may be their rescue mission following the fukushima melt down after tsunami in japan. th