♪ this is at al jazeera america. live from new york city, i'm david chute we a look at today's top stories. emergency crews are on the scene in london where part of a ceiling collapsed, authorities say 88 people have been injured some of them seriously. 40 million americans shopping at target have been warned to check for identity theft and fraud, this as new clues emerge as to how thieved carried out a massive security breech. presidential message about mandatory judge sentences. president obama has now commuted the long prison terms of eight people convicted for yak cocaine. and vladimir putin's new term offensive.

the russian president trying to soften his image. this has been a frightening night. at the sold out apollo theater. witnesses say in the midst of a heavy thunderstorm, portions of plaster began to fall before a larger part of it collapsed. >> they said watch out, we thought it was part of the play, so that was our reaction, wasn't it? is. >> everything. debris, dust, everything. >> dust, chandelier, all that sort of stuff, landed on about five or

six rows. >> we thought it was sound effects of the theater, and then yeah, and then we just looked up and the whole ceiling was like slow motion, it just came down. phil, we can see the soot and essentially the dirt on the people's faces, what's the late that is you are getting from british police? >> well, we are getting is that they are confident that everybody who was in the theater has been safely extracted. there are no people remaining trapped inside. at the scene, currently, and they are starting to 'up some foot traffic along the street. they have brought in some emergency vehicles to do some surveying of the facade of the building. but by all reports that we are getting if -- internal debris matter falling from the ceiling

being described by eyewitnessed consistently mostly of plaster and wood supports. so it does look as though certainly things are well under control here in london, but quite a harrowing night for a lot of these theater goers. >> so put it in perspective for us. we have heard our own colleagues describe this as new york's time square, any time there's an incident there it is a big deal, right? >> well, yeah, absolutely, this happened on a street called shacks bury avenue. so this has caused disruption in the west end, but it is interesting as i was approaching this particular area, there were still other theater goers out and about, people enjoying a holiday thursday evening. so while this has kind of put a bottleneck through a very central part of

london, london's west end is still very much open for business this evening. >> phil, thank you for that update. now to a major security breech, effecting millions of consumers target is urging nearly 40 million americans who shopped at one of their stores over the last three weeks to check their credit and debit cards for fraud. it is now helping those responsible for the data breach. it throws up so many questions. do they live in the united states, are te'o seas, who is hurt by crime like this. is it people like you and me, we turn to a guy that spends his entire life worrying about this kind of issue, take a look. >> the thing about criminal hacking is disnot magic, there is

science behind this. >> robert is an online security expert. >> for the past ten years they have been compromising one database after another, so now they have their process well honed, and this time of the year, holidays this is the best time for them to strike. >> he says don't believe the motion that hackers are computer geeks. this is organized crime on a grand scale, designed to steal the numbers as many cards as possible. >> we have a data breach that effects 40 million people, this is absolutely most professional organized criminal syndicate you can think of. these are people that their entire livelihood is structured around finding the vulnerables in these networks, planting viruses and ultimately getting paid. >> he says the syndicates are organized web mobs and they could be here at home, in the u.s., or overseas and he says da data breaches like target are not rare. >> this is probably one

of the top 5, as far as credit card breeches go, but we have seen hundred million, 130 million credit card number breeches happen in the past. and this will not be the last one. >> he also says online security will never be 100%. >> there's always going to be some type of vulnerable, whether it's in technology or with the human element, meaning somebody on the inof the organization, could have done something wrong, clicked a link, provided credentials via fishing email. target is advising customers do check their statements carefully. the ceo says target's first priority is preserving the trust of our guests and we have moved swiftly to address this. so guests can shop with confident, we regret any inconvenience or concern that incident may have caused you.

>> target says it has brought in a outside firm to help prevent such data breeches from happening again. but these shoppers were less than happy that so many cards had been hacked. >> it is a trust issue. people trust target, when they go in to make a purchase. >> it worried me, that's why we pay cash. >> he says while customers may pay a little if te'o look an unauthorized item, target will pay millions in updating its security. >> hacking like this is not a victim legislation crime, people financially, either the consumer, the retailers and then the banks and the credit card companies in the end, even insurance companies do pay. >> david, t.j. max was hit in the mid 2,000's. and sony play station had work to do with their games because over 100 million people who played play station online were effected by just this sort of thing, and sony was fined in the united kingdom, the

authorities there thought they could have done something to stop it. >> such a helpful piece, thank you so much. here now to walk us through the a cyber security firm, and he joins us live. chris, i wonder if you can clarify. we see a lot of people at the target stores but there's nothing as far as the swipe machines. the breech comes sometimes between target, and how two places ethey are at the point of sale themselves or at the point where they transmit two data to the company that does the transactions for them. the payment processor. so it had to be one of the two, and some of the early indication is it is the point of sale. so this means thousands and thousands of these term somehow goto collect the mag stripe data.

>> but again, nothing that any consumers that are swiping their credit cards can do, they put the mail ware into an internal system, that goes out and targery littlr can do except after the fact, and probably they should have doing this on a monthly basis looking at their credit card statement, looking for strange charges especially like one and 2-dollar charges at gas stations some of these strange charges that someoe who is probably purchase add fraudulent version. >> in other words, someone who is pinging your card to see is this active, what exactly can we -- what can a retailer do to improve their system as far ass the thin, target is known to have very good security internally. i talked to some people who are familiar and they

go above beyond and what the payment requires group, inform they don't catch them they will be hitting other major retailers as well. >> how well resourced is the fbi, the secret service as being able to figure out who did this, and use their own technology to track it ones end up being solved. >> speaking of big ones, how doe

largest ones was the tjx breech from 2006. that was about 46 million cards, sony place was over 100 million cards so this is in that top five, it is really a major breech, and i think target will be looking at a dollars or more in costs. >> is randall pinkston has

more on today's action. >> the latest effort to make up for drug laws widely seen as unfair. until 2010 a person convicted of possessing crack cocaine faced a longest sentence than someone possessing the same amount of powder cocaine. since most of those convicted were poor and minorities. people who had been convicted under the old rule remained in prison. too many americans go to

too many prisons for far too long and for no truly good law enforcement reason. >> among them, clair rance aaron who was sentenced to life in prison, when he was a 22-year-old college student. his crime, introducing two drug dealers. today he was one of the eight people whose sentence was commuted. in a statementt white house pointed out that each of them had served more than 15 years in prison. if they had been sentenced under the current law, they would have served their time, and paid their debt, ink stead because of a disparity they remain in prison at a cost of millions of taxpayer dollars each year. >> in addition to the eight computations president obama also pardoned 13 people who had completed their sentences on a variety of challenges including embezzlement and robbery.

several counties have been issues since august, but there were a serious of court challenges culminated in today's ruling russia's president is going on something of a term offensive, he is apparently trying to soften his hardliner image just week before he and his country take center stage. al jazeera has the story from moscow. this was another four hour media marathon, allowing the leader a golden opportunity to put a shine on the image abroad.

he has already spent more than ten years in held. he referred to the humanitarian nature, his mother is ill, and i think bearing in mind, it is possible to make that decision, and i will soon sign an order about his pardon. mute tin offered $15 billion to its trouble navy ukraine, a bail out to save victor's floundering economy from bankruptcy. apparently, no strings attach, harangly no pressure on kiev to join the union. even some words directed at the european union once accused of wooing them away from the embrace. >> we are not against the association at all, we simply say we have to protect the economy, we have a free trade

agreement, we cannot leave it unchanged if ukraine open its doors to the union. >> and then there was putin's amnesty. if the so called obscene performance in the main cathedral. expected to walk free over the next few days. and the arctic 30, rounded up by russianboarder police, in the freezing northern waters during a green peace demonstration, at a russian drilling rig where also it seems be home for christmas. as for the habit they are covered by the amnesty, and as far as i know they are covered by it, we are not doing it for them, but if they are covered that's good. thursday's news conference is an annual event but it comes at a perfect time, to put presidential spin on recent events here. just six weeks before the start of the winter olympics in sochi, and

the arrival of the media army that will throw world spotlight on this country. patents in the united states are supposed to protect the people that invent new products but a lucrative business known as patent trolling is allowing some companies to make a lot of money off of other people's ideas, that's next, and the united states is sending more help and bringing more diplomatic attention to the violence that is plaguing the central african republic. so many money stories sound complicated. but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break down confusing financial speak and make it real.

>> evey sunday night, join us for exclusive, revealing, and suprizing talks with the most interesting people of our time. this sunday, >> i spent my whole life thinking about themes and thinking about how to structure

movies, so this is highly unusual. >> the director of the sixth sense, says there are five things we can do to fix education in america >> the united states has education apartheid, that's the facts... >> talk to al jazeera with m. night shayamalan sunday at 7et / 4pt on al jazeera america famer dennis rodman hasof returned to north korea for the third time this year. he is organizing an exhibition game in january between the north

korean team and former nba players. he says he has no political agenda, rodman is being sponsored by an irish online betting website. patented licensing is a multibillion dollars and it is at the heart of some of our deepest and hardest fought lawsuits. one day later, filed patent lawsuits against htc, verizon, at&t mobile, boost mobil, and sprint. that's what so called -- what is so called patent trolls do. the odds are good that they will eventually get their money. the median pay out was $8.9 million. and they win nearly one out of every four that they file. some of the highest judgements are centers on three districts across the united states. east virginia, delaware, and eastern texas. why there? well, heidi joe castro has the story of big

money in the small town of marshal texas. >> this is the busiest time of year. the companies rushing to process orders with each click, they tap into a patented technology that in other company tqb development claims is there. >> you infringe this patent every single day. the patent purchased from the original mentore years ago is a web encryption that covered every website user interaction in every corner of the internet. >> our belief is that it's just too broad to have been patented. >> newing a was among the ten companies for patent enfringement last year. the case wasn't filed in california though, it was filed here, in marshal texas. population, 24,000. >> when you see a whole

wave of black suits you know that the lawyers are in town. >> almost a quarter of last year's cases were filed in this eastern texas federal court district. why? the court clerk says it is due to local rules that get cases to trial quickly. >> having a case that moves along rather than one that just lingers for a long long time, is attractive i think to plaintiffs. >> but some say there's another reason. less than 18% of people in harrison county have college degrees, far below the national average. the companies being sued say the plaintiff lawyers exploit that, hoping to find juries less likely to understand the complexities of patent law. marshal chamber of commerce was on a patent jury and disputes that claim. >> it was confusing, we would go back to the jury room and go oh my gosh. i think a jury and another area would still come up with probably the same conclusions.

>> tech companies know the value of a good p.r. campaign here, where almost anyone can be on your next jury. a city officials dells us that samsung sued here multiple times had spent almost $1 million on community projects hike this risk, right in front of the courthouse. >> then there are these, the empty offices they make no product, and make money by suing whoever they can. >> these entities are shells. they are empty shells they do do anything but sue. >> the company that sues new egg has sued 800 other companies. most defendants including amazon, i.b.m., and microsoft have settled for $1 million or less. it costs between two to $6 million to take a patent case to trial.

this unmarked office in marshal is tqp's headquarters. they didn't answer the door or return our calls. this marshal patent attorney says the so called trolls aren't doing anything illegal. >> what the constitution says is that you have an exclusive right to use your own ideas and to keep it from the rest of the world. a martial jury granted them $2.3 millions in damages from new egg. new egg says it will appeal. and as the evening draws to a close, the people of marshal enjoy their skating risk, in the middle of their patent litigation capitol. al jazeera, marshal texas. >> this was a mixed day for wall street, the dow went up about 11-points to a record high, the broadest s&p 500 eded down slightly. this after the federal reserve decided to scale

back part of its massive economic stimulus. investor reaction to the news has left some market watchers puzzled. luckily, we have ali velshi here, he will be talking about this and much more, and alley, this decision by the fed, why did it seem like such

afford the fed pulling back. >> what can we expect to

meaning higher stock prices may not continue. >> what else are you and the team looking at shaping up. >> ali velshi the host of real money, 7:00 p.m. eastern, looking forward to it as always. a aircraftly charged case is one step closer to going to trial, still ahead, why man shot an unarmed black woman in claimed self-defense, today a judge decided whether the case should go forward. and a georgia school district is now allowing authorities to store assault rifles in the schools. why some people are ask willing that will really help protect the students.

welcome back to al jazeera america.

here is a look at our top stories. in recapping the breaking news, police say that nearly 90 people were hurt, seven seriously when the ceiling of a theater collapsed it thees may have stolen information from as many as 40 million store customers. that anybody who swiped a cashed at the store from thank giving to december 15th should check for fraud. target says that online shoppers were not effected. undually harsh sentences. pardoned 13 convicts and commuted the sentences of eight people who are serving lengthy jail time. in michigan there was a major ruling today in a case that has inflamed racial tensions and renewed questions about claims of self-defense. a judge in the detroit suburbs says that a white

man who has admitted shooting an unarmed black woman, will be dried for second degree murder. wellg this whole preliminary exam, the judge heard from several witnesses and many of them shed light on what exactly happened come took the stand yesterday that said she reached out to her, and said she was walked away from the scene. that is unclear is what happened between the point of that accident, and the time that mcbride wound up on the front stairs of wafer's home.

now, wayer has long maintained that he thought someone was tr and he decided that wafer should stand trial. >> h could have not answered the door, he could have called for help, he could have ran to another area of the house. i know this is house house, there is evidence to infer that he could have donethey said so fartr

pleased with how things are proceeding. verses actually convicting somebody, now that is moving toward as h. >> a georgia school board is now allowing train security officers to bring military style rifles on campus. thes a response to the school assault rifle which was moved in the movie theater shootings and then again, unfortunately, at the

sandy hook shotting call the attention clearly of this school district like it did all of america. there was a potential school shooting where a young man walked into a school, in atlanta suburb, fortunately the secretary talked that opinion down, but he was ready to create a massacre. after that occurred the folks here, and the police officials decided they needed to utoday we td to corporal kevin hall brook, and here is what he had to say? >> why are you bringing them into the schools here? >> we carry these many

the patrol cars. short my after the sandy hook incident, we present add proposal to the gainsville school board, in that we requested to keep rivals inside the schools. it makes no sense for an officer in an active shooter situation, to leave the threat to go to their vehicle, to get their rifle and then engage the threat again. >> is this a military style rifle? >> it would be described as a military we talked to him earlier today as well. >> we don't so anything to say let's look at this problem, because the whole idea to me is to stop it before it

happens. how can you prevent from happening by brings more guns to school, bringing more attention to the situation, plus that's just not the solution. our kids are very hi-tech, they could find a way robert is this indeed, roby

with a fascinating story, thank you very much. ousted egyptian president could face the death penalty if he is convicted on a series of charges revealed this week. on wednesday, other leaders pictured here, of course, from his last election, they were accused of conspiring with foreign groups to commit acts of terrorism. the new charges come as morsy stands trial and charges connected to the deaths of protestors while he was in office. the egyptian military ousted morsy in july. now to the beleaguers nation of central african republic.

the announcement comes as the u.s. ambassador there in the blue is making a visit to the country and ratcheting up global aid efforts. al jazeera andrew simmons has the latest from the capitol of bengi. >> the c.a.r. peace keepers are now replaced by a much larger force. another military acronym troubles and the largest force of its kind in the country. it would try to cam them which is on the brink of more killing and the threat of again side is ever present. it is twice the size of the existing forand will double that number again in the coming weeks to 6,000. #w the military build up more physical pressure is bearing down on the

interim president, to calm the anger and threaten full justice against anyone involved. >> a city like the capitol the risk of more large scale killing hasn't diminished. it is clear that the military action is needed as a tax on villages by christian militia continues. the challenges are profound, it isn't about peace keeping it is about enforcing some form of calm and to have any hope of doing that, the new force needs to be fast,

efficient, and well equipped. the outgoing peace keeping force believed the force will work. >> in in coming days it is expect there had will be more pressure on the government. to put out positive messages about reconciliation, and alongside that, more robust action to disarm the killers. family members of a murdered soldier is saying justice has now been done.

a jury today took just 90 minutes to convict two men of murdering rig by in may. properties cute errs say the man hit him with a car and then stabbed him to death. oscar winning director continues to surprise both iranian and american audiences. his latest film the past is already getting oscar attention. al jazeera talked with the director in new york city. >> iran's best most director has been circling the globe to promote his film. >> it is set in pater, but like jeffing he does is past is very much a product of his homeland. a man, played by iranian actor, returns to france to divorce his estranged french wife, played by

actress. >> there is a world of misunderstanding between them. perhaps we can't really call it their differences. in the opening scene we see them placed on two sides of the glass payne. they see each other, and talk to each other, but it seems they don't hear each other. the strain in iran's relationship to the united states was making headlines. the movie made more than $7 million earned iran it's first ever oscar in the best foreign feature category. the win was celebrated despite the government's earlier efforts to shut down the film's production. making an award winning film under iran

censorship codes is nothing short of a miracle. he manages to be making socially critical films without sounding critical at all. >> has censorship eased under the new president in iran? >> it is still too soon to judge. this government is only been in office for a few months. before, things were so bad that anything that happened now, is good. >> the film has been shown and well received in iran, there's talk of another oscar, if the success of his films are any guide, the two countries have much more in common than their

governments have led us to believe. ahead on al jazeera america, you will meet a young woman who is using poetry to talk about her place in society, find out what she says about her race and stereotypes. >> and a group of nerd fighters want to bring awesomeness to the world via youtube. i will have that story coming up. >> the most important money stories of the day might affect your savings, your job or your retirement. whether its bail-outs or bond rates this stuff get complicated. but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break down confusing financial speak and make it real. >> 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.

a young woman is using poetry to teach young women of color to speak out for themselves. ashley august is new york's city's youth poetloriett. >> david, ashley is a very talented young person, so full of energy

it is contagious. she uses poetry to express how she feels about the way society treats women of color like her. why is it okay to get no t.v. play, special investigators because the people with the power to change things goes oh, she is a dumb girl from the bronx. >> today's workshop we will talk about main street media. >> how doing it defines women of color? anybody? free for all? >> it doesn't. >> i feel like a lot of us are misrepresented. >> like j. lo is the main image, where you have to have a curvy butt or the big lips and you have to cook, and -- they set a standard that isn't

really true. >> they even sell bleaching creams in our country, so it is like my grandma i remember when i was six, she bought one for me and it was considered like a good thing, like this constant need to conform. to a white standard. >> ashley felt pressure to conform, growing up in brooklyn new york. poetry she says helped her deal with issues. >> i was getting bullied and picks on because i was overweight, and didn't look like anybody else. so i start writing because it henned me cope with emotions that were building up. she kept writing poems like this one. >> the only time you ever took me out it was to somewhere dark and dim, so the only people that could see are the ones on the table, can't be seen with a girl with a body like a house, you'd

rather foreclose. >> her mother an immigrant couldn't understand why ashley dreamed of being a poet. for her to be a poet. come on. >> her mother changed her mind in 2010, when she came here to the apollo theater to watch her daughter compete for the first time she heard the power of her voice. 60% of american women look like me, and you cannot accept the one in front of you? >> last year this poem won ashley the title of new york's youth poet. in a contest held by the city and urban word.

maybe it isn't easier to be black when you aren't really, and that's the name of the game, and you win by being white. disney, southern bell, ms. american pie, the american dream, one girl representing integration on your tv screen, is this it? >> can my black be proudly accepted will this poem get a gold medal. we have let these voices deep fry us into our own color, this you call an authentic battlefield, fighting just so we can continue to fight. >> good job, y'all. >> i think poetry has the ability to change people. >> the young american

indian woman from that story, and she will be taking the title over from ashley early next year. >> so interesting, thank you. here is another projected that reminds all oftous think about the greater good. joins us now with more. >> it is called project for awesome. a yearly fund raising event that is started by two brothers. here is one of them. and they believe that nerd fighters always do awesome acts. now they are supporting all sorts of causes from finding a cure to cancer,

to id fighting human trafficking, take a look. on one thing that will change a child's life. >> you all know that it is cool to increase the awesome, but it is best to do both at the same time. and i can't think of a better way to do than promoting self-explore email to people, because if this video gets in the top 10 for the project for awesome campaign, liberty north korea will get thousands of dollars for their cause. the foundation to decrease world stock, they decide how to divvy up the money among the selected charities. you and still donate up to saturday by going to project for awesome.com. >> great stuff, thank you so much.

still ahead, a look at the newest forecast, the new battle against retail fraud, how stores are trying to stop shoppers who buy expensive clothing, wear it, and then return it. and then it is real money with ali velshi you the middle class investor. i will help you make sense of a stock market that has defied protection. wait until you see what insurance companies are getting you to buy all of that and more on real money. blame

hi-tech, to fightgoing something called refund fraud. it is what happens when buyers buy the priciest items and then bring them back for a refund. >> advertise the system to be partying. it is called wardrobing,

the return of used but after it is worn once to make a holiday splash, that dress gets returned. we tailers say the practice has grown. >> you know, it is part of the american lifestyle. shopping, and part of the culture people enjoy spending money, and they spend more than what they can afford. >> because you bought it your body was in the garment for a night of partying. so i just don't think it is appropriate to return it. >> according to a national retail federation, the industry will lose 8.76 billion u.s. dollars this year to refund fraud. including practicing such as rewardrobing and almost half of that happens during the season. >> bloomingdales has adopted one of the boldest policies to fight back. >> they have put a very prominent black

three-inch plastic tag on the garment, so that one wouldn't wear it out and about, and specific instructions on how to remove this tag. others say they will remain more flexible about refunds. it shows how tough it can be for sales. particularly during the holiday season. >> are you going to potentially alienate your existing customers. often time as customer wants to go to a store who they unction and know and trust, and believe that if something happens the store will back them up. >> those who have never wardrobes but may be tempted, may have some creative options. her store is called the little borrowed dress, and she rents out brides

maid dresses. >> i think women are warming up to the idea of renting. even since we launched at that time it was pretty much consumer reactions were they had never remembered, they hadn't heard of the concept of remembering. >> a few other ventures rent out, and runway clothes. but until the concept sweeps the make, some shoppers may continue to wardrobe away. al jazeera, new york. good afternoon, everyone, we are looking at major delays in salt lake city because of the snow sha is going on, it is almost hovering right across that area, it has been stronger exier today, about an hour is what we are expecting to see for a delay. now we do have winter with storm warnings in effect there as well as winter storm watches. we don't really expect

this to change for the rest of the evening. we are looking at a temperature that will be dropping for the rest of the evening. now tomorrow big changes are in the works you can see the rain, on this line of rain, we will be seeing some severe weather, look at these temperatures on friday. memphis at 70, chicago at 34, big temperature difference, saturday, am the possibility of tornadoes. so saturday will be a very bad day across much of the region. we will keep you more involved on this, that's a look at your weather.

this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm david shuster with a look at tonight's top stories. authorities in london say 88 people were hurt tonight when debris fell from the ceiling of the historic apollo theater during a thunder storm. executives at target are urging nearly 40 million americans to check that credit and debit cars for possible fraud. anyone who stops in stores from thanksgiving to christmas could be at risk. the obama administration is renewing its effort to reduce what it calls