>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm david shuster with a look at today's top stories. >> the situation is deteriorating in south sudan as they express a grave alarm. and competition to find the best robots to rescue people stuck in a disaster.

>> president obama and the first family will soon be on their way to hawai'i for their annual christmas vacation. but first a total of 11 reporters got to ask president obama questions, and a few of the questions came with attitu attitude. >> americans seem to have lost trust in you, your credibility has taken a hit. >> are you you're not addressing the fact the public statements that your statements to the bubblpublic. >> when you look back and you look at the decisions you have made, what you did, what you doesn't do, were you personally, what do you think has been your biggest mistake? >> with respect to healthcare specifically or general. >> the whole thing. >> the whole thing. mike viqueira joins us live from

the white house, and mike, the tone of the press core often tends to reflect the mood of the public. more americans disapprove than approve of president obama's job. is that what fueled the questions today? >> reporter: i think that might be the trend. you might be right about that. the president's poll numbers, 40% of approval. and it's funny, they started to rebound somewhat ever since the perception has been that the healthcare website has been fixed. i think you have two things. you have a few things, actually. you have the nsa spying controversy. you have the botched roll out of healthcare.gov . you've got congress going back and forth and coming out of the shutdown. you've got a fact-checking website that is known to be--respected around these parts called political fact. the president saying if you like

your healthcare you can keep it. the claim he made clear up to the run up to the legislation, calling that the lie of the year. you put that together and there is skepticism among the resurgent russia core, i don't think there is any question about that. >> the president indicated that yes, he's going to look at this report that challenged the data collection that's nsa is doing and make adjustments, where is that going to go? >> reporter: i think it's interesting, and i think that's the lead news out of this press conference, and an interesting news conference. there was a perfunctory aspect to it, the president checking a box before momentarily getting on the helicopter and heading off to hawai'i for 17 days. it's the first time that he was not kept here until christmas with bickering by congress. but on the snowden revelation on the nsa fall out, the president leaving the door open of changing the bulk exchange of

metadata, and if edward snowden should be given amnesty in exchange of a stop to the leaks. here's what the president had to say. >> i think that as important and as necessary as this debate has been it is also important to keep in mind this has done unnecessary damage to u.s. intelligence capabilities, and u.sdiplomacy. but i will leave it up to the courts and attorney general to weigh in publicly on the specifics of mr. snowden's case. >> reporter: david, back to your original point, the president replied to the skepticism of reporters. he said this room had

experienced 16 near-death experiences, and they'll look at immigration next year. >> maybe that explains him taking the long view that he did today. >> reporter: gdp is startling, 3.6%. the unemployment is down 7.0%. that's all trending well. and the president noted this, and others have, too, that john boehner outburst against the tea party conservatives within his own conference that led to that bipartisan budget deal something that has not been seen in washington quite some time gives a lot of people hope. a lot of people look at that. if you're a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, that could be a precursor and good omen for the beginning of next year until we get into congressional elections of 2014. >> al jazeera's mike viqueira at the white house. mike, thank you as always. the administration's

healthcare law this has been another day of mixed news. the good news is states running their own insurance exchanges are reporting a surge in sign up. california, for example, is averaging 15,000 enrollments a day. as many people have signed up in california over just last five days as signed up the entire month of november. now the bad news, the administration has made another rule change, and that will add to consumer confusion and hurt insurance companies that the entire system is relying on. the administration announced if you're one of the many people who have faced the cancellation because the policy did not meet certainlcertain new requirementn now buy catastrophic, and you yu will be exempt from penalties

next year. this move comes days before the december 23rd deadline for people to sign up for coverage that begins january 1st. this delay in the insurance mandate for some americans will help insure a smoother coverage transition. >> obama: this is essentially an additional net in case folks might have slipped through the tracks. many believe the move will tap down on the fall out of the healthcare law. republicans are ripping the decision saying it bolsters their argument that the program is broken. on capitol hill senators have joi left for the holiday recess. libby casey has more from capitol hill.

>> reporter: the senate wrapped up its work by confirming some of president obama's nominees, the irs chief dealing with taxes but also some of the enforcement of obamacare or the federal healthcare law. also second in demand at homeland security. as they advance forward, janet yellen, they did not actually confirm her. that work waits until january. they come back to session january 6th. that should be plenty of time to deal with that. ben bernanke does not step down until the end of that month. the senate managed to get done late thursday night the defense authorization bill the 52nd year that the house and senate have been able to pass a defense spending bill over $500 billion in change. changes to sexual assault laws in the military. it doesn't go as far as some

advocates wanted it to go, including senator gillibrand. she didn't get all she wanted but there were some adjustments that both republicans and democrats could agree on. long term unemployment benefits run out december 28th. they didn't get renewed by congress. expect to hear from groups upset about that. they will have to get some republicans on board. as we look at 2013 and look at the year in congress the 113th congress it's been called by many the do-nothing congress. immigration didn't get dealt with, tax reform or gun control. president obama and many members of the democratsic party vowing

they'll work on immigration reform come the new year. they may have republican support for that. it did manage to gain track in the senate, but not so much in the house. watch for that to be a big item when congress returns. >> harry reid did not preside over the chamber on this, the final day before recess. this morning his office issued a statement that the nevada democrat was not feeling well and he was taken to the hospital. he had a series of tests and everything came up normal. but the 74-year-old senator is staying in the hospital for observation. there is good news for undocumented students living in new jersey. governor chris chris sig signeda bill that would allow those who are not in the country legally to pay instate tuition. the new measure comes with a hitch. undocumented students are not

eligible for state financial aid. the bodies of two indian peace keepers killed at in south sudan are being returned home. the president has promised a visiting delegation of african foreign ministers and will hold peace talks with the country's former vice president. the government said an attempted coup by the former vice president started the fighting. thousands are looking to the united nations for safety. they report on the deterioration in the country. >> this woman is angry. the food she has been given isn't enough. there are too many people who need help. >> they told us that there would be food but that's not true. they said we would get help. i'm angry, hungry and frustrat frustrated. >> reporter: the catholic church estimates there are 5,000 people living here. families who say they're too scared and traumatized to go

back home. the country's current vice president is visiting people living in camps to go home. he said that juba is safe. >> only places are under control but we will flush them out. >> reporter: the united nations paints a slightly different picture. it says 35,000 people are still hiding out in bases in six of the country's ten place. machar is trying to take over the country. juba is quiet now. but many of those who are injured in days of fighting are recovering in hospital. they battled to cope at first but now things seem under control. >> almost all of them were shot

wounds. it's a difference between shots at night and during the day. at night the shots are in the back which means people are running. the morning there were all in the front, legs, thighs, chest, most of the fatalities were wounds to the chest and the he head. >> reporter: as thif the crisis escalates, they will have nowhere to go to p. >> we spoke with a hip-hop artist and former child soldier in south sudan. we ask what it would take to scope the fighting. >> our president has failed to allow the countries to be transformed to a democratic state. all the members of the political party that were there are trying

to advise that look, we have to make everything transparent and make ourselves accountable for all the funding. that's what caused the problem and made the president not happy. he put a system in place to remove his colleagues rand put him in position of power. they wanted to arrest the vice president, but they said they could not arrest him until they disarmed his tribe first. that's what they did, that's what caused the problem. some don't know. they thought it was a cool. they realized that the government fabricated the situation. >> he spoke before congress and the united nations to advocate for a peaceful solution to the conflict in south sudan. dangerous weather appears to be in store for the southern

united states. >> we're seeing the tornadoes. we're going to go straight to the board. tornado warn negotiation place for parts of mississippi. you can see right here where that red is. that is a tornado warning. we didn't expect it to be this quick. this tornado is only going to last until 5:00 central standard time. but we'll look at this whole area, the atmosphere is very unstable. we were more concerned over the last couple of hours, notice the ice as well. because the temperatures are also very warm we have a lot of instability in the atmosphere. that's what is causing the problems. tonight, not only that tornado warning but we're going to have a big problem with wind damage across much of texas. this is what it "s" building up and causing the instabilities. very warn temperatures towards the east. those school temperatures towards the west. well, dallas, 43, houston, 73, a

big difference. we'll watch this instability throughout the evening. >> just ahead there was a legal victory for prostitution in canada. we'll take a closer look to the ruler and get more of the reaction and examine what it means for our neighbors to the north. and students who are risking their lives literally to get an education.

>> canada's supreme court made a ruling that could make it easier for prostitution. >> this was not a ruling on the leaguety of prostitution. it was a ruling on whether the

restrictions imposed by parliament on prostitution, which is legal in canada, are endangering the safety of sex workers. the justices unanimously found that they are. they struck down the prohibition of keeping a growthel, making a living on prostitution and street soliciting. >> that means they'll be able to take the safety precautions needed for safety working employment this is the first time in canadian history that sex workers are truly citizens of this country. now we can work in our legal autopsy in a legal manner. >> aboubut the laws remain in pe for now. the justices have given parliament a year to draft new laws for the community disdisruption without endangering sex workers.

>> the government put in place social and economic supports for women to prevent us from being vulnerable to the pimps and brothel keepers and hold the men who engage in prostitution as brothel keepers responsible for exploitation of women's inequality. >> that's not the position of some sex worker groups. >> it means someone who is trying to run their business now is trying to do so with clients who are running scared from the law. there are fewer clients and it's clients who have less to lose, and are willing to take bigger risks, they're finding those clients are more likely to be dangerous. >> reporter: the chief justice admitted that sex workers will continue to be at risk in canada. >> here to talk about the effects of this ruling is someone, chanelle gallant a

spokesperson for an organization run for and by sex workers in the area. first, what is the reaction to this ruling? >> well, we're elated. sex workers across the country and world are watching this decision, and all of us are incredibly thrilled. sex workers and allies around the world are thrilled about this historic step forward for safety, justice, and equality for sex workers. >> what changes do you expect to see after this ruling both in the short term and long term? >> well, in the short term we'll see no changes immediately because the decision was stayed, which means the new legislation cannot be implemented. however, what we're hoping to see is a dramatic impact on the ability of sex workers to work with safety and dignity. and especially where we're especially looking to see this impact is on sex workers who have been pushed to the margins, who are street based, that's

where we're expecting to see the most dramatic impact. >> if though it's okay now to set up brothels, how does that help women who are strong armed into this, and can they be held in a house without impact by police? >> well, that's the case we have now. unfortunately. what we have now is a situation where the sex industry has to work completely underground. someone who is facing coercion and exploitation has no recourse. that's why the laws were struck down because of what the judges found unanimously and the courts at every level found that the laws were working in concert to jeopardize the safety of sex workers and sometimes where they faced he ploytation and coercion. wthis trio of sex workers brougt this case to the case because they said and argued successfully it violates their

constitutional right to safety, to have to work under laws that expose them to exploitation. >> would your organization support efforts to provide more transparency and some government regulations such as health checks and whatnot? >> well, what we would support is sex workers being at the table and meaningfully consulted in any regular stor regulatory . i can't say what system would work best but i can veh what we don't want. we don't want to criminalize any part of the industry including the nordic model that criminalizes the clients. that leads sex workers being pushed underground because their clients are underground, so they have to go with them. we're hoping that sex workers who are involved in decision making around anything that directly impact their lives. >> as far as this issue comes

up, is there any hi hypocrisy tt you see in any of the lawmakers? do you see people make a very public stance against this, but then privately some of your people that you represent know them as clients? >> absolutely. absolutely. so yes, there is hypocrisy in the way that sex workers are regularegulated because we knowe are thousands and thousands of sex workers in canada, that means there are hundreds of thousands of clients. >> chanelle gallant. thank you for joining us to discuss this. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> target is trying to make up for a giant security breach that may have facted customers. they said it will offer free

credit monitoring for people who shopped at the store between november san and december 15th. another day an great day foe chips. ali velshi will be talking about this at the top of the hour. how strong and surprising were these growth numbers? >> reporter: i think the most surprising thing you just went from a conversation about sex to consideratioconversation with mt just turned a lot of television off all over. at growth domestic product was surprisingly strong.

gdp is so big, it's the broadest measure of sell of goods throughout. you get the fist estimate and then revisions later on. 9 final reading we got was 4.1%. the economy grew at an annual rate of 4.1%. now this is interesting because the first reading we had was 2.8% which is not bad. the second one was in the threes and now we're 4.1. driven by consumer and businesses than initially expected that's a good reason for gdp to be stronger. >> do you see any of this causing wages to go up in 2014? >> that's the hope. the hope is that you have higher gdp growth. that means that everybody is doing better. businesses feel more confident. they end up expanding and hiring more people and they stimulate the economy by buying things and creating a demand.

that's the circle. as most people are employed and the unemployment goes lower you see wages increase. that's the thing that we're looking for. that's the holy grail of getting economic growth. more people employed and at higher wages. but that does tend to move fairly slowly. it is possible that 2014 could end up stronger than 2013. >> ali, what else are you and the team looking at? >> reporter: we're looking at taxes and how they can change. but most important, m night sham la ,we know him for scary movies. he spent time look at public education in america and why there is such a gap. that's months. >> ali velshi host of "real money." thanks as always. we appreciate. coming up on al jazeera america. details on a judge's ruling on a decades old law that banned same-sex marriage in utah. plus-- >> this is the world's largest underground copper mine.

coming up i'll explain why miners here have become the envy of chile.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here's a look at your top stories. it was a candidate omission from president obama about the healthcare website roll out. he told me, quote, we screwed up. but in his last news conference of the year, nearly 2 million americans have now applied for insurance. the administration has made a late change to the healthcare law just days before the december 23rd sign up. if your old man is getting canceled you do not have to buy a new one next year and you will not face a penalty. if you want coverage you can now get a bear bones catastrophic plan normally reserved for people aged to and younger. the bodies of two peace keepers killed in south sudan are on their way home. it occurred at a camp where people are taking shelter from the violence that is tearing that country apart.

one of russia's former critics than been freed from prison. khodorkovsky was released from prison, and many feel he was imprisoned on trumped up charges. is it pure political theater? >> it is pure political theater, but president vladimir putin i s an incentive. with six weeks away now from the winter olympics in sochi, and president putin is very keen to show russia as the world's microscope as millions from all over the world descend on russia. >> for more than ten years khodorkovsky one the russia's richest men and aspiring political rival to vermon presit

putin was put in jail. he is now a free man. he just now arrived to berlin. he applied for release and was granted it. in a written statement khodorkovsky said: >> but president putin didn't stop with khodorkovsky. in a surprise announcement he said he pardoned 20,000 prisoners including two members of the pussy riot punk rock ban and 30 greenpeace activists. the members of greenpeace were taken into custody after protesting on a russian oil rig

in the arctic ocean. what is behind letting all these prisoners go? putin has one eye on the winter olympics and the bad publicity he has been receiving towards attitudes towards gay athletes. >> the president sees the olympics as a real showcase. >> he didn't concede very much. both khodorkovsky and pussy riot were scheduled for release in a couple of months. >> he potentially could use that money to run political complains from abroad, but i don't think he'll be as naive as he was in 2003, when he thought he was so wealthy he could take on the kremlin and the russian state. >> reporter: just weeks from the

start of the olympics when the eyes of the world will be focused on sochi. >> they think this is president putin trying to move attention away from his evil leader to the leader who can be seen merciful and is prepared to pardon. >> could khodorkovsky really harm putin politically? >> we touched on that in the film, and i think-- >> even from abroad? >> exactly. here is the man yesterday was in a russian penal system, but you has a lot of money. we think that he has lots of money stashed away in various places around the world. where you stash money if you have any, and only he knows how to get to it. he'll spend time in germany. he's in berlin. his mother is there and she's sick, that's why he was released, the official reason. yes, he has the money and he

could organize a campaign and influence things very markedly from overseas. >> john thanks, appreciate it. the salt lake county clerks office in utah started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. this comes after the federal judge struck down the same-sex marriage ban. the ban approved by vote necessarvoters inin 2004 is unc. earlier this week new mexico became the 17th state to lega legalize gay marriage. the anti-homosexual law in the worl world. but it does not become law in the it's president signs it.

>> bringing an end to the two two-year conflict. representatives also at at the table. but there has been a champion. >> what was billed as the final meeting before syrian peace talks, but a meeting with some key issues still to resolve. >> does it still look like you're track for the 22nd of january? >> no answer but after spending hours in intense negotiations led by representative brahimi. yes, the talks will take place on january 22nd. but later he told reporters 26 countries will attend the presence of one other nation was a major sticking point. >> on iran we have not agreed yet, but it's no secret that we in the united states welcome the

participation of iran. but our partners in the united states are still not convinced. >> ambassador brahimi said he was displayed that violence in syria is only intensifying, and members of the opposition have yet to give him a list of their peace talks participants. >> as it stands it looks like you the opposition delegation who is in it will not represent the majority of the people fighting on the ground against the assad regem. >> there is no way that people who come from geneva, full be fully representative, we know that. but this is a process.

i hope it will be as representative as possible. >> reporter: it's clear the unresolved issues were not sorted at this meeting. will iran be allowed to go to the talks? who will be in the two syrian delegations. there is still a lot of work to do before january 22nd. james bays, al jazeera, the united nations in syria. >> one school that is struggle to go stay open. >> it is bitterly cold but these children are determined to go to school, so they trek through muddy roads. this is what's left of their school. windows are blown out. there is no electricity, water, or heating. but they want to learn. >> we feel very cold, and we feel the bombardment, but we came here for an education. >> reporter: jamal is in a

similar situation. >> i have not been to school for two years because of the rockets and shellings. >> reporter: the war in syria is not only killing people, it's providing many of the education they need. many fear illiteracy will increase, many teachers lack the means to do their job. >> there is no official support. on so many levels we have problems. we need support and we need to stop bombing schools. >> reporter: students were the first to take part in anti-government protests. there is ongoing violence and bombardments but it is their future that hangs in the balance. >> in the philippines a gunman open fired in an airport and

killed the local mayor and other people. it caused chaos in manila and these five people were injured. ththe mayor had survived two previous attempts on his life. >> this was the last pretrial hearing of the year in the case against detainees charged with attacks. >> accused of providing logistical reports for high jacketters during the 9/11 attacks. he shook up the courtroom by calling the judge a war criminal. he accused guards of torturing him through sleep depravations, by making vibrations and loud noises in his cell. prosecutors said there is no evidence that guards

deliberately tried to keep him awake. his attorney said that a psychiatrist has already said that his client is not mentally ill. >> in a sense, encouraging for people who are concerned about transparency that these very important words like torture, secret c.i.a. prisons are being played for the public. >> reporter: she says the military could have prevented anyone from outside of the courtroom from hearing the supreme court burst. there is a 40-second delay on the television feed. >> the person who has his finger on the mute problem is trying to let as much out for the public as possible. >> reporter: as part of the obama administration's plan to close the guantanamo bay prison this week four men were

transferred from saudi arabia to sudan. 80 are still waiting to be transferred to other countries. torture was at the fort front of the defense. the judge ruled that the government couldn't deem experiences and observations by defendants while in c.i.a. custody as classified. the meaning of that ruling is not yet clear. being able to use claims of torture is key for defense. >> it's an argument away from the death penalty, that someone was tortured. >> reporter: it could take several months before pretrial hearings are resumed. >> coming up next on al jazeera america, competition that pits robot against robot with millions of dollars on the line. the incredible story behind the prosthetic hand this little girl

received and who designed it for her. (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 you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news. was 17. flat out my whole life. >> reporter: motorcycle riding free spirits like this guy need health insurance too. that's is the message coming

from insurers with commercials aimed at people who may not have been covered in the past. they offer protection and maybe a little piece of mind. >> to go forward sometimes you have to go back to a time when knew. >> reporter: with 30 million potential new customers, insurance companies are expected to shell out half a billion dollars next year on tv advertising alone. >> insurance companies see opportunity in the potentially millions of new customers, and if you are an insurance company in this country, this is your growth opportunity. >> reporter: insurers, state exchanges, and the feds collectively purchased $194 million wort of ads just

>> the u.s. department of defense wanted to build a computer network that would survive a nuclear explosion. they wound up with the internet. darpa is the government's search and development division and it's holding a robotics competition that will change the world. they're being asked to build a robot that will perform task in a manmade or natural disaster zone. let's take a look at one of them. this is the valley cannery. the design from nasa, the latest

in a long line of space robots. the forefront is from japan. it's a company just bought by google. this one has new motors that make it faster and stronger. jacob ward covering this competition in homestead, florida. >> we're here at the robotics multi million olympics for robots. i'm with brent kennedy this is robo simeon right here. show me this robot a little bit. first of all, it does not look like a humanoid rescuer in the way that i would imagine one. >> so we're at one end of the spectrum for the solutions for this type of work. and we're really concentrated on having a very stable robot, and one you can put out in the field for long periods of time with little risk to the robot.

>> the task that you're charged with include climbing leaders, driving trucks. it's kind of ridiculous. i assume these are incredibly difficult challenges. >> they're very much on the cutting edge of what we can do with robots. asking them to do anything outside is hard enough but the jobs are difficult too. >> what is your robot particularly good at? >> one of the things about these limb systems that we have here. every one of the limbs is the same. it's capable of manipulation and mobility. >> i noticed the fingers are down there but pinned back like that, that allows it to stand on them and use them as grippers. >> exactly. this allows us to get around quite well. it can manipulate things quite well. but maybe not the best of any particular design.

but that generalized system allows you to go into many situations and have a solution. >> i look at something like this, and i think to myself, my god, this would an little scary coming at me in an emergency situation. that said i notice there had is a cop car quality to it. is that an intentional design choice? >> very much so. we're trying to combine two different goals esthetically. one is to make a robot that is not threatening. it's not coming to you. it's here to help. the second part is to come up with something that first responders will respond to themselves as a piece of equipment that they want to use. >> amazing. a group of michigan high school students studying robotics have come up with a device that may change a little girl's life. maria has the story. >> reporter: david, harmony taylor was born with a condition called limb differences. values she doesn't have any fingers on her right hand. but this week that changed when she received a special gift.

santa came early for four-year-old harmony taylor. the little girl with no fingers on her right hand can now reach out. a local robotics high school team in michigan made a special hand for her using a 3d printer. harmony's mom said she previously had a $5,000 plot theftic hand, but pinched her and it was impractical. >> this could not have come a aa better time. now she's able to wave. >> reporter: using 3d technology and $500 of screws and fittings, but the teenagers behind the project said one of the biggest challenges was making the device small enough for her tiny hand. >> normally we make robots to play games, but we can use the kills that we've learned in robotics to help people, and it's a great feeling.

>> harmony said now she is paint her new nails her favorite color pink. >> reporter: the robotics team said harmony will be able to pick up a bag or throw a ball with her new hand. she'll wear it for two weeks, and then they'll make any necessary adjusts. they hope to be making hands to be others in the future. >> thank you so much. china's construction industry is driving an economic boom far, far away. we'll take a look at how chilean miners and a boon for co for co. >> reporter: this was a mine that produces more copper than any in the world. here it's strictly high tech. most of the machinery is controlled remotely by these operators far above ground.

>> this is mainly to guarantee the safety and quality of life of the workers. >> reporter: and when it comes to quality of life, employees of chile's copper company have become the nation's envy, earning among the highest salaries in the country. copper has long been chile's main export, it's economic engine. but over its long decade the price of thi has quadrupled. down the mountain the once dus dusty, dingy city is now unrecommendable. priscilla haven't just got off work. they're both electricians at the

mine and are plan to go soon by their first home. >> in any other job it would have taken us 20 years to save up for a house. instead we're going to be able to pay up front in cash. >> reporter: but not everyone benefits. the cash from copper has overvalued chile's currency making other exports like fruit, fish and wine less competitive. and chile's president said there are other challenges. >> the high cost of energy is making production expensive. and in large mines we have to invest more and dig deep for keep finding copper. >> reporter: still, as long as china's appetite for copper remains reasonbly high chile will keep digging and producing, crossing its fingers that the bubble doesn't burst. >> kevin corriveau is back with the latest violent weather due to hit tomorrow.

also-- [♪ music ] >> this young man's rapping holds hope for many. we'll tell you why next, and then it's real money with ali velshi. >> reporter: coming up with "real money," we'll show you how we need to make this a real deal, and how a company m that makes fake mustaches and salami note bad keeps inventory. plus m night sham la interview. stay with us for "real money." down confusing financial speak and make it real.

consider this: the news of the day plus so much more.

>> the teens years are hard enough for most kids, and for someone who stutters can be down right brutal, but one canadian teen is using his music to find his voice. here is the report from toronto. [♪ music ] >> reporter: laying down the beats, recording the rhymes, it's the latest song by li'l education. he has been rapping since he was

10. and many love his work. words flow effortlessly at the microphone, but simply talking is a challenge for him. >> it's my second way to communicate and express myself. to help me be who i am. >> reporter: ever incidence successive a toddler he had an extreme stutter. once bullied for his halting speech now people stop him on the street to get his picture and take an autograph. >> people pay attention to him because of his speech. i can't wait for people to see what i see, that he's really talented. that will really blow people away. >> jake's parents share his ambition and those of his

16-year-old brother coal, who wants to play major league baseball one day. keeping the boys to the studio and the ball diamond consumes all the time that isn't spent on school, family life, or an occasional vacation. but watching a once shy boy with a stammer blossom into a rapper is more than a reward. it's a family pastime. >> he has the support not just us, his immediate family but his extended family of his grandparents, his uncles and aunts. that's huge, too. he has a huge support network that come out to his concerts and shows. at one point somebody said, he has a really big entourage for a 14-year-old. >> the first big label deal, and the list of things to do this year. there is no denying that this young man has courage,

determination, and real talent. al jazeera, toronto. >> there was a big mess in georgia where a tractor trailer overturned and spilled its cargo across the highway. the truck was carrying 40,000 pounds of christmas ham. the christmas ham caused the closure for several hours. drivers told local reporters that he was headed to texas for the delivery. >> meteorologist: conditions are really beginning to ramp up especially down here towards the south where we're seeing very warm unstable air. we're already looking at tornado watches. this one i had mentioned before the tornado warning here in mississippi has been extended to 15 minutes past the hour central time. so we have another 17 minutes associated with this as long as they don't extend it again.

we'll take a look at the forecast warnings and watches. for the northern parts of texas, oklahoma, and we're talking about freeze rain advisories, ice storm warnings, winter storm warnings, and major problems. you can see those pinks. that's where we're talking about ice pellets or freezing rain on the ground. that's going to extend more towards the northeast over the next day. now tomorrow our worst day than what we're seeing this evening. in this area across louisiana, mississippi, and up through most of the ohio river valley we're talking about tornadoes possible. now december, yes, we can have tornadoes. they're rare, but we're going to watch this very carefully and keep you informed all evening of what is happening as you go through your travels especially for tomorrow.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm david shuster with a look at tonight's top stories. president obama talked about several topics including the economy, immigration and the roll out of his healthcare plan and in a candid admission that they screwed up in the government insurance roll out. people under th the age of 30 cn buy cheaper bear