. >> hello, and welcome to al jazeera america, i'm tony harris in new york. >> the future of south sudan is in history. >> the united states is sending in another 150 marines to south sudan. the violence in the oil rich african country intensified. a holiday gift of sorts an extra day to sign up for insurance. a mother fights a hospital's decision to remove her teenager daughter from life support. and prison terms cut short, for members of a russian punk rock group. time does little to tame the rebellious pussy riot.

we begin tonight with the growing u.s. response to escalating violence. the u.s. is now deploying 150 marines to help evacuate americans and to provide security for the u.s. embassy. tens of thousands of civilians have now fled, and are taking shelter at u.n. bases. the security council held an emergency session today, to discuss sending ab extra 5,000 peace keepers to help protect them. >> the future of south sudan is in jeopardy, and this moment demands urgent leadership to avoided further bloodshed and to restore stability. the leaders of south sudan face a stark choice, they can return to the political dialog and spirit of cooperation that helped establish south sudan, or they can detroy those hard fought gains and tear apart their newborn nation. >> more now on the situation there.

in south africa. >> he says he was apacked by men carrying machetes. when soldiers staterred fighting what the government called an attempted coupe, young people with no apparent hollywoodtys starting to attack with blades that looked like machetes. >> . >> i do not know. i do not know what is happening. for two to three hours -- >> and more people are expected to get hurt. president says the army is now ready to strike all, the capitol of the state, currently controlled by rebels. the army's duty, therefore the army is bound by the duty and bring them under the control of the government of south sudan.

that's why this woman wound leave the compound, even if conditions are here are bad. tens of thousands of people are crammed into u.s. bases. >> i have had count less phone calls from our own staff member whose have told me that leaving the city centers and going back to their villages or hiding between villages out in the savannah, is where they feel the safest. >> this catch is stretched to capacity. >> u.n. soldiers used to liver on this side, but they had to move out and make way for thousands of people to say they are too scared to go home. >> an escalating in fighting will only worsen the humanitarian crisis p

p in the word's youngest country. >> you know, whenever we do these storied i am responded and respond just how big these are. >> absolutely unpoliceble in many ways. let's take a look at a history of sudan. it was once of the largest state, and it suffered for decades. and disputes over religion, and race, but then in 2011, it split into two countries. 99% of the population who lived in the south voted in favor of independent, making south sudan the the world's newest nation. now the north is still known as just sudan, and within it there is a home for pretty much 90% of the population.

muslims and they are mostly air big speaking. there are approximately 200 ethnic groups within the worders of the south, and kristy is the major religion i don't know. about 60% of them. now that conflict is separate but it also otherlapped with sudan's broader conflict that you do hear a lot about. is then on to the mediterranean through the supports there. now the government has admitted that it is totally loss control of unity state, which is where most of the oil is, and there are now fears

that a very bad civil war could soon break out in the south. now the president from south sudan, there he is, that's the president, has accused troops loyal to the former vice president of trying to launch a coupe. now here is the former vice president -- united nations says something like 45,000 people are currently seeking protection in the main camp. they were evacuated safely. that is after those four navy seals were shot in the evacuation attempt. >> when it seceded two years ago, there were just 68 miles can you believe that, 68 miles of

paved road, and that's in an area, and this speaks to how big the countries are, that's in an area in dark orange, which is the same as if you put arizona together with new mexico. absolutely huge treks of land. >> a lot of the oil reserves are in south pseudodab, and a lot of the refinery capability, that's in sudan. >> exactly, how often have we seen this in our reporting all the way around the world. >> right. >> comes back to money. >> right. >> and oil. >> and the meshes have a huge stake there. and the chinese are there as well.

[. >> is this really an exten of the deadline? >> it is not an extension in the true sense of the word, rather for people that waited until the last minute to try to enroll today, and they started the registration process, but for whatever reason, they can't complete it, they get stuck in that cue, they will still be considered enrolled, and their benefits will still kick in on january 1st. and perhaps the simplest way to think about this is think of voting day. when you leave work, go to your voting precinct, you get in a long line and the polls close. the poll workers don't send you home, they let you cation your vote, and that's what is happening here. we anticipate add crush of last minute shoppers, and they were prepared for people to end up in these long registration lines and we are told that just over the weekend there was 1.2 million visitors to healthcare.gov and by 2:00 p.m. eastern time,

close to 900,000 people visited. so the administration -- a chance, but tony keep in mind, this doesn't apply to someone who registered starts the process tomorrow, or at the end of the week, they will still be able to enroll, but the benefits will not kick in, and in fact, tony, consumers have until march 31st, to select an insurance plan, before penalties go into effect. so it depends on the individual as to when they need those to start. >> so wait a minute, i understand the president signed up over the weekend, can you tell me why? >> he did, the first family arrived for their vacation here, very early. and over the weekend we were told that president obama did enroll for a plan through the exchange in washington, d.c. now, a lot of people are saying that doesn't make

any sense, because he does get insurance through -- the president wanting to show support, for the exchanges. >> . >> intensifying attacks war planes are air dropping barrels filled with explosives on that area. more than aircraft people were killed today from the attacks. school children, were among the 40 kills yesterday. and saying the government must respect it's obligations under international law to protect the civilian population. now to egypt, where afternoon explosion in the city has killed at least 14 people and injured more than 120 others. local media are reporting everybody higher figures. and currently pulling people out of the people.

>>le there are land mines there. from conflicts decades ago, as nick reports for us now, one woman is frying to change that. >> in the fields where jesus walked. children are now free to sin. who saw villages just four-miles from bethlehem, but until recently, this holy soil was decidedly ungodly. >> a they are -- >> can might be stole my hand, it exploded in my face. ha had spent his whole life fearing this field,

as he was seven his best friend stepped on a mine. he was torn to pieces, he says, i don't wand my children to suffer like that. >> how request there be minds in the holy land? let me devote my tyne and energy to demine this precious area, the land where jesus was bourn, should not be the land where people lose their lives. >> it was created by california heidi qume, inspired by princess diana. >> you have a nice cluster -- >> heidi decided to replace mining -- and planted grapevines. >> and it helped cleanse one of is mined countries of all, afghanistan. >> >> the first field to be cleared was the

deadliest. eight children died here. palestinian construction crews were israeli bomb squads today kids play freely. >> doesn't have any fear, he takes his children to show the local christmas tree, and he says the next generation won't have to suffer the way he did. house san village hopes to turn the field into a park and clubbic. >> the clinic is very necessary for us. and to be signed over peace in our land. >> and that's why this effort is about more than mines this field and the one across the highway, once marked the 1948 green line, this village homes removing the mines helped lead to israeli palestinian peace. >> . >> one mine at a time that we take from the ground, we break up the boarders and we allow the people to see open other.

>> ♪ let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me ♪. >> so today's singing is more than a christmas carrol, it is a call for peace, and a thank you for making a field once soiled with mines holy ground once again. in the fields outside of bethlehem. >> at least nine deaths in the u.s. are being blamed on a storm that has brute a wild mix of weather. canada has also been hit really hard. a winter storm has left tens of thousands of people without power. >> new yorkers ice skating in short sleeves at the rink at rockefeller center, where it was a record 71 degrees. but a very different scene in other parts of the country. at least five people died in kentucky flooding. and a tornado in arkansas killed one. all because of a powerful storm system that is producing a mix of wild wild weather. in louisville, fallen

power lines sparked a fire. >> as sheets of ice fall from the roof of a outlet mall in oklahoma city on sunday. no one was hurt. and it is looking a lot like christmas in the midwest. forcing crews to work around the clock. >> when they bring in extra crews it is quite an effort to get all the crews lined up, where to go, it is a logistics nightmare. >> it caused hundreds of flights to be delayed. it is stretching all the way north to canada.

>> kevin is here with a look at the weather, you have greens, you have whites, you have pinks, you -- that's nice. >> believe it or not, this is better than what we had previously. >> that's okay. >> we are going see a lot of this, as we go towards the next day. that's the good news. we are still dealing with the rain, and ice, and snow here. up towards new england, and you can see it, the pinks and the blues as tony called it. very pretty colors but we do have a lot of ice. about an inch of ice there, and watertown new york, we had over an inch and a quarter. it takes half an inch of freezing rain on power lines or garages to make them come down, so you can tell why in canada, as well as northern new england that's why we had that problem. right on the edge of 33, which you can see up here

towards canada. very very cold conditions as well. but this is the big difference, from what we saw yesterday. 71 yesterday, right now, we are at 52. >> appreciate it, thank you. >> a neighborhood in philadelphia has been dealing with a major water brain break. as water just poured down northwest philadelphia streets and into a busy intersection. thousands of homes and businesses, crews from the city's water department were able to begin resoaring pressure for several neighborhoods late this afternoon. here is the problem. water got inside one of the suits during share first space walk, that was on saturday. the nasa engineers are repairing one of is schooling muchs during their christmas eve orbit. two will be outside the station while another controls it's 57-foot robotic arm.

and coming up, new tonight, at 11:00 p.m., right here on al jazeera. more on tomorrow's space walk, former astronaut leroy you will join us live. he was the captain on several missions on the international space station, in fact, chow was on six space walks health, find out what the astronauts are going through right now that's tonight, at 11:00 eastern, 8:00 pacific, right here on al jazeera america. some startling new information about online shopping, return items are costing stores tens of millions of dollars. and retail giant target, in pr damage control after a hack attack goes public. weekend sales were down, but ex-perths say it could have been worse. here is more. >> beneath the fluorescentsun in

a former meat packing plant is the latest trim in farming. they call it "vertical farming." these fields grow on floors on at industrial park and farmer john adel and his staff agrees user. >> my shipping proceed did you say 1500, 2,000 miles to get are. >> the plant of the indoor -- as the indoor formers call it doesn't grow corn or soybeans but mustard, high end micro greens on the plates of white-napkin restaurants. these fish supply the vert liser that number issues the >> from our headquarters in

new york, here are the headlines this hour. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> a deal in the senate may be at hand and just in the nick of time. >> thousands of new yorkers are marching in solidarity. >> we're following multiple developments on syria at this hour. >> every hour from reporters stationed around the world and across the country. >> only on al jazeera america. closed a record.s s&p 500 with the dow up more than 70 points driving those gains. strong retail and consumer confidence

numbers trading was very light ahead. that will be closing tomorrow early. >> shares in the tech giants surged almost 4%, it's apple's biggest gain, the company confirmed it has reached a deal to sell i-phones to china mobile. that gives the company access to 700. new subscribers. some experts say it could be even worse. target's weakend sells fell about 4%, one analyst says the drop off would have been worse if not to the response for the holiday season hack attack. target offer add 10% discount after hackers stole data. and there have been at least three class action lawsuits filed so far by customers angry over target's response to the hacking. if you ventured out to the mall today, i don't have to tell you that the

last few days of holiday shopping can be chaotic. the mall of america, for example,n't ands as many as 200,000 visitors a day this time of year. with all that traffic, many experts warn that mall security isn't up to snuff. i talked to our national security contributor, who says it should be treated like small cities. >> you have thousands of people in some of these malls and in these places you have a diverse group of people, people who are there for different reasons. some are there to shop, some are there to hang out. some are there to rob and to hurt other people. and in these small cities just like you do in the outside world, you have all sorts of technologies. and you have criminals in these malls in these small cities that are able to use this to map to track, and to conduct surveillance on people. and these are all things that are taking place in

this small seemingly controlled environment. that a lot of people are unaware of. so when you go in there, you need to remember, to keep your eyes on your surroundings, and make sure that you are aware of everything in this small city, inside of these malls just like you are in the outside world. >> that's terrific. so, i'll ask you this, and i guess there are a number of different answers for this. but are malls generally speaking, protecting consumers who are after all customers, as well as they should be? >> no. and one of the problems with that is that the pace of change is the biggest threat to the world that we have today. if you look at the entire world, the pace at which things happen is staggering. which is driven by technology. and that includes malls.

>> one of the things you say is that malls need to create public awareness campaigns. what are you talking about there? >> absolutely. when you into a mall it is good in every transit systems in the transit system, when you walk in there there are signs that remind you certain things you don't want to do because it can cause a risk to your health. obviously they don't want to scare people away, they want to have a pleasant experience, but they need to remember people more often that their safety they are responsible in part for their own safety. people need to remain aware themselves of their own responsibility and their safety. >> . >> let me jump in here, is the security approach any more complicated than more guards and more cameras? >> i wouldn't say it is complicated but it is

something that has to be done in a thought out manner p. a manner in which people with respond easily. make sure that you though is around you, make sure if you go there, or for instance if you are out at a mall, make sure you know someone, let them know what is going on with you, if you need to get on your communications device to do that. these are all things -- not necessarily complicated but a lot of things. is there something more that could have done to protect against the nairobi mall attack? 67 people were killed. and around 200 injured in hindsight, is there anything more than should have or could have been done? >> well -- yes. but the question is, can -- could west gate have afforded that?

could that mall have afforded that? and can malls anywhere in the u.s. and other places afford this? what can be done is moving to a special operations model in these places. >> wow. >> where you have -- you have your regular security officers on foot, on bicycles and on cowers and things, but then the mind set is one such that it is -- you have a very tactical approach to anything that's going on. it is kind of almost like the scenario you have in a casino. las vegas casino. that is a very very high end security operation. and what you are looking at in malls today, with all of the money that's in there with the technology, and the goods that are in there, and then of course the safety of people at stake, they have to move to this higher and special operations model. >> still to come, mother tries to stop a hospital from removing her daughter life support. >> please, don't give up on my baby.

she will wake up. i don't have a doubt, she will wake up. >> we are headed live to san francisco for the heart wrenching court battle, that's next. plus, a football player who knows a lot more about battle than what you get on the playing field, meet this university of texas long snapper, a green beret.

across the country is being blamed at least nine people flooding in oklahoma and snow blanketed parts of the midwest, while tens of thousands remain without power in michigan the storm has lid to hundreds of flight delays. and in the 11th hour decision, the obama administration is giving some people extra time to

sign up for health insurance, if you start to register at healthcare.gov tonight you can complete registration tomorrow and still be covered on january 1st. it is a heartbreaking story. a hospital in oakland california, says 13-year-old j actionhai is brain dead. her family is holding out for a christmas miracle, and has the court on their side. them mel chen joins us now. she is following the story for us. and melissa, what is the latest on this? >> well, it was a routine procedure, or rather it was a very common surgery, but it could get complicated. and what happened is that the complication became a nightmare, and she went into cardiac arrest, and was eventually declared brain dead, and therefore, dead by two physicians a t the hospital. what's really complicated the thing, is that the family reallyn't ways to pursue this all the way to the cut. they have asked for the

opinion of three independent physicians outside of the hospital, and all three physicians have also said that unfortunately, she is brain dead. but still, they are holding out with hope. >> please don't give up on my baby, the doctors don't know. god has the final say so. >> and really, -- people that look at death in so many ways. >> some people think it is when the heart stops. so it has gone to a legal matter, so the judge has decided to give this family one more chance.

and make a medical decision. >> you know, we see these often enough, we see these stories i wonder if this has the potential to become a national issue? >> well, you can well imagine that it could become a national issue. one thing you think about is terry halve slow, in that case from a few years ago, where it became a long drawn out bat with a lot of people politically on two sides. in this particular instance, it is different. terry was in a coma, here we have jahia in a situation where she is brain dead from a medical and legal perspective, and the thing that is very heartbreaking is of course, this family is holding out hope, but no jurisdiction in no state disputes what the definition is brain dead is. so we are depending on the opinion of the final doctor. >> appreciate it.

the man that designed one of the deadliest weapons has died. a.k. 47 inventor has died. he developed the assault rifle in the years followed 2002. the weapon has been used to kill more people than any other firearm. he once said he was proud of his invention, but said that he is sad that it is being used by terrorist. the two remaining members of the controversial rush band have been released from russia. the duo does not plan to stop their activism. >> from the remote prison colony where she was serving a two year sentence. freed under amnesty, which she never asked for and didn't want.

>> the final member of the punk band was released from her siberian jail a few hours later. calling for nothing less than a boycott. >> european countries could revisit their opinion about the olympics, but i am calling for the boycott, i am calling for amnesty, i am calling to not sel yows for oil and gas that russia can provide. >> both were conserving a two year prison. a flash performance deemed obscene, the punk prayer mother of gad god chase putin chased them

away. that triggers into national protest with amnesty lifting them as prisoners of conscious. >> at the news conference last week, he announced they would be freed as part of a general amnesty. i feel sorry for them, not because they were jailed but for the disgraceful behavior. >> both have suffered during their imprisonment. maria had been ex-poised to physical abuse from other inmates. al jazeera. >> okay, let's get you to washington, d.c. now. joey chen is standing by to tell us what is coming up tonight at the top of the hour. hi. good etching, tony, i

know you finished your last minute shopping but a lot of people are still out there jamming the aisles looking for that last minute present. what it takes for a new toy gaining traction in a market that is dominating by the really big countries. the established brands like baby and my little pony. >> the 700 million range for marketing every year. >> if we are putting our tiny little budget up against theirs we get crushed. so we figure we have to make them that much better. >> so this totally flied in the face of the way toys are supposed to come to market? >> yes. exactly. we will find out how they are doing it that's coming up at the top of the hour. >> all right, appreciate it. thank you, have to tell you it takes more than just excellence on the field for a player to be known as not just a hero, but a patriot. those are just some of the terms being used to describe a very unusual

college football player. the man is leer with his story. >> just an unbelievable story, because he is a 32-year-old long snapper. his teammates may tease him about his age, but make no mistake, everybody respects him. more on this incredible journey. still looking for a sense of purpose and fulfillment. so after failed stints at college and acting, boyer boarded a plane to africa, with hopes of doing relief work in sudan. >> i think a lot of it was the strew and the third world countries i had been, the view where i thought previously, maybe they are jell luis of us, or hated us. but than meeting those people, and seeing how generous they are, and how much they look up to our eye deals and our country, made me

realize -- i knew i was lucky but just how lucky. and i felt like inspired to do something more. >> and do something more he did. the idea first came to him in high school. he enlisted in the army, joining a very elite section of our nation's special forces, the green berets. >> yes, not that you don't feel fear, but i guess you embrace it, and are excited by it. did you have very many close called yourself. >> yes, sir. like i said, i am very fortunate. never hit with anything major, or anything like that, but i have had bobbeddies that aren't here. and it could have been me. >> boyer was already thinking about his future, and that's when he decided at the ripe old able of 29 that he wanted to play college football, despite having never played the sport at any level prior. so he went to the internet looking for as much information as he

could absorb, but even arms with his new knowledge, he still need add team. >> well, i had been to austin before, and i love austin, and the university of texas is a great school, and i knew i wanted to go to a great school, and a public school, and i'm from california, but -- austin is sick similar to a lot of places. and texas provided so much support. >> and boyer made the most of that, losing his military conditioning to run pass and around much younger prospects. his desire, passion and commitment made quite the impression on the head coach. who gave boyer a spot on the team. first on defense, before he settled into his current position, an accomplishment he owed entirely to his time in the military. i definitely learned that despite a lack of intelligence, or athleticism, or lack of anything, that you can't really control -- you

can't control how hard you work, and when you have your mind stuck on something, if you just put yourself out there, and religion afraid to fail, then you can really do anything. hit rally, looking at it at that time, as my age being 29 before i came back to college and try to play football, i never thought anybody would do that, not just myself. oh, you are too old, you don't know the sport, don't know how to do that. and i was special forces guy, so the gift i have is resilience. stony just the story of heart and preservation, never played high school football. >> good. >> ross, appreciate it.

when the economy took a tumble, there was a real strain on available rental properties in the country. when the middle class lost their homes and turned to leasing, the poor were left out in the cold. just ahead, 12078 of the dedicated workers that make sure all the those letters to santa get where they need to go. haven't heard about. >> talk to al jazeera with ira glass.

the eastern seaboard.ing

we will be seeing more rain over the overnight hours. by the time we get to tomorrow, things will be much clearer. but what we are dealing with right now is this. rain still pushing through the northeast, we have some ice and snow. but yesterday, take a look at the record breaking temperatures we had. here in new york, washington had 72, pittsburgh self two, and cleveland 73. that is not going to be the case by the time we get to tuesday, as that cooler air moves in new york getting to the high of 32 degrees. but miami, you are still in that warm area, still be quite nice. we will be seeing some snow tomorrow that will be going through the northern blaines as well as the great lakes and as we go towards christmas, lit be michigan that see as white christmas. minneapolis, 21-degree as little built of flurry. indianapolis up at 31 degrees. we will be seeing a lot of sunshine, but a lot of

cooler temperatures here in new york, how about 30 degrees there, and up towards boston, you will be seeing about 28 degrees overnight at 22.

welcome back to al jazeera america. most experts say the real estate market is on it ways to recovery. but there more people that are giving up the team of owning a home. housing for the poor and even middle class is vanishes. ton reports now from seattle. >> 62-year-old is a disabled painter, who spends his time as the public library, searching online for affordable places to live. roam is homeless, he has been on the waiting list

to get into the city's housing program for three years. >> it is amazing how fast it can happen. >> the scarsty of affordable housing is happening not only here, but in cities all across the country. >> the number of low income renters has gone up, while the amount of rental options for them, is going down. >> between 2001 and 2011, renters making 19,000 a year less, searched from 3 million, to nearly 12 million. while the number of affordable rental units has helped steady at 7 million, nearly a third of them are now occupied by higher income households. >> and when they are out competing from someone, perhaps whose worked at amazon, who can pay a higher first and last month's rent, people in lower and socioeconomic places sometimes are not the winners. >> there were 2,000 slots

available, 20,000 people applied. >> when you are looking at the projections the supply and demand is pretty flat. so i don't see us coming out of this soon. >> as the demand soars middle class americans are also feeling the squeeze. >> the amount we pay for rent is absurd, and i feel like we got a good deal. >> cheh competed for dozens of others. less ex-opinions i apartments were snapped up within hours of their listing. >> i don't understand how anyone can break out of this sort of cycle. perhaps out of the shelter he now calls

home. it is the dirty little secret of shopping online, and i jonathan says more on a new trend that is taking a chunk out of the profits of retailers. >> more and more people are shopping online, especially with places now offering free ships and free returns. but it might be catching up. too many people are returns too much. one out of every three things bout is sent back. that troubles the industry. holiday returns alone

some stores crunch numbers and then prod the person with a personal question, are you sure you want a small, maybe you should get a medium instead. others steer them to items less likely to be returned, and some stores simply offer discounts or gift cards if they keep what they bout. one bright spot, studies found that if eastern returns the item, they generally end up shopping and sometimes spending even more. next on al jazeera america. >> she comes with her -- she has toys she will bring to me wanting to play. >> plus, they are back, two of our favorite vets. there they are, live in anar bower michigan. tonight's topic, veterans and the hall kays, gentlemen, talk to you in a second. back in a moment.

the stream is uniquely the ♪ we are mindful this

time of year of america's men and women in the armed forces. tonight, a look at the challenges they can face, it is part of an al

jazeera series we call veterans voices. dianne reports on how some traumatized vets are now training and helping traumatized dogs. go. there you go. >> chloe has turn jim's life around. >> the 64-year-old veteran says the tiny dog helps him control the anxiety he still experiences from that long ago war. >> if she feels i'm getting stressed she brings toys to me. and she will bark at me. >> oh, you knew it. >> once a week, he and joey come to circle of change that brings together emotionally troubled voights and dogs with behave problems. some bring their own pooches, others work with dog provided by professional trainers. >> just push their lip up, see if you can see a tooth, and then they get a treat. >> the vets teach the

dogs how to trust. stay focused and accept rewards. most of the vets are referred by the local hospital. >> program founder says they sometimes come here when more traditional therapies have failed. >> by would recollecting with dogs and working by their disorders it is therapy by proxy. the veterans are able to see issues that they themselves have, and yet rather having to talk about nit group therapy, they can see the recovery of the dogs and begin to relate that way plus they have a lot of fun. >> many of these veterans say before this program, they never had any contact with other veterans or ever talked about their worries to anyone. >> talking about the dogs helps the veterans talk to each other. >> joey, come. >> good boy. >> 66-year-old comes with his two dogs. hi says the comradery he feels with the other vets has helped him open up about his year in

vietnam. >> you know, it was a very unpopular war, and i think we felt we were doing the service for our country, and it was -- at the time it wasn't appreciated. >> more than 100 veterans have taken part in circle of change, since it started five years ago. it's helped many make peace with their past. >> high five. >> am al jazeera, hall done yeah illinois. >> we continue our coverage with a closer look at some chief concerns for military families. and joining us now, the co-host of veterans radio, that is a station that shares stories from america's troops gentlemen it is good to see you, i am sitting in tonight for my colleague, so be gentle with me please, good to talk to you both. >> good to be here. >> my pleasure. >> share with us what

some of the soldiers are saying to you. >> well, what they are talking about is the tap program. that is specifically designed to eliminate the mist fying and the am big utety when it comes to receiving benefits when you are coming out of the service. whether you are retired or whether just up with your analisment, and these are programs that rah designed by the department of defense, and the v.a. that is specifically to give to the leaving service member, transitional services goals and plans that they can use when they get out into civilian life. >> wait a minute, are they getting the help they need, or confused by what is being offered? are they asking for help.

>> quite the contrary, they are very well organized. there is a task force out to make this transition, to talk about these transition teams. and all this work that has been put in. so the programs that were prior to that have been redesigned for today's rushing service person. so all that am big utety, all that uncertainty, has pretty much been removed. if the veteran goes to their local v.a., and then starts right there, that's where everything begins. i haven't heard the program hill, but i will. i'm wondering what they

are identifying as the challenges of coming home roof these deployments in. >> when i came back from service in 1969. 100 years ago, it seems but when i came back from vietnam, we came back as individuals. we flew into california, and then got on commercial airline. today they come home with their units. and this is what they need, and this is what bob was talking about, the idea that these guys have to know how to work with each other, they need to have a group that they can tell their stories too. sometimes they are going from a very structures environment into their home, and mom and dad and the give friend and some forth, they see the same perp, but it isn't the same person memory. because he or show has seen things they are not supposed to see in their lives.

i think parents need to do, or family needs to do. try to be patient. don't walk around on egg shells if you have a question ask them, because they would like to be able to tell their story. and sometimes the family doesn't want to know, because they think it will upset them. but maybe if you and say what was the funniest thing you saw. or something along those lines i think that would help them. >> that's interesting. are they being more open are the family members as you mentioned being more open with them what are they doing -- what is there to help them reconnect with? family, with work, and the other aspects of their lives. >> all of them talk about

is they want to stay with these guys that they have been with, and so a lot of them are using fair book and all the other forms of social media to stay in touch, and that's pretty help -- even the social organizations that are out there, the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, provides them that opportunity to talk to other veterans. they have to realize they are not in this alone. there are so many support groups. gentlemen. >> stay in contact. >> that is terrific. >> new tonight at 11:00 p.m., iconic images from afghanistan to

wimbeldon. on a massive storm that brought a wild mix of weather, snow blanketed parts of the midwest to oklahoma. canada has also been hit really hard. the winter storm there has left tens of thousands of people without power. people are getting extra time to sign up for health insurance. if you register for hea