welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are the stories we're following for you. the united nations is expected to vote to increase peace-keeping troops in south sudan as the bloodshed escalates. visited by millions each year, it's one of christianities most sacred shrines, it's getting a makeover. and the christmas eve space walk as two astronauts hope to wrap up cooling repairs on the international space station. ♪

the un secretary general is calling for an additional 5,000 troops to support the mission in south sudan. the fighting is escalating. rebels now control the capitol which has the most oil. here is more from the capitol city of jew bah. >> reporter: sending in more troops will really go a long way. they need all the help they can get in trying to protect the civilians who have fled the fight. there are still diplomatic efforts to try to get the two sides to sit down and agree to peace talks. the un delegation is flying in later this afternoon. we with hearing that both sides say they are willing to talk. but the former.has said he wants these talks to take place in

ethiopia, because he thinks that will be a more neutral venue, but this is the mourning headlines here in jub bah. the president saying he is not sure about the people in his government, he is not sure about who he can trust. he has one quote, he basically said some people are sitting here in government with us, that are deeply involved in the coup. we aren't erasing them because we don't know who they are. so it remains to be seen whether this mistrust and issues will delay these peace talks. because if the two sides agree to meet and talk perhaps the violence we see now could end. 150 marines are headed to south sudan deploying from a base in spain. the growing violence in south sudan has claimed hundreds of lives over the past week. an estimated 40,000 refugees are trying to escape the deadly

fighting. the un security council held a meeting to discuss the situation. samantha powers says something must be done quickly. >> the future of south sudan is in jeopardy, and this demands urgent leadership to restore stability. the leaders face a shark choice. they return to the political dialogue and spirit of cooperation that helped establish south sudan or they can destroy those heard fought games and tear apart their new-born nation. a powerful blast tore through a police quarter -- headquarters in egypt today. sections of the building collapsed and emergency workers are still shifting through the rebel. police say the blast may have been caused by car bombs. an april factory building

collapse in bangladesh has distinguished a fund to help the workers who died and their families. several retailers have pledged to contribute to the fund. the church of the nativity where jesus is believed to have been born is getting a facelift. this is the first major restoration in 600 years. al jazeera's nick shiftrin is in bethlehem. you are looking pretty festive in that red scarf tell us about these renovations. >> merry christmas to you richelle, and merry christmas to everyone. yes, i tried to be festive. not only are the renovations underway, but the festivities here are underway. earlier today huge numbers of people, probably a few thousand lined this square waiting for the local archbishop, and he

entered one of the most famous churches in the world, and for the first time he saw it being upgraded. so this is the renovation, i see. >> yes, this is the renovation as you see. >> reporter: you see a construction site. >> it's just really need to be renovated, especially the roof. >> this is water. >> reporter: all water damage. >> yes. yes. >> reporter: this man is overseeing the church's first facelift since the middle ages. part of this church is 1500 years old. >> we were all worried about the situation of the church when it starts raining, water comes down throughout the walls and the mosaics, and the -- all over. >> reporter: repairs will begin on the roof's wooden beams. they were last restored in 1498. >> it is okay, but it needs to

be protected for another 500 years, from now on, and this is our determination to protect this church for -- for the coming generations. these are the frescos. >> reporter: workers will then restore the frescos and mosaics. >> we are proud as palestinians to start the renovation of one of the holy places in the world in general, and also for palestine. >> reporter: he is christian, his family has lived here as long as min can remember. he joked that one of his ancestors witnessed jesus's birth. >> we are not coming from abroad. we are deep rooted here. >> reporter: thousands line up to see the grotto, but palestinians argue they can't bring the church to its full

splendor while under occupation. >> in order to have the best atmosphere for developing and protecting our history and our heritage, is to end occupation. >> reporter: this church is now an unesco endanged world heritage site. >> our dignity, our future, our aim to live in peace and to live in dignity. >> reporter: it's a christmas wish despite all of the politics outside, inside the holy church, construction offers hope. and one of the reasons it might have taken so long, 600 years to k a wally do this renovation is the armenian, greek orthodox and

classic monks never could agree. they are coming together in the next few hours for midnight mass and merry christmas. >> i chuckle because your reporting really says what is so remarkable about this particular location because it brings people of so many faiths and so many ethnicities there. that's what is remarkable about this story that you have just shared with us. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. i mean, in the square behind me, you'll see foreigners, americans, europeans, palestinians, a few israelis as well. the christian community is about 2 or 3% of the territory, but it is a very proud and active community. and you saw them really pushing for this renovation for many years, and finally after long discussion with the un and the palestinian authority, they got

this through, and renovated -- and really in the nick of time this roof and the sides of the building behind me are really beginning to struggle. >> quite a scene behind you. nick life from bethlehem thank you so much. >> if you are hitting the roads this holiday season you won't be alone. aaa estimates a record 95 million people will be traveling 50 miles or more between christmas and new years. the jump is likely to bring a benefit to the economy. so folks are traveling to grandma's house. >> yeah, nice and dry. hopefully it stays that way. not much snow being added to what is already on the ground. this is radar of the past 24 hours. that storm had a lot of rain and ice with it, but it is cleared out. whatever is on the ground may stay there, because the temperatures are down to zero in

chicago, 28 in memphis, just above the freezing mark there in atlanta. so any slippery roads will stay slippery. main roads should be clear, not much being added to it. bundle up before you head outside. these are the wind chills by tonight. 9 below in fargo. that blustering cold wind keeping the temperatures down. there may be added snow down with this cold wind east of the great lakes there. a little accumulation as these pick. >> pope francis is preparing to celebrate his first christmas as head of the catholic church. since taking the role he shunned a lavish lifestyle and vows to

bring people back to the faith. >> reporter: st. peters square it may look like any other christmas. the tree towering of the basilica, the faithful are queues, but to preside over it all, there is one special pope. this was a whirlwind year for the pope. he went from being a little known bishop to time magazine's person of the year. when he appears on the balcony after the election only a few recognized him. everyone recognized his chosen name as pope, francis. from day one he proved to be just as ample as his namesake. he became known as the people's pope. he was especially interested in the well-being of the displaced,

disabled, and children. on his first trip back to south america as pope he received a hero's welcome. 3 million people came to see him. francis became officially a worldwide icon. but an accessible one. he spoke freely to reporters, answering tough questions on homosexuality and the role of women in the church. if christmas is a day for remembering, then many catholics around the world will look back at 2013 as a dramatic and eventual year when a church marred by scandal was rejuvenated. pope francis also wished his predecessor a merry christmas. pope francis paid a visit to the previous pope on monday. the pontiff and the former pope exchanged greetings and an embrace before praying together.

earlier this year the two men have only met in public once for an official vatican ceremony in july. from moscow, edward snowden told the "washington post" he is working to improve the nsa. six months after leaking more than a million documents to the media, he said his mission is accomplished. snowden told the post all he wanted was for the public to have a say in how they are governed. americans wanting health insurance by the start of the new year must finish signing up by the end of the day. the january 1st signup was originally intended to end monday. next on al jazeera america, a concern for new parents controversy over the vitamin k shot. and a christmas eve space

walk as repairing are being made right now to the international space station.

today marks the second christmas eve space walk in nasa history, and in addition control has confirmed it will not interfere with santa's operations, just in case you were concerned. astronauts are doing some very important repairs, hoping to finish everything up today after starting the work on saturday. for decades it has been standard medical practice to give vitamin k to newborns, but now a number of parents are declining the shot. jonathan martin reports. >> reporter: as a first time mother, amber had lots of questions about her newborn, including whether or not her daughter needed a vitamin k shot. >> they told what our option

was, and why some people were chooses not to get it >> reporter: doctors in the u.s. have been given vitamin k shots to newborns since the 1960s after research showed it can prevent a bleeding disorder. now the cdc says the disorder only appears in about 6 infants her million. but earlier this year, multiple cases emerged in tennessee. between february and september, four babies here in nashville was diagnosed with late vitamin k deficiency. >> i think unfortunately people have forgotten -- >> reporter: this doctor says the parents in each case declined the vitamin k shot adding the reasons range from desire for natural childbirth to

outdated information that remains online. >> so that actually scared a lot of patients as it should, but unfortunately subsequent studies that refuted that study don't get references much a unfortunately the first study that showed that there was a possible link to leukemia continues to exist on the net. >> reporter: the doctor who treated all of the infants with the bleeding disorder said a specific group tend to reject the shot. >> reporter: these tend to be parents that are well educated, but, again, people need to understand the risk when you decline the shot. >> reporter: the cdc reports the risks for developing the bleeding disorder is nearly 80 times greater among newborns who didn't receive the injection.

while the four infants at vanderbilt all survived the three who suffered bleeding in the brain may face developmental problems. so wall street is trying to build on yesterday's gains ahead of the christmas holiday. the dow is up right now about 44 points on track for its fifth straight record day. stock markets closed early at 1:00 pm eastern, and they are closed tomorrow because of christmas. tesla is holding on to it's five-star rating. it has reaffirmed the rating for the 2014 year. the flagship vehicle is still being reviewed by the agency over battery-related fires. millions of americans are giving up on the dream of

homeownership. affordable housing is vanishing. >> reporter: 62-year-old william is a disabled painter who spents his time at the public library, searching online for affordable places toly. he is homeless, sleeping in a men's shelter. he has been on the waiting list to get into the city's subsidized housing program for three years. >> it's amazing how fast it can happen. >> reporter: the scarcity of affordable housing is happening not only here, but in cities all across the country. the joint center for housing studies at harvard reports the number of low income renters has gone up, while the number of options for them is going down. between 2001 and 2011, workers making 19,000 a year or less surged from 3 million to nearly 12 million.

and while the number of affordable units has held steady, nearly are third of them are occupied by higher-income households. >> when they are competing on the market be someone perhaps who works for amazon, they are not the winners. >> reporter: lisa heads the seattle housing authority which provides low-income apartments. a few months ago her office opened up a waiting list. there were 2,000 slots available. 20,000 people applied. >> the supply and demand is pretty flat, so i don't see that we're going to bement doing out of this any time soon. >> reporter: and now middle class americans are feeling the squeeze. >> i feel like the amount we pay to just rent this house is absurd and i feel like we got a

good deal. >> reporter: he competed with dozens of others for their $1,500 a month rental. less expensive apartments were snapped up within hours of their listing. >> i don't understand how anyone can ever break out of this cycle. >> reporter: william rome is hopeful. >> i'll be back on top some day. coming up on al jazeera america, the history of un goodwill ambassadors and the newest celebrity signing up, right there.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are today's headlines. 150 u.s. marines are now headed to south sudan. the growing violence in the country has claimed hundreds of lives. an estimated 40,000 refugees are trying to escape the deadly fighting. six months after leaking nearly a million documents to the press, edward snowden says mission accomplished. his leaks exposed details of the nsa massive surveillance program. and he said all he wanted was for the public to have a say in the way they are combgoverned. and astronauts are doing important repairs at the international space station.

katy perry has been named the new goodwill ambassador for unicef. >> reporter: throughout its existence, the un has been trying to help the most needy people in the world. and has been constantly looking for ways to highlight their plights. 60 years ago it tried what was then a novel approach. it was in 1954 that danny kay, then one of the world's most famous actors and singers became the first ever ambassador. his path was followed by many others over the years. stars from hollywood from audrey hepburn to angelina jolie. singers and sport stars acting as celebrity ambassadors, messenger's of goodwill and even one special agent.

over the years the corridors here at the united nations have not only been packed with top politicians and diplomats. many celebrities have come to visit un headquarters here in new york. in this building you never know who you are going to bump into. the latest goodwill ambassador to be announced by unicef, the pop star katy perry. so why did she take the job? >> i have a lot of attention and spotlight, and it would be so easy and lazy for me to put that spotlight on something that is kind of, you know, material or funny or not really meaningful, but what i do want to do is i want to take all of the extra attention and put it on something that needs that imillumination and light. ♪ >> reporter: some may question her incite on the issues facing children around the world, but

not her impact. and it is clear that the idea slepty ambassadors is getting a new boost. katy perry has 60 million likes on her facebook page. >> when she tweets it's really interesting, because she'll get something like 5 to 6,000 engagements whether it's retweeted or favorites or people tweeting back, and unicef has come out and said they want to engage a younger audience, and katy perry is perfect for that. >> reporter: so in this new age of communication, the celebrity's social media reach gives the un a big boost, just compare katy perry's followers on twitter with old media. it's almost 60 times more than the print circulation of the best-selling newspaper in the

world. james bayes, al jazeera, united nations. ♪ i'm meteorologist dave warren, if you are dreaming of a white christmas, there's an actual definition from the national weather service, one inch of snow on the ground december 25th. you could have a white christmas anywhere where it has that bluish color. it goes up to the great lakes. maybe some snow falling here in western pennsylvania. right now you see the radar, plus the clouds, not seeing much of the snow coming down. more cold air pushes in from the north. what is on the ground most likely will stay there. even as far south as memphis and close to houston. it is down to 34 in atlanta, so bitter cold arctic air is pushing these wind chill

temperatures, the real feel, what it feels like on your skin down to about 10 below in minneapolis tonight. by tomorrow in chicago, temperature only up to 20, 29 on friday, saturday it is just above the freezing mark. the cold air, causing some lake-effect snow here as the cold air moves over the warmer waters of the great lakes seeing some snow coming down in western new york, western pennsylvania. some accumulation in western pennsylvania. all the way down to maryland and west virginia, so that bitter cold arctic air is coming in creating that lake-effect snow. it does climb above the freezing mark starting thursday up to 41 degrees. so the cold air is here for a while. roads will be slippery where that ice and snow is not going anywhere any time soon.

richelle. >> thank you so much. and thank you for. and thank you for watching al jazeera america. >> your data, your rights, and your protections are the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. woe to the unknowing consumer who wants to wrap up holiday shopping at the big box target target this season. perhaps many of us doing what we do every day have come under