check check >> >> a new report casts doubt on whether al qaeda was responsible for the attack on the american consulate in benghazi. >> case closed - a judge stops lawsuits against the federal government for flooding caused by hurricane katrina. >> unrest in ireland, a former american diplomat steps in to calm tensions between catholics and protestants. >> hello, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford, live from

new york city. al qaeda was not involved in the attack of the american consulate in benghazi, that's what a new york times investigation found. the new report says the attack was led by militants who the u.n. tried to recruit as allies. since the attacks some republicans argued that not only had al-qaeda planned the attack, but the barack obama administration covered up the connection. the report says the benghazi residents joined in the attack, fuelled by an anti-islam video, as well as misinformation. the attack was not meticulously planned. it wasn't spontaneous, and there were warning signs. a diplomatic cable described growing problems with security and suggested that the focus on al-qaeda distracted from more serious threats in the country.

jim walsh is from mit and specialises in international security and says the security approach wasn't enough on local threats. >> we assumed that the bigger groups would control the smaller groups or give us advance intelligence. they had more allegiance or locally than they did for us, so we did not get a warning, they did not control them. >> secretary of state john kerry will start the new year in the middle east, pushing for a 2-state solution. israel plans to release more than two dozen prisoners next week. angry israelis gathered outside benyamin netanyahu's home in protest. plans for a new settlement in west bank could derail talks. >> planned withdrawal of u.s. troops in afghanistan could

erode plans. a resurgence of influence by the taliban and other power brokers within three years of the 2014 american withdrawal deadline. each if the u.s. leaves ganned a contingent of a few thousands troops, still really unlikely to make a difference. some officials contradict the findings saying it doesn't adequately account for how strong afghanistan's security forces come under training. >> a federal judge is closing the book on hurricane katrina's lawsuits. half a million filed claims holding the army corp responsible. the report claims immunity, saying they don't have to pay for lost claims. >> a series of lawsuits in new orleans seeking billions in damages against the federal government and insurance companies are over.

the damages were caused by katrina in 2005. u.s. district judge dismissed the case late yesterday. he called that more than 500,000 residents, businesses and governments would have to pay their own damages. the class action suit accused the u.s. corp engineers of poor maintenance. the ruling coming a year after the federal appeals court overturned a ruling that the corp was responsible for billions in damages. he dismissed a parallel lawsuit against a contractor. the suit claimed the company's excavation work weakened flood walls. he has presided over the case for the past eight years, and was chosen because he did not receive any damage to his personal property because of flooding. >> while temperatures in

california are hitting record highs, it is cold with 50 degree below zero wind chill factors in the northern plains. across the u.s. - light snow causing blizzard mornings across north dakota. we'll see it from the wind and snow and cold. it's impressive cold and an impressive amount of rainfall from the south-east. this is going to be heavy times. severe thunder storms from georgia to south and nortes john carlos and virginia through the day tomorrow. as the rain makes its way up the coast into the north-east it will change to the snow as the arctic air bleeds out from the great lakes. cold temperatures really brought to you by factoring this in wind chills, with the cold temperatures. it feels like 50 degrees below zero. heading to nebraska, you are getting to 10 degrees. with the dusts out we have wind

chill warnings and advisories for the midwest. temperatures to start the day will be in the single digits, well below zero. we'll have arctic air drop over the weekend further south, and then for the first part of a week, mohammed bin nayef, to the north-east. washington d.c. it will be downright cold. as it works in, here is the risk of the south-east getting thunder storms. some snow fall developing rain and snow. high temperatures - they'll stay cold in the midwest. you can see how mild in the 70s for southern california. >> catholics and protest ants clashed in northern island. new disagreements over flags and parades could shatter an uneasy peace. there's a diplomat in belfast

trying to reach agreement. >> richard haass and his team convene talks in belfast, but he admitted it proved difficult. >> by noon on monday we'll have 12 hours of plenary sessions. it will be very hard at that point, given everything that will have come before it, to argue that the missing ingredient is more time. >> the issue that is reportedly toughest to crack is flags. in late 2012 belfast city council voted to fly the british flag from city hall and other buildings on certain days, sparking street protests in which more than 100 police officers were injured. >> they want is flag flown anywhere and whenever they want. >> others say no, you shouldn't rub our noses in it and fly the

flag where we don't want it to fly. >> one recurring source of tension between the provinces is the marching season. every year parades, most organised by groups like the orange order take place. most pass peace fly. parades through catholic areas promote antagonism and clashes. it reports progress on that. troubles preceding 1998's good friday agreement. more than 3,500 people lost their lives. in most cases no one was brought to justice. >> reports by victims' groups, conversations about the fast, all of those things influenced the pros. that is another example of how we weren't starting from square one. we were starting from a well-developed conversation.

>> if the talks lead to an overall agreement, it could be a long time before northern island deals with resentment and understanding. >> northern island is governed by britain. the rest of ireland, known as the republic gained independence from the british in the 1920s. >> same-sex couples celebrate getting married in utah. the fight is not over. a hollywood thriller gets rave reviews. at what cost? a community in uproar.

>> the world's newest country seems to be on the brink of civil war. 1,000 people have been killed in the south sudan. a tribal militia is mounting an offensive on a key state capital. government forces retook the city of bor. the fighting has displaced thousands of civilians.

we go inside a refugee camp. >> this is one of the major u.n. camps. these people are not confident enough to return to their homes. the fighting exposed ethnic divisions in south sudan as neighbour turned against neighbour. this man watched as his brother was shot and killed. >> my brother was killed, not by soldiers, bit civilians. he belonged to an ethnic group. with thousands living here. the camp is overcrowded. a shortage of basic services, such as clean water. >> help is beginning to arrive. food and household items are being given to the displaced. >> the world food program has a

challenge. >> with more displaced people seeking shelter across the country, the u.n. peacekeeping mission in south sudan is overwhelmed and there are plans to increase troop numbers from 7,000 to 12,500, with reinforcements coming from other missions in the democratic republic of congo, liberia and ivory coast. >> the first of the extra forces, a detachment of police officers have arrived. they are from the u.n. mission in the democratic republic of congo. trained in crowded control that would be spread across the country and assigned to uncamps overflowing with displace. >> the need nor additional peace keeper troops and u.n. advisor is critical. we have something of the order of an estimated 63,000 civilians

housed at a dozen locations of the peacekeeping mission around the country. >> u.n. officials say with additional capabilities, they will not be able to protect every civilian in south sudan. it will be effectively policed by 12,500 troops. >> south sudan became independent in july 2011 after a lengthy war with sudan, that killed more than 2 million people. >> protesters in ukraine are in their second month. it was hoped that the demonstrators would be driven away. opposition leaders are not ready to back down. >> as the opposition tries to put pressure on the ukrainian government, the majority want the cabinet to resign. the government shows no signs it

intends to do anything. obviously they are trying to hide away. at the same time ukraine will never be the same. the nation's well-known opposition is former gaoled leader. for the past week her daughter says the arrival of her daughter prevented her doing that. the power is def and blind. they very irresponsible and don't answer for their brutal acts or illegal acts. >> there has been a number of recent attacks, including one earlier on a prominent journalist. several suspects are in custody. authorities tried to protect the attackers. this is the same kind of defense

we have seen before. it's a manipulation by police, trying to protect leaders and avoid punishment. there are more protesters here on a saturday than during the week. >> opposition leaders hope that more demonstrators will come out sunday for a march to viktor yanukovych's home, and new year's eve, to show that the demonstration still matters to the people here. >> ukraine ranked among the worst countries for government transparency by transparency international. >> a new era and image. openly gay scouts will be welcomed. the new policy was approved with support from 1,400 voting

members on the voting council. >> utah celebrates after a ban on same-sex marriage was overturned. the fight is not over. the state wants the supreme court to step in. jim hooley tells us why from salt lake city. >> it's been an incredible week in utah. so many called the situation surreal. hundreds of same-sex couples ran out to get married. thousands turning out for a giant rally. we talk to couples that have been together for 15, 18 years. they are so happy, but will be able to move into the new year as newly weds. the state says the fight is not over yet. >> this has been the scene in utah for days. same-sex couples pouring into country clerk offices to get marriage licences, many turning to local officials and ministers to say, "i do."

>> to feel the love and joy and elation of people who are free to marry the people they love. >> it was a shocking turn of events known for its ways and values. >> all of had is possible. among the plaintiffs. derek kitchen and moudi sbeity. they raun -- run a middle eastern business. the federal judge ruled utah's law was unconstitutional, banning same-sex marriage. it's been euphoria in the state's gay community. more than 900 couples obtained marriage licences. there are thousands of couples that want the same thing we want. we are fighting for ourselves in that process, for everybody as well. >> i now pronounce you wife and

wife. >> clifford rosky is a law professor. he became an ordained minister. he says the impact goes beyond utah. >> for the first time we are sealing that here in utah federal courts recognise that same-sex couples have the right to marry in all 50 states. >> cheryl haws and shelly eyre's dream has to wait. the county clerk where they live refused to recognise the ruling. they threatened to sue. >> i said we are going there. if they turp us away and we go salt lake, we'll go there because we need to make a point. >> on thursday the utah county clerk brian thompson gave in and called cheryl haws and shelly eyre to come to his office. he issued them a licence. >> i felt a great level of compassion on his part or integrity. i felt compassion towards him.

>> moudi sbeity and derek kitchen have not tied the not, waiting until they feel the time is right.. >> marriage to us is more than a piece of paper. >> we wanted to celebrate and exchange vows. and show to family and friends that we made a commitment to one another, to be with each other until death do us part. by waiting nicolas maduro and derek risk not getting a chance to marry. utah's attorney-general is expected to file paper work monday or tuesday. >> the state is making sure they get the next move right. they have hired an outside firm. again, that should be filed next week. >> same-sex union became legal in utah. since then the number of weddings skyrocketed, shattering

records and earning the state thousands. >> a highway collapsed saturday, after a series of small earthquakes hit the peninsula. no reports of injuries. >> a native american tripe that are the villains and a new movie are not happy. kaelyn forde has more. >> for centuries the ramapough indian nation called these mountains home. just 30 miles from new york city, the tribe of 5,000 kept their traditions alive. >> this is a kinduwahwekan. it's where we come and pray, and the images that you see are essentially spirits of the forest that look over the forest. >> the ramapough have more than

60 acres of land, but the tribe says it's been a struggle to keep the land and protect their culture. the tribe had racism. a hollywood film opened old wound, reviving stereotypes. >> people up in the hills have their own breed of justice that does not include us >> "out of the furnace" tells the story of a kidnapping by hill people. harland degroat is one of two characters bearing a name. the gang is known as jackson whites, a name that has been a racial slur against the ramapough. >> degroat is the worst. he hunts the mound an. >> the real issue with the film is that it's not that it's racist all the way through, but the underlying current is so ugly and pronounced, and also so

identifiably connected to our tribal people that it sort of gives carte blanch to hatred. >> morningstar mann says her children have been bullied. >> a substitute teacher came into the conversation and made the comment that one of our family members diserched to get shot and we were one of those people. my kids as well come home, "mum, what is a jackson white." >> the prayer house also was vaneda lied. >> the racism was dying down. what this movie does is brings back - i went to the movie and started crying. >> 17 members of the tribe, seven with the last name degroat filed a lawsuit against the film

makers. the chief is not backing the lawsuit, he would rather an apology. >> "out of the furnace" was released on december 6th. relativity media did not return al jazeera's request for a comment. a spin on classical works. leo tolstoy's great-great-granddaughter gives it a 21st update.

>> he was a russian novelist who upspired leaders like mahatma gandhi and martin luther king jr. and now leo tolstoy's works are being digitized for all the world to see. >> this is the voice of the 19th century writer leo tolstoy, considered one of the world's

greatest novelists for works such as "war and peace", he's reading a fairy tale about a wolf and a child. this shows him in his final years in his country estate. we caught up with his great-great-granddaughter at his house. she was in the middle of a photo shoot. she has been the drying force behind the project to digitise the works of tolstoy, putting a new generation in touch with his heritage online. >> i wanted people to return to reading tolstoy, with all the ways that modern technology offered. this is part of our heritage. not all of it has been on the internet. it should be available to everyone. 2,000 copies of his complete works were available to buy.

>> it's this russian company charged with the task. not just the 90 volume standard connection, but diaries, letters and less well-known works. the cost of such a vast amount of material threatened to halt the project in its tracks. thousands from around the world have agreed to help. >> tolstoy's country estate only attracts a small stream of visitors these days. it's hoped the project will reignite interest and boost numbers. inside the house everything has been remarkably preserved. it's as though the distinguished writer has stepped outside and is expect back at any minute.

perhaps tolstoy's famous quote comes from the opening lines of "anna karenina" - happy families are all alike. unhappy families are unhappy in its own way. >> at the end of his life tolstoy said, "i don't need money for my work, i want to give it to the people." his will is being granted, in a way never foreseen. >> what is the best way to say goodbye to 2013. perhaps it's putting bad memories through the shredder. hundreds came out to get rid of bad memories, it's part of good riddens day and they tossed everything from medicine bills to bad report cards. >> i'm morgan radford. see you at 4am eastern.

in the meanwhile follow us on aljazeera.com. have a good evening.