goo everyone, welcome to al jazeera america. blizzard conditions more than 90 million americans will feel the effects of a powerful and dangerous winter storm. grounded, thousands of flights canceled, hundreds more tomorrow. as the storm also shuts down major highways. the search for peace, secretary of state john kerry on his 10th visit to the middle east, hopes to strike a deal between the israelis and the pal tin januaries we where live in jerusalem. log cues at sea. finally dozens onboard are airlifted to safety.

>> we begin tonight with with that monster storm that has the northeast on high alert. w thousands of flight delays and cancellations from chicago, to new york. some areas could get up to two feet of snow overnight, and tomorrow, temperatures can plunge to record lows. kevin is here now with the latest. >> john, absolutely, this is a storm we with have been watching in the making for a couple of days now. 18 hours ago, this is what it looked like. the storm was starting to make its way from the west, and 18 hours ago, this is what people were doing to get ready for the storm. getting ready there, you can see the snow in boston. and a lot of people around new england were out buying salt, and they were out buying sand, and they were out stocking up their groceries. d.o.t. was filling up their trucks for the eventual snow we are going to see coming into play here. now come back to the weather wall, what we are

looking at. notice most of kentucky, is all seeing snow right now. new york city, is the visibility has come down considerably, and in some placesly show you the storm totals we are already up to 16 inches in eastern massachusets. now, one of the big problems is going to be that police saturday warning that is in effect. it's in the just long island. a lot of snow winds over 35 miles per hour. as well as temperatures dropping and wind chills coming down belee store degrees. as you can imagine, that is very significant on the roads. the reason being, the storm system is going to

be moving off the coast, and we with have the winds into the northeast, be uh the gradiant is so tight that we will see anywhere around 45 miles an hour winds. the snow total so far right now, well, which is just to the north of boston, it is 16-inches, up towards new hampshire 6.5, so not doing too bad, vermont is at about one foot already. i expect to see another six-inches added to these. >> all right, thank you very much. it is snowing so hard in boston, we are having difficulty getting the live truck going, but we will try to talk to him later. this is already proving to be a major headache. this have been more than two flight cancellations and more than 6,000 delays been if you have

been here, you haven't had much luck getting oen the flight. most of the flights that you mentioned, are delayed out of chicago, out of philadelphia, and now out of new england. but, of course, when those delays happen at any airport it effects travel all over. i spoke to some people that are missing their flights to dallas. they weren't able to get to london england, and paris. so we -- spend a lot of time earlier talking with those folks ready to possibly spend the night. we even talked to some people who will have to stay here in the new york area until this weekend.

we didn't have flight attendance, then they canceled it. we got a flight for 6:00 a.m. saturday. tomorrow they said it is all canceled. we are just here for the night. >> and some people have already left and gotten hotels but la guardia is also preparing for a lot of people to spend the night here, and they tell me that later on they are going to be passing out blankets to people in the hallways and people in food courts. so they will be a little bit more comfortable. >> what about tomorrow. when do the airline think they will get it back to normal? >> the airline are saying they are trying to get the flight patterns back to normal. and meanwhile, the airline and the faa are trying to figure out when those -- when the best time will be to get those going. the port authority in the new york area is actually

the organize that is making sure that all of the airplanes newark international airplanes, jfk airport, and la guardia are all flight ready throughout the storm. here is what they had to say about their preparations. >> we have a fleet of specialized snow removal, we have ample supplies of chemical agents for snow and ice control. the goal is to keep up with the storm for tomorrow's airline push. >> it just started snowing here allah guard yeah about an hour ago. so we with will see how the port authority is preparations pan out over the night as they wait to get more news on what the airline are going to do, thank you very much, we will get back to you.

yo are at the center of the action, tell us about it this. >> i am, john, and this is the epicenter, this june storm. and leally it is two storms. that's a terrible combination. that's why we are talking about snowfall between eight and 18 inches. we have already heard of one death already in philadelphia. governor duvall patrick thought this could be a very very dangerous storm indeed. we have a serious and significant winter storm that will effect today into tomorrow. the hazards in addition to the storm -- to snow including strong winds extremely cold temperatures and the potential for coastal flooding along the east facing coast of the state.

what he is particularly worried about is in piling up and then down to the capes and the islands places like nantucket, and mar hards vineyard, because the housing getting down there are below sea level. and the problem is that not only are they likely to have snow there, there's also to be a storm surge at midnight tonight, and also at midday tomorrow. this is significant, because they have just finished rebuilding the sea wall after the hurricane sandy. so tonight, is the first test of sitwet. now there's lighthouse, and there was a big concern, and they lost power there for five days.

of course the problem is people lose power in these situations. forty-five's the problem that everybody is very worried about. >> so we watched a couple of plows and i don't know where you are in boston. but you can see those piles of snow how bad is it supposed to get in. >> yeah, i tell you where we are. that is the forecast, now at the moment acarding to the governor, there are about 2,500 vehicles one or the other on the roads of mississippi frying to clear this snow. and you have seen them going up and down here. he is going to increase that to 3,000 by morning.

and then the snow is expected to start tapering off. and then it is due to be gone by midday, and then the sun is due to come out. very strong winds but hopefully by breakfast time tomorrow it will start to taper out. i don't think anybody is expecting boston and other parts of mississippi to really get back tomorrow. tomorrow will be very much a digging out today. >> good news looks like a lot of people off the roads. we will get back to you later. >> that's the message. well, heather hunter joins froes orlando where it is not snowing and she is the director of relations for the aaa. so term us what about the highways, heather. >> the highways many people are still returning from their new year's eve holiday. so we did expect the highways to be busy, however, with the storm

approaching, it seems like many people are trying to ebbing tend their plans. triple a recommends that you monitor the weather at your destination, and all around your rout, and if you can alter your plans so you avoided the worst, please do so. it is safest to stay off the roads during the winter storm. >> it was interesting to see the live shot there, it didn't seem like there was anybody around in downtown boston, at least not right now, but in new york, and in connecticut, this snow has just begun to fall. so what's the message to those people who haven't seen that much snow yet? >> well, you want to monitor the weather forecast carefully. because it is expected to start tonight. you want to try to alter your plans. wait to head out until the roads have been cleared and it is safe to drive again. that is the safest.

by the way that is a picture of the empire state building, normally you can get a clear shot of it, but you can see the wind is blowing side ways. this is not going to be a pretty sight as it continues in the evening. i guess the good news is that it is happening overnight. and in the early morning which mean as lot of people won't be on the road, right? >> yes, it is. even if you are planning to leigh tomorrow. the salt take effect, so that you are driving on drier roads. >> enjoy the warm weather.

this is the tension trip to the region. a peace deal between the israelis and the palestinians there have been 20 rounds of talks since the summer. we are five months into this negotiation. achieving peace is a long and complicated process, it is a tough road, but this is not mission impossible. >> they must make tough and difficult decisions in order to make a permanent solution. and the trip, and he joins us live. >> good evening, john, one of the main concessions that kerry will ask the israelis to make, stop building settlements on land the palestinians hope is the

heart of their future state. uh last month the military bulldozed his house. this is the epitome of degradation. they must think we are animals otherwise they wouldn't treat us like this. >> about a mile away israel is building. the home was built four months ago, the government subsidizes that is houses because they are cheap. >> it is a beautiful view, it is nice neighborhood. is their neighbors the village. >> we are a few hundred

feet from the house that was demolished. >> they have lived here for generations. he argues israel is trying to encroach on palestinian land. do you feel like you are being surrounded? >> absolutely. >> what do you feel about a future palestinian state? >> almost -- zero. zero chance of finding an independent palestinian state. >> why? >> practically, i mean the settlements are occupying everywhere. >> israel says it has the right to build settlements on land captures in the 1967 war, the pace of that building has increased dramatically. 4,000 sit hers lived on 24 settlements. 110,000 settlers and in 2005, 341,000 settlers on 220 settlements and joust posts.

the u.n. calls these illegal, learnham is like small town u.s.a. they can go and play at somebody's house without me playing with them. >> she isn't just here for the neighborhood, she believes god wants her to be here. >> in the bible. it is important for he to live here. >> as she walked him, he gathers his family of nine. there's not enough room for everyone. so he vows to rebuild his destroyed home, but he has no power to stop israel from destroying it again. >> and last week, israeli officials said they would announce an additional 1400 settlements but as one official put it to me, in order not to put their finger into kerry's

i, they delayed the announcement until after he left. they said they will still go forward with the 1500 settlements and that infuriates palestinians, they are threatening to walk away, if israel announces the settlements. so john, as you know, these are all very very fragile, made much more so by all this talk of settlements. >> all right, nick, thank you. a chaotic scene as emergency workers try to rescue people. killing at least six people the attack took place in a hezbollah strong hold, this is the latest in a wave attacks as neighboring syria pours over. 24 week the guardian & u.s. times urged them to give up support.

the editorial board for the new york times wrote this, considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed and the abuses he has exposed mr. snowden deserves better than real life -- than a life of permanent exile, fear, and flight. in egypt, three of our colleagues are heading to their 6th day in december tension. they are being held in a prison jute side of cairo. correspondent remains two cairo police station, all three are expected to face further questioning later on this week. al jazeera's demanding that the journalists with released immediately, egypt's prosecutors say they are being held on suspicion of joining a terrorist group. al jazeera calls the allegation fabricated

nonsenses. up next, rescued after being stranded since christmas eve, but still two weeks from reaching land, plus. ford more years toronto's embattles mayor makes it firm. he is running for re-election. blatche blatche s h that make a difference... that open your world... >> this is what we do... >> america tonight next only on al jazeera america

>> every sunday night, al jazeera america presents extraordinary films from the worlds top documentary directors this week: is love enough? >> that was a dream of ours... four children.... >> a little girl, removed from everything she's ever known... >> she's gone through a ton of orphan stuff... >> if their hopes don't turn out to be the reality...are they gonna crash? >> an unflinching look at a family learning to love >> i think she could have used a hug... >> dark matter of love

on al jazeera america there's no time set for a release, but says she has been receiving visits from her family. a successful rescue onboard a russian trip, they have been stuck in antarctic ice. the chinese helicopter picked up 52 scientists and tourists from the vessel today. the helicopter took them to an -- excuse me.

let's go to jake ward and he can explain why. get my voice back. >> john, today's rescue was of a team of scientists and volunteers, who have been stuck in the ice since christmas. they were there to compare the current state of an actor ca, the wor word's dryest and coldest place to what it was 100 years ago. many people lost their lives and collected an unprecedented amount of information, the state of the redwings js and many other important scientific contradictions.

since that time, we have seen an incrediblability amount of change, and this was entirely about comparing the state of an actor canow to what it was back then. how unusual is it for a ship to get trapped in ice? >> it isn't always happen, but there's a good chance every time you go to either one of the polls, really. but antarctica is particularly difficult. they were shocked in by a huge tongue of a glacier. that has come off the size of a play they are. names for one of the original explorers. and this particular flow of ice has basically calved off, frozen off, and just happened to be joining the continent right when this ship arrives. and it just took an incrediblability amount of work to get to them, and in the end it was a question of a helicopter rescue, because boats

could not get there. >> and jake, what sort of work was being done? >> well, obviously, these guys were not resting -- weren't relying on wool, and teams of dogs the way they their ancestors were. but they were instead, using the latest in field technology for scientists. that would fly over, and map it out, they were able to take samples from the ocean's core. is rode very sophisticated buggies. occupied by the first explorers that went there, this is a very efficient trip to take the pulse of this incredibly remote continue independent. >> how much work did they get done? >> when you compare the work they were doing to the work done 100 years ago, black then it was a question of life and death, on a daily base

toys survive and get this done, and the idea of being stuck, really was a matter of dying of exposure. these days they were in a nice warm ship, and working equipment, it took lots and lots of samples, they managed to deploy a couple of drones, so even though they were stuck, they were in fact doing science throughout this time, so it is not a bust. >> all right, good to see you, thank you for picking it up there when i lost my voice momentarily. i appreciate it. >> not a problem, thank you. >> happens from time to time. jake ward, thank you, in san francisco. still ahead, the winter weather pounding the northeast, the conditions commuters are dealing with right now in boston, and kevin has this forecast. encouraging graffiti.

personal says it appear that a car bomb caused the explosion. the northeast u.s. in the middle of a monster storm. u.s. city is a major test for the new mayor. cities under a winter storm warning with six to eight inches predicted by tomorrow.

>> that's right. and there's a reason for that. massachusets is the eye of the storm. there's one coming over from the west, which has already dutch add lot of snow. so when they collide, we will get more snow here. pretty bad in boston at the morning the plows are out, the snow is blowing and drifting and building up. but the governor is consider concerned south of here, south bay, south shore, down towards the islands and the capes. and salts some of the big houses are below sea level. and also one at midday tomorrow, so they are very very concerned about that. this is also a tail of two mayors in some respects.

who has been here in boston for the last 20 years. i think he is the longest serving mayor. he has four days left, so mother nature wanted to give me one final lift. on the other hand, bill is the brand banking new democratic mayor on new york city. first time in years and he was only sworn in yesterday by former president bill clinton. and now here he is one day later with a very very significant challenge. although the snow is only just starting it is forecasted to be bad there. take a look at how the brand new mayor couched what he intends to do about this, in the news conference earlier today, take a look. they are working 12 hour shifts with more than 2300 workers on each shift.

to prepare for the ground for what is coming and as soon as we have at least two-inches of snow, they will deploy 1700 trucks equipped with snowplows. >> now, john, this is personal for him. there was a very bad failure of the bloomberg association, they did not get it right. and bill's neighborhood wasn't plowed for about three days and he kicked up a storm, pardon the pun. now, three years later he is the major, so on pretty much his first day, he has to get it right. >> and part of the prop i assume is it is going to freeze -- really deep freeze tomorrow. both in new york and boston, and that makes it getting rid of it even more difficult. >> yeah, i think that's right. the forecast is for blizzard like conditions

as the evening goes on. they should have set in by now, not so bad, really, but it is forecast to get very very bad year, and the temperatures drop, and the temperatures drop again, on saturday. so yeah, this is a time, really, for people to do what the governor here, -- duvall is telling them to do, which is to stay off the roads. don't come out, stay at your home, and just stay in the warm. take to check on a neighbor, time to basically make sure that you don't go out and expose yourself to these very very dangerous conditions. as you said, there already a state of emergency in new jersey, and in new york, we are hearing now that long island railroad and metro north offering restricted services. the airports are open. so there are no flights out of boston's local airport, until at least midday, the one good news, if you have to

rebook your ticket then the airline won't charge you for that. tomorrow is not going to be a day to come to work, but to dig out your home, and of course, there's an economic cost as well, because all these business wills be closed and that money will never be spent here again. >> john in boston, thank you. the storm that's moving into the northeast is already been causing trouble in the midwest, and kevin is here with that, kevin? >> that's right. this is a storm that came from the midwest, looks very impressive, before we get to the midwest, i will show you those temperatures that are happening right here. where john is, it is six degrees, but when you factor in the wind chill, it feels more like buy news 23 degrees. so john needs to get in and cover those hands and face, as soon as he can. right now it feels more like 14 degrees here, albany new york, feels like minus 22, these temperatures are coming down, and it is going to get worse. now over here towards the central and north central

part of the united states, those temperatures are already cold because of that system, that has just exited. right now chicago is feeling like seven degrees with the wind chill it feels like minus seven degrees. i want to slow you what they were dealing with, take a look at the video of how the midwest handled the storm. over to i will i will, this is what they are dealing with before the northeast was deviling with it. we are also dealing with flight delays and cancellations as of yesterday. still picking up the pieces and across the area, things have improved for many people as most of that snow has moved out of the region. we will just be seeing very cold temperatures. two snow that has fallen here, you can see these are well below freezing. >> all right, thank you. well, the mayor of toronto has been making international headlines. but that isn't stopping

rob's political ambitions. he is running for office again, and rachelle kerry reports. >> ford because with the fist candidate do show us, he made international headlines last year. first by admitting he used drugs. >> yes, i have smoked crack cocaine. >> which he explained happen because he was in one of his drunken stupors then there was this. [bleep]. >> pretty soon, everyone outside canada knew who he was. >> and the world waited to see what outrageous think he may see next. >> this guy has huge [bleep]. >> i am sorry for how i have been acting. it is not indicative of my position of mayor in the great town. >> hey, man, i have what you asked for. >> hey. yeah. >> let's do it under the desk. >> despite all the bad

press, ford refused to step down, nor did he flinch when he was stripped of all his powers. >> counselor, it was not the reason i drank, or did drugs was not because of stress, it was out of sheer stupidity. >> ford told reporters that he is the best mayor toronto has ever had. he promised to run on his fiscal, and not his personal record. >> everybody drinking, everybody is doing things, but doesn't catch them. and they catch him, and they make so mum publicity. >> rob ford is the only politician i can remember, that has done what he said he was going to do. >> the voters will have the final say on his political future.

so with the nfl playoffs set to start, the league is facing a potentially embarrassing situation, this is kind of a surprise. >> very surprising. may say it is the most popular sport in the united states, but is it? request fans getting set to root them on, many may not be able to watch the big game. three of the four are still not sold out, that can mean t.v. black owes in those markets. now that hasn't happened since 2002 in the nfl. now, here are the three games that were not sold out as of the league's 4:00 p.m. thursday deadline. inked annapolis, hosting kansas city. the colts had 4500 unsold tickets. and cincinnati, the bengals were 8,000 tickets short of a sell out for their playoff opener. reports are local businesses bought a good remaining with with the intention of donating

them to military families. then the shocking entry is the green bay packers. h this is a team with a 319 game sell out list, and a waiting list 100,000 names long, and yet, the packers were at 1.3000 tickets short of selling out their game, we asked nfl writer which this all means. >> it does look like there could be three blackouts. these teams are confident they can sell these. two packers have that tradition of selling out every game, and we know the waiting lit they have, so you would think green bay will be a sell out, the fans will be there despite of how cold it is going to be. so green bay should sell that one out. this is a playoffs but this is kind of been a problem for the nfl. it is so fun to go watch on tv now, with with direct tv you can get in a game, watch in a plame.

where fans are going back to the games as oppose to sitting in the confident of their home, especially when it is cold. >> thank you. you made some good points, now the nfl has extended the deadline until the late afternoon friday. now that means fans have one more day to come up with enough money. that's not counting parking, food, souvenirs you can certainly understand why people would not want to sit out in freezing temperatures and pay that kind of money. >> so maybe they could make them cheaper? you know, right? >> i am not going to hold my breath. >> you know -- you want to sell the 60s you don't want empty seats. >> exactly. they certainly gone above and beyond to make the

game t.v. friendly, and p pas they are going to pull back on that. we will see how the nfl reacts. they can't be happy. >> thank you very much. now some of mexico city's taggers are being asked to help improve the view, and public spaces. rachel has the story. >> gra fitty artists at work, but this time it is legal, merrills like this are becoming increasingly popular. not only is this sanctioned it is the local government that is behind it. a dedicated unit from the police is creating three spaces to do their thing. >> in 2008, our

anti-graffiti unit bake the graffiti unit, to give people free spaces to paint. accompanied by a police pa strome car instead of chasing after them to stop them. the aim is to get rid of graffiti like this, and the idea is that by opening up space stations it will encouraging graffiti artists to paint more pleasing images. like many works by the great muralist, hosesy arosco, these carry messages backed by the state. but here at the museum, this specialist says there's a new generation of artist whose are even more rebellious and independent than their mural fore fathers. >> where they go over the past, the new artists to that too, but using more recent history such as drug violence and recent social problems there's a much more rebellious

tone, and more freedom because they are in free spaces. >> not all of mexico's muralists are government backed. artists combine the adrenaline of legal painting with his own independent designs that adorn the streets as well as gallery walls. >> whether it's official government messages or social protests mexico's muralist tradition is alive and well. mexico can city. >> security breech, millions of snap chat users are hacked. but the company is saying about it. plus, the u.s. might be a super paul, but not when it comes to the internet speed.

they are becomingly 8:00 masters, rapping and showing off their loytys but many times these are turning into invitations to more violence, in a city that has lower its

homicide rate, but remains america's murder can toll. the powerful mechanics of what is becoming a dangerous tool. okay, now you see this, this is g.d. >> yeah. >> they are throwing it up. let's sigh this is a gang sign. if a person don't like you they are going to do this. >> they are going to take you gang sign and put it up side down. >> look what he doing? he is p doing it. he put it upside down, these guys are. >> blake disciples. >> so what is the result of that? >> so look, now somebody goes and sees this video, and they are looking for him. he disrespected us, man. >> it's the fight for chicago amido a social media war, that story and more coming up the top of the hour here on "america tonight."

>> an exclusive "america tonight" investigative series >> we traveled here to japan to find out what's really happening at fukushima daiich >> three years after the nucular disaster, the hidden truth about the ongoing cleanup efforts and how the fallout could effect the safety of americans >> are dangerous amounts of radioactive water, leaking into the pacific eververyday? >> join america tonight's michael okwu for an exclusive four part series, as we return to fukushima only on al jazeera america

assisting in thetary is destruction of serious chemical weapons. stock piles are scheduled to be destroyed before being disposed at sea. >> it may have been a cargo rejected by every country asks but for the u.s., the disposal of chemical weapons will be an important toast of it's ability to use it's system. neurallized chemical weapons, proven technology. but doing so at sea is unprecedented. the pentagon is confident it can be done. >> this is not new. this is not a high risk thing that hasn't been done before. this has been used for about ten years now to destroy our own chemical

materials. so we have people that understand them well and can control them. can u.s. says it mate take up to 90 days to complete, what world normally take about a month on land. >> the people actually working in the hold feeding those precursor chemicals into the neutralization equipment, this is the only fiscal operations that are going to take place, and if the ship pitches too much, then, of course, that could be hazardous. >> another challenge will be ensuring the continuous operation of the system at full speed without pipes clogging. >> and all the kems will be insulated. >> no liquid, nor gas

will be able to escape from the ship. unless it has passed through a number of filters. >> also how the cargo will be secured it has been widely reported that a chinese military vessel will protect it in what would be beijing's first mission in the mediterranean. but a pentagon spokesperson, said that she did not know if that was true. al jazeera, portsmouth, virginia. >> well, the u.s. may have invented the internet, but now experts say the u.s. is falling behind when it comes to offering high speed broadband service. ranks the u.s. thirty-fifth, out of 148 nations in internet band with, and that brings some people at a big disadvantage. welcome, it is good to see you. >> glad to be here.

>> tell me how big is this? >> this is a major problem. and not like a huge storm in new york and boston to focus us on the role of government. so outgoing major, and incoming mayor, worried about keeping the public safe, because the market byist won't protect us, simply, when it comes to high speed being available to everybody, we are relying on private players but they are systematically consolidating dividing markets will overcharge the rich, leave out the poor, most people don't have a wire to their home in brooklyn. so it is a major problem for our competitiveness on the global scene. that we aren't making the upgrade to fiberoptics, and instead we are just waiting for these guys that are subject to no recklation, and no competition to bring a better world. >> the information that struck me that came out of the new york times when they had a story about san antonio, which

is the 7th largest city, and they compared the internet service, and the speed to the latvian capitol, which has 700,000 people, and san antonio doesn't even come close. >> yeah. well,ist just in stockholm, also smaller than boston, and they are amazed at what has happened in america. they pay other a 6th of what we pay for a service that's 100 times faster. so what's happened is policy. it isn't manic, it does take involvement in this market to keep private actors from doing what they would normally do. it is not evil, it is just that we with absolutely moved any oversight, and so we are stuck. >> sit larger pipes? fiber, what is -- technically, what is it that the u.s. needs. >> the u.s. needs to have fiberoptic technology going to every home and business. because it is inpointly upgradeable. no limit to the capacity.

so some 80-year-old in sweden can communicate without thinking about it, here in the united states we have to think all the time, and worry about it. it is very scarce. we need to move to fiberoptics and make sure it is available to everybody. >> how expensive is that for the utilities. >> well, it is a upfront investment to get it layed out. and they did that in stoke home 20 years ago, and it paid for itself in five years. who gets this blame for this? >> let's not play a lame game. so you will see in kansas city, and lafayette, louisiana, a bunch of right wing mayors are saying we don't want our citizens to be left behind. they see this as the street grid. just another piece of infrastructure, and they are going to be taking the lead in the next few years to dry to drag us. >> shouldn't it come from the federal government?

>> well, electricity took a decade. so yeah, we will have to have involvement, but the tipping point will come when people realize how embarrassing it is to be so far behind. and that comes from local patch work. >> so how much faster is this it. >> 100 times faster. >> wait? >> . >> also download and upload. >> so -- >> so it's as much coming up as down. >> exactly. you stop thinking about it, it is just part of your world. >> because we do that speed test to see how fast it is, and you know it seems pretty fast. but you -- it's hard to imagine 100 times faster. what -- how it might change the work day for people. exactly, we used to call it the light him, we thought one appliance.

and right now we with can't imagine. air countries have already figured this out. >> thank you for being with us. >> thank you, john. >> a day after snap chats major security breech, the company said it is taking steps to better protect the identities of site users. more than 4 million were leaked online yesterday. snap chat is a messaging app, security official wanters of potential vulnerable days earlier. the website where the stolen information was peased has been shut down. fly sought for the winter, why snowy owls are migrating to chicago.

[[voiceover]] no doubt about it,

from home.wls 3,000 miles harry potter's snowy owl may have lived in england, but they breed in the tundra.

now they are showing up in chicago. >> i start to get here at sun rise every morning and come here at sunset. >> it is a bone chillingly cold morning. nature photographer is hoping to snap a photograph of a snowy owl. >> yeah probably the largest owls in north america. so they are just -- they are amazing. just beautiful to watch, beautiful to spend time with. >> wit's bright yellow eyes black beak and puffy white loom imagine, it has a distinct experience. -- appearance. it gained notoriety in the harry potter series seen here. >> i think the fascination is owls throughout history have been seen as a spiritual creature. a wise owl, and i think everybody wants to experience that. as this has by gun appearing around chicago, bird watching enthusiasts have braved the elements to catch a glimpse.

>> the arielle predator feeds mostly on rodents and birds. they can locate and hone in on pray under heavy verge jace, or even snow. >> experts at the zoo say food may explain why the owls have ply vatted this far south. >> sometimes there are these boom and bust cycles where they have a lot of chicks because food source is available and then after that, the adults maybe pushing the juveniles out of the breeding territory. they move fourther and further south. looking for food and also moving out to other territories. >> womaned at cornell university, the online data base provides real time inspection on where they are and where they are going. >> the first ones arrived in about mid november.

we knew to expect them. >> experts say the numbers will increase, giving birders an opportunity to see them until late february or early march. but if bird tracking doesn't sound appealing there's always the zoo. al jazeera, chicago. coming up tonight, inside a colorado marijuana shop. you have seen the headlines and now we show you the products from baked goods to lotions. plus, how one store comes up with bryceing. and making a statement, after speaking out for gay rights an nfl punter says he cannot find a job, who he plays and the accusations he is making against his former team. those stories and much more coming up at 11:00 eastern time. stay with us for more our the winter weather in just a moment, we will be back right after this as you look at a live

picture from new york city. welcome to am al jazeera america, a big snow storm is hitting the northeast right now, to track the storm, kevin? >> the storm is in full throttle. down here towards parts of virginia been we are getting some of the heaviest storms right now. now some of the snow totals with ehave seen in the last couple of hours has been very impressive, we have also seen about 11.5 in vermont. now, these are only going to get worse. i think that total will go well into t 2