check check check >> a storm packing a powerful 1:2 punch crunches the north-east. heavy winds brings states to a standstill. john kerry in talks to brink israel and palestinians together. israel's prime minister expressing doubt that palestines are committed to peace. >> lebanon - a blast, in the city. >> and toronto's mayor, rob ford, says he's running again.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> the first big winter storm of 2014 has arrived in full force. it's slamming the north-east with stiff winds and punishing cold. it's dumped near 2 feet of snow in parts of region. you are looking at a live shot of new york city. the wind is creating blustery conditions, but the bone-chilling wind is causing problems. in new england 2 feet of snow is on the ground, and there could be wind chills drop 25 below zero. john terrett is in boston. >> well, i'm standing in cockney square in the center of downtown boston. over my shoulder is the finish line for the boston marathon, so you know where we are. the snow is piling up behind me.

snow ploughs are coming up and down all the time. the forecast is for driving snow, high blizzard conditions as two storms come together. there's the nor-easter and a storm from the midwest that dumps snow on the midwest. and that is why the snowfall totals are expected to be large. between 8 and 18 inches of snow forecast, even as high as two feet in the capes and the island. one of the areas of great concern is the boston south bay area, where some of the homes are below sea level. there's a concern because there's a storm surge at midnight and tomorrow. >> it's not just boston, this is two-thirds of the north-east. airports are either closed like they are here, and boston is not technically closed, but the airlines are not flying in and out. it's true around other major airports, they may not be

closed, but they are not moving much around until tomorrow, when the storm goes. in new york bill de blasio has taken over from michael bloomberg. bill de blasio was elected in a landslide and inaugurated yesterday. now, one day in his administration faces its first test, a huge snow storm. let's listen to what bill de blasio of new york had to say about the way his administration is planning to tackle this. >> our city sanitation workers are on full mobilisation and have been since this morning. they are working 12 hour shifts in light of the emergency, with more than 2300 workers on each shift. sanitation department already has deployed 450 salt spreaders to prepare the ground for what is coming. as soon as we have at least two inches of snow they'll deploy 1700 trucks equipped with snow

ploughing. >> so that's bill de blasio, the democratic mayor of new york city, and, of course, he's facing a challenge with the team, and the reason it's important to him is a couple of years ago there was a major storm, and bill de blasio's area was not ploughed for three days. he kicked up a stink and he's the mayor, wanting to make sure whatever happens on this first or second day in office with the huge snow storm, he makes sure the city is properly ploughed. >> well, our first winter storm of 2014 has proven its strength and we are not over yet. we have another 10 to 12 hours of dealing with the storm, blowing and drifting snow, windchills below zero, coastal flooding and flight cancellation, anywhere from boston to new york. this is what it looks like about 18 hours ago. we had a little snow pushing

through the area. as we were going through the rest of the day it built up. that's as the two systems came together. as you can see, heavy snow from new jersey to massachusetts, where the accumulation before midnight was just about 16 to 18 inches. we'll watch that through the rest of the morning. what we expect to see in terms of snow on friday is a little bit here across the south-east, parts of cape codd, connecticut and into the eastern part of long island. by the time you get to 12 or 1 o'clock most of the snow will be ended. boston 13, it will be a high, overnight lows minus one. things are better on sunday. temperatures jump significantly by the time it gets to sunday. monday a different story, a mix of precip and the temperatures dropping off. towards the midwest finally you are breaking out from the snow.

you'll deal with temperatures. as we wake up thursday, minus 30 degrees on fargo. that will be significant. for chicago, we'll see snow as we go towards saturday and surned, another dip -- sunday, another dip in the temperatures. that will get worse with a temperature of minus six. >> the snow storm slamming the north-east causing a lot of trouble for travellers. we have this report from laguardia airport where thousands are stranded. >> the storm caused a travel mess across the u.s. from the midwest to the north-east, the snow and high winds led airlines to cancel it if 2300 flights. 67-00 have been delayed. and there's more to come. airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights scheduled to take off friday. it expects the country and international travel. some of the stranded will have to wait until the weekend to get

flights. like this man at laguardia airport trying to get home to west palm beach. >> we were spotsed to be -- supposed to be at west palm beach at 4:44, and it was delayed because we didn't have flight attendants, and they cancelled it. we went through the process. then we got a flight saturday out of j.f.k., tomorrow is cancelled. >> all three regional airports are getting ready to play hotel. passengers are trying to get sleep. ground crews will try to keep run ways free of snow and ice so they can take off when the storm let's up. >> we have a fleet of snow removing vehicles and equipment, and ample supply of chemicals on hand for snow and ice control. the goal is to work throughout the night, keep up with the

storm and try to deliver safe runways and taxi ways for tomorrow's airline push. >> laguardia airport is expecting up to eight inches of snow. so crews will be busy. >> and the governor of new york closed major highways because of the storm. >> secretary of state john kerry getting push-back in the middle east. john kerry is committed to bringing the israelis and palestinians together. as israeli prime minister benyamin netanyahu was not optimistic, doubting the commitment to peace. kerry travels to the west bank for talks. we have more from jerusalem. >> one of the main concessions that kerrie asks the israelis to make - stop building settlements on the heart of their future state. for many it is fundamental to

the identity. for palestinians, the settlement makes a two-state solution impossible. >> before this man had a chance to move into his home it was destroyed. this village, last month the israeli military bulldozed this man's house. >> this is the epitome of degradation. they must think we are animals, or they wouldn't treat us like this. >> israel is building. these foundations are homes for a settlement. this home was built four months ago. the israeli government subsidises houses so they are cheap. she moved because the streets are quiet. >> and their neighbours, the village. >> as you can see, we are a few hundred feet from the house demolished three days ago. >> this man's family lived here for generations.

they do not have building permits. they are encroaching on palestine land. >> number one settlement, two and three. do you feel like you are being surrounded. >> absolutely. >> when you look at the settlements, what do you feel about a palestine state. >> almost zero chance of an independent palestine state. >> why? >> trackicly the set -- prac tickly the settlements are occupying everywhere. >> israel says it has the right to build on land occupied during the war. >> on a good day we see the sea. the u.n. calls the settlements

illegal. >> my kids play at a friend's house. they tell me who they are going to, and play without me going with them. >> she's not just here for the neighbourhood and the view, but believes god wants her to be here. >> god gave the jews the land in the bible. it was given to the jews. it's important for me to live here. >> as she walks home this man gathers his family of nine. there's not enough room for everywhere. he vowed to rebuild the destroyed home. he has no power to stop israel from destroying it again. >> last week israeli officials said they'd announce 1400 settlements, but as one israeli official put it to me, in order not to poke a finger in kerry's eye, they delayed the announcement until after he left k saying they'd go forward with the settlements, infewer rating

palestinians. they are threatening to walk away from the talks. as you know, the talks are very, very fragile. more so by the talk of settlements. >> that was nick schifrin reporting from jerusalem. palestine leaders accuse benyamin netanyahu of sabotaging talks by announcing the building of settlements, but will not make it official until after john kerry leaves. >> three al jazeera journalists have been in police custody for six days. mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed are held in a prison outside cairo. peter greste is being detained at a cairo police station. the prosecutor is causing them of spreading lies. al jazeera says the accusations are fabricated, condemned the arrest and is demanding the release of the journalists.

>> six were killed. thursday's attack took place in a hezbollah strong hold in the heart of southern beirut. that is a few miles away from where lebanon's former minister mohamad chatah died last week. >> a building the target. the explosion is a car bomb in the heart of the suburbs. it's the stronghold of hezbollah. the group fighting inside syria, on the site of forces loyal to the president. >> translation: this is a battle against terrorism, targetting everyone. the perpetrators are trying to ipp site violence among the people. lebanon is no stranger to bombing and fighting. >> days ago former finance minister mohamad chatah was

blown up in the central district. he lobbied for the establishment of an international tribunal looking into the death of former prime minister saad al-hariri killed in a bomb attack in february 2005. before mohamad chatah, a senior hezbollah military commander was shot to death near his home. before that, a suicide bombing outside an iranian embassy. >> certain families stand before, and don't want it to take place. i believe this would be the way - alt the way for those wanting to destabilize the situation in lebanon. no one claimed responsibility for the latest bombing. for many lebanese, it's another indication of darker days to come. >> the u.s. state department has condemned thursday's attack in beirut as calling on all parties to refrain from acts of

retaliation, threatening lebanon's stability. republicans are calling on hamid karzai to sign a security agreement with the u.s. tribal leaders approved the deal. hamid karzai will not sign off until elections are held in april. senator john mccain said waiting to get it done will pose a threat to afghanistan and the region. >> we explained to afghan friends that unless we resolve the differences united states of america has no choice but to continue with its commitment, something we don't want to do, but it's something that can't be totally ruled out. >> after meeting with president karzai thursday, the differences could be resolved. if a deal is not signed u.s. and n.a.t.o. troops would have to leave afghanistan at the end of the year. the head of the army in south

sudan is calling on parties to talk. al jazeera's mohammed adow has more from juba. >> fighting is going on in the flashpoints in south sudan. government forces are engaging rebels around the town of bentiu. the original headquarters of the unity state. on the side of bor, some 200km from juba the capital, government forces are fighting the rebels 10km out of town. now, in the past few hours, the chief of south sudan defense forces - this is the top military man here in south sudan has spoken. he has said they are forced to retake bor from the rebels by whatever means, because the rebels have expressed interest in moving forward to take juba.

he says they would be defending the capital juba were bor, and that these forces will continue fighting the rebels until they have the strategic town of bor. now the president salva kiir declared a state of emergency in the unity and jonglei regions, saying this has to be done to give the governess and the local governess and military a free hand in dealing with the rebellion. the state of emergency was declared, both governors of the region disbanded their government and they are supposed to put together what they call a war-time covenant. >> that was the latest from juba, south sudan. >> clementsy for edward snowden. calls for the government to forgive the n.s.a. leaker. >> destroying syria's weapons.

and the stock market kicking off the year with a drop. why investors may be in a selling mood.

>> two major newspapers that published revelations from edward snowden are calling for clemency, the u.k.'s "guardian", and "new york times" urged the government to give up pursuit from the contractor. they wrote: >> critics were quick to fire back. republican congressman peter king said in the "new york times":

>> an american cargo ship in virginia is set to leave on an unprecedented mission to destroy syria's chemical weapons at sea. as shihab rattansi explains it's a delicate operation. >> it may have been a cargo rejected by every country, but by the u.s. it will be an important test of the u.s.'s ability to use a field deployable hydrolysis system at sea. neutralizing weapons with water, bleach and caustic soda on land is proven. doing so at sea is unprecedented. 9 pentagon is confident it can be done. >> this is not new technology or a high-risk thing that has not been done. machines like this, similar to this have been used for years. we have people that understand it well and will operate them safely. >> once the 700 tonnes of mus

ard gas and precursor chemicals are on board. the u.s. says it may take 90 days to complete what would take a month on land. the main variable in the weather. >> the people working in the feeding post, precursor chemicals to deneutralization equipment. this is the only physical operations that are going to take place, and if the ship rolls or pitches, that could be hazardous. >> another challenge will ensure the continuous operation of the hydrolysis system at full speed without pipes clogging. >> the pentagon stresses that the low hazardous waste will not be taken out to sea, but stored. >> no liquid or gas will be able to escape from the ship, unless

it has past through a number of filters and scrubbers. >> as for how the cargo will be secured while at sea, it's been reported that a chinese military vessel with protect it in what would be beijing's first mission in the mediterranean. a spokesperson did not know if that was true. >> syria was supposed to remove key elements of chemical weapons stockpiled by the end of 2013. the u.s. sits civil war, problems and bad weather held up the deadline. >> a search is on for a person or an arson attack. security footage shows the suspect parking a van in front of a building before pouring two buckets of vass lean on the front gate and setting it on fire. it's not treated as an act of terrorism, calling on the u.s. to provide adequate protection for the consulate.

wall street investors kicked off the new year. the dow dropped 135 points on the first trading day of the year. this is the first time it began with a loss. >> al jazeera's real life catholic church spoke to analysts about the outlook for the year. >> we have a solid entertainment marketplace. a lot of big companies paying dividends. that's the opportunity, there's no one investment class you can stay in. >> another analyst told real life catholic church that borrowing costs will rise. it will happen when the federal reserve produces report. >> keeping quite about an attack. while the makers of snapchat. toronto's embattled mare, rob ford looking to keep his job.

>> snapchat is keeping quiet about being hacked.

more than 4.6 million accounts were compromised. a snapchat spokeswoman said the company will not comment on the breach until a full investigation is completed. snapchat user names and phone numbers were leaked online. a security firm warned snapshot of a potential vulnerability. the website where the stolen information was posted was shut down. >> in a mix up a chicago woman received an extra christmas gift from president obama and her family. she received a late christmas box from an uncle. it appeared to be repackaged bit the post office, and at the bottom a photo book with pictures of the barack obama's. it was intended for the godparents of the girls sasha and malia. >> toronto mayor rob ford is back on the ballot, announcing that he is running for a second

term despite his bad behaviour. >> let's get rolling. >> four more years. that was the promise toronto's mayor made as he signed up to run for re-election. forwas the first candidate to show up at city hall. he made international headlines last year. first by admitting he used drugs. >> i have crack cocaine. >> which he explained happened because he was in a drunken stupor. then there was this. >> [ bleep ]. >> son everyone outside canada knew who ford was, and the world waited to see what outrageous thing he might say next. >> this guy has a huge [ bleep ]. >> i'm sorry for how i have been acting. it's not indicative of my position of mayor in this great town of toronto. . >> hey, man, i got what you asked. >> despite the bad press ford refused to step down, nor did he

flinch when the toronto city council stripped him of all but the most symbolic of powers. >> council, the reason i drang and did drugs was not bus of stress, it was out the stupidity. >> ford told supporters he was the best mayor, and promised to run on first call not personal record. >> everyone drinks and drugs, but they don't catch them. they catch him. >> rob ford has a common touch with the people. >> it's started. we'll stand on our first call record. rob ford is the only politician i can remember, who done what he said he would do. >> toronto's voters will have the final say on the future in october. >> since revelations about drinking and drug use surfaced

ford is clean and adopted a healthier lifestyle. that's al jazeera news for now. i'm stephanie sy, thank you for watching. hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you are in "the stream." we'll look at why non-violent protests could lead to historically harsh punishment. ♪ our digital producer, wajahat ali is here, bringing in all of your live feedback through the show. today we're taking an interesting look at what against.