>> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters, and these are the stories we're following for you. a major snowstorm in the northeast bringing planes, trains and automobiles to a crawl. john kerry meeting with palestinian leaders with a bid for peace. and the obama administration with a challenge for the affordable care act. two third of the east coast being crippled by the first major snowstorm of the year. we want to show you right now this. the planes in the air at this hour over the united states.

according to flight radar.com, nearly 2,000 flights in the u.s. have already been canceled. another 1,000 delayed today. the vast majority of them being in the northeast. erica is out on the streets of new york, but first we go to john carroll in boston where the windchill is below 0. john, what is the latest from boston is this >> reporter: hey, del, the latest from boston, the sun is starting to peek through the clouds, but it's very very cold. it's only two or three degrees here with the windchill at -15, -18, something like that. so it's very very cold. i think that the feeling in massachusetts, which is really in the eye of the storm here, rather dodged a bullet in the end. we did get two feet of snow in boston, and though the snow is easing up, in fact, it's pretty much stopped here in boston, but it's going to continue right on through a large part of the day,

i'm afraid, as you go south of here through boston's south bay and south shore, and particularly to the holiday areas of martha's vineyard and iin nantucket. thethey have a storm surge as w. they had one at midnight last night. and they got away with it pretty much. and there were breaches of sea waters, and there was a little bit of flooding but not as bad as suspected, but there's one more coming up of deeper and affecting. and that will be at midday today. this is copley square, the place where the boston marathon comes to an end, and this is 11:00 in the morning, on a friday, just after fears nears, and you would expect to see many more tourists finishing up their day, and it's

pretty much deserted. here comes the snowplow again, and getting my feet wet. thank you very much. and it's pretty much deserted, with the snowplows more than the ordinary workers. >> that's john carroll. and my apologies for the snowplow. and erica, the story seems to be the roads. >> the snow has stopped following for the rest of the day. but the roads are a mess. can you see there's plenty of snow on the roads, and though they have been plowing and spreading salt throughout the night and that has caused a lot of problems.

the roads are closed. and throughout new york, major roads and highways, and those have now reopened. so things are trying to get back to normal here, but again, we're kind enough the thick of it here. >> erica, has jfk reopened in. >> yes, minutes ago, we learned that jfk reopened. it closed at 6:00 this morning, so you can imagine flights going in and out all morning long, but here's the deal with this. and why it's such a big deal for travelers across the country, anyone who had a flight leaving anywhere in the country coming into jfk or out of the country for that matter, they could not take off until jfk reopened. so that's going to help travel. and help get folks back home for the holidays. >> and erica, there's the issue of the cold. and it's dangerously cold

outside. how are they concerned about that? >> yes, very cold. yes, the snow has stopped falling, but double-digit temps retain now, and down tousings de digits tonight. and you can get frostbite in 30 minutes or less. we have heard of outreach volunteers canvassing the city to encourage homeless people to come into the shelters and certainly get out of this before the biting cold sets. erica pitzi in new york, and the war is over. >> the snow is over, and in the next few hours, we have the cold temperatures with a coating of snow on the ground. so be aware of that. and the wind is picking up.

we have windchill warnings, and you see the wind gusts up to 30, 40 miles per hour. and the blizzard warnings, even though the snow is gone, we still have blowing and drifting snow and low visibility, especially on the coast here and in long island. that's the cloud, and now the story is the temperatures. we're looking at temperatures already below 0, not factoring in the wind. windchills well below 0, and where the snow is on the ground tonight, we don't under estimate that. and the fresh coating on the ground, the temperatures could be colder than forecast. down to 10 below 0 in albany, and single digits in new england. and colder with the snow on the ground. windchills even colder with the wind gusting to 30, 40 miles per hour. blizzard warnings in effect, and what this next storm could mean

for us in the country. coming up in the national forecast. >> thank you very much. secretary of state, john kerry, is in the west bank, meeting with palestinian president, mahmoud abbas. >> yeah, del, yesterday we heard from prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, extreme skepticism with the palestinian authority, that they are supporting terrorism. that's a charge that the palestinians deny, but what the palestinians want to talk about is trying to get the two sides a lot closer together. and right now, they're absolutely nowhere close it each other or any positive movement. they have been talking for six months now, and they have met 20 types, and some officials on both sides say that they're

actually farther away from each other than when they started. two of the things that they are trying to focus on right now, that kerry is trying to get through, one on the israeli side, trying to get them to start at 1967. after 1967, israel had the west bank, and gaza, and retain now, the palestinians want the israelis to base the talks on 1967 borders, and what the israelis want, for the palestinians to say, you're a jewish state. and the palestinians object to those things. and that takes away the right of return to all of the arabs to return to 1948. and clearly, both sides are far apart right now. >> what did mahmoud abbas say is his main concern in. >> well, i think that he's responding to in part is israeli

concern that they're identified as a jewish state. but what i think the memberships reallpalestinianswant to talk ae settlements. they continue to build settlements in the west coast bank, and how can you possibly be talking about peace when you're not only building settlements but an entire infrastructure in the heart of the future palestinian state? and the palestinians say, question don't have a viable state. if you continue to build settlements and continue to build roads into the settlements that we can't access, and you continue to insist that the israeli soldiers stay within the palestinian west bank. and that's what they're carrying on, and right now, they are not budging. kerry is trying to get very basic for the groundwork for a blueprint for peace, and that's how far separated we are from

any kind of agreement. >> nick schiffrin joinitioning us from hamala. to give catholic groups an exception for contraception. asking for a block in the affordable care act to give them -- libby, the affordable care act already in the courts, and give us background on this latest move. >> reporter: yes, del, this has been an issue of controversy for sometime. the healthcare law requires that contraception is part of their package, but it has an exception for religious groups, but it didn't have the charities. and the obama administration

thought it had worked out a solution. instead of getting the charity to pay for that contraception, it would get a third party insurer to do so, and that was the solution, and the charity could say that they object to birth control. but that didn't go far enough for some charities. the group of nuns, the little sisters of the poor, that help impoverished people in a nursing home. they didn't want to even sign a statement. and they filed a lawsuit, and justice sotomayor gave them a temporary injunction. >> so far, what has been the white house's response? >> the government has come back, and they said they would like this exemption dissolved because the little sisters of the poor have an insurer that is a religious insurer and the government said that that's a church and it doesn't qualify for this part of the law, and

therefore, this isn't a valid suit from the government's perspective. but this brings up a larger question of whether or not the charities should have to sign a document or wade into the waters that they find so objectionable. so justice sotomayor could continue the objection, or waive it back with the only plan, or she could take it to the rest of the supreme court and they could look at it more closely. the supreme court is going to look at other cases related to this part of the law with for profit companies where they don't want to have this part of the law. >> did the snow on the ground leave dc in gridlock today? >> the federal government is open, but many workers are tell commuting or they took the day off.

but the news never takes the day off. >> a federal judge is going to settle the legal dispute between a hospital and a braindead girl. the children's hospital in oakland, the family wants to move her to another hospital. but the hospital refuses to teach breathing and feeding tubes so she can't be moved. she was pronounced braindead last month. who is responsible for thursday's bombing in south beirut? the blast in hezbollah. 6 people were killed and dozens more injured. an official saying that human remains were found inside of the vehicle. investigators trying to determine if it was actually a suicide bombing >> everyone. >> also in the middle east, members of syria's largest opposition group in turkey to discuss key issues this. the group decided if they will

participate in the peace conference, which was scheduled to take place in widser land later this month. they killed more than 100,000 peep. an american cargo ship in virginia with an unprecedented mission with syrian chemical weapons at sea. it is a very delicate operation. >> it may have been a cargo rejected by every country asked, but for the u.s., the disposal of syria's chemical weapons arsenal will be used at sea. neutralizing chemical weapons with water, bleach and soda on land is proven technology, but at sea is unprecedented. the pentagon is confident it can be done. >> this is not new technology, and it's not a high-risk thing that has not been done before. machines like this have been used for ten years now to destroy our own chemical

materials. so we have people who understand it well. >> once the 700 tons of weapons are onboard, it will take up to 90 days. >> the people actually work for the feeding of chemicals into denewtization equipment, and this is the only physical operations that are going to take place, and if the ship rolls or pitches too much, of course that could be hazardous. >> another challenge will be ensuring the continuous operation of the hydraulic system at full speed without pipes clogging. the waste that's produced might be dumped at sea, but stored onboard, and given to commercial companies for disposal piment >> and all of the chemicals will be insulated.

>> no more gas will be able to escape from the ship unless it has to pass through a number of filters and scrubbers. >> also, how the cargo will be secured while at sea, 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 spokesperson told aljazeera that she didn't know if that was true. aljazeera, virginia. >> and three of our aljazeera colleagues are expected to face more questioning this weekend. they have been held for six straight days. they are being held at a prison in cairo, and the other is in a cairo police station. aljazeera continues to demand that all three be released immediately. no e. >> next on aljazeera america, mining taking off in australia, and it is having a huge impact on the economy and for locals. and they're looking live at the

george washington bridge here in new york city. where millions of kids got the day off today because of the snow.

>> ford reporting it's sales up just 2%. and 201 2013 was still it's best year. and chrysler less than expected. snow and ice in december keeping customers away. and chrysler said that it had it's fourth year of higher sales. and gm dropping 6% in december, but for the fourth year, they were up 7%. >> . >> australia has an economic boom, mostly driven by mining.

they provide china with most of its raw materials, but it comes at a high cost for other industries. >> reporter: it's a menacing sight. all the more so when you realize these vehicles don't have drivers. the trucks are the latest high-tech components of australia's mining industry. this will be the most efficient in the world. >> in terms of the cost, which gives us a lot of headroom compared to other producers. >> the rocks are put on trains to carry support. empty, and then loaded on to ships. to china, there it's made into steel. >> reporter: each of these ships is loaded with

180,000 tons of iron ore, and it's enough to make a city three times over. one of these ships leaves every 12 hours from this company alone. >> reporter: providing 100 million tons a year will bring in $420 billion in revenue. rivals mine even more. mining money has made australia rich. but it has consequences. it pushed up australia's currency, making it hard for non-mining companies to export. >> so we become more of a developing country, and that means we are hugely exposed to a downturn in commodities in a slowing of china's demand for these raw materials. >> reporter: even without the slowdown, the investment phase is trailing off. and it's making jobs in

construction. australia's boom times aren't over, but there's a bumpy road ahead. andrew thomas, aljazeera in australia. >> coming up on aljazeera america, it is a winter wonderland built completely out of ice, but even though it's 25 below, it's something to see. and looking at the number of planes in the air right now over the u.s. 2,000 flights in the u.s. canceled today. those are the orange planes that you're looking at. and the bottom line, call ahead if you plan on flying anywhere.

>> this is the scene live right now in boston, where we have actually equipped a car with a camera to show you just what the roads are like with 2 feet of snow falling in parts of new england and making driving treacherous. to make matters worse, the temperatures are cold there, below zero in many spots. welcome back, i'm del walters,

and john kerry is there to speak with mahmoud abbas. this is his 10th trip to the region as secretary of state. the obama administration is opting not to give exception to contraceptives. >> . >> a federal judge meeting today with lawyers at a california hospital for a braindead girl. the two sides are in a legal dispute over the care of jahai, she wen. gazing at a winter wonderland in china. in the northern part of the country, a dazzling array of ice sculptures. >> reporter: putting the

finishing touches to this year's winter collection. local sculptures with the increasing fame of this ice festival in the northern city means competition from overseas is getting tougher. the standard has been improving a lot because people have been using more sophisticated tools. e growing extensively, the last few years have been seeing the festival boom, 25% in the last year alone. >> as the economy keeps growing, people have more money to travel and they want to go to more interesting pleases >> reporter: it's after dark that the festival comes alive, and it becomes apparent, despite the nighttime temperatures of -25° and below. having planned and saved, civil servant and his wife are bringing their five-year-old daughter here for the first

time. it's their only holiday this year from their native province in china, but they're already planning next year. >> we want to go to tibet. >> after that, we want to go abroad. >abroad. >> reporter: with high expectations of growing wealth. and reforms from the one child policy, from the midnight income perspective, china in 2014 is looking pretty rosie right now. >> by the way, those extravagant structures are all made of ice blocks from the frozen river. >> the snow totals that come in from the national weather service office, bringing in a lot of information here, and in massachusetts, just west of boston, foxburg, just under 2 feet of snow. that will be the heaviest snow

from the snow winding up there. and they got a lot of it. logan international, boston, philadelphia, 6.9 in la guardia, and washington d.c., 2 and a half inches of snow. so it went from boston, close to 2 feet. so 2 inches in dc, along i-95. the dark blue color with bands of heavy snow. that was last night and this morning it cleared out. the snow is gone, and the sunshine will cause a little bit of melting today, which will refreeze tonight. but the wind is the big story. these are the cold temperatures. actually air temperatures, down to 0 in new york, and portland, maine, 6° in boston. and a fresh coating of snow will make them drop overnight. but when you factor in the wind, it looks like 20, 30 below in the northeast. and that wind is out of the northeast and the north. and that's creating a coastal

problem here at noon with the high tide. coast of boston and new york, and philadelphia, a windchill of 13 below. here comes the next storm. that will wind up over the next 48 hours. a little bit of snow in north dakota and minnesota. but it's that blowing and drifting snow which will give us blizzard warnings in effect. with blowing and drifting snow reducing visibilities. look at these temperatures. close to 40 below by saturday morning in fargo, and then down to 50 below. overnight, saturday to sunday, 30 below in minneapolis. so this next round of bitter cold air comes in from chicago, creating light snow. temperatures down into the single digits over the weekend. we could see a mix of rain and snow across the northeast as the storm moves gradually east over the next few days of. >> yes, that was 52 below in fargo.

thanks for watching aljazeera america. inside story is next, and check us out at aljazeera.com. decision-making, while in texas it's a 33-year-old woman in her second trimester of pregnancy. when is life over? who gets to say, and who has to pay? that's the "inside story." hello, i'm ray suarez. dying in america can be complicated, expensive and accompanied by questions that are hard to answer. if a person is unconscious and