>> this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. as people in the northeast dig out from the first major snowstorm of 2014 temperatures are expected to plunge. [ protesting ] >> palestinian protesters take to the streets as secretary of state john kerry arrives in ramallah for talks with president mahmood abbas. the u.n. said rebels are marching on the capitol juba. and the battle over birth control. the obama administration asks the supreme court to not allow religious groups to opt out of

that provision of the affordable care act. ♪ >> much of the east coast has spent this friday cleaning up the mess left behind after the first major winter storm of the year. people across the region woke up to heavy snow. more than two feet falling in some parts of massachusetts. and when the storm moved out, frigid temperatures moved in. we begin our coverage with richelle carey. she's at columbus circle. can you walk us through this day. i know it was a real pain during the early morning commute, but how are things going in the afternoon? >> reporter: i think it's going much better, you're right, tony, when storms come in often the most difficult is in the morning when plows out are and children are needing to get to school. however, 1.1 million children got out of school for snow day.

it is dangerously bitterly cold here in new york city. and of course in boston as well. i know john terrett will have much more on that. that is what went into the decision to cancel school today. i know people sometimes wonder it snows on the east coast all the time. why do we focus so much on the east coast. because what happens here in this population hub, financial hub travel hub what happens here can trickle down and paralyze the rest of the country. i have an update on the three major airport. laguardia has a 30-minute delay. jfk was closed for two hours, open now, so it's progress but that's a 30-minute delay. out at newark. there are no in-coming flights until 4:15. they are being held at their locations not even allowed to take off to land in newark. so i say as the day has

progressed things have gotten a little bit better, but the temperatures are still so cold even though it's not stopped snowing, tony, at 10:00 this morning. >> so it's bitter cold, i can see that around you. i'm wondering, you know, is there anyone out there having a bit of fun? it is the first snow of the season. kids didn't have school today. have you seen any folks actually enjoying the inconvenience that the snow brings? >> yes, yes, we have. we have seen lots of children out here at the park having a great time with their parents. caution, not to stay out too long regardless of how many layers you have on, it is bitterly cold. let's talk a little bit more, tony, about how dangerously cold it is. the city here really made a concerted effort to address the problem of how many homeless people there are, and telling

people if you see folks who need help, call the police. there are 6,000 people on any night who don't have a place to stay in new york. 20,000 children who need a place to stay. the shelters were packed in the city last night. >> we had that conversation yesterday with christie, who does a great work on the subject. stay work, and if you're taking your own advice you're moving inside out of the storm. the aftermath on social media, we go to maria. >> there are a lot of people on the east side of the state. this is a vehicle evacuating people earlier this morning. i spoke to the police chief in the area. he said they're very concerned about the flooding in the area because later on when the

temperatures drop then all of that water will turn into ice. and this is some of the water coming over the sea wall just before high tide. down in new jersey you have senator corey booker who earlier today said he was going to go out and help shovel some of the areas in newark. some people started tweeting saying, teacher mom said there are seniors at 702 seventh street. i have no way to get there. i'm worried. my gramps is 90. he said i'll be there in 30. and here you see him senator corey booker, he was helping out paula ellis' grandparents shoveling snow. and also this morning bill de blasio, the new mayor of new york city, he was sworn in two days ago, he was out shoveling snow this morning. >> it feels like the new standard. if you're a new application you

have to get pictures of yourself helping folks. you're digging out the snow, right? >> reporter: a lot of people saying this is that. a little bit-- >> it's a photo op. >> it is his first snowstorm since he's been in office, and a lot of attention has been focused on him because in 2010 mayor bloomberg was criticized for taking days to clean up the streets in new york after a major snow storm. and you see his son, dante de blasio out shoveling snow. he had a text with a friend of his who said i'm trying to convince my dad, classes were canceled in new york and other areas of course in the northea northeast. prompting some to say, dante de blasio, hero to school children forever.

>> he would be my hero if i could get that afro. come on, back in the day. let's get remnants of the storm. dave, it didn't pack a wallop, and now we're trying to get things back. >> meteorologist: we better because there is another storm coming. >> what? >> meteorologist: yes, a day or two before that gets there, there will not be snow, but we're looking at another storm. this is what came from the first storm. it fell and intensified before midnight. there is northwest of boston international airport in boston, logan international, 14.6. almost seven at laguardia, and washington, d.c. had 2.5 inches of snow. this is the snow on the visible radar. the view from space. as we put this into motion you see the clouds moving, but this is not. this is snow on the ground. and that fresh coating of snow will let the temperatures drop tonight with colder air moving in. it will be a bitter cold night

tonight. temperatures could drop below zero in albany, teens in philadelphia, new york, washington, d.c. $2 24 degrees. the winds will gust and easily a better cold morning. bundle up bus this is what it will feel like on the skin when you combine cold air can gusting wind. blizzard warnings in effect because the wind is picking up, blowing and drifting zone, and this area of snow is just light snow now it will continue to push east and impact the mid-atlantic and the northeast this weekend. maybe not as much snow, but still a wintery mix in store. we'll have the complete forecast coming up later. >> appreciate it. thank you. secretary of state john kerry made another effort to advance

peace talks between israel and palestinians. he didn't receive a particularly warm welcome. kerry went to meet with mahmood abbas. nick schrifrin has more. >> reporter: secretary kerry is trying to get both sides to make compromises to admit they have to make hard choice notice weeks and months to come if this peace talk is ever going to succeed. what kerry is trying to do, not solve everything right now but get both sides to agree on the framework of what they're going to discuss in the further. this is not about solving everything. this is simply about getting both sides to agree on a piece of paper that says this is where we start. this is where we're going to launch or peace talks. mahmood abbas said israelis have

to start negotiations based on the 1967 borders. that means no west bank. no gaza. that is the heart of the palestinian state. that is not something that president netanyahu has ever greed on. then kerry goes to the israelis and says what do you want? they want the palestinians could acknowledge them as a jewish state. they say israel has no problem living side by side with the palestinian state but the palestinians say we can't accept you as a jewish state because that takes away the right of return for many palestinians who were living what is now israel before 1968 and negates the identity of arabs who live in israel right now. kerry continues to shuttle diplomacy. it's very hard work, but he continues to do it. his aids say he'll be back in

the next two weeks if he has to continue to make this happen. >> nick schifrin reporting for us. i spoke with gershon baskin. i asked him about the latest round of diplomacy. >> we have to go beyond the vision that was the failure of the peace process, the peace of walls, fences, and barbed wires. that's not going to emerge from the process that is sustainable. we have to envision a different kind of process that is based on cross boundaries. we need to build bridges rather than walls. we need to think of systems that will allow people movement and access across the borders and

consider a city of jerusalem, the capitol of the state of israel and the state of palestine and where people can move across all parts of the city. we can't divide the city between the israeli sectors and palestinian sectors. we can't go back to the type of history of berlin with the wall dividing the city between the two sides and here we're dealing with two different states. we need to build cooperation on security where there will be joint personnel. israeli personnel within the framework on of the palestinian side and because it's under palestinian sovereignty the commanders will be palestinian. we need to be building agreements that are not dependent on third-party services, not nato or u.s. forces. >> now to egypt where it has been a violent day on the streets clashes have left 11

dead and 42 more have been injured. 120 have been arrested. all this less than two weeks before a vote on the new constitution. we have stephanie decker with more. >> it was a violent friday, a day accustomed to protests. but this one more heated than most. in cr cairo police fired at protesters and the crowd sets streets alight. the threat of arrests did not stop those unhappy with military rule. protesters divided across the country. the declaration by the interim government that the muslim brotherhood is a terrorist organization gives authority and power to arrest and convict those who they say are part of the group or promoting it's interests. taking part in one of these marchs could land new prison for fiv--you inprison for five year.

the anti-coup alliance said it will deny the interim government and respect the results of the democratic elections. >> al jazeera is still demanding the release of three of our colleagues held in egypt producers mohammed fahmy and baher mohammed. and correspondent peter greste. they've been held an on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading lies. al jazeera says the allegations are fabricated nonsense. members of syria's largest opposition group are meeting in turkey to discuss some key issues. they appear to be getting the upper hand against the government. fighters are headed to the capitol of juba.

>> bor thre has changed hands te times since the fighting began. and the government forces are trying hard to get it back from them. when the fighting goes on, rebels are headed to juba and they're now a 140 kilometers noh of juba. they're coming on foot to take the capitol juba. we don't know whether if it's related to this advancement, but the u.s. embassy are evacuating all non-essential staff from juba and asking all citizens in south sudan to head to the airport in juba to be lifted o out. there are other countries that are evacuating their nationals from juba.

some of them have been continuing this since the conflict began. now this is happening also talks have begun where we are told that the rebels are taking an uncompromising position and putting a cease-fire agreement to be addressed with six other conditions before they can talk about stopping the convicted as we mentioned a moment ago the u.s. is asking all americans in south sudan to leave the country. earlier this week we brought you the story of brad and kim campbell and their daughters. they've been taking care of south sudanese orphans for two years now. the group fled as the fighting raged near their compound. the campbells want to get the orphans out of harm harm's way,t the children lack the proper paperwork. we'll come back and look at their efforts in south sudan.

when looking at genetically modified food, the surprising places you'll find it. >> and a day after the legal marijuana. we'll find someone who is against the weed. stay with us.

>> 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 >> it's been said you are what you eat, but most americans may not know a large quantity of the foods we eat contain genetically modified organisms. today general mills said it will no longer use them in cheerios after pressure from consumers. kaelyn forde has more. >> american shoppers don't always get the whole story of what they're eating from the labels on food. one advocacy group estimated 60% to 70% of foods on these shelves contain genetically modified foods or gmo. that means 91% of soybeans in

the u.s. 85% of corn. 75% of processed foods, and 40% of dairy products contain rgbh it's banned from some countries in the entire european union. agriculture giants like monsanto which rolled out its first harvest of modifified corn for people last year. but research shows that it can harm beneficial insects, damage soil and contaminate neighboring crops. it is banned in three countries, and serbia, benin and zambia,

and 16 countries require products containing gmos to be labeled. including european union, russia, and australia. but here in the u.s. companies are not required to use special labels. >> a mixed day for stocks after yesterday's sell off. the dow gaining 28 points. investors encouraged by the fed chairman ben bernanke who says the central bank remains committed to policies that support the economic reservery. birecovery. >> boeing will likely produce it's plane in another state. the decision will be made

tonight. crisichrysler reporting decr sales up 6% but that was below forecasts. ford's higher just by 2%. all three companies had solid gains. colorado rang in the new year with brisk sales in marijuana. not everyone is lining up to support that move. here to give us an opposing view is tom gorman. former dea agent and director of the rocky mountain high trafficking. he joins us from denver. it is good to talk to you. i got to tell you, i haven't heard your perspective or the perspective from someone who has spent so much time with law enforcement on this subject. what does legalizing marijuana in your state, what does it mean to you?

>> quite frankly, it's an experiment, for one thing, as to what is going to happen when you taktake a drug and legalize it. on one hand one group says nothing will happen. it's a good thing. on the other hand people say it will be devastating to the state of colorado with the impact. in one way we have a lab for everyone to look at and see what is the truth about the legalization debate. it will end the argument once and for all. it will take two to six years to get all the data, but no longer will you be listening to rhetoric. you'll be looking at facts. >> that will be good to get to fact and go back and forth on the rhetoric. you say it's an experiment. you're right about that. there is no denying that. but don't you think it's an experiment that has all the possibilities in the world to becoming permanent when you consider--i just read a figure here that in the first day or so

the state took in $1 million a day. how do you turn back from that kind of revenue? >> well, keep in mind those are allegedly sales of marijuana, not revenue. it was not revenue. it was sales of marijuana, not the revenue. you know, you have to weigh the pros and cons. for instance, if you look at alcohol, which is heavily tracked, and tobacco, which is heavily tacked and say we bring in revenue of those drugs, but the cost of those drugs socially, health wise, the taxes cover 10%. well, if that's the case in marijuana, we don't know if it will be or not, if that's the case, that's not a good investment. >> you know, let me bring up a quote of yours from a print interview back in 2010. here's one of your quotes in which you talked about the dangerous of increased legalization of marijuana in your perspective. every time you have increased

use including with marijuana, you're going to have increased accidents, treatments and other problems. do you constant by that? >> absolutely. >> and do you see those kinds of problems potentially coming to colorado? and the reason i ask is you can make the same arguments about lifting the prohibition in this country on alcohol. do you see an additional hazard in the widespread use of marijuana? >> well, tony, i think any time you take a substance, and you make it more available, you lower the price which competition will lower the price, you increase the perception of risk, health risk and risk of getting in trouble and you're going to have increased use. that increased use among adults, college age students and teena teenagers. you look at that and say what does increased use do to us? if you look at the impact of increased use, then it could be

very, very significant both in impaired driving, traffic fatalities, school drop outs, kids not caring, behavior changes increased risk behavior, all those types of things could, in fact, occur with increased use. if that becomes a negative for society. in that case it was not a good idea because negative impact has way, way far out weighed the legalization. >> give me a bit of your experience. you talked about the counter culture that surrounded drug use, i'm assuming you include marijuana in that group as well. talk about that for a second, and i wonder if you think keeping in mind that this is as you mentioned rightfully so an experiment that when the counter culture becomes mainstream

culture, which it might in this case, i wonder if you would expect some of the aspects of what was bad in that counter culture to go away? >> you know, the counter culture, if you want to call it that, there is some--i believe there are people that are very responsible, that will spoke marijuana in their house, not go outside and drive, not leave it for the kids, not leave it around, be very responsible people. with those people there is going to be no impact with what they do whatsoever. the problem is we have so many irresponsible people in this country that that's why we need laws. if everybody was responsible, we wouldn't need laws. we need laws to keep them from endangering themselves and other people. that's the ones that i'm most concerned about. so what happens is if people are responsible have to give up a certain degree of freedom so that we can restrict of behavior of irresponsible people, that's

your counter culture. >> i appreciate that. dea agent, thank you. it's a gateway for africans to get to italy. they're making a dangerous crossing at sea. debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story next only on al jazeera america craryh

palestinian president mahmoodryh abbas in an effort to he reach a peace deal between palestine and israel. and the first major snowstorm of the year. some 2600 flights were impacted. temperatures are now dropping to dangerous lows. be careful out there. so after hours of heavy snowfall it's starting to let up. airports are getting cleared but it is so cold right now people are asked to stay indoors. john terrett. look at this man, it is below zero. i don't know if we'll hear you, but we'll give it a shot.

walk us through this day, the ups and downs of what it's like in boston with all this snow? >> reporter: i'll tell you, tony, this was forecast to be a very dangerous snow. it stretches all the way from mississippi over to the eastern seaboard. concentrating on the state of massachusetts where we are in boston at the moment. there were 13 inches that spell here in the city. there were 23 inches to the north. a good two feet of snow down to the cape and islands. and people heeded the governor's warning to stay indoors. this is where the boston marathon ends over here. look at that. this is 4:30 on a friday night, and you can hardly see anybody, tony. there is nobody here. earlier on the snowplows outnumbered the people. i think most people here are tourists or people on a day off. they haven't come in to work or shopping but they've come to look at the prettiness of it

all, which it certainly is. there were flight delays, and getting on to 3,000 cancellations. at logan airport 31% of flights were canceled, and 40% delayed. it looks like they've cleared all the snow and they're waiting for all the planes to come it will be delays for several days maybe even up to monday. >> dave warren indicated there may be something else headed your way. are the people in massachusetts out of the woods? >> reporter: not really. the reason why there is a storm developing in the midwest again just like this one started in the midwest. but the real problem is people of new york and new jersey for them it's a state of emergency declared by both governors. there are weekend schedule rail

links going on even this friday. the problem now is the temperatures will plunge. in boston the temperatures hit 2 degrees but the wind chill made it feel like minus 20. that's the kind of temperatures we're going to see in the whole of the northeast in the coming days, and the cold is in many ways just as much of an enemy for us as the snow. >> we don't need you back until 6:00 p.m. eastern time. get warm. yeah, good move. thanks, john. the obama administration is pushing back against a supreme court decision giving exempt to birth control. justice sown i sonia sotomayor o monies. let's go to libby casey. >> reporter: good to see. >> you yes, what is behind this latest controversy involving the group of nuns and the affordable

care act. >> reporter: this has been a controversial part of the affordable care act for a long time. workplace policies are required to cover birth control. there are exemptions but that does not include charities lin links to churches. a lot of these charities have pushed back that they don't want to cover birth control because they're against it on a moral ground. the president pushed back saying the charities could use third-party insurers, but the charities pushed back and said that isn't good enough for us, including the little sisters of the poor. this group of nuns who work in denver running a nursing home that help the impoverished. they filed a lawsuit, and justice so society toe sotomayo,

and they're asking for a response from the white house. the government said first of all they want this exemption removed. but they said this is basically a moot point because here's the twist, tony. the little sisters of the poor have as their third party insu insurer an religious insurance group, so this group is exempt from providing contraception, so the obama administration said this is just a moot point. now the little sister to the poor say they don't want to sign any paper core paperwork or docd the president pushed back saying this group is bullies for fighting this group of nones. >> a major meet something under way to determine what will happened to a 13-year-old who is declared brain dead last month

after complications of a tonsil tonsillectomy. melissa chan has been following this for us. she's in san francisco. the issue is whether this young girl would be able to be sent to new york to remain on life support. that's one of the issues here. >> reporter: well, tony, it's really confusing because there is actually two court hearings today. the federal hearing that is still ongoing and we'll update you when we get word from that hearing. but earlier from the west coast the county court had developments about it. there has been confusion in terms of what the hospital would allow. now it's clear they have made the decision they will allow an outside physician if the family can find an outside physician to go to children's hospital and

conduct the transfer. they need to put a feeding and breathing tube for her to go to this new york facility. the county has issued a death certificate for her. so it's confusing. there is documents that she's dead. she's a body, she's corpse, and you have a family fighting so hard to keep her on life support. >> why has this become such--rivetting on one hand, and then such a controversial case? >> reporter: i think it goes back to the fact that this is very personal not just for the family, but for anyone following this story because it questions us about what we think death is, our different notions of death. some people think it's when the heart stops. some people listen to the medical terminology and agree brain dead is dead. but any time you have a situation where you have people thinking about their individual

situation and connecting with this family you get a very big charged case. >> it is very emotionally charged. melissa chan for us in san francisco. good to see you. the italian army rescues more migrants trying to reach sicily. just yesterday people were helped off a craft smuggler ship. it was found off the tiny island of lampedusa. not far behind were others, we're in sicily where the migrants have been taken. >> reporter: these are some of the thousand migrants rescued off the coast of sicily in the space of 24 hours at a common sight for the italian navy but not this time of year. but weather and conditions usually discourage migrants from

taking the trip in winter. 853 migrants were rescued on thursday, 233 more on wednesday. the migrants came from all corners of africa and the middle east, mali, egypt, pakistan, iraq, and tunisia united in their desperate attempt to reach europe through italy. their number is constantly on the increase with refugees ru running from civilly unrest areas, among those seeking a better life. italy launched a special operation combining ships, helicopters and drones to intercept boats carrying migrants before they run into trouble after more than 350 migrants died last october in the worst shipwreck ever recorded off these shores. another 34 people died in a separate ship recognize. there was condemnation of the

way migrants were being treated at reception centers in lampedusa. shocking images of naked migrants being showered down. authorities will be pleased this latest wave of migrants has been saved without fatalities, this new development will bring alarm. >> the rescue in antarctica. i thought we were past this, but this and other stories are making headlines around the globe. i thought this was all resolved yesterday, everyone was safe, happy and going on with their lives. >> reporter: i know, it's a saga. the chinese ice breaker that helped rescue passengers may itself be stuck. on thursday 52 passengers on board the ice breaker were trapped by thick ice since

christmas eve. in syria five staffers of the international aid organization doctors without borders are missing. they were reportedly taken from the house they were staying in for questioning. that was in the north of the country. it's unclear who took the group. at least one person was killed and eight others wounded after a world war ii bomb exploded. it happened at a construction site. the driver of a bulldozer was killed. unexploded world war ii bombs are still discovered in germany. in russia, the russian president cla vladimir putin skd the mountains where the games will be held. it will be used for the cross country skiing. >> now there's a guy who loves a photo op. >> reporter: yes, exactly.

>> i'm just happy he had his shirt on. there. are images, trust me. >> reporter: there are, there are, you can google. >> mia, thank you. brad pitt has been a familiar face in new orleans building energy efficient homes displaced by the storm. but now there is a big problem. we have more from the ninth ward. >> reporter: living in one of the homes that brad pitt organization built, but he said his home is rotting. >> we started insiding the mold growing on it, and then it started to turn black. >> reporter: some of the energy efficient homes were built with a new high tech wood infused with glass. >> make it right concept is nice because everything is environmentally friendly. the only down side to that was that everything was new and had

not been through trial and error. >> reporter: this wood is may without chemicals, so it's better for the environment, but it seems it can't with stand water. that's a problem in new orleans. it may not be a perfect product but the effort is admirable. >> that's what happens in the field everybody is trying new products. you're always looking for things that don't bio degrade like glass. >> reporter: they're repairing most of the homes that are effected. >> one thing that we learned after katrina was just using standard wood in houses not treated in anyway, not protected, sort of, you know, makes it a risky business. if no one is out there pushing the limits trying to use more sustainable products, then we're not going to change at all. >> reports are there is considering legal action and they are checking into the concerns. as for the people affected it may be a bit of an

inconvenience. >> we just deal with it. >> reporter: and he said it's a lot better in the ninth ward now than it was. al jazeera, new orleans. >> still ahead on al jazeera america. quantum computers, they are the stuff of myth to many. but according to documents released by edward snowden it's something that the nsa is hard at work on. and we'll take you to a city that is working to be environmentally friendly.

>> 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 >> new reports indicate the nsa is on its way to breaking every

kind of encryption. it is building a so-called quantum computer another revelation from nsa staffer informer edward snowden. jake, good to see you. what on earth is a quantum computer? >> reporter: well, tony, the thing to keep in mind even those who know what quantum computing is did doesn't really know what quantum computing is. this is complicate: the computers we use now are based on binary code which encodes in a series of bits in either one or two position. either an one or zero, on or off, black and white. it's a simple way of encoding. quantum computing tries to make that one versus zero idea and blow it up so you can represent the data in individual you wants that can hold multiple pieces of data at one time. you'll have ones and zeros mix

up, sometime occurring simultaneously. what that enables is incredibly rapid crunching of data that isn't possible with what we do now. >> okay, that was really well done, and i still need to rehear it. if quantum computing can be achieved, in terms of capabilities? >> reporter: the theory is that it can be achieved. it's capabilities in terms of what it could mean to you and me in the future i spoke earlier to the director of the berkeley information center, this is what she had to say. what would happen if someone were to build a functioning quantum computer. >> your bank account would no longer be secure. we would have to find different ways and develop different algorisms, and quantum computing promises new algorisms.

that's the yin and the yang of the research. >> reporter: it could decrypt all of the passwords that you and i rely on now. the computational power would lay waste to all that. it's not just for security purposes. it could make the computing that we use now make the steam engine look like the jet plane. >> is there a timeline on this? how close is the nsa to achieving this. >> reporter: the nsa has been funding this kind of research since the 90's. for a time there was the greatest source of funding for many of the think tanks out there. it is not new that they're going after this, but they're nowhere near this. as far as the sources i've spoken to some of the greatest minds, literally the greatest minds in quantum computer has not gone underground if they

were working with the nsa. most of the working on quantum computing is happening in public, a bunch of universities, they're all going after this. but experts tell us we're a decade if not five decades away from doing this. but obviously the nsa is very interested in making that happen. >> i'm glad you're here to explain this to us. good to see you. brazil is leading the way in developing ecofriendly cities. we're talking about green spaces and sustainable living. and those two concepts have been a part of developing cities, but it hasn't been easy. >> for these people plastic cups, papers bags, used clothing and beat up television steps can be turned into an organ meal. men have been lining up for years to exchange recyclable

materials for vegetables and fruits. it's a ritual that he uses to teach his daughter the value of recycling, and one that also feeds his family. >> it's hopeful because i don't have to buy these products any more. we trade in our recyclables, and i share the food with my mother, and even my neighborhood neighb. >> reporter: the trash comes here. over 800 tons of recycled trash is recycled every month. it helps to pay for social welfare programs one of innovative ways that earns the city it's reputation as one of the most sustainable cities in latin america. green spaces dominate the landscape which helps keep carbon emissions down. and high speed bus system that has been copied around the world

transports more than 35,000 people every hour. the idea to make it a green city and model in urban planning was born in the late 1970s when this architect was first elected mayor. >> one thing we had to learn is if you want creativity you need to cut one zero from the budget. if you want sustainability, you cut two zeros from the budget. >> reporter: but there is signs that urban sprawl threatens the city's credentials. many are building illegal homes. traffic jams are common now that this state capitol has one highest ratio of cars perez dents. once known as innovation, it struggles to keep up with the population. >> this was designed with the elite in mind. the city became too expensive

for the poor and they're pushed to the outskirts. >> reporter: holding on to its reputation as a sustainable utopia will depend on whether it's future does not remain stuck in the past. al jazeera, brazil. >> when we come back, dave warren will update us on the winter storm that hit the east coast. >> the frozen north of china reporting on the ice festival.

(vo) al jazeera america (vo) al jazeera america

>> the annual ice festival in the northern city of harben. it attracts artists and sculptors from around the world. >> reporter: putting the finishing touches on this year's collection. the increasing fame of this ice festival in the northern chinese city of harbin means competition from overseas is getting

tougher. >> the standard has been improving a lot because people have been using more sophisticated tools. >> growing steadily since it began at the turn of the century, the last few years has seen the festival boom with 25% growth in the last year alone. >> as the economy keeps growing people have more money to travel, and they want to go to interesting places. >> it's after dark, that the festival truly comes to life and the increase in visitor numbers becomes apparent. that's in spite of nighttime temperatures of minus 25 degrees and below. having planned and saved civil servant zhao yuan and his wife tao yingqi are bringing their five-year-old daughter here for the first time. it's their only holiday this year from their native hebei province in northern china, but they have they're already

planning next year. >> we want to go to tibet. >> we want to go abroad. >> with the relaxation of the one child policy and the income perspective, china is looking pretty rosy right now. >> a nine-year-old boy with the rubiks cube. bam, it just happened. he can solve the buz puzzle in 2 seconds. he's teaching classmates how to solve the rubiks cube. and we're trying to solve the weather. >> meteorologist: in 12 seconds, yes. we have another storm coming in, a lot to compute, a lot to look at. first off these numbers.

they're in the teens. the temperatures are dropping tonight. 14 in boston with that coating of snow on the ground. up to two feet in some areas. that will let that area drop tonight. the wind chills down below zero. could drop 20, 30 below with that wind gusting out of the north-northeast tonight. a very bitter cold night tonight. on to the next storm. just light snow right now in northamptionorth dakota with th. you get that blizzard condition. that's what is happening in nortnorth dakota. there is enough snow to cause problems on the roadways. here's what is looks like with the radar plus the clouds. just a few light snow showers, but the bitter cold air. the temperatures have really dropped as that shot of cold

arctic air moves in. by the time that storm approaches the east coast it will pull up warm air. it's not snow that is a big problem. it's the cold air at the surface and snow above it and rain moving through the cold air. here is a mix that could change over to rain barely but that temperature at the surface will be near freezing. here is some snow with that cold air moving in chicago and the planes. that'--plains. you get a situation like this every so often. this is siberia and the north pole. it goes around the pole down through canada and into the northern plains. that's why we're talking about bitter cold air. it may not climb above zero here by the end of this week and this coming weekend. we'll take a look at the headlines coming up.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at the top stories. two-thirds of the east coast hit by the first major snowstorm of the year. now temperatures as dave just mentioned are dropping to dangerously low numbers. planes were grounded, and at least some 2600 flights were affected. new york and new jersey have declared states of emergency. the obama administration is asking the supreme court not to exempt catholic groups from offering birth control under the affordable care act. this comes after a group of catholic nuns asked the high court to block enforcement from the requirement of providing birth control. justice sotomayor