check check >> arctic blast. dangerous temperatures set in after the first major snow storm blankets the north-east. >> critical vote - boeing says yes to building the new xxx liner. >> and secretary of state john kerry gets is not so warm welcome in the west bank. >> hello, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. >> digging out of the snow after a new year storm slams the north-east. at least 16 people were killed

in blizzard-like conditions. the governors of new york and new jersey declared states of emergency. in boston temperatures are expected to reach zero degrees. the cold snap is not over, and reporters - forecasters say prepare for another blast. richelle carey has more. >> the first winter storm of 2014 delivered. almost 2 feet of sydney in parts of massachusetts, 18 in new york, and parts of ramont the wind chill made it fill like 29 below, cold enough to cause frostbite in half an hour. in maine, it's 45 below. >> i'm layered up. >> many major highways were closed. more than 10,000 flights across the u.s. were delayed or cancelled because of the storm. residents in new york city were asked to stay home and warm.

shelters filled with many who normally slept on the streets. >> normally we open three times a day for meals, and a lot of guests leave afterwards. what we'll do is keep the doors open all day. it's too cold outside to have people come and eat in leave. >> the mayor of new york encouraged anyone who sees a homeless person out in the cold to call the emergency helpline. >> that was richelle carey's reporting. >> extreme weather conditions across the midwest, where chicago could be facing the coldest weather in three decades. ashar quraishi reports. >> in the chicago area the new year's storm brought up to 18 inches of snow in some areas. forecasters predict late-effect snow could bring 10 inches over the weekend. arctic temperatures cause more concern. the coldest recorded temperature in chicago is minus 27 degrees back on january 20th, 1985. the bottom will seemingly drop

out of the thermometer on friday night. according to the national weather service, the lows will be in the minus 10 to 20 range. in the upper mid west. municipalities are bracing for a dangerous blast. windchill in northern wisconsin are expected to be 40-55 below zero. they are designated as cold. frostbite is likely and skin can freeze within a minute. schools in minnesota will be closed statewide. milwaukee schools will be closed and the city is closing down nonessential city services on monday. in the state of illinois, it has opened more than 100 warming centres and the governor is warning residents of consequences during the icy subzero weather snap. >> that was ashar quraishi reporting from chicago.

>> let's take a look at what is happening across the north-east. we saw all the snow go through, now it's dealing with the temperatures as well as the snow that fell and where is it going to go. let's take a look at the temperatures on saturday. high temperatures are still below freezing for many locations, except when you get down towards washington, towards pittsburg. some locations saw up to 2 feet of snow, especially in eastern massachusetts. that will stay on the ground. we can move it to the side, but it is there. it's not until we get to sunday that we see melting, considerable melting. we could see some flooding because of all the water that is going be across the regents. drive safely. some places will be close to freezing. that means standing water may freeze over. bad situation. for new york we'll see a nice day on saturday, 27 overnight lows down to four.

rain showers on sunday, unfortunately, but as we go towards monday and tuesday, a big drop in the temperatures, 42 on monday, 13 degrees as we go towards tuesday. up towards the north we are looking at blizzard warning conditions. in effect, from many people, drive safely. >> as winter storms drop, there are concerns of power out ints. we look at why more powerlines in the u.s. are not below ground. >> strong winds and ice, no matter the season, severe weather wreaks havoc on power lines and patience. matt who lives in a suburb outside of detroit has dealt with his fair share of power outages. >> i did have a couple two years ago. back a day or two. >> every year hundreds of thousands are affected by power

outages, according to a recent study by edson electric institute. 69% of the power lines are above grounds. 31% below, begging the question why aren't all powerlines underground. judy with the michigan institution has thought about that. >> you have to weigh the cost and benefit. >> as a regulatory body looking into upgrading, the agency found it would cost $1 million per mile to bury the lines. the average home owner would have to pay thousands a year more. >> occasionally we hear from a city regarding this issue. when they hear that the residential folks have to bear the cost, they lose interest. people can't afford it. >> while the frequency of power

out ims would decrease -- outages would decrease with underground lines, it would take longer to repair them if damaged. >> an underground system feeds to be replaced 25 years. overhead lasts longer. it adds to the cost. >> when it comes to cost over saving, saving wins - at least until the next storm blows in. >> union workers in washington state who work for aircraft giant boeing approved a contract proposal to work on the 777x jet liner. it keeps construction of the plane in the region, but cuts benefits. boeing is the biggest employer in the state, providing more than 80,000 jobs. allen schauffler is life with more on the vote.

>> this was a close vote. what convinced workers to take the deal? >> well, it seems like it was a combination of cash and jobs well into the future. 51-49% yes vote, the second vote the machinists took on a boeing contract offered in the last month and a half. the first a resounding no. we didn't wonder into anyone who was a yes vort at the main union hall when the announcement was made here in this building. it brought anger and frustration. >> i believe it's not good for us. i believe it takes away all of our power to negotiate with boeing on an equal footing. >> it's a sad day for the membership. they are deeply divided and were very scared from the day of the last vote. they had immense pressure every day from outside sources.

people felt they didn't have a choice. no one that asked about it was happy about the vote or how it came down. >> so machinists will see their pensions phase out. they'll turn into 401ks instead in a couple of years. they accepted a signing bonus. $10,000 now, $5,000 later for each boeing machinist. i talked to a 7-year worker who said he did not vote. the choices were far too wrenching. and he says this is clearly a deeply divided workforce and there'll be tense times on the factory floor for time to come. the 777x will be built in western washington and no luck for 20 other states hoping for a piece of the boeing manufacturing pie. >> allen schauffler live in seattle. thank you for the update.

>> security forces in iraq are bat thing over two cities in the west. al qaeda-linked firefighters held part of ramadi and ram acknowledgea after taking over government buildings. five were killed on friday, 40 injured. tension in the region escalated since monday when police broke up a sunni protest camp, leaving 13 dead. the shiite government has been struggling to retain content. >> secretary of state john kerry went to the west bank to try to advance peace talks. he didn't receive a warm welcome. more than 100 palestinians took to the streets of ramallah before the meeting with palestine president mahmoud abbas. the secretary is on his 10th visit, hoping to craft a peace treaty. while secretary of state john kerry was in the region israel

carried out a missile test over the mediterranean. it was designed to intercept blastic threat from hezbollah -- ballistic threat from hezbollah, lebanon and syria. >> israel sees a threat above all others - missiles. short-term by militants in gala, hezbollah in lebanon, and long-range by local go. . it's those that israel hopes to target with a new missile defense system it tested. it's called the aero-3, designed to target missiles that have nuclear, biological and chemical agents. >> it flies hard, fast and tries to intercept the missiles. the idea is you use ates, chemical, biological and nuclear that can't get to earth and harm any intended targets.

it is partially funded and benyamin netanyahu thanked u.s. senators who have been helpful in funding the aero-3. >> we need a lot of protection in this area because there are bad regimes led by iran and terrorist proxies who have mice ills that are -- missiles that are periodically fired against us. >> one is hezbollah that fought israel in the past. israeli officials say hezbollah used the cover of the syrian war to import advanced missiles from iran. hezbollah is looking for missiles reaching into every corner of israel and target israeli war planes. hezbollah is hoping to deterrorist rail from coming into lebanon, but use the missiles to save syrian president bashar al-assad in his civil war. for israel it's a major deterrence for it to go into lebanon in the past, and it's a red line. israel tried to target the

missiles. it's launched air strikes in the lebanon to hit missile parts in the past. five air strikes. the intelligence today suggests no matter how good the israeli intelligence is, no matter how accurate the israeli missile strikes have been, hezbollah is able to import the missiles from iran, which would reach every place into israel. >> al jazeera is still demanding the release of our colleagues held in egypt. producers mohamed fadel fahmy, and baher mohamed along with correspondent peter greste have been detained for almost a week now. peter greste and mohamed fadel fahmy will face question sunday. they are held on suspicion of joining a terrorist group and spreading lies harmful to state security. al jazeera says the allegations are fabricated. >> a family gets their wish. the 13-year-old californian girl declared brain dead will be

moved to a new facility. >> rail freight safety - a warning about trains carrying crude oil.

>> the 13-year-old californian girl declared brain dead after tonnes ill surgery could soon be moved to a new facility. on friday the court and hospital agreed on a protocol allowing her to be travelled. we spoke to melissa chan in san francisco. >> we have two court hearings, a county level and federal court. out of the country level court hearing friday morning, here is what we have in terms of developments. the hospital will allow the mcmath family to bring in an outside physician to deal with the transport of jahi mcmath on life support to a facility supposedly in new york. the county coroner's office came

out with a death certificate for jahi mcmath. you have a situation where there's a hospital in okayland, and a county coroner's office saying the girl is dead, as a corpse, a body, yet a family is fighting in court to keep her on life support. they have a limited amount of time. they have until tuesday, january 7th, 5:00 pm local time to make the transfer happen. otherwise the hospital is within its rights to take jahi mcmath off life support. >> gay rights act visits are urging the supreme court to reject utah's ban on same-sex marriage after being asked to suspend it. a district court ruled the 2004 voter-approved ban was unconstitutional. since then 1,000 safe-sex couples have tied the not in utah. >> a legal battle is underway

and the issue at stake is whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. >> you are what you eat. a lot of americans don't know large numbers of our foods contain gmos. they will no longer be used in cheerios after pressure from consumers. >> american shoppers do not always get the whole story on what they are eating from labels in food. an advocacy group estimated 60-70% of food contains genetically modifies ingredients, or gmos, including staples like soya beans or 85% of corn. 75% of processed foods, including soda, soap, crackers, condiments contain gmo, and 40% of dairy products contain health hormones or rdgh. >> agricultural giants, which

ruled out modified corn for people, say they are an extension of traditional greeting, helping to produce products which are bigger. the safety of gmos is not proven, especially over the long term, and point to laboratory studies showing they can harm beneficial insects, damage soil and contaminate jobs. they also require herbicide. they are banned outright in three countries. 61 countries require products containing gmos to be labelled, including the european union, russia and australia. in the u.s. companies are not required to use special labels. the government does not allow gmos to use them. foods labelled as natural can contain gmos. >> the federal government is appealing a ruling against the government's massive phone data

collection program. it is likely unconstitutional. government forces are asking an appeals court to overturn the ruling. >> a federal safety alert warns that crude oil from north dakota may be more flammable than we expected, after an explosive derailment there monday, this announcement came. the national transportation safety board is examining the safety of moving petroleum by mail. john seigenthaler reports. >> this is what happened monday when a train filled with more than 3,000 gallons of oil derailed in north dakota - the impact - igniting a fireball raising hundreds of feet in the air. authorities had to urge residents of a nearby city to flee. the cause is under investigation. federal transportation officials set out a safety alert saying, "everyone, the general public,

shippers and carriers should be aware that crude oil from the montana and backen would be more volatile. the amount of crude oil moved on the rails has risen by a factor of 40 in the last five years. the new concerns come after a series of derailments involving crude oil trains, including the disaster in quebec that killed 47 people. >> the quebec disaster and the north dakota disaster are wake up calls from the rail and oil industry. >> the oil business in the oil plains is booming producing 9,000 barrels from 10,000 wells. north dakota is the second-largest oil producing state in america. what makes the commodity combustible. >> it produces natural gas

liquids, they are liquid under ground, but in atmospheric pressure they are gases. some is shipped separately, some end up with the crude and that may be a reason we have the problems. >> the hope is the safety alert will lead to efforts to protect people and lesson the chance of more kat as trophies. >> that was al jazeera's john seigenthaler with that report. >> years after hurricane katrina, one of the efforts to rebuild new orleans is having unintended consequences. the cuban revolution. a country famous for 1950s cars, gears up for modern models.

>> hurricane katrina survivors are facing a new housing problem. they are rotting. actor brad pitt's make it right foundation built the new energy efficiently homes. dozens are falling apart. >> this man lives in one of the

100 homes brad pitt's make it right foundation built for victims of hurricane katrina. after a few years, he says his home is rotting. >> we started to notice the mould growing on it. it started to turn black. >> the make it right foundation says some of the energy efficiently homes were built with a high-tech wood infused with glass, called timber seal. >> the concept is nice. it's environmentally friendly. the downside is everything was new and hasn't been through trial and error. >> according to the website this innovative wood is made without chemicals. it's better for the environment. the problem is it seems it can't withstand water. that's a big problem in a place like new orleans. environmental specialists say the wood may not be a perfect product, but the effort is admirable. >> that happens in the field when you work on sustainability issues. everyone tries products. you look for things that don't

biodegrade, like glass. >> the foundation is repairing homes. >> one thing we learnt after katrina is using standard wood in houses that is not treated tore protected makes it a risky business. if nobody is out there pushing the limits using sustainable products, we are not going to change at all. >> reports say the foundation is considering legal action, and timbersill is checking the concerns. as for the people affect. it may be an inconvenience. >> everything is not peachy and perfect, but we deal with it. >> it's a lot better in the ninth ward now than it was. >> the wood used to build the homes has been guaranteed for 40 years. the replacement project will cost $150,000. >> next time you have trouble falling asleep. you may want to try counting lottery numbers, instead of

cheep. steve tran woke up and realised he forgot to read his lottery ticket. good thing he did. he was one of the mega millions jackpot winners, and he's now $324 million richer. one of the first things tran did was to call the office and leave a message "sorry, boss, i hit the jackpot. i don't think i'll come in today, tomorrow or ever." >> for the first time in more than 50 years people in cuba are free to buy new cars. many say they still can't afford the show-room prices. >> to the outside world downtown havana could be mistaken for a 1950s movie set. the classic cars have given it a distinct vintage look. it could change now that the government is letting people buy vehicles without permits. >> for individuals, it's good

news as it was not allowed before. on friday people flocked to state-run showrooms, hoping for a chance to own a new set of wheels. the price says that it dashed many dreams. >> supercompact peugeot has been lifted at $191,000. and the new model sets one back by $263,000. here is what the same cars cost in europe. prices in cuba are marked up by a staggering 400%. >> to put things into perspective the salary of an average cuban is $22 a month. >> this is insanity. there's not one person that can buy anything here. we'll go home without a car, without anything. >> i earn $600. i'll die before i buy a new car.

>> cubans have been driving the same car for more than half a century. until recently those built before the 1959 revolution could be bought and sold. other vehicle sales are freed up, prices are largely out of reach, meaning the vintage rights have become a hallmark of cuban lives could remain so. >> solving the rubics cube puzzle is child's play for one child. >> this child can solve the puzzle in 12 seconds. that skill has turned him into a minicelebrity at school where the 9-year-old is sharing the talent with his classmates. >> thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new

york city. i'll see you again at 4 o'clock eastern, meanwhile you can follow us on aljazeera.com.