on al jazeera america >> good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford, here are the stories that we're following for you right now. secretary of state john kerry said there is progress in the mideast mission. the storm has passed but dangerousy cold temperatures are freezing the northeast. and how best to help the unmr unemployed. finally a rock-n-roll pioneer has died.

>> the northeast has survived the first big snowstorm of the year but what is coming next could actually be even more dangerous. al jazeera's erica ferrari has more. >> reporter: the winter storm that dumped up to two feet in parts of the northeast is gone. millions of americans are cleaning up, bundling up and brace forgive what is expected to be some of the coldest weather in years. >> it's a nightmare out there, it's really cold and the winds are brutal. >> i have eight layers on under gleet the bitter cold temperatures in the northeast and mid atlanta states is no laughing matter. so far the blizzard-like conditions have left at least 15 people dead. in new york city the new mayor three days on the job ising in anyone who may see a homeless person out in the freezing temperatures to call the

emergency hotline. >> it's deceptively cold, it's the coldest it's been all year. if you stay out there too long it will feel bad and it will be dangerous. >> on icy roads it's difficult to get around. air travel is getting back to normal after some 10,000 flights were canceled. >> our flight is delayed because of the cold weather. so we will stay at the airport, and we will wait for the good weather to come back to france. >> reporter: the national weather service warns it's only getting worse. in chicago the mercury is expe expected to plummet in the negative. the wind chill t could approach 15 degrees below zero. >> that was erica ferrari reporting. eboni deon will join us to tell us about the latest around the country, but if you're still

digging out of this winter storm you're probably dealing with a lot of ice. as there are reports there is very surprising alternatives that could melt your problems right away. >> reporter: traditional ways of solves the problems of slick surfaces include chemical de-icers, sand and salt. it's the same salt on your dinner table, and there is a reason why it's the favorite, it works. it lowers freezing point. the more salt you add, the lower the freezing point goes. but it's corrosive and makes paving crumble. in wisconsin, where else, they're turning to cheese. >> wisconsin produces more than 2 billion pounds of cheese, it's a lot of cheese. one of the by-products is a brine, it's basically salt and water. >> reporter: from salty to sweet, places like illinois have

been turning to molasses. >> it sounds crazy but the molasseses not just poured on the road. they're taking the juice and mixes it with salt. the combination causes it to stick to the road and melt the ice. >> reporter: beabeet juice is another alternative. a take your point. the alternative to tracking road salt in your house could be sticky molasses footprints or snow that smells like cheese. >> for the latest on snow and the temperatures around the country are our esteemed meteorologist here with us this morning. >> reporter: there is a lot of cold air that will continue to move further south than what we're seeing today. even though we're going to catch a little bit of a break there is

snow and colder temperatures that are going to be plowing through parts of the deep south. i want to start with a look at our radar. we're seeing some snow out there. most of it has been confined to parts of the great lakes, but we're watching a frontal boundary that will make its way south and east. when it does we'll have a push of colder air behind it, and we'll start to see snow pick up in missouri back into kansas. we've seen light snow right back into the denver area on the tail end of that front. we'll see it stretching from michigan down through illinois and back into missouri. some areas could end up with a foot of snow. that does include the detroit metro area, indianapolis and even into st. louis. a number of things have been put in place in prescription of the snow. it will start to pick up as we get into this evening. if it's quiet for now, head out for the stores and do whatever it is that you need to do to prepare for this. once it moves in it will be a

mess. we're not only dealing with snow but once the temperatures drop it will be bitterly cold and too dangerous to be outside. we'll also be dealing with ice as well. we'll have milder air with rain showers and then it will switch over to a rain snow mitch. here in the upper midwest and a number of wind chill warnings will be out here as we get into this evening last into tuesday morning. that's because what little wind picks up we're going to find our temperatures are lows overnight will drop into the 20s and 30s belo below, this is the typf conditions that we can see our skin freezing in less than five minutes. not a good idea to be outside. if you have to venture out don't

spend too much time outdoors. >> every time there is a major storm you hear about power lines going down and electrical outages which begs the question why not eliminate this problem by putting al it all undergroun. >> reporter: strong winds, freezing temperatures and ice. thunderstorms and tornadoes, 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. >> reporter: every year hundreds of thousands are affected by power outages. according to a recent study, 69% of the nation's power lines are above ground, and 31% are below.

it begs the question why aren't all power lines underground? judicial witjudith has heard thn once. >> you have to weigh the cost and the benefits. >> reporter: as a regulatory of energy it looked to upgrade infrastructure and found it would cost $1 million per mile to bury power lines. the average homeowner would have to pay thousands of dollars more per year. >> occasionally we hear from a city regarding this issue, but when they release residential folks in their city are going to have to bear the cost of it, they usually lose interest fairly quickly because people just can't afford it. >> while the frequently of power outage would decrease with underground lines it would take three to four times long for restore them when damaged. and that's not all. >> an underground system would

need to be replaced every 25 years. overhead systems last much longer. that adds to the cost. >> reporter: when it comes to cost, saving wins, at least until the next storm blows in. bisi onile-ere, detroit. >> union works who work for aircraft giant boeing have approved a contract proposal to work on the 777 x jetliner. it keeps construction of the plane in the washington region but in return cuts pension and healthcare benefits. it is the biggest private employer in the state providing 80,000 jobs. >> reporter: it seems that it was a combination of immediate cash and the promise of future jobs that brought this yes vote a very close vote, 51-49%. boeing machinists who voted yes were not in evidence tonight here at the main human wall in

seattle. >> 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. >> they're obviously deeply divided, they were very scared from the day of the last vote. they've had pressure every day from outside sources, and you know, people felt they didn't have a choice. no one who cast a ballot today were happy about this vote or how it came down. >> reporter: boeing machinists will see their pensions phased out in a couple of years. they will be changed into 401ks to which the company will contribute. there is a signing bo bonus pain two parts.

the choices were too wrenching on eas either side of the vote. hone man could not cast a ballo. >> president obama is expected to take up the issue of unemployment benefits at the white house on tuesday. today the president used his weekly address to call on republicans to back a three-month extension of emergency unemployment insurance. 1.3 million people ran out of long-term unemployment benefits. >> obama: instead of punishing families who can least afford it. republicans should do the right thing and restore this vital security for their constituents right now. >> the senate is expected to take on the measure next week. i spoke to boris epstein, and i asked him about expanding

the program instead of simply extending it. >> i believe there will be an extension for three months but there needs to be a solution to the underlying problems. the notion from the message they've been trumpeting out there does not meet with what they've been saying out there. it sounds like they're saying the economy is better but unemployment is worse. >> does this show how far the country has swung right. in the past this wouldn't have been that difficult, especially when the unemployment rate has been this high for this long. >> let's not forget a lot of these folks have another three months. the president has no credibility

left. his message does not resonate at all. now the country is turning right, and it will continue to do so up to the midterm elections where the republicans are do well in the house and senate, but it's not turning right to the tea party but to main street republicans. >> what about getting people back to the workforce when studies show the longer you're out of work, the harder it is to find a job. just giving folks benefits saying we'll give you another throw months of payment does not solve of the issue here. it has to be a creation of jobs. that comes to lowering of taxes and to grow and high more people. that's the only way to do it. we're looking at a year where both sides are looking at the november. the country is sick of gridlock

in washington. so it would be bad for republicans to tear their talking poison, threaten to shut down the government or do anything else overly drastic. >> they made a significant role in that gridlock in 2013. >> they did, and it hurt their brand and hurt their chances for the white house. >> still ahead on al jazeera america, an update to secretary of state john kerry's mission to the middle east. >> 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

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>> scholars and writers, policy makers and cultural icons >> don't miss the best of "talk to al jazeera" revealing... >> he said he was gonna fight for the public option, he didn't do it... >> personal.... >> from the time i was about nine, i knew i was different in ways other than just my face... >> shocking... >> being babtist...they always talk about don't judge other people.. but they judge everybody... >> the conversations people are talking about >> forget the democrat party and forget the reublican party, they're all one party... >> talk to al jazeea on al jazeera america. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in jerusalem to meet with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu for the second time in 24 hours earlier he was meeting with the palestinian president. like many before him kerry is trying to encourage a peace agreement between the israelis and the palestinians.

our ala nick schifrin reports. what exactly is on the table this time around? >> reporter: yes, kerry said that they're making a little progress, and they insist this is baby, baby, baby steps that they're trying to do. they're trying to get to the framework for the guideline of the talks. a framework basically not trying to solve anything right now. all he's trying to do is to get both sides to agree on what they're going to talk about. one of the sticking points right now is that the israelis are demanding that the palestinians recognize them as a jewish state. that is not something that the israelis have demanded of egypt and jordan in previous peace treaties, but they say in order for us to know that you're going to be a peaceful partner you need to acknowledge you us as a

jewish state. the palestinians say we're acknowledging your right, but we have a hard time accepting your narrative. the issue with the narrative something that kerry addressed just few minutes ago. >> this is hard work. there are narrative issues, difficult, complicated, years of mistrust, all that has to be undone, a pathway has to be laid down to which the parties have confidence, that they know the pathway ahead is real and not illusory. >> that gives a sense of how far these two sides are apart.

kerry will keep trying and he's coming babb for his 11th trip in the last year. >> you mentioned these are baby, baby, baby steps to a framework then to a guideline. but the truth is the middle east has been a pretty tumultuous region. >> reporter: if you look around the region, there are many unstable parts, look at iraq, fallujah which the u.s. fought so hard to capture was recaptured by al-qaeda. you've got almost a civil-war action, at least steps towards one. and then in the south there are problems with egypt and the border. they say each hot spot is individual and needs to be

addressed individually, but if you go towards solving the israeli-palestinian dispute you take away fuel from the fire as go into southeast asia and south southern asia. many will point to the israeli-palestinian problem as fuel for their own conflicts. i think what u.s. officials are hoping that baby steps, nonetheless, any step you take will help calm this volatile region. >> a bomb is just one of a series of sectarian fighting in the area, and it comes less than a week of of the killing of mohammed chatah.

lebanese security forces s say al-qaeda rebel chief died from kidney failure. mohammed survived thursday's blast a few meters from his shop. this area is heavily populated with hezbollah supporters has been targeted. but for mohammed it attacked the unity. >> this is the work of extremist who is are trying to create

sectarian strife. >> reporter: unlike previous bombings there has been no immediate claim of responsibility. some believe it was in retaliation for hezbollah fighting along side forces. the armed group should withdraw its forces. >> if hezbollah did not go in and fight the extremists would have come here and we would have seen ten car bombs a day. >> reporter: scenes like these are more frequent in lebanon. the war in syria has spread beyond it's boarders. the battlefields are here, too. and tensions are only getting worse. lebanon's security is at risk. the lack of national unity and political consensus has again made lebanon a battleground. it is part of a proxy war some say that has engulfed the middle

east. >> what is happening as a result of rivalry in the region, iran supports hezbollah and shia, and the rivalry brings violence. >> reporter: a former minister was in a sunni area, it is mainly civilian has are getting killed in a conflict where borders are becoming blurred. >> the iraqi army said that it shell the city of fallujah overnight killing at least eight. the government is trying to retake control after losing it. rebels united in their opposition to shia prime minister tightening the grip on

fallujah on monday. more than two dozen workers are trapped under rebel and rescuers are searching for survivors. the cause of the collapse is still not known. when we come back, an update of our top stories, an and a woulde rescuer is trapped by arctic ice.

>> welcome back now to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. here are today's headlines. the u.s. secretary of state is back in jerusalem. john kerry spent the day meeting with the palestinian president. he said there is progress, but they are far from a deal. like many who came before him kerry is trying to encourage a peace agreement between israelis and the palestinians. meanwhile, boeing and it's workers have inked a long-south deal after a deal late friday. the deal insures that boeing's new aircraft will be a manufactured in washington state. in turn pensions and healthcare will be cut. now millions of americans are bracing for bitter cold. the next few days could bring some of the coldest temperatures in two decades in some states it's expected to reach below 50 degrees. 17 people have died in the past few days due to the frees

condition. the next time you're having trouble falling asleep. count lottery numbers instead of sheep. that's what one man did when he realized he forget to check his lottery stick. now he's $225 million richer. one of the first things he did was call his office and leave this message. i'm sorry, boss, i hit the jackpot, i don't think i'm going to come in today, tomorrow or ever. an ironic twist where the chinese ice breaker that helped rescue 52 passengers from a russian ship is now stuck itself. >> reporter: after a more than a week on the rescue duty the snow dragon is itself trapped. it had been vital in gathering

the passengers and taken them to safety. in all 52 were airlifted across the thick sea ice. it was to resupply the antarctic station. it's problem now is that the sea eyes here is constantly shifting, meaning that what may an safe position one day is not the next. the captain has made it clear the current situation is manageable, and his crew does not need any assistance. he hopes the ship can free itself from the ice in the very near future. >> and we leave you now with the music of the everly brothers. phil everly died at age 74.

and he wrote this song which you hear right now. ♪ music ] iraq today and the rough road ahead are the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. iraq's president saddam hussein used a mix of police surveillance, terror and murder. when iraqis removed his head from his shoulders, the shia took power that it had long been denied. the united states left the country in 2011. the new government has struggled