>> good afternoon, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford from new york city. here are the stories we're following for you today. the nation braces for freezing cold temperatures. and john kerry in the middle east meeting with palestinian leaders today. plus delayed peace talks as the plight of refugees worsen. we'll talk with the united nations next. >> the midwest is now in a better deep freeze, and those

historic lows are spreading. in massachusetts the first storm of the year caused a surge that turned the town into an ice river. >> reporter: the storm that dumped up to two feet in the northeast is gone, but the mounds of snow and arctic temperatures remains. millions of americans are cleaning up, bundling up and bracing for 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. >> reporter: but the cold temperatures is no laughing matter. frostbite and hyperthermia are a very real threat. so far the blizzard like conditions have left 15 people dead. in new york city the new mayor just three days on the job is asking anyone who may see a homeless person out in the freezing temperatures to call the emergency help line. >> it is deceptively cold. it's the coldest it's been all

year, and people, i think, sometimes think it doesn't feel so bad, but if you stay out there too long it will feel bad, and it will be dangerous. >> reporter: and on icy roads it is difficult to get around. air travel is slowly getting back to normal after some ten thousand flights were canceled. >> our flight is tonight, but it's delayed because of the cold weather. so we will stay at the airport, and we will wait for the good weather to come back. >> reporter: the national weather for us warns that it's only getting worse. the "n" chicago it's expected to plummet in the negative. the wind chill could approach 50 below zero. >> for more on the historic freeze let's bring in our meteorologist eboni deon to brings th the latest. >> meteorologist: it's cold, but it's only going to get colder. try your best not to stay

outside too long because it's not going to be safe to do that. right now we have temperatures in the teens and 20's. we're at 38 degrees in memphis. much of the nation feeling that cold air but the arctic air is on the move and it will push into the deep south sunday, monday, and tuesday. it will be sticking around for quite some time. here is a look at minneapolis. i just want to show you what we're expecting over the next two days. these are temperatures that we haven't seen since the mid 90's. we're going down to minus 17. it will feel even colder. once you have that wind factored in, it will send the wind chills down below 30's below zero. in is how it will feel on the skin as you step outside, and fargo is going to be one of the worst places hit as we drop to

60 below zero, definitely not the time to be outdoors. this is a look at sunday at noon. really the next couple of days that arctic chill will be with us. this is a look at our wind chill warnings in place. all of these areas shaded in orange wind chills until tuesday morning. trying to stay warm if at all possible. as far as the radar is concerned that is a the cold side of the story. we're also going to be dealing with deallingwith precipitationh the midwest and we'll see this come down through st. louis. the frontal boundary will push east, and that will allow the cold air to come behind it. it will be all rain but once that cold air mass moves in, rain changes to snow and even into other areas of the northeast. >> reporter: thanks so much,

eboni. every time there is a major storm you hear about power lines going down and big outages which begs the question why not put all the nation's power lines below the ground? bisi onile-ere tells us exactly why from detroit. >> 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, a day or two. >> reporter: every year hundreds of thousands are affected by power outages. according to a recent study by edison electric institute. 69% of the nation's power lines are above ground and 31% are below. it begs the question why aren't

all power lines undergrounds? judith with the power commission has heard that more than once. >> you have to weigh the costs and benefits. >> reporter: it looked into upgrading michigan's infrastructure a few years ago. the agency found it would cost $1 million per mile to bury power lines and the average homeowner would have to pay thousands of dollars more every year. >> occasionally we hear from a city regarding this issue. but when they realize that residential folks in the city will have to bear the cost of it, they usually lose interest fairly quickly because people just can't afford it. >> reporter: she said while the frequency of power outages would decrease with underground lines it would take three to four times longer to 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 all adds to the cost 237 when it comes to cost over savings in most cases savings wins until the next storm blows in. bisi onile-ere, al jazeera, detroit. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in jerusalem where he spent the day meeting with the palestinian president. like many who came before him kerry is trying to encourage peace talks between the israelis and the palestinians. nick schifrin was at the talks from ramalah today, and he joins us live from jerusalem. kerry came out this morning and said he's making progress. what exactly is on the table this time around? >> reporter: kerry is just trying to make baby steps. did he say he made some progress but the fact is after six months and 20 minutes between the two sides there is no sign that they've made any concrete progress. what he has done is come in and said hold on, calm down and let's get to the guidelines for

the framework for the agreement. guidelines for the framework of the agreement. he basically wants to talk about what they're going to talk about. that's all they're trying to do. what is interesting certain hot spots have come up, roadblocks have become more office than others. one of the big ones is a new israeli demand. israel is asking the palestinians to recognize it as a jewish state. that's very new. they never asked jordan or egypt to do that when they signed peace treaties. the palestinians must accept them as a jewish country. the palestinians said we accept your right to exist. accepting your presence as a jewish state would mean accepting your narrative for the region, and that means all of the palestinians that lived in what is now israel before 1948 wouldn't be able to return, and the 20% of israeli who is are arab, they would be marginalized. that narrative, the worry about accepting the narrative, secretary kerry referenced that

today when talking to reporters. >> this is hard work. there are narrative issues, difficult, complicated years of mistrust that have been built up. all which has to be undone, and a pathway has to be laid down in which the parties can have confidence that they know what is happening, and that the road ahead is real not illusory. >> and if the confession that kerry is asking the palestinians to make, the confession that kerry is asking israel to make is to stop building settlements on palestinian land. israel said it has the right to do that, land it captured in 1967. palestinians say wait a minute. if you believe in peace, in a two-state solution you shouldn't build settlements in the middle of land that we hope to be the future of palestinian state.

>> the truth is the middle east has been a pretty tumultuous place in recent months. how exactly would the talks there affect the region in terms of stability? >> i think tumultuous is an understatement. if you go north you get to beirut. there have been two car bombs. serious terrorist attacks, if you go to iraq you get to a town that the u.s. fought so hard for, fallujah. it has been recaptured by al-qaeda. if you go to the southwest of us in egypt a lot of tulmult there. each hot spot is individual, but as you begin to resolve the dispute and begin to give people, especially diseffected youth in the region, if you give them the notion that there is a solution then you take the fuel

out of the fire. nothing will solve problems in iraq, egypt, beirut with a silver bullet, abou, but it cann to calm the region. >> in fallujah there was killing of eight. the government is trying to r retake control. rebels united in opposition to shia led prime minister nouri al maliki, and they've tightened their grip on fallujah and ramadi on monday. an al-qaeda chief has died while in custody. he went into kidney failure while receiving kidany treatment. thousands of families are

fleeing their homes in the south sudanese city of bor. many are going to north where the red cross says the largest concentration of displaced people in the country are located. eight agencies estimate fighting between the government and those loyal to the country's former vice president has caused over 60,000 people to flee. bor has been at the center of the fighting since it began in december. joining me now is hilda johnson, united nations' special representative for the republic of south sudan. good afternoon. we understand the warring parties in south sudan say there will be no talks until an agenda is drafted and both sides agree. how big of a set back is this in terms of ending the fighting as soon as possible? >> well, according to the ministry of foreig foreign affan ethiopia who are hosting these

talks, and they are saying the formal talks will start tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. they have consulted yesterday and today and tomorrow they're ready. i don't see this as a setback. it's better to start a little later and make sure that you're well prepared, and things can move forward than to start prematurely. tomorrow afternoon they will go ahead. >> so better late than never. but exactly what is the risk of an all-out silve civil war at ts point? >> if the parties can now agree where the talks take place, that will mean that we have--the parties lead to such a scenario. that is the main point. it is to halt and stop the violence because otherwise it can slide down and get out of

control. nobody wants that, and that's why the talks are now happening. >> when it comes to halting the violence, as you mentioned, what exactly are the issues left at stake? what still needs to be defined? >> this is a political struggle between two parties, and a political struggle needs to find political solutions. that implies when a cease-fire or secession has been agreed to, it has been monitored, and key principles are agreed to by the parties. then it's time to go straight into the political talks. i don't want to pre-judge those. this is up to the mediator to define, but the issues are well-known between the two parties, and they now have to take them head on. >> let's back up a minute and talk in terms of proxy talks. what can be achieved if both parties are still not at that table? >> well, they are at the stable at this point in time. both two leaders have appointed

their delegations. they are in touch with their respective leaders. these are delegations mandated to negotiate on their behalf, this is a credible process. the critical issue is the political will to each an agreement, and not fall for the temptation of using military achievements as a way to strengthen the position of the negotiating table. the best now is to halt the violence, stop the fighting, and make sure that they continue with the talks. >> aside from the politicians, humanitarian agencies have been forced to flee because of the violence has gotten so severe. what does that mean for the thousands of people who are running out of food, water, and now medical supplies? >> well, actually the two forces, if i may say that, the two entities in the middle of

this crisis is the peacekeeping operation. the one i'm in charge of, and the humanitarian they're know fleeing and reinforcing with additional staff to hand this will humanitarian crisis. we are now seeing around 200,000 having to flee their homes and their livelihoods. >> thank you so much, hilda johnson, we're keeping an eye on that situation. hilda johnson, special representative from the represent of south sudan. meanwhile, rescuers are searching for survivors after a build collapsed in india. 14 people were killed in the construction site, 35 more are thought to be trapped in the rebel of the five-story residential building, and army personnel have been called in to help recover possible survivors. three seriously injured workers were hospitalized and complains

have been brought against the owners of the building site. former first lady barbara bush has been released from the hospital. doctors say she's doing great and discharged the 88-year-old this morning. she was there moon for respiratorforfofor--she wasthere thanks her doctors and is happy to see her family. >> phil everly has passed. the everly wrote songs with dark messages tucked in humble, memorable melodies. they made the top 40s at a

total of 19 times. boeing makes a deal that keeps things right there in seattle. winning the war on designer drugs, why german officials are concerned about the drugs especially among the youth. >> 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.

>> 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 >> the workers union for boeing will keep the building of 77 x in washington. but in return it will bring cuts to healthcare and pension benefits. >> it seems that it was a combination of immediate cash and promise of future jobs brought this to a yes vote. voting machinists who voted yes were not in evidence in seattle.

the announcement 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 equal footings. >> it's a sad day for our membership. they're deeply divided, they were very scared from the day of the last vote. they've had pressure, immense pressure every day from outside sources, and you know, people felt they didn't have a choice no one who cast a ballot was happy about this vote or how it came down. >> they will be changed into 401ks which the company will contribute. each boeing machinist will agree to a signing bonus $10,000 now and $5,000 in the future. i spoke to one seven-year workers who said the choices

were so wrenching he could not cast a ballot. he said this is clearly a deeply divided workforce and there will be ten times on the factory floor for some time to come. >> that was allen schauffler reporting. >> in german they wany they wanl with designer drugs that are all legal. >> reporter: people who want to rave all night a little chemical boost is hard to resist. in fact, one new drug a month is released on the global market, too fast for police to catch up. even dealers admit it is getting out of hand. there are always new drugs emerging. people are creative and it's taken on diverse dimensions and it's getting increasingly

unhealthy for mind and body. >> reporter: to get legally high is as easy as ordering online from chemists in china or india, for example. this is a dose of lsz, it has the same effects of lsd but legal in most countries. users say they're safer because they're purer, not cut with caffeine or rat poison. >> if someone takes a bag that have stuff into a bar it's a disaster. people will die. drugs have a stigma attached to them, and people who deal with them don't necessarily know the pharmaceutical profile so they can't advise you. >> reporter: the european union is trying to cut the time that it takes to ban a drug from ten years to two months.

in germany alone its estimated 120 new drugs have emerged in the last eight years. that's some 400,000 people have taken them. >> next up, braille takes a big step into the 21st century. how india is helping the blind take advantage of the latest technology. and join the conversation online @ajamstream.

>> good afternoon, welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. here are today's headlines. secretary of state john kerry is back in jerusalem meeting with a palestinian president. he said there is progress but there is still a deal. kerry is trying to encourage peace talks between the israelis and the palestinians. plus a deep freeze following the snow storms claim 16 lives all across the north. historically cold weather is still spreading east.

and in india rescuers are still looking for survivors after a building side collapses and kills 14. it's braille day, commemorating the man who invented the language that allows blind people to read and write. >> it's an exhibition of braille, part of the braille day celebrations at this studio for the blind in new delhi. but here it's celebrated on more than one day each year. living at the institute for the last five months. he was born blind, but he's not here to learn braille. did he that when he was six years old. he's now using braille to take professional courses to become a computer programmer. >> as well as basic computer,

i'm learning computer programming. >> reporter: when braille typing, transcription and india's largest braille printing press, it's designed around braille. with you 60% of all blind people living in rural areas there are challenges to bring these kinds of resources to them. >> workers are now going into the countryside, approaching them at their own door steps and providing the necessary services to them. >> reporter: but learning braille in non-urban areas is harder and some believe a more modern solution is needed. in the 90 days that braille has been around it has spread throughout the world and can be found in public places such as restaurant and he will raters. but some wonder if there is

still a need for braille? new programs and mobile apps can read out e-mails and read what has been typed into a keyboard. but some say the costs keep that technology from the blind people in developing world. >> they're not competitors for braille but only intended to supplement what is available in the braille system. >> reporter: others agree. >> i can read pretty fast. i also get to know the spelling and punctuation that i wouldn't get to know if the computer reads them out. >> reporter: while the technology is helping those who are civill visually impaired, be is helping people live normal and modern lives. >> thank you so much for watching al jazeera. i'm morgan radford. i'll be back with you at 2:00 p.m. eastern. the stream is coming up next.

for updates throughout the day head on over to www.aljazeera.com. >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you're in the stream. only a tiny fraction of those in college sports going pro are colleges setting up student-athletes to fail in the real world? >> waj is here, and he's bringing all of your live feedback, we'll bring out as much as possible. we've been tweeting about this