format. we'll see you next week at the listening post. check check >> hello, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york. >> fighting for fallujah. iraq's prime minister promises to defeat an al qaeda-linked group that has taken over parts of the country. >> deep freeze. brutal weather spreading to the midwest where it's been decades since it's been this cold. >> nashville is booming - why are so many there homeless. >> rescuing the rescuers. another ship dark in the antarctica ice. now the americans are on the way.

>> tonight battles waging in iraq has u.s. officials concerned. iraqi army is fighting al qaeda for parts of iraq. rebels have taken the city center. eight have been killed there. fallujah is one of two main cities in iraq's anbar province. ramadi has also been under siege. anbar is a dangerous place for u.s. soldiers. more than 1300 coalition soldiers were killed there. here is what we know so far. they are affiliated with al qaeda. the group calling itself the islamic state of iraq in levant. they want to set up a sunie -- sunni state in iraq and across the border in parts of syria.

>> fighters from the islamic state in levant say they have taken over the main highway into the town of fallujah. one man shouts god is great as he gestures to a burnt-out vehicle they claim is from iraq's army. they say they sent reinforcement from fallujah to iraq to battle the forces. the fighting moved to the outskirts of fallujah. sunni tribal leaders have not allowed the iraqi fighters to enter to town, saying they should head any matters. it's a sign how little they trust nouri al-maliki. he is not backing down. he describes the operation as crucial. >> translation: there is nothing left. we have to unite to fight against those destroying our

country, stand by security forces and make sure we succeed in the political process they want destroyed. >> the sunni tribal leaders in ramadi managed to route al qaeda fighters and secured the city. fallujah is tense. >> sunni tribal leaders say they are harassed, targeted by government forces and call for the reform of a par military force that was disbanded after al qaeda was defeated in 2008. with little trust both groups are at a stalemate. >> for more on the instability, i spoke with a former u.s. ambassador to iraq, christopher hill, about what the security means. >> they pose a threat. anbar province has been the toughest proposition for the government and as you know, the government in baghdad has a light footprint there.

it's been turned over to tribal leaders and the various militia, and the sons of iraq. the movement, where the people maintaining security. with the uptake in sort of extremists or islamist violence, there has been a nasty struggle going on between the tribal leaders and the al qaeda affiliated elements, and it's not a pretty picture but from the point of view of the tribal leaders, they can not be turning to the government in baghdad because that would be - that would worsen their position vis-a-vis the sunnis, it's a tough sunni on sunni problem light now, let alone the problem with the baghdady government. the government in baghdad has to gain control. they have to do it through mechanism that involves the tribal leaders. that means they'll have to let the tribal leaders be in the

lead, and there'll be negotiation, but i think they absolutely have to take control, they cannot allow this al-qaeda affiliate to grow in strength, because that will cause further problems in shia sunni relations which are already, i think, at the breaking point, especially since the syrian crisis has gone on now for years without any mitigation. >> thanks to christopher hill, the former u.s. ambassador to iraq. >> the same group is claiming responsibility for the bombing in beirut two days ago. five were killed after a suicide car bomb was exploded. now the group is claiming more attacks. >> protests are growing and they are becoming more widespread. people in the rebel held north of syria want the islamic state in iraq and levant to leave their country.

it's not just protests. armed rebel factions turned their gun against the group, pushing them out of some villages. there has been fierce battles in parts of aleppo and idlib. they captured a tunisian, a commander of the group. a newly formed syrian rebel alliance went as far as to declare war on the islamic state, demanding i.s.i.l. fighters join the ranks of other groups or hand over weapons and leave syria. they accused i.s.i.l. of spreading strife and insecurity in rebel-held areas. spilling the blood of fighters. >> translation: islamic state equals the regime in their ruthlessness. that's why we are fighting them. we will not stop until we a finished. the islamic front has helped us in battle, but has not announced their state.

>> f.s.a. commanders say they are refusing help from the islamic front. the front has not come out clearly to state its position, but it was one of the its commanders who was tortured and killed by the islamic state that sparked the wave of protests. >> they executed them after they were taken in. it was emblem attic as what is seen as the hijacking of the revolution by foreigners. >> at the start of the uprising foreign fighters were welcomed by the opposition. it changed when they took territory and imposed brutal tactics against the opposition. they have arrested, killed, forced them to exile activists who called for democracy. >> rebels turned their guns on each other. this is the most serious violence against the armed opposition and al qaeda. some call it a new revolution.

it may be too early to compare to iraq's movement, leading to tribal militias pushing out al qaeda. rebel commanders say they are not ordered by the international community to wage of fight. al qaeda's presence tarnished their image. the west has been talking about fighting terrorism in syria, instead of focussing on the regime. >> the leader of an al qaeda leaked group suffered kidney failure and decide. majid al-majid was on a wanted terrorist list. his group was behind the bombing of the beirut embassy in november, that killed 23. >> two bombing attacks in afghanistan. a convoy targeted outside a base in kabul, close to the embassies. there were no casualtyies and no one claimed responsibility. a soldier was killed in an

attack in the country's east. >> the u.s. secretary of state met with the palestine president for the second time in two days. john kerry is trying to broker a peace agreement between israelis and palestinians. progress is being made. both are far from a deal. we have the latest from jerusalem. >> john kerry met with israeli and palestine officials 40 times in the last year. today he is making a little bit of progress. it is slow work between two people who have been fighting for much of the last decade. he's determined to do it and is creating the framework for the guideline of peace. he's not trying to solve middle east peace, but is trying to get the two sides to agree on what they'll talk about in the future. that basic step is what he's aiming for. what emerged in the talks is a sticking point. israel is demanding the palestinians accept it as a

jewish state. israel didn't demand israel or jordan. nonetheless, israel says palestinians, in order to know that they'll be a true partner in peace, must say israel is jewish. palestinians say wait a minute, we said you have a right to exist. if we identify you as a jewish sit, we are marginalizing 20% that are arabs, but accept your narrative that both of us claim as our own. that fear was addressed by john kerry, speaking to reporters in ramallah. >> this is hard work. there are a myriad of issues, difficult, complicated years of mistrust that have been built up, all of which have to be worked through and undawn -- undone. >> they are both having to concede to demands of the other.

israelis say, "we can build after the border of west bank and israel because we captured it after the war." the palestinians say if we build a state and we live side by side, how can you build on our land, not only homes, but a network of roads, a patch work that basically splits our people off from brothers and cousins in other towns. kerry acknowledged that and acknowledged that the two sides are speaking past each other and far apart, but he is optimistic. >> we are working with great intensity, with serious purpose and a commitment to resolve this conflict that has gone on for many years and which presents us now with the possibility of trying to find a framework

agreement which would really lay out the end game and the framework for the maimer issues to guide the negotiations from this point forward. that homework is due soon. kerry will be back next weekend. his 11th trip in 12 months. former first lady barbara bush was released from houston methodist hospital in the morning. she praised the hospital saying: >> brutally cold temperatures are hitting a large part of the midwest. the deep freeze bringing dangerously low temperatures not felt in years. in missouri it has not been this cold in 15 years. in the dakotas, 15 below zero. negative temperatures could linger for days.

many are digging out from winter's first major snow storm, and more snow is expected tonight. we report from detroit where the high temperature may be 1 degree on tuesday. >> people are preparing for this record cold weather the same way they might for a serious winter storm by growsly shopping, buying basic food products like milk and eggs and other things this they'll need during the cold spell when they don't want to the venture out under this cold weather. some states announced that they'll close public schools. not a snow day, a cold day. all the public schools will be closed to keep pt kids out of the cold weather. some cities said that they are going to make extra effort to get homeless people off the streets so they don't freeze to death. >> kevin is here with more on the weather. i can't imagine what is feels

like at 50 below zero. >> so cold. >> it's dangerous, and could be a killer. it's a dangerous situation. you can see almost where the cold air is. this is a cold front that is sinking slowly down across the central plains. we have snow in chicago and back. everything to the north is cold. let's take a look at what is happening closer in. believe it for not, there's no delays at the airports. i checked parts of chicago, no delays even with the snow there. let's get down to the wind chill warnings. 14 states are looking at wind chill warnings back from montana to kentucky and alabama. we are concerned about the ones in the northern plains first of all. this is what the temperatures are looking at. of course, they issue wind chill warnings when it becomes a life threatening information

minneapolis is at 10. temperature are not too bad. they'll change. now, let's put into motion what the wind chills are expected to be, starting at 9 o'clock tonight. we are looking at fargo at minus 42. as you see overnight it's lower to minus 44, minus 52. by noon fargo is a wind chill of minus 64 degrees. actually down towards the south. then the wind chills come down as well. minneapolis minus 22. do not get out. bring in your pets, don't let the kids play outside. if you go in your car be prepared that if your car breaks down, do not get out of your car. it takes less than 5 minutes before your fingers or any part of your face, ears will freeze in that scenario. we are looking at snow from saturday through to parts of

distroit. it will not be heavy. when we get the heavy snow will be tomorrow. up towards parts of michigan, it could be 12-14 inches of snow. >> a lot of snow. scary temperatures. >> homeless in america. still ahead on al jazeera america. why so many are struggling in a boom town. >> and a question - paper, plastic, a thing of the past. details ahead.

>> a new study shows the number of homeless families across u.s. is rising. no city saw a bigger jump than nashville tennessee. we look at why so many are struggling while the city is booming. >> quasia walker and her daughter naomi are living in a homeless shelter for the second time in three years. she said it's tough finishing

technical school whilst keeping a job to pay for daycare and a home. >> i had my own place and was evicted. now we are back here, but hopefully we'll be able to get another place. >> the nashville rescue mission is crowded with more families in similar situations. >> most of the mothers are trying. they are doing it on their own. they have nobody else to help them. >> a report from the u.s. conference of mayors looks at homelessness in 24 city, and found the number grow fastest in nashville. >> there's a call on the community to do something about the family homelessness when it comes to numbers of beds and capacity, it still - we can't keep up with it. >> public advocates says part of

the problem is nashville's success. it's a destination city for job hunters. >> whether it's the fast food industry, fine dining, construction, those opportunities are all available here in nashville relative to other communities. >> the average rent is $900 a month for one bedroom. it's tough for an individual or a family to afford when you work part time. >> will connelly is director of nashville's homelessness commission. he says there's a variety of program and resources available, knowing where to get help is the biggest hurdle. >> now, if you know you are about to be homeless, i have been working in the field for almost, you know, 10 years. i wouldn't know what is available for you in terms of assistance. i would have to call around and

send you down a path that may or may not be helpful. >> next month officials will pilot a program bringing all the homeless together, hopefully to make it easier for those that need help, to get it. >> joining us to talk about this is maria foscarinis, with the national centre of homelessness and poverty. thanks for being with us. nationally homeless numbers is going down, but spiking in cities. why? >> actually, homelessness has been going up across the country in recent years. the foreclosure crisis, unemployment, have pushed a lot of people over the brink in into homelessness. it's - i know there's numbers out there that indicates that homelessness is going down, but those are limited surveys that look just at a snapshot of people on the street and in shelters. they are not looking at the

bigger picture. homelessness in general is going up across the country. it's going up in cities as the mayor's report demonstrates. the reasons that are driving this is lack of affordable hosing and a disconnect between waging and housing that they can afford. there's a crisis in affordable housing right now. many can't afford to pay the rent. anything unusual happens to them. they have a health crisis or an unexpected expense or if they lose their job they have no resource. >> i want to get to the numbers to clarify that. homelessness has dropped is what some numbers say. >> right. >> is it as big a problem as you say it is. it is. because let me tell you about the hod numbers. they are - measure homelessness

at a point in time. the way it's done is not very scientific. they look at people who are in shelters or transitional housing. when you count that all you are doing is counting a response, how much - what resources are available to help people. so you are not looking at who is not getting into shelter. the mayors report says is a high percentage of people are turned away every night because of a lack of space. the hod report looks at people on the street. how do you count people on the street or living in public places? people are most often hiding. what the hod method does is organises volunteers to go out on the street for a few hours at a moment in time. you'll miss a lot of people if you do that. >> you talked about affordable

housing. unemployment which was cut. how much has an impact on the homeless population. seems it will affect middle income, low income america rather than the homeless. >> homeless people come from somewhere. before they become home ms, they are low -- homeless, they are lower income people. sometimes they are middle income people and something happens. the issues are related. in terms of housing - there used to be much more assistance for subsidised housing, a lot more inexpensive housing before gennedification happened. a lot of inexpensive housing and housing resources have been destroyed. what that means is that if you are evicted, you really don't have any help available to you. you get on a waiting list that may be years long to get some

help. in the meantime your first step is probably move in with friends, family. you double up, triple up. that's often not sustainable over a long period of time. eventually you go to a shelter. shelter maybe can help you or not. they often have time limits. that's how homelessness happens. it's not something static, it happens over time. >> constantly changing, evolving. >> exactly. >> still an issue in america's big cities. maria foscarinis with the national law center for homelessness and poverty, thank you for your time. >> the aerospace capital of the world, that is what washington state governor is calling hit state after boeing struck a deal and will not move out of state. pensions and health care pensions will be cut. boeing is the biggest employer, with some 80,000 jobs. >> the nation's second biggest

city, the familiar plastic bag is becoming a thing of the past. al jazeera's brian rooney tells us why. >> disposable shopping bags are everywhere in los angeles. caught in fence, in the trees, the weeds. and they are in the gutter waiting to be washed down the storm drain to the ocean. that is why this city banned them. it's been the law a few days. ankle leana knew it was coming. >> i would bring them and leave them in the trunk of the car. >> it's become a habit. i'm really grateful for that. i think it's a great thing. we should conserve. >> the ban plies to all groceries, markets and stores that sell perishable foods. if you come without a bag, you can get a piper one. it will cost you a dime. >> there are some extensions, you can get the take out and the mum and pop groceries have until

june. billions of bags are distributed in california alone. it was a one-sided argument last june when the los angeles city council passed a law. >> they become trash, they clog our gutters, pollute our rivers. >> if you want to see a fish destroyed, she what plastic does to a fish, what it does to the food chain, what it does to life itself. >> now about 90 city and county governments in california have banned or limit plastic grocery bags. a prime mover is the environment group heal the bay in santa monica. >> i think it will impact larger than locally. we'll see momentum on the issue of plastic pollution, and its consequences. statewide, nationally and internationally as we start to see simply changes like bringing a reasonable bag can make a lot of difference. getting shoppers in the habit is

the big trip. >> they gave me a free bag. nice. >> but you didn't bring it here today. >> it's in the trunk of my car though. >> change is not in the bag quite yet. >> three al jazeera journalists are detained in egypt. we'll discuss the freedom of the press in that country.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz with the top stories this half hour. u.s. says it's concerned about the situation in western iraq. the government is battling an armed group linked to al qaeda. police in fallujah say fighters control the center of town. nearly eight have been killed in the violence there. u.s. coast guard is being called on to help two stranded ships in antarctica. d helped to rescue 52 passengers and is now itself stranded. the u.s. icebreaking ship "polar star" was in the region for another mission. >> brutal cold weather is bearing down on the midwest. part of it is seeing the lowest temperatures in years. you can see in the dakota's 50 below zero. several states across the mid

west may face negative temperatures for days. >> al jazeera is demanding the release of our colleagues in egypt. mohamed fadel fahmy, and baher mohamed, and correspondent peter greste have been held since sunday. mohamed fadel fahmy and peter greste face further questioning tomorrow. egyptian prosecutors say they are held on suspicion of joining a terrorist groups and spreading lies harmful to state security. al jazeera says the allegations are fabricated nonsense. earlier i spoke to maps from the committee to protect journalists. >> it's the most violations of attacks against the press that we have on record, since organizations documented press freedom around the world in 1992. this year was among the top 10 gaolers of journalists, and it's among the top three most dangerous and bloody environment genres. doing the work this year 2013.

so it's by far the most deterioration we have seen in egypt. what happens when a journalist is arrested in egypt. >> they are taking prosecution, if they are lucky, within a day or two. in the case of al jazeera, they were interrogated by national security prosecutor, and then referred to a criminal prosecutor, and they are typically staying in this questioning phase for weeks. sometimes, if they are lucky, they are appearing in front of a judge after a few months. this shows how it flawed the judicial system is because they've been partnering with the government. using legal and illegal ways to censure media and go after journalists. they have been detained since

july 3rdrd. dozens of journalists, some for an extended period of time and they were held for questioning, was not charged and later they were let go. some of them worked and have been in detention for, now, up to five months, without officially being charged and without seeing a judge. >> the fact that sometimes they are released, does that give you a sense of confidence. do you feel like any part of the judicial system in egypt can be trusted? >> not at all. i think some of those releases are political in nature. the cases are brought by political motives, so the government have to have a strong outcry. in many cases if they are a citizen of a foreign national and the government intervene,

asking the government to release them. that has a lot of difference in the political calculation that the regime does right now. if there's no clear source of unbiassed news, what does that do to the country. it's in a country running in terms of preparation. it's a violation of every citizen's right of receiving critical information. we have a constitution that has been drafted by a committee, appointed by the interim government and the military. >> and disappointed prosecution committee have introduced dozens of articles and amendments, there should be a discussion and a dialogue about the amendments and going after critical and independent voices will stop

people receiving necessary commentary about the good and bad of each of those articles. >> sherif mansour with the committee to protect journalists. thank you for your time tonight. >> thank are for having me. >> thousands of families are fleeing their homes in bor. many are going north, where numbers of displaced people in the country is most concentrated. >> fighting between the government and those loyal to the country's former vice president caused 60,000 people to flee. bor has been at the center of the fighting since it began last month. negotiators for the opposing sides will meet in ethiopia for talks. the head of the u.n. mission said the first step is getting the two sides to agree on ending the violence. >> if the parties agree to cessation of hostilities where the talks are taking place, that means that we have unique

complexity with the parties to rest development that could lead to 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, that's why the talks are happening. >> now the head of the united nations mission in south sudan on the violence there. >> voters in bangladesh are heading to the polls after weeks of violence in and dozens of polling stations set on fire. the execution last month of an opposition leader fuelled the violence and political tension. >> in india officials say 10 are dead after a 5-storey building collapsed, happening at a construction sit in canacona. many may be trapped in the rubble. criminal complaints have been issued against contractors and

owners of the site. builders are encouraged to cut corners. >> domestically, severe weather dangerously cold temperatures hitting a big chunk of north america. >> we have so much going on. i told you what is happening to the north-west of the cold front. we have big problems on the east side of that cold front, and that is, believe it or not, all the snow, it will be melting quickly. we had about two feet of snow in the eastern part of the massachusetts. some of the locations look like this. we saw slushy roads here. they have haven't been cleaned up. in boston, that's where the highest amount of snow was. this is a home depot on the south bay. temperatures are on the increase. we are looking at below freezing

for boston and new york. the wind chill not bad, nothing like what we saw in the northern plains. look at the high temperatures tomorrow. boston 42, new york 43. all the snow is going to start to melt. it's going to start to melt quickly. slushy weather, nasty driving. overnight we get close to freezing. it will be a problem. sunday looks like this, rain coming into play, as well as on the back end of this, look at the snow from the next storm system coming in, across here, the great lakes, where you see the purple. 12 to 15 inches of snow. the system will come through, temperatures behind it. once a system comes there we expect the temperatures to dive. here is a look at the 5-day forecast. sunday 42, monday 50, and then tuesday we go back down to 13. what i'm concerned about all the

snow that is melting on monday, and it will freeze. we are going to have icy conditions. temperatures do not go back above freezing until we get to thursday. how about to the south-east, a major storm system here. it's warmer, that's for sure. it's cloudier and rainier for most locations looking at rain. unfortunately, you can't go to the beach. >> it's warmer there at least. >> after 17 weeks of action, it's time for the play-offs in the n.f.l., michael eaves is here with more on that. the players are out there playing in it. >> there was one game where they played indoors, nice and cosy for everyone. sports and cliches have gone hand in hand. players and teams have to give it 110% and take it all the time. there's no i in team.

a true sports clooesha is the way to explain the game. that was the game. this game was not over until it was over. it was kansas city who looked the championship part as the chiefs went on to build a 28-point lead thanks to alex smith, quarterback, four touchdowns. the colts have one of the best young quarterbacks, andrew luckmatter. he accounted for nearly 500 yards of offence, rushing and returning fumble and from the puck he three 443 yards and capped by a pass to ty hilton, finishing with 13 catches, the second-highest total. the colts scored five touch downs over the last two quarters to win. only two other teams rallied

from 28 point deficits to get a play-off victory. the other wildcard game got under way with the philadelphia eagl eagles. more on that later. the national champion at the rose bowl to be crowned. florida state meets auburn in the national title game. we go southern california. neither the seminoles or the tigers have played a game if some time. how have they approached the lay-off. >> they enjoyed the time, spending it in sunny california, 70 degrees. had to give you a temperature update. the question on media day, how are both teams handling the lay-off. they've had 29 days off since the last game. if you recall, the national championship game. they look sluggish. they are worked by alabama.

this year it's not a problem. they say it's time to man up. >> as you know, the coffee says eliminate the clutter. that is the first and foremost. don't worry about what you have done. focus. if we go out and we play hard and do everything, we don't get the results that we want. >> we feel we don't come too far. we are so hungry, why not finish it off. we didn't come all this way to turn around and lose. >> the players are leading the practices, keeping everyone focused. we are playing on the biggest stage. you can have fun after the game. we enjoy the event, we know it's a business trip. i have not reached my maximum goal. >> at the end of the day i want to be the last person on the field, holding the crystal ball. nothing is more important than

holding the crystal ball on the stage saying, "we are the champions", with your team. >> auburn is looking for the second title. >> florida state didn't play close games, because the sem knolls are that good -- sem noels are that good or the competition is week. are the coaches concerned how the sem knolls will respond if the game is tight. >> no, they teach the players never to look at the scoreboard. they go hard on the play. >> florida state dom tated with a 13-0 record. the average margin of victory was 42 points. 14 point victory over boston college. it will be interesting to see how florida state reacts if it's a tight ball game. >> i'm telling you.

at all times, the situation. i feel like practicing hard. we go out there and practice. if we get through the game, it's easy. >> that's because that's the kind of football we like to play. >> i can't help another team can't keep up with us. >> florida state is a confident bunch. at this point of the season you need the mowo. the swagger. they are trying to cap off the perfect season. auburn is being called the team of the season. >> appreciate the time. >> by the way, if auburn win, that gives the south eastern conference eight seccive national consecutive championships. >> eight in a row. >> that's a lot. russia is five weeks away from the sochi winter olympics, and

vladimir putin is gearing up, taking part in an all-star hockey game and took a ride on a high-speed train and visited olympic volunteers. he tested the ski slopes and is allowing groups to hold protests at approved sites, after ordering a security clamp down after two attacks. still to come on al jazeera america. they raced to rescue passengers on a ship on the ice. now they are the ones stuck.

cain of

♪ in the night ♪ and i need you ♪ to hold me tight >> one of rock'n'roll's earliest

icons has passed away. phil everley died at the age of 74. he influenced bob dylan and the beetles. the everley brothers were inducted into the rock'n'roll hall of fame in 1976. >> the united states is being called to help rescue two stranded ships. the chinese icebreaker is stuck after rescuing 52 passengers from a russian ship. the u.s. icebreaking ship called "polar star" was in the region for another mission. >> dominic kane has the latest on the chinese ship that is stranded in ice. >> after more than a week on rescue duty, the "xue long" or "snow dragon" is trapped. >> it's helicopter had been vital in collecting the passengers from the "akademik shokalskiy" and ferrying them to a waiting australian ship to take them to safety. in all 52 journalists, researchers and tourists were

airlifted across the ice. as an ice breaker it is well used to the severe conditions. it's voyage to the south poll is to resupply the chinese antarctica station. it was china's only active research vessel. the problem is the sea ice is constantly shifting, meaning what may be a safe position one day is not the next. the cap tape made is clear -- captain made it clear that the current situation is manageable and that the crew does not need assistance. he hopes the ship can free itself from the ice in the future. >> we all try to keep and copy backup and important documents in case the worse happens. what if it can be applied toing about and monuments. we look at new technology used

to save world treasures. >> from the leaning tower of pisa to the ancient mian cities, and mount rushmore, a company is doing mapping of 3d images. >> the idea is to map the sites before they are lost. >> justin barton overseas the project which uses the scanner to record images of site. it can duplicate n image within a few millimetres. soon we'll have a scan. the underer came up with the idea of restoring sites after the destruction of the buddhas. scientists are particularly concerned about documenting the monuments in syria and egypt due

to unrest. historyions say the technology is invaluable. the time we have natural disasters increasing. all sorts of transformation going on. to have the cultural heritage. >> here in california, the 21 missions from the spanish colonial error. so far five landmarks have been mapped, including this building, the oldest in san francisco. scientists mapped 100 landmarks, including the sydney opera house and mount rushmore, a difficult assignment. >> we had to d design a customised rig to lower the scanner over the faces and lower the scanner into position up in the eyes, under the nose, under the chin, so we used a rope team to lower it down.

>> now it is embarking on an ambitious plan, mapping 400 historical sites within five years. it's hard to save the world. it's something we are trying to do. at the least it's saving the history. >> saving the ancient while using the modern. >> there is a lot more ahead on al jazeera america, including fight abusive designer drugs. why german officials are alarm about the use of these drugs, especially among the run. and a change in the florida everygrades. >> airboat rides through the swamps is synonymous through the florida everglades. but air boating is phasing out. we'll tell you why.

>> welcome back. german lawmakers are trying to ban a new wave of designer drugs that have invaded the drug scene. backroom chemists are selling them online. the catch with these drugs - they are legal. nick spicer has more from berlin. >> for many wanting to rave all

night in a berlin nightclub, a chemical boost is hard to resist. in fact, an estimated one new drug a month is released on the global market. too fast for police to catch up. even dealers admit it's getting out of hand. there's always new drugs emerging. people are creative and it's taking on perverse dimension, and is getting unhealthy for mind and body. getting legally high is as easy as going online to order up the offerings of chemists working in china and india. the chemicals contained will be close in the molecular structure to an ildrug, but -- illegal drug, but different enough to evade the law. this is lsz, or zed, close enough to lsd, but legal. they are pure, not cut, for example, with caffeine or rat

poison. >> translation: if someone takes a bag of that stuff into a bar, it's a disaster. people will die. that's what happen. drugs have a stigma. those that deal them don't know the pharmaceutical profile. they can't advise you. >> the european union is trying to cut the time it takes to ban new drugs from two years to 10 months. the market is growing rapidly. in germany alone it's estimated that 120 new drugs emerged in the past eight years, some 400,000 people have taken them. >> closing the loophole. skimming the swamps is synonymous with a visit to the florida everglades. air boats may be a thing of the past. natasha ghoneim has more. those that live in the florida everglades says it takes a special kind of person to live here. one of the ways they enjoy living here is through

airboating. thanks to new park rules, they won't be able to enjoy their hobby for longer. >> doyle kennon is a fifth generation of men in his family that navigate the swamps in an air boat. he and others are called glaids men. his family owns a tour boat company. >> there's no place like this in the world, out here with mother nature. i see now peep. >> coopertown airboat tours was the first commercial air boat company, established by the kennon family in 1945, two years before the government established ever glades national park. it's one of three tour operators in the park. >> it's been a history of our nature and culture, what we have done for years. >> this way of life is about to face changes, due to new rules

enacted by the national parks. 2014 is the last year people will be able to enjoy skimming the kusks for pleasure in their private airboat. a small number of old timers will be allowed to continue. one or 200 people will be able to dock their air boats permanently. tour operators will be able to sell their land. >> it's unfair, and the opinion of the people out here. you are taking away livelihoods and freedom. >> a spokesman with the ef glades national park agrees with what is in the soil. curbing airboating will destroy the flow of water and reduce noise pollution. the patriarch says living and working in the ever glades made him a conservation cyst and they have adapted to airboat incursions years ago. we use airboats as an

educational programs, so they understand the eco system. so we have a reason for people to support and maintain it. we would like to finish doing that for the rest of our lifetime. whether or not it's a business to pass on is unknown. so far the federal government hasn't offered him a fair price, and they haven't agreed on terms. a park spokesman says after they acquired the land each business will have to sign a contract and pay a franchisee. >> these recalls are part of the ever glades restoration project. park officials will release details regarding airboating, camping, hiking and other ways the public uses the wetlands. >> silencing the swamps - that's the show tonight. thank you for joining us. i'll be back at 11:00 pm eastern. the headlines are after this short break.

>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm jonathan betz with the headlines. there is con certain about the situation in western iraq. police in the main city of fallujah say fighters control the center of town. eight have been killed in the violence there. u.s. coast guard is being called on to help two stranded ships in antarctica. the chinese icebreaker is now stranded itself. u.s. ice breaking ship called the "polar star" was in the region for another mission. brutal cold weather is bearing down on the midwest. parts of the region are seeing the lowest temperatures. the dakotas,