♪ ♪ al jazerra america live from new york city. i am jonathan betz, rebels with link to al jazerra seized controls of key parts of iraqi city of fallujah. al qaeda is also a factor in neighboring syria splitting opposition groups in to rival cams, historic cold temperatures across much of the u.s. headed to lows not seen in decades. and soaring in seattle. critical vote at both keeps its plains and jobs in washington. >> tonight the fear of the rising tide of al qaeda from

iraq to syria. militants connected to the group are launching violent attacks in countries already in turmoil. we begin in iraq, where the government is fighting for control of parts of that country. >> you can hear the gunfire at fallujah, where rebels have taken the city center. at least eight have been killed there. fallujah is one of two main cities in the anbar province. ramadi, the other, is also under siege. despite baghdad anbar was one of the most dangerous places for u.s. forces. more than 1300 coalition soldiers were killed there. here is what we know about the fighters battling the government. they are affiliated with al qaeda. and call themselves the islamic state of iraq and levant. they want to set up a sunni muslim state in iraq and across the border into syria and other countries. al qaeda has taken control of parts of syria.

we go to imran khan for more. >> fighters from the al qaeda-linked islamic state of levant claim to have taken over the main highway into fallujah. one man gestures to a burnt out vehicle said to be from the iraq army. they say they sent forces from fallujah to iraq to battle forces. after four days of fighting the frontline moved to the outskirts of fallujah. the fighters have not allowed iraqi army to enter the town. it shows how little the tribal leaders distrust nouri al-maliki. the prime minister is not backing down. he describes the operation as crucial to iraq. >> translation: there's nothing left in the sovereignty. we have to unite to fight for the ones destroying our country,

standing by our security forces and make sure we succeed in a political process they want destroyed. >> the sunni tribal leaders in ramadi, the other main town managed to route al qaeda fighters and in corporation with the police force secured the city. fallujah is tense. sunni tribal leaders say they've been harassed targeted and arrested by government forces in recent years, and are calling for the reform of the sahwa, a paramilitary force defeated in 2008. the baghdad government and sunni troops are at a stalemate. >> the statement group of al qaeda-linked fighters says it's behind a bombing in beirut two days ago. five were kaled after -- were k after a suicide bomb exploded. they say it's not the end of the

violence. >> in syria opposition fighters accused that al qaeda group of hijacking the rebellion. zeina khodr has more. >> protests are growing and becoming widespread. people in the rebel-held north want people to leave the country. >> armed factions turned the guns against the al-qaeda-linked group and pushed them out of villages. there has been battles in aleppo and idlib. in the video the opposition says they captured a tunisian, abusz saber al tunisi, a commander of the group. a newly formed syrian rebel alliance went as far as declaring war on the islamic state, demanding that i.s.i.l. fighters join the ranks of other rebel groups or hand over the weapons and leave syria. the alliance accused i.s.i.l. of spreading strife and ipp

stability, liberating rebel areas, spilling blood and accusing them of herasy. >> islamic state equals the regime in its ruthlessness. we will not stop until we are finished. the islamic front has not announced its stance on clashes, but has helped us in battles. >> f.s.a. commanders say they are receiving help from the islamic front, the most powerful rebel alliance in the north, but they have not come out to state its position. it was one of its commanders tortured and killed that sparked the wave of protest. >> they took him in and executed him. it was emblem attic of the hijack of the revolution by foreigners. >> at the start foreign fighters were welcomed by the opposition. it changed when the islamic state began to take territory

and imposing what some called brutal tactics against the population. they have arrested, killed and forced into exile secular activists who call for democracy. >> rebels turned their guns on each other. this is the most serious violence between the armed opposition and al qaeda. some call it a new revolution. but it may be too early to compare to iraq's awakening movement leading to tribal militias pushing out al qaeda. >> rebel commanders say they are not ordered by the international community to wage the fight. al qaeda's presence tarnished the image. the west has been talking about fighting terrorism in syria, instead of focussing on the regime. >> the leader of another al qaeda-linked group decide whilst being treated at a hospital. majid al-majid suffered kidney failure, he's from saudi arabia

and was on the most wanted terrorist list of that country. his group was behind the bombing of the beirut embassy that killed 23. >> a bombing outside of kabul. there was no injuries. reuters reports that the afghan taliban is claiming responsibility. a separate attack killed an n.a.t.o. soldier in the eastern afghanistan region earlier today. >> violence against afghan women is increasing. the head of the humanitarian rights commission says in 2013 violent crime against women hit record levels. there was a 25% increase from march to september. the crimes are brutal with cases of cutting off noses, lips and ears. restoring women's rights was a main goal of the u.s.-led groups. as the soldiers get ready to withdrew, laws aimed at protecting women are hard to

enforce. >> israel's secretary of state john kerry says progress is being made in mid east peace talks, but they are far from a deal. nick schifrin has more from jerusalem. >> john kerry met with israeli and palestine officials 40 times in the last year, and today he said he's making a little bit of progress. it is slow, arduous work. diplomacy between two people fighting for much of the last six decades. he is determined to do it and all he is trying to do is create the framework for the guideline of peace. he's not trying to solve middle east peace, he's just trying to get the two sides to agree on what they are going to talk about in the future. that 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 accept it as a jewish state. israel says palestinians, in order for them to know that they are going to be a true partner

in peace must say israel is jewish. palestinians say wait a minutes we have said you have a right to exist. if we identify you as jewish we marginalise 20% of israelis that are arab, but accept your narrative that both claim is our own. that fear of accepting the narrative, john kerry addressed that today, speaking to reporters in ramallah. >> this is hard work. there are narrative issues. difficult complicated years of mistrust built up. all of which have to be worked through and undone >> the palestinians are asked to concede to israel's demand that they identify as a jewish statement. the israelis to stop building settle. the israelis say we can build anywhere after the border of west bank and israel because we captured it in the 1967 war.

the palestinians say if you expect us to build a state and live side by side with two states, how can you build on our land, homes and entire networks of roads, a patch work splitting the people off from their brothers and cousins in other towns. john kerry acknowledged that and that the two sides really are speaking past each other and far apart, but remains optimistic. >> we are working with great intensity, with serious purpose, with a commitment to trying to resolve this conflict that has gone on for many years too long. and which i think presents us now with the possibility of trying to find a framework agreement which would really lay out the end game and lay out the framework for the major issues to guide negotiations from this

point forward. >> that homework is due very, very soon. john kerry says he'll be back here next weekend. it will be the 11th trip in 12 months. >> nick schifrin in jerusalem. leading republican senators are in the region. john mccain, lindsey graham, and john barasso met with shimon peres. they expressed optimism for a peace agreement. >> we have room for guarded optimism from what we have seen. it's a difficult process, but we appreciate secretary of state john kerry's great efforts that he is making. we are appreciative of that. we also see a willingness that perhaps has not been there in abundance in the past. >> israeli palestine peace talks resumed last july. >> tonight millions of americans are bracing for the coldest

weather in decades. forecasters call it an historic e. it is so cold it is truly dangerous across the midsection. illinois, missouri, wisconsin will see temperatures they haven't felt in at least 15 years. in the dakotas, it could be as low as 60 below zero. minnesota ordered schools to close on monday, the first time that happened in 17 years. st. louis district cancelled classes. the air brakes on 80 buses stopped working in freezing temperatures. how dangerous are the temperatures. water freezes at 32 degrees farenheit. salting roads doesn't work at zero. once it drops to minus 10, frost bite occurs within 10 minutes. negative 35, the car's antifreeze may not work. and at minus 40, it the takes 5 minutes for frostbite to step

in. we go to detroit where the high may be 1 degree on tuesday. >> people are preparing for the record cold weather the same way they might for a serious winter storm - by grocery shopping. buyed food products like milk and eggs. other things they'll neat when they don't want to venture out under the cold weather. some states announced they are going to close public schools. it's not a snow, it's a cold day. the state of minnesota said the public schools will be closed on monday to keep kids out of the cold weather. some cities have also said that they'll make extra efforts to get homeless people off the streets so they don't freeze to death. >> scary temperatures. straight to kevin. the cold weather is expected to last for several days. >> you mentioned it will get to minus 60 tomorrow for a windchill. we expect to see on monday

morning, in parts of north dakota, a windchill of minus 70. we'll keep track of that. either way it's dangerous. now, the culprit is - you can see the cold front. anything to the north of the air masses. that's why the temperatures are cold for the last several weeks. let's go closer. you can see the front here. back to the north, there's no snow. normally when we see temperatures, we wouldn't see snow. it's too cold to snow in those locations. towards the south it is raining. take a look at the map. you can see - we have lost the map, the graphics. here we go. you can see - i was going to show you the windchills. most areas were dealing with wind chills. when they issue windchills it is because they are dealing with life-threatening conditions across the area. so right now fargo, north dakota minus 11.

it is this area here we are most concerned about. i want to show you hour by hour what we expect to see with the particular windchills. minus 44 at 5am. over here about 12. as we go further into the forecast, we are going to see the temperatures get a little bit colder and we'll hit minus 62 degrees by tomorrow night. as they said, i do think we'll see wind chills probably hitting minus 70 by monday. >> unreal. when you said it's too cold for snow, that says a lot. >> washington's biggest employer will keep thousands of jobs in the state. we'll tell you why some workers feel like they are being cheated. >> plus, the number of homeless families is growing faster in nashville than any other u.s. city. the reason when we return.

. >> for months it's been a high stake game of chicken in washington state. boeing's union blinked. the deal keeps the production of the jetliner and thousands of jobs local. it comes at a cost to pensions and health care. amanda price has more. >> it was a narrow vote. some boeing workers say the contract is a raw deal, and accused boeing of breaking its promises. >> we helped put the company where it is today, and we are not being - we are being pushed to the side. the contract divided the machinist union down the middle. 24,000 workers cast ballots. in the end. >> 51% yes vote. >> the margin was 600 votes. local union leaders say it's a blow to union power. the new contract will keep machinists working on the 777x

in the seattle area through 2024, but with sacrifices. the union accepted 401k plans in lieu of pensions and members will lose some health care benefits. washington's leaders hailed the agreement as a win for the state. >> tonight washington state secured its future as the aerospace capital of the world. >> the fear that boeing could walk outweighed concessions. >> i felt pressure for the community. >> a community that built boeing planes for more than 90 years and counting. >> nashville tennessee saw a jump in homeless families. it is not alone. homelessness is on the rise across the u.s. al jazeera's jonathan martin looks at why to many are struggling. 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, keeping a job and paying for a home. >> i had my own place, and i was evicted. now we are back here. hopefully we'll be able to get a new place. >> the nashville rescue mission is crowded with more families and similar situations. >> 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 looked at homelessness in 24 u.s. cities and found the number of families crew fastest in nashville, by 25%. >> there's a call on the community to do something about the family homelessness when it comes to sheer numbers of beds, capacity, it still - we still can't keep up with it. >> homeless advocates say part of the problem is nashville's success. it led the nation in job growth

and is known as the destination city for job hunters. >> whether it's fast food, fine dining, construction. those opportunities are all available here in nashville relative to other communities around the country. . >> the average rent is $900 a month for a one bedroom. that is tough for individual or family to afford when you are working part-time or minimum wage. >> will connelly is director of nashville's homelessness commission. while there are a variety of programs and resources available, knowing where to get help is the biggest hurdle. >> right now, if you came and said you are about to become homeless, even though i've been working in the field for 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 city officials will pile a program bringing homeless agencies together, to hopefully make it easier for those that need help to get it. >> maria foscarinis is with the national law center for homelessness and poverty and explained the factors driving homelessness in the nation's big cities. >> homelessness in general is filling up across the country and is going up in cities, as the mayor's report demonstrates. the reasons that are driving this are lack of affordable housing and a disconnect between wages or income people have and housing that they can afford. there's really a crisis in affordable housing in this country. many people 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 recores. so i think that is what is -- recourse. so i think that is what is driving >> inexpensive housing and resources diminished, leaving many with no place to go. >> more than 2 million americans will get a wage increase. 13 states increased the minimum wage, others may follow. it still may not be enough, as shihab rattansi reports. >> the moment washington d.c.'s city council agreed to raise the minimum wage to $11.50, a substantial improvement of $7.25. across the country local authorities are taking the initiative. >> $11.50 an hour is low when you factor in the cost of living, the amount each workers produces and the growth and income for the top 1%. when you use those benchmarks, studies show the minimum wage should be around $25.

politicians are speaking out about income in the u.s. >> we have companies having regard income. walmart had an income of $7 billion. the ceo makes $11,000 per hour. you want to hold back the people. >> president obama, too, argued for the need to pay workers a fair amount for their labour and not keep people from utter depravation. >> if you work hard, you should make a decent living. president obama is supporting raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10. that would not have given stacy ardon a decent living. she was earning $11.50 as an ambulance worker and could only pay her bills by working hours of overtime. >> important stages. i was missing out on a lot because i spent once a week here, and was spending six days a week at work.

>> the economic policy institute in washington d.c. had an online budget calculator working out how much someone needs to make a secure living. >> entering staysy's details shows how far from secure she is. >> $99,422 - clearly she's nowhere near than that. >> david cooper says if workers are to achieve a decent living, the debate has to be broadened. >> giving workers a greater ability to bargain higher wages. right now employers held all the cards. >> stacy lost her job as she was trying to form a union. >> i actively organise, i campaign. >> she's not giving up on fighting for a liveable wage. >> after a 6-day battle with pneumonia, barbara bush has been released from the hospital.

doctors say she's doing well. houston methodist hospital discharged the 88-year-old this morning. ms bush said: >> the founder and ceo of amazon had a scary and painful end to his vacation. a navy helicopter from ecuador airlived him off a cruise ship. he suffered a kidney stone attack. he was taken to a private jet and flown to the u.s. for emergency treatment. when asked about the ordeal he said gall appa gas five stars, kidney stones, 0. >> negative 7 - that will be the high in some places in the midwest. kevin have all the details next. new concerns the bird flu could be coming back. how worried should we be? that's ahead.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz with the headlines. the u.s. is concerned about the situation in western iraq. the government is battling an armed group linked to al qaeda. police in fallujah say rebels control the center of town. eight have been killed. >> the u.s. secretary of state is back in jerusalem. john kerry says progress has been made, but there are ways to go to establish a framework for peace talks. he is scheduled to go to saudi arabia tomorrow. >> brutally cold weather is bearing down on the midwest. parts of the region are seeing the lowest temperatures in 20 years. in the dakotas, it could be 60 below zero. and several states may face negative temperatures for days. >> the incoming cold front is called historic, the most severe since 1996.

kevin corriveau is here with more on how cold it will get in the coming days. >> it will be dangerous. we talk about windchill a bit. the difference between windchill and ambient temperature is a temperature you would read off your thermometer. that will go down to 25-30 below. when we talk about windchill, some places will get down to minus 60 or minus 25. windchill is where the air pulls the lair -- layer of heat from your body and the fingers, feet, hands, nose cools off rapidly. you freeze faster. if you are down to minus 35, minus 40 - it only takes less than 5 minutes to get frostbite and hypothermia later on. >> what we are looking at for the rest of the day - this is the area where we'll see cold temperatures tomorrow as well as

monday. the frontal boundary that is leading the way is bringing snow across parts of illinois, indiana, ohio and michigan. where you see the purple - that could be between 18-20 inches of snow. for detroit that will cause problems. >> the highs tomorrow will be minus 20 for fargo, minus 17 more minneapolis. the overnight lows will be worse. look how long this will stay in effect. sunday minus 11, monday, minus 17, tuesday, minus 6. it's not until we get to wednesday and thursday do we get closer to average in these areas. overnight lows. look at that, minus 27. the windchill will be minus 40 degrees. on the east coast a lot of snow. it is about to melt. temperatures in this region are going up to 40 degrees tomorrow.

>> back and fourth. >> severe weather in europe, dramatic footage on the coast of the u.k. >> here we go. >> look at that. there it goes. the moment part of a cliff col apps in rockanore, following days of rough seas. local officials urge the public to stay away. areas frequented by fishermen and popular with tourists. u.k. has been hit by weeks of heavy rain, high tides and flooding. many homes and roads are underwatered. emma hayward has more. >> for days parts of britain have been battered by bad weather. the huge tidal surges, heavy rain and gale force winds striking hard. the deluge and destruction was not as bad as many forecasters predicted. as day broke over the south-west, the worst of it

seemed over. for now at least. with defenses holding back the tide. >> we'll be out of the woods here. we have sort of hefty flooding going on upstream. we have a number of flood alerts and warnings, and i think we'll get further warnings and flood alerts. >> it has come at a price. protecting the town of upton upon seven cost around $7 million. in this area people were resigned to flooding. this very modern flood defense system is keeping the water at bay. much to the relief of many people in the area. >> up until they put the wall in, and we got flooded six times, and the worst one is 2007, when you come up to this level, which inside is three feet. >> some of the defences may have worked, but the ageing sea which looks after them found itself at the center of a political storm. plans to cut more than 1500 jobs

has led to questions about whether the future environment agency could cope with major weather events, this while the taxpayers' dollar has never been in demand, with choices about where to spend public money under pressure and new challenges over the climate. >> areas of existing urban infrastructure, major parks are in a high-risk flood area. we'll have to work out a way of managing redevelopment which we - that are flood resist able to. >> for now it feels like there's a lull before the storm, as forecasters predict there's more bad weather on the way. >> india - officials say 10 are dead after a 5-storey building collapsed, happening at a construction site in the city of canacona. rescuers are afraid more are trapped. criminal complaints are issued against the construction company

and contractors. it's unclear what caused the collapse, but they are common. high demand for housing and laxed regulations encourage builders to cut corners. >> al jazeera is demanding the release of our colleagues in europe. mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed, along with correspondent peter greste have been held since sunday. mohamed fadel fahmy and peter greste face further questioning tomorrow. they are held on suspicion of joining a terrorist group and spreading lies harmful to security. earlier i spoke to sherif mansour and asked about press freed om in egypt. >> it's the most unprecedented attacks that we have on records. since organizations documented press freedom. this year egypt, for the first time, was among the top 10 gaolers of journalists.

it's among the top three most dangerous and bloody environment with journalists dying when doing their work in year alone, 2013. it's by far the most deterioration we have seen. >> egypt's restrictions prevent them receiving critical information. >> voters in bangladesh are heading to the polls after weeks of violence. more than 100 have been killed in dozens of polling stations set on fire. opposition parties urged voters to stay away. the execution of an opposition leader fuelled the violence. >> heavy security has been dispatched to all voting stations. we have more on that. >> i'm at a polling station in the capital, dakar, in one of only two out of 20 constituencies in which any sort of vote will take place here on

sunday. i'll step out of the shot so you can see what is going on. fairly heavily policed amid reports coming in of a number of polling stations, more than 100 in all along with continuing political violence. most of the people turning up behind me to vote will be government supporters. there is not anyone else to vote for other than fringe parties. why carry on with an election like this at all? the government insists it must do on constitutional grounds. the election must be held within certain time limits, and blames the opposition, bangladesh party for orkest rating violence. it has done everything in its power to encourage them to stop and take part in the process. the bnp wants nothing less than the government to stand aside. there's enmity between the two

women at the top of politics in bangladesh. amid criticism the question is not who will be in power on monday - we know the answer - but what the situation will do to the overall political and other stability otherwise in bangladesh as a whole. will violence continue on the streets? quite likely. what will happen to the economy badly damaged by political turmoil. up to now things could get worse. >> thousands of families are fleeing their home in the south sudan city of bor. many are going north. that's where the red cross says most displaced people are located. tens of thousands left bor since fighting began. it started as a power struggle between government leaders but escalated to ethnic clashes that killed hundreds. >> there is hope diplomacy may

end fighting in south sudan. peace talks are scheduled. >> juba, it's the only refuge these people can find. more than 1,000 died. 200,000 others are on the move because of fierce fighting between rebels and the south sudan army. the hope for peace lies many miles away in neighbouring ethiopia when negotiators are trying to thrash out a deal. >> translation: we have an agreement on ceasefire to create a conducive atmosphere for addressing outstanding political issues. our people struggled a lot during the struggle for independence, and will not suffer again in our hands. >> the rebel delegation is striking a cautious tone, making a list of demands. >> with the current mass

leaders, there is no conducive atmosphere for peace talks. >> the conflict is drawn along ethnic lines. the president, dinka, dismissed his deputy, riek machar, from the nuer community. three weeks ago rebels supporting the sacked president began fighting for control of state capitals. the violence spread across the country. >> we need is cessation of hostilities. it must happen now. we cannot afford to tolerate people suffering in that way while politicians handle. >> after several days of delay. both parties meet at the table on sunday. history is not on their side. >> for generations two tribal groups battled for dominance and resources. now they have to decide how to bring peace to the world's

youngest nation. that will not be easy. >> in china a case of h 7-n 9 bird flu was confirm. the patient is an 86-year-old. they can buy chickens at the local market to be infected. a temporary closure of poultry markets has been ordered for the next three months. >> still ahead - the question paper or plastic is a thing of the past in a big u.s. city. details ahead. plus... >> an airboat ride through the swamps is synonymous for the florida everglades. airboating is phasing out. we'll tell you why. >> and the start of n.f.l. wildcard weekend turned outside to be the epitome of wild. found out how wild, next.

welcome back. cities across the country are no longer asking paper or plastic. we explain why los angeles is the latest to bag plastic bags. >> 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 mapped them. it's been the -- banned them. it's been the law for a few days. >> for a long time i'd bring them and leave them in the trunk of the car. i forget. now it's a habit. i'm really grateful for that. >> i think it's a great thing. we should be conserving. >> the ban aapplies to

groceries, markets and stores. if you come without a bag, you can get a paper one, but it will cost you. you can get chinese take out in a plastic paper back and mum and pop groceries have until june to comply. billions of bags are distributed. it was a one-sided argument when the los angeles city council passed a law. >> they become trash, clog the gutters, pollute the river and trash our beaches. >> if you want to see a vish destroyed, go see 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 banned or limited plastic grocery bags. one of the prime movers behind the bans is the environment group heal the bay. it will have impact larger than locally. i think we'll start to see

momentum on the issue of plastic pollution, and its consequences. state wide, nationally and internationally, as we see simple changes like bringing a reasonable bag can make a lot of differencism. >> getting shoppers in the habit is the big trip. >> they gave me a free bag. >> you didn't bring it here. >> i didn't bring it here. it's in the trunk of my car though. >> change is not in the bag quite yet. skimming the swamps in an airboat is synonymous with florida everglades national park. but their days may be numbered. >> those that live in the florida everglades say it takes a special person to live here. one of the ways they enjoy living here is through airboating. thanks to new park rules, they will not be able to enjoy their hobby for longer.

doyle kennon is a fifth generation of men in the family who nov gated the swamps of the florida everglades in an airboat. he and others like him make up a dwindling community of glaidsmen, his family owns an airboat tour company. >> there's nothing like this in the world. you are out with mother nature. i see new people, bring education. >> coopertown airboat tours was the first commercial airboat tour company in 1945, two years before the government established everglades national park, one of three tour operators in the park. >> it's a history of our nature, what we have been raised in. >> this way of life is about to face changes due to new rules enacted by everglades national parks. 2014 is the last year people will be able to enjoy skimming

the swampy curves for pleasure in a private airbot. a small number of old timers will be allowed to continue. but one to 2,000 will have to dock their airboats. and two out of three have to sell their land to the federal government. >> it's unfair. they are taking away livelihoods, our freedom. >> a spokesman with the everglades national park says airboating is impacts on nesting areas. curving it will restore the flow of water and reduce noise pollution. >> the patriarch of the chemical weapon families says living and working in the everglades made him a conservationist. >> we try to use our airboats as an educational program for schools and people all over the world so they understand what the eco system is. so we have a reason for people

to support and maintain it. we'd like to do that for the rest of our lifetime. whether or not there's a business to pass on to the great grandchildren is unknown. kennon says the federal government has not offered a fair price, and they have not agreed on terms. a park spokesman says after acquiring the land each business will have to sign a contract and pay a franchise fee. these rules are part of the ever glades restoration project. in the coming months officials will release details in relation to airboating, camping, hiking and the ways people use the wetlands. >> as we go into the world cup, and don't mind travelling cheap. one of brazil's slums is putting out the welcome mat for soccer fans. they are offering rooms costing $15. it's a tiny fraction of what

5-star hotels are charging. authorities have been trying to improve security ahead. $15 a night. not a bad deal. >> no thank you. >> compared to the super bowl coming here. it will be outrageous. it's common sports cliche to say every game counts, but it's true as those regular season games determine where teams play once the play-off starts. take the saints. after losing three of five games. they lost out on a stilt, but the saints were forced to start a run in philadelphia, where the game-time temperature hofred in the low 20s, a double whamy nor new orleans, who lost four of their last five games when the temperature dipped below 30. the winter conditions didn't affect the saints. they built a lead.

the eagles close up their season by winning the last four home games, a comeback was not out of the question. nick foulds engineered three scoring tries giving filly a lead. plenty of time. they marched down the field. setting up a field goal, giving the saints a 26-24 victory. >> in the match-up between the chiefs and the colts, weather was not in issue. alex smith, 378 yards, four touchdowns. but the colts have a good quarterback. he mounted one of the best second half play-offs in memory, accounting for 500 yards of offence. he rushed. returned and from the pocket threw for 443 yards, capped by 64 touchdown. he finished the card with 13

catches. the colts storing five touch downs over the last two quarters winning 45-44. >> so happy we won. proud to be a part of this team. i was trying to lose the game, it felt. happy that coachers, players stuck by me and entrusted me. >> incredible victory. one for the ages. i don't know if somebody said it was a second-largest comeback for whatever in the history. 21 was not enough. perhaps we'd give them another seven to make it interesting. our guys are unbelievable. >> the n.f.l.'s wildcard play-off continues tomorrow with two more games starting with the beng else hosting the chargers, followed by the green bay backers hosting the 49ers, with a game time temperature.

expect to be around 3 degrees, and the windchill reaching in the negative 20 range. the n.f.l. play-offs are getting started, the college season is winding down, culminating with a national championship at the rose ball and pasadena california. top ranked florida your faces number two, auburn. ross shimabuku heads the cast. >> in the last national championship not re damn looked sluggish and was worked by alabama. auburn and florida state say it's time to man up. >> eliminate the clutter. that's the first and foremost. let's do that. don't worry about what we have done. focus on now. again, if we go out and play hard and do everything we have to do, we'll get the results we

want. >> we feel we don't come too far. we are so hungry that we made it this far, why not finish it off. we didn't come all this way to turn around and lose. now is the players who are leading. they are keeping everyone focussed. we are playing on the biggest stage. you can have fun after the game. we enjoy the events. we know that this is a business trip. >> i still haven't reached my maximum goal. at the end of the day, i want to be the last person on the field and i want to hold up the crystal ball. nothing is more important than hosting the crystal ball up there with the team saying, "we are the champions." >> florida is looking for the first national championships since the 1999 team, while auburn is looking for a second title. >> one basketball note to pass along. former n.b.a. all star, 5-time

n.b.a. champion dennis rodman is following through on a team to take a team of n.b.a. players with him to north korea. kenny anderson, cliff robin son, phil baker and others will team up to take on a north korean team on kim jong un's birthday. rodman says he considers north korea's leader a friend for life, and is calling this his version. basketball diplomacy. basketball in north korea. >> the big question - what about the beer. ever wondered. >> how do they keep it cold or warm? >> next, the special precautions to make sure the beer does not freeze in the n.f.l. match. >> a race to rescue passengers aboard a ship in antarctica.

well, now they are stuck. stay with us.

>> we are aware we'll have a high demand for hot drinks and

we'll do everything we can to make sure we have enough. >> the real problem at lambeau field is keeping the beer not cold, but thawed during the play-off. the national weather service predict a game-time temperature of 2 degrees. beer freezes at 27 degrees. so the stadium is putting heaters in hundreds of beer towers to ensure the suds don't turn to ice. free coffee and hot chocolate will be provided for the fans. >> the u.s. coast guard is on the way to help two stranded ships, the chinese icebreaker that helped to rescue 52 paners is stuck in thick ice. john mccain has -- dominic kane has the latest. >> after a week on rescue duty, the "xue long" is, itself, trapped. its rescue helicopter had been

vital in taking passengers from "akademik shokalskiy" to an australian ship. as an ice breaker the "xue long" is used to severe conditions. its voyage to the south pole is to resupply the chinese antarctic station. the "xue long" is china's only active ice breaking research vessel. the problem is that the sea ice is shifting constantly. meaning that what may be a safe position one day is not the next. the captain made it clear that the current situation is manageable and his crew does not need assistance. he hopes the ship can free itself from the ice in the very near future. >> u.s. coast guard is on its way there. that's the show tonight. thank you for joining us at al jazeera america. a quick look at the headlines is next.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz with the headlines. a brutally cold sunday is in store for the midwest and the dakotas, it could feel as low as 60 below zero. several states across the region may face negative temperatures for days. minnesota officials already cancelled classes. >> there's growing concern about the situation in western iraq. the government is battling a group linked to al qaeda. fighters control the city center. eight people have been killed in violence there. >> john kerry after spending saturday meeting with president mahmoud abbas heads to