>> good afternoon to you and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford and here are the stories we are following right now. fighting in falajua has concerns over the fighting in iraq. the northeast is bracing for cold temperatures and while in hawaii, the sun is providing energy. deadly violence is continuing to escalate in iraq and car bombs killed as many as

1el people. the suny fighters are continuing to fight. secretary of state is saying that the u.s. is supporting the iraqi government but not putting more troops on the ground. the al qaeda linked group islamic state of iraq is in control of two cities there. we have the attempts to regain power. >> after a standoff for days they are ready to enter the city and fight the group. the agreement to do so is hard fought. the standoff is indicating the tension between the new tribes and the government but now the

prime minister has an agreement and poised to act. >> the increased coordination wean the army and the tribesmen and the army is providing the tribes with the weapons. i think this issue is resolved within one or two days to expel the groups. >> but one or two days is opt a mystic and they have surgical air strikes video and they are lipted to the cities and other strong holds are outside of the city. only adding to the woes of the iraqi government are the critics of the mime minister. >> we call on the government to meet the demands of the people, demands not related to terrorism. if there is a further escalation of iraq, worst things could

happen. >> general elections are scheduled for late april and the political parties are looking to get in the best position. joining us now to talk about the escalating violence in iraq. so, in short, is support for al qaeda growing? a well, not necessarily in numbers of fighters. but i think in terms of popular support it is probably growing. there is much sympathy for the al qaeda fighters. >> so how is that al qaeda managed to overrun falju,and

armadi? >> it got broken up by the iraqi army and excited the people in feeling they have had enough and prepared to take a stand against the prime minister. and so i they that opened the doors for the al qaeda people to come in and take over the place stations and things like that. >> you mentioned taking a stand, secretary of state kerry saying we are willing to support iraq but not put the booting on the ground. kwhoo is he likely to demonstrate? >> the iraqi's welcome intelligence from the united states and equipment like the drones and things like that. the problem is knowing what is happening on the ground and the americans got a great deal of expertise in iraq itself and he's looking for political, practical support. >> you mentioned political

support, that is a hot topic right now, what do you say to republican critics like john mccain saying this is the obama's administration fault in pulling out in the first place. >> i don't believe that is correct. i don't think that the american public would have tolerated more american deaths in iraq. there are two points that are important to make, al qaeda is successful in using the american presence as recruiting to get more members. >> how so? a being invaded by outsiders and taking over our country and stealing our wealth. >> so having a nationalist feel? a that's right. the second point is that you know you can't kill or arrest these people, you have to undermine the support and it is not for the american troops, or

the united states to undermine the support, that is a job for the iraqi government. >> can they do that successfully? >> i am sure they can. there is not much support for al qaeda. they are a bunch of thugs. >> but with growing support. >> that is a sign of the frustration of the way they are treated by the government. that frustration could die down and people could join together and get rid of al qaeda. >> what is next z what are the next steps? >> america is doing is right. you have the retake control, you can't let them control the spaces. but the second after that is to work out why people are so unsatisfied with the government in baghdad.

what sort of policies can be introduced to make the people feel they are part of the iraqi state. >> richard, former u.n. team chief for al qaeda for the u.n. thank you for joining us this afternoon. a fighting is continuing in northern syria where for a third day now groups are engaged in clashes with the islamic state of iraq. we see how the al qaeda linked group in the region is not welcomed by many in the syrian opposition. >> syria's opposition is pushing forward against the islamic state. the al qaeda linked group is being pushed out of the bases, a war is declared by some rebel forces that believe that isil is not working for the interests of their revolution. the fighters have created a number of states in many areas

of the rebel held north and imposing their own laws which many in the opposition believe are brutal. isil for its part threatened to with draw the fighters from the front lines if the attacks against it continue and warning that the regimes are able to retake. >> in audio recording the isil is saying they are being stabbed in the back by some of the groups involved in a conspiracy to get rid of al qaeda. rebel commanders deny they are waging a war on behalf of the international community. some believe it has to do with geneva. >> we are seeing the fighting over who is the new negotiator with the regime. so far there is no unified opposition, actually there is a lot of infighting in order to

produce. >> the coalition, the pop situation in exile thrown it support behind the battle and asking the international community to recognize the support of supporting the revolutiona revolutionary supporters. the conflict is spreading throughout the region. it first amerged in iraq a number of years ago and the war in syria allowed it to set up there and now a presence the neighboring lebanon. it claims responsibility for the latest attacks targeting supporters of the lebanese group. the war against isil may not only declared in syria, authorities in iraq and lebanon are trying to wipe out the group. this may not be an easy battle. audio reminder that syria's war

doesn't have borders. secretary of state john kerry is saying that the security of syria and palestine is crucial. in jerusalem i guarantee all parties that we are committed to putting ideas forward that are fair and balanced and improving the security of all of the people in the region. kerry is jordan and meeting the king and trying to come up with a plan for the palestine leader and israeli counter part. the talks resumed last july after a three year break. >> african migrants are protesting. >> the migrants are billing the protest as a general strike, but to be exact they are not

entitled to work in israel legally as all and living with conditional temporary visas that specifically saying they are not legally entitled to work and stores who are hiring them at low wages and in fact some of a them joined the protests and saying they need these people to fill the necessary jobs because they can't find enough israeli's to fill them. the people are looking for some kind of extension of their asylum applications and they hope that the government will respond to this request, if not, they are going to foreign embassies and asking for the community to enlist them in their cause. >> thousands of families fleeing from the south sudan community to the north where most of the displaced people are located.

the fighting began last month. the attempted coo brought on the fighting. >> the chills forecast. it is a bitterly cold sweep into the nation's school systems and some are closing down.

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it is called ab an arctic vortex and bringing in the colder conditions to the country and deep into the midwest and the mid south and the potentially low temperatures are expected over the coming days and they are staggers. >> yes, temperatures we have not seen for upwards of 20 years in some of the locations.

bismark is feeling like 56 degrees. it is just that cold. here is a look as it is feeling for the coming hours. you get a little wind and feeling like minus 50 or minus 60 degrees and by monday amp even chicago and indianapolis is feeling as cold as minus 45. not the kind of weather that you want to be out in. especially for any long extended periods of time. stay inside, stay safe and stay warm. tonight the air temperatures are dropping. down to min 22 in minneapolis. the record low temperatures

minus 22. we are on the northern side of the frontal bunked ri and into minneapolis we are not dealing with the moisture. just the bitterly cold air mass. we are not going to make it above zero until wednesday, and even then still well below the averages. usually the temperatures are climbing into the mid 20s. as far as snow, it is persisting around st. louis and parts of illinois and indiana and even into michigan. detroit we have been dealing with airport delays result of the snow and deicing conditions. northeast has a surge of the moisture and the temperatures are just on the brink of the freezing point and the rain mixing with the freezing rain and light drizzle. the colder air is moving in our direction. morgan. >> thank you. from montana to maine the big chill is proving dangerous. now to hear how the nation is

coping. >> morgan, when you put arctic and vortex in the same sentence, that is not a good sign. the temperatures are posing serious risks for people out in the open. water freezes at 32 degrees and salting roads is not working at zero degrees, but dropping to negative ten frostbite can occur within 30 minutes. negative 40 degrees it takes five minutes for frostbite to set in. >> the first signs of frostbite with a tingling sensation in the fingers and followed by pain and complete loss of sensation. a doctors say to avoid cotton and wear the wicking fabrics and stay indoors and school systems are taking action as far south as tennessee and delaying the

start of classes because of the forecasted temperatures. minnesota closed the schools monday for the entire state, the first time in 17 years. some cities in wisconsin are following suit, including milwaukee and madison and some districts in iowa. chicago asked the residents to look out for the neighbors during the cold spell. >> we are asking the public to help us out and check in on the older and frail neighbors or relatives, particularly those with disabilities, poor health or those that are isolated. >> nearly ten thousand flights are delayed and cancelled. significant delays in boston because of the cold and the snow, jfk shut down briefly after a plane skidded from the runway. no injuries were reported.

to north dakota people are advised to stay home and off of the roads. >> hold off on getting groceries and hold off without the necessities don't go out on the roads, no need to leave the house if you are, if it it is warranting an emergency. >> sunday's nfl game is expected to be the coldest in the league's history. the 49ers are facing with the packers in wisconsin. it is expected to be 2 degrees at the kickoff with a windchill of minus 20. the fans at the stadium are encouraged to wear three layers and drink warm fluids and not alcohol. these temperatures, morgan, are expected to continue until early this week. >> thank you. as you can imagine, there is not a problem with the cold weather in hawaii, the sunshine is

creating a problem for the power grid. we are joined in hawaii with the story. >> morgan, it is a combination of the sun and the solar stampede, 10% of all homes have a rhoop top system installed to genera generate electricity. no one is arguing if solar is a good thing, but it is proving to be too much too fast. drive down any street and you see the solar panels on the roof top, the most expensive electricity rate in the country, almost three times the national average, it is easy to guess why. the sun is a resource, almost begging to be harnessed for electricity and hawaii answered the call. they lead the nation in solar

energy. >> we paid $35,000 for the 18 panels. >> the panels were supposed to reduce the monthly bill of $250 to around $20. three months late ter solar system is sitting dormant and the walkers and hundreds of others find themselves stuck in sol solar limbo. so the system can't be hooked up to the grid and he's angry at the hawaii electric. >> you are on a saturated circuit and we have to update the circuit and that is a cost assessed to you. a the solar boom is overloading the utility grid. >> we can't sacrifice the

lieblth for a roof top solar. >> since 2008 a, the installations have almost doubled every year. leaving the utility unprepared for the shift. and many here see the policy of not connecting the new systems as dark cloud over hawaii's move to green energy. an it is not just about my house and the panels, to me it is a much bigger issue that effects the entire island. >> founder of the solar supply, agrees and he's not just worried about the business dropping off but worried about the leadership with alternative power. a we have more solar water heaters. so here is an example of headed to sustainability where we need it the most and if toz not working here, it is not going to

work any where. >> saying that hawaii electric is facing bigger problems if homeowners decide to hook up unauthorized systems on their own. as this can be dangerous for already overload ed grid. oop an if they refuse to connect the systems some of the homeowners will be doing that any way and they are called rogue systems and it is a national problem and it is really big here and that is going to increase. >> with the mained date that 70% of the energy coming from renewal sources, this is clear that the issue is only going to heat up. hawaii electric is saying it is working hard to try to catch up and trying to come up with a sluks, perhaps they are able to hook up the systems in the springtime and further testing

needs to be done. certainly hawaii is not the only state in the country seeing more solar use, nothing to the extent as seen here in hawaii. morgan. >> thank you, jennifer. >> still ahead on al jazeera, update on the top stories and new residents that don't mind the cold temperatures.

>> welcome back, to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. here are the headlines, in baghdad another series of car bombs killing 18 people. meanwhile, suni fighters are battling the forces near falajua and u.s. is supporting the iraqi government it is not going to

put troops on the ground. >> we are facing the coldest weather in decades. the deep freeze is coming after a massive snowstorm blanketed the country. >> and majestic bird is getting a lot of attention in chicago. we explain why the owl found at the north pole is headed south for the winter. >> i try to get here at sunrise and sunset. >> it is a bone chilling morning on chicago's lake shore t photographer is hoping to snap a photograph of a snow owl. >> they are amazing. they are beautiful to watch. beautiful to spend time with. >> with the bright yellow eyes and black beak and white, the snowy owl has a distinct appearance.

it gained notety in the harry potter series. >> the fascination is owl's are seen as a spiritual creature. an it is appearing in the harbors around chicago and people are braving the elements to catch a glimpse. the hearing is so a cute it is honing in on the pray under heavy vegetation and snow. food may explain why the owl's are migrating to the south. a there are booms and busts in the cycles. after that, the adults may be pushing the juveniles out of the breeding territory and they move further and further to the south and looking for the food and

outside of the territory. a one of the resources is ebird, developed at cornel, it is a data base of bird sightings and providing real time information on where the owls and where they are going. a the first ones arriving in mid november and because of the internet and how birds get reported online now we knew to expect them and people are looking for them before they are showing up because of being seen in other areas nearby. >> experts say that the numbers are going to increase given birders the opportunity to see them until late february or early march. with hours in the bitter cold is not appealing, there is always the zoo. al jazeera chicago. >> thanks for watching al jazeera america. real money weekend is up next and for updates throughout the day head to al jazeera.com.

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