you can see us next type of. >> good evening. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. crippling cold. the brutal below zero temperature blanketing the country putting lives in danger and grounding thousands of flights. >> fighting for fallujah. a resurging al qaeda, and the control of the key iraqi city. the u.s. response - and what it says about the mission. >> on hold - utah's same-sex marriage. u.s. supreme court steps in and we talk to a couple at the center of the battle >> lost and found, the photographer that took this photograph shares with us the incredible story behind the.

>> that is the argument that president obama is expected to focus on this year. a growing wealth gap, hoping that restores poll numbers, which have plummeted. he missed the year when a second-term president misses the most. it's the first year of the second term. you need momentum from that year to carry forward for at least one more year before you turn into a complete lame duck. the president missed that year. >> he'll need to if he tackles the rest of the agenda. >> immigration reform deciding what to do about spying programs and cuts to food aid, things that will define his legacy. and for people like this woman, how she lives in 2014. >> now to the crisis in south sudan. a new push to stop the killing. the president of sudan is meeting with his south sudanees

counterpart. also entering of the fray is china, the biggest investor in the oil fields. in a rare intervention, china's foreign minister called upon an end to the killing. >> they came, escaping persecution, genocide and civil war to a country founded by refugees looking for peace. tens of thousands of african migrants are in israel and are considered illegal immigrants. nick schifrin reports. >> for the last decade african migrants in israel felt voiceless. they are not willing to be silent any more. they come from sudan and eritrea. this man arrived two years ago. he wants a secure home. >> from genocide we are looking

for a safe place where to save me and my life. >> this person fled six years ago, and felt that israel would provide asylum. so far they have refused. >> we share the same violence, the jewish people suffered the most. they surviveded genocide >> today thousands protested outside the u.s. embassy by the beach and the u.n. israel is trying to run of the maths. new laws enable israel to imprison without trials for a year keeping migrants here. >> translation: i would like to emphasis that these are not refugees, but people who are breaking the law, and whom we will deal with to the fullest extent of the law. >> objections are not only about

legal status, but because they are not jewish. we want to protect the jewish nation. >> in the middle is the u.n. the head of the refugee agency listened patiently and promised to push israel to live up to a treaty requiring all countries to consider asylum applications. >> it is time to revisit some of the policies in the past. because in the end what we would like to see is israel lives up to the spirit of the 1951 convention. >> until today, they have tried to avoid controversy. they worked hard. >> immigrant advocacy groups say a tax on migrants is increasing. >> in the streets, you know, at

work, in the public transport, people say, "you're black." >> they hope the 3-day strike pressures israel to change its policy, because they have nowhere else to go. >> everyone will leave sudan and come to israel. what shall we do. really. >> they may feel stateless, but they are no longer willing to be silent any more. >> the criticism is mounding as a former n.b.a. player continues his forays into north korea and a relationship with a political leader that has many scratching their head. mark morgan is here with what some call the odd couple. >> it really is. a lot of people are not sure how this started or where it's going. former n.b.a. star and hall of famers dennis rodman raises

eyebrows with his travels to north korea. rodman and former n.b.a. players arrived in the country. rodman and the group will play against the north korean senior national team. he has called these trips basketball diplomacy, to honour the birthday of kim jong un. he went out you have his way to prays the players that made the trip. >> i want the world, not just the united states, that these guys have to take time and effort after the holidays to come here. this is a great thing they wanted to do. do we understand that. i say, "yes, this is not about money. this is about trying to have a connection. opening the doors for people to come and say it's not all bad.

they are trying to change this country. in a great way. >> the team is made up of a lot of guys that care. that is important. it's not about bringing dream teamers, it's about guys that are coming, that want to be a part of this, that care, and care about humanity. >> charles smith, one of several former n.b.a. players on the team and vin baker, doug christy, chris robinson and kenny anderson. stern said in a statement: >> rodman, faced criticism from all sides. elliott engel, a democrat calls the game a cruel joke. he went on to say the people of north korea are suffering and

was offering them basketballs. rodman said proceeds will go to charity in north korea. the game is set for wednesday. >> that wraps it up. >> next - seattle's political surprise, a socialist is now a key city player. what it says about the city and its people. plus, the picture is amazing. wait until you hear the story behind it.

>> colder, polar air in alaska,

and definitely well up near siberia. temperatures near freezing nor alaska were stretching down into parts of chicago. where we had a minus 6. very cold, polar vortex, a core of cold air. heavy and dense and sinking through canada, and down into the united states. i brought in wind chills, 50 below zero. very dangerous to be outside. this kind of cold air has been so thick and so heavy that it has gained momentum so take it all go down towards florida. temperatures are dropping to single digits because of a storm system wrapping the air in it. while we are drying out we are staying mild, wet and rainy for the west coast. temperatures are plummeting

overnight into the day tomorrow, for the north-east, eventually moderating next week.

>> something is happening in seattle. a lot of people are taking notice. a socialist has been sworn in as a council member. that is a first. allen schauffler attended the swearing in ceremony, joining us from seattle. are people talking about what this says about the city of seattle that allows a socialist party member to be elected to the council? >> interesting political event here. boils down to a combination of things. one is seattle is an historic city, leaning to the left, and also we are dealing with a can't candidate who is dynamic and had a tremendous organization joining out from her work with the occupation seattle movement. a certain electorate unsettled after the recession and looking for a change.

let's roll the video and show you what change they got today. this is city hall, the lobby packed with people as the sorry moany swearing in -- ceremonial swearing in was perform. a lot of cheers for ed-murray, the first openly gay mayor be sworn in. a socialist, an economic teacher and an immigrant from india. moving in day. getting things in place for the next phase of political activism. we have one computer up. >> she is a community college economics teacher who calls capitalism a dirty word. >> the american dream is dead. what we are witnessing is a part of a change in american politics, where people speak up

and demand on alternative. >> the socialist alternative member beat an emcum bant. >> there'll be waves of change. this is the first wave of the storm that you will see where people are rejecting business as usual, and demanding a change. >> she has called on boeing workers to seize the factories if the company shifts jobs. supported nation-wide fast food protests and strikes made a city-wide $15 wage a major campaign issue. >> other priorities - supporting public transit. expanding affordable housing. >> rent is unlivable. >> she was named one of the year's top political heroes, with pope francis. on her first day in city hall a

documentary film crew shadows her steps. she's more focused on broader focused issues than filling potholes and playing politics. >> the question is not whether i can work with city council, but can the government recognise there is something enormously different happening with a socialist, an out and open socialist elected to city council with a mandate of 100,000 votes. >> what she calls a mandate was 1.5 percentage point win, barely 3,000 fights out of 183,000 cast. a slim margin, critics note. >> to say this is a tidal wave is ridiculous. seattle is uniquely capable of affording the luxury of a socialist councilman. >> long-time radio host says the

$15 minimum wage may pass, but doubts major social change will occur. >> when a si is in economic trouble, they don't turn to crazy academic leftists like this woman. >> the new council member is not afraid to proclaim the socialist revolution is here. >> the buck has to stop somewhere. we have to do this. >> she has been appointed already to the mayor's $15 minimum wage committee. he has waged the level of city workers up to that level so we expect movement on that front and expect she will be involved. >> allen schauffler, as always, thank you. appreciate it. >> it has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. photo of a young homeless man in washington d.c. was an answer to a family's prayers. turned out to be their son, and

they have been looking for him for days. we talked to the woman who took the photograph and the story behind it. so i went to a spot at dawn on saturday, where i knew homeless people go to get warm. a few blocks from the capital. there were four men huddled around the grate. i introduced myself and asked if it was okay to take pictures. they agreed. as i worked around the heating grate, there was a fourth gentleman huddled on the ground, with a blanket and a hood and was tight, feeling the heat. i noticed - i was struck by how young he has. younger than the other men that were gathered. i knelt down, shook his hand and introduced myself and asked what his name was. he said it was nick. i was shocked that he was young and he had a forlorn look about

him. there was something about him that seemed very sad. so the next day i went back to the white house and the president returned from hawaii. as i filed a picture of obama's return, i got a message on my phone and it was via twitter, from a reporter at "usa today," nicole de blasio saying a family reached out to her that a family of fine, published in "usa today," with her article, that the family was convinced the man was their son nick who disappeared the previous wednesday, and they were worried about him, and would i call the mother right away. shortly thereafter the d.c. police came, based on the information, spoke to nick and ascertained that he was nicholas

from new york, missing since wednesday. the son of the parents who i had been in touch with. they took him to the hospital for evaluation. later that evening the father reunited with their son. they are overjoyed and relieved. the father told me that they were concerned the son may have died, and both parents were just desperate to find him, in tears, crying on the phone with me, and thanked me for taking the photo, enabling them to find their son. you know, it's been reaffirming to me that what we do as journalists is important. that a photograph can make a difference, and that's why all photo journalists get into the business, to make a difference and impact people. it's not often that the get a concrete example and a one year

mission, and to have that happen it's incredible.

>> "saturday night live' is addressing an issue some say is not funny. they have not had a black woman since mia left the show, changing on january 18th when the actress and stand up comedian soshia joins us. earlier this seven cast members said they would not no longer dress in drag to play black

women. executive producer lauren michaels says it was a priority to find a black woman to join the cast. >> california is known for movies, the tech boom and the win country, now the golden state has a fishy business. from the outside you'd never know, they are making a new find of california gold in these buildings. here there is money made in dozens of huge tanks, swarming with sturgeon. they are not likely to win a beauty contest. their briny eggs are the exquisite and extensive delicacy consumed by movie stars and now by lucy bellman, the quality control queen of the sister-in-lawing company. >> a lot of people can't say they eat caviar for business, and i do. >> sturgeon farmers are profit

itting from a downfall in the caspian sea. iran and russia used to produce 95%. is changed when the soviet union collapsed. there's a ram bed poaching, money did not flow in to supporting the system. the quality went down. so they overfished the caspian sea, where it's probably functionally, commercially extinct. sturgeon start as small fry, making circles around their tanks. it takes eight to 12 years to mature and grow into the really big guys like these. sturgeon have been swimming on earth for 250 million years. long before the dinosaurs appeared on the planet and longer before human gourmets developed a taste for their eggs. >> how long do the sturgeon live. >> nobody knows.

there's no question they'll live 80 to 100 years. there's some scientists thinking 400-500 years, beyond. >> a sturgeon hooked a century ago weighed 800 kilograms. as much as a volkswagen beatle. >> farmed sturgeon are finicky about the water, it must be filtered purposified and monitored. each jar of californian caviar sells for about $300. here is the big question - how does it test? >> that's very good. >> caviar lovers, bon apetite. >> we'll look at the top stories when we come back.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. here are the top stories. record low temperatures across two dozen states. more than 100 million americans are dealing with subzero levels, due to a polar vortex carrying cold air from the north pole down to the u.s. the prime minister of iraq urging residents and tribes of fallujah to help him expel al qaeda militants. nouri al-maliki's message coming as dozens flee fallujah from fighting. fallujah and ramadi in the anbar province were overrun by al qaeda fighters last week. >> the s