che >> millions of americans are shivering through an historic cold snap. the mercury plunging into negative numbers across dozens of states. the u.s. is accelerating help to iraq, including surveillance drones in he'll fire missiles, but putting troops on the ground is not an option. >> democrats want to restore unemployment benefits to more than a million americans. republicans insist they need to find a way to pay for it. >> from wedded bliss to legal limbo - same-sex marriage on hold in utah. [ ♪ music ]

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. 26 states are under a federal winter warning thanks to a brutal arctic blast sweeping the nation. the freezing weather system is found in the north and south polls. a weather phenomenon known as the polar vortex is driving down temperatures to 30, 40, 50 degrees below zero. the satellite image makes a third of the country look like a sheet of ice. it looks bad from the picture, but it's worse on the ground. >> diane eastabrook braves the elements in chicago. >> minus 15 on the thermometer. >> a frigid day in chicago was not fit for man or beast. mary-both bundled up herself and blondie. >> she is wearing two layers and a boot on each foot. >> does she mind coming out on this. >> not as much as she minds getting dressed. >> a weekend store blanketed

chicago with a food of snow, indiana too. temporarily shutting down the interstate. emergency crews rescued 600 stranded motorists in illinois. governor pat quinn called in the guards. state of emergencies were called in 26 countries. the arctic blast forced closures. on the streets of chicago, volunteers searched for the homeless, hoping to encourage them to seek warmth in shelters or warming centres. volunteers says many refused, even in temperatures like this. >> there's an issue with bed bugs and violence in the shelters around chicago. >> but you encourage them to go to shelters. >> absolutely. or warmings centres. >> hospital emergency rooms are preparing for cases of frost bite or hypothermia.

more victims of the flu had been treated than the weather. >> we haven't seen much of this in terms of frostbite. they'll come on later today. a lot of people are staying indoors. >> still, not everyone stayed inside. this runner was one of several spotted jogging along the lake front. >> i enjoy it. i have fun. yes. it's fun for me. >> a very cold air mass developing up into the north pole. over siberia, has been sliding southward into the u.s. as it did that it was caught up in low pressure. what this did was brought us several days of snow, ice and windchills so far below zero that it is dangerous to be outside. a lot of folks had warnings to stay indoors because it is coal.

>> when you see the cold air mass indicated by the rich dark purple, it's coming out of canada, but it's stretching into the south-east. we have got cold air out there, that we are starting to see the danger of frostbite and hypothermia occur within 10 minutes, and half an hour from indiana to ohio. the cold air mass will move to the north-east. we are all going to be feeling very cold on our early morning hours, but slowly but surely wednesday, thursday, friday will bring moderation and will warm up. for the most part we have been drying out around the state, except for the pacific north-west where the different storms have been bringing rain showers. it's been turning into snow in the mountains, mild to the west. low temperatures. 14 degrees below zero for

minneapolis, and you factor in the wind and it's colder. high temperatures a balmy zero degrees. new york. only getting to 11, and another night of cold temperatures in some of the same spots. it will take wednesday, thursday before we get the moderation to our air mass and get temperatures closer to average by the time we get to the weekend. >> the winter weather grounded jetblue flights and the airline suspended all operations at airports in new york, new jersey and boston. it needs to shut down to check the aircraft and crews. they are forced to play catch-up. they'll ramp up operations by midmorning on tuesday. other airlines experiencing widespread problems. winter weather is blamed for 4,000 flight cancellations around the country. >> in other news the iraqi army

is preparing for an offensive on the city of fallujah. reinforcements are entering anbar province. fighters took control, and iraq's prime minister urged residents to drive them out and avoid bloodshed. >> the white house is speeding up the delivery of missiles and surveillance drones to the iraqi government. as mike viqueira reports, high profile republicans are slamming the administration, blaming the u.s. troop withdrawal from iraq on the escalation of violence. >> the names of these places in iraq, ramadi, the sunni triangle evoked violent images in an unpopular war and the american involvement. there is confusion, chaos on the ground and finger pointing in washington, about who is politically responsible for what is transpiring there.

one thing is clear, american troops are gone and they are not coming back. >> as insurgents make gains, the white house scoffed at critics saying forces make a difference in the fight for fallujah. >> there was sectarian conflict in iraq, when there were 150,000 u.s. troops on the ground there. so the idea that this would not be happening if there were 10,000 troops in iraq. i think that bears scrutiny. >> critics like john mccain blamed a failure by barack obama to rear a deal with the iraqis to leave a counterterrorist force. he said in a statement: >> that brought a strong response from the white house. >> if members were suggesting that there should be american troops fighting and dying in

fallujah today, they should say so. >> 4,486 americans died in the iraq war. a poll asked was removing saddam hussein worth the cost of american life. 36% said it was. 49% said no. >> secretary of state john kerry made it clear on sunday no american troops will be sent back in. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left iran. so we are not obviously contemplating returning, or putting boots on the ground. >> the u.s. is speeding up arm shipments to the iraqi government, including 58 surveillance drones or missiles. the pentagon says they are an effective tool in wiping out safe havens. the situation could have implications for afghanistan. where president hamid karzai is playing hardball and talks to allow a u.s. counter insurgency

force to stay. >> if the united states and the international community leave afghanistan, the taliban have a good chance at coming back to power. if they do, the legacy in afghanistan, and personal security and that of hamid karzai's family is at risk. is that a danger he's prepared to tolerate. is that a risk he's prepared to run. >> if the situation is not dangerous enough, there's a concern among policy makers. a lot of what we see is a spillover from the chaos of the civil war in syria. al qaeda affiliated fighters in fallujah and ramadi got training in al qaeda controlled areas of syria. >> mike viqueira reporting from the white house. >> in south sudan, there's an effort underway to stop the fighting. the president omar al bashir was sudan salva kiir. with south

th they discussed joining troops, and also present was china. >> one of three detained journalists has been interviewed in prosecutors. mohamed fadel fahmy has been detained for eight days. peter greste and baher mohamed also detained, accused of spreading lies and joining a terrorist group. johannesburg maintains they are fabricated. >> congress is returning from vacation with a big to-do list. one of the first things on the table is unemployment benefits. >> the senate returned to work in washington on monday, or at least most of it. some members were sent home because of cancelled or delayed flights due to the bad weather. enough was stuck away from the

capital. the senate agreed to postpone the vote until tuesday morn morning on whether to extend long-term unemployment benefits. it left 1.3 americans without a safety net. harry reid spoke on the senate floor on monday. >> celebrating the new year on january 1st, more than a million americans, including 20,000 veterans were left wondering how they'd feed their families, and make their morning payments while they looked for jobs. >> democrats need five republicans to join with them to get over the procedural vote. one republican, dean heller of nevada is supporting. his state has been hit hard by unemployment. other republicans say that this is time to let these benefits go. they were started during the

recession, and say the crisis is over. some republicans are concerned how it will be paid for. how will it be funded. republican, jeff sessions says the real way to help the unemployed is to bring down government spending. >> this nation is struggling economically for a number of reasons. one of them clearly is the size of our debt. we have got to get our spending under control. we have to do that. we cannot continue every time we have a desire to do something good, to borrow the money. >> despite the vote on reinstating long-term unemployment benefits the senn sit voted on confirming janet yellen, the first woman to chair the federal reserve. she passed by 56 votes and needed a simple majority. this is a small margin, she has the least yes votes of any

federal reserve chairman in history. federal reserve watchers say it's due to the politics in capitol hill, lesson that what politicians think of her credentials. >> the nation's highest court stepping into the battle over same-sex marriage in utah. why gay unions are on hold. >> a closer look at the severe health risks, and the family of a braindead girl brings her to a new facility and why they made that move.

>> it's not an overstatement to say the type of arctic weather blasting the nation is deadly. freezing temperatures can lead to a drop in the body's core temperature. jacob ward explains why. >> the temperatures that the united states is experiencing now can bring about the danger

of what's called hypothermia, the loss of core body heat, such that your body drops from a typical temperatures of 98 degrees to lower. mild hypothermia is between 95 and 90 degrees farenheit. at that point the body is shivering and there's confusion. what is here is the body getting rid of water through the need to urinate and thursday. at moderate hypothermia it drops to the 80s. the mind becomes confused and the extremities turn blue, lips, fingertips and the face turning a pale parlour. severe hypothermia is the edge of death, when the body gets into the 70s. at this point the mind function it gone, it's almost impossible to use one's hand. the heart rate, respiration

slows. now, the paradoxical thing about the final stage of hypothermia is to do with sudden undressing. the body releases heat in an effort to get warm, and terminal burrowing. people are found having dug their way under cars and beds to get warm in a straight way. alcohol is the last thing you want to drink. at that point your body is giving away heat in a way that is dangerous. becoming dehydrated and drinking alcohol in the cold will not help. get inside and get warm. >> science and technology correspondent jacob ward reporting there. >> jahi mcmath has been moved to a new facility. the californian teenager declared dead after tonnes ill surgery. a lawyer for the family said the girl arrived at a facility where the family can take better care of her. he is not saying where that is.

the family say the 13-year-old is in bad state because of poor nutrition during her hospital st stay. the girl's mother has been fighting to keep her on life support. >> the city's law on banning guns is said to beunconstitutional. chicago prohibits the sale of handguns and the gifting of weapons among family members. a ban on assault weapons is allowed to stay in place. chicago had more whom sides last year. >> the supreme court stepped into utah, same-sex marriage fight. gay couples for now will not be allowed to wed in that state. we have more on the legal battle. >> the ceremonies and celebrations in utah are on hold. on monday at the united states supreme court, the justizes issued a stay on same-sex

marriage. >> going forward i can say that we feel we are on solid ground because the stay is in place. >> nearly 900 couples have been married since a federal judge in september ruled utah's ban on same-sex marriage. state officials appealed and argued it's difficult to unwind the marriage if the supreme court didn't grant the temporary stay now. >> by issuing the stay hundreds of people in a state of legal limbo and confusion about their marriages. with the stay everyone holds on. we wait until the legal process resolves itself. >> last spring the supreme court ruled on the federal marriage act with the denial of benefits to same sex couples was ruled it was unconstitutional last month. >> a ruling upholding gay marriage made that decision on

procedural grounds, predicting issues raised by state bans would return to the supreme court. there was no indication today that the justices are eager to jump into the issues again, but they are not ready for same-sex couples to take the plunge in utah over the litigation of the ban, until it is over in that state. >> for 17 days utah was the 18th state to allow gaye couples to wed. it's not clear if marriage that have taken place are valid. >> an american woman who called herself jihad jane has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. she agreed to kill a swedish ardist who offended muslims by painting the head of the prophet on the head of a dog. she was given a less severe sentence because she cooperated

with authorities. >> a business reeling in big bucks for the golden state. >> new cast member for "saturday night live." >> and highlights from the florida state match-up.

>> monday night in pasadena the curtain fell on the b.c.s. title game format at number one florida state took an second auburn. jameis winston was looking to become the first freshman quarterback to win that award and a national championship. >> auburn to three in the second. nick marshall scores from four yards out. tigers with a 21-3 lead. leading at the half. first time f.s.u. trails.

fourth quarter - auburn leads by four. a kick-off in the end zone. he'll remember this for the rest of his life. in college the longest kick-off returned. that's what whitfield does. a fuj play giving the seminoles the first lead of the game. >> trey mason to the right side. 37 yards. second td of the game, with 195 yards rushing. 31-27. final seconds, jameis winston hits calvin benson for two yards. jameis winston 6 of 7 for 77 yards on the championship winning drive. florida state rallies from an 18-point deficit grabbing the title 34-21. ross shimabuku with more from the rose bowl. >> a rally back for florida state, and they can thank

birthday boy jameis winston. he had the game winner with 13 seconds left. florida state beat auburn 44-41. >> that's the moment there, the way you explain it. i mean, i'm excited for the guys. it's not about me. it's about them. i mean, all i can say now is we are champions, and that's me and my birthday. i'd care less about that. but the heisman trophy, i mean, if i had them i would be in the predicament. >> the 16th and final title goes to florida state. 1999 team. remember, starting next season college football to a four-team play-off. >> florida state began the b.c.s. era. winning the 1999 contest, closing with the third overall

title. i'm mark morgan. that wraps up sports this hour. >> chinese officials are stepping up efforts to stop the ivory trade. communist party officials set up a display of ivory tuskses and statues and then crushed them. ivory is worth about $1,000 per pound on the black market. two months ago the u.s. held a similar public display, destroying ivory confiscated over 25 years. "saturday night live" is addressing an issue some say is not funny. the snl cast has not included a black woman from more than six years ago and that will change when sasheer zamata joins snl. one of the cast men said he would no longer dress in drag to portray plaqblack women.

the producer said it was a priority to find a black woman to join the cast. >> california is known for movies and wine countries. now it has a wishy business bringing in the big bucks. we have a scoop on the bustling caviar industry. >> from the outside you'd never know they are making a new kind of california gold in these buildings. >> but here there is money made in dozens of huge tanks, swarming with sturgeon. sturgeon are not likely to win any beauty contests, but their briny eggs are the exquisite and extensive delicacy consumed by tsars, movie stars and lucy bell min, the quality control queen. >> i lot of people can't say they eat caviar for a living. >> californian caviar is a

booming business. for decades russia and iran produced 95% of the world's caviar. that all changed when the soviet union collapsed. that's what the fish farm manager says. >> there's poaching, money didn't flow into supporting the hatchery system. the quality of the caviar went down. they overfished the caspian sea to the point where it's functionally commercially extinct. sturgeon starts out at small fry making endless circles. it takes eight to 12 years for them to mature and grow into the big guys. >> sturgeon have been swimming around on arth 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 how long they'll live. 80 to 100 years. there are scientists that think 400-500 or beyond. is sturgeon weighed 800 kilograms, as much as a volkswagen beatle. despite the longevity farm sturgeon are fas tick itty about the quality of water, which must be painstakingly filtered monitored. each jar sells for about $300. here is the big question: how does it taste? >> that's very good. caviar lovers bon apetite. >> that will do it for this edition of al jazeera news.

i'm stephanie sy, and we have news at the top of every hour. thanks for watching. hi i'm lisa fletcher, and you are in "the stream." was the time fit the crime when it comes to drugs? we look at changing policies versus sentencing realities. ♪ digital producer, wajahat ali is here, bringing in all of your feedback during the show. when we talk about policies there is always confuse between the difference between decriminalization and legalness, so i'm tapping into your formal