the second term yet. i have work to do. my focus is on the people of new jersey and the job they gave me. so all of the hysteria that goes around this, because everybody in that gets preoccupied with that job. and i'm not, and as you can tell, i have plenty to do. >> you're rolling your eyes and disgruntled that i haven't called on you. >> reporter: [ inaudible ] >> i'm sad. i'm sad. that's the predominant emotion i feel right now is sadness.

sadness that i was betrayed by a member of my staff. sadness that i had people who i entrusted with important jobs who acted completely inappropriately, sad that that had lead the people of new jersey to have less confidence in the people i have selected. the emotion i have been displaying in private is sad. and as i said earlier, i don't know what the stages of grief are, but i know anger gets there at some point, i'm sure i'll have that too. but the fact is right now i'm sad. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]. >> let me just clear something up about my childhood friend david. it is true that i met david in 1977 in high school. he is a year older than me. david and i were not friends in high school. we were not even acquaintances in high school. i had a high school in livingston, a three-year high

school that had 1800 students in a three-year high school in the late '70s, early 1980s. i met david on the tom kaine for governor campaign in 1977. he was a youth volunteer and so was i. really, after that time i completely lost touch with david. we didn't travel in the same circles in high school. i was the class president and athlete, i don't know what david was doing during that time. and then we reacquainted years later in i think 2000 when he was helping bob franks with his senate campaign. so we went 23 years without seeing each other. and in the years we did see each other, we passed in the hallways. so i want to clear that up. it -- it doesn't make a difference, except that i think some of the stories that were written impute an emotional

closeness between me and david that doesn't exist. i know david, and, you know, i knew that bill wanted to hire david to come to the port authority, and i gave my permission for him to do it, but that was bill's hire. he asked for my permission and i gave it to hire david. but let's be clear about the relationship. listen, what i read yesterday makes me angry. that's the one bit of anger i felt. that language and that callus indifference in those emails from david yesterday are just over the top and outrageous, and should never ever have been written or uttered by somebody with a position of responsibility like that, and -- and those -- and those sentiments, so that's the way i feel about it, and that's the opportunity to further expound on my relationship. yeah, john?

>> reporter: you said you haven't spoken with either [ inaudible ] -- >> i made my -- >> reporter: [ inaudible ]? this >> john, i said i haven't spoken to them since i discovered the emails, but i spoke to them before hand. and bridget clearly did not tell me the truth, and bill, you know, what he told me at the time is not contradicted by the emails, but the emails and color and character of the emails have lead me to conclude that i don't have confidence in his judgment any longer, and that's why i asked him to move on, and he has. at this point there are legislate i6 hearings and all of the rest, and i don't want to get myself in the middle of that, the chairman said he intends to ask them to testify. and my gut sense is it wouldn't be appropriate for me to get in

the middle of that. so i think the smarter thing for me to do is as to those two folks, who i asked to move on. yeah? >> reporter: [ inaudible ] in those emails? are you confident that they are -- you know, [ inaudible ]? >> i believe. i believe that i have spoken to every one who was mentioned in the emails except for charlie mckenna who is away at a family funeral, and i'm confident they had no prior knowledge nor involvement in this situation. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]? >> yeah, well, that's your characterization, not mine. but there was nobody on my staff who had any knowledge of this issue until after the -- the issue was already done. >> reporter: can i follow up on

that? >> in the back, yes? >> reporter: [ inaudible ]? >> it's awful. now i have always seen confli conflicting reports about what the cause of death was, but it doesn't matter. it's awful to hear. >> reporter: [ inaudible ]? >> listen, all i can do is apologize for the conduct of people who work for me. i can't go anything else. i can't reverse time. if i could i would. but all i can do is apologize. david? >> reporter: governor along the lines of doing the job as governor that you said you are focused on regaining the trust of the people of new jersey. a lot of people are upset about this and shocked. the first couple of years you

were governor you did a lot of townhalls and traveled all over the state. are you going to do that again? >> we clearly are going to do townhalls. we paused the town halls during the campaign because there would be a blurring of the line of what was a campaign meeting and what was a townhall meeting. and i certainly had no plans to do it during the transition. but we certainly intend to do townhall meetings in the second term, and try to do as many as we did in the first term. i enjoy the townhall setting and process, and the fact is, david, you know -- i don't believe i have lost the trust of the people of new jersey. i think the people of new jersey are looking to see when mistakes are made, how their leader is going to react, and i believe when they see me take the action

i'm taking today, that they will say mistakes are made, the governor had nothing to do with that, but he has taken responsibility for it, and made the decisions that need to be made, and will continue to make those decisions if necessary going forward. michael? >> reporter: [ inaudible ] two questions [ inaudible ] tell everything he knows? >> listen, that's between david and his attorney. he is represented by counsel now. i mean, i would love to hear the whole story for my own purposes, but i can't -- you know, advice them what to do. someone represented by counsel is going to make his own judgment -- >> reporter: [ inaudible ]? >> i just did he and his lawyer will determine what they believe is in their best interest, certainly, you know, hearing the story would be good for everybody. >> reporter: governor -- >> it is now 12:08 east coast

time, for the last hour plus, you have been listening to governor chris christie apologizing to people of the media and new jersey saying he apologizes because some lane closures happened because of a said to be pay back. the first thing he said was that he was embarrassed. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. there's no doubt in my mind that the conduct that they exhibited is completely unacceptable, and showed a lack of respect for their appropriate role in government, and for the people that we're trusted to serve.

>> christie going on to say he will go to fort lee, new jersey in person to apologize to the people there, that being the most effected, and also the city's mayor. take a listen. >> i had no knowledge for involvement in this issue, in its planning or its execution, and i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here regardless of what the facts ultimately uncover. this was handled in a callous and indifferent way, and it is not the way this administration has conducted itself over the last four years, and will not be the way it conducts itself over the next four. >> using strong words like lied,

saying he was betrayed, saying he was stupid, but this is not the end. >> yeah, there is now a grand jury investigation which is going to begin in new jersey but will is a pretty plausible story here which may work for him. what he is saying is once this erupted in the media in september, he said he brought his aids and staff in september, and asked all of them, were you involved in this? and he said they all denied it. now if each of those aids goes in front of the grand jury, and says yes, he did ask us, and we did lie, the question is whether his deputy chief of staff -- he essentially threw her under the bus, said he was sad, it was inappropriate, it was stupid of her. if she comes out and says we didn't have a verbal conversation about this, but

with a wink and a nod he told me go ahead and getment some retribution. if that is her testimony then this is not over for him. but he is saying he had no involvement, no knowledge, but secondly he is putting up that the mayor of fort lee -- that he never sought his endorsement, and he said if you are not seeking somebody's endorsement why would you engage in retribution. he has taken action by firing bridget ann kelly -- >> and took responsibility saying it is my fault, the buck stops with me. which is what they always say over and over again to do. >> yes, and his campaign manager, asking him to step away. so he has taken action but again the question now is -- some of these folks on the port authority david who is on the email train -- these people are

now being requested to testify under oath, if david, bridget, bill, if all all of these people go to testify and adhere to what christie is saying, he is going to be fine. but if there is any daylight between what was said, that's where this story continues. >> now for new jersey and new york big story, people sitting in iowa they are wondering right now, why are we talk so much about chris christie. it has to do with 2016. is the chris christie brand damaged as a result of this? >> i think that will play out over the next couple of weeks and months. in iowa chris christie is the front runner, if he can get past

the conservative block that will oppose him, yes, he can be the republican nominee. but chris christie as the front runner, if we can continue to portray that he is a straight shooter, that he has taken responsibility, he is a man of action and is imperfect. that is political gold for him to voters, because they look at him and say maybe he didn't know. and he may have just turned what could have been an incredibly huge negative against an incredibly huge positive because he is being honest and forthright and apologetic, if -- if the story continues to hold up exactly as he has described it this morning. >> david shuster thank you for the perspective. when it comes to this particular controversy, this is not just about the closing of four lanes on a bridge, it is the busiest bridge in the world some say.

much more on that story straight ahead, but right now we're going to take a break, because there was a lot of other news happening today. we'll be right back. and in those cases where formal education isn't feasible because of the sec

>> an exclusive "america tonight" investigative series >> we traveled here to japan to find out what's really happening at fukushima daiich >> three years after the nucular disaster, the hidden truth about the ongoing cleanup efforts and how the fallout could effect the safety of americans >> are dangerous amounts of radioactive water, leaking into the pacific eververyday? >> join america tonight's michael okwu for an exclusive

four part series, as we return to fukushima only on al jazeera america all this week the white house has been talking about income inequality in america. today the president is set to unveil the first of five areas he is calling hope zones. the latest now includes four other areas. the aim will be to bolster access to education, housing and crime reduction. we have team coverage for you, we begin with heidi zhou castro who has more from san antonio you. >> reporter: 60% of families who live in this east side neighborhood fall below the poverty line. about 40% of adults do not have

a high school degree, and the unemployment rate is about double that of the national average. facing those statistics and getting by day-to-day can be a struggle for many folks. earlier a single mother of three who works a hard time job at a department start to make ends meet, and supports her children, her parents and her sick aunt. >> it is difficult. there is the challenges of the bills and the challenge of putting the food on the table for the kids. anything they might need for school, it gets to be a little bit difficult. >> reporter: people say things have been improving, especially since 2011 when this community received a department of education grant. it remains to be seen how much of a difference this promise zone designation will make. it is notable that this does not offer any federal money directly, but rather it makes this neighborhood have a

priority consideration for future federal grants, and it may offer tax incentives for businesses that invest and hire in this community. that is pending congressional approval. so most here would say that this promise zone designation is no magic bullet, but it is one nudge in the right direction. >> and from heidi zhou castro in san antonio you, we turn to pineville, kentucky now where jonathan martin is. and jonathan what is the situation in that part of the country? it seems it has almost come full circle? >> reporter: yeah, and in this area, it's really about diversifying the economy. this area is known as coal mining country. so many people here for generations have depended on coal mining for work, but in the last few years there has been a downturn in that industry, a lot

of people have lost their jobs, and as a result businesses have closed. several of these businesses right in a row are just closed. the situation is pretty bad around here. if you think about the per capita income, it's just over $11,000, and the latest numbers show about 30% of the people are living below the poverty line. so money will be coming in -- there will be a $1.3 million small business loan to help some of these businesses that have closed, and help those that are open to because more sustainable, and provide job training, and leadership training to get these folks back to work, people who for so many years have just relied on coal mining as a trade. so this is certainly a priority for the governor. mitch mcconnell has obviously focused on this area, and helped

them get this designation. >> jonathan places like kentucky often feel as if the rest of the world forgets them when it comes to economic recovery. you hear so much about the jobs numbers increasing but in places like kentucky and parts of ohio that is not the case. do they welcome this type of attention right now? >> reporter: yeah, certainly. a lot of people are saying finally. one of the men said really if something doesn't happen here soon there is no need for the young people to stay here. so they are glad that they are getting this attention from some of the leaders and being designated as one of the first five designated promise zone areas. >> jonathan thank you very much. a reminder to stay with al jazeera america. we'll have the president's announcement on his promise zone

live at 2:30 pm eastern time, 11:00 pm pacific time. meanwhile the surveillance program is being scrutinized. the president will meet with lawmakers today to discuss his review of the nsa. and there has been a surprise concerning nsa whistleblower edward snowden. he has now be asked to speak before a european parliamenty committee. the belgian based committee voting to have snowden testify through a live video link. no date has been set for that testimony. snowden is living now in russia. we will be right back. ♪

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters, here are today's top stories, the governor of new jersey firing one of his top staffers saying she lied to him. comes after emails suggesting they caused a major traffic jam on purpose. >> i had no reason to believe they weren't telling me the truth. it is heart breaking to me that i wasn't told the truth. i'm a very loyal guy. and i expect loyalty in return. president obama set to unveil the first of five economic promise zones today. those zones will focus on eliminating poverty, and creating jobs. that initiative was announced in last year's state of the union address.

♪ taking a look at business news, wall street seems to be having trouble gaining momentum in 2014. right now the dow is down. blue chips now trading at levels not seen since christmas. there are two new reports showing the strength of the american job market. planned corporate layoffs are their lowest level in more than 13 years. and the labor department reports initial jobless claims are the fewest over the last five weeks. for the first time in a month, mortgage rates are dropping. the average 30-year fixed rate home loan is now 4.51%. that is down from 4.53% last week. still the rates remain close to their highest level since

september. and he beat humans to become jeopardy perreaults. and now they are creating a new business unit for watson. the group will offer cognitive computing technology to businesses and consumers. ♪ i'm meteorologist dave warren. the temperatures are finally warming back up above freezing, barely. still very cold air across the northeast and eastern canada, and look what that has done to parts of niagara falls. these are pictures coming in, frozen because the temperatures down to 5 degrees and frigid air that really had an impact on the river there. and it does cause problems noting only in niagara, but

along the delaware river the ice can dam up and cause floods not only upstream when the water is hitting the ice, but when the ice finally felts, you can get flooding, a flash flood watch is below where that water may go once the ice begins to melt and break up. so that's the biggest problem we're watching here. 31 up to 40 with light snow in new york, and 53 with some rain on saturday, and above 50 on sunday and monday, so the warm weather comes back. there is some lake-effect snow. it is winding down now but did dump a lot of snow in western new york. 29 degrees in new york and then climbing up to 62 in houston. will is warmer air returning and then falling into that cold, bitter cold air, leading to wintery weather now and more in

the forecast. del. >> dave warren thank you very much. i'm del walters in new york. "the stream" is next, and you can check us out, 24 hours aday just by going to aljazeera.com.

hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you in the "stream." online gambling is now legal in some states. we ask if online gambling is a bet worth making. ♪ wajahat ali is off tonight, taking the rains is our i digital producer. glad to have you here to do this >> always fun. >> when we start talking about