america, live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. >> i had no knowledge. or involvement, in this issue. >> new jersey governor crist kristy apologizing but says he didn't know about a traffic scandal, and he shouldn't be blamed for it. a federal investigation is now underway. president obama make as new commitment to tackle poverty calling for a year of action, what his promise zones aim to accomplish. and a team of al jazeera journalists detained in egypt, will remain imprisoned for at least 15 more days accused of being part of a terrorist group. ♪ . >> new jersey governor

chris christie is aboll apologizing today. he says he felt embarrassed and humiliated but knew nothing about a plan where two aids ordered lane closures as political retribution. >> i had no knowledge, or involvement. in this issue, in its planning or execution, and i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here kristy says he fired deputy chief of staff fur lying to him about her involvement, he also says former campaign manager bill step yankee will not become head of the new jersey republican party. david chuter is here, this extraordinary news cop presence this morning. >> extraordinary because

republicans are now saying they believe kristy may have bought himself a little bit of time, but the question is will his story hold up in chris christie told reporters that in fact he is responsible for everything that happened in his office, but that membersre staff members that were acting without his authority, here is what christie had to say. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. >> no doubt in my mind, that conduct they exhibited is completely unacceptable, and showed a lack of respect for their the appropriate role of government. and for the people that were trusted to serve. >> by that conduct, he means not just ordered the lanes closed but also that that lied to him last month. christy said he had a meeting with he brought

up the allegations that were made, and that he said if you say that you were not part of this i am about to go out and have a news conference and deny that anybody in my office has anything to do with this there was silence, kristy is saying that act of lying to him of not telling him the truth is as bad as the accused call lane closures that he ordered. in the midst of all of this, he mentioned that bridget kelly, she has now been fired that's important because of the emails that bridget kelly who ordered the port authority, and steppian who described what he described as callousness, and tony all of this comed in the midst of state issue that are now starting to begun investigations. was involved he was summoned for testimony today and asserted his fifth amendment rights against self-incrimination. >> really. >> in the meantime, mention the state investigation, has said that his office is now considering whether they

will launch a grand jury investigation. there are criminal issues at play here for the way this was done, and you have chris christie essentially throwing his deputy chief of staff under the bus. the stories matches what he said today that he had absolutely no volment, that they were acting rogue that he had no wide what they were doing, then chris christie may be fine, if not, he is in serious trouble. >> a rogue of political operation in the office over these lane closures and this traffic study, there is also the issue of the mayor of fort lee, at least at this moment wants nothing to do with chris christie. >> when says he wants to take responsibility, he said he want sod go to fort lee this afternoon to apologize to commuters and to the mayor. well, the mayor had a news conference and said

you know what, i think governor kristy out to not wear his gas, it would be inappropriate for us to talk about this, yet, kristy is still going this afternoon. >> whoever will talk to him. so it is a circuit, but everything that people are saying now, you would assume they are also going to have to say that under oath including chris christie, any daylight between the story he put out today and the accounts that are offered by his aids to the extent there's any daylight so bridget kelly you would expect to testify between one or all of these panels? is it your idea completely on your own to go ahead and cause this against the mayor? and why did you decide this gw bridge? or dud she say you know we had this round about conversation and that's how i got the idea. >> let's bring in janet

hoffman to weigh in on this. she is a gop strategist. it is good to see you, what did you see today from chris christie as a gop strategist? what did you like? as a republican strategist, i think governor kristy get as lot of credit for addressing this head on. he made an apology, to the mayor of fort lee, to the state legislature, he accepted responsibility, he said the bucks stop here, what happened is unacceptable, he said he is embarrassed. and he took action, really decisive measures to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> if the shoe were on the other foot, talking about a democratic mayor, would you buy the idea that bridget kelly who is a democratic operative, would have acted alone if you saw this email trail?

this text trail. >> the ewhole thing is very bizarre. >> that's out of question. would you accept it as a gop. >> a a republican strategist i would ask questions but it is ridiculous to believe that deputy kristy would have anything to do with this kind of petty -- >> would you believe a democrat as governor would be up to these kind of strategies. >> owe just don't feel like it rises to the level of a governor. 23467 the shoe was on the other foot, sure, i would. but i think really governor cristty get as lot of credit for being honest and taking action on this. the news conference, it is about two hours long. he addressed every possible question. i think he has shown a great deal of human emotion. >> do you believe that his personality, and this reputation that he has

built around himself, being this kind of tough guy, straight talking, honest, going to shoot from the hip, do you believe that can create an environment where a culture of talk, and politic vendettas can develop? i don't think this will be the first area where staffers wanted to enact political retribution. across the nation these things lap. >> and always unacceptable? >> absolutely. it is awful what happened. but i think he get as lot of points for his directness. look, this is -- let's not make this anything more than what it is. it was an awful situation that happened but the governor has taken strong action to address it. >> i love that, you and i both know if this was a democrat you would be

killing that dome, that at least we know at the table, i appreciate you coming on to talk about this. >> thank you. the scandal has been lighting up twitter, and maria is is here with more on that part of the story, maria. >> as you can imagine, a lot of democrats have taken the opportunity to react to this, the chair of democratic national committee has put out this tweet earlier, saying pretty confused by governor kristy's focus on how his staff portrayed him, and not how they portrayed the people of new jersey. also the democratic national committee put out some ads relatively quickly yesterday they put these out on youtube attacking governor cristty take a listen. i was the guy working the cones out there. you are not serious.

>> and i have made it very clear, to everybody on my senior staff, that if anyone had any knowledge they needed to come forward to me and tell me about it, and they have assured me they don't. >> so pharr republicans have been quiet about the issue. michael grim put out a statement saying governor cristty demonstrated true leadership during today's prez conference, i know him to be a man of unquestionable honor, and integrity, and i take him at his word. and also, just people on twitter have been reacted to all of this, ten years after rice, this chris christie story has received more prez than the, irs and ben gag and i combined. pa et thissic. and also mpi says sitting here in shock, corruption in new jersey politics?

the first five promise zones that will get help to bounce back. those are in san any tone owe. philadelphia, los angeles, south eastern kentucky, and the nation of oklahoma. the goals are to expand educational opportunities and access and improve public safety, joining us now from the white house with more on this, mike? exampling of these enterprise zones these partnerships large employers in the region from these areas that have been forsaken in many ways economically depressed, and now the president coming forward with not necessarily a new proposal, because tony this goes back to last february in the state of the union when he announced this initiative.

they whittled down to five of the zones you named them, they are going to be 20 of them named over the course of the next three years. the president has offered very few details of what zones tof these zones to qualify, you to have a poverty rate of at least 20%, so quite economically depressed you have to be small between 6,200,000 individuals living in the zone storks that's a realtively wide area there. these are the first five, but the president didn't offer a lot of details but talked about the things that he is going to be hitting many of them having to do under the heading of income disparity. he talked about the need to ebb tend unemployment insurance, he talked about the need to raise the minimum wage, he talked about the need to go forward with these zones these partnerships public, private, and among business as well. let's listen to a little bit more what the president had to say in

the east room. >> we have to make sure this recovery, which is real, leaves nobody behind. and that will be my focus throughout the year. this is going to be a year of action. that's what the american people expect, and they are ready and willing to pitch in and help. this isn't just a job for government, it is a job for everybody. >> there are components that will have to be approved by congress, mostly tax credit, and infrastructure spending one hopeful sign if you are a backer of this, on the podium today with the president, mitch mcconnell and rand paul both of kentucky no coincidence there. all right, mike fur us, appreciate it. with reasonable half of the regions residents living in poverty, this to make a big difference in that area. joining us now from pineville kentucky. is jonathan martin,

jonathan, talk to us about this that you are now, this section of kentucky and why it fits the parameters for one of the presidents promises. >> as you mentioned it isn't only one of the poorest areas in the entire country, but if you look at this region, this eight county region, and look at the numbers $11,000 that is the per capita income for this area. and as you mentioned anywhere from 30 to 40% of the people living below the poverty line, you don't even have to walk far, just downtown. and you can see business that is are closed and you talk to people who are really struggling. keep in mind, this was coal mining country. this is how people made their living. but recently, thousands of people have been layed off, these coal mines places have closed in large part because of the new regulations that have come out, so you have people who are making 70 or $80,000 who are suddenly wondering what am i going to do, how am i going to sustain living

how will i feed my family. we talked to one man who has been here for a while and is in that sitsittuation. >> blah jobs are here is minimum wage, there's nothing here. a young person has no business staying here. what this will do specifically, get businesses back open, one thing they will do is much $1.3 million in loans this will be small business loans to get some of these businesses open and get the ones that are open more sustainable. they are also starting at the bottom by going to the high schools and in some of these colleges.

others feel like this is an extra shot in the arm with this designation that has been labeled by the promise zone today. >> sounds like it is necessary business as well, appreciate it. mineville kentucky. 50 years after president lindon johnson declared a war on poverty. the child poverty level is the same as it was in 1964. in new orleans, a staggering 65% of african-american children under five live in poverty. new orleans is not on the list, robert gray joining us with more, over to you. >> yes, tony, i met a lot of people wish they were on the list that he announced today, and he also said that the next year will be about recovery for the poor. here is the issue.

for child poverty the statistics have not changed that much, so there isn't really a recovery process, but more something we need to completely fix. take a look over here, this is a house project right outside the french quarter. like so many of the housing projects across the city, they are being torn down, and made into mixed income development as lot of people that used to live here are in those and awaiting to get into the new development which should be done in the next year or so. now the families here are trying their best, there are local nonprofits to try to give them a better life, tony. >> the conference is tomorrow. >> meet single mother. she grew up in a new orleans housing project. she is also working a part time job and makes less than the nearly $24,000 poverty line.

>> nothing comes easy, everything is a struggle. >> being poor is a term she doesn't want her kids to grow up with. >> you know, the main thing i preach, of course, is education. and per senior convenience in whatever you do. you take a bad situation, and you make it good. >> for white, that is exactly what she is trying to do. but since 2000, the number of poor children in america has increased nearly 35%. that's over 16 million kids nationwide. and as the war on poverty continues, you can see the remain innocence of projects once bid years ago holding families and children are now being torn down this one in new orleans, this courtyard just a few years ago, many children out here playing not a safe place as it is ridden with gangs and violence.

>> one of the highest rates in america. kathryn ma dina grew up in childhood political retributionty, today she runs the harmony neighborhood development, a nonprofit empowering the poor, financial consultant and the building of new mixed income homes where housing projects once stood. >> the biggest thing is having access to information having access to quality products and food. you find a lot of poor kids are obese, and things like that because they can't afford healthy food. >> it is called food and security, and the most recent data reveals that over 25% of african-american households don't have access to proper nutrition, and that's just one of the challenges of child poverty. we hear more and more about murders and it amazing me that those

suspects are many times teenagers. >> with little or no structure and school not a priority, some kids living in poverty join gangs and fall on to life on the street. >> it has to be individuals, who are willing to work with these kids and who are committed to helping them make a difference, otherwise we are continually going to have young people in jail. >> for april white and her three children, they count their blessings each day. happy to have a roof over their heads. >> a lot of people, federal government make ends meet, with the money we are making -- >> from white and many others living below the poverty line, the belief in raising the minimum wage can help take their children out from being poor, is as real as every day life in with little or no money. >> tony, april white the woman in the story with the three children, was

an pant after the story was shot with me that the minimum wage needs to be raised for someone like herself, and others in places in new orleans, and all over the country, to get out of the cycle and the rut of poverty. she feels that her kids need that, she feels her kids needs a fair education, they need more information, and particularly here in the south where poverty has been an epidemic for at least over a century and people here just -- they need a shot. perhaps the president and his team will put them on the list of people that need help. >> okay, robert ray, good to see you, appreciate it, thank you. >> an egyptian prosecutor are now saying that three of our colleagues will be held for another 15 days. they are accused of

spreading lies harmful to state security and joining a terrorist organization. al jazeera says they have been fabricated and are calling for them to be released. a deadly series of bombing leads to a security scare surrounding the olympics. we will have the details for you. we have seen good economic news lately, but will be the big monthly jobs report follow suit? that and more after the break. iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story next only on al jazeera america

>> 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 six bodies in fouround abandon cars the victims had been shot and explosive devices were placed near three of the cars. this happened about 300 miles from sochi. at the site of the games as a caution, and former cuban president fidel castro had made a rare

public appearance. the 87-year-old attending the opening of an art gallery in havana, it is the first time in nearly a year he has been seen publicly. case pro led cuba for nearly half a century. let's get to some business bites here. a lackluster day, the dow lost 17 points investors marking time ahead of tomorrow's key december employment report. but for some good news, it is there for homeowners right now, more of them are getting out from being deeply under water from 26% who owe as significant amount last january to 19% now and joining me to discuss these top business with absolutely return magazine, i haven't seen that. >> hey, good to have you on the program.

>> thank you for having me. >> the folks -- look, if you bout your house in 2006, the crash starts to happen, late 27, rolling into 2008, if you bought your house in the high market 2006, 2005, this is good news, but it has taken a long time. pointedn't you say to get good news. >> well, it's part of a broader story we have seen. the economy is getting better. >> slowly. exactly. and part of that is a program that initially completely busted completely failed. >> what was that. >> the home afforden refinance program. >> it was teased it was pillared. >> initially, 54 -- fifth 3% of the owners who tried to refinance weren't able to do it, they failed they eventually went into forecast closure. >> that sounds like the affordable care act, but initially it was

problematic. >> but they completely revitalized the program in 2011, 12, 2013, 2 million homeowners used the program, overall -- >> what does it do? it allowed homeowners deal with banks hedge funds whoever owns those mortgages and finance their homes at a lower mortgage payment each month on average i think they are saying $328 per month. and the other story here is that home prices are starting to improve a little bit. >> right. home prices are going up, 13% over october of 2012. that's great, people are building equity, they are using that money to go buy cars and other make purchases. remember when you used to use your home as a piggy bank, maybe those days are gone.

>> you aren't pulling from these inflated valuations of your home, you are pulling a feasible amount. >> what do you tell us about the jobs report. >> people are very very optimistic, and we'll see if that optimism holds. >> the number was better than expected. and tomorrow we are expected to about about 200,000, this is nonform payroll. >> right. >> so expected to add about 200,000 jobs. but the whisper number, like wall street number that the traders love to talk about is probably 250,000. >> really? >> that would be a pop. >> it would be a huge pop. >> we'll see. >> good to see you. a reporter with absolutely return magazine. good to have you on the program. >> thank you. >> and we will have full coverage of the jobs report tomorrow, be sure to keep it right here on al jazeera. next, chris christie has made a career of his

straight talking but has he crossed the line from straight talk to bully, and dennis rodman blames it on the alcohol, his apology after defending the north korean government, back in a moment.

mayor, the gw bridge isal one of the busiest in the world, and connects a new jersey to new york city, moments ago, new pictures at at al jazeera, kristy arrived in forth lee, that's the city right there where the bridge is, he said he wanted to apologize, to the mayor in person, but the mayor has refused to see him, the mayor saying let's see should be these investigations turn out. he did it earlier today and said he knew nothing about the traffic jam, he says that's not how he does business. and john is with us now.

everybody in the country that enganging in politics knows that. that's very different from saying someone is a bully. because i am who i am but i am not a bully. >> this is not the first time he has gotten himself into hot water for his political tactics. the personality of the man, straight shooter, straight talker, right part of that question is that picked up by members of his staff, so something like this could faster in an environment of tough talk and rough and tumble politics. >> it is hard to believe, if you run an office as tightly as he does, that the two top closest people between -- not a sliver of daylight that he didn't know anything. you have to say wow. until yesterday he was the man most likely on behalf of the republican party to run against hillary clinton should she choose to win.

and it is all gone. it is all on the line. now the thing about chris christie he is a pit of a polarizing figure because he can be very charging but he can also come across as too heavy sometimes. >> straight talking is rare in politics and chris christie has made a career out of it. his re-election speech after a landslide was packed with with the folksy language of the street. >> my mom used to say to me all the time, christopher be yourself. >> days after hurricane sandy with president obama by his side, he was big hearted and bipartisan talking in glowing terms then just days away from the national elections. i cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern. >> but some say there's a fine line between being a straight talker and bullying. one of his first moves in office was to trim public employee benefits including teachers and this educator was right

in the firing line at a rally. >> if what you want to do is put on a show and giggle every time i talk well then i have no interest in answering your questions. >> there are he johns of reporting out there of the governors alleged bullying style towards people who upset him, he is always waved off any suggestions that he is meeted out retribution. but others have a different preponderance. new jersey public radio had a one on one confrontation over the gorge washington bridge affair only a few weeks ago. >> i work the cones on that, you really are not serious with that question. >> some of that is endeering because he comes across as a real person, if he get as question he doesn't like he says he doesn't like it, and he is often funny about it. >> now the governor has apologized for the bridge scandal, fired key personnel, and said he is embarrassed by the whole affair. >> the fact is that mistakes are made, and i

am responsible for those mistakes. but will that be enough to disspell the image of a petty overbearing governor, who until now was certainly a front runner on a republican ticket for the white house in 2016? please don't sit down and i will answer the next question, what's your choice? >> well, i guess it depends on where you stand whether it was charming or abrasive. that's the problem with chris christie. it is particularly rough trade in new jersey, there was a corruption there always has been. kristy was keep and dogged in prosecuting that. and now here he is with this situation, the whole feeling is there is this image about the state, always trying to compete with new york, but you said this, at the top here, that so much of is it on the line. look at this, there is an investigation from the u.s. attorney's office, of new jersey. >> yep. >> another investigation, a senate a u.s. senate

committee, is going to hold hearings into this, and then we have the new jersey state legislature that's coming back into session. >> that's at least three panels that are determined to have a look at this. although most commentators we have spoken to seem to think that the governor did enough in that press conference this morning. >> he said the right things and if there is no smoking gun, if there's no email, and there's nothing else to come out, that's the problem with the investigation, is some of these will be under oath, and people will be swarmed to tell the truth, and if they don't, it is all -- beyond that there may have been real infractions here, real crimed committed through these closures. so there are a couple of strands to this. >> and the fear is there could be crimes yet to be committed. now, we take him at his word, he is governor, and he said he didn't know, so we will -- >> that's about as blanket as a denial we have seen. >> also a masterful

performance by a masterful politician today, but it depends on no smoking gun. >> john, appreciate you. new developments in the case of a missouri man accused of raping a high school freshman. matt barnett pleaded guilty to a less serious million dollars charge. he was a high school senior when he allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in 2012. he has been given twon't mos probation and a four month sus spented jail term. the case drew national attention after it was revealed the victim had been assaulted by someone else at the same party, and left drunk outside her home in below freezing temperatures. a suicide -- military recruitment center in baghdad, the attack follows weeks of fighting in iraq's province, at least 30 people were injuried in the explosion, the u.s. is sending missles to help iraq contain al quaida

fighters moving in to syria. the united states is telling the afghan government it disagrees with with the decision to release 72 detainees. the prisoners still pose a threat, even though the president says there is not enough evidence to convict them. jane ferguson is in catube with with the details. >> early last year, u.s. forces handed over control of their largest prison in afghanistan, to the afghan authorities. in recent weeks over 889 prisoners which the government has said they will release because there is insufficient evidence to keep detaining them. now today, a meeting was held of senior judicial figures who presented their evidence against the 88. now the intelligence figures lad also been looking into the cases of these 88 men as well as the review board. and they both came back and said that 72 of the 88 men have insufficient

or no evidence against them. and recommended they be released as soon as possible. the americans say they gave them evidence and that the review board does not have the authority to release people and that only a court of law in afghanistan should be doing that. the european union is weighing a proposal to send troops to the central africa. could join french and african peace keeping forces already in place. the president is at a meeting in chad to discuss solutions to the crisis with other heads of state, and rebel takeover with the government last march. sparked pretty widespread violence last month, that has killed thousands of people. let's go to morgan radford with other top stories. >> that's right. tough talk, a kentucky school board member said he would pass out ammunition in honor of the anniversary. now during a tribute called 26 days of

kindness, he wrote on facebook he would give his friends ammunition on each of the 26 days. needless to say plenty of called came in asking for his resident ignored night. to make matters work, all of this happened two months after he was elected. and then of course this was the viral video. got released from a maximum security prison after being locked up for the past nine months. he posted a parody video showing these wanna begansters throwing sandals. let's just say the authorities were not too happy about that. the local paper said he was accused of defaming, even though it said it is fictional. then of course, not the only one blaming it on the alcohol, a televised interview, basketballer dennis implied an american who has been held in north korea before the last 15 years, was actually guilty.

by today he took back that statement, the american hall of famer known for his antics made his fourth trip to the country to celebrate kim john-un's birthday, of course he said they are friends. then check this out. remains washed ashore, making it the very first time the whales have been found south of the boarder. they were 13 feet long, where whales come during the winter, before heading back to the arctic. marine biologists didn't say why they died but they do plan to study their skeleton for more answers. this is just too hot to handle. an l.a. woman says a mcdonald worker didn't put her coffee on right, causing it to spill and burn her. this all hams 20 years after another woman sued mcdonalds for almost the exact same thing, saying the company made her coffee too hot, it spilled and it burned

herself. the 1994 case settled for an undin closed amount. >> okay, you want coffee, you go to mcdonalds it will be hot. >> and if it spills well -- >> things happen. >> all right, appreciate it, thank you. >> the days of one complex printing long gone, 3-d printers are taking over, creating everything from shoes to handguns and now believe it or nod food. b luna where the fooddinni is printing out ingredients ready to coo. it is a meal, but not as we know it this is possibly the future of farcified freshly made straight from the printer. >> that is a designed plant that we have. >> mark as new fate in kitchen appliances the ultimated gadget for those hard pressed for time. this is programmed than a

short weight, while the meal of your choice is printed out. >> the point is to get more people making additive free food without too much fuss. >> if you can print your own meals it brings the term convenience food to a whole new level. >> in essence it is a kitchen appliance, it is higher end, it is a technology kitchen appliance, but it is a kitchen appliance to make cooking easier. >> but will it ever catch on? is. >> 3-d printed cookies get them right here. >> that's good. >> that's awesome. >> printed out? but how is it done? it's good. it tastes like normal cooking.

>> it tastes super delicious, it is really good. >> but for some, the idea is perhaps a little too radical. >> no, thank you. >> it's from a printer? no. i don't trust it. >> printing a meal might take some time to catch on, the foodini is still in the preliminary stages and it is not a complete process. that's why human skilling can't be replaced. for some discerning diners it may be hard to swallow. al jazeera, barcelona. all right coming up on al jazeera america, imagine for a moment working with no bosses. who would we blame then? the popular company that is changing its entire

structure so all employees are on the same level, and hundreds of these terrifying mutilated dolls becoming a bizarre tourist attraction in mexico. we'll tell you what is behind it in just a moment.

of the dolls.o the island >> the canals one of the biggest tourest attractions in mexico city. a lucked mistake from the coming crete and high-rise, where people can enjoy beautiful

canals once used by the aztecs. s that waterways hold many stories. nowhere is that truer than here, on the island of the dolls. it looks like a scene from a horror movie. hungs of dolls strung up and hanging from trees. >> his uncle started collecting these dolls 50 years ago after he found the body of a young girl, who drowned on these shores. he found the dolls in the canals and in the trash, he started hanging them up to protect him and to try to scare away the spirit of the girl. now every year, more and more tourists come can to visit the island. people like linda florez. >> in mexican culture there are a lot of legends about dolls. >> some of these come

from columbia, australia, and even russia. they have been brought here by visitors from all over the world, and this isn't the only frightening fortake that has origins here. or weeping woman, it is a it freening tail performed yearly about a woman who drowns her own children in these canals instead of surrendered to the spanish concurrers. >> a long history dating back to the 10th century, we have 17 communities and all of them have their own legends. we even have a legend about men turning into animals. >> it is definitely not an ancient attraction, but it is probably one of the most bizarre, and it is proof that the mystery that has always surrounded these canals is alive today. al jazeera, mexico city. >> it is a new management style that gets rid oviboses a typical worksate structure works

from the top down, under what is called a pollack rassey, and there are no job titles and no managers. about to give eight try, but one company was already onboard, lisa bernard takes us behind the scenes. >> the office at medium may look like any other bay area open floor plan start up, but things here at the digital publishing platform are a little different. the company is run as a system with no bosses. jason ternman brought the concept about a year and a half ago. our employees really feel like it is their company. because the decision making authority has not consolidated at the top. >> employee luke likes the system.

you have the freedom to try lots of different things bout having to go through typical red tape. >> he says he and the others that work on user feedback, brainstorm together to fix a problem, and without layers of management to go through, they execute changes quickly. it is an on going process, it isn't like a access to qualitierly meeting where you throw everything only the pile, you are constantly evolving. >> there are unique perks to encourage employees. >> we have one that is pretty heavy weight, with stock options in the companies, which is pretty neat. and we have another which allows peers to give each other virtual high fives. >> medium does have a ceo. butsterman explains that is for the outside world, internalingly, the person responsible for assigning work space would be able to tell the ceo where to sit.

professor and co arthur of the new book had studies organizations he urges caution. >> you have to be careful because it sounds like a classic fad, let's see what it looks like when it is implemented in these organizations. >> on layne retailer says 1500 employees will soon be the largest group to give it a try. while it is pretty efficient, once it is adopted, the process may take renovations. >> he says once they do, it's should help customers using the service as well. >> i may trickle down the the consumers and realize that this is a better company than they thought. and their service may be improved because of that. >> it will take about a year to implement fully, stirman will be watching.

am al jazeera san francisco. >> let's talk about this, and how it works with the bryant robertson co-founder structure and is a partner. blood to talk to you, thank you for your time. thank you for having me. >> what were you trying to address with this new structure? >> well, it emerges from more than experimentation, i ran a software company and felt like i had these great smart people working for me, and they didn't always have the path ways to take whatever wisdom they had and get it acted on. >> oh, preach, preach, preach. >> so you had people that were talented skilled but were often timed siloed? >> yeah. there are many things in an organization that stops people from acting on what they sense that could be better. whether it's a boss that doesn't understand it o bureaucracy or bad meetings that just stop improvements.

i was trying to experiment and find a system where people could use their talents and get things changes. >> what is at the heart of this? >> it is a different system for achieving alignment, accountability and control. we are used to a management. we don't just throw out the results. we just have a different system of getting there, instead, there's a constitutional process that holds the power. there is a constitution that defines the way the rules of the game, and that defines processes by which we break down the would recollect and figure out who is accountable for what, so it isn't structure less, just a different type of structure.

and i platter of titles and office as lot of that has to to with egos right, and how do you work around those issues? particularly in a country where we believe in the idea that the buck has to stop somewhere. >> i think that's right. it does have to stop somewhere, and that doesn't mean you have to have a ceo holding off the power and dictating. you just need accountability, and the first line of that is transparency, and when that doesn't work, you still need somebody that can remove somebody from roles. but that doesn't mean that the managers have to have all of the functioning that we think of f. fire, hire, whatever. it takes those functions and splits them up. so there are some that have the authority to put people in roles and others have the authority to make decisions about what feature goss in the software product.

the authorities are distributed and different people hold different authority, and there's processes to clarify all of that. >> co founded the structure and is a partner. pleasure to talk to you, a look at your weather forecast across the country when we come back.

al jazeera america gives you the

ice being a problem here, where the temperatures have really dropped because that ice, this one picture taken right near the hudson, the statue of liberty there is is there, and another problem can be flash flooding as the temperatures climb back gov freezing. 34 now in philadelphia, 31 in new york, these are flood warnings and flash flood watches right near where the lake effect snow came down, a few other creeks and the river also seeing flooding problems because of ice jams. before that jam occurs and as the water melts

and the ice melts, ice melt i should say, we can get flash flooding as all that wattser released. so that's the biggest problem here. by tomorrow not much on the radar and clouds now, but starting to see activity in the midwest, this is rain that is moving into the cold air. watch the roadways that's water coming down and freezing as that temperature drops back down then by tomorrow it warms up so anything fall willing be rain, and the ice can melt, still just rain coming down by tomorrow evening along, i 95. it is from this storm here, pacific northwest seeing that big storm with gusty winds, rain, and snow in the higher elevations we will watch that come onshore high.

>> this is aljazeera america live from new york city. and i'm tony harris with a look at the top stories. president obama has unveiled the promise zones, aimed at eliminating poverty and creating jaws. eastern kentucky and the choctaw nation of oklahoma are the first five areas, and 20 areas will be chosen by 2013. new jersey governor, chris christie, has fired one of his top staffer s. after she leaked a plan to start a traffic jam near the george washington bridge. >> i had a tight group of peopl