>> another child opens fire in school. this time in new mexico. a teacher stepped in to stop the attack. but not before two kids were shot. >> mistakes were clearly made. >> a series of scandals overshadowing chris christie's state of the state address. he offers another apology. >> two days of voting in egypt marred by deadly violence. egyptians have been heading to the polls to vote on a new constitution. >> a texas man takes legal action to remove his pregnant wife from life support. why the hospital says its hands are tied by the law.

>> a 12-year-old boy is under arrest accused of opening fire with a shotgun at a new mexican school. the boys' identity has not been released by police. >> roswell new mexico is the latest community to grapple with a fallout from a shooting. a child is undergoing a mental evaluation. she snuck the shotgun into school this a musical instrument case. erica pitzi is here with the details. >> one. victims, 13-year-old kendall sandsers is out of surgery. her continue is stable. the name of the second victim, an 11-year-old is not being

released. he underwent two surgeries, he's in critical condition with injuries to his neck and the side of his face. the school is closed as investigators try to figure out how and why this happened. >> hundreds gathered and prayed in a vigil held in new mexico for the two young children. >> i seen them run in there. classes were barely underway when the shots ran out. many of the 200 students were inside the gym when witnesses say a 12 year-old 7th grader shot two opportunities before turning to face a teacher. >> i'm john master tonne. i've taught for so years. >> the social studies teacher is hailed a hero, stopping the

shooter. >> he heres the first shot, thinks it's a firecracker. he turns and sees the young man shoots and shoots, and then is pointing the firearm at mr masterson. mr masterson talks to him to get him to put it down. the young man put the gun down and raised his hands. >> buses shuttled students to a mall to be reunited with shaken family members. >> how can a child walk in the front door with a shotgun? how do these things happen? >> police are serving search warrants on the suspected students locker, a bag that may have contained the weapon and at his home. questions loomed - how did the 12-year-old get the gun and why open fire on his classmates? police are trying to figure out a motive. a hospital spokesperson says the

boy who was shot indicates that he was the target. before the shooting some were warned by the stupid himself to stay home. counselling is available for students, teachers and families. >> it will be so traumatic for that community. >> since 992 there has been over 300 shootings across the united states. there has been an average of one shooting every two weeks. the deadliest at the university. 32 people were killed. the december 2012 shootings at sandy hook in newtown claimed 26 lives, including 20 children and in 1999, 13 were killed. >> a retired police captain accused of killing a man accused of texting during a movie

appeared to court. he said he was defending himself. police say he shot olson. reeves is facing second degree murder charges. the judge denied him bail. >> new jersey governor chris christie did his best to shift conversation back to his state of state address. >> ners -- new jersey governor chris christie used his state by state address. >> chris christie tried to turn the media's focus away from the scandals, back to his goals for new jersey. education was a point.

he wants to lengthen the school day and year. he touched on crime. he insisted recent allegations against him and his team will not stop the state getting things done. >> what has occurred does not defin us or our state. this administration and legislature will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve the people's lives in new jersey to be delayed for any reason. >> the speech may do little to slow the controversy surrounding him. >> a marketing campaign is under securitiy by federal authorities. at issue whether chris christie put himself and his family front and center a the middle of elections. and that they spent $2 million

more on the election campaign than the next lowest bid, and a firm with which his office had ties. the department of housing and urban development was warned. they are investigating. then there's bridge gait. the government forced to apologise for a traffic scandal. >> state democrats say the city's democratic mayor refused to support a second bit. many saw him as a front runner in the 2016 race. today chris christie insisted he remain focussed on getting the job done as governor of new jersey and he promised to cooperate with any investigation. >> new jersey democrats say they planned to launch two probes

into the political lane closures with panels from the state assembly and senate working together. they held a cabinet meeting, reinforcing commitment to the economy, pushing congress to extend unemployment benefits. they thanked lawmakers for putting in a budget. calling it a crucial measure. >> i was pleased to see the house and the senate agree to a budget. and to put forward a bill at levels that would allow us to take important steps to provide the services and the help that american families need. >> president obama's call to extend unemployment benefits to 1.3 million americans hit a wall. a bipartisan deal collapsed with

democrats and republicans accusing each other of negotiating in bad faith. >> the top secret spy agency can hack into the globe. the n.s.a. reportedly secretly implanting software in 100,000 comfuters. the technology allowed the agency to contact the computers. a radioactive signal can be send to a briefcase. it is meant to defend against attacks from members of china's military. >> they are not spying on congress, but information may have been selected through broad data sweets. these were responses to questions. alexander says: >> and that the agency has:

>> he went on to say: >> a top israeli official is apologising for blistering comments aimed at u.s. secretary of state john kerry, coming after israel's largest newspaper printed goats from moshe yarle saying secretary of state john kerry was acting out of obsessiveness. he changed his tune issuing this statement: >> the apology came after reaction from the u.s. state

department. >> we find the remarks of the defence minister to be offensive and inappropriate, especially gin all the united states has done to support israel's security needs. >> israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu did not back up his defence minister, saying that the u.s. is israel's closest ally in a bid for peace. >> u.s. and india are mending ties. a senior diplomat met with india's ambassador in washington. the two countries are committed to working on a broad range of issues and they are working to move forward. the scandal began when an indian diplomat was arrested. protesters in europe thought she was mistreated. the diplomat was arrested for visa fraud and paying the housekeeper below minimum anal. >> polls reopened in egypt for the second and final day of voting. this is the scene outside a polling station.

people lining up to cast their ballots. it was a different screen on tuesday. voting marred by violence. 11 people were killed in fighting between security forces and supporters of mohamed morsi. if the new constitution is approved. it will pave the way for presidential and parliamentary elections. we have the situation monitored by doha. >> polling stations are open. lines are growing in stations across egypt. we are getting clues as to how big the turn out has been, not just what is going on in egypt, but what is happening abroad. the ex-pats got the chance to vote and we are hearing from the higher election spokesman, and they think the preliminary majority of those votes from m favour of the constitution. another place featured tuesday,

where there was a molotov cocktail bomb thrown in giza. at that time people came out after the attempted explosion and said they were going vote even though there had been violence there. we are hearing from the deputy head of the state council, that they expect participation in that area to be 48%, which is the highest number of turn out we have heard. the highest we heard was 38. that was a large turn out in election history in egypt. >> we are hearing of various protests. hundre hundreds tubing to the streets south of cairo, holding up the sign. demonstrations going on in old cairo. tens of people, not an enormous

amount and that seems relatively peaceful. there's no violence. but we have had pictures of a funeral. 11 killed in the protests on deuce during violence. one of these people have pictures showing that they have staged a funeral. >> a few tweets to look at. the first is from the anti-coup alliance. they have been staging a boycott and in the anti-coup alliance tweet they say a human chain organised by the coup: >> and we have a picture of the women lined up on the streets holding up the sign of raba. that picture shows them staging a boycott, refusing to vote. on the other side there's another tweet. she says - waiting online for voting and all raidies around me young, middle aged and old.

would vote yes. >> just last by i want to draw attention to humour. this cartoon was in the "new york times," showing the egyptian referendum, referring to the numbers of military holding security in the everywhered um. i suppose this sense of humour saying "yes, yes, we want to vote yes." we'd want to hear from you. give us your view. tweet us at aje live. >> that report from doha. al jazeera is covering the referendum from outside the country is because floorties are detaining our colleagues form your, baher mohamed, and peter greste, who have been in custody since december 29th, accused of reporting false news and helping

the muslim brotherhood. al jazeera denies the allegations. two other journalists from the al jazeera sister channel are in custody, and they have been detained for five months. >> a series of bombings rocked iraq. the attacks killed 58 people, injuring more than 90. half-a-dozen or more exploded across the capital. it comes as a standoff between the fighters. >> u.s. troops left iraq, and the violence escalated dramatically. more than 8,000 people died there alone. >> the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks says he's renounced violence. he wrote his intentions in a 36-page manifesto from guantanamo bay, where he has been imprisoned. it expresses ideas standing in

contrast to statements where he defended the right to spread violence. >> he wrote: >> today the supreme court will hear a first amendment case questioning whether it is unconstitutional to restrict protesters to puffer zones outside abortion clinics. it's not free speech if the speech is so far away it can't be hair. >> massachusetts set up a 35-foot buffer zone around planned parenthood clinics. two workers were killed in 1994.

a lot of protesters were threatening, intimidating doctors. >> the buffer zone is no different than restricting campaigning near places where people vote. >> it's not that the messages can't be seen and heard. what it does do is protect the women and the administrative staff and doctors from that kind of in your face harassment. it's damaging. >> but the supreme court will hear from plaintiffs who argue the law targets one kind of speech. people who oppose abortion. that is unconstitutional. what massachusetts is doing here is picking sides in a divisive issue in our country today. the abortion clinics representatives are free to speak, but the sidewalk protesters are not. >> the court upheld a law 13 years ago.

>> tracy potts reporting from washington. the court heard a similar first amendment case last month from a man who challenged a protest area. a federal judge in tulsa declared app ban on marriage unconstitutional. saying limiting marriage violates the clause of the 14th amendment. same-sex couples will not walk down the aisle just yet. the ruling was put on hold while state and local officials hired an appeal. >> doze ens have been arrest for being gay. officers are enforcing a law in nigeria that wept into effect, that bans same-sex marriage and makes it a crime to belong to a gay organization. the couples could face 14 years behind bars for getting married.

>> bikers take to the streets of bangkok. people across thailand keep up the pressure as they call on the president to step aside. struggling to survive. a family of refugees makes a drastic decision - marrying off a daughter to keep a roof over their head. >> and a city takes the day off to fly kites. >> a shocking development reopens the n.f.l. concussion suite. >> smaller crowds for day two on the vote for a new egyptian constitution.

>> protesters in thailand have brought parts of bangkok to a standstill. opposition leaders are threatening to detain the prime minister if she does not step down. about 30 gunshots were fired in the capital and two

anti-protesters were wound the. the elections will take place as scheduled stay the thai government. >> the opposition, the people who have been organising the bangkok shutdown have, of course, rejected this. this is a key demand of the demonstrations that have been going on. yingluck shinawatra stepped down before elections are held, to be replaced by another electorate, transitional council of sorts under which what they call reforms will take place. they criticise prime minister yiping , and her family, the former prime minister thaksin for having led a regime of corruption and of nepotism. behind me, as you can see, there are a few people queueing up because it's one of them. the futures, the local colours

of the thai mass demonstration, people give food out. they are queueing up for food. that is keeping them on the street. make no mistake that there are serious issues at stake here that will shape the future of thailand. you can hear the music. another thing that happens in the evening. it's very difficult to see just how the situation could be resolved. >> veronica pedrosa reporting from the middle of protests in bangkok. the thai chamber of commerce survey says the protest could cost the economy about $30 million a day. >> let's get a look at what temperatures we'll see across the nation. nicole mitchell is here. >> a lot of places are above average. we have an exception. this is a change from yesterday. look at minneapolis we were at one, dropping in cooler air. east coast above average. we are on the mild side on the

west coast. here is the pattern that we had for all of that. with a ridge in the west giving us the warm air, but the trough through the mid section is part of the country where we see cooler than average temperatures. we had a surge and it looks like a shot of cooler air. a couple of things we'll have to watch. temperatures in the west and problems coming up. >> officials in west virginia are lifting a water ban on certain contaminated areas. 40,000 people can use their taps following the chemical leak last week. there's close to 200,000 people under the water ban. the do not use order was listed monday for the capital city of charleston. freedom industry, the company responsible for the field is under a federal investigation. a restraining order is in place to ensure no important documents or materials are destroyed.

a federal judge shut down a $765 million settlement over ailments suffered by players. john henry smith is here to tell us what the ruling means. >> it's a turn around. the headlines was that the n.f.l. settled the lawsuit levied by players. buried in the fine print was the fact that a judge had to give the deal preliminary approval. the jun (nighed approval. to refresh, the original settlement was for 75 million. the n.f.l. new about the dangers and hid the knowledge from the players. let's examine that figure. it's a total that represents the largest sports-related settlement. once you dive deeper into the number you find that the former

n.f.l. players suffering from those illnesses may not have received as much as first thought. the largest pay out there 5 million suffering from l.a. x. if a player died and c te was found in his brain his family was eligible to receive up to $4 million, $3 million would have beenable to former players, but a diagnosis for any of these decisions needed to be made before the age of 45. only a handful of former players would qualify. the older the player, the less money he or his family would receive. in rejecting the preliminary approval u.s. district suj said, "i am primarily concerned that not all retired n.f.l. players who receive a qualifying diagnose or their families will be paid. >> here is an interesting wrinkle.

the federal judge who over saw the negotiations leading to the is thele. and who had called the deal fair had been appointed by judge anita brodie. that's the what - sports attorney gives you the why? >> his job was to love the settlement, he was required to produce the best settle. the the judge's job is different. from the judge's pertelentive she has to look out for the people not able to participate. in this case we talk about as many as 20,000 plaintiffs. the negotiations were on behalf of one plaintiff between the parties. here we talk about the 19, 999 people that judge brody is intending to correct. they'll go back to the drawing board and get a deal. the problem was not necessarily with the amount to be paid to

individual players. the judge was concerned that if more than 10% of the claimants of 20,000 people, 10% of that hit the number, there's a possibility of that 765 was not going to be enough. >> speaking of that, the players that asked for $2 billion, it wouldn't be surprised if that number was back in play. >> thank you for that. congress has until midnight to force a budget. we look at the one trillion bipart second deal and who the biggest winners and losers are. >> syrian refugees struggling to find a place to live face a difficult decision, sacrificing one young woman to save her family. >> we both new we didn't want to be on life support. >> a husband fights to pull the plug on his brain dead wife.

why the hospital is refusing to take or off life support.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy, these are the top stories. >> a 12-year-old boy is in custody any accused of shooting two fellow students at a new mexico middle school. a teacher may have saved lives convincing the boy to put the gun down. the shooter is facing evaluation. >> egyptians are heading to the polls to vote on a new constitution. if approved elections will take place this summer. 11 people have been killed in violence surrounding the election. a judge shuts down oklahoma's ban on same-sex marriage. the law is upconstitutional because it violates the 14th

amendment. >> the house and senate are to vote on a $1 trillion spending bill. the bill is expected to ease impending cuts ondown. >> dave leventhal joins us from washington d.c. let's look at the winners and losers in this bill. first of all, early childhood education. >> this is a huge priority for priority in 2014. >> a win for early childhood

educ it will be adequate for persisting, and that's clear with the documents. >> how do things work out for he t.s.a.?

culture the way airport security is taking place. focussing on behaifl aspects of people going to airport security as opposed to a one-side fits all. >> what about advocates for transparency?

or engineering. it won't be here in 2014, something promised to be transparent. something on the agenda that will not go forward. >> a lot of journalists would say it's the opposite. what about federal employees - how did they make two, three, wages, this is a pittance. >> thank you for that. >> efforts to reach a deal to x

extent unemployment benefits collapsed. lawmakers have been working for weeks to restore benefits that expired an december 28th. each side is haggling over procedural issues. the senate has until the end of the year to reach a deal before they go on break. >> the syrian government says it has gained control of the area around aleppo. week of infighting weakened the insurgency. the video shows the aftermath of air strikes outside the capital. the syrian military was targetting those in the area. >> refugees make up a third of the population. as zeina khodr reports, many are forced to make difficult choices. >> it is a heavy burden or if 14-year-old girl. she is trapped. she is a refugee from syria. the shelter in lebanon is all

her family has, and there's only one way to keep it. >> i am not obliged to marry a 44-year-old man. i am crying because of the situation we are in. but i have to do it so that my family can survive. >> hanifa agreed to marry the 44-year-old lebanese landlord. she is the trade off. the family ka to longer pay the $250 monthly rent. in exchange the owner for the house demanded hanifa become his second wife. >> translation: it's a difficult position. every mother wants her daughter secure and marry the man she loves. no mother wants to hurt her child. we have no choice. >> as they move out of the house into a tent, her husband who suffers from heart problems and her asthmatic second would not be able to survive in the cold.

and a 12-year-old who has a job with a mechanic barely makes enough to pay for food. >> this is a story of how desperate many refugees have become. the majority cannot five out help. >> lebanon hosts over 1 million refugees from syria. not all are registered with the united nations, meaning they are not ellageable for aid. >> i can't to have assistance from the u.n. they told me i'm able to work and find a job. >> aid agencies call the syrian rev any crisis a humanitarian traj did i. she smiles when she remembers the man she was supposed to spend her life with. her 22-year-old cousin died fighting in syria last year. she is now feeling helpless.

>> my whole life is destroyed. i don't want to marry him. if i do my family can stay in the house. this young girl feels exploited but it's a sacrifice she has to make. >> as the humanitarian crisis deepens, there's more aid heading in syria's way. >> an announcement made at a donor conference in kuwait was that they'd provide $500 million. >> the men on trial for the westgate mall attack - they are not accused of carrying out the attack but lending shob. al-shabab, a group with links to al qaeda are accused. today the court heard from a guard head office wouds the

mall. >> military forces move in, but residents of one region west of mexico city say they are trying to protect themselves from a powerful drug cartel called the knights templar, saying the towns have been turned into war zones. government troops have been ordered to retake control. >> the vigilantes welcome the military, but will defend themselves. >> in texas a husband is taking action to have his life removed from life support. this woman is pregnant but the family says she's brain dead and would not want to be kept alive. the hospital refused the request. a legal battle is under way. >> as she lies in a hospital bed her husband is preparing go a legal fight to take her off. marlis, is 20 weeks pregnant and has hospitalized since november

when her husband found her on the floor of her home, the victim of a blood clot to the lunches. she is brain dead. her husband says she would never want to be like this. >> we both knew we didn't want to be on life support. >> john peter smith hospital in fort worth refused to take her off life support citing a law prohibiting doing so for patients that are pregnant. >> we are not about making law or contesting law. if this goes to a court or judge who says you need to change what you are doing, we'll follow the direction of the local system. >> the hospital is refusing to comment on whether or not she is brain dead, due to patient privacy laws, her husband has been adamant and vocal and state of pregnancy.

>> the word declared by the t p attorneys, suing the hospital, demanding she be released from a ventilator. this is in contrast to a family fighting to keep their daughter jahi mcmath alive after an oklahoma hospital ruled to take her off life support, declaring she was brain dead. >> i have to do what is right for me and jahi mcmath. >> the girl was released to the family and is now at an undisclosed facility. back at forth-worth there were dualling protests in support of the family. >> the family deserves peace and closure and she deserves to rest in piece. >> there's a second person, the unboard baby. that child is within weeks of being viable. >> officials in the hospital's

jurisdiction have not filed a response, no hearing date has been scheduled. >> no rain in sight for a dry california. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell to talk about the fire risk. >> typically the wet seep, and as you can see on this, this is a moving radar. there's not a cloud or chaps for rain. high pressure to the north, to begin with. also you want to watch the rotation, it's a clockwise rotation. on the south side winds coming east-west. those are the santa ana winds coming down. as air molecules descend, they warm. it's a dry air as it does all of that. all of that fuelling the fire concern. temperatures above severing,

driving out vegetation. if the fire gets started it goes faster everything is dry and easy to burn. san francisco is the 68. most of the temperatures in record territory giving you an idea of how warm it is. this has been spreading. a lot of it starts as the winds wind down. after the winds wind down and the danger subsides, dry across the region. the pattern of wind causes problems. more on that in a couple of minutes. >> looking at business news. >> dow futures are higher. stocks bounced back tuesday, giving investors a lift. the do you starting at: -- the dow starting at:

in asia, the markets mixed: european stocks higher. general motors will resume pays quarterly dividends, paying $0.30 per share. it's a signal of governments for a profitable future. >> bank of oerk, the latest bank to -- bank of america, the latest bank. the mortgage business may be drying up for banks. >> no one is refinancing. interest rates have gone up and up that anyone that could have refinanced probably have done so. we are left and housing recovery is moving along, but slowly. >> bank of america's earnings are expect before the opening

bell. >> a group of amazon employees will vote whether to unionize. a group at delaware would cast ballots as to whether to join the international association of machinists and aerospace workers. it could result in a new shop the the amazon u.s. facility. >> a report by the global business travel association says u.s. business travel spending is expected to rise to $290 billion. the biggest increase coming in overseas transcript. millions of americans are living in underwater homes. the mortgage is more than what the home is worth. we have the story of the a south florida family. and what others can do to avoid the experience. >> desiring more space and a family friendly neighbourhood.

sonja and her husband made what they thought was a sound investment decision. they purchased a home in hollywood florida, buying at the peak of the market, buying at top dollar. >> the value of the home decreased by $70,000. it makes us scared for the future, wondering if we could own the home outright, or if we should continue to stay in the home. >> knight and silver are underwater in the home. the current amount owned on the home is higher. they paid almost $300,000 for a home worth less than $200,000. the frustrating part is when i see at this time that the market is starting to change, i see friends and family around purchasing homes and getting more for their money. >> according to new figures, a

nationwide research firm which compiles trends, 9.3 million u.s. residential properties are under water. florida has the second highest rate. nevada leads the way. >> 34% of home owners are considered underwater. 61% of those are under water and in the foreclosure process. >> south florted realtor attribute the rate to several factors stemming from the 2005/2006 real estate boom when thousands purchased at the market peak. >> there was a time that the money was whap, and they had pick your mort im, and buyers bought and flipped and bought and flipped. >> yank says while the rate of under water homes is high, it's down from 10.9 million a year

ago. interest rates are low, home values are increasing and inventory it up. yanks advise underwater home owners to consider options. higher professionals or a credit company. get your home sorted. >> as for home owner nights. despite the challenges she and her husband faced with the mortgage and underwater status she believes in the american dream of home ownerships and is hopeful the market will strengthen. >> now, nevada, the state with the most underwater homes saw progress. foreclosure filings are down from one in 37 homes to one in four. everything comes to a halt for an annual tradition in india. what is behind the festival. how some families are using the the day to make ends meet. >> high winds causing blizar

concerns in this direction. i'll have your forecast. >> and a look at the roads. looking icy in wisconsin. 15 degrees.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. just ahead why a city took the day off to fly a kite. first, a look at the snow and the rain. meteorologist nicole mitchell was here. >> remember when i was talking about california and the pattern that set up the wind flow. on the mid west side of this, that is bringing winds down from the north. so we really had strong winds between the system. >> funnily, the custodies up to 65 miles per hour. add that to snow. it's not a lot of snow. blizzard warnings are not based on snow. what it's doing to visibility and the winds. we have it up for parts of - if you are not in all of that.

you are in the high wind areas. a high profile and you try to do an east-west road. that's where the snow is and a line of precipitation. >> there is a burst of colour in the skies of india. hindus in the countries, al jazeera's report say the festival attracts people from all over the world. >> the night before the big day it's a festive atmosphere. for this festival the kite market is open all day and all night long. by morning it's easy to see why. most households stop work to celebrate the kite-flying tradition. >> translation: i have holiday and woke up early to fly kites. >> compared to the past we have music systems. we bring snacks up to the

terrace and fly kites all day. >> they fill the sky. the whole city lives on the rooftops today. it helps some families make end meet. the whole family gets together to make kites. even the kids when they are not in school help out. it earns money for the households. the popularity of the festival sparked a festival the day before the main event, a way of boosting tourism. not everyone flies kites, some spend all day selling them. >> we are too busy working through the festival to fly ourselves, so we get together the next day. >> whatever the background or aim everyone in the city heads for the roof. >> modern technology fills every

part of indian life. this is the one day when the phone is put down, skips the video game and heads to the roof. >> the festival is traditionally a name for formers. a florida family pet parrot may have saved their lives. the birded alerted them to a fire. the 3.5 grey ring-necked parrot squawked and woke them up. richelle carey joins us. >> two students were injured in a school shooting. the accused gunman is a 12-year-old boy who has been arrested. >> it's day two of egypt's

constitutional vote. 11 have been killed in fighting between security forces and supporters of mohamed morsi. >> israel's defence minister apologises for comments made about secretary of state john kerry. >> and chris christie's state of the state address - we break if down and look at the approval rating. >> i'm nicole mitchell, meteorologist, and the wicked winds. >> richelle carey and i will be back with you in 2.5 minutes.

>> mistakes were clearly made and as a result, we let down the people we're jen trusted to serve. >> new jersey governor affairs an apology and vows it will never happen again. >> diplomatic dance as israel defense minister offers an apology to john kerry after stepping on his efforts to bring peace. >> i just seen him run in there, shoot and then the guy was on the ground. >> another school shooting, this time a 12-year-old boy opens fire on his middle school classmates. >> united in their fight, chicago residents stand up looking to get big oil companies to tamp down on the spread of

pollution. >> welcome to aljazeera america. >> new jersey kiss christie did his best to shift the conversation back to the state of the state address, but the speech was closely watched. he began with a no-excuse apology for scandals dominating national headlines, vowing to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of the politically motivated lane closures on the george washington bridge. >> i'm the governor and ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch, both good and bad. without a doubt, we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to ensure this breach of trust does not happen again.

>> the state democrats wasted little time blasting the governor for embracing the garden state, and blasted a previous ad saying he made new jersey proud. note. >> speaking of chris christie tomorrow, he's expected to unveil is agenda for this year. when asked what he is expecting for nextor, he said oh, i'll close that bridge when i get to it. >> christie managed to sneak in his agenda to improve schools and reduce crime, but he still faces an uphill battle in resurrecting his once promising political career. >> new jersey chris christie used the state of the state

address to offer another apology. >> last week has certainly tested this administration, the mistakes were clearly made. as a result, we let down the people we're entrusted to serve. >> he then tried to turn the media focus away from the scandals back to his goals for new jersey. education was a main point. he wants the length of the school day and school year across the state. he also talked about crime. he insisted the recent allegations against him and his team will not stop the state from getting things done. >> what has occurred does not define us or our state. that this administration and this legislature will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve the people's lives in new jersey to be delayed for any reason. >> the speech may do little to slow the growing controversy surrounding him. the latest questions concern t.v. ads pushing tourively on

the jersey shore in the months after hurricane sandy. >> we're stronger than the storm. >> the marketing campaign is now under scrutiny by federal authorities. at issue is whether he put himself and his family front and center in the ads right in the middle of his reelection bid last year. there are concerns that the christie team spent $2 million more on production costs for the ad campaign than the next lowest bid, going to a firm to which his office had ties. new jersey congressman frank pillene said he alerted the inspector general. the inspector general is now investigating. then there's the scandal known as bridge gate. the governor was forced to apologize for a traffic scandal of the george washington bridge, when an aid ordered lane closures, gnarling traffic for

days. until now, many had seen him as a front runner in the 2016 presidential race. today, he he insisted he remains focus and getting the job done at governor of new jersey. he promised to cooperate with any investigation. aljazeera, trenton, new jersey. >> dems unleashed another round of furry at christie after his address. they said his talk on pensions sounded like a renege. he called for concessions. >> a top israeli official is apologizing for critical comments aimed at secretary of state john kerry. it all began when israel's defense minister described kerry as obsessive when it comes to securing the peace deal in the middle east. >> there's no sign of a break through in the latest round of israeli-palestinian peace talks. the defense minister said the process is a waste of time and blames the u.s. secretary of

state. he apparently said during a private conversation: >> as for the talks themselves, he was just as dismissive: >> the obama administration was not pleased. >> we find the remarks of the defense minister to be offensive, and inappropriate, especially given all that the united states has done to support israel's security needs and will continue to do. >> late tuesday, he apologized to kerry in a statement, saying he he didn't mean to "cause any offense." observerring think he made the comments because he doesn't like a u.s. drafted security plan

relying on high tech equipment, not israel soldiers to protect the border between israel and an independent palestine. prime minister netanyahu didn't come tuesday, calling the u.s. you israel's closest ally in its bid for peace. the leader of the israel negotiating team accused him of damaging the countries relationship. the incident is raising new questions about how united the israelis are as they move forward in talks. >> talks were held earlier this month. kerry is trying to secure concinnous on border security and the future have germ in the hopes of having a comprehensive peace agreement signed about by israel. >> in a scene all too familiar, a series of bombings rock iraq. the attack near baghdad killed 58 and injured 90. a half dozen or more car bombs

exploded across the capital in iraq today during a standoff between the iraqi army and rebel fighters. two years ago, u.s. troops left iraq. since then, the violence escalated than 8,000 people died there last year. >> egyptians are voting for a second day on a new constitution. this was the scene outside a polling station in cairo. people lining up to cast their ballots, but this is a very different scene tuesday, voting interrupted by violence across the country, 11 people killed in fighting between security forces and supporters have out of the the president mohamed morsi. if the new constitution is approved, it will pave the way for new presidential and parliamentary elections this summer. >> the master mind of the 9/11 attacks said he's renouncing violence and wants to convert his captain tories to islam. he wrote his intentions in a 36 page manifesto from guantanamo

bay. the documents first obtained by the huffing to know post express ideas of a stark contrast where he defended the right to use violence. he wrote: >> america's top secret spy agency can hack into thousands of computers around the globe using special radio waves. the n.s.a. has reportedly secretly implanted cost swear in 100,000 computers. according to the nuke times, the technology allows the agency to access those computers without an internet connection. it transmits a covert radio frequency that can be set to a

briefcase sized relay station new york. the program is only meant to defend against cyber attacks from branches of chinese military. >> the u.s. and india are mending ties. no in a joint state, the two country are said to be working on a brought range of bilateral issues and working to move forward past the mini crisis. the scandal began when a diplomat was arrested and strip searched in new york in zell. that arrest sparked outrage across india. as prosecutors charged that diplomat with visa fraud and under paying her house keeper, her lawyer is asking for the charges to be dismissed. >> president obama held his first cabinet meeting of the year. he reinforced his commitment to the economy and promised to push congress to extend unemployment benefits. he thanked lawmakers for passing a budget, calling it crucial for getting americans back to work. >> i was very pleased to see the

house and senate agree to a budget and to oh put forward a bill to allow us to take important steps to provide the services and the help that americans need and the american families need in order to get ahead in this economy. >> president obama's call to extend unemployment benefits to 1.3 million americans has hit a wall. that bipartisan deal collapsed in the senate tuesday with both democrats and republicans accusing each other of negotiating in bad faith. >> a 12-year-old boy is under arrest and two classmates in the hospital after a shooting at a new mexico middle school. the boy is accused of opening fire inside the packed school game. rosswell new mexico is the latest community to grapple with the fallout of a school shooting. how are those two injured students doing? >> one of the victims, kendall

sanders is out of surgery and in stable condition. the name of the second victim, an 11-year-old boy is not released. he underwent two surgeries and remains in critical conditions with injuries to his neck and side of his face. as for the shooter in police custody, no official charges have been filed. he is undergoing a mental evaluation. >> the middle school is closed today as investigators try to figure out how and why this happened. at the start of school, he walked into the game where dozens were gathered in the bleachers and wielded a sawed off shotgun hit two students. a teacher stopped the shooter before anymore students got hit. the governor personally praised him. >> he's an amazing man. he hears the first shot, and thinks that it's a firecracker. he starts to turn and sees that the young man shoots and shoots,

and then is pointing the firearm at mr. masterson. he then begins to talk to him to put it down. the young man put the gun down and raised his hands. >> hundreds of people have been gathering in the community for vigils. so many of them want answer to say questions like how did the 12-year-old get the gun and why would he open fire on his classmates? police are serving search warrants to look at the locker and bag that may have contained the weapon and at his nearby home. >> we've heard that the shooter smuggle would the gun into the school maybe using a musical instrument case. do authorities believe he plotted this all out? >> it's possible. of course they're really looking into that. authorities say some student said that the shooter personally warned other students the day before the shooting to not go into school that next day. of course, authorities are still looking into that. >> if this was some sort of plan, what was the motive?

>> again, still investigating that. a hospital spokesman said information gathered by the nurses treating the 11-year-old boy who got shot suggest that he was the target in this. >> it's got to be so traumatic for that community. thank you. >> a retired police captain accused of killing a man who was texting a the a movie made his first court appearance tuesday. lawyers for the 71-year-old, curtis reeves, jr. say he was defending himself and thought he was in eminent danger. that police say he fatally shot chad olson at a tampa theater. the judge denied bail. he could face life in prison if convicted. >> california is facing a serious threat of wildfires. for more on the weather, let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> we definitely have an unusual pattern right now for this time of year. one of the things we have i guess the santa ana winds and

that combined with other weather cry at her he i can't causing this problem. the sierra nevada has been added to our red flag warning zone. we have been dry. this is usually the wet season for portions of california and instead we are bone dry. a lot of places have not no precipitation this year and last year very, very dry. we have a situation setting up a santa ana wind. during the day, we see those kick up more, but causing gusty winds that can fuel foyer and it dries out vegetation more and in combination with these above average temperatures. that's all the reasons that we're seeing that high fire risk and have for the last couple of days. back to you. >> thank you. officials in west virginia are slowly lifting a water ban on certain contaminated areas. 40,000 people can now use their water tap again following last week's chemical leak, but they're still close to 200,000

people under the water ban. the do not use order was first lifted monday for the capital city of charleston. freedom industries, the company responsible for the spill is now under federal investigation. a restraining order is in place against the company to ensure that no important documents or materials are destroyed. >> a partial victory for gay rights in oklahoma. a federal judge struck down the safe ban on same-sex marriages, calling it unconstitutional. the judge said limiting marriage to opposite sex couples violates the actual protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. the same-sex couples won't be walking down the illaqueate. the judge put the ruling on hold for the appeals process. >> turning to oh some other headlines making news around the nation now, the baltimore sun says the governor of maryland will unveil are a $39 billion spending plan today, saying the measure will include no new taxes or fees, but does propose a 3% increase in college

tuition. in his two terms, he failed to reach his campaign goal of erasing the state's deficit. >> frontier airlines is offering an 18% discount on domestic fairs through early march. the number 18 is an owed to denver quarterback peyton manning. his number is 18. i think they should having with wes welker, his number is 83. >> 83% discount. that would have been better. [ laughter ] >> finally, the miami herald, wait until you get a look at temperatures in florida, expected to plum net in 40's and are's in miami over the next days. those tank tops and bathing suits won't be locked up for long. temperatures are expected to be back in the 70's next week. that's cool for south florida. >> it is cold for them, but when you think about what the rest of the country has gone through,

you're like get over it. >> facing his critics, new jersey governor chris christie using his state of the state address to talk about scandals with his administration. >> we'll talk about whether he was able to steer back to his policy goals. >> the supreme court, how their decision involve i go abortion can affect patients and staff at these clinics. >> 760 million is our big number of the day. it's the big boost one smart phone could get in a key mobile market.

>> there you have it. >> there it is. >> that's a big number, 760 million. that is the amount of customers china mobile has, so the reason that's significant, it's going to be a big boom to apple bottom line. china mobile will sell iphones in china on friday. that means apple will have access to the largest customer base in the world. china mobile has received

1.2 million free orders since christmas. analyst say it could add $45 billion to apple value if china mobile dominates the 3g and 4g network. >> i wonder where apple stock is today. welcome back to aljazeera america. >> governor chris christie is looking to put the recent scandal of his administration him, but democrats in the state may not be so ready. we'll look at whether those problems facing the governor will go away soon. >> first lets look at temperatures across the nation today. >> speaking of things to buy stock in, long underwear lately would be a good bet. minneapolis, yesterday zero. this is a core of cold air that eventually miami, it's thursday morning or friday overnight, kind of that period, so it's not during the day at least. what we have right now is high pressure in the west. that's warm air contributing to

fire concerns. a trough is digging southward bringing cold air and the east coast is still on the mild side. air starting to take the plunge into today, wednesday, brings chicago down to 19. east coastal states pretty mild out here, but temperatures go down even a little bit more, so that's at 62 for the day thursday in miami. back to you guys. >> thank you. let's look at some business news now. we begin with breaking business news. bank of america is the latest big bank to take a hit because of legal settlements related to the sale of bad mortgages. it had more than $2 billion in litigation expenses in the fourth quarter. it earned more than $3 billion, better than forecast, but one analyst warns bank of america and other financial officials still face an uncertain future. >> we're going to now see a lot of these new regulations kicking in soon, the volka rule, other things that limit things they can do to make profits.

we're seeing refinancing slow down and a lot of litigation still going on. >> do you futures are higher by 37 points, signaling a positive start to the trading day. stocks bouncing back tuesday, better than expected retail sales giving investors a lift. the dow starting at 16,373. the s&p stands at 1838, the nasdaq 4183. in asia markets end the day mixed, the nikkei rebounds with a gain. european stocks higher. >> a sign of confidence in the future of general motors. the automakers will resume paying a quarterly dividend, the first since 2008. investors will get 30 cents per share starting in march. >> a fall? group of amazon employees will vote today on whether to unionize. thirty mechanics and technicians in delaware will cast ballots to

decide whether they should join the international association of machinists and aero space workers. the election could establish the first union shop at a u.s. amazon facility. >> new jersey governor chris christie tried to shift the conversation back to governing at his state of the state but the controversy took center stage. christie began with a no excuse apology for can discals that have dominated national headlines. he vowed to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of the lane closures at the george washington bridge. for many, christie he's attempt to shift the address towards policy were overshadowed by the controversy. thank you for coming in, we appreciate it. what's your take on how things went with the state of the state yesterday against the backdrop of what the governor's been dealing with for the past week? >> i think what the governor needed to do was try and get the apology out of the way. it was his -- that's what he

attempted to do. he did it, and then went on to deliver a pretty standard state of the state address. in terms of policy, it really didn't contain anything particularly new, other than his call for a longer school day and the longer school year, which a lot of kids would not be too happy about. >> what do you make of the part where governor christie spoke of his pledge to cooperate with all appropriate investigations? is too much being made of the word appropriate in that? >> i think it may be a little bit, but again, this is a man who is an attorney and a very sharp and successful u.s. attorney for many years. i think that he knows how to parse his words and that gives him an opportunity to say well, i'm not going to cooperate with this, because it's not an appropriate investigation, but there are a lot of investigations. >> let's recap the investigations. democratic leaders in both state

chambers are pulling together special committees. there's also a federal investigation, and then there's the investigation of the sandy funds. did i miss anything? >> not yet, anyway, but it's only wednesday. [ laughter ] >> the investigations are genuine and they plan to take months. i mean, there are, as you said the two legislative commit crease, the u.s. attorney's office is looking into this, but there are also calls for the attorney general of the state to look into it and congress. one lawmaker suggested that the county prosecutor of the county where all of this took place should start an investigation. the governor is going to have to pick and choose in terms of what's appropriate for him. >> as these investigations are just now starting, there's a lot of information or evidence that's really already out there. i'll talk about this photo, photos plural, that have surface

said of governor christie and david wildstein that the port authority official who helped orchestrate these lane closures. he went out of his way apologizing saying he had no contact with david wildstein while these closures were happening, saying i didn't know him in high school, because i was one of the cool kids and he wasn't. there are pictures that have surfaced of the two of them together during the time when governor christie said that he really had no contact with him. is this just the beginning? >> yeah. i mean, you know, when you're the governor, you take millions of photos, so you never know who it is that you're standing to or who may be in the shot that you're in, but that particular photo, the one of them on september 11, nothing good can come of that, because either you're on one side where you think well there they are collaborating and joking about this retaliation against the mayor of fort lee, or you have the governor there oblivious to

what's happening. >> sure, it could go either way. >> none of it is going to come out well for the governor in that reward. >> we appreciate it. david cruz, correspondent with new jersey t.v. news. back to you. >> today, the u.s. supreme court will hear a first amendment case questions whether it's unconstitutional to restrict protestors to buffer zones outside abortion chin knicks. tracy is live in washington with details. good morning. >> good morning. protestors will tell the court that free speech guaranteed under the first amendment isn't really free if what you're saying is being targeted. >> massachusetts set up a 35-foot buffer zone that around planned pattern hood clinics that offer abortions. supporter say it's about public safety. two workers were killed there in 1994. >> we see a lot of protestors

threatening, intimidating women, doctors, administrative staff. >> the buffer zone they argue is no different than restricting campaigning near places where people vote. >> it's not that their messages can't be seen and heard but what it does do is protect the women and the administrative staff and the doctors from that kind of in-your-face harassment that's really damaging. >> the supreme court will hear today from plaintiffs who argue the law targets only one kind of speech, people who oppose abortion. that they say is unconstitutional. >> what massachusetts is doing is picking sides in one of the most divisive issues in our country today. they are saying the abortion clinic representatives are free to speak but the sidewalk counselors not. >> the court upheld a similar colorado law 13 years ago. there's a law creating abortion protest zones in montana. >> just last month, a court heard a similar case, a man

protesting buffer zones for demonstrators outside a california military base. >> this is one we'll continue to watch. thank you, tracey. >> a diplomatic tussle. >> the u.s. fires back at israel's defense minister for negative if i have comments about secretary of state john kerry. >> how the remarks could hurt relations between the two allies. >> seeking justice in kenya's west gate mall attacks. the charges four men are facing over that violence as their trial gets underway. >> going to the polls in egypt, casting ballots for a second day on a new constitution. that what their decision could mean for the country's future. >> i'm john henry smith. can an aging tennis superstar get glory down under? roger federer, ahead in sports.

>> welcome back. it's half past the hour. if you're still feeling a little foggy this morning, so is the city of new york. look at that! it lamb doesn't look real. >> gorgeous, look, though, the brooklyn bridge. >> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm richelle carey. >> i'm stephanie sy. israel's defense minister made some pretty undiplomatic comments about the u.s. secretary of state john kerry who's deny deeply involved trying to negotiate peace between the israelis and palestinian. we're going to talk about that coming up. >> folks in chicago demand action be taken to fix the problem that is leaving their homes covered in black dust. it's tied to the production of ail and now the state's governor is stepping in to put a stop to that problem. in a scene becoming all too familiar, a series of bombings

shake iraq. the attacks near baghdad killed at least 58 and injured more than 90. a half dozen or more car bombs exploded today. we are live with details about this violence. what is sparking this violence, these attacks? >> well, that is most basic. it's sectarian in nature. for a very long time, the sunni community have complained that they are frozen out of the political process, their leaders put in secret prisons, giving fuel to a lot of the al-qaeda linked groups who have decided to take up arms against this shia dominated government. they've been behind most of the bombings. we've seen this time and time again. already this month, over .500

people have died since the month began. we're only 15 days in. so that gives you the kind of levels of violence that we're seeing. 2000 thin, we saw nearly 6,000 people die across that 12 month period. now, also, the situation in syria is a big tree, one of the armed groups, the isil is operating on both sides of the border in iraq and syria. they complain that the shia government is close to iran and syrian regime. that is the reason we've seen such violence in baghdad and beyond. >> really terrible numbers that you're bringing to us. thank you so much. >> a top israeli official is apologizing for comments aimed at john kerry. he said kerry was acting out of

"misplaced obsession and messiahic fervor." the white house condemned the comments. >> we find the remarks of the defense minister to be offensive and inappropriate, especially given all that the united states has down support israel security needs and will continue to do. >> later tuesday, the defense minister changed his tune, saying in part. >> to break down how this might af michael willner from the washington post. thank you for joining us. tuesday night, the defense

minister's office issued an apology of sorts. that this is part of what it says: sorry, we don't have that statement. since there is no denial in the apology, the defense minister issued, can we made similar comments on the condition of anonymity to dial outlets saying that the secretary had been say that he e

the remarks. >> putting aside the lack of tact, do the defense secretary's comments actually reflect how some israeli's feel about these negotiations, that they are some sort of u.s. oebuke of not just any israeli official, but the defense minister, and it's exceptionally rare. the reason why that's -- why they seen as a personal attack. >> it really did go beyond sort of being personal. he also said things about how the u.s. seems to be separately

negotiating with the israelis and pal stippens in a sort of parallel dialogue and isn well,s sort of effectively a tango with three different people, and oftentimes, you're going to have two of those three parties having talks separate from the third party, so you're washingtu

chief. >> edward know den will join the executive board of the nonprofit freedom of the press foundation, joining daniel elseburg and glenn greenwald. the group was formed less than a year ago with the goal of supporting and defending public interest journalism. >> the trial is underway for four charged in the massacre as kenya's west gate mall, charged with helping the gunman who opened fire. those gun men killed 67 people. a group with links to al-qaeda

has claimed responsibility for the attack. the court heard testimony from a guard outside the mall when the attack began. >> egyptians are standing in lines and remaining steadfast in the face of violence casting their ballots on a new constitution for their country. 11 were killed in fighting between security forces and supporters of the former president mohamed morsi on tuesday, the first day of voting. this is the third time in three years that egyptians are going to the polls to vote on a referendum. if the new constitution is approved, there will be presidential and parliamentary elections in the summer. relations at the university of michigan. he is in ann arbor this morning and we certainly appreciate you joining us, professor. so the first question is this referendum, is it a step forward or a step backward for the people of egypt for the last the

years and there's been a lot of upheaval. they hope this begins a process of stabilization. >> how much do the egyptians who are -- did we just lose our guest? i think we may have just -- how much, professor are you there? >> i'm here. i'm here. can you hear me? >> absolutely i can. how much do egyptians who are turning up at the polls actually understand about what is in the constitution? and i don't mean that as a light so egyptians. often voters here showing up to vote on any particular issue may not know the minute details of it. how much d what they're voting for. for example, the christian pope

that come out in favor of this constitution, because it gives less of a space to the muslim religious authorities to determine egyptian law, so it's a more secular consist doing brg people out. >> ultimately will general enter the presidential race? do you think and what he's certg strong signals that he would like to enter the race. there's some question whether the rest of the officer core wants him to do that. he is wildly popular at the moment, and probably could make a very good showing in a presidential contest. it seems to me a real step back for egypt to have an officer who

was serving so recently become the president. egypt had tried to move away from this traditional military rule and now it's back. >> let's that you be. prior to 2011, egypt was fairly politically stable. then people learned to mobilize, things became turbulent. will the government be able to convince the opposition to accept an electoral dictatorship. i know those two words of kind t

jeannie back in the bottle. >> is what's happening possibly an inspiration, could it b michk

you for joining us this morning from ann arbor. >> it is no good. a judge rejected a settlement between the nfl and former players over concussions. those players and their families are suing the league over a trend of degenerative brain discards, saying it's a direct result of years of bone crushing hits. the $7,065,000,000 deal was proposed, but a federal judge said that is not enough to cover the cost of caring for nearly 20,000 retired players who would be eligible to receive money for the rest of their lives. >> history has shown professional tennis to be a young person's game.

john henry smith has a look at an aging, i guess you would say superstar, not exactly age to go most of us. >> certainly 32 years old very young for you and me, but in tennis, very, very ancient. roger federer has had one of the greatest careers in the history of tennis, but his game has shown decline. he is competing at the australian open and we have a look at whether federer has what it takes at the ancient age of 32 to win it again. >> when roger federer burst on the tennis scene in the late 1990's, his timing could not have been better. there was a void at the top of the men's game with perez and agassi winding down their hall of fame careers. federer claimed his first grand slam title in 1990 at wimbledon for what would be an amazing career with 17 grand slam tights, the most by any men's player ever. his career is defined not only by skilled play, but by the

formidable competition in the form of rafael nidal and murray. an era reminiscent of the glory days have connor and mcenroe. >> i've played enough matches that a few bad points here or there are not going to make any dent in my life or career. >> he's also committed to his work with children under the roger felderer foundation banner. this week, federer opens the australian open ranked as the number six player in the world on the down side of his career but has conquered the aussie four times and thinks he has a good shot at number five. >> i have less pressure this year, less to lose, i'm not the defending champion or any of that, so yeah, i should be able to play more freely. >> with the pressure off, he looks to revitalize his career and add to an already impressive

resume with the hiring of his new coach. >> my life on tour is pretty much settled, it's always solid routines and i'll just if i in nicely into that and i'm excited that he's taken up the offer, because i didn't think he was going to do it, because he's got a life, you know, he doesn't need this, and for me, clearly, it's very exciting to have him part of the team, and i'm looking forward to every week i'll spend with him on the tour this year. >> edward thinks his experience can help federer's game. >> i've been in 10 grand slam finals. i know exactly what play is like in the later stages of a tournament. it's been a transient tennis ever since the relationship with lendel and murray worked. >> his biggest competition now is father time. he hopes to turn back the clock in australia. jessica taft, aljazeera. >> thank you, jessica.

tedderrer won his opening round match of the australian open against james buck worth. if he wins this evening, he will advance to the third round for the 15th straight year. pretty impressive. >> there was a time when we wouldn't question he would get past the first round, right? >> and barely questioning it now. >> thank you. >> the fight for pollution control, chicago residents unite against big oil companies. >> the state gets involved to fix the matter. >> the high profile case of the billionaire who avoided a prison sentence for tax evasion and the surprising comments made by the judge.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm richelle carey. >> i'm receive sigh. residents in one part of chicago are face i can a dirty dilemma, petroleum coke in the form of a black dust infiltrating their holes. we'll hear from them and how the companies are responding to their outrage. >> first, lets look at potential precipitation across the country today. meteorologist nicole mitchell has answers for that. >> i'll have that in just a second. we saw that picture of new york city kind of shrouded in fog. looks cool if you're looking at it, not so fun if you're in it. there it is, from d.c. to newark, philadelphia and new

york, some of those advice bites and eighth of a mile or less, causing slight delays in newark and philadelphia. that's that problem. we have the clipper system in the midwest, enough wind in the midwest that we have blizzard warnings because of the combination of wind and know. >> the billionaire creator of beanie babies avoids prison for failing to pay taxes on millions of dollars of income he hid in offshore accounts. ty warner was given community service by a federal judge in chicago tuesday. he has already paid a $350 million penalty for failing to disclose the foreign account. the judge praised warner for charity work and said society is better served by allowing him to continue that work. >> illinois unveiled proposed guidelines this week for the handling and storage of petroleum coke in the state. the move is stirring debate with business groups and residents.

>> these piles of black powder are a high sulfur byproduct of crude oil remainment called petroleum coke or pet coke. this week, a small but fired up group of residents from chicago's southeast side came to voice concerns about pet coke storage near their homes. >> the east side is not your dumping ground. it is a vibrant community with family and children. >> residents complained that the soot drafts and permeates their home and makes it difficult to breathe. >> this is a filter from a house at 109th and mackinaw. let me show you something. this is not your standard household dust. this is not what you should see on a filter that's filtering the air in a house.

>> but now, state officials propose regulations aimed at preventing the so-called fugitive dust from impacting neighboring communities. some of the proposed guidelines include requiring large companies to build he closures for the piles, conveyors and shoots, restricting processing outside, requiring tarps on trucks and maintaining devices to monitor air quality. last month, a corporation in indiana removed it's piles because of a lawsuit filed by chicago and the state attorney general office. they are no longer in the pet coke business. another company controlled by industrialists charles and david koch said it recently invested more than $30 million in improvements, including $10 million in a new dust suppression system. >> would your 69 samples from various public areas collected in late november and early december. these showed no unusual levels of dust particles that could be

associated with poet cog. again, it seems our system is working. >> residents and community activists remain unconvinced. >> i showed you a filter from within that a resident's home and that was full of oily dust. the reason i know it's oily is because i could not wipe it off my hand. >> it appears that with these new regulations, companies will be allowed to continue storing it. the major difference now is that someone is watching. aljazeera. >> pet coke emits five to 10% more carbon dioxide than coal when burned. it is nasty stuff. >> it is. it is. at the end of our second hour, let del take over. >> good morning, two students were injured in a middle school shooting in new mexico. the accused gunman is a 12-year-old boy under arrest. it is day two of that constitutional vote taking place

in egypt. at least 11 people have been killed in fighting between security forces there and supporters of and you have thed president mohamed morsi. >> an israel official apologizing for slamming secretary of state john kerry and his efforts to push for peace between israel and palestinians. >> there's a new report shedding more light on the global scale of the child sex scandal in the catholic church as the pope looks to crack down on these actions. >> winds are contributing from fire dang tore blizzard concerns. i'll have your national forecast. >> the aljazeera morning news continues. mr. del walters is back with you in just two and a half minutes. >> have a great morning.

>> another young shooter opening fire at a school this time in new mexico. a teacher steps in to stop the attack, but not before two kids were shot. >> mistakes were clearly made. >> a series of scandals overshadowing chris christie's state of the state address. new jersey hearing yet another apology. >> two days have voting in egypt, heading to the polls to vote on a constitution. >> a report released on child sex abuse in the catholic church. what it reveals about the sale of the problem and how much of it is still continuing.

>> a 12-year-old boy under arrest, accused of opening fire with a shotgun at his middle school in no mexico. right now, no charges have been filed. the boy's identity has not yet been released by police. good morning and welcome to aljazeera make. i'm del walters. rozwell new mexico grappling with a shooting, the child is undergoing a mental evaluation. that witnesses say he snuck the shotgun to school in a musical instrument case. tell us how those two students are doing. >> one victim, 13-year-old kendall sanders was shot in the shoulder and is in stable condition. the second victim, a 11-year-old boy has injuries to his neck and face is in critical condition. the school is closed as investigators try to figure out how and why this happened. >> hundreds gathered and prayed

in a vigil held in new mexico for the two students injured at their school. >> i just seen him run in there and then shoot and then the guy was on the ground and he was covering his face, crying. >> classes were barely underway when shots range out in rozwell, new mexico. many of the students were inside the game. a 12-year-old seventh grader wielding a 20 gauge sawed off shotgun shot two before facing a teacher. >> i'm john masterson, i've been teaching for 10 years. >> the teacher is now hailed as a my row. he stopped the shooter before anymore students got hit. >> he's an amazing man. he hears the first shot and thinks that it's a firecracker. he starts to turn and sees that the young man shoots and shoots and then is pointing the firearm at mr. masterson. he then begins to talk to him to put it down.

the young map put the gun down and raised his hands. >> buses shuttled students to a mall to be reunited with shaken family members. >> how can a child walk in the front door with a shotgun? how can these things happen? police are serving search warrant on his locker, a bag that may have contained the weapon and his nearby home. questions loom, how did the 12-year-old get the gun and why would he open fire on his classmates? >> a local sheriff says the day before the shooting some students were warned by the shooter himself to stay home the next day. >> still the question of why. do we have any idea of a motive behind the school shooting? >> authorities are still investigating. a hospital spokesperson says information gathered by the nurses treating the 11-year-old boy who was shot say that he was the target, but still, no idea why. >> thank you very much. by the way, the numbers are

frightening on this. anyone's 1992, there have been 388 school shootings across the united states. in the last year, there has been an average of one school shooting every two weeks,ed deadliest at virginia tech in 2007, 32 killed at the university and december of 2012, sandy hook elementary school. 13 people killed during the massacre at columbine high school in little to know, colorado. >> new jersey governor chris christie doing his best to shift the conversation back to running the state during a state of the state address. as we explain, the controversies of the past week taking center stage during tuesday's address. >> governor chris christie used the beginning of is state of the state address to apologize. >> the last week has certainly tested this administration. imistakes were clearly made.

we let down the people we were entrusted to serve. >> he tried to turn the focus back to his goals for new jersey. education was a main point. he wants to length then the school day and year across the state. he touched on crime and called for making urban areas safer. he insisted recent allegations against him and his team will not stop the state from getting things done. >> what has occurred does not define us or our state. this administration and this legislature will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve the people's lives in no jersey to be delayed for any reason. >> but the speech may do little to slow the growing controversy surrounding him. the latest questions concern t.v. ads pushing tourism on the jersey shore after hurricane sandy. >> we're stronger than the storm. >> the marketing campaign is

under scrutiny by authorities whether he put himself front and center in the ads right during his reelection bid. there are concerns that the team spent $2 million more on production costs for the ad campaign than the next lowest bid, and the bit went to a firm for which credit tee's office had ties. new jersey congressman frank pillone said he alerted the attorney general saying the cash could be spent on victims. it is now being investigated. then bridge gate. the governor was forced to apologize for a traffic scandal on the george washington bridge, an aide ordered lane closures for days. the city's democratic mayor had refused to support christies bid for a second term. until now, many had seen him as a possible front runner in the 2016 presidential race. today, christie has insisted he

remains focused on getting the job done at governor of new jersey. he promised to cooperate with any investigation. aljazeera, trenton, new jersey. >> new jersey democrats plan to launch two probes into those lane closures with panels from the state assembly and senate working together. >> they are voting again in egypt, the second and final day of voting on the new cops substitution. this was a scene in cairo. people lining up to cast ballots, it was a different scene on tuesday, as you can see voting marred by violence across the country. 11 people killed during fighting. if that new constitution is approved, it pave the way for new presidential elections this summer. aljazeera has covered the vote from outside the country, because authorities are still detaining several of our colleagues. producers and correspondent have been in custody since

december 29, accused of reporting false news that is harmful to state security and helping the muslim brotherhood. aljazeera continues to deny all of the allegations and demands their release. two other journalists from our sister channel are helices in egypt, defeigned now for five straight months. >> the syrian government saying it regrained control of the area around aleppo. fighting weakened the insurgency. amateur video showed air strikes. the syrian military targeting insurgents in that area. as we report, many are being forced to make tough choices. >> >> it is a heavy burden for this 14-year-old girl. she is trapped approximate she is a ref gee from syria. this shelter in lebanon is all her family has and they say there's only one way to keep it.

>> i am not obliged to marry a 44-year-old man. i am crying because of the situation we are in, but i have to do it, so that my family can survive. >> she has agreed to marry the 44-year-old lebanese landlord. she is a trade-off. the family can no longer pay the $250 monthly rent in exchange, the owner of the house demanded she become his second wife. >> it is a difficult decision. every mother wants to see her daughter secure and marry the man she loves. no mother wants to hurt her child, but we have no choice. >> she told us if they move out of the husband and into a tent, her husband, who suffers from heart problems and her asthmatic son wouldn't be able to survive in the cold, and her 12-year-old son, who has a job helping a mechanic barely makes enough money for food. >> it is an example of how

desperate many syrian refugees of become. the majority cannot survive without help an humanitarian organizations cannot reach all who need assistance. lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees, over 1 million have come here. not all are registered with the united nations, not eligible for aid. >> i want to say they told me i am a i believe to work and get a job. i cannot find a job. >> it is a humanitarian tragedy. for this girl, it has been one tragedy after another. she manages to smile when she remembers the man she was supposed to spend her life with, but her 22-year-old cousin died fighting in syria last year. she now feels helpless. >> my whole life is destroyed. that i don't want to marry him,

but if i do, my family kantha in this house. >> this young girl feels exemployeded, but it is a sacrifice she has to make. >> more aid is pouring in. donors pledging $1 billion for u.n. efforts in syria. they made the announcement at a donor conference in kuwait. >> 58 are dead following bombings in iraq. the attacks near baghdad injured more than 90 people. half dozen or more car bombs exploding across baghdad today, it comes during a standoff between the iraqi army and sunni fighters. two years ago, the u.s. troops left iraq and violence has escalated. more than 8,000 people died there last year. >> the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks is now renouncing violence and wants to convert his captors to islam, writing a 38 page manifest-approximato.

he writes: today, the supreme court is set to hear a first amendment case that questions bufferrer zones, areas where protestors are allowed to gather outside of abortion clinics. tracy pots is in washington with more on that today's hearing before the high court. >> good morning. good morning, everyone. it is a first amendment issue. the protestors say their right to free speech they say isn't free at all if they're held back so far people can't hear what they're saying. >> massachusetts set up a

35-foot buffer zone around plant parenthood clinics that offer abortion. supporters say it's about public safety. two workers were killed there in 1994. >> we see protestors actually threatening, intimidating women, doctors abadministrative staff trying to get in the building. >> the buffer zone is no different than restricting campaigning near places where people vote, they argue. >> it's not that their messages can't be seen or heard but protects it is women and administrative staff and doctors from that kind of in-your-face harassments. it's really damaging. >> the supreme court will hear today from plaintiffs who argue the law targets only one kind of speech, people who oppose abortion. that, they say, is unconstitutional. >> what massachusetts is doing here is picking sides in one of the most divisive issues in our country today. they're saying the abortion

clinic representatives are free to speak, but the sidewalk counselors not. >> the colorado court upheld a law, there's also protest zones in montana. >> just last month, the court heard a similar case about buffer zones and demonstrators being held away. in this case, it was a man who stepped off the curb of that buffer zone at a military base in california. del. >> not about what is being said, but it's what is being heard. thank you very much. >> a federal judge in tulsa declared oklahoma's ban on aim sex marriage unconstitutional, inviting the protection clause of the 14th amendment. the judge immediately put the ruling on hold while state and local officials filed appeals. >> in nigeria, dozens have been arrested just for being gay. police are torturing the men

they arrest. it is a crime to even belong to a gay organization. you understand that legislation, married same sex couples face 14 years behind bars and up to 10 years just for being a member of an lbgt group. >> officials in west virginia slowly lifting that water ban. about 40,000 people can now use their tap again following last weeks chemical leak. close to 200,000 people remain under that water ban. the do not use order was lifted. freedom industries, the company responsible now under federal investigation. the restraining order is in place against the company to ensure no important documents or materials are destroyed. >> a newly released report said the church is still watching child sex abuse occur around the world. what abuse victims now want from pope francis. >> the family deserves peace and closure and she deserves to rest

in peace. >> a man taking action to remove his wife from life support. what a hospital says about its hands tied by the law. >> a man named sully pulling off the impossible, landing a commercial jet liner on new york city's icy hudson river. that what captain cully sullenberger is doing now after inspiring a nation. >> new york city, a foggy day in the big apple.

>> a troubling new report says the church cries is still raging around the world, a report called child sexual abuse and holy see, suggesting even though the graphty is recognized, it has not resulted in clear cut action. the report said the scale is huge, affecting countless victims around the world and while criminal prosecutions have been pursued, it does not stop

offenders from abusing again. it finds some priests were reassigned to work with children after their prison sentences, pointing out the vatican refused to provide the united nations with information concerning internal investigations the church did looking into the problem. the report comes days before vatican officials appear before the u.n. in geneva. the cheer of the theology department at ford ham college joins us, good morning. >> good morning. >> the director responding to the problem, the on going problem in the catholic church, this is what was said: >> whether the vatican was ordered to turn over evidence to police. the second benchmark is is pope francis punishing any of the bishops who are covering up for the sexual predators. >> those skeptical of the

catholic church still skeptical, your response. >> we have to remember that some of these things that happened are the absolutely worst things that can ever happen to a child, loss of i innocence, lifetime consequences. hearts go out immediately to the victims. the report that we have today is a wonderful summary of what we've learned over the past decade, decades in fact. >> it's a summary, but doesn't say that enough is being done. it says that ok, everybody gets it, but now that everybody gets it, it's still happening. how can that occur? >> the more important story is that tomorrow in geneva, vatican representatives are going to appear before the commission on the rights of a child. that's the first time that has happened in 10 years, possibly more. that there's agreer scrutiny not just by victims' groups but also in the international community. >> it's a meeting.

we can dress this up, it's a meeting. they are appearing before the u.n., the u.n. saying they didn't tell us about their internal investigation, so if they didn't, what makes you think at that meeting they're going to say this is what happened, this is what needs to be done, this is what we're doing? >> one of the biggest questions in terms of the relation between the catholic church and rest of the world is how do those different communities interact. since pope francis came into office, one of the things we've seen change is the pope is looking out at the broader world for best practices. management consultants are bring brought in to advice on how business affairs are conducted, and so on. what we don't know yet is with this issue, the rhetoric and tone shift we've seen with the pope, whether that rubber will meet the road. >> you have been here many times before and i can here the people saying window dressing. if there is a child abused by a priest, that priest goes to

jail, the church has to admit what happened, open the vatican vaults, say this is what's in it, house has to be cleaned. >> i don't think any reasonable person would disagree. one thing we often forget is that there are hundreds, thousands of catholic diocese all over the world, each of which have their own organizational structure. some have been more out in frontage issue like in boston, others less far out in front on this issue. the value vatican has said going back to 2010 that priests who are credibly accused should be turned over to civil authorities. what's not happened is the follow through with that in every single diocese around the country and world. i have sympathy with those who want faster action. >> often said people vote with their feet. of those raised at catholics, almost one third no longer identify themselves as

catholics. is that the real crisis? >> this is the real context. ford ham university the privilege of co conducting a study on those leaving the catholic church. we talk to people who have made a decision after 10, 20, 60 years to leave. i think the loss of credibility in the u.s. around the child sexual abuse scandal will mark the catholic dioceses for years to come. >> thank you very much. >> the white house saying a meeting between president obama and pope francis is in the worse, just not anytime soon. the statement was in response toed media frenzy set or by john kerry tuesday. kerry visiting the vatican commenting that pope francis anticipated the visit of president obama someday. the president said the president is looking forward to meeting

pope francis at some point in the near future. the president and michelle obama met pope ben dick in 2009. >> lets look at temperatures across the country today with anymore mitch. >> we had a cooldown in the midsection of the country, temperatures falling through the day. both the east coast and west coast, we have temperatures running above average with a high pressure in place. through the week, we've had one clipper bring temperatures down thursday and into friday. more of that cold air sinks southward. miami, already into the day today, at 74 degrees, up and down the east coast, temperatures approach 50 once again. that's really pretty comfortable out here. i want to mention the west coast, also under that warm sector, the high pressure. 85 for los angeles, which feels really comfortable, no good news for the fire danger. remember how i just mentioned miami in the 70's? already going down into the 60's for thursday, and friday

morning, low temperatures in the 40's. still feels warm for a lot of us, but that's actually cool air sinking well southward especially when it gets all the way to florida. >> do you futures higher by 32 points following yesterday's big rally, better sales giving stocks a lift yesterday. the s&p standing at 1838 the nasdaq at 4183. asia, markets end the day mixed, nikkei rebounding with a 2.5% gain. european markets higher. >> bank of america paid $2.3 billion in litigation expenses in the fourth quarter. that money was used for settlements related to the sale of bad mortgages. the bank made almost $3.5 billion and says it is seeing good business momentum going forward.

one analyst said financial firms may have a tough road ahead. >> nobody's really refinancing anymore. interest rates have gone up enough that anybody could have refinanced at a lower rate probably has done so. we're left with new mortgage but moving along slowly. >> general motors will resume paying its quarterly dividend, the first since 2008, paying 30 cents a share starting in march. it is a signal, a sign of confidence for a profitable future. >> a amazon employees are voting on whether to unionize. thirty mechanics and technicians in delaware are going to decide if they could join the international association of machinists and aero space workers. it could establish the first union shop at a u.s. amazon facility. >> japan airlines is grounding another 787 dream liner because

of battery problems. smoke was discovered on a plane parked in tokyo. no passengers were onboard. the incident comes a year after that fleet was grounded by regulators following the overheating of two such batteries. >> more u.s. business travelers expected to hit the road this year. spending on business travel is expected to rise to $290 billion. most of that money involves trips overseas. >> more than 2 million americans have signed up for health insurance as part of the affordable care act. what the breakdown of that number means for the success or failure of that program. >> a husband fighting to pull the plug for his brain dead waive. why the hospital is refusing to take her off of life support. >> a massive sinkhole in louisiana getting bigger and bigger and bigger, already swallowing 26 acres.

experts don't now how to stop it. >> high heat and high hopes for another grand slam title for one of the greats in tennis. we'll go down under to the aussie open.

>> 2000 aljazeera america. i'm dell walt he is. these are our top stairs. a 12-year-old boy in custody, accused of shooting two fellow students at a new mexico middle cool. a teacher may have saved more lives, convincing him to put down the been. the shooter is undergoing a psychological evaluation. >> egyptians voting on a new constitution. if approved, new elections will take place this summer. 11 people have been killed in violence surrounding those elections. >> federal judge striking down oklahoma's ban on same-sex

marriage. the judge said the law is unconstitutional because it violates their equal protection under the fourteenth amendment. >> u.s. department of health and human services releasing affordable care act enrollments. 2.2 million americans signing up by december 29. of those, 79% qualify for federal subsidies. 24% are in the age group of 22-34. we are joined by a fellow at the manhattan institution for policy research. thank you for being with us. 2.2 million, that's far below the 3.3 million the government wanted by this time. what do you make of the numbers? >> the numbers aren't great, the administration has been constantly undershooting. it wasn't enough to meet the goal. >> when you sign up, you can choose from four different

categories and they've started to choose. bronze. 20% chose bronze. silver, 60% like the silver plan. gold, 13%, and platinum, 7%, so what makes that silver plan so attractive? why do that he like that one the best? >> the interesting thing is 79% are subsidized. most of them are low income. when they get silver plans, they get cost sharing reductions, lowering company pace and insurance, less for the premiums and cost sharing portions. >> i hear people saying this is just another government give away, only in this case, it's insurance. >> some people can say that. any way, the health care system is going to require some government intervention in the market. >> young people have to sign up. they're the engine driving the affordable care act and yet only 24% of 18-34 have done so. 24%. time to panic?

>> it's not quite time to panic. the bigger question is how many healthy to sick people are enrolling. the young people are important. what's more important is keeping track through the next year, two years to see how these people use health care resources. if they're using it more than they should be, it's time to panic. >> the administration says young people are procrastinating and they are going to sign up. is that spin or do you believe that to be the case? >> it's certainly possible. i think it's more spin than anything, 7.7 million people have already applied. 5.1 million people have been found eligible. i don't know how many more young people can apply, but it's certainly not that many. >> it's in january. we're not talking about the website first. are the websites on both the federal and state level working now better than before no obviously anything is better than what started out, but well enough now to be able to make this happen no. >> sure. the websites are working really

well. you can browse, see the proper prices. the one thing the websites don't have and probably won't have is a completed payment system. we'll never know from the department of health and human services how many have paid for their plans. >> c.g.i. fired last week and now the ball is picked up. is this a sign the administration is moving to do what it should have been when the one site was launched? >> maybe. i'm not sure if the new company is the one that should have been hired. >> in texas, a husband wants his wife off of life support. she is pregnant. her family said she is brain dead and never would have wanted to be kept alive. the fort worth hospital treating the family has refused their

request. a legal battle is now underway. >> as she lies in a hospital bed on life support, her husband is preparing for a legal fight to take her off of i. she is 20 weeks pregnant with her second child, hospitalized since november, when her husband eric found her on the floor of the home. the victim of an apparent blood clot to her lung. her family says she is brain dead and her husband says she never would have wanted to be like this. >> we both knew that we didn't want to be on life support. >> john peter smith hospital in fort worth, texas refused to take her off life support, citing a texas law which refuses to do so for pregnant patients. >> we are not making law, contesting law, and if this goes to a court or a judge who says you need to change what you're doing in any way, then we will follow the direction of the legal system. >> while the hospital is

refusing to comment on whether or not she is brain dead, due to patient privacy laws, her husband eric has been very animate and vocal about his wife's condition and state of pregnancy. she cannot possibly be a pregnant patient, she is dead. those words declared by his attorneys, who are now suing the hospital, demanding she be removed prom a ventilator immediately. this case stands in sharp contrast to another family who fought to keep their 13-year-old daughter you alive after an oakland hospital ruled to take her off life support after declaring she was brain dead. >> i have to do what's right for me and my child. i'm going to fight for her until i don't have no night left in me. >> she has been released to the family and is at an undisclosed facility. >> in fort worth, there have been doing protest in support of the family. >> this family deserves peace and closure and she deserves to

rest in peace. >> and their unborn child. >> there's a second person here, the unborn baby and within weeks of being viable. >> doctors are expected to make that determination in february. >> the hospital has yet to file response. no hearing date is scheduled. >> america's top secret spy agency can hack into thousands of computers around the world using special radio waves. the n.s.a. has implanted cost wear in 100,000 computers. they can actions those computers without internet connection. it transmits a co vest radio frequency sent to a briefcase sized relay station nearby. they say it is to defend against cyber attacks, most coming from branches of china's military. >> a top israel official apologizing for blistering comments amendment at secretary of state john kerry, coming after israel's largest newspaper

printed quotes saying that kerry was acting out of miss placed obsession and could not teach him anything about the palestinian conflict. he issued this statement saying: >> the defense minister also saying he had no intention to cause any offense to the secretary and apologizes if the secretary was offended. this from the u.s. state democratic. >> we find the remarks to be offensive and inappropriate especially given all that the united states has done to support israel's security needs and will continue to do. >> israeli prime minister not backing up his defense minister, saying the united states is israel's closest ally in its bid for peace. >> u.s. and india mending ties, a senior diplomat meeting in washington, saying the two countries are committed to

working on a broad range of issues and working toward moving past what is called a mini crisis. the scandal began when that indian diplomat seen a minute ago was arrested with a strip search in new york city. protestors in india thought she first mistreated. she was refused for series have a fraud and paying her house keeper far below the minimum wage. >> in louisiana, they are dealing with a monster sinkhole 26 acres wide and getting into

the depths of the earth. if you look down this beautiful stretch of water here, about 400 yards down, if you hang a sharp left is the site of the sinkhole. 26-acres ando.

>> thank you very much. joining us from louisiana. >> in california, they need rain, but there is no rain in sight. nicole mitchell is here to talk about a growing fire risk. >> we should be in the rainy season this time of year, january, february, march, we

just haven't seen eight this month and last year we understanded up 75% below what we should see in the whole year, it was record setting in this cases. the radar dry once again, not barely a cloud, much less a rain drop in sight. we have a pattern we don't kiply see he this time of queer, the set up for the santa ana winds, typical for fall. they are day-night, so you're more likely to see those during the day, the heat contrast. they come out of the mountains, coming from a dry air mass. as they descend, air warms because of that process, so dry, warm conditions, and the wind associated with all of that can fuel fires that are started. san francisco, 68, los angeles yea five, running above average. this is january, so these are warm temperatures, even for this portion of the country. all those conditions, low humidity, high temperatures,

high winds are contributedding to the areas in red. those are the fire dangers. also, if you're in a high profile vehicle, around mountain passes, that's treacherous, as well. no rain in sight in that forecast, even though january in los angeles should be the second wettest month. that same pattern contributing to winds that are going to kick through the midwest, and especially into tomorrow with some snow. with we see pink, those are areas that with snow, the wind could blow that around, causing blizzard concerns. >> i want to talk about some water problems in florida. sips the housing bubble there, millions of americans are living in underwater homes. their mortgage is actually more than what their home is worth. we have the story of a family in south florida, who's home is just that, underwater. >> desiring more space and a family-friendly neighborhood for their children, sonia and her

husband made what they thought was a sound investment decision. eight years ago, they purchases a home in hollywood, florida, buying at the peak of the real estate market, paying top dollar. >> the value of the home is greatly decreased, by about $70,000. >> it makes us kind of scared for the future, wondering if we will actually be able to own this home outright. it makes us wonder if we should continue to stay in the home. >> they are now considered underwater in their home, meaning the current loan amount owed on the home is at least 25% higher than the value of the property. they paid almost $300,000 for a home now worth less than $200,000. >> the frustrating part also is when i see at this time that the market is starting to change, i see friends and family around us purchasing homes and getting more for their money. >> according to new figures, a

nationwide research firm which compiles trend in the marketplace, some 9.3 million u.s. residential properties are currently underwater. florida has the second highest rate in the nation of such holes, nevada leads the way. are 4% of florida homeowners are considered underwater. 61% of those are deeply underwater, and in the foreclosure process. >> they bought had the height. >> south florida realtor tributes the high rate to several factors stemming from the 2005 real estate boom when thousands purchased at the market peak. >> there was a time that the money was cheap, and they had pick your mortgage, and buyers bought and flipped and bought and flipped. >> he says while the rate is high, it is down from 10.9 million just a year ago.

interest rates are below 5%, home values increasing 20% during the past year, and inventory is up. he advices underwater homeowners to consider all their options. >> hire a professional, hire a credit company. get your home short sold as soon as possible. >> as for homeowner knight, she said despite the challenges herb and her husband faced with their mortgage and underwater status, she still believes in the american dream of homeownership. she's hope. the market will continue to strengthen. aljazeera, hollywood, florida. >> nevada which is the state with the most underwater homes is seeing some signs of progress. foreclosure filings in the state are down from one in 37 homes to now one in four. >> it is back to the drawing board for the nfl and thousands of retired players. we have the details. very controversial ruling by the judge. >> it is certainly and unforeseen twist in this saga. the headline last august was that the nfl settled the

concussion lawsuit leveed by thousands of former players. buried in the fine print was the fact that a judge had to give the deal preliminary approval. the judge has denied preliminary approval of that landmark settlement. the original settlement was for $765 million. the lawsuit filed by over4,000 former nfl players alleged that the nfl long knew about the dangers of repetitive head trauma from playing pro football and hit that knowledge from those players. in rejecting the preliminary approval, the u.s. district judge said in par: >> when she says all retired players, that encompasses around 20,000 people. >> it was a big night in college basketball. indiana knocked wisconsin from the undefeated ranks. in arkansas versus kentucky

served up a fantastic finish, arkansas with a chance to win it, trying to be the hero. the tunes that is going to be no. he finds iron, but the follow up, the answer is yes. there's no time on the clock, take another look. in a moment, kentucky's james young doesn't get a body on and that was all she wrote. arkansas beats number 13 kentucky 87-85. >> 32-year-old roger federer is trying to prove he's still got it at australian open, winning against james buckworth. if he wins this evening, federer will advance to the third round for the 15th straight year. aljazeera has a preview. >> roger federer is almost part of the furniture here at australian open. he chose to hold a charity match here before the tournament started, which raised over a million dollars. he has the crowd well and truly behind him.

it's his 15th consecutive year down under and he's searching for his fifth australian open title. first round, he faced james duckworth, a relatively easy victory for federer. he now faces number 99. the world number six isn't concerned about the temperatures expected here. reporting for aljazeera. >> when she says 40 degrees, she's talking celsius, 104 degrees fahrenheit. djokovic and williams both advance into the third round. ivan duditch said he thought he could die in the heat. out in the exposed courts, it is

through to the third round. >> we were kids on the play ground, nothing like that we had to worry about. >> just wore a hat and kept on going. >> mom said come in for a drink of water once in a while. >> remembering that miracle on the hudson five years later. >> just changed my outlook about live for a day. >> survivors talk about how the jumbo jetliner in that water landing changed their lives forever. >> condolences for a former first lady, never before seen letters sent toe jacki kennedy. >> we have blizzard concerns for the midwest. i'll have your forecast.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. just ahead, survives of one of the most famous emergency plane landings in history, talk about the miracle on the hudson and how it has changed their lives forever. first let's find out where it is going to rain and snow across the country today. >> we were talking about the high pressure to the west coast

and the dry effects on california. part of that same pattern, we're getting winds setting up over the great plains and behind the clipper going through. just as a warning with that, shooting that cold air well southward. because of the snow and winds, it's high winds that you watch for blizzard conditions and how much it's blowing the snow and reducing visibility. even with light snow, and we're looking at this to cause a problem tonight and tomorrow, we have concerns for those northern portions of the midwest. the other problem spot, still slow on the east coast, dense areas of fog. >> for the first time since the assassination of j.f.k., thousands of condolence letters have been released. they were sent to jacki kennedy in the days following the tragic sleigh of john f. kennedy, now on display at the presidential library in boston from her

personal papers. we talk about one specific letter from a mother who knew all too well about tragedy. >> one of the letters sent, she was the mother of denise mcnair, 11 years old when she was killed in september, 1963 in the ku klux klan about how manying of the church. she talked about the shock she had. the tragic news came across the airwaves, my heart said it isn't true, it didn't happen. she said isn't it strange how people who have so much to give in this world are taken? god's will, forever and no the for us to question. >> there are 22,000 letters in all, included tell grams, post cards and momentums from people around the world. >> it was five years ago today people around the country watching the miracle on the hudson as it unfolded, a pilot

and crew managed to land a jet on the hudson river in new york. everyone survived and later today, captain sully sullenberger and others will gather on that spot to look back. >> calm words from the cockpit during chaos, the engines crippled. captain sully sullenberger turned to his only option, splashing down in the hudson river. >> you think of all the things that had to happen right that day. >> all survived. iconic images of them standing on the wings of the plane were seen worldwide, confirming the miracle and for changing the lives of those onboard. >> just changed my outlook about live for a day. >> having that gratitude has changed my perspective.

sometimes i don't sweat the small stuff as much as i used to. >> in the years that followed, the captain retired and the plane arrived towed by truck in 2011 to charlotte, north carolina in its new home at the carolina's aviation museum where it now stands as a powerful reminder of just how miraculous that january day really was. >> that's jay gray reporting. captain as yo sully sullenberges now a bet selling author. >> a florida family said their parrot saved their lives, alerting them to a fire burning inside their fort lauderdale home. they say the bird began squawking non-stop, waking the family up. >> the bird woke them up prior to the smoke alarm going off, so the fact that the bird woke them up definitely kept the fire from

extending further prior to the smoke alarms being act vaulted. >> the fire was contained by the fire department. the home's laundry room was the only thing damaged. >> that's going to do it for this hour of aljazeera america. as always, more news at the top of the hour. you can check us out 24 hours a day just by logging on to aljazeera.com. thanks for spending part of your morning with us. we leave you now with this image of a polling station in cairo, where it is the second day of elections there. elections so far on a new constitutional referendum marred by violence. then there is this foggy look at new york city, rising above the fog, that is manhattan somewhere out there.