>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ it's good to have you along for this al jazeera news hour. i'm david foster, coming up the next 60 minutes. > >> i have approved a new plan of our intelligence activities at home and abroad. >> reporter: you are off the hook on being spied on. a ceasefire in allepo.

syrias efforts days ahead of peace talks. and france's president tries to focus on the business of government despite more allegations about his personal life. and stifle decent angering kiev as the government moves to crack down on protests. barack obama has been outlining changes to u.s. surveillance programs that were criticized both in the u.s. and overseas. the methods of the national security agency wasser posed by edward snowden who used to work for the nsa. obama said the government will be changing the way it handles what is called metadata, information about who is calling whom from where and at what time. a court ruling will now be necessary. an independent panel will be set up which looks into terrorism

cases, and the u.s. president promising that his country would no longer be eavesdropping on the heads of states of close friends and allies. [ applause ] >> reporter: this was a speech about restoring trust in the u.s. government's ability to monitor the rest of us. president obama acknowledged that a new approach was needed to the mass connection of u.s. phone records. >> i am therefore ordering a transition that will end the section 215 bulk metadata program as it currently exists, and establish a mechanism that preserves the capabilities that we need, without the go holding this metadata. >> reporter: it will be up to the intelligence community and the government to come up with a new plan. but the question whether any

bulk data is constitutional even by a third-party will continue to be a key issue for congress. as for international surveillance there was this. >> i have made clear that unless there is a compelling national security purpose, we will not monitor the heads of state of government of our close friends and allies. >> reporter: and the mass dragnet will continue but with some restrictions. >> i have taken the unprecedented step of extending certain protections we have for the american people to people overseas. i have directed the dni to develop these safeguards which will limit the duration we can hold personal information while also restricting the use of this information. >> reporter: this is in keeping with the u.s. government's view that the rest of the world has no constitutional protections.

it's up to foreign governments to protect their own citizen's information, and as edward snowden's documents have shown it's foreign governments that are king atively helping the u.s. government snoop threw the records with no restrictions. >> patty cullhane joins us now. what did you make of the speech? >> it was surprising how few changes the president is actually recommends. the review panel produced a 300-page report. there were 46 recommendations. they were very detailed he is basically take half measures for each one of them. one thing a this is not talked about very much overseas is for years now the fbi has been able to use these national security letters. they send a letter to let's say

a credit card company and say i need information on every transaction from patty cullhane. they have to hand over the information, but they are gagged and not allowed to tell anyone. basically the president is saying the only change might be that they have to tell me that they have searched my records but not in all cases. >> i thought he looked a little bit awkward? >> i did he did sound fairly defensive. we have heard several of these complains from the president in the last few months. but one of the things that was interesting, and he has said this before but not in such pointed language. he basically said all of these governments that are complaining publicly, they know they need

the u.s. help privately. and he said he felt the u.s. is being held at a higher standard. he said you would never ask this review of russia or china. and one of the things that i was interesting is all of the justification he used. he began talking about all of the times in history that intelligence went on to be abused, but this intelligence is necessary. he talked about 9/11, and one of the more interesting things is if there is an attack we need to find out immediately if it is part of a broader plot. but he didn't bring up the attack on the boston marathon. they didn't know who was behind it for days, so he left himself open to that criticism, and here in the u.s. and i'm sure abroad there will be a lot of criticism for what the president decided not to do. >> and when that comes through, i'm sure you will bring it to our attention. thank you.

patty cullhane outside the white house. this attack is in afghanistan where the taliban says it was behind a bombing at a rant in kabul. let's go to kabul, and jane ferguson joining us live. what happened jane? >> david it has been an incredibly brutal attack here in kabul. a senior police source has told al jazeera that 14 people were killed, and that includes four women and amongst the dead with foreigners as well as afghans. he has said that three attacker attacked the restaurant. one was wearing a suicide vest he detonated at the door of the restaurant, allowing the two other attackers to enter the restaurant and open fire. the attack took place at 7:15 on a friday evening.

so a very, very brutal attack here right in the heart of the city. >> and in an area which is pretty well protected, jane, is it not? and where many people would have felt they were safe enough going out? >> absolutely, it's really a diplomatic area, very close to several western embassies, the restaurant was extremely popular with diplomats, it has very senior security clearance. many people who were diplomats as well as un staff and senior afghan figures would eat there regularly on an evening like a friday night. i personally have been to that restaurant, and it has extremely good security, reinforced steel doors. as you go in there is a corridor which was also reinforced steel. many diplomats could have -- do often go there, so it's really an indicator of an incredible breach of security.

>> indeed. jane thank you. five days before planned negotiations in switzerland the syrian government has made an offer. it is proposing a prisoner swap with the rebels and has outlined plans for a ceasefire in allepo. paul brenen reports from moscow. >> reporter: just 24 hours after the iranian foreign minister met his russian counterpart, on friday it was the syrian's term to be publicly greeted bier is gov at the mansion. all three foreign ministers had met on thursday to talk strategy ahead of geneva. in front of the cameras mr. lavrov returned to the theme. >> translator: there are attempts to create artificial

obstacles to derail the conference or obstruct its work. >> reporter: with so little agreed the syrian foreign minister emerged to launch what amounts to a everyonetive strike. first a plan for a local ceasefire in allepo. second, a proposed prisoner swap, exchanging detainees in government jail for exchange of those captured by opposition fighters, and third delivery of humanitarian aims. by proactively suggesting these, the foreign minister is painting the assad government as part of the solution to the problems instead of the problem itself. it's shrewd politics, and russia

and syria appear to be trying to drive the agenda. >> reporter: but in washington on thursday, the u.s. secretary of state john kerry warned that president assad could not deflect attention nor rewrite history. >> those whose brutality created this magnet. how they could ever lead syria away from extremism and towards a better future is beyond any kind of logic or common sense. >> reporter: positions seem to be hardening. >> translator: as i have confirmed the syrian delegation will go to geneva, as we believe a peaceful settlement is the only way out now. >> reporter: the question now, will the opposition groups agree to do the same? it's less than a week now, but the main opposition body still hasn't decided whether or not to attend those geneva 2 talks.

let's get to the latest from anita at istanbul. >> we're in an isolated location, more than an hour's drive outside of istanbul, where the delegations have agreed to meet. those who think they should at tend, and those who have withdrawn. but they can't get the kind of discussions they want to have whether they can get it back together again. so people have now left this hotel location, and are going back to istanbul to try to meet face-to-face with the withdrawals as they are called, so try to see if they can broker an agreement. it's all about the numbers. you see if the efforts to go to geneva failed, the people want them to fail for noble reasons. if they don't have the numbers

to make a credible decision that looks inclusive about yes or no, then the syrian national coalition, supposedly the umbrella group representing a brood-based syrian opposition from the military to the political situation will have failed. at least seven people have been killed in lebanon when rockets hit a border town and several other towns. 15 people were hurt. it's a shoeny area that hosts thousands of syrian refugees. okay an idea of what we have coming up in the news hour. desperation, anger in the central african republic, the un warning of dire consequences if the world doesn't do something. and ice fishing. the festival bringing tens of

thousands to a frozen river in south korea. . in sport brazilian star is basing up to a month on the sidelines. ♪ thailand's opposition protest leaders blaming the government for a blast in the rally capitol of bangkok. at least 36 people were injured. an explosive device was thrown into a crowd of demonstrators. the opposition want to retail the elections in february, and try to force the prime minister to resign. >> translator: brothers and sisters, there's no need to suspect anyone else. it is solely the government who has done this. no one else would do this. they plot it up, planned it, and they acted on it. myanmar has denied reports

of a buddhist group staging a tack. hundreds of people are said to have fled their home. the politicians remain silent over the killings in the country. the last european soldier to surrender after the second word war ended has died. he hid on an island in the philippine peens in 1974. he flew there after his former commander reversed his orders to stay behind and spy on american troops. the congress party stopped short of naming one man as its candidate for prime minister. as reported from new delhi, he

faces a difficult path. >> reporter: it wasn't quite the announcement party workers had been hoping for. >> translator: the decision has been taken and is final. >> reporter: his hopes of becoming the prime minister have been put on the back burner until it's certain the party wins the upcoming general election. >> translator: we will fight and win the battle of the elections, but congress party's prime minister will be chosen by members of parliament as per the constitution. >> reporter: he will front the complain, but for party workers, he is the man, and for them a vote winner. thousands have gathered in the nation's capitol to hear officially who the ruling congress party will choose to lead the fight for them. the son, grandson, and great grandson of a former prime minister his rise through the

ranks took less than a deck indicate. for the past decade he has played an active role, highlighting his work with the poor, increasing his ranks and encouraging young people to join. but his party lost, coming fourth in 2001. now elected as the man to lead thement complain, he has a huge task ahead of him. many supporters agree. >> so the young leader is really good, and he is fit enough to lead the indians here. >> translator: the whole country knows he is the right man for the job. because young people are with him and he looks at all of the people of this country as equals. >> reporter: regional state elections over the past two years have by and large been

disastrous for the congress party. he'll need to find a way to overcome the public's mistrust in the political party he now leads. he has to win the general election, because if he doesn't, he'll be damaged as a party leader, and there may be called within the ranks for him to go. we're going to get a little bit more on president obama's announcement of some changes at least in how the u.s. conducts his surveillance. in europe trust in the u.s. was badly damaged. barbara has more. david the damage was particularly severe in germany. german public opinion was outraged when it emerged that nsa agents had been monitoring

the chancellor's phone. we're joined live from berlin with a little bit more. presumably angela merkel and the rest of the government should be happy with the announcements? >> if they are, they aren't letting us know. but i think far more important to merkel and her government and the german public is a no-spy agreement that germany and the united states have been working on for a number of months, and the leaks that have been made to the press are that the german side are expecting nothing much to come of it. the germans had been hoping for promises that no other politicians would be spied upon, angela merkel had been given a promise by barack obama that her

phone would no longer be listened to. there will not according to press reports be access to the roof of the american embassy, which is just a short walk from the building that you see behind me, upon which there is german media belief is a spy nest, which allows the americans to listen to the communications of people in the government district. nor will there be limitation on the ma -- metadata of the phone calls of german citizens. quite apart from how they feel about this speech. and as i said there hasn't been any reactions so far. >> the germans not happy, we heard an advisor saying relations between the two are worse now than during the iraq

war. are there any attempting being made to try to rebuild this relation. >> barack obama called angela merkel on wednesday in part to wish her well, because she fell cross country skiing, and to invite her to the united states, and invitation which was accepted. the germans also said today whatever the spy dispute may be, it could not endanger the trans-atlantic trade negotiations which were ongoing, which is far more important than the mistrust which is still there as a result of the leaking made by edward snowden. so i think both sides recognize that even if they are not agreeing to the extent in which americans can spy on german citizens and efbl -- even

officials, there are other things to continue to work on. >> thank you, nick. another person trying to protect his privacy is the french president. he has been continuing with business as usual, addressing groups in paris. he also visited his official partner in hospital since the first time since the report of the aledged affair with the actress. >> reporter: the president addresses the diplomatic corps in paris. he focuses on his foreign policy aims. >> translator: france's first and constant principle is peace. we seek solutions to dialogue and negotiations, and if that is not possible, then we act. >> while the president talks

about foreign affairs, the allegations about his personal affairs continue. the gossip magazine that broke the news has published more revelations, and she is on several ore front covers. this story seems to interest french journalists more than the french public. his popularity rating was pretty low to begin with, however. >> first of all do his job. and then do whatever he wants. it doesn't matter what he is doing with all of the girls. >> he is a public man. in that is nonsense. no it's not his private life. it matters to the french and the people in france to know what goes on, you know, and how he directs his life. >> translator: for me, he is a man above all, so there could be things like that happening in

his life. right now he represents france. it's normal, but it's a controversy. >> reporter: the long-term companion has been in hospital since the story broke. he visited her for the first time last night. although not married to the president, she has fulfilled the role of first lady. he is expected to announce whether that is still the case. we're going to have more from europe a little later in the news hour, but now back to david in doha. >> thank you very much indeed. the united nations is warning if the world doesn't act in the central african republic, the implications are dramatic. they say we have a territory on a map, but we don't have the infrastructure of a state any

longer. politically the country has collapsed. the army as police force have also disisn't it grated. the united makeses is urging the international community to step in, step up, and increase donations. it's asking for $247 million over the next 100 days. so far only 6% funded, just over $15 million. that money is needed to provide food, water, medicine, housing for almost a million people. some of those in need of help have been seeking refuge at the international airport. and barnaby phillips went to see them. >> reporter: welcome to bangie airport, where some of the most desperate people on earth are in surreal juxtaposition.

an american airplane comes in. on board, rwanda soldiers. even with these reinforcements, the peace-keeping force in the central african republic, appears far too small for the task at hand. on the other side of the airport fence, the aid is beginning to flow. in this camp everyone is christian, driven from their homes but the selica militia. more and more hope is reaching the camps, but the real challenge is convincing people to go home. and we're not seeing significant signs that that is happening yet. for now these people feel it is too dangerous to return to their neighborhoods. >> the conditions are far from ideal. the airport was not made to accommodate 100,000 people.

there are no latrines or running water. there is very little space for people to sleep. muslims are also afraid and continue to leave the area. this was a convoy setting off for chad. we saw chadian soldiers protecting the convoy. christians jeered. many accused chad of supporting the celica militia. african peace keepers decided to intervene before things got uglier. meanwhile back at the airport a calmer evacuation. this one of sudanese who say they are a target because of their religion. >> will you come back here? >> no, sitterable. these people here don't like me, and i don't like them. this was a city where people

of different faiths lived peacefully together, recreating that environment will not be easy. we have got this coming up for you if you stay with us on the news hour. remember the man who brought kung fu to a global audience, and showcasing off-beat cinema. we'll be live from the sun dance film festival. surfing could be wiping out the traditional way of life in morocco. he's been vice president for almost a year and belongs to one

♪ you are watching the al jazeera news hour with me david foster, let me recap the main headlines. president obama outlying changes to the spying program both abroad and at home. the taliban has said it was

behind an attack on a restaurant in the afghan capitol that killed 14 people. the attack was in a part of kabul that is considered normally to be very secure. the syrian go is offering to exchange prisoners with the opposition. they also proposed a southeast fire in allepo. this is just ahead of international talks in switzerland next week. on that point we can join marine from the group building a syrian state joining us life from london. i was mentioning those talks and you are representing a group which was like to see major change in syrian society, and you have not even been invited to those talks, what do you make of that? >> well, it really doesn't matter a lot now, because we see geneva as mainly an international meeting, so the

consensus among the international parties is far more important at this stage before talking about any syrian contribution, and yet we don't see strong signs of international consensus, which is why we're a bit worried about geneva. of course once you have got strong international consensus around the solution in syria, then indeed it's extremely crucial that you have the parties who are interested in ending the conflict to be on the table. >> but the headline groups, such as the syrian national council, the islamic front, as well, they are the ones that get the headlines. groups such as yours on the periphery, it seems, are you being listened to? >> no. they listen -- but it just goes from one ear to the other. we don't see an impact in the policies and decision making.

it doesn't only apply on us, but also on all of the civil society organizations are very, very active and remain out there syria, and those would like to see a peaceful dignified exit out of this crisis. many other players now became players who benefit from the continuation of this conflict. the oppositions, you know, they have -- the war economy factor here, so a lot of people are benefiting from the continuation of the conflict, and the meme who really want to see -- >> that leads me to ask you how represent tiff you think those bodies that international governments are talking to, how representative they are of those who like you want change in syria, but not necessarily brought about the way it is being done at the moment? >> they are not percenttive at

all. it's very difficult to measure representation in syria. but we can predict that syrians want peace, want a ceasefire, and want paramount lasting peace also. this should respond to the first call for rights and freedom that people started the whole conflict asking for it. no, there is no representation, indeed, and the groups that grow organically inside the country, those are active inside the society. those are the most misrepresented. because they know the needs and prayers of the society, they can tell us what they want, those sitting from outside are like somebody trying to drive a car remotely. it doesn't.work. >> well, thank you.

i hope perhaps that by being on this program, we've been able to get you to reach a wider audience at least. thank you. >> thank you. there are so many different strands to the conflict in sy a syria, one of course is the chemical weapons, and now that some are out, where are they going? let's go back to barbara in london for more on that. 560 tons of the most toxic chemicals are to be changing ships at a town in southern italy. it is from there that claudio sent us this report. >> reporter: it's business as usual at the biggest port in italy. but is this the calm before the storm? chemical weapons ceased from of syria will be transshipped before being destroyed out at

sea. the port specializes in transshipment, the loading of cargo from one ship to another. and this is how they are going to do it. the chemical weapons will be loaded from the danish ship on to these trailers which will be driven to the american ship docked nearby so they can take them out in the open seas and destroy them. the local mayor says nearby residents are panicking. >> translator: people here are worried and angry. they are not being told what is going on. what is inside the containers. how are they going to be moved? containers have fallen off in the past. is there a plan to protect the population? no, there is not. >> reporter: workers say they are worried about handling chemical weapons. >> i hope it doesn't come here.

we don't know what we're dealing with. so i hope those who carry it also handle it. >> reporter: the exact time of the ship arrival is shrouded this secrecy, port authorities told al jazeera they don't expect it for at least another week, in the meantime they will get ready for the arrival of the most dangerous cargo in the world. president putin says that gay visitors should feel welcome, but he has angered people by once again linking homosexuality with pedophilia.

>> translator: we aren't banning anything. we aren't rounding up anyone. one can feel relaxed at ease but please leave the children in peace. the ukrainian government signed a bill that gives the state greater power to punish demonstrators. at in the capitol, demonstrators wore handcuffs, gags and fake blood to symbolize the protests. >> reporter: these protests have been going on since and it will november, but there is concern that authorities might try to end them. ukrainian members of parliament voted for a draft law. opposition members tried to block the vote, but failed. the authors of the bill say it's

like similar laws in europe and the united states. >> translator: this law is not against the protesters at all. peaceful demonstrations are protected by the constitution, but actions that aren't peaceful that are of a terrorist or extremist character must be prohibited by law. >> reporter: any law would punish for these items . . . >> i think it's disaster. and i think it's a law which is making -- like all conditions and making possible crack down on civil society in ukraine. >> reporter: organization is already writing the mp's to clarify who voted for the bill. they say because the vote was by raised hand it violated the rules and undermines the

parliament system. >> reporter: if the bill were passed it would make like tents like these imlegal without a police permit. in short it gives the authorities all the powers they need to shut down this demonstration, which may have been the point all along. even the protesters are divided about how to get what they want. some say the next step is to take power by force. others say peace is the answer. and neither side seems prepared to compromise. the czech republic has a new prime minister. the social democratic party won elections in october, and he took at a signing-in ceremony. now iran has attended an international agricultural affair in germany for the first time in eight years in what

could be a sign of sewing relations between the two countries. not quite enough to melt the ice cream, though. that was one of the products at the largest consumer food fair in berlin. they also offered their signature products. those are the main stories here in europe. now back to david in doha. >> barbara thank you very much indeed. an update on events in egypt. people are still waiting for the official outment come on a vote on a new constitution. tear fired at protesters in several cities. egypt's health minister says two people were killed one death was in cairo, and the other was south of cairo. people demonstrated in defiance

of an unarmed protest. al jazeera is tinning to l ka for the immediate release of five of its journalists. they have been held without charge now for 20 days, accused of spreading lies harmful to state security and of joining a terrorist group, allegations which al jazeera says are fabricated. the other two journalists, from our sister channels. they have been detained now for five months. hong kong is remembering the man who was instrumental in turning kung fu movies who a globally loved genre. he died on january 7th.

he was 107. rob mcbride has more. >> reporter: they came throughout the day, a quietly respe respectful line of stars. business and political leaders were also there in equal numbers. but also members of the public, many from a generation who grew up with shaw bother's productions. >> translator: i saw many of his movies in the early years. >> translator: i grew up watching his movies. >> translator: he cares very much about society, so i wanted to remember him. >> reporter: in a career spanning 80 years, run run shaw was very candid about his studio's mission. we're here to make money he once famously quipped. in its heyday the shaw brother's studios were turning out up to 40 movies a year. he won't be forgotten to the

contribution he made in developing the kung fu genre. >> the best kung fu movie in hong kong because they had a very good director and marshall art choreographer, they put it together, and then of course, they had a very strong story. >> reporter: shaw's legacy extents way beyond china itself. the shaw brothers being credited with helping grow the cinema business in asia out there much of the last century. he brought entertainment to millions in languages they could understand. the independent film festival sun dans -- dance is a

chance to showcase their films live. let's go to robert reynolds. [ laughter ] rob -- >> that's an understandable mistake. >> i know. i know. i know. what makes you different? >> reporter: well, this is the kind -- the kind of movie you are going to see here is not the heavy-on special effects hollywood films. these are low budget many by less well-known directors, and this is really the prime venue for those types of films to get a showing, and get scene by critics, distributors, and studio executives. i'm standing in front of the historic egyptian theater where many of the premiers take place,

and things are starting to get pretty busy here. if we look down main street you can see plenty of people going to and fro in the quite chilly temperatures here in the mountains of utah. there are thousands of people here to see this festival, including actors, directors, move i have studio directors and lots of journalists as well. not all of the films being shown here are going to break through and be widely seen by a lot of people, but there is always the chance one of these will become one of the next big hits. that has happened before, winter's bone launched the career of jennifer lawrence, and beast of the summer's wild,

which was in the running for the best picture last year. >> all right. we'll leave your viewers to decide which one is real box office. thank you very much. we have robin and the sport in just a moment. sir arena williams reaches another milestone in tennis. that and the rest of the australian open details coming up next.

okay robin is here and so is the sport. >> thank you so much. hello there, barcelona's main

will be out for up to a front. he was hurt on thursday in the second match. the club says he could be back in time for the trip to manchester city on february 18th. and to tennis now, and the number 2 seed raced to his first two sets in 70 minutes. then his opponent upped his game in the third set and broke him while he was trying to serve for the match. he served and eventually overpowered his opponent. he is attempting to become the first man in the professional era to win four consecutive australian open titles. >> i have done really well, dennis is a very tough opponent. he is a great quality player, he

has tested to a lot of top players on differenter is faces, because he can hit the ball really well. the spaniard beat the frenchman and serena williams made it just 1:20. it was her 61st victory at the tournament. players and officials are celebrating the end of an extreme heat wave that saw temperatures pass 40 degrees celsius for four straight days. this player from china needed treatment for heat stroke before being better in her next match. it is predicted to be 20 degrees cooler on saturday. formula one legend michael

schumaker remains in a stable condition. he has been in an medically induced coma since december 29th. the manager has given the first statement since the family asked for privacy ten days ago. she said . . . australia's cricketer have kicked it up again. they have james falkner to thank for that. and this pair put on the

victory. australia now leads the series 2-0. rory mcelroy had a difficult tour in 2013, but is showing so far this year. scotland's craig lee and the spaniard are top of the leader board at the halfway mark. the sea has always provided a living for people on the moroccan report. paul reports from the village. >> reporter: the call to prayer wakes the village to its daily task. for thousands of years the workers sustainment for life has been fishing, but as the day's catch is brought in, a very different fleet is about to leave the show. surfing has hit the area in a

big way. ♪ >> reporter: in just 14 years since a portuguese pro surfing set up camp year, this tiny fishing village isment becoming a major international decemberation. many surf schools have a policy of employing only moroccan instructors. the vast majority of riders on the waves are european. >> translator: we have tourists here, we have crowds. we have more because of them, because of them we move forward. >> reporter: while fisherman here say they are fining fewer and fewer fish in their nets, surfing seems to be something this village can hold on to.

caught between the old world and the new, are father and son fishermen. mohammed is also a surfer, but their business is struggling. here nay resell fish to tourists. that's because the 8 meter waves also broke 20 of the local fleet boats. >> translator: when i was a child we used to glue together plastic fish crates and surf on those. >> reporter: surfing does replace fishing as a way of life here. people can at least be sure there is a plentiful supply of waves. >> that is your sport. >> robin thank you very much. and cold weather isn't going to stop south koreans from having fun.

harry reports from the area. >> reporter: it's become a winter tradition here. january is ice fishing season, and not just for a few hardy enthuses ands, tens of thousands come every day each with his or her own individual fishing style. this frozen stretch of river a couple of hours from seoul. >> translator: it's fun here. >> reporter: the common factor and the hundred for the prize, the trout, will need patience. rewarded with the alive of the fish truck. each day 3 to 8 tons of fresh fish arrive. it's all about being in the right place at the right time. >> this is my first time. i guess already, you know. >> reporter: if that is not

enough, you can always try this. i can tell you it is cold enough in this weather, let alone dressed like these guys. the object is to catch the fish by hand. and success means a wet fish down the front of your t-shirt. after the catching comes the eating. the fish can be consumed roasted, raw, or for the brave still wiggling. this is a festival in its 12th year becoming ever more important to its economy. >> translator: this year around 4.1 million people are expected to come. we're talking about $60 million for the local economy. >> reporter: crowded far from natural, but obviously fun, for many this is the perfect way to brighten up a bone-chilling season. the world as we see it. thank you for watching.

for me david foster, and our team, bye for now.

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. >> the men and women of the intelligence community, including the nsa, consistently follow protocols designed to protect ordinary people. >> the president says changes will be made, but the intelligence community is not abusing its power. plus new questions about the safety of the water in west virginia. and firefighters trying to stamp out those wildfires burning in southern california. ♪