this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i am jonathan betz. after a bitter debate, syria's main opposition group disagrees agrees to attend peace talks. lingering questions about the safety of water in charleston, west virginia as the owner of the company responsible creates another company after filing for bankruptcy. new allegations of dirty politics by the new jersey governor's staff, a may or now says hurricane sandy relief money was held hostage. a drought emergency in california, how it could sour the state's wine industry.

>> after much stalling and intense pressure from the united states, syria's main rebel group has agreed to attend next week's peace conference in switzerland. 75 coalition managers voted inestanbul. the majority favored attending the talks. it will be the first face to face meeting between the assad regime and the coalition since the civil war began in 2011. the talks are scheduled to begin on wednesday. nina mcnaught has the latest >> reporter: it was supposed to be conducted by a show of hands. in the end, they opted for secret battles, so devisive, so con tentious has this become. when the votes were counted, we have an overwhelming vote yes in support of the coalition d delegation to participate in discussions with the assad. regime 58 saying yes, 14 saying no. one white paper and two refusal, but this wasn't an easy process. there was a withdrawal block of

44 members who refused to participate in discussions in the lead-up to the vote because they simply felt the preconditions have not been adhered to buy the international community nor by the groups offering to participate in it. they felt they were being railroaded into discussions that were not going to achieve the number 1 stated objective of the coalition, to the transitional government. the other wildcard if you like and this is the role played by the fighting groups. the fighting groups had to give their own a sent tacitly or at least offer not to spoil the process before some people would commit to the vote. there has been negotiations in the last few days in the capitol where the leaders whether they could count nance.

the delegation team sitting down in geneva, too, will be nine people. how many representatives are the military wanting to put on that? a lot more to come. >> the u.s. state department supporting the opposition move to join negotiations, it reads in part, voting to an ends to the war a path that will ultimately lead to a better future for all syrians. now, earlier, i spoke with james jontres, a former advisor to the republican party about other other rebel groups will react to talks. >> the armed groups on the ground are not necessarily on board with this. they are not necessarily the so-called mod rats that the western powers would like to support and they are the men with the guns who make the real difference on the rebel side. >> so what happens next, then, if there are so many different

opposition groups out there? very few of them are in support of these talks. how does the syrian regime -- how does the world work its way out of this? >> the real question is this. it was mentioned earlier that the number one that the rebel groups wanted was an agreement on atrition that would remove assad from power. >> has beg the sticking point for a couple of years now. the western powers led by the united states have insisted assad must go as a precondition. >> that's unrealistic. the number 1 preconditioned side must abolish itself. >> if the outside powers, also the regional powers can limit their goals to stopping the fighting and getting some confidence-building measures on the ground, that would be a start. >> thanks to james tonight. land slide victory in egypt. voters approved a new

military-backed government, but as omar al sala reports, it was boy corporate cotted by islamist groups. >> egypt's new draft constitution is passed. got an overwhelming support. >> the total number of voters is 20 million,sin 613,000, 677. the voter turnout is 38.6% of the population. the yes vote, 98, 1.9% said no. >> this is a higher voter turnout than for the last constitution. the government says the vote showed people support for overthrowing mohamed morsi in july. now that the government got the yes vote it needed, the next step is to set a date for more elections. but the anti-coup alliance which includes the muslim brotherhood

has described the vote as a sham. the group hailed what it called the historic boycott by the egyptian people including the youth, which indicates that a majority of the people reject the coup and the constitution. different groups are calling on their supporters to increase their protests to end the military coup despite the increased crackdown. he script is facing tough times and analysts say that's unlikely to change any time soon. >> i think we have patterns when military coups against elected institutions take place. you are faced with four possible outcomes. a dictatorship, a military dictatorship with a civilian facade. civil war scenario or a persistent civil unrift but i think the plan is to try to legit mate what happened on

july 3rd by a new constitution, by a new presidential e elections but these procedures. they never had strong solid positions. >> egypt is divided and struggling to restore stability. next week will mark three years since a popular revolution removed hos any mubarak from power. and the omming thing. >> ashes. >> for more of what that vote means, the harvard international program and says the turnout sends a positive message to the egyptian government. >> it says that people are in agreement with the direction that the current government is going for. they are in agreement that general asisi or someone he hand picks should become the next president and rule with a focus

on security, establishing security, establishing stability and getting the economy back up and running. >> let's talk about general sisi. he said earlier that this election would be a big indic e indication of whether he would run for president or not. do you think he would get the numbers he was hoping for and the support that he will now announce he will run for president? >> yeah. definitely. and to be honest, i can't imagine that even if he didn't want to run that he would be able to withstand this kind of public pressure for him to become the next president. he is seen by a lot of people as the hero, as the saferior of the nation, and there is no one else on the political scene who would be able to defeat them or compete with him. >> three continue to be detained. peter grista it accused of

joining a terrorist group. al jazeera denies the allegations and continues to demand their release. two other journalists from sister networks have been imprisoned for five months: 9 days into west virginia's chemical spills. many say their water smells like chemical did and thing doubt safety. pregnant women are being told not to drink it and freedom industries, the company blamed for the spill has filed for bankruptcy and taken other steps. robert ray is in charleston west virginia with some of the new information about the bankruptcy filing. robert? >> jonathan, good evening t first of all, before i get to that, my cameraman and i are stanfording here across the river, the elk river is freedom industries, everyone is reporting the lick ridge, candy smell prevalent right now, getting to the bankruptcy stuff. filed for chapter 11.

we have multiple notes here so i apologize. i am going to have to take this down. here is what we know. on december 31st a gentleman by the name of j clifford -- j clifford forest bought industries. here is the thing about the whole situation. yesterday along with the bankruptcy, he opened up his new company called mountaineer funding l.l.c. which is headed by as we see headed by j clifford forest, which files for bankruptcy and is also the owner of the mountaineer funding. he owns a coal company in pennsylvania which is called rose bud mining and he is the owner of a lodge at glendorn in northern pennsylvania. some of the businesses. he said that it's interesting that someone would purchase a

company like freedom industries with so much debt. what was he getting into? was he a sucker or does he know what he was doing? the debt is substantial. they owe $2.4 million to the irs. they owe $3.6 million to creditors. there is over 200 of them. so a lot of different moving parts and a lot of confusing situations here the man who purchased freedom industries just a few weeks back opens up an l.l.c. to fund freedom while they are in their bankruptcy. we spent most of the day talking to people in charleston, west virginia about their concerns with the water, and here is what we saw: it's been a week since toxic chemicals spilled into the elk river in west virginia. 300,000 people were under a strict do-not-use water ban, though means of the bans have been lifted. residents are krnld as to whether their water is safe.

how long is it going to take to get the results back? >> five to 7 business days. jennifer kurus 9 months pregnant? >> we haven't been consuming the water in the house because it didn't taste right. it didn't smell right. >> she and her family are not drinking the water. after the centers for disease control issued a caution on wednesday for pregnant women, she was confused. >> we got the okay, the thumbs up that the water was safe on monday night so for 48 hours to go by and knowing that the public is consuming this water, that's really concerning. >> with very little data or scientific study on the chemical, it's not clear how it could impact people's health. and because of the abundance of caution recommended by the cd c,

al jazeera america has hired an environmental consulting company to take water samples from jennifer's home. >> reporter: p not only is mark from downstream strategies taking water samples from the home we were just in, but we are on the river here in charleston and et cetera taking water surface samples. they will test these for the chemicals, the next of chemicals that went into the river system here, and we will have results next week. >> according to federal environmental data, for decades, chemicals and waste from the coal industry have tainted groundwater supplies in west virginia. many doctors here were already concerned and want testing to continue. >> i think especially in the case of pregnant women, we don't know the effects on the unborn child that's a developing fetus we shouldn't take any chances. >> for caruse, the theme has reached a boiling point. >> nobody has jurisdiction. what needs to happen is, is for just over arching legislation to

make sure that these companies aren't responsible for policing themselves because they are not. if you don't have to, you won't. if there are no speed limits, i am going to drive as fast as i can in my vehicle. >> inspectors discover that freedom industries, the company blamed for the disaster had not taken action to stop the leak or report it to authorities. >> is according to the state department of of environmental production, and as it turns out, there are virtually no regulations governing inspection and maintenance of the storage tanks that held the dangerous crem chal known as mchn. >> jonathan, as we stand here and smell the lick ridge that so many people here have been describing, we are getting it right now. i am not sure if it's the cold temperatures, the dry air or exactly what it is but those tests that we had performed today, we should have results about mid-week. they are not only testing for the chemical that was put into the elk river behind me but we

will see what else is in the water here what other sort of chemicals have made their way into the system? a confusing situation that continues to develop especially with the chapter 11 filing yesterday. and this new l.l.c. that was opened up by the brand-new owner of freedom industries to fund this chapter 11 and keep it operating while they are in the bankruptcy courts. jonathan? >> robert ray followed it for us in west virginia. we will have more on that story later. meantime, a third new jersey mayor is accusing chris kristi's administration of retaliation. he said kristi's aides demanded she approve after development. dawn zimmer said i was directly told by the lieutenant governor, she made it clear that the rockefeller project needed to move forward or they would not be able to help me. kristi's office denied her claims calling them a political

move. governor kristi's administration is already under fire for the lane closings on the george washington bridge, also believed to be political retribution against a city mayor. christiets chief of staff, chief counsel and two-time campaign manager have all been subpoenaed in that case. >> well, president obama delivered a highly anticipated speech yesterday about the country's surveillance programs. the president ordered changes about the way the government collects telephone records. he says he will restrict access and move that data out of government hands obama said that federal agencies will face more over sisight when applying for warrants. a secret foreign intelligence court or fisa was established in 1978. it was created to review surveillance warrants most often requested by the national security agency and the f.b.i. they were required to show probable cause that a target was working for a foreign country. over the last 35 years, 11 of

the 34,000 requests have been denied. president obama is now proposing several changes to the court. he wants the congress to establish outside privacy advocates for the court. the former chief judge of the fisa court has opposed such a move. fisa fatally joins us at nyues brennan center where she has been researching the court. thank you, fisa. >> thanks. >> first off, your thoughts on the president's announcement today or yesterday, in fact, that he is changing the way we collect information but not changing it that much. >> so he is not even changing the way we collect information as such. he is changing the way information is held which is different. the collection goes on. it's just a question of who se hands the information is going to be in. >> that's the major change that he has announced. >> is it enough of a change? >> i don't think so. i think, in fact, requiring private companies to hold information opens up a news gag

he will of privacygagle of priv what he was asking to do was to stop the government. >> collection? >> to stop the collection. >> let's talk about that real quickly because one of the proposals that he is suggesting is to move all of that information telephone records out of the government's control into private hands. >> right. >> that would be with the private companies? >> uh-huh. >> telephone companies or some sort of independent third-party group. how does that address the critics' fears? if it's still being collected and still being held, what difference office it make if it's being held by a private company or the government? >> it doesn't. in fact, it could be a little bit worse because at least when it's the government, you know the government is holding that information. at least we do now due to mr. snowden. if it's a private company, you actually have, you know, another level t between your ability to get any kind of redress. there is a lot of concern about americans about the kind of information and the amount of

information private companies are holding about them. this will only make that worse. >> let's also talk quickly, how much of an overhaul do you think that means? >> i think obama has gone a good way towards that overhaul. he has accepted two recommendations which i think were two of the most critical recommendation relating to the court. it does need to have a privacy advocate who is representing the interests of the people. at this point in time, only the government goes before the fisa court. we need xy and z information. there is no one to push back and say, wait a minute. do you need all of that? can you taylor this. ? >> they are done in secret. >> that's the other part of what the president is proposing, to make more of an effort. annual review by the attorney general about what information can be released. >> a lot of people obviously

very critical. shortly after president obama's speech. >> it's designed to stifle real debate by pretending that the government has rode in and president obama has solved the proper problem, balanced the two sites sides, came up with a reasonable middle ground and now the crisis is over. i think the government will be doing more about this. and one of the things that i did like about president obama's speech was that he made it clear that these were the steps that he was taking, but he never said, well, that doesn't mean that congress shouldn't take any more steps. he left the door open for congress to act and congress had so many bill pending before it right now relating to reform of this intelligence community. that he really did leave that door open, does expect them to act. >> is he not bunting a little bit with that?

>> absolutely. of course he is. he can't change the law. what he could have done is he could have come out in support of one of the better bills that have been introduced there is a bill, a bi-partisan bill by senator leahy and representative sensen brenner that makes many of the reforms that the president has recommended but he didn't get behind that explicitly. he didn't say now i have done this. i have fixed it. he did leave the door open to congress to act. >> slight changes. they are just proposals at this point. >> yes. >> fisa patel, thank you for coming in today? >> thank you for having me. >> our pleas user. coming up, colorado's new recreational pot laws are proving to be great for tourism. how it's affecting the state's overall business, ahead. plus melissa chan. we will be reporting on the impact of the drought on wine makers here in california. >> every sunday night join us for exclusive...

revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... >> parkinson's forced his wife to type his novels. >> not only was i typing badly, but i was hallucinating... >> now, a revolutionary proceedure is giving is giving this best selling author a second chance >> it was a wondrerful moment... >> after the implant, they turned the juice on, and... >> emily & martin cruz smith on talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america

high and dry, the wildfire in glendora,cal is still burning. it covers a little more than 1800 acres northeast of los angeles. fire fighters have managed to stop the flames but there is little they or anyone else can do about the historic drought that left the state parched. the governor declared a drought emergency that allows the state to seek federal aid and eases rules about pumping water from one part of the state to another. one place that needs the help is napa valley, the heart of california's wine country and that is where our melissa chan is standing by live. melissa, how are those vineyards affected by this drought? >> jonathan, that is a good question. there is a little bit of good news in the sense that the vines are in what they call a dormant stage which means they don't need that much water, but you are watching the situation very closely. we are about halfway through the usual rainy season so there is

still hope but we are here at isley vineyard. we had a chance to speak to the owner, david isley and he put everything into context. >> if the conditions change, then, i think we will be okay. very worrisome, the conditions and the lack of rain. we need -- we need water. i mean it's been too many years in a row where we have had, you know, marginal rainfall. >> so really, the problem is what's not happening now but really what's going to happen potentially in the future because wine makers really need their water in july/august and september. if there is any rain between now and then, they will be fine or at least better than the situation they are in now but if we don't see any rain for the next couple of months, those reservoirs and will be dry and they will not be able to irrigate in the late summer and early fall, and that's what wine

makers are worried about california's agriculture issue is huge. what about other crops? how have they been impacted? >> there are a lot of vineyards but one thing we are learning is a lot of farmers particular in the nor have switched crops from seasonable crops like tomatoes and let us to what they called permanent crops such as trees, al mondays, almonds have been lucrative for farmers. those are making an investment in a tree to have to wait three or four years before they can see cash from what they planted and so when you have a drought, it throws a wrench into the farmer farmer's plans. it makes it difficult. what we are being told is the farmers are working not to have a crop necessarily but to make sure the trees will survive this season. >> melissa chan live for us in napa valley, california.

thank you. a lot of people hoping for rain, but i don't think it's going to come? >> it's definitely going to come. we have outlook right now, climb at that time logically speaking for the potential of a dry month through the first part of february. we are not seeing immediate threat, i should say, of rain but in this case, it's not a threat. it's a welcome thing. temperatures have been running 20s degrees above average for much of our week this last week. the drought, you can see, is focused on california and nevada. when we start talking about the percentage of normal precipitation, we look at the water year, which starts in january, runs through the entire year and ends in january, for california, not just are we looking at 50% of the state or more than 50% dealing with average precipitation, very low, but a very crucial low amount for right along the coastline. so the reservoirs, jonathan, they are running low, well below

historical averages, similar to last year, which makes two years an incredibly dry weather. >> thanks, rebecca. new developments target security breach on al jazeera america, more on the group purportedly behind that attack. plus a treatment that set martin cruise free from parkinson's disease.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories this half hour. syria's main rebel group has agreed to attend next week's peace conference in switzerland. 75 members voted in istanbul. the majority voted. it will be the first face-to-face meeting since the civil war began in 2011. >> another new jersey governor is accusing chris kristi's office of retaliation. hoboken mayor kristi's

aides demanded she back al project. west virginia's toxic chemical spill has filed for bankruptcy. it's owner has created a shell company to bail freedom out. mountainier funding ls lc was funnel founded yesterday, the same day freedom industries filed for chapter 11. this is harry bell, an attorney representing individuals and businesses suing freedom industries in west virginia american water company. thanks for being with us tonight. >> hello, jonathan. how are you? >> immigrate. why did you decide to file this lawsuit? >> well, jonathan, i lived like so many of my clients and friends. we have over 300,000 people in west virginia who were substantially impacted who don't have clean, safe water. >> that's a real problem. for days. >> what ahave your clients been telling you? how have they been impacted? how long has it been lasting for them? how troubling has it been?

>> jonathan, there are multiple questions there. i have a lot of answers. people have a lot of concern and they are very upset. when you can't bathe, when you can't drink the water, you can't brush your teeth, when you get a do-not-use issue from the water company, it's a real problem. business shut down. i practiced law 34 years in charleston, west virginia. west virginia is a great state, great city, wonderve people. your town is a ghost town when this happens. every single establishment that had a health department permit, every restaurant, hotels, shut down. when you can't use the water, you can't clean, you can't sanitize and it came at the height of cold and flew season. >> so yet, the company -- >> again, that's -- you can't drink the water. >> a lot of people there. you filed a lawsuit against freedom industries and it has filed for bankruptcy. how much do you expect to actually get out of that company now? >> jonathan, it's complex.

the first thing, when this happened, you have to understand, we started getting calls right away. not only was i affected, my family, my law firm. everyone in the community. at every level. 300,000 people are affected. the question becomes: what is this? how bad is it? you have got to understand, when it came out that it was a chemical leak and it had been leaking for hours and hours and hours, and then the water company, west virginia american water company clearly should have known better but they didn't know what they were dog dealing with, they decided to take it in their system, took the chemical in. it had been up there for years, which apparently they are saying in news accounts they didn't know it, it was there. just a mile upstream, took it in their system, thoroughly contaminated the cleaning plant and pushed out in the distribution lines. remember, we are talking being a nine-county area. state capitoltion out, everywhere, all over the place, all of the lines were

contaminated, and it's a substantial problem. you asked when people were calling what do they want? clean water back if thing. number 2, they would want to look at who is responsible the first two entitieses that came up, and west virginia american water company. >> that's just a very beginning. i have a feeling that but there is no doubt other entities and individuals will be brought to justice. >> there is a history at this plant tank farm or tank area. a pins oiled that facility was sold and it went from holding diesel fuel or whatever products

were there to freedom industries, ended up using this terminal for other substances. we don't know when they started storing the chemical that was involved in this spill, whether there were other chemicals there, how long it's been there in use for this particular chemical, what kind of mixture, what other substances are stored there at that facility. this is information we don't really know. however, i can tell you the state of west virginia should have known we have the state of west virginia did an assessment and was looking very, very cable at what was up there to the extents i could. we recommended further investigated needed to be by local authorities. >> let me get your reaction before you run out of time. the fact that freedom industries has now been created by -- taken

over by another company and another company is formed out of freedom industries, what do you make of that? >> good corporate structuring. you have a very successful very wealthy who acquired several operations combined them under the umbrella of one country and within a short time period of him doing that, the massive spill that's caused untold millions damages already plus the health concerns of people day-in and day-out. there were several days that went by. it's okay to drink the water when the centers for disease control came out with guidance and said, we don't want pregnant women to be drinking the water. so there is a long-term question as to what are the health affects has individuals from drinking this. you have pediatricians in the area now telling, we don't want children drinking it. we don't want people with

compromised immune systems drinking it. no one really knows and that's what you have. understand, you have 300,000 people in west virginia who are now lab rats for this chemical for the west virginia american company and for this operation, and no one is giving people the answers, and that's what has everyone very upset. >> a lot of concern out there without question. harry bell, thank you for your time today. >> you are most welcome. >> the u.s. has condemned a taliban attack on a restaurant in the afghan capitol. 21 people died including three americans. more than half of those killed were foreign nationals. jean ferguson has more on that. >> only after sunrise was the level of damage clear. over 20 guests were enjoying dinner at this restaurant which it was attacked by the taliban. it is believed that none of them survived. the death reports we have

including 13 foreigners. >> when the attackers approached, there were cars parked all around here as there would be. still, this morning, there is blood in the street where they haven't managed to clean up the entire carnage from those who were injured or killed outside the restaurant. he blew off what were incredibly thick steel doors here, to enter in here and start shooting the diners. the restaurant is just behind this wall and that's where so many people lost their lives. shot diners and staff. footage obtained by al jazeera appears to show many tried to hide under tables before being killed. the victims were of various nationalities. four were u.n. staff. the u.n. had hoped that the restaurant was safe, but no place in kabul can guarantee security.

>> if anything, it speaks to the fact that the security is always a big issue in kabul. no matter how secure a place will seem, it's been an issue. >> the restaurant was popular withphonners and high-ranking afghan officials. a rare space to relax in a time of war. it's lebanese owner kamal hamadi was well liked. his business would not be targeted. military activities. we have the protective and economic protective. the beneficial not only to us to all afghan i people. hamadi died in the attack. jane ferguson, ears, kabul

afghanistan. troops and rebels, the government is trying to rid the eastern parts of the country of its many armed groups. >> this government has heavy weaponry might seem like no match for a light lie armed rebel group. their tactics, cunning. the government troops never know when they will be caught in an ambush. this unit to attack a rebel base. people here have lived on the armed groups of decades. >> before, we suffered a lot. sometimes, it was not safe to farm in our fields. but now, the big force from government has come down to chase the rebels. we are very happy. >> if won't be easy. thick bush for miles. clear of you if you can get high

up. you can see the target. he can see the director bombing from up there, you can see a hill, the enemy is beyond that hill on the plain. >> the abf are hiding in a bush and forest. one of of their main bases is within range. they have been in eastern congo for 10 years. they are from neighboring uganda. the government defeated them. they have been in congo ever since. now, tire time is up. >> this rocket launcher is now in position preparing it to fire on to the adf rebels. studying a map, trying to work out the exact location of the rebels so they can calculate what direction and what angle the rockets have to be fired at. >> they make final adjustments and the on slaught begins. >> the first volley misses the

target. the spotter hidden near the rebel base has radioed in directions. they check the map and it's just their am -- and adjust their aim. >> it's deafeningly loud. these men are used to it. they tell us not to block our ears. if you do, they say the pressure waves will make your knows bleed. >> that's nothing compared to the destruction on the other end. they are facing formittedible force but they have a thick jungle until their favor. they will finally be reined in. malcolm webb, al jazeera in the democratic republic of congo. >> new revelations unaware it had been hacked until being notified by the secret service, "new york times" reports hackers

from eastern europe were behind the cybertac during the holidays experts say they moved through the data systems undetected, about 100 million customers were affected before the company realized there was a breach. martin cruise smith and his wife emily sat down. the novelist talked about the symptoms he kept secret for 18 years and the treatment that set him free. here is a frpreview. >> in 1995, best selling author martin cruz smith was on top of the world. >> i had what one would say is as good a life as one could have with this one hiccup. >> he was diagnosed with park insons. and i am paragraphs motor function. for over a decade, he hid it all from his fans, his friends and publisher.

the way american men don't like being weak. >> his doctors suggested what turned out to be a mir aclas treatment. >> i thought deep brain stimulation might help. >> it involves planting a sort of pace maker in the brain that delivers a current directly into the gray matter. at first, the idea much brain surgery repulse did him but he encountered people who had the procedure. >> i saw people at the neurologist's office who had had it and were treated as if they had been let out of jail. i wanted that. >> for smith, the effect was miraculous. >> describe that moment. >> i can show you moment. i lifted my hands. >> they turned the juice on and. >> flipped a switch and your hand are still? >> yes. >> doctors have a theoretical understanding of why it works with you the field is exploding nonetheless. new defense department research is looking at whether deep brain

stimulation. deep brain stimulation in severe mood dress. the nice thing about brain stimulation is that it just affects the part of the brain you want to affect. >> for smith who now rights with the help of his wife, the hope is that the technology will continue to improve even as symptoms get worse. >> what i am hoping is 10 good years. but i know that when i get to this 10 years. >> jacob ward, al jazeera. >> you can watch more with novelist martin cruz smith and his wife, emily on talk to al jazeera. >> that's tomorrow on 7:00 p.m. eastern, 4:00 pacific. still ahead, the arab spring goes to hollywood. we have a look at a documentary about the 2011 uprising that has oscar potential.

>> kicking it life. sports authority here in denver colorado. tom brady. needy say more? we will have a preview in just a bit. >> we are live in downtown seattle outside century link field. tomorrow, the big show case. we will have a preview, also, of the championship game coming up later on sports. >> i'm phil torres, coming up this week on techknow... >> a mystery, deep in the heart of the rain forrest >> we haven't seen something actually build them... >> it's been really frustrating >> it's a spidery clue that has our team of scientests stumped... join our journey to peru... then, it looks like chicken, tastes like chicken, >> that's good.... >> but it's not... the foamy inovation that's making hardcore meat eaters happy. >> techknow on al jazeera america

>> every sunday night aljazeera america presents

gripping films from the worlds top documetary directors. >> everybody's different here... >> for students at the esteemed international high school at lafayette everyday is a fight to suceeed >> it was my dream to get a high school diploma >> but a failing grade can mean loosing it all... >> i don't know how my life would look, if i would get deported... >> will they make it in america? >> i have a chance... >> i learn america welcome back. a documentary about egypt's revolutionist picked up an oscar nomination. the film is called the square, it faces tahrir square to today.

movie's director talked with united states about how it came about. >> i have a big stake in what's happening in egypt. my family is living in egypt. i grew up in egypt. i am egyptian. my name is johan new jane and i am the director of the square. when i got to the square. feeling like they actually had a hand in changing their future and i also met everybody who worked on the film in the square. so it was truly al collaboration that was borne from the square. i met akmed hassan, you know, a street poet and a wise kid who just, i fell in love with immediately and knew i wanted

him to be through this story. >> didn't tamany precautions. every person was shot at, tear gassed, jailed and, you know, that was parts of making the film. while my friends are being killed, i have friends lost their eyes and in serious condition. i know people who have died. >> there was unification of the beginning. i think a major problem was the order of things. >> there should never have been an election before the constitution was written.

>> it's going to take a long time for things to change and develop, but there still are people who are on the ground fighting. they revolt when their rights are trampled upon but i believe that is going to continue and what's needed is the support, international support, local support of people that are continuing to push the system. there is a change in consciousness that has happened in egypt. but what does that tangibley mean? what would people unify behind? that tangbly means a constitution that represents all people.

>> right around the corner, four teams' response, mike morgan is here to talk about it. >> if you are an n.f.l. fan, it's the day you have been waiting for. this is as good as it gets. denver is the site for the afc championship, the broncos host the patriots and the 49ers take on the seahawks. we have reporters in both cities. jessica taff standing buy in seattle as well. we will start in the mile-high city. ross, it's manning against brady, one more time. hum? >> that's right, mark. peyton manning as well as tom brady. you might want to enjoy this match-up. meeting in the play-offs. the championship game listen the 15th meeting between these two quarterbacks, brady has the edge with vict odors with the edge with 10 and brady has thrown more touchdown passes.

here is the deal: the big stack. brady has three super bowl rings. brady has just one. the winner will get another chance punching the ticket at the super bowl 48. >> he is a great player. they have a great team. one of the best offenses in history. i think what that means is we better be ready to score points because i know they are going to, you know, that's what they do best is, you know, they out score you and they can score quickly. they can run the ball like they did the last time. a bunch of guys caught a bunch of touchdowns. >> one thing that jumps out about tom is his consistency. i feel like he's been a better player each year than he was the year before. speaks to the work ethic in the of seasons. his refusal to tell someone? >> the post-season between these two quarterbacks. brady has a 2 to 1 edge. the good news for manning, the

home team has won every single game. sunny skies, high temperatures near 60 for tomorrow's kickoff. >> we love that. you have been in denver to check the mood of the city. broncos teams are confident their teams can hold home field advantage. >> there is a lot of excitement because the broncos have mile-high expectations. it is super bowl or bust. head coach john fox has been preaching, finish, finish, finish. remember last week against the chargers, they let san diego back in november, they blew a 24-nothing halftime lead against the patriots. >> was in foxborough. tomorrow's game over 67. they have been encouraged to wear orange because like that new t.v. show, orange is the new black. >> i will take your word for it. >> that's the scene in denver. let's turn to seattle where jessica taft is standing by. do you have your ear plugs for

tomorrow? >> i am ready to go. batten down the hatches in my hotel not far away. as loud as it gets. right now, it was a little quieter. a steady stream of football fans scouting out local pubs to see what's going to be done. it's going to be one of the loudest stadiums the advantage, this is their home turf. the last time, last two times they have actually hosted, they have outscored them 71 to 16, but remember, san francisco has been here before. they have won eight straight. they played in last year's super bowl. >> i feel like our team is ready. excited to go play this game prepared to play this game. >> the most important minutes of

our lives are right now, you know, in terms of ball. it's what we have in front of us. all of the other things, that's what we have been doing all year is focusing on the opportunity that we have right now. yesterday's already gone. today's all we got right now. tomorrow's not even here yet. i think our biggest thing is focusing on the moment we have and the game we have and to win this championship would mean a lot. i want to win. i hate losing. >> it sure would mean a lot. last time they went to a super bowl was in 2005. report from seattle, jessica taft, al jazeera. back to you, mark. >> jessica, thanks so much. live in seattle. we appreciate that. >> wraps up in sports of. one final note, winter olympics starts on february 6th. in the 8:00 o'clock hour, we will take a lookt at some of the athletes who will compete. >> that's something to look forward to. >> okay. thanks, mark. more news in just a moment.

consider this: the news of the da

welcome back. blinding air pollution in beijing. a blanket of thick smog darken the skies. with the help of technology,

there's a way. zienlt video screams beamed out the sunny images in tinnamin square square. it's a contrast to the record-busting crisis several highways were shut down this week and officials asked residents to wear protective masks. the mayor has pledged to cut coal use this year to help clean up the air. a group of ice sculpt tours, five blocks of ice, each 10 square feet in size. they worked through the night. art work will be on display in a park for about two weeks in the city of niko near the capitol. beautiful work there. that is our show for us tonight. thanks for joining us. we will be back in an hour with more news. headlines are next. ste taking a short break on al jazeera america.

this is al jazeera america, live from new york. i am jonathan betz with the headlines. syria's main rebel group has agreed to attend next week's conference in switzerland. 7500 members voted. the majority favored attending the talks. it will be the first face-to-face meeting between the assad regime and the coalition since the civil war began in 2011. >> know new jersey mayor is accusing chris christie of retaliation, saying kristi's aides demand she back a project to receive millions of dollars in aid after hurricane sandy. new information about the toxic chem