in depth series. america tonight only on al jazeera america good afternoon to you. welcome to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford, live from new york city. here are the stories we are following for you right now: tens of thousands clash with police in ukraine defying the ban on protests. we are live in kiev. anti-government protesters in thailand, bombs injured more than 200 people. new allegations at another accusation of political payback. >> i am live in west virginia. we are following what's happening on the ground with the water supply. residents still very concerned coming up on al jazeera america.

♪ >> anti-government protesters are back on the streets a in ukraine, defying new laws aimed at stamping out protesters. they clashed. you are looking at live pictures. earlier, they were hitting them with sticks as they tried to overturn a bus. >> that's where jennifer glass is joining us, live from kiev. what are the protesters calling for right now, jennifer? >> reporter: right now, those live pictures that you are seeing are about 400 meters that way. i can hear the blast. the police have been throwing stun grenades, firing pepper spray at thousands of protest who left here, a very peaceful protest early in the day on kiev independence square, tens of thousands. a few thousand broke away and tried to head toward parliament. the police are blocking that

road. the police have very much stood their line and been very restrained in contrast to proceed tests and clark that happened in early december when police attacked protesters. the protesters have been very aggressive here they were throwing some fireworks we have video of them kidnapping one policeman and separating him and taking him away. the clark continue to go on about in their a little over two hours ago, they started. we can see flash grenades. protesters have set police buses on fire. there is a heavy police presence around the capitol as these demonstrations go into their third month here you mentioned protesters have been aimpressive. is there any cindication the

government will give them what they are actually demanding? >> reporter: no. as a matter of fact, tensions were heightened when a court published a ruling earlier this month that this is illegal because it blocks a public road. and on friday, president victor yanokovich signed into law sweeping measures that limit freedom of expression, freedom of assembly. so far from asceding to the demonstrators' demands, the government has been defiant and a lot of those measures seem actually in contrast against this protest here, setting up in a public place illegal, telling protest orders they can't wear helmets or masks, so a lot of concern here about what might happen next. >> jennifer glass joining us live from kiev, ukraine. thanks for being with us. more than two dozen people are injured following twin

explosions at an anti-government protest in bangkok. it went off at a major intersection in the capitol and that's where al jazeera veronica pedrosa has more >> reporter: this is the scene of the explosion. this is a victory monument, one of the main intersections here in bangkok. and just behind this crowd, there is a stage for anti-government protesters to deliver speeches and hold music. and it was at lunchtime just behind the main stage when a device went off when the crowd that was looking for food to scatter. >> that's when a second explosive device went off just behind me here, as you can see, there are lots of police. n now investigating the scene. forensic scientists looking for physical clues that might lead them to who is behind this attack and others because this is the latest in a series of

bombings and shootings that are pretty minor. how fa however, they are causing an atmosphere of fear about coming to these protests, about what lies ahead in thailand's political future. >> that was arningsz's veronica pedrosa in bangkok violence might increase the risk of military involvement which could benefit the protest movement. thailand's army has staged about 100 successful military coups since 1932. >> pakistani soldiers killed by a bomb blast targeting an army envoy as it entered a security come pound. 24 others were injured in northwest pakistan. the taliban has claimed responsibility for the explosion saying the attack is part of its fight against a secular system and has promised more violence in the coming days. investigators don't know yet if it was a planted bomb or a suicide attack.

meanwhile, three al jazeera currentlyists continue to be detaped in egypt. mohammed fami. and peter gresta have been held since december 29th. they are accused of spreading lies harmful to state security as well as joining a terrorist organization. al jazeera denies those allegations and continues to demand their immediate release. two other journalists from sister channels have been in prison there for five months, ab dulla malshani and mohammed bader, cameramen. >> more allegations against new jersey governor chris christie, the latest by hoboken's mayor dawn zimmer. she says kristi's administration withheld relief money because she didn't support a development backed by a company that is politically connected to christie. chris cristfie tried to drum up

support and the mayor dawn zimmer is accusing christie of with holding super storm sandy relief money because she didn't get behind a multi-billion dollar development project. zimmer said kristi's lieutenant government made it clear that money would flow if and only if she approved the project. and she said, i know these things are not right and they should not be connected but they are. and if you tell anybody, i will deny it. >> what's more, e-mails obtained by cable news network shows the project is represented by the law firm of david sampson, a top christie political supporter. he is also one of 20 people subpoenaed just last week in a separate scandal tied to the christie administration. it relates to the shuttering of the two traffic lanes on the george washington bridge in september, something democrats in the state sait was an act of political retribution by the governor. christie has denied any knowledge of the scandal and, instead, blamed his aide. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of

some of the people on my team. >> the governor's office is denying the allegations saying it's clear partisan politics are at play here a democratic mayor with a political ax to grind come out of the woodwork. super storm sandy flooded 80% of hoboken and caused millions in private property damage not to mention $10 million until damage to public property. >> i am stunned that he would use the sandy funds and hold those sandy funds over my head when you consider what happened to hoboken. we were devastated. >> christie is facing three investigations into the scandal surrounding the george washington bridge. now, legislative leaders in the state say they may extend their probe, something that would swamp c christie's chances for presidential run. >> i spoke with the professor at nyu who offered this take on the

latest bombshell? >> with the fortlee case we heard this was about that the mayor refused to endorse and that's why christie's top senior aids took that action. others said this had to do with redevelopment. this was what they had to do wi with. dawn zimmer's allegations stepped to confirm that narrative that this may have had more to do with development and money than it did endorsements. it creates an enormous problem for chris christie because dawn zimmer says now that the number 1 thing chris christie has made his name on, storm sandy, he has been using that to hold her hostage in terms of a development deal with one of his top aides who has been the top aide and has gotten a subpoena on friday because he was also involved in the e-mails involving fort lee. it's very incest with us asuous a uous and it is growing to affect

everybody except chris christie at this point. >> coming up on al jazeera america, a local utility company says the water is now safe to drink in west virginia, but protesters say that's simply not good enough. plus al jazeera travels to utah where the nsa just built a brand-new facility. we will tell you what it's going to be used for when al jazeera returns.

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turned the juice on, and... >> emily & martin cruz smith on talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america >> a jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour >> here are the headlines at this hour breaking news... sports... business... weather... live news...every hour, on the hour only on al jazeera america welcome back to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford live from new york city. now to the latest on the chemical spill in west virginia. residents gathered at the state capitol yesterday protesting the lack of answers over a chemical spill that contaminated water for over 300,000 people just last week. officials say the water is now safe. people say it still stinks. our robert ray is on the scene in charleston. robert, officials say the water is safe. what exactly are residents still concerned about? >> reporter: good morning,

morgan. we are here in one of the local restaurants here, just about a half a mile from the state capitol, and indeed, people are complaining about the smell in the air, sort of a cough-drop or a licorice smell in some parts of charleston. other people complaining that their homes smelled because of the water coming out of their faucets. and, in addition, some homes saying there is some discoloration. we have reached out on numerous times to the water company here last night, september an urgent media request asking for answers on that. again, no response. so we are out here in the trenches talking to people as to what they think were inside -- we are inside one of the businesses as i said. let me get to jonathan steel. you guys have taken a hit. you feel like perhaps you have been lied to? >> absolutely. this is a state where industry seems to come first before the people. we were lied to originally when they said it was okay for everybody to drink the water.

now they said the pregnant women could drink the water and they said young children couldn't drink the water. basically, the water still tastes the same. it still tastes awful. we have hand-washing stations we use bottled water for here because several of our staff contract wash their hands in the tap water. it makes their hands itchy and red. >> unbelievable. john let me get to one other person before we run out of time here, if you could real quickly guides, this is mya ni, what is the deal? we are not getting answers from anyone. how can we find out why there is the smell on the ground and on the ground here? >> this is not a surprise. i mean i feel like we have been dealing with these kinds of issues for a really long time. i don't know how we can find the answers. keep asking the questions. >> how upset are you? >> i am extremely upset. i feel like if we had implemented recommendations i know i personally made a while back, i don't feel like we would start at ground zero to try to

figure out how to deal with this situation, but unfortunately, things just haven't been put in place. >> yeah. i appreciate it. thank you for your time. so we are going to continue to ask the questions. i can tell you right now, we were outside about five hours yesterday across from the facility. the smell of could have drops, amazing, had an itch in my eye that has gone now unfortunately but we want answers. we are trying to get answers from the water company and we will keep pressing on. >> robert, before you go, very quickly, what are people saying about this bring ups charankrup? i understand the company found responsible has filed for bankruptcy. all lawsuits are put on hold. are people there saying this is a cop-out? >> lawsuits are null and void because the company is in chapter 11. whether or not people think it's a copout. their main opinion is they are not trusting the situation.

>>reporter: the bankruptcy, do you think you are lied to here with the bankruptcy? is it is it a cop out? >> sure, it's a cop out. >> that's what a lot of industries have done in this valley when something bad happens, they close down and open up under a different name or get bought out and business remains the same in the what i they operate. it's a complex problem. >>reporter: morgan, i think that answers it from someone who lives here the answers are the real issue. if the chem shalls are not in the water, we need answers. >> why is it smiling like licorice. >> exactly.

we will keep pressing. >> robert ray live in charleston, keeping them honest. thank you for joining us for months, we have been covering the u.s. government surveillance program before the snowden links, before public scrutiny, the nsa was funneling all of the information into one high-tech building. from the data center in utah >> reporter: if you've ever wondered where the national security agent see stores all of that data it collects, you are looking at it. this is the utah data center in bluffdale, a 92,000 square meter complex completed last september at a cost of 1 and a ha$1 and a billion dollars. writer james banford has studied the nsa for decades? >> it's designed to hold a tremendous amount of nsa's intercepted information, phone calls, e-mail, meta data, everything it collects. it needs a place to store it.

the nsa declined a request for an interview. but may bluffdale, most people don't have any qualms about their neighbor, the spy agency. >> it's an important mission. they get information from around the world, and my understanding is that they study it here. >> if you can't trust your government to do the proper thing, what can you trust? >> in the wake of former nsa contractor edward snowden's revelation, a nationwood movement is building to rain in the nsa using constitutional powers vested in the states. conner boyack is president of the utah legal thing tank. >> states and cities are not at all required to help the federal government fulfill various programs and mandates so if we wa wanted to, we could office what

the nsa is doing. >> here in utah, the nsa's foes think they found its ultimate weakness. >> opponents of the nsa's mass surveillance have come up with an audacious yet perfectly legal plan to criminal the data center. they want the state of utah to turn off the tap on the nsa's water supply. >> to keep equipment from overheating, the center needs nearly 6 and a half thousand cubic liters a day for a massive cooling system. legally, u utah could stop the flow and the result? >> if the nsa did not have water, it could not cool its servers and, therefore, it would not be able to operate its servers and then they wouldn't be able to mine and store and cyst through all of that data. >> activists in utah plan to put a new cooperation with the nsa abo bill before the legislature in the near fewersift through all >> activists in utah plan to put a new cooperation with the nsa bill before the legislature in the near fewer.

>> rob reynolds, bluffdale, utah. president obama has declared january national slavery and human trafficking prevention month. slaves today are generally kidnapped and deceived into working against their will and without pay. al jazeera's leaisa barnard tak a look at a photographer who is getting an intimate look at their stories. >> these are the faces of slaves, modern day slaves forced to work without pay under the threat of violence and with no power to walk away. they labor in gold mines in ghana, kilns in nepal and silk dying in india. sixteen hours a day, no rest for food or water or bathroom breaks. this child, kopi, worked as a slave in a fishing village in ghana his parents sent him away on a promise of education. he was sold as a slave, made to work hauling heavy fish nets. a photographer documents their story, lisa christine.

>> entire families cloaked in a blanket of dust are forced to stack bricks on their head, up to 18 at a time, each brick weighing more than four pounds. and then made to walk hundreds of yards to a truck to place them on the back of the truck. >> according to "free the slaves," a nonprofit agency, 21 to 30 million people are trapped in slavery around the world today. traffickers earn about $32,000,000,000 each year. many every day products are made by slaves such as cars, computers, chocolate, cell phones and clothing. >> they do it because they have been lied to and they have believed somebody. and then have been exploited. >> india has the largest slave population, 14 million, but it's also right here in our own backyard 60,000 real enslaved according to free the slaves.

>> we went along with the san francisco police sergeant who tried to determine if employees are working against their will. >> i just want to make sure that everything is okay. >> everything is okay. >> all right. okay. >> in san francisco, one young woman says she was brainwashed and forced to work in strip clubs for nearly eight years shared her story with us. she asked to remain anonymous. she said she is still afraid of the man who methodically exploited her. >> i was very young and very vulnerable. >> soon, the 19-year-old was earning $3,000 cash for an 8-hour shift stripping when she handed her money over to the man who made her dance. >> he told me almost every day that he would kill me if i left him, that i was his property. >> she says after a manager at the club let her sleep in a closet to recover from intense fatigue instead of dancing, she was able to get the strength to run away. >> i, yeah, i went through a lot of trauma therapy and started to heal. >> do you have a mention for

other young -- a message for other young women. >> there are people who care about you, even though you might feel like your ostracized by society, there is help. >> in california, landmark legislation passed last year requires adult clubs, transit stops and hospitals to post signs offering phone numbers and support to victims of slavery and human trafficking. some successful efforts abroad, too. kopi has been freed and reunited with his parents. >> the dye is toxic. >> christine has taken photos of some of the millions in slaves. she had them hold a candle in the portrait to shine a light on their stories. lisa barnad, al jazeera america, san frank cisco. >> using 400 pounds of dynamite to take down this building, which you are looking at right here. more, when we return.

battered. she says she was beaten, burns

good afternoon, and welcome

back to al jazeera america. i am morgan radford. here is our top story: anti-government protesters are back on the streets in the ukraine where thousands of people are rallying in the capitol defying new laws stamping out protests. demonstrators clash with police in riot gear. >> in daka, the capitol of bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of children living on the street struggling to make a living. even those who manage to find work find it hard to building a future. now, a bank is giving them a chance by providing a safe place to put their money. jeanine choudry reports. >> they live by their wits. language la 's most disadvantaged children scrape a living on a daily basis. they can't save what little money is left over from food as it often gets stolen. many end up spending it on drugs and alcohol until now. in the dusty back streets of the

capitol, an informal bank has let chirpsale deposit their money and withdraw it whenever they want. >> fourteen-year-old mohammed masin owns $2 a day selling newspapers. he has managed to save $15 suusg the bank. he wants to start a computer business. he says the bank has enabled him to protect his earnings. >> i can't trust anyone. if i ask someone to look at my money, they deny owing it and never get my money back. >> the bank doesn't make a profit or pay interest. it gives the children their own deposit and withdrawal book and is now hoping to expand the scheme nationwide. >> by saving this money, they can eventually make something of their lives. they will get into the habit of saving. >> the charity wants the scheme to be recognized as part of the formal banking system but bank executives point out that as its impossible for parents without guardians to open an account,

the entire banking rules will need to be changed. >> we from the central bank, we ask them to accept as their guardian so that they can have a bank account. >> so far, about the thousand or so children are involved in this scheme. the rest of the them survive day-to-day with little hope of improving life chances. >> if the scheme takes off across country, many may have a future to look forward to. al jazeera, doka, bangladesh. >> for those of you gearing up to enjoy the last day of your weekend, our meteorologist, julie is here to give us a national forecast. >> do you like the cold? >> i don't. >> i don't either. >> was that definitive enough. >> i definitely don't like the cold. >> if you are here in new york, you are going to be cold and colder as we head toward the end of the month. as a matter of fact, no change in the pattern we have in alberta clipper making its way across the midwest right now heading into the northeast, and this is going to bring snow

across portions of new york, on into the white and green mountains of new hampshire. also back in to vermont. across the southwest, still dry, looking at plenty of sunshine here that you the course of the day. check out temperatures. morgan doesn't like the cold. neither do i. los angeles looking nice and toasty at 81 degrees at this time of the year, we should be around 65. luckily winds have died down tremendously. looking at exceptional levels of drought across california. >> high-pressure system looking to go stay in control here through the day. luckily the winds are dying down. morgan? back to you. >> thanks, jalila, 400 pounds of dynamite. >> that's what it took for official to demolish an apartment building until greenville, south carolina. there it goes to 14 story building crumbled into a cloud of white smoke after officials evacuated everyone within 600 square feet. the building is slated to be rebuilt as brand-new apartments.

thank you for watching, i am morgan radford. see you again in just 30 minutes. pau >> hello, you're at the "listening post." this week, south sudan, what they're fighting over as opposed to what the media is reporting there. russia is doing something that it hasn't done since it was the soviet union. and we're in israel and the free newspaper that has been a game changer. and what would happen if israel extended beyond the west bank and into the westend of london. >> this is our land as given to