twitter and more. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york. >> i believe strongly that iran needs to be part of the solution to the syrian crisis. >> iran gets the invite but just days before the syrian peace talks fears they might fall apart. >> a dangerous turn in the koran. ukraine. >> i'm jessica taff where the shawks havseahawks have just pur

ticket to super bowl 48. we'll have later in sports. >> tonight the syrian peace talks are in danger of ending before they even get started. just hours ago the united nations invited iran to the conference in switzerland but that upset syrian rebels who are threatening to pull out. the united nations wants the invitation suspended until it agrees that syria's president steps down. shuttled diplomacy over syria. this was moscow last thursday. a meeting of friends and allies. russian hosting the iranian and syrian foreign ministers. the man from teheran that his --

making clear that his country was ready to go. the u.n. secretary-general made this announce. >> pledged that iran would play a positive and constructive roll in montreul. therefore as convenor and host of the conference i have issued an invitation for iran to participate. >> no sooner than that statement was made than it was greeted from the syrian national, confirming the snc decision to withdraw from the conference unless iran's violation was resinted. in istanbul, would talk to representatives of the syrian government under u.n. auspices. >> an absolutely majority voted for going to the negotiating

table. and of course we are all aware that the regime is trying to find loophole to try to get out of its commitment. >> reporter: in syria all the while the fighting goes around. this activist video was filmed in aleppo. using barrel bombs against civilians. the invitation to iran has raised serious doubts with use days to go about. fergus nickel, al jazeera. >> u.s. wants him to step down litle go to libby casey in

washington. how worried is the white house with this development? >> jonathan, the white house has put out a statement that unless iran agrees to the geneva agreement, june 2012, that the u.s. wants the invitation rescinded. this is a very serious move, the u.s. sees it as a last minute invite by the u.n. secretary-general. a role for iran to play on the sidelines, not a message that iran received well. the u.s. wanted it to exercise some muscle, tried to get the attacks on aleppo to stop, try to get humanitarian aid into the country, but they did not want to see this direct activity unless they would agree to the transitional government. >> judgwhy are so many against having iran at the talks?

>> many senators on both sides of the aisle including many senators of the democratic party, president obama's own ranks want to see sanctions put forth against iran, unless iran backs out of the settlement that's going on, simultaneously. much pressure on them concerned about what iran's next moves may be in the region so there's a lot of suspicion, a lot of wanting it to see more in place, so that iran feels the mighty force of the united states. the united states wants iran country and their own nuclear power development so this is not seen as a strong development from the senate and from congress's general point of view. >> and libby, is there any indication of how the united states is going to move forward? since there is a lot of fear that these talks would collapse.

it is something the united states has pushed for for so long. >> it's just days away, jonathan. we'll see substantive talks begin on friday. the u.s. has laid down its parameters so we will see if iran will make any sort of public agreement or acknowledgment of this. we'll see how iran will respond and that may move the ball forward and affect what iran's next move is. >> libby, thank you. talked how the geneva 2 talks could affect life on the ground in syria. >> the government is better positioned because of its military command structure to deliver a asses cease fire or pn action that is actually achievable. the rebels because they are so divided, the people who will sign on a dotted line on the piece conference in somewhere else in the world, don't feel they represent them to do

anything. i think that's one of the things we're seeing now in syria is there are a lot of people on the ground who feel the people going to this conference these negotiators don't speak for them and that's really the danger. >> there is a way perhaps an agreement could be made to end the suffering within that country? >> i think to talk about the regime ending this week in geneva is overly optimistic. a possible outcome would be lifting the black aids in those areas and allow the aid to reach those who desperately need it. >> for much more in the talk in the regular sunday evening segment the week ahead. dawn has broken on the historic nuclear agreement. in hours u.n. inspectors will make sure iran freezes its nuclear agreement. release $4 billion, iranians are

optimistic but also cautious. >> they put us under such pressure by even a little thing such as this we've become hopeful. we're still hopeful for future. if the agreement isn't implemented simultaneously by each sierd, iran is ready to resume enriching uranium to 20%. >> sanctions will be lifted, this all hinges on the u.s. not imposing any new sanctions. united states is now threatening sanctions against ukraine if it does not stop the violence. officers fired tear gas, the white house blames the government for not easing tensions. instead ukraine passed laws banning protest which only sparked today's anger.

our jennifer glasse has more from kiev. >> reporter: it's the worst violence in kiev in nearly two months. clashed with police blocking the road to parliament. protesters set buses on fire. police fired pepper gas. the demonstrators kidnapped a policeman. opposition leader and former professional boxer vitali klishko tried to calm the people without success. tensions heightened this week when the court declared demonstrations in the center of kiev illegal and the president signed into law sweeping measures that limit free speech and assembly. earlier sunday tens of thousands gathered on independence square to defy the new regulations. >> translator: my appeal to law enforcement bodies to service men, join the people, protect the people, you gave an

oath to the ukrainian people first of all and you have to protect them. >> reporter: the government says they're public order laws. the people here disagree. >> this is not just a new law, it's a coup. and when a coup happens in the country, especially when there's a social explosion in the country the situation is an unpredictable way. i think with my presence here i'm just trying to show to people to show to parliament and government that to try to disperse the protestors. demonstrators threw fire bombs and destroyed vehicles. but not all advocate aggression as a way to get what they want from the government after two months of demonstrations. jennifer glasse, al jazeera,

kiev. >> more security concerns as russia prepares to host the winter olympics in just 18 days. video emerges of two men who claim to be the bombers of two months ago in volgograd. they warn tourists quill be targeted. a foreign policy advisor says it's a credible threat. >> even though they don't have the capability to launch an attack, if their purpose is disruption and destroy people's faith in the olympics and their safety at the olympics it would be worth their while in plowing a video like this anyway, even though they can't follow through with the 3rd. it's difficult to see whether this is all smoke or whether there's a fire behind it. >> vladimir putin spoke out against russia's new antigay law

and compared gays to pedophiles. he says russia needs to cleanse itself of all. s. ownership to the u.s. geological survey it happened on new zealand's north island, happened about a minute, north of wellington. collapsed walls, fallen chimneys all being reported. as of now no reports of injuries. west virginia's water utility is trying to assure people the tap water is safe but many are he still nervous and says the water smells. robert ray has the latest. >> reporter: on the banks of the elk refer in charleston west virginia, perhaps you can see the facility, freedom industries containers that's where the chemical spill occurred about ten days ago. now we reached out to the water company here that is trying to treat everything and eliminate the licorice odor in the air in

people's homes, here is what they had to say to us. we realize through no fault of our own the public's trust in the water has been shaken, nothing is more important than to rebuild the trust. we recognize that major challenges lie ahead. we will work with our interagency partners to restore the customers confidence in the water. significant test results shows the chemical has not been detected at our water treatment plant since january 13th, they say. they also went on to answer another question we had as to why the licorice smell continues to be in the air and also people's homes. they say water still may have an odor. the odors can be detected at a level far below what the centers for disease control detects as harmful. 100,000 times lower than the

adverse affect level that we are currently seeing now. so a lot of questions still in the story as it continues to develop and we're certain that legislators and porters will be talking about it all -- reporters will be talking about it because there was a leak on the elk winter and 300,000 people were not able to drink or bathe in water for about eight days. >> our robert ray in charleston west virginia. a big sports story, a lot of people tuned into the sunday nfl games because we finally know who's going to be playing in the super bowl. >> mostly good football. football teams marking matchups on the few of, the nfc championship game san francisco and seattle. russell wilson came in aas the top seed but colin kaepernick ran for 130 yards in this one

but it was his third quarter 26 jarred touchdown pass, after a field goal, seattle's pete carroll going for it. give the seahawks their first lead. in the final seconds kaepernick's got a chance to win it down 6, but richard sherman intercepts. they beat the 49ers 23-17. a lot of people predicted that the patriots would beat the broncos. but one was close to perfection, manning through four 400 yards to go along with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. as for brady, kept him out of the end zone until the fourth quarter, too little, too late.

a manning brother is going to the super bowl, as the broncos beat the pate ross, 24-16. >> it's going to be seattle versus the broncos. >> seattle is going to play the broncos. both the number one seeds. first time that's happened since 2009. >> thank john. still to come on al jazeera america. nine years after the assassination of lebanon's prime minister no suspect has been found. plus a minority group in europe says they're battling intense discrimination. morton romas -- more on the romas fights for rights. had bl

>> 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 >> a high profile trial askundet dramatic political

assassinations in history. rafi kariri was assassinated. four men tide to hezbollah would be tried. even though they were not caught. cornt healy has more. >> after assassination of rafik karirri blowing out a crater 35 feet wide and six feet deep. a the pros four men are tried in absentia. now hezbollah leader says the men are innocent and warns that any hand that touches them will be cut off. hezbollah and its syrian and iranian allies has denounced the

trial as a western back conspiracy. first time an international court has tried defendants in absentia. extensive backing from the united states and was created by a unanimous vote of the united nations security council. >> the attackers used a extraordinary amount of explosive far more than was needed. clearly their aim was to see the target was killed but to sell a terrifying message and cause panic among residents of beirut and leb knob. >> the prosecution has cost $325 million. the stakes are high as well. precedent setting. >> probably an unspoken part of this also was that many countries including probably the u.s., saw this as a way to pressure the syrian government and hezbollah and iran which is

their friend and supporter and partner, so probably that was a kind of a secondary subscript to this process. >> the trial comes against a backdrop of retaliatory back drops of lebanon that are stoking sectarian tedgeses as the violence of the syrian war continues to spill across the border. former lebanese prime minister attended the trial. >> this is what you want, justice, not vengeance. we never seek vengeance. hopefully by the end of this trial we'll find out the truth. >> hundreds of witnesses could be called, the trial could last admonition and possibly longer. courtney ke ke keeley, al jazee.

>> the town of northern slovak slovakia. tourists don't look at the occasional roma looking for food in the bins. >> they are artists, i don't know they are not working. >> enough slovaks have seen what they call as the roma scourge. a big plot of land he bought in order to kick the roma off of it. the roma say they look at them like monkeys in the zoo. we are okay said this old man until the whites get drunk and come here. on every level, these people are under attack. roma communities are forced way beyond the boundaries of a town and are accused of not wanting to integrate and would regard

themselves very much to be moderate end up acting like parties who are fascist. >> the slovaks paid the nazis to get rid of them. ulia and josef feels like they might be running a risk having a half slovak half roma baby. >> better i will have a, i don't know, man who will not drink who will be kind to me than the white one who will beat me or drink or something like that. >> the relationship may not be sanctioned by the public but was by their church. here, the roma are offered all sort of support. >> they made me more confident.

they showed me that even though i'm a gypsy i can move forward. they prayed for me. >> reporter: but if you want to see what's really possible take a look at this model village in southwestern hungary. they produced so much food last year that they took tons of it off to the poor in budapest, nearly 50 roma were taken to the nazi death camps in world war ii. the roma had to forgive the huh hungarians for that. >> the sadness is there is so few examples of this but to say the roma and europeans cannot integrate cannot be true. in the end it seems about believing it's possible. lawrence lee, al jazeera in eastern europe.

>> a romani living in western europe, they must work to redefine themselves. >> the way we have been seen so far, also try to redefine ourselves in positive terms. what are our values and what are our principles? tell stories that are empowering, and positive. put the emphasis on role models. help roma that are invisible and they deny their identity as i did for a lock time, come to terms with this identity because their life is very different than you know what usually see in media and so on. >> she added for many years she herself actually denied her roma identity. right now a bunch of ceubance are in the united states on a rare academic trip.

the u.s. will provide classes to those still living in cuba. christine an pueg has more. >> victor vasquez hernandez of miami-dade college says this dream is now a reality. first time in 55 years such a large group of students has come to study in the u.s., here to study computers, psychology, business and english. the acquain students ranging fro 37, were picked in conjunction with the college. they were visibly nervous and kept at arm's length from the media. one student said he is optimistic about the opportunities he has been given. >> i want to see another vision of the world. >> the obama administration

resumed academic programs that allows u.s. citizens to travel and study in cuba. however, rarely did ceu cuban students travel to the u.s. at the end of six months this group of students will receive a certification of completion from miami-dade college. at least four of them are related to well-known cuban dissident leaders. activism against the castro regime. this is not what the cuban government wanted to do, let's be clear. if government was obligates to release some internal pressure from the community the cuban opposition and the european union asking for the regime to make changes. >> luis enrique ferer, works closely with compiles to push

restraint on the island. >> they say these students or anyone else cannot leave the island. >> the cuban activist also says he hopes these students pave the way for future generations of cube answer who will help rebuild the island and make it the free democratic cuba they have longed for. christina pueg, al jazeera, miami. >> president obama on the hot seat about his pot smoking past. >> i'm jessica taff, the nfl championship game just finished up. we're going ohear from both teams coming up.

battered. she says she was beaten, burns

indonesiaians are treated like ghosts. >> i would say slaifs like and vulnerable to bruce and vulnerable to exploitation. >> agencies say they were not aware of the problems until she returned home. the police accused the agency of not providing enough evidence. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are your headlines this half hour. west virginia's water companies

assuring people the water is safe. but it still smells. sanctions are threatened for ukraine. white house blames the government for not easing tensions. syrian peace talks are off to a rocky start before they even begin, after the u.n. invited iran to the conference. if it accepts syrian president stepping down. the week ahead. tonight we look at our top story, those peace talks in geneva. the genome is -- the goal is to end syria's ward. bernard smith with the background. >> the most serious global effort yet to end the three year long conflict and at the heart of this peace conference is a

plan to agree, a road map, established by the u.s. and russia and other global powers back in 2012, a road map for syria that will see a transitional government leading to fresh, free elections. the syrian national coalition has finally been persuaded, agreed to attend these talks but a third of the members of the snc an umbrella group that covers political groups, and rebel groups opposed the assad, didn't vote on whether they will attend. they will attend and sitting across the table from representatives of the syrian regime, first time that has happened in three years. this is one of the problems it is going to face. the syrian regime says it is attending because it continues to fight what they call terrorism. the letter said they were being invited because they want to be part of the discussions to set up a traditional government. so the opposition groups are

worried those based outside syria are worried they are going to lose credibility with the rebel forces on the ground who have long said they have no interest in talking to anybody from assad's government. they want that regime gone before they will even begin talks. but all that said these talks are the best chance there's been in three years, to end a conflict that's taken 130,000 lives and forced millions from their homes. >> as bernard mentioned, this is difficult and there's a lot of players. only yesterday about did some syrian rebels agree otead. they met to decide who should go. more than 120,000 people have been killed in three years. nearly 7 million syrians need

credit being aid. asked them what they felt about iran being brought to the negotiation table? >> assess fire that can happen without iran's presence, i think if we're going to be as optimistic as possible, what one can hope to achieve at geneva in its best incarr nation would be a cease fire initially so that the killing and the bloodshed stops which is what everybody in syria tells me is what they want. and secondary to that, hopefully right after that is an end to the blockade, end to the blockade of the areas that are in syria, and we can begin very much needed aid to people in that area. if that is what we can get out of geneva then that's the first step that we hadn't achieved up until now. >> from the u.n. secretary-general what he has

said just a few hours ago. >> as i have said repeatedly, i believe strongly that iran needs to be part of the solution to the syrian crisis as convenor and host of the conference i have decided to issue an invitation to iran to participate. >> so with liam, with that invitation, good news, united states has said before, iran can come, now they just need to be on the sidelines. now they're a part of the game. >> iran is a complex conflict, whenever you start a process like that, a negotiated settlement, as leah said, delivering something tangible to the process, everyone needs to be there, anyone who is secluded, is thought to be a spoiler, and don't have to abide by the items agreed upon.

>> if iran has so much is effect over syria,. >> if iran comes they have that influence because they are such a big player in terms of their support for assad both financially, weapons, military advisories, they are a very important player. >> and alia, a big sticking point is whether president assad is going to stay or going to go. do you think it's likely now that vaughn at the table that there might be a possibility assad will indeed leave? >> i think a political transition and the end to this regime is the ultimate goal. i think we would be very optimistic to believe that's going ohappen at geneva, this round of the geneva talks. best outcome would be that right now, now that iran is at the table we can begin to possibly separate its interest from the

assad regime. with the regime it's been very effective sustaining it for the past three years. the facts on the ground do not support a military end to the regime, they are quite strong. the opposition doesn't have that card to play at the moment. the cards that the opposition has are the moral cards but that's not enough to push that regime out of power. >> we have a map for you up to a thousand armed groups, fighting for control, including an al qaeda backed group, rebel held areas, light blue is what the government holds, battles obviously raging near some of the major cities in syria. so with so many groups, so many rebel groups liam and not even all the rebel groups have agreed to attend these peace talks, if they even do reach peace, with these groups that are there, what is that going to mean for the country? >> you know the government i think is better positions --

positioned because of the taking an action that is achievable. the rebels because they are so divide he, will sign on a dotted line somewhere else in the world, they are not going to be able to force people on the ground who may not feel they represent them to do anything. i think that's one of the things we are seeing in syria, there are a lot of people on the ground, feeling these negotiate is don't speak for them and that is really the danger. >> alia is there a way perhaps that an agreement can be made to end the suffering in that country? >> i think to talk about the regime ending this week in geneva is overlily optimistic but the positive one would be the lifting of blockades and allow the humanitarian relief to reach those who desperately need it.

>> alia malik, and liam, we appreciate it. >> thank you so much. also in the coming days on monday the country remembers martin luther king, jr. the largest event which take place in denver, up to 33,000 people are expected to honor the civil rights leader. in wednesday, global leaders will meet in switszlan switzerle global l forum. causing her to cancel a visit to washington, congressional intelligence leaders talk about nsa reforms and issued new allegations against dwoapped. diswoand. edward snowden.

>> the whole purpose of this is to disrupt any plot that may be taking place. i think a lot of the prieives peopl -- privacypeople still dod that we occupy the role of the great satan. >> raises more questions how he arranged travel before he left, how he had -- he was ready to go, he had a go-bag if you will and how he accessed -- >> how high level do you think? >> let me say this. i believe there's a reason he ended up in the hands, the loving arms of an fsb agent in moscow. >> rogers offered no proof about that allegation against edward snowden. much of that information is kept in a huge data center in utah, it's a high tech building activists would like closed. rob reynolds has a report. >> if you ever wondered where

the national security agency stores all that data it collection hcts, you're looking at it no. bluffdale a 92,000 square foot complex imletted last september at a cost of $92 billion. robert ban ford has studied the nsa for decades. >> the phone calls the e-mail the metadata, everything it collects it needs a place to store it and that's what bluffdale is for. you could sort of think of it as nsa's external hard drive. >> reporter: the nsa declined a request for an interview but in bluffdale, population about 8,000, 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 it is my understanding that they study it here. >> if you can't trust your government to do the proper

thing, what can you trust? >> but in the wake of former nsa contractor edward snowden's revelations, a nationwide movement is building to rein in the nsa, using constitutional powers vested in the states. connor boyak is president of the lobertas institute a utah think tank. >> states and cities are not at all required to help the federal government fulfill its mandates, if we want we could pope opposet it is doing. >> opponents of the place have come up with a completely legal way to oppose. turn off the water supply. the center needs six and a half

thousand cubic meters a day for a massive cooling system. legally, ut could stop the supply. the result: >> it could not be able to operate its servers. then of course they would not be able to mine and store and sift through all of that data. >> activists plan to put a no cooperation with the nsa bill in front of the legislature in the future. similar laws have been posed in california and washington. speaking to the magazine the new yorker, president obama says they are far more likely the get locked up for marijuana, and the legalization of the device, i

don't think it's more dangerous than alcohol. despite this obama still told his daughters that smoking pot is a bad idea and a waste of time. big news in the sports world, john henry is here to talk about who is going to the super bowl, we finally know. >> we had to catch our breath for the nfc championship game. what a great game. the latest chapter in the seahawks, 49ers rivalry was as advertised. an always hard fault slug fest. russell wilson and the seahawks came in as the top seed, but colin kaepernick, 35 yard score, seattle's got is lead. their first one. kaepernick's bid for win, game over, seattle's going to the super bowl, they beat the 49ers

23-17. our own jessica was a witness to the wildness in seattle. she joins us from centurylink field. some game jessica. >> we're talking about the end of the game, where it wasn't enough for richard sherman to get into the super bowl. in the very last connect second, the twitter world abuzz when he also took that fury into his postgame interview in the field. >> i'm the best corner of the game. when you try me with a star receiver, that's the result you going to get. don't you ever talk about me! >> who was talking about you? >> don't you open your mouth about this. >> i love the fact that we have this opportunity to go play in the super bowl to represent all of the northwest and all of our fans everywhere because they deserve it. they just frickin deserve it. at this time, we are.

it's pretty cool. >> and afterwards colin kaepernick figured out a way to win at centurylink field. he did everything good offensively to this team, but in the end, that final interception, the sixth time the seahawks have done that in seattle, denies the niners their second trip to the super bowl. >> not many people get to be in this reign o reign arena of com. i thought they were great players, congratulations to the seattle seahawks who were also in this arena and won the football game and moving on. that's how i assess it. >> i didn't play good enough to win. turned the ball over three times, i cost us this game. >> so again it is the seattle

seahawks going to the super bowl since the first time in 2005. wwe heard frank sinatra, they're headed to the meadow lands. >> you never can go wrong with old blue eyes. the denver broncos, defeated, the patriots, peyton manning, brady was good but manning was great. two touchdown passes and no interceptions, he also tied an afc championship record with, 26-16, our ross shimabuku was there. >> denver head coach john fox has been preaching all week to finish the ballgame, that's what they did. terrence knighton came up with a

key sack in the third quarter as the broncos punched their ticket to super bowl 38. >> i can remember both times that we won the afc championship, i'm an afc guy, i'm biased towards this conference so i think it's a hard conference to win and you feel like you've done something to win the championship. you realize that you still want to win one more game. >> i think that's what we did, we showed the wirld that we can play, we can keep playing and going to the super bowl. >> denver broncos in the super bowl how does that sound? >> that sounds great. now i'm here, i'll be making the most of it. >> the broncos making their 8th appearance. in denver colorado, ross shimabuku al jazeera. >> thank you ross. the stage is set for super bowl 48. the denver broncos will take on

the seattle seahawks. the broncos will be the home team and they're installed as three point favorites. >> i asked you who was going to win and you called it. i'll put you on the spot again. >> denver, but it's going to be tight. >> you got it. the devastating effects of the trout on california's landscape. rebecca. >> well, the only thing quiet in the pacific northwest is definitely the weather but in the northeast we're about to get a brisk slap from the polar vortex. details coming up next. >> 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

>> every morning from 5 to 9am al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any other american news channel. find out what happened and what to expect. >> start every morning, every day, 5am to 9 eastern with al jazeera america. al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> the fire that destroyed five homes near los angeles and burned hundreds of acres is nearly under control. firefighters said it should be fully contained by wednesday. it started thursday with a camp fire in the a national forest. since then it's burned almost three square miles. the state's ski slopes in california are nearly bare, because of a drought, the worst california has seen in nearly 100 years. brian rooney has more. >> the view from space reveals a dramatic problem. the snow pack on january 13th, 2013. on the right, with all the brown, january 13th, 2014. at mammoth mountain, ten of 20 ski liflts are closed for lack of snow. the mountain's webcam shows bare peaks that normally would get

covered. mammoth mountain gets a average of 100 inches, so far 48. they're making snow, a high pressure system is acting as a barrier to winter weather in the west. >> the jetstream is so far to the north taking the storm up and over that ridge so that's why we're not getting the much needed rain and snow that we so desperately need in california. >> some interprizing bishops in california, suspended a snow balloon, this year the snow pack is only 20% of normal. usually you should be able to see snow capped peaks from here in downtown los angeles. not this year. >> today i'm declaring -- >> the governor declared a drought emergency in the state warning californians to cut water use by 20%. california has had periodic dry spells going as far back as 1500

years. this dry spell could be a natural cycle or something else. >> we don't know. is really the answer, whether what we're experiencing now is a result of global climate change. it might be but we don't really have the data to connect the dots. we tend to look at one individual weather event and say ah, is that a cause or is that a result of this climate change? >> the game isn't over. what should be the rainiest months are yet to come. >> it's possible that we could pull out of these extreme dry conditions that we are now and get something closer to normal. >> the last good rain was more than a month ago. now the weather looks like this. brian rooney al jazeera los angeles. >> well from the drought out west to a big drop in temperatures in the northeast, rebecca. you're telling me cold weather is on the way. >> yes, you remember the polar vortex sagging south a week or so ago? >> not again?

>> yeah, that's going to be appear again, but this doesn't appear it's going to be as bad as it was, still temperatures well below normal. right now 42 in billings and cool 30 for minneapolis but this is as warm as you're going to be for a little while in the midwest and also the northeast. arctic air is going to be sagging down by monday night we'll really feel the cold air working its way into upstate new york, maine and the great lakes. as we get into the day tuesday that cold air is going to be working its way further south so it's really on wednesday we're all going ofeel the deep freeze and yes, there will be those dangerous wind chills especially up to the northeast fargo 20, 52 in tulsa. we aren't warming up from where we are now we are cooling down quite a bit.

single digit temperatures are expected to be the highs for many places around the canadian border. but minneapolis is a spot that's below zero for your high. much colder for the northern plains canadian border for tomorrow and not as warm further south into the midwest. low temperatures under the fog and stagnant air 37 for seattle but head up to the top of the mountains in the cascades you're going to be warmer because of the inversion that's developed. new york a high of 20 -- i should say a low of 20 to start the day and a high of 44. so we're just going to be getting a big cool down moving in. jonathan. >> big change, thanks rebecca. more news in just a moment.

>> about crews remain on the scene of a massive sinkhole that opened up in a street in downtown detroit. workers spent the day filling the crater, the hole is 14 feet deep. it appeared last night at a busy intersection near general motors corporate headquarters.

two closed lanes could lead to monday morning gridlock though. 400 pounds of dynamite and it worked. that's what it took for officials to demolish an apartment building in greenville, south carolina. after officials evacuated everyone within 600 feet of that blast zone. new apartments will be built on the site. well brazil is gearing up for its famous carnivale celebration. rio de janeiro is shaking things up. fans got a sneak-peek of one of rio's famous sam abou samba schs practiced. looks like a lot of fun there. thanks for joining us and spending part of your sunday evening with us, i'll be back in just a few minutes with headlines. you can always go to

aljazeera.com. have a great night. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz with tonight's headlines. syrian peace talks of off to a rocky start. the syrian opposition threatened to withdraw from talks after the u.n. secretary-general invited iran to the conference. it could accept an earlier demand for a full transition in syria. the u.s. is threatening sanctions against ukraine if it doesn't stop the violence. dozens were hurt with fights with police. the white house blames the government for not easting tensions.