♪ the second cold snap of the year has officially arrived, millions of americans are waking up to brutally cold temperatures and in the northeast they are bracing for another serious snowstorm. iran will not be taking part in upcoming syrian peace talks, why the united nations pulled the plug and the last-minute implication and the implication it could have on the talks. chaos increasing in the ukraine and demands from protests

clashing with riot police in the streets. how delay in education is effecting students in one african nation. ♪ another round of bone-chilling cold and snow is set to arrive today in the midwest and northeast, temperatures are expected to go well below zero in minnesota and wi and michigan and up state new york are expected to see the worst of it with sub zero temperatures and feel the freeze as far south as florida. in washington dc where 8"s could fall all federal offices are closed and welcome to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy, the cold air won't be as dangerous as the blast we had a few weeks

ago but many may feel some of the very same effects. >> two weeks after dangerously cold hit the nation a new wave of air is making a come back and temperatures will plummet to below zero in 11 states starting today through friday. with that cold scenes like this will surely play out again and includes airlines delays and cancellations like the ones that left thousands stranded for days the first time around. the effects of the cold blast are already being felt. this train in wisconsin hauling coal derailed, the frigid temperatures blamed on this. and it sent four to the hospital. as the bitter cold moves east forecasters say this cold snap will not be as brutal as the

other one this month but in chicago they are counting down the days to spring. >> it has been something else this year. >> the snow in my face has been a little too much. >> reporter: for now it's all about preparation. from north carolina to connecticut roads are being treated for snow and ice. in virginia crews are using snow plows and trucks and waiting in gas lines to fill their tanks. shoppers on long island where they are expected to be hit with a foot of snow are getting salt and snow blowers. >> not looking forward to the cold and snow and have to go back to work and don't like driving it in either. thomas with al jazeera. >> reporter: metrologist nicole mitchell is tracking the storm and what is the latest? >> a snowy morning in places and a corridor running from parts of missouri all the way to maryland this morning and then it's going to spread more up the east coast

as we get into later today and early tomorrow so very concerning because some of these cities especially as you get further south and places like washington d.c. where we could easily get, you know, 8-10", that's really crippled the city, that is not used to getting quite so much snow and dealing with that. this is how it is in motion for today. as i said, it is still in states like illinois and indiana but as we get to the mid-atlantic that part will be clearing out, this area will be picking up and that corridor is along the coast because we will pick up some of the moisture, a lot of the clipper systems going through the midwest and north entier of the country recently have not had a lot of moisture associated with them. this one will be able to tap into it at the coastline and heavier amounts of snow especially later today and early tomorrow. because of that almost the entire area is under winter storm warnings and right off the cape of massachusetts you could

be looking at some blizzard conditions. i don't think they will be sustained long enough to be a blizzard but white out conditions because of high winds. these are big cities and what we could look at, new york city 9, boston 10, philadelphia 10 and dc possibly 7" give or take a couple in some of those locations and all of this continuing to spread by tomorrow morning, a lot of places start to clear out but the morning commutes still could be a little rough. this is the same low pressure system that is bringing in all that cold air so already today, tomorrow and even into thursday that will spread southward and i'll talk more about the temperature side of this coming up, in a few minutes and back to you. >> metrologist nicole mitchum. include iran almost derailed the process and iran is out and the talks are set to go on as planned. world leaders including n secretary general moon are starting to arrive in switzerland and syria's opposition will be taking part

in the talks which officially get underway tomorrow in geneva. on monday the u.n. rescinded iran's invitation because the country would not commit to the geneva communication, a plan to establish a transitional government in syria. >> joining the global consensus behind the geneva communicae and outside of the basic understanding he has decided the one day montra gathering will go without their participation. >> reporter: they are busy keeping peace talks on track the war ranges on in syria as nick reports from the border syria shares with turkey the fighting is taking place across the country. >> reporter: just two days before conference designed to start a peace process syria's war is as violent as ever and monday's deadly attack and killed at the crossing and

targeted vehicles going into syria and destroyed shops and killed customers. we are right on the syria and turkish border and may look calm but 15 minutes ago a mile beyond the crossing there were two huge explosions and at least one of them a car bomb and one eyewitness saw dozens of bodies and said most of the people were women and children and trying to flee and come to turkey. >> translator: we were at the crossing and heard a huge explosion, five minutes later another explosion went off, many people died. >> reporter: in aleppo witnessing the worst fighting two car bombs guttel rebel headquarters, one was big enough to create this crater. a man tried to extinguish the fire but both cars burned for hours and it was by radical

fires by people who think they are too moderate and both want to oust bashir al-assad and it weakens the campaign as assad continues the assault and dropped targets on two places controlled by the opposition and destroyed dozens of homes. survivors were carried away on make-shift stretchers and a make-shift ambulance. and as people look for more survivors they found only the dead. in the refugee camp children had to take cover from progovernment snipers and they targeted refugees as they try to look for food. conditions here are so bad people are dying of hunger. antiregime activists say snipers shot dead women and children. and i'm with al jazeera, syrian, turkish border. >> reporter: iran is talking about the exclusion from

wednesday's peace conference in switzerland, a foreign ministry spokesman said they did not ask to take part in the talks and never a plan. and the foreign minister said moon was under pressure when he rescinded iran's invitation. a new report suggests the assad regime was involved in the systematic killing of thousands of syrian detainees. tens of thousands of photographs and other evidence were smuggled out of the country by a military police defector, former u.n. war prosecutor say the documents show 11,000 detainees were tortured and excused by assad security forces and could result in war crime charges and this report was commissioned by lawyers working for the government of katar and al jazeera was founded and is owned by katari interests. iran has begun pulling the plug on parts of its nuclear program as part of a historic deal brokered with six world powers

including the united states. in response the u.s. and european union have eased some economic sanctions against iran and kimberly reports some u.s. lawmakers are not convinced and preparing a new set of even tougher sanctions. >> reporter: a team from the international atomic energy agency pays a visit to iran's nuclear facility, the team was on monday making sure that iran was living up to its commitment to stop enriching uranium at 20% and exchange, relaxation of international sanctions. >> translator: i believe by early afternoon the measures will be completed. >> reporter: but as sanctions are eased on one front, washington and the u.s. congress, many in the senate are pushing for even tighter sanctions. >> we want to talk about how we get a final deal. >> reporter: the iranian americans are worried and canvassing the offices of u.s. senators to let politicians know they are opposed to the proposed

leg situation and see the u.s. back on israeli led attack on iran if tehran fails to fault the nuclear program. >> they are opposed to war and an opening for a diplomatic resolution between u.s. and iran and see the senate is potentially going to torpedo with a new sanctions bill. >> reporter: it could undo the deal struck in geneva in november. why would so many senators want to under mine the progress and put in jeopardy any hope of a permanent deal between iran and the international community? well, the answer has a lot to do with how u.s. politicians raise money to get elected and stay in office. many u.s. politicians fear supporting iran could cost them thousands of dollars in donations from pro-israeli lobby groups. >> they don't want to get on the wrong side of groups that provide political contributions, apak and other groups like that

and are doing what various lobby groups tell them to do. >> majority in the u.s. senate is ignoring president obama appeal to delay sanctions and many in the iran american community are disappointed. >> they will divide more and more united states into iran and jews and muslim versus jews and this is the problem, we don't need no division in the country. this is the home we all choose for unity and freedom and democracy. >> a final vote in the legislation has not been scheduled but if enough members of congress back it the bill will become law dashing the hopes of iran and americans and prospects of improved relations between the u.s. and iran, i'm kimberly with al jazeera capitol hill. >> we have al jazeera libby casey and good morning, so president obama says a new round of sanctions against iran would be tantamount to a declaration of war. how serious are these 59

senators about these latest sanctions? >> well, stephanie, the white has has launched essentially a campaign to convince democrats to see the perspective and the president met with democrats from the senate last week and had an evening with them to try to help them see his perspective and republicans still pushing for sanctions. it would take 60 votes in the senate to pass legislation. the key number really is 67. because that is how many senators would have to vote to override a presidential veto. now we saw senator patrick lehey chairman of the judiciary committee on sunday talk shows and said he was disinclined to i'm impose sanctions because he did not want to send the table that u.s. was prejudging the outcome of the interim agreement. republicans and democrats who joined with them to call for sanctions that would kick in if iran didn't stay true to its word are saying they do have concerns about iran's power and

development of nuclear weapons and what it would mean for other countries in the region. they would say it's not just about dollars and cents and lobbying but about genuine security issues. so for now it looks like the white house has been able to quell the fire that congress is really feeling to move forward because they have to make sure they don't get that key 67 votes. >> and one area where there is not agreement between iran and the u.s. is on syria and as you know the invitation to iran to attend the syrian peace talks was rescinded by the united nations, was iran ever going to agree to the u.n. preconditions and on a side note why wasn't russia presented with similar preconditions also an important player in the region? >> russia and the u.s. were the ones at the table creating the framework for this peace talk series of events and at the table for geneva one and russia has a separate level of um poovrment here and iran never gave an indication to agree with the geneva communicae and the

framework of the talks and calls for cease fires to creating some sort of interim government in place of the asaid regime and no indication they would support it and that is why the u.s. had not wanted them at the table. and this is why arguably moon had to rescind this offer because the u.s. had said and russia in the creation of the framework to be at the table you had to agree with the basics. >> and thank you. chris christie will take the office today for his second term but his swearing in m cos as the potential presidential hopeful is embroiled in a handful of political scandals and jay gray joins us and has that story now. >> reporter: the second term for new jersey governor chris christie officially begins later today. >> nice work. >> reporter: with what will likely be a lot of hard work and heavy lifting and still rebuilding after super storm

sandy and also trying to cleanup a growing pr and political mess surrounding his administration. >> and anyone would hold back sandy relief funds for any reason, it is wholly and completely false. >> reporter: but that is exactly what hoboken mayor said on talk shows and apparently to the u.s. attorneys office this weekend accusing lieutenant governor gwadano and a key member of christie's staff threatening to withhold funds unless she supported a major commercial development project. >> she said i know it's not right and should not be connected but they are and if you tell anyone i will deny it. >> reporter: that allegation comes as two separate investigations continue in the so called bridge gate controversy, a plan allegedly carried out by senior members of the staff that closed down lanes on the george washington bridge creating a massive traffic jam for years all to punish another

new jersey mayor also a democratic, christie has denied any knowledge of bridge gate. his administration now continues to try and rebuild not only the trust of many in new jersey but also national momentum as the well-known republican considers a possible presidential bid. >> reporter: that was jay gray reporting. officials are resuming the search this morning for victims of an agricultural plant explosion in nebraska and 30 workers were trapped when the building collapsed monday at the international nutrition plant in omaha and don't know what caused the explosion and no hazardous chemicals at the three story plant and one was killed and another feared dead. an explosion at a steel factory in oklahoma left two people dead and happened in the afternoon monday in madill, 100 miles southeast of oklahoma city and plant management said a furnace exploded because of a gas build up. attack on beirut, security

square, why the well-known hezbollah stronghold is the target of terror again. a chemical spill tans drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people and what the governor is doing to make sure it never happens again. a teacher strike huts down dozens of universities for nearly six months, demands they are holding out for they say are important for students too. >> i'm mark morgan and youth served as the australian open as the up sets continue from down under, next in sports. >> the snow-covered roads in chicago where it's 4 degrees this morning. ♪

♪ an explosion ripped through the capitol of lebanon this morning, the blast went off near a government building in southern beirut, according to local reports four people have been killed in the attack. it set fire to a library in the suburb considered a stronghold of hezbollah supporters and it happened in the same neighborhood as a similar attack earlier this month.

al jazeera's is in beirut and good morning, has anyone claimed responsibility for this attack? >> not just yet and there has been no claim of responsibility yet but this would be the fourth explosion that would have hit this area in the last four months. this is the hezbollah stronghold as you mentioned. the people who live here are in hezbollah and largely belonging to the shia-sect and we understand four people have been killed and at least 30 injured. i will step out of the shot to show you exactly what is happening here. this street you see is called the street and where the crowd is where it took place and eyewitnesses and security sources a man who was wearing an explosive belt got out of a car in the middle of that street and detonated his belt.

it was not immediately clear what the target was, but this is a very busy residential and commercial area. there are lots of restaurants and shops and this is where people do their errands and go about their daily lives. so there is no specific target. the bomb did explode and the army is trying to get the people out of this area and to evacuate it because the army always wants to clear the area in case another explosion takes place >> this is clearly a hezbollah stronghold and i saw the billboard of hezbollah's leader and is this spill over from the civil war in iraq, all of the attacks in beirut we have been seeing in the last couple of months? >> well the conflict in neighboring syria has really caused a spill over as well as divisions between the lebanese

people and they are divided and one that supports bashir al-assad and his government and the army and that's mainly hezbollah who belongs to the shia-sect and sends people to help the government and fight alongside syrian crush to crush mostly sunni rebels and you have a half that support the opposition and the rebel whose are fighting on the ground. so this, these divisions caused a lot of turmoil and the spill over with certain islamic groups that fight inside syria, mainly the rebels threatening to carry out attacks against hezbollah strongholds if they continue to send fighters to fight along syrian troops. >> and we are reporting from the scene of the most recent bombing in beirut and thank you.

a propane short and is hitting the country just as another bitter winter storm is setting in, many people use propane of course to heat their homes. 17 states have declared an energy emergency and residents are being asked to cut down on propane usage. deicing materials like sand and salt used to keep roads safe are also running low in some states. with more now on the cold front working its way across the country metrologist nicole mitchell is here with how low those temperatures are going to. good morning >> i said they would be warm temperatures and minneapolis from yesterday morning dropped 30, 40 degrees in some cases at minus 10, chicago we showed you at 4 degrees but this is the core of where we have the wind really running anywhere from parts of oklahoma all the way through ohio. we have been dealing with some of that. and that is creating a wind chill and chicago 4 degrees and feels like minus 30. this is spreading across the

country. so we have already started to see the temperatures drop into the northeast and this will spread southward and more cold air in the south as we get into the day tomorrow. temperatures today not very balmy unless you get to the west coast. >> not at all and thank you. security is increasingly becoming a major concern in sochi, russia where the winter olympic games will kickoff 16 days from there and police are looking out for female suicide bombers including a woman they call the black widow and her name is braj arc movi and she is 23 years old linked to caucus a group of fighters seeking an independent islamic homeland in southern russia. another up set at the australian open and mark morgan is here with a young woman looking to make a name for herself in the sport. >> it's great to see an un-heralded player make a run at one of the majors and what is

happening. the young canadian is the first player from her country to ever reach the ozzy open and she up set serena williams in the previous match and she is in full force and she has a nice back hand pass and cruising in the third and up 5-2 and match point and inside out point and wins 5-7-7-5-6-2 and said after the match it's what i have been working for my whole life and not a surprise. lee taking on panetta, lee won 6-2 and picked up in the second set and lee with the serve and the follow-up back hand nice and finished the forehand winner and the next point is another point and this is not the same point twice because she has a serve and follows with a back hand and up 4-11 and later up 5-2 and

match point and follow-up with a back hand and forehand winner again and lee 22 winners and takes it 6-2-6-2 in over an hour to go to the semis. 7 seed getting past the 3 seed david in four sets 6-1-6-4-2-6-6-4. turning to college basketball now, that was incredible, those honest and almost disbelieving words came from the coach craig mcdurmit after witnessing 21-3 pointers against villa-nova, a top five team and the blue jays had 9-3s and 13 triples in the first half and ethan hit 8 of 9-3s in the first half and he is the second leading scorer and five triples of his own and a big east record and if you

wonder the division one for three.tears in a game is 28 by troy back in 1994. on the ice seemingly lost in the shuffle of a busy nfl weekend was a hockey brawl between the canooks and the flames and premeditated fight with started with the face off and nhl has harsh penalties for what took place, this is the scene as the flames started the fourth line for beginning of the game and punches thrown after the puck dropped and bob heaartley was fined $25,000 and the coach suspended 15 days after he literally tried to fight his way in the fla i'ms' locker room in first intermission and a black eye for a league that continues to struggle for national attention. and that is a wrap for sports at this hour with mark morgan. >> thank you, iran is stepping down its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions,

how the move is effecting iran's bottom line and other economies as well. clashes escalate between protesters and police new crane, what the president is warning as the violence continues. the central african republic tries to ease tensions by electing a new president, what the nation's first woman leader is telling groups in her country to do. ♪

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>> get to experience illegal immigration. up close and personal... >> it's very overwhelming to see this many people that have perished... >> a lot of families that don't know where their babies went... >> i wanna make sure her life, it's remembered... >> what happens when lost lives are re-lived? >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves... >> on... the borderland... only on al jazeer america >> hey guys wanna come to the united states? ♪ welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy, the u.s. and europe started easing sanctions on iran after tehran began scaling back its nuclear program, an international team of inspectors is ensuring that iran lives up to the commitment

to stop enriching uranium and next steps as they curb this is jim walch, research associate with the massachusetts technologies security studies program and good morning mr. walch and great to see you and do the first steps for iran offer a rare moment of optimism? >> i think so. obviously there is a lot of history and bad blood between u.s. and iran dating back for more than 30 years and so sometimes it's easy to get caught up like that when people have bad relationships with family members and not quite appreciating what is happening in the moment, but i think this is a big deal. this is we have done more in the last three months than these countries have done in the last 30 years. as of today iran is not producing 20% enriched uranium and a huge victory. >> reporter: family members is a bit of a stretch mr. walch but let's get in the details of the report. the international atomic energy agency part of what they have to enforce is iran stops producing

20% enriched uranium and important because it's the last step to weapons grade uranium and get rid of 20% stuff. what do we know about how much of the enriched uranium exists and how the dilution will take? >> we have a very precise idea of what iran has and what it has done in the past and future, why? the anatomic iaea is on the ground at these facilities and have been for years and every three months they publish a report about the status of iran's program. the last report they published said iran has roughly 200 kilograms or less than that and what we expect to have happen over i think probably about a month's time will be they will take half of that and water it down to 3-5% and take the other half. >> 200 kilograms you said, is that a lot?

>> it's a great question because it turns out that is just below the threshold of how much 20% you would need if you are going to build one nuclear weapon. so what they have done, i think purposely by signalling to the international community is tried to stay below the level and it's a significant quantity 1 sq and if enriched would be enough for one weapon and the reason why that is and the number will be soro because they will dilute it and make it for fuel plates to be burned up in a reactor but i expect that to happen very fast. >> they get sanctions relief which is described by the white house as modest and how soon will iranians see relief? >> some of it right away but other pieces of it are going to sort of be phased in over time. so for example they are supposed to get access to about $4 billion of their own money. this is not money the u.s. or international community is giving to emthis, it's their own

money they had gotten in return for oil sales or other sorts of goods and services, but that was in european banks and therefore got frozen. so there is going to be roughly a couple hundred million dollars a month over the next several months released each month. some sanctions on petra chemicals and auto parts and other stuff will come open immediately and people and businesses still have to file licenses to engage in that sort of commerce. so some comes right away, some will happen as licenses open up and some money will be spread out over the full six months of the deal. >> as you described the biggest step we have seen in 30 years of the contentious relationship and jim with the institute of security studies program and thanks. iran making headlines in more ways than one, a new report suggests there is a thriving market for smuggled iranian goods in neighboring pakistan and the reporter is in

pakistan's providence where people benefit and profit from the black-market items. >> at the british market iranian products out number pakistan from shampoos and biscuits have been brought over from iran and most of what is sold here is smuggled and no taxes are paid. business owners say it's more profitable to sell these items from across the border but those legally trading with iran say lifting of sanctions will help. >> translator: and restrictions are eased and the banking system will work between pakistan and iran and discourage smuggling and also help pakistan. >> reporter: it played a small but important part for the iranian economy under strict international sanctions and smuggled products are sharing a border of hundreds of kilometers of iran and the lifting of sanctions may make the products more expensive and think iran

may export to an international market where it can make more profit. >> and we are reporting from pakistan. neighborhoods in the iraqi city of fallujah are becomingly ghost towns and militant groups took control of fallujah last month and negotiating to allow local police back in the city but those talks have fallen apart and rebels kidnapped local clergymen instead. 27 civilians were killed when 7 bombs exploded in markets on monday. it is now the third week of a standoff between the warring sides. a greek fewingtive plans to continue a reign of terror that got him a life sentence 11 years ago, 55-year-old julis-zeros posted intentions on on line video two weeks after escaping from an athens prison and on a nine-day prison leave when he fled. he was jailed a decade ago for

taking part in six political assassinations including two u.s. embassy officials. growing unrest in ukraine is an intense standoff. clashes continued monday between riot police and antigovernment protesters, thousands of demonstrators are rallying in defiance of new laws limiting the right to protest and escalated into accusations by both sides of attacks during the demonstrations. al jazeera's here from the capitol kiev and good morning, the u -- ukraine president was to meet yesterday but now signed this and where do things stand now? >> well, that is right, the clashes which started on sunday came after parliament rushed through approving a law which basically makes several offenses related to protesting, some of

them carrying up to 15 years in jail things like taking part in protests, wearing helmets, that is in a lot of the people of the site of the clashes and putting on helmets as an act of defiance and injuries on both sides. the government says at least 32 people have been arrested for what they call participating in riots. in the last couple of hours, we have heard the opposition leader klisco has been at the site of the clashes trying to talk to the police to urge them not to engage in any blood shed. he says that he is, in fact, we heard he has gone to talk with president kovich and not heard the outcome of the discussions but of course what a lot of people were hoping for is direct negotiations between the opposition and the president but so far the president has not committed to that. >> reporter: now, dean we have been seeing these protests in kiev for several months now. can you remind us how kiev got

to this point? >> yeah, well back in november what brought people out on to the streets was the fact that president kanokovich changed his mind of signing a trade agreement with the european union and people want to see closer ties with the eu and say it's in their economic interest although that is far from the only opinion here in ukraine. the president vent accepted offers of financial help from russia so that's kind of where the divide lies. a lot of politicians have criticized for example these new restrictions on protests saying they are against democratic principles, so russia foreign minister on tuesday has criticized them for basically siding with the opposition saying it's indecent.

>>. >> reporter: al jazeera is here in the ukraine and thank you. authorities in thailand are close to declaring a state of emergency after a rise in violent protests there. demonstrators have been swarming the streets of bangkok for more than two months and calling for the prime minister to step down and at least 28 people were injured in two explosions in bangkok on sunday. the emergency decree would have curfews and sensor media and ban political protests. the united nations says it's running out of food for displaced people in the central african reic and running out of food, more than 100,000 people face the risk of starvation and the world food program has nearly 40 trucks of rice supposed to enter the country but stuck at the border of camaroon and drivers refusing to cross over because they can be targeted and considering air lifting food to the capitol city of bongi. in the midst of challenges there

is a new president taking charge of the country and catherine samba-panza is the first female leader and as al jazeera phillips reports she is array of hope in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. >> reporter: outside the national assembly everybody was listening and everybody wanted to know who will be the new president. and they want somebody they can respect, somebody whose authority does not only come from the barrel of a gun. and inside they were voting. the process was slow, painstaking. as if the members wanted to show in this broken country something could be done right. [cheers] then the announcement and victory to the lady in pink, catherine samba-panza, the mayor of bongi, she is styling herself as the mother of the nation and this was her nation to the rival christian and muslim malitias.

>> translator: a launch a strong appeal to my children in the movement, send a signal by putting down your guns and to my children who are in the celica movement also put down your guns. >> reporter: the speech was well received perhaps especially by women. until now the most senior political positions in this country have always been held by men. catherine samba-panza takes on an enormous responsibility. she is the head of state in a country where the government has essentially ceased to exist and if she succeeds she needs the support of the international community. the new president was showered with messages of good will and a country on the edge of an abyss this was a welcome day of hope and i'm in bongi. >> reporter: a million people forced from their homes because

of the conflict between christian and muslim rebel groups this that country. the west virginia senate has begun an investigation into a chemical spill in the state, 11 days after the leak many people are still afraid to drink the water despite guarantees that it is now safe, state lawmakers and u.s. seniors are discussing regulations to prevent another spill and they spoke to ray tomlin about the ongoing situation. >> obviously we continue to test the water supply every hour and it's showing up at a non-detect level as i have been told. we will continue to do that and to try to get the smell out of the water as quickly as possible. if people are not comfortable drinking the water they should use battled water and we are giving that out and trying to get things back to order as quickly as we can and it has been a long ordeal for the people here and hoping in the next few days it will be back where people can use the water

with confidence. >> reporter: do you drink the water? >> drink it occasionally. >> reporter: drinking occasionally, more than 200 people have reported feeling sick after drinking the water. the governor's bill would mandate annual inspections of above-ground chemical tanks and also require water systems serving the public to draft emergency plans in case of spills. storage facilities will need to file detailed reports about their spill prevention mechanisms. they will also be subject to penalties from the department of environmental protection if they do not comply. taking a look at business news this morning, america continued to spew oil last year. the international energy agency reports that u.s. crude production rose 15% in 2013, that is the fastest growth of any country in 20 years and it was driven by the boom in shale oil production but the iaea or iea warned the u.s. ban on crude exports could stall production in coming years and the ail

agency sees global oil demand increasing more quickly this year as economic growth picks up. wall street gets back to work after the mlk holiday and stocks are higher at this hour and will go through quarterly report cards for big company names today, one market watcher says respect earnings to be soft. >> through the recovery american companies have been improving earnings by cutting staff and basically doing more with less and run the string out. now they need bigger sales to do well. the holiday shopping season was tough for retailers. they had a lot of sales but the margins were very thin but elsewhere in american business domestic sales have not been growing as rapidly as is necessary to push up earnings. >> reporter: so taking a look at where u.s. markets are set to kickoff the day, dow starts the day at 1645, s&p 1838. in asia markets ended higher after the central bank injected

cash in the banks easing credit concerns and european stocks have gains taking the cue from asia. verizon is beefing up its tv business. it's buying intel-tv assets and include the tv cloud platform and they wanted to launch a top set box but the project never got off the ground and verizon is set to report endings later today. the program note and ali will talk to important people in business and fineness at the world economic forum taking place this week and you can see his reports throughout the day and his show "real money" all here on al jazeera america. it has been almost two months since al jazeera correspondent peter greste and two producers jailed in egypt and are accused of security and his parents are

joining in the call for his release. >> peter greste is award-winning correspondent and to lois that is secondary, he is their son. what keeps peter doing the job that he is doing is his very strong sense of social justice, the need to seek the truth and to always do whatever can be done to help those in need. >> as well as to let the world know, to get it out there so things can change. >> reporter: and peter has worked internationally since the early 1990s winning awards for his reports across africa, he was raised where his parents live. on tuesday lois and uris were in front of media to raise awareness of the situation and called passionately for the egyptian authorities to release his son and colleagues. >> and this is the whole family and it's a living nightmare at the moment and until he gets out

this will continue. >> reporter: all sections of the australia media were at the press conference with further radio and tv interviews afterwards and in australia peter's plight is big news. >> 21 in australia and live in a democracy where you have to be charged to held and he has been held since the 29th of december without charge and some of the allegations that are against him are unmanageable. >> reporter: lois and uris speak to peter three times since his arrest and proud of his son and balanced reports of more than two decades in television news and mixed with the pride is profound concern. lois and uris echo calls of the australia government and al jazeera and journalist around the world and doing a legitimate job in a legitimate way and should be released now, andrew thomas, al jazeera. >> reporter: two journalists from sister channels in prison

in egypt for five months and al jazeera denies all allegations and continues to demand the immediate release of all five men. a nearly six month long university strike delaying grange weighs for tens of thousands of students -- grange weighs for -- graduation for students. >> reporter: walking off the job is needed to provide a sound education. >> combinations of dropping temperatures, wind and blowing snow making for a rough commute in many major cities and i'll have the forecast. >> taking a live look at what it's like to drive in chicago right now, treacherous on the roads as the snow continues to fall.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america, just ahead the effect

of nearly six-month long university strike is having on students. but first let's get a look at where the snow and the rain may fall across the country today and metrologist nicole mitchell is back. >> mostly snow and picking up more areas of it and south of the great lakes is where the biggest core is right now and moving to the east coast where it will pick up more moisture as it moves along and almost the entire state of west virginia covered in some areas of snow. what i'm particularly worried about anywhere from missouri to illinois we have high wind gusts and drops the wind chill below 0 and blowing new snow we have and moves to the east coast and get that already by lunchtime if you are not seeing it and heavy amounts especially along the coastline for today. more on temperatures in a little bit, back to you. >> thank you. after nearly six months out on

strike they are back to work in nigeria and students trying to makeup for lost time so they can graduate as soon as possible. >> translator: victor was supposed to graduate with a degree in physics at the university in december last year. but due to a strike by lecturers that lasted nearly six months he will not graduate until july and worried it will effect his ability to find a job. >> this effects my job prospect because after graduation i'm not going to start a job immediately. and by now i'm not supposed to be here. and then supposed to be doing reduced periods and back to school for about six months. >> reporter: students are worried about job prospects too and 10s of thousands of students were effected by the strike and led to the closer of 60 universities and now the federal government has agreed to pay $9.3 billion owed to lecturers

in allowances, pensions and funding and research and development projects and everyone wants to graduate and start looking for work. the union representing the striking lecturers said the strike was the only way to compel the government to pay the money and save the universities from collapse. >> there are projects that should be i'm importanted like the labs and lecture halls, we believe that it should be provided definitely. and we would be singing a new song. definitely not over crowded classrooms like we are having, not having empty labs like we are having, let the labs go for four years without consumables. >> reporter: paid $604 million of the deal and concerned about miss management of the funds and set up a committee made up of lecturers and government representatives to monitor how the money is spent.

>> reporter: the billions owed to universities like this and the staff will be paid off by the federal government over the next couple of years. but if anything goes wrong with the deal the strike could be back on. students are hoping that won't be the case, 40% of nigerias are unemployed and the competition for graduates to find jobs is fierce and the students just need to get out there and start applying. and i'm with al jazeera in nigeria. >> reporter: to give you some idea of the impact of the university strike, nigeria is a young country, 63% of the population is under the age of 24. there are only 500,000 spots available for college students in nigeria, more than 1.7 million students are competing for those spots. since 2005 the number of universities in nigeria has more than doubled from 51-128. and coming up, in our next hour part one of a new series stealing education, special correspondents o'brien will tell

us about some parents in the u.s. accused of crossing the lines, lying about where they live so their children can attend the best schools and michelle carry has the stories we are following. >> they are searching for the wife of a dead fighter and three widows who may be targeting the winter olympics and a posting thinks she may have gotten into sochi despite security. and the general rescinded iran to the talks and federal offices in the washington d.c. area are closed as to because of a winter storm system bringing snow and freezing temperatures from the midwest to the east coast and the deep freeze will be felt as far south as florida. in the next hour a library without books. the high-tech way of completely replacing the printed page. and i'm metrologist nicole

mitchell and temperatures and high winds and blowing snow, i'll have your national forecast. >> reporter: al jazeera news continues and we are back with you in just 2 1/2 minutes. ♪ al jazeera america. we open up your world. >> here on america tonight, an opportunity for all of america to be heard. >> our shows explore the issues that shape our lives. >> new questions are raised about the american intervention. >> from unexpected viewpoints to live changing innovations, dollars and cents to powerful storytelling. >> we are at a tipping point in america's history! >> al jazeera america. there's more to it.

>> on the hunt for a suspected terrorist known as the black widow, why the u.s. is joining the search for a woman who may be planning an attack on the olympics. >> the united nations pulled the plug on the invitation to syria in the peace talks. >> the second cold snap of the year has officially arrived with, millions of americans waking up to brutally colt temperatures. in the northeast, they're racing

for another serious snowstorm. >> there are a lot of families that don't have access to wi-fi or even computers in their home. >> borrowing a book goes high tech, putting a mod he were spin on the classic library and how the idea is helping people who need it most. >> good morning. welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm richelle carey. >> a new security threat is identified as russia gears up for the olympic games. it's the a woman called the black widow that they fear she could launch a suicide attack in sochi. >> more attacks are threatened from two purported suicide bombers who killed 30 last month in the russian city of

volgograd. the games kick off 16 days from now. >> police looking for female suicide bombers have released information about one in particular from dagestan. she is 23 years old and linked to a terror group seeking an independent islamic homeland in southern russia. that group has threatened to launch attacks on the winter games pap poster with her image has been handed out to hotel employees at sochi and posted at the airport. it has been sent as well by russian security to agencies in and around sochi. the u.s. olympics committee are working with the state department and with local russian law enforcement doing what they can to insure the safety of americans traveling to the games. security documents say she is the widow of another member of the caucuses emirate killed in a shootout with russian forces.

she is disguised as having a scarred left cheek, a limp and a stiff left arm. she may have arrested in sochi as long as 10 days ago. 40,000 police and security forces are now deployed in the sochi area with the opening ceremonies of the winter games just 17 days out. meanwhile, the pentagon said in the russians need additional security and if americans need evacuation help. they've have air vessels and assets on stand by. >> the olympic flame passed through volgograd. the growing unrest is escalating in an intense stand out of in the ukraine. clashes continued between rye anotherrers and police. it has escaladed into

accusations of both sides of attacks during the demonstrations. >> lebanese officials say an attack happened in southern beirut in a hezbollah high security area known as security square. four people have been killed in the suicide bombing. it happened in the same neighborhood as a similar attack earlier this month. many of the shiite islamic party leaders live there. >> moving to the syria peace talks. the u.n.'s last minute decision to include iran almost derailed the pros. iran is now out and talks set to go on as planned tomorrow in geneva. we have the details. >> iran went back on its word. that's why the united nations says the country is no longer welcome at an international conference on syria. >> the secretary general is deeply disappointed by iranian public statements today that are not at all consistent with that stated commitment. he continues to urge iran to join the global consensus behind

the geneva communique. >> just 24 hours earlier, session tear generathetech tear. acted surprised and insisted the invitation be withdrawn, while the syrian opposition threatened to boycott the talks. >> when it comes to iran, it must be clear to everybody that any participation in geneva two is conditional to the exquisite acceptance of the mandate laid down in the invitation letter to the conference from the united nation secretary general. >> if they are to attended, it is now vital that the iranian government confirm publicly and clearly that they share this understanding. >> iran refused. russia said it would be a mistake not to include them.

>> among the countries also invited be australia, mexico, republic of korea, south africa, japan, brazil, indonesia and many others. if there is no ires it will resemble a hypocrisy. >> u.n. officials hold iran would use its influence on damascus to help bring the two sides in syria closer to a political solution, but the secretary general was forced toage there would be no agreement if the opposition failed to show up for the talks. aljazeera, the united nations. >> joining us for more on the peace talks is libby casey from washington. how much pressure was bonn key moon under to rescind this invitation to iran to come to the peace struck. an incredible amount of pressure. secretary kerry urged him to

attended. most significantly, the syrian opposition and without them at the table, there really is no interest in even having this geneva two event, so pretty fundamental. for the response by russia for its part, the foreign minister responded by saying that basically makes the u.n. unseemly and did i understand bode well for what's to come, but a big lobbying effort behind the scenes. >> let's continue talking about iran. president obama said sanctions against iran would be tantamount to a declaration of war. how serious are these 59 senators about these latest round of sanction that is they want to impose? >> the white house has launched a charm offensive meeting with senators to make the connection and say from president obama we don't want you to impose sanctions even if they wouldn't kick in for six months time, because we want this process to have time to ripen.

republicans still pushing for sanctions. here's the thing. even if 60 senators vote for sanctions, the president can veto that. it would make 67 senators to override to veto. we got a clear signal from patrick leahy sunday on the talk shows that he is not supporting sanctions moving forward for now and that is a key voice at this moment. >> before i let you go, we are 16 days away from the winter olympics in sochi, and so much of the talk has been about terrorism and increasing concerns because there's been this videotape of suicide palmers. what do we know about what the u.s. is doing to prepare safety wise for the game? >> the preparations have been going on for months. the u.s. does have two war ships it will station in the black sea and has assets including transport aircraft on stand by ready to go if needed. they do need russian approval to go into air space to go on to

soil. that is touchy, because russia has not been inclined to law access to its territory, but if something should happen, there are assets in place and you can bet the u.s. would be willing to move forward. defense secretary hagel spoke to hyskoner part this month. they are having conversations and of course conversations are going on at many levels to prepare for the games. >> many things that we know about, many we don't. libby, thank you. >> another round of bone-chilling cold and snow will be hitting the midwest and northeast today. sub zero temperatures he can texted in minnesota, michigan and new york. the deep freeze has already been felt in places like chicago, where temperatures are barely above zero. the windy city, which has seen 40 inches of snow this winter is expected to get at least a foot today and won't break the 20-degree mark until at least friday. >> snow and ice contributed to this pile up on an indiana interstate.

four motorists were hospitalized in the wreck involving at least four cars and nine semi trucks. >> in washington, d.c., all federal offices will be closed today. that had was prompted by a winter storm warning that is in effect until late this evening. up to eight inches of snow are expected in the nation's capitol and temperatures will be in the teens. the wind chill will make it feel like 10 degrees below zero. >> new york's long island is also expected to be battered by snow. they are predicting up to a foot of snow will fall there. that has residents out to buy salt and know blowers. some folks just are not happy about round two of the bitter cold. >> i'm really not looking forward to the cold and snow. i have to go back to work, so i really don't like driving in it, either. >> the winter storm warning on long island is in effect until to really morning. it covers most of the tristate area which includes new york city, new jersey and connecticut. >> just as this winter storm is setting in, a propane shortage

is hitting the country. the drop in supply comes after a dry fall and wet winter. 17 states have declared an energy emergency and residents asked to cut down on propane usage just at the time that we don't want to. >> some places are running out of the salt, too. for more on the storm system heading our way, let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> good morning. >> i guess the silver lining is there's some happy kids this morning not heading back to school and now extending the long weekend that we already had. here is a look at the snow already approaching the east coast. in d.c., it will be a couple of hours and further to the north noon time is when we'll start seeing this. this band extends to the midwest. roughest commutes right now, indianapolis is on the backside, but chick with most of the snow cleared to, the winds are gusting over 30 miles an hour,

gusting what's out there. here's this as it tracks what is overnight into tomorrow morning. your commute depends on how much your community keeps up with the snow overnight as to what that commute might look like. it could be rough in a couple places. coastal area will see six to 10 inches, picking up coast moisture. a couple isolated spots could go up toward a foot and because of the combination. that we've got the falling temperatures, high winds and blowing snow. that's why we have so many areas under those winter storm warnings. washington, d.c. at seven. new york, boston, philadelphia, running around the nine to 10-inch. there's isolated spots that see more. the temperatures are dropping too. i'll have more on that in a minute. >> governor chris christie is being sworn in today as governor. he is taking the oath as the

administration is caught up in multiple political scandals across the gordon state. a pretty big day for the state of new jersey and the governor. >> good morning, we've been talking about the winter storm all morning, it's a storm of controversy surrounding governor christie, key members of his tar that could make things a builtizey as he takes the oath of office for the second time today. >> the second term for new jersey governor chris christie officially begins later today. with what will likely be a lot of hard work and heavy lift i can. still rebuilding after super storm sandy while trying to clean up a growing political mess surrounding his administration. >> that anybody would hold because sandy relief funds for any reason is wholly and completely false. >> that's exactly what hoboken mayor said on talk shows and

apparently to the u.s. attorney's office this weekend, accusing lt. governor kim guidano and another key member of christie's staff to withhold sandy relief funds unless she supported a major project. >> she said i know these things are not connected and if you tell anyone, i'll deny it. >> it comes after the bridge gate controversy, a plan allegedly carried out by senior members of the governor's staff that closed lanes on the george washington bridge creating a massive traffic jam for days to punish another new jersey mayor, also a democratic. christie has denied any knowledge of bridge gate. as his administration now continues to try and rebuild not only the trust of many in new jersey, but also national momentum as a the well known republican considers a possible presidential bid. >> governor christie he not

expected to allude to or mention the controversies during his inaugural address today. back to you now. >> jay, thank you so much. west virginia senate has begun an investigation into a chemical spill in the state. 11 days after that leak, many people are still afraid to drink the water despite guarantees that it's safe. state lawmakers and senators are discussing legislation aimed at preventing a similar still. more than 200 people have been reported sick after drinking that water. >> a cement driver is dead after his vehicle slammed into a home in the bronx section of new york city. the 80,000-pound truck hit the house with so much force it pushed the believe off its foundation. five other people were hurt in the accident monday evening. no word yet on the cause of the crash. >> officials are searching this morning for a second person killed in a blast at an agricultural plant in nebraska. thirty workers were trapped when a building collapsed in omaha.

authorities are unsure what caused the explosion but said there were no hazardous chemicals at that plant. more than a dozen people were injured. >> a blast at a steel factory in oklahoma killed two and left a third injured. it happened monday afternoon at the mid american steel and wire, 100 miles southeast of oklahoma city. plant management said a furnace exploded due oh a gas build up. >> here are headlines around the world. the boston globe this morning touches on governor patrick's upcoming state of the state address. his main talking points will be unemployment insurance and the state's minimum wage. >> the china daily reports that only 37% of college graduates want to stay and work in china's megacities. chinese students say soaring property prices and air blues are some of the reasons they're using. >> the city's dog days probably

neve existed. earlier reports of more than 50,000 stray dogs roaming city streets, much closer to 3,000 which brings it in line with the normal number of stray dogs. >> a new threat to the winter games in sochi, russia. officials on the hunt for a woman known as the black widow bomber. >> we're talking with a former f.b.i. special agent about how serious of a threat she really is. >> the u.s. boom in crude oil production in 2013, why energy officials are warning those gains may lose steam in the years ahead. >> 201,800,000 is our big number of the day. it's causing big concerns over the strength of the global economy's recovery.

>> today's big, huge number, 201,800,000, that is the number of unemployed people all around the world. united nations report says the number of people out of work rose by 5 million in 2013 and

predicts an additional 4 million will be unemployed in 2014. >> let's look at this chart. world unemployment is expected to climb 6.1%, up from 6% in 2013, still trending above 2007's precrisis rate of 5.5%. the jobless rate for young people 15-29 is getting worse especially in the euro zone. one in fiveeoplee are unemployed, not in school or receiving no training. >> tensions are high over security at the sochi winter olympics but the threat of a new terror attack is ramping up concerns more. in a moment, we'll talk about what the u.s. can do to insure the safety of its delegation. >> first, let's get a look at the temperatures and what we can expect across the nation today. i'm not a meteorologist, nicole, but i believe it's bog to be cold. >> good.

[ laughter ] >> i'll take a break with my space heater in my weather office. it's getting colder and a lot of you have the space heater on or are snuggled under the blankets because you don't want to deal with the minus 12 in minneapolis. huge drops with temperatures dropping all through the day and already some of that air heading to the east coast. we've got winds in the 20-30-mile an hour range. chicago up through fargo we've got a core of wind chill negative 20 and more, so that's very quick to do anything like frostbite and cold air is going to spread south. not maybe the negative 20 wind chill, but it will be colder over the next couple of days, so i hope you have the warm jackets out. back to you. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> taking a look at business news this morning. wall street is signaling a positive start to the day after the martin luther king, jr. holiday. dow futures are up. investors will focus on

quarterly results today. 2014 should be a better year for company profits. >> the second half of the year is likely to be quite strong start economy and stock investors will focus on that more and more as we move to february and march. remember, it's expected earnings that drive the market. it's the future, not the past that causes investors to move their feet. >> taking a look at where u.s. stocks stand this morning, the do you starts at 15,458. in asia markets ending higher after cash was injected into the countries largest banks, easing credit concerns. european stocks posting positive gains. >> america continues to spew oil. the international energy agency said crude projection rose 13%. that's the fastest growth of any

country in 15 years. thei e.a. warned the u.s. ban on crude exports could stall production in coming years. the oil agency sees global oil demand increasing more quickly this year as economic growth picks up. >> boeing has landed another order. general electric aircraft and financing arm is buying 40 new planes worth about $4 billion. g.e. says it will help it meet growing demand for more fuel efficient aircraft. >> our ali velshi will be talking to some of the most important people in business and finance at the world economic forum in davos this week. you can see reports through you the day and on his show, all here on aljazeera america. >> security is a major concern in sochi where the winter olympic games kick off in 16 days. police are on the lookout for a female suicide bomber, including the black widow.

she's 23 years old from dog stonn linked to fighters sacrificing an independent islamic homeland in southern russia. the olympic torch has arrived in voluntarily go grad. there is a threat to strike the games in sochi. visitors need to be alert during the winter games. >> the problem is that with two people with a promise of a surprise not specifically in sochi, but for russians and the tourists and visitors to the olympics. they never tried to specify the place. that's why everybody should be concerned. >> in response to the threat, russia introduced sweeping security measures for the sochi games. president putin said 40,000 security officers are going to patrol the region. here to discuss the impact the threat could have on the upcoming olympics is manuel

gomez, former f.b.i. agent and terrorism expert. we appreciate you coming in. the u.s. military said on monday that air and naval assets are being made to russia to combat terrorism, right, and really that would be extremely effective after the fact, how much coordination is happening and needs to happen between the u.s. and russia? >> well, this is kind of unprecedented, being that it's a very viable threat and we're going to have a lot of americans there, including our olympic team. the u.s. is doing everything available at our oh disposal to help the russians in this time of dire need. this is a very viable threat. they have already acted on their promise to say blow up installations, they've already done so very successfully. we're doing everything in our power to help the russians in their intelligence capabilities, first of all. >> are the russians accepting of

this. >> as far as we can tell, they welcome any and all help. putin has put a lot of his political clout at risk with this event. he has promised the safety of the event and he has a lot of personal interest in seeing that safety carried forward. they're going to take our information, our advice and use it to their best use. that being said, we're not going to have troops on the ground or our agents on the ground there helping them hand in hand with the russian authorities. >> what do you make of the timing in this video that's been released? >> 16 days before the actual olympics begin, so again, they're sending a message. the inning part is they're not even disguised. they're sending the message it's not if, it's when and how, so it doesn't get as real as this. you have people that are totally outed, basically saying we're going to get you. the bottom line is, if someday's

willing to risk their life to take yours, that's very difficult to prevent. >> is it possible that some of this is intentionally a distraction to keep people distracted from looking for other things, is that possible? >> sure, it could be a factic, look at sochi, we're going to attack somewhere else, but the prime target is and continues to be sochi. this is a situation of a locallation going on for decades between these small satellite countries of the foamer soviet union and russia and now they're on the world stage, getting international -- >> when you say that, surely the olympic committee considered all of this when they picked sochi. >> they should have that. one would thought that they would have, especially in an area like sochi that's so near these active terrorists and war areas. that's, you know, monday morning quarterbacking, here we are 16

days from the olympics and we have to look at what's the best possible scenario to keep everyone safe. >> if you had a loved one who was an athlete right now, how would you feel about them going there? >> i would be very, very concerned. you're going to have 10s of thousands of people entering these different types of venues. there are going to be metal tee texters, dogs, tens of thousands of security personnel there. that being said, somebody who is strapped with explosives or perhaps worse with a nuclear biological chemical weapon, as these people have clearly put forth in their video, we're willing to die for our cause. somebody enters one of these venues, it's going to be very difficult to prevent. the best thing that they can do is intelligence, is human intelligence, try to prevent it before they get to the venue. >> i did will be a stressful few details for a lot of family members. >> absolutely. >> hopefully it will be an enjoyable few days.

thank you so much for coming in. manuel gomez, former f.b.i. special age jen the. stephanie. >> all right, syrian peace talks are set to get underway later this week of a the potential involvement of iran threatened to derail the negotiations. we'll talk about the road blocks that could prevent an end to the civil war. >> the focus on many challenges she will face. >> risking your fee dom to send your kids to school. accused of stealing their daughter's education. >> sochi olympics are coming, and again, jamaica will have a bobsled team. but to complete their journey to the olympics, they needed help from their friends.

>> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm richelle carey. >> i'm stephanie sy. syrian peace talks are back on track, barely. world leaders are gathering starting today in switzerland for the meeting. we'll look at whether the fighting in syria will end even in the best case scenario. >> the central african republican, a woman has been picked to be the leader and hopefully bring an end to the blood shed. we'll hear about the new choice for interim president. >> imagine going to jail just for trying to get your child the best possible education. it is a reality for one pennsylvania couple, we'll have that story coming up. >> the u.n.'s decision to include iran in syrian peace

talks almost derailed the process, but after a day of wrangling, iran is out and talks set to go as planned. world leaders including u.n. general secretary are starting too arrive in switzerland for tomorrow's conference on syria. syria's opposition will be taking part in the peace talking about, which will move friday to geneva. they made the decision to attend after the u.n. rescinded, really uninvited iran is the best way to put it. >> for more on these talks, max abrams is a member on the council of foreign relations and fellow at northeastern university. he joins us this morning. thanks for being with us. why was iran invited by u.n. secretary general moon in the first place? >> that's the a very good question. i think it was quite silly of him to do. in order for geneva two to be successful, assad needs to be

weakened, because right now, he's in a position of strength and so concessions won't be fort culling. by have iting iran, it basically says to assad, you know, that there's going to be no pressure on him and that he doesn't need to make any accommodations whatsoever. furthermore, the opposition, the syrian national coalition, which is a posed to assad was also opposed to iran. the coalition said that were iran to attended this geneva two, this convention, that this delegation would withdraw, and so by inviting iran at the last minute, the u.n. really harmed the prospects for the conference to prove fruitful. >> the talks are back on now. there are a lot of questions about how effective anything

that comes out of this conference will be. the different groups and rebels are actually fighting the assad regime and don't necessarily recognize the opposition coalition. even if a ceasefire can be brokered, will i mean an end to the fighting and war? >> it really won't. i think the prospects for success are very, very small. you're quite right, there are all these rebel groups on the ground in syria, and they do not feel represented by the coalition. in fact, the rebels have said that it does not want the peace process to go forward at all. it does not feel represented by the coalition, and nothing that is established in geneva will be binding on the ground. >> the biggest block in the opposition coalition, the syrian national council which as you know is made up of syrians in

compile has pulled out of the opposition block, so how significant is that? >> well, going back a few days ago, i mean, it's actually surprising that the syrian national coalition is there at all. i believe there are 120 members, if i have eight of them were in support of attending this conference. they're needed to be a number of people, a number of delegates to abstain for the coalition to move forward. so, yeah, now at the last minute, even after iran, the invitation to iran was rescinded, now this large component of the coalition, the council, is not going to be attending. so, you can see that the opposition to assad is very much fragmented, and this very much hurts the opposition, both in

istanbul, where the coalition is based, as well as on the ground in terms of the rebel groups. >> right. >> which also don't seem to be able to coordinate with one another. by contrast, the assad regime is relatively cohesive, and this gives it a huge edge in terms of smashing the opposition. >> right, it also means going into talks, ther there isn't a f incentive for asued to give any concessions. it wasn't that long ago that the u.s. was talking about military action in in syria. if talks fail to achieve anything, does that option, is it back on the table, do you think? >> no, i don't think it's on the table. i think that moment has come and gone. the initially the united states was considering getting involved, because there was no this notion that the free syrian army, the f.s.a., that the u.s. could work with them and the

f.s.a. was gaining ground against assad, that we could support them and ultimately beat back the regime but times have changed since that kind of talk was on the table in geneva one. now assad is much stronger, he's regained a lot of territory. he's being strongly supported by russia, as well as shiite militia coming in from iraq. never mind hezbollah, and in comparison, the rebel groups are in complete disarray and increase i cany eclipsed by islamist grooms. the islamist front, an umbrella group for these groups is animately opposed to working with asued, animately oppose to the syrian national coalition, so there's all sorts of chaos in syria right now. the assad regime is relatively stronger, and i don't think that the u.s. wants to get involved militarily at all. >> the chaos is spreading

throughout the region. this is now the largest humanitarian disaster on the planet. max abrams, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> neighborhoods in the iraqi city of fallujah are quickly becoming ghost towns manufacture thousands have fled after talks failed. military were negotiating with community leaders to lou police back into the city. talks fell apart and local college geemen were kidnapped instead. >> the central african republican is pinning hopes on a new president. a new mayor was elected as the new woman in charge. she is tasked with ending months of fighting between christian and muslim rebel groups. the european union is sending 500 additional peace keeping troops to the region.

we took a road trip outside the capitol in areas affected by all of the fighting. >> the road southwest to a lawless countryside. our first stop is a road block by men who say they're the national army, defending the country against the must rim selica rebels and ousted president. >> we have no problems with muslims. they are our brothers. we've lived with them for a long time. we only have a problem with the mercenaries. >> next we come to the village. we are surrounded by an agitated crowd. >> we're meeting a great variety of armed groups along the road. some are relatively well armed but these people are essentially vigilantes, village self protection groups. they say that they are guarding

their community against selica soldiers who are only some 15 kilometers along the roads. >> we notice that had many houses in the village are destroyed. it seems that the muslim population has been driven out. then, we see that the village are demolishing the mosques. it's one shocking moment in one small village. all over this country in recent weeks, mobs of people have destroyed mosques and churches. we drive on, crossing a front line of selica fighters. they, too claim to be the national army. their commander tells us they want peace. >> shooting someone with a weapon is not the solution. we are here to construct, not to destroy. our job as authorities is to keep things calm.

>> nearby, we find muslims loading possessions and moving out. they no longer feel safe here. across the republic, communities are unraveling. it seems only help from the outside world can stop things from becoming worse here. >> nearly a million people have been forced from their homes in central african republic because of the conflict between christian and muslim rebel groups in that country. >> american missionary kenneth bay urges washington to help free him from a north korean prison. >> he spoke to journalists since the first time he was detained. he confessed to committing a "serious crime" against north korea and appealed to the u.s. to help free him. he apologized for his crimes and pleaded with the press and his family to stop spreading rumors

against the country. it's not clear if the comments were made under duress. the bay family responded with a statement saying: >> a major security breach has left more than one third of south korea's population at risk of identity theft. customers are lining up to cancel their credit cards. a technician hired by a credit rating company in south korea stole personal information on more than 100 million credit cards issued to about 20 million customers. senior executives at three credit card companies have offered to step down. >> it is not uncommon to see parents going the extra mile for their children. that's what they're supposed to do, but some are accused of crossing a line, lying about

where they live so their kids can attend better schools, called boundary hopping. one family is profiled risking years in jail to give their daughter a better education. >> we got hand custody like criminals with a belt. >> a leather belt with the handcuffs. >> we went in jail. >> a cuban immigrant married a ukrainian immigrant in 1998. in 2011, they were having marital issues. she moved out of the home in philadelphia with their daughter. they moved in with the woman's father, a homeowner in nearby montgomery county. the daughter enrolled in the elementary. the couple reconciled and they moved back. they decided to let the daughter finish the school year in the grandfather's school district. that's when the trouble began. >> the school district contacted

us in april and said there's a problem with your residency. we came in to meet with the principal. >> what happened? >> she kept insisting that i never lived there, and she's turning us to the police. >> the superintendent wouldn't talk to us, but she made good on her threat and turned the case over to police. the garcias turned themselves in. the trial was set for next week. in the criminal complaint, the district attorney alleges the garcias stole $10,000 from the county, the price of one year's tuition at pine road elementary. >> there would be an argument from a school that would say people in the community pay for this school that's in this, you know, this county, so you're not from here, you don't get to attend. >> i can answer the argument. first of all, my wife did live

in that district. >> my father is a taxpayer who owns the house there. >> if you live in philadelphia because you are a person that doesn't have the money to live in montgomery county, that's not fault that you cannot make the same money as those folks. >> the assistant da cancel add planned interview with us, but the garcia thinks they're a test case. >> the garcia family is used to make an example to make sure everybody in philadelphia don't try to cross the border, it can happen to you. >> to cross the border. >> that's the way they treat the philadelphia cities in montgomery county district. >> we're talking about philly. >> there is a line where they don't want people to cross. >> pretty powerful story there. that is america tonight's soledad o'brien reporting. we look at the rising popularity of home schooling and whether teaching children at home is as

effective as traditional classroom. you can see it at 9:00 eastern, right here on aljazeera america. >> when it comes to jamaica, you normally don't think of snow and ice, but two men love the combination. we tell but the return of the jamaican bobsledding team. i can't wait to hear about this. >> a lot of enthusiasm. it's a very, very cool story. their first introduction to the world was likely the movie "cool runnings," loosely based on the team. a team has once again qualified for the games but that is only part of their story this time around. these athletes needed the charity of others. >> jamaica has some of the best athletes in the world. >> it's been 12 years, but jamaica has a bobsled team back in the winter olympics. the duo qualified this weekend to compete in the two man

bobsled competition at the winter games. there was one catch to all the excitement, and that was the cost to send the two man team to sochi. between travel and equipment costs, it was estimated that $80,000 was needed to send the team to russia. >> the problem from the beginning of the season, we really scrambled through and get through all these quality occasions and up until today, we are still scrambling to get to sochi. >> leave it to the internet to help make dreams come true. after it was announced on twitter that the team qualified for the winter games, an on line campaign began on the fundraising site crowdtilt.com. the site raised $70,000. that coupled with a $30,000 donation from another site has pushed the team past its goal, and now they can concentrate on their training and performance. >> this sport is to close, it's

like .01, 200ths of a second for are a medal. you train for four years and you can combine all of this training together. if you go out there when it's your time to slide on the ice and execute it, the result will come, so we are going to approach this olympics as the underdog, because the world knows what the jamaica team is capable of doing. >> they will be underdogs, but what a great story. during yesterday's donation activity, the officials from the website said that 70% have the contributions had come from the united states. the bobsled competition begins february 16 in sochi. so a lot of high fives all around. >> they're going to be a crowd favorite. i know that. >> so charming, that's great. thank you, morning. >> it's a new high tech way to borrow books. a library in texas is offering

access to more than 20,000 digital titles. a close look at what it's like to be caught in an avalanche. it was captured an a helmet cam as he was trying to outrun it. real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america.

>> you're looking at a live shot of what it's like to drive in chicago right now. pretty treacherous driving, that storm system is now heading for the east coast. >> i can't drive in that stuff. >> no way. >> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. >> calm it the library of the future. one texas facility is ditching traditional books and going completely digital. >> let's look at where exactly the snow is going to fall across

the u.s. today. >> you were talking about chicago, here's the band, it's now south of the great lakes headed toward the east coast. most of that has already moved out of chicago. a lot of what you're seeing on the roads is just what's being cleared and blowing around, because we have high winds, but a core of heavy snow from indiana through west virginia, that is moving toward the east coast, and with him get to us before too long into this afternoon. in the meantime, blowing snow because of the high winds we're seeing across the region, that core around illinois, you're going to deal with that, but a lot of snow today and tomorrow for the coastline. >> some amazing pictures heave. look at this perspective of a colorado avalanche. one skier caught in it was wearing a camera an their helmet. he was gliding over fresh snow who it loosened up and this happened. he was clearly in danger.

this is a medium sized avalanche and he was lucky he escaped unharmed. >> amazing pictures. >> imagine a future without traditional hard cover books. it's already happening at a san antonio library where the printed page is a thing of the past. as hide joe castro jose us, the community is being educated like no library has done before it. >> it's a library without books. the walls talk. it's this 12-year-old's favorite place to go after school. >> they don't have books books. they really just have the digital ipad books. >> his family is among the 13,000 people who signed up for library cards since it opened in south side san antonio last september. the area is 88% economically

disadvantaged. 17% of the population lacks basic reading skills. >> there are a lot of families that don't have access to wi-fi or even computers in their home. >> the new library has 20,000 he book titles. patrons can download on to their own device or check out one of the library's e readers. >> they are good for adults who may have difficulty with read i can or maybe at a lower reading level, because the devices will actually read to you. >> connie is a nursing assistant and mother of three. like more than a third of adults in this area, she didn't graduate from high school. >> now that my daughter is in middle school, i couldn't read along with her or understand what they're doing. >> since discovering the library, her reading level has jumped from sixth grade to ninth. >> therefore, a puppy would be more desirable and more valuable. >> the staff says an electronic

library also has abrasional benefits. without having to store paper books, it can perform the functions of a traditional library in a third of the size at a third of the cost. they haven't lost an he reader yet. >> what's to keep these from walking out the door and never going back? first of all, there is no internet access through these. secondly, all of the e book content disappears after of the two week loan term, making these things basically useless until they are checked back in. >> in fact, this is the book i'm reading right now. >> it is the brain child of bear county judge nelson wolf. >> the more that people read, the better off we're going to be in this country, and so we want to expand that as much as possible. >> this nuke in the bear county courthouse is the new satellite unit for a captive audience. 93 people on jury duty signed up on the first day, as it scrolls

to the next chapter of good old fashioned reading in the new age. aljazeera, san antonio. >> how about this, it cost only $2.2 million to build and operate. a new more traditional library in austin will have a budget of more than $100 million. >> that's a good idea! >> at the end of our second hour, del walters joins us with a look at what we're following this morning. good morning. >> good morning. searching for widows that could be targeting the winter olympics. a wanted poster say one may already be in sochi. >> syria's main opposition group now agreeing to attend negotiations in switzerland after the u.s. rescinded ires invitation to the talks. >> government offices in washington, d.c. closed today because of a winter storm

system. the deep freeze could be felt as far south as florida. >> del will be right back in two and a half minutes. 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.

real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> a cloud of suspicion hanging over governor chris christie he as he prepares for his inauguration day. this is live in new jersey where the governor will attend services this morning. >> the search for dozens of people who main intentionally infected by a man with h.i.v. >> i just want to take my kids to school, i saw it outside. >> new 911 calls from the moments after police say a mother killed her toddlers in a

devil worshiping ritual. >> washington, d.c. taking a snow day, the capitol on that lockdown, the weather bearing down on the midwest and northeast. >> good morning. i'm del walters, welcome to aljazeera america. we begin with breaking news. authorities in thailand declaring a state of emergency after a rise in violent protests in the capitol. demonstrators have been take you go to the streets calling for the prime minister to step down. the emergency decree is going to last another two months in and around the capitol, with occur fuse, sensorring the media and banning protests.

>> chris christie set to take the oath of office today for his second term, but a swearing in comes as the governor with an eye on the white house is embroiled in a number of scandals. this is new jersey, where the governor is attending services this morning. we are there live in the state capitol where he will be sworn in later this afternoon. jay. >> good morning, del, a lot of talk here about the winter storm that's threatening this area, but it's that storm of con froze not only surrounding christie, but members of his staff that could make things a bit icy as he takes the ocean of office for the second time here today. >> the second term for knowledge governor chris christie officially begins later today with what will likely be a lot of hard work and heavy lifting. still rebuilding after super storm sandy, while also trying to clean a growing p.r. and political mess sounding his administration. >> that anybody would hold back

sandy relief funds for any reason, it's wholly and completely false. >> that's exactly what hoboken mayor democratic dawn zimmer said on talk shows and apparently to the u.s. attorney's office, accusing the lt. governor and members of christied staff of threatening to withhold sandy relief funds. >> she said i know this should not be connected, but they are and if you tell anyone, i'll deny it. >> that comes as two separate investigations continue into the so-called bridge gate controversy, a plan allegedly carried out by senior members of the taffeta closed lanes on the george washington bridge, creating a massive traffic jams for days to punish another new jersey mayor. christie has denied any knowledge of bridge gate. >> as his administration now continues to try and rebuild not

only the trust of many in new jersey, but also national momentum as the well known republican considers a possible presidential bid. >> christie not expected to mention the controversy during his inaugural address today here. >> jay, are we set for chris christie, but will he be able to shake the administration's prior mistakes, which are growing by the day? >> it's interesting, and that's a honk term question, really, because if he has these presidential aspirations as many say he does and he's alluded to, it will take time, but he has that time. he has got plenty of time to do that, he's working toward that now. governor christie said he had no indication, no knowledge of any of the issues that were going on with that the administration. >> joining us live, jay, thank you very much this morning. >> now to the weather. for a good portion of the northeast, under a winter form warning, this is washington,

d.c. right now, pennsylvania avenue, but you'll find few people at work today. all government offices are increased because of the pending storm. temperatures expected to go well below zero in minnesota with some lows reaching minus 20 degrees. wisconsin, michigan, and up state new york all expected to see the worst of it with sub zero temperatures, but they'll feel the freeze as far south as florida. that cold air won't be as dangerous as the arctic blast we've had for the past two weeks, but some might feel some of the very same effects. >> two weeks after dangerously cold temperatures gripped the entire nation, a new wave of arctic air is may going a comeback. temperatures will plummet to below zero in at least 11 states across the midwest and northeast starting today through friday. with that cold, scenes like this will surely play on you again. that includes airline delays and cancellations like the ones that left thousands stranded for days

the first time around. the effects of the cold blast are already felt. this train in wisconsin hauling coal derailed, the frigid temperatures blamed for cracks in the track. in this pile up on an interstate in indiana, ice blamed for the wrecks that sent four to the hospital. as the bitter cold moves east, forecasters say this cold snap won't be as brutal as the one earlier this month, but some in chicago are counting down the days to spring. >> it's been something else this year. >> the snow in my face has been a little too much. >> but for now, it's all about preparation. from north carolina to connecticut, roads are being treated for snow and ice. in verge, crews readying snowplows and trucks while drivers are waiting in gas lines to fill their tanks. shoppers on new york's long

island, where they're expected to be hit a with a foot of snow are snapping up salt and snow brothers. >> i'm not looking forward to the cold and snow. i have to go back to work, so i really don't like driving in it, either. >> aljazeera. >> nicole mitchell has been tracking the storm. where is it now and what's the latest? >> a wide area that's getting the snow and the winds are cranking up, so else where the snow, maybe you're getting on the backside of it, you're still going to have problems, because it's blowing pretty significantly. it's starting to approach the the east coast, washington, d.c. all right shut down, even though it hasn't made it here yet. a lot of places getting it later this morning or by noon, depending exactly where you are. here's that wider band. some cities like chicago, indianapolis starting to get on the backside of it, but that's the core of where temperatures really chill down and we still have the wind. this will skirt along the coastline through the rest of

today and then tapering off south to north as we get overnight, so a lot of places, the snow will be over by the morning commute but you'll be digging out, so roads could be tricky. some of the highest amounts will be right along the coastline where we have extra moisture as this system continues to prosecuting. because of all of that, we've got the falling temperatures, the wind and that's blowing the new snow that we'll be getting a lot of areas under those different winter storm warnings. that here's some of our bigger cities and what we're looking at. d.c. to the south maybe a little less. this is significant to the beltway, seven-inches, bigger cities running at nine or 10. this can vary by a couple of inches in either direction. then the cold air settles in. i'll have more on that in just a couple minutes. >> a propane shortage hitting the country. a lot of people use it to heat homes. 17 states declaring an emergency with energy.

that has some residents concerned just about keeping warm. >> polar vortex take two, cities are preparing for the up to 10 inches of snow today in the midwest and east. what they may not be prepared for is staying warm. >> living in the city is something you take for granted, you flip on the switch and the heat comes on, you turn on the stove and the gas runs. out here, if i don't have that tank full, we're not going to be having a warm house to come home to or be able to cook our meals. >> he's talking about propane, which heats 7 million homes in the region, thanks to the early frost this year, it's in short the fly. >> we don't know when we're getting it. we don't know if we're getting it and all the propane companies are kind of in the same boat. >> in wisconsin, companies are only filling customers tanks halfway and limiting sales. high demand and low supply is driving up prices, as much as 46% higher than last winter. some families have seen their

bill double. >> it's well over $2 and it just keeps rising. >> you just do what you have to do to get it done and get it paid for. >> 15 states are easing limits on drivers, hoping to get more propane into homes and believes before the cold sets in. >> that is tracy pots reporting. officials also saying deicing materials like sand and salt used to keep your roads safe are running low in some states the. >> a mother accused of stabbing her two toddlers in death, all part of an exorcism ritual. a neighbor witnessed the crime scene. >> when police responded to this townhouse neighborhood friday morning, they found a very bloody scene involving six people, four of them children under the age of 10. a neighbor made the 911 call after coming across the possible murder weapon as she was taking her kids to school. she told the operator she was nervous, did not want to give

her name, saying she had never seen anything like this before. >> montgomery county 911, where is the emergency. >> there is a knife with the blood. the car have the door open, the house have the windows open up there. i heard loud noises in the night. i just wake up and i heard like jumping and i didn't know they have four children, the knife is still there. i didn't touch it. >> a 1-year-old and 2-year-old were stabbed to death, their siblings five and eight years old are recovering in the hospital. want 28-year-old mother tried to flee the scene. they arrested her for murder and attempted murder. another roommate is also charged in the two deaths. the women believed they were performing an exorcism at the time of the killings. police found the toddlers' bodies in their beds, adding that the motive is still

unknown. >> a former college student in missouri being accused of exposing many of his sexual partners to h.i.v. michael johnson, sr. charged with five counts of knowingly transmitting the disease and allegedly taping the sexual encounters. st. charles prosecutor said that he can can be seen in a number of videos with at least 31 people have been unprotected sex. he could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. >> in business news, we begin with breaking news from verizon, seeing a profit of 66 cents a share, beating estimates, sales rising 3.4% to $31 billion as it adds more wireless customers, also buying in tell's on line t.v. assets that include the cloud t.v. platform. details that have deal have yet to be announced. >> wall street getting back to work after the martin luther king, jr. holiday. the dow futures up 71 points now. investors focusing on quarterly

results. one market watcher say earnings will be soft. >> american companies have cut staff and basically doing more with less and they've run that string out. now they need bigger sales to do well. the holiday shopping season was tough for retailers. they had a lot of sales, but the margins were very thin. elsewhere in american business, domestic sales have not been growing as rapidly at necessary to push up earnings. >> taking a look at stocks this morning, the dow starting the day at 16,458, the s&p at 1838, and the nasdaq at 4,197. asia, markets ending the day higher after cash was injected into the country's largest banks, easing credit concerns there. european stocks are posting gains. >> the federal reserve accounted make another reduction are in that monetary stimulus program later this month, wall street journal report thank december's lackluster jobs report probably won't affect the fed's decision. the fed began reducing that monthly bond buying program by

$15 billion. another $10 billion will be trimmed when policy makers meet next week. >> america continues to produce oil, lots of it. the international energy agency said crude protection rose in 2013, the fastest growth driven mainly by production. the ban on crude oil exports could stall production in the coming years. the agency seeing increased global demand this year, as well. this man, the world economic forum kicking off today and ali velshi will be talking to some of the most important people in, and finance. you can see reports through you the day and on his show airing at 7:00 p.m. right here on aljazeera america. detroit's bankruptcy focusing national attention on the problem of what are called underfunded pensions. in an effort to improve its financial health, detroit like a lot of other states moving money

into alternative investments like hedge fund. some say it could make a bad situation worse and is risky. >> detroit's bankruptcy signed a harsh light on public pension plans that don't have enough money to pay retirees. the nation's hundred biggest funds only have 73 cents for every dollar in obligations. detroit and many other plans have tried to boost returns by turning away from stocks and bonds toward so-called alternative investments, like real estate, private equity, which can be shares of non-public companies that don't make financial dislowsures and hedge funds which own products like credit default swaps, which played a role in the mortgage crisis. >> in this era of very low interest rates, and so they're chasing returns. they're chasing a better yield. they're adding to the in balance to try to get return. that is dangerous.

>> he advises pensions but not about alternative investments. he said the goal is just to earn enough to cover pension checks with little risk. >> we don't know what the appropriate level of alternative investments is for a long lived pension plan. we don't know. >> but that level has ballooned. of the 96 pensions surveyed by the national association of state retirement administrators, the portion of pension dollars devoted to real estate and alternative investments has more than tripled over the last 12 years, growing from around 7% to more than 22%. >> the association says its members are not taking unnecessary risks and says alternative investments add diversification to a fund's asset allocation. >> real estate, private equities and hedge funds can reduce the overall level of risk of the portfolio. >> this transports alternative

investments picked up steam in the early 2000 when tech bubbles burst answered pension funds lost money. it gained momentum in 2008 when the markets dropped and pension funds rushed to decrease their alliance on stocks and bonds. >> it has alarm andrew bigs now at the american think tank. >> plans that invested heavily in alternatives have had more risk to their investment with higher returns. >> banking on getting monthly pension checks, not to mention the politically tough options of cutting benefits, some expect chasing fatter returns and taking on greater risk. aljazeera. >> most public pensions enjoying a bump during the last year's stock market boom. the largest 100 plans, topped

$3 trillion. >> a new plan to attack the olympics. the u.s. now joining the search for this woman, doubled the black widow. >> from the mayor's office to the presidential palace in the blink of an eye, the new female president of the central african republic and pressing new problem she faces on day one. >> continued chaos in ukraine, what swarms of protestors are demanding from their government and how it affects the u.s.

we saw people who need clean water, who are in these u.n.

>> you are looking live at the nation's captai capital, washin, d.c., the cars gone because the government has closed for the day because of the weather headed that way. welcome to aljazeera america. we'll tell you about the hunt for a woman who could be platting a terror attack in sochi, but first let's find out

about the winter blast of weather bearing down on the northeast. >> we talked about the snow that hasn't quite made it to the capitol this morning, but the cold air has sunk in. the midwest, we're seeing temperatures, in a lot of case, 30-degree drop, dropping all day yesterday. it's going to stay cold now that it's moved in across the country. when you add in the wind, gusting in the 20 and 30-mile per hour range, especially if we get this south of the great lakes where the highest winds are. that's making it feel negative 20 in some cases. the front is on the move, still extending farther to the south, so the south today and tomorrow will start to feel this, as well. our forecast high temperatures for today, the west coast still running mild and dry, but definitely much chillier for much of the eastern half of the country. del. >> nicole, thank you very much. >> an explosion ripping through the capitol going off in southern beirut. four people already killed in

that attack. a library in the suburb considered a strong hold of hezbollah, is burning. the explosion happening in the same enabled as an attack earlier this month. aljazeera is in beirut. has anyone claimed responsibility for this attack? >> yes, there has been a claim of responsibility, a front in lebanon believed to be a branch of the al-qaeda affiliated front rebel group in syria has claimed responsibility for this attack, and it's said that this was in responsibility to a rocket attack last friday on the lebanese-syrian border where rockets landed there and killed nine people, mostly children, and the residents has blamed hezbollah for this attack. it's in lebanon claiming responsibility for this bombing. >> one of several exmowses in

beirut in recent weeks. are there growing concerns that the war is spilling into lebanon? >> it is actually all right spilled over. we are seeing and witnesses these explosions very often these days. i'm going to step out of the shot a little bit to show you the scene behind me in the middle of the street in the hezbollah strong hold, you can see people dressed in white. those are investigators and scientists collecting evidence for an investigation into this bombing. now, this would be the fourth time this hezbollah strong hold, this very neighborhood has been bombed and targeted by suicide attacks and car bombs. it is all because of syria. hezbollah accepts thousands of fighters to fight alongside the syrian government in syria to crush the rebels, the opposition there.

so, that's why hezbollah is becoming increasingly targeted here in lebanon. we're seeing more of these explosions, but often, it's civilians getting killed in these areas, these very busy areas, rather than hezbollah members. >> thank you very much this morning. >> russia is ramping up security for the winter games in sochi. 40,000 officers going to be deployed protecting the athletes and fans from around the world. officials now identifying a suspect that they are looking for. it is a woman they are calling the black widow. they are worried that she may try to carry out a suicide attack there the winter games. peter sharp is in moscow. what are authorities saying about the threat actually posed by the black widow? >> well, the black widow would be one of possibly several other people who are taking on this role. normally they are the widows of islamic extremist fighters killed in clashes with security

forces. just last month, we saw a string of deadly attacks in voled grad where a train station was attacked as well as a trollly bus. there is a huge security presence at sochi, a ring of steel around the city, up to 40,000 security forces, police officers, and intelligence operatives now on duty down there. it would appear, because the security forces sending out flyers to various hotels alerted them to the possible presence of this woman, that she has managed to penetrate the security cordon, which of course is a real worry. >> peter sharp, johning us live from moscow, thank you very much. >> the olympic torch arriving in voldegrad, russia where suicide bomb inge claimed 34 lives last

month. responsibility was claimed for the bombings and a threat to strike the 2014 winter games in sochi. >> the united nations says it's running out of food for people displaced in the central african republic. many face the risk of scarfation. the u.n.'s world food program said 40 trucks of rice that were supposed to enter the country didn't. they say they're stuck at the border with neighboring cameroon, the drivers refusing to cross because they fear they will be targets. the u.n. is considering airlifting the food. there's a new president taking charge of the country. she is seen as a ray of hope. she, in the midst of a bleak humanitarian crisis. >> outside the national assembly, everyone was listening. everyone wanted to know who will be the new president. they want the somebody they can respect, someone whose authority does not only come from the barrel of a gun.

inside, they were voting. the process was slow, painstaking. the members wanted to show that in this broken country, something could be done right. then the announcement, and victory for the lady in pink, catherine panza, the mayor is styling herself as the mother of the nation, and this was her message to the rival christian and muslim militias. >> i launch a strong appeal to my children, sane signal by putting down your guns and to my children who are in the movement, also put down your guns. >> her speech was well received, perhaps especially by women. until now, the most senior political positions in this country have always been held by men. >> catherine panza takes on an

enormous responsibility. she is the head of state in a country where the government has essentially ceased to exist. if she is to succeed, she will need the support of the international community. >> the new president was showered with messages of good will. in a country that is poised on the edge of an abyss, this was a welcome day of hope. barney phillips, aljazeera, bongi. >> iran is out, the u.n. pulling its invitation to take part in those talks on syria. how it could impact the process pour peace after nearly three years of war. >> iran seeing the first easing of sanctions in did he go cased. we'll tell you what it means for relations between tehran and the u.s. >> neil young versus the entire canadian government, why his help has turned some in toronto against him. >> everyday... at the us - mexican border,

someone dies... >> two hours in, we come up on a body >> now, in a breakthough television event,

>> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> the u.n.'s decision to include iran in syrian peace talks almost derailed the process. a day after diplomatic wrangling, iran is out and talks set to go on address planned. the u.n. secretary moon and others of starting to arrive for the conference. syria will be taking part in the peace talks which will move to geneva on friday. >> this is going to be a long, difficult and complicated process. two warring parties actually sitting for the first time in one room, trying to negotiate an end to the war, but these two warring parties really have different agendas. the syrian opposition is coming on the basis that the regime is going to hand over power. now the regime, the syrian government making clear that they have no intention of doing so. in fact, we have our sources close to the syrian government have told us that the syrian foreign minute officer is going to stress points, and that is that the syrian government is going to tell the world with he

need your help, we are fighting terrorism, combating terrorism. we are not coming to switzerland to hand over power, and this is the last time we are going to discuss the future of syria outside syrian borders. they want to move the talks back to damascus. the syrian foreign minister if this is what he is going to present, it will definitely be rejected by the syrian national coalition. they want power handed over to create the transitional body with full executive authorities. already, it's going to be very difficult and at the same time, iran, iran is a major player in the syrian conflict. it will not be here. the russians saying that this is a mistake, and that yes, it's not going to abcatastrophe, but definitely a mistake. undaughtry, the international community is pushing ahead. they want the process to start because the international community believe there is no military solution and in fact the international community is also worried about the growing strength of al-qaeda in syria.

what the international community wants is to preserve whatever is left of the state institutions to avoid further chaos in syria. >> there is a no report out that the assad regime was involved in the system take killing of thousands of syrian detainees approximate tens of thousands of evidence smuggled out of the country by a military police defector. former u.n. war crimes prosecutors say 11,000 detainees were tortured and executed by assad's security forces. it could result in war crimes charges. iran will begin pulling the plug on parts of its nuclear program. iran will now stop building new plants, but can rare the current ones and return the u.s. and e.u. will start easing sanctions

on oil and auto industries. some are stepping up calls for tougher sanctions, that worries some iranian groups here in the u.s. >> very opposed to war, see a potential opening for a diplomatic resolution and they also see that the senate is essentially going to torpedo that with the new sanctions bill. >> the u.s. saying it will release $4.2 billion in restricted funds if iran follows through on its promise. libby casey in washington, d.c. right now. any new sanctions would amount to a declaration of war and yet 59 senators are pushing forward you. how dangerous is the strategy? >> the white house wants the senate to ease off on the sanctions, sanctions that members of congress say should kick in if iran does not stay true to its word and abide by the agreement hammered out. the senators say we don't want to put the sanctions in right now, but we want iran to feel

the threat that if they don't stick to their plans that there will be repercussions. some, republicans especially, but 16 democratic who signed on say it would be dangerous not to put sanctions forth. the white house is doing a charm offensive, meeting with senate democrats, trying to do a very hands on approach and encourage them to ease off and wait. 59 senators have talked about supporting these sanctions. even if they pass that, the white house certain to veto it, so the key number is really 67. could the senate seat 67 members signing on to legislation. at this point, it doesn't look likely because of the white house efforts. >> the syrian peace talks back on after iran was invited and then disinvited by u.n. secretary general moon. >> moon got pressure from washington, secretary of state john kerry reached out to him specifically saying that iran

could not be invited unless they could sometime to the geneva communique, handed out in june 2012 laying the foundation for what is happening this week. it says everyone in the table has to agree to a transitional government that would be put in place after the assad regime. that's something iran has never indicated publicly that they were willing to do. the syrian opposition saying they wouldn't come to the table if iran were to be here, the u.s. saying the key was signing off on those prec ex-ps. we will see the talks go on as scheduled. iran taking a sideline role. >> libby, thank you very much. >> it has been nearly a month since aljazeera correspondent and two producers were jailed in europe, accused of harming state security and joining a terrorist group. the parents are now growing in the chorus calling for them to be released. >> for most, peter is an award

winning correspondent, he is this couple's son. >> what keeps peter doing the job he is doing is his very strong sense of social justice, the need to seek the truth and to always do whatever can be done to help those in need. >> as well as to let the world know to get it out there, so things can change. >> though peter has worked internationally since the early 1990's, winning awards for his reports across africa, he was raised in brisbon where his parents still live. they went in front of media to raise awareness and calendar passionately for the egyptian authorities to release their son. >> it's affecting the whole family, and it's a living nightmare at the moment. until he gets out, it can't

continue. >> all sections of the media were at the conference with interviews afterwards. in australia, peter's polite is big news. >> preposterous to anyone in australia where you have to be charged before you're held. he's been held without charge and allegations that are being leveled are unimaginable. >> they have been able to speak to peter three times since his arrest. they're proud of their son, but mixed with the pride is concern. >> they echo the calls of the australian government, of aljazeera and of journalists around the world. peter and his colleagues were doing a legitimate job in a legitimate way. they should be released now. andrew thomas, aljazeera, brisbo. [. >> two other of our journalists

have been jim prison for five months. we demand all five be released. >> the growing unrest in ukraine escalating into an intense stand off. clashes continue between police and protestors, camped out in key every since november demanding their government's decision upset about that decision to side with russia instead of the european union. we are live from key every. thousands of demonstrators are rallying in die if rance of this new allow. that what is this about? >> well, in the short term, this is about some new laws which were passed last week, rushed through parliament, angering a lot of opposition anti-government protestors, because it raises the prospect of people going to jail for many years. some of these new offenses would carry a prison term of up to 15

years, taking part in mass riots, but lesser offenses demonstrations, wearing a helmet, for example. we've seen lots of people at the site of those clashes you were mentions, wearing helmets, just as an act of defiance. there are a few hundred people there in a standoff, which is fairly calm for the moment, but overnight monday into tuesday, there were more clashes, there were more injuries. one of the opposition leaders, right now, we believe has gone to the presidential palace to talk the president, because he's trying to calm the anger on the streets to avoid more blood shed. as you can probably see, the camp, the protest camp in independence square here certainly is staying for the time being. many wonder when the new laws will start to be enforced. >> the government, president

setting up that commission to meet with the opposition yesterday, now there's no anti protests. is this just lip service we're seeing oh that the part of the regime? >> a lot of people are finding it hard to read the government right now, because on monday, he issued a statement saying that he understood why people were taking part in these demonstrations and recognizes the neat for dialogue. the opposition said he's ducking their demand for direct talks. the commission was going to be made up of members of the government and of the presidential administration, but not the president himself. that's a real point of contention. also, the opposition demand the release of political prisoners, something which the government showed no sign of respecting. there are many, many points on which the two sides seem far

apart. in the short term, i think people want to know that they can carry on protesting without being arrested, but at the same time, some of the moderate opposition leaders also worried about the escalation in violence that we've seen since sunday. >> they were actually worried at one point or hopeful that the weather would stop crowds from coming to the capitol of key every. obviously that's not the case. >> no. the temperatures here have been around minus 10 celsius for a few days. it's snowing. people here are camping out or rather staging a presence in the center of ke kiev overnight. some do disappear, come back. we're looking to next sunday for the next big protest. >> thank you very much. >> anthony salvia is the american executive director, you

heard him saying trying to figure out what the president is doing is difficult to discern. what do you make of the moves they are making now? >> when they put in place the new laws last week, curtailing the rights of ukraine citizens to demonstrate, they made a serious error. the demonstrations going on really since november were basically coming to an end. >> you think it's like throwing kerosene on a fire. >> the wiser course would have been not to pass these laws, which got the crowds owl incensed, just let nature take its course. the thing was cryetting down. they needed a period of calm, restoration of normalcy in the country, and that's where where it was headed.

they passed these laws, which are not unreasonable. in washington, d.c., you can't seize government buildings, you can't have permanent encampments. the police would have you out of there in no time flat. that's what those laws did. the laws passed last week said things like you can't seize government buildings, you can't make permanent installation on thonthe mall. the laws are not out of whack with what the united states and europe do, they're quite normal in that sense, but the timing was extremely bad. to pass that kind of legislation, they created a new crisis for themselves that they didn't need. >> yet he will meet with opposition leaders. is it too little, too late the? >> personally, he has to do that. he is under pressure to do that.

he understands it's in his own interest to get this kind of dialogue going. the opposition demands are quite strange, saying we want repeal of those laws that we just mentioned. we want new elections. we want the current government to resign, things like that. when i say current government, i don't mean him himself necessarily, but they mean the prime minister. these are conditions that he probably will not go along with, but it's the beginning of a negotiation process. it's something that has to occur. >> i want the to show you what the white house had to say. they say that they believe the government has moved to weaken the foundation of ukraine's democracy by stripping key democratic protections under the law. john mccain goes there. is the u.s. actually, should they be involved in this controversy or do you think they're just trying to tweak the

soviet union, or russia. i'm a little older than most people. >> yeah, i think in many respects, it is unfortunate, but it is the case that the u.s. tends to see ukraine really in terms of how it relates to russia, in terms of not ukraine, you know in and of itself, in terms of its own needs and interests, but in terms of the russian context. some on the u.s. side do tend to thinking materials of long term conflict with russia which i think is out of place. i think what we need to be doing instead with ukraine and the mess they are in is because we insist you must choose this or that. ukraine is divided equally. they're in the middle of it all, and i think what we need to do is build on what reagan and gorbachev were doing, talking about new zone of cooperation.

>> in other words, look at the world under the new laws of the world and not the old eyes of the world. >> absolutely. that's something ukraine can integrate into and not be forced to make dire choices. they're the second poorest country in europe. they have a voir dire economic situation in the country, not able to make these choices. >> thank you very much. >> rocker neil young still fighting the establishment. >> we will thank the first nations for stopping this, if they're able to stop it. >> neil young, indigenous natives and government, what they have done that has people seeing red. >> another one bites the dust. a day of upsets at the australian open.

>> you are looking live at the scene in chicago where despite freezing temperatures there, they are about to shoot what appears to abcommercial involving bikes, so they will saddle up and take to the streets in just a moment. welcome back to aljazeera america, i'm del walters. just ahead, neil young stirring up the pot in his native canada, but first let's look at rain and snow across the country today. >> we have significant snow piling up. this area has been moving south of the great lakes now headed toward the mid atlantic and bringing heavier snow than we normally see. it will pick up more page. a lot of places could see anywhere from six-inches to a foot depending on where you are. the heaviest amounts are going to be near the coastline with that added moisture out there, and a lot of this tapers off by tomorrow morning, but a mess in the meantime. del. >> while we're talking about the cold or heat down under,

thrilling matches at the australian open. we have the story of two heavy hitters today. >> the play on the court, last year at the australian open, it took djokovic five hours to eliminate, winning 12-10 in the fifth set. today, two scared off again. quarter final action, again in the fifth, again tied at six games all. serving, he keeps djokovic moving along the base line before hitting the winner right there. you need to win by two games in the fifth set, no tie breaker. some of his own medicine, got him going the wrong way, now tied at seven. now up, and djokovic serving. coming to the net, he gets the short ball, but his shot is out. that leaves the door wide open. serving to stay in the match,

hits the return long. wawrinka gets the win, snapping djokovic's 20 five-game winning streak in the open. >> we pick it up third set, the nice back hand pass. very nice. cruising at this point, now at 5-2, match point, closes the deal with a nifty inside-out forehand winner. she becomes the first canadian to ever advance to the finals. >> following the seahawks win sunday, much of the attention centered around not seattle advancing to the superbowl or outstanding performances, but instead on corner back richard sherman and his amped up in your face post game interview. >> that's the result you're going to get. don't you ever talk about me! >> who was talking about you?

>> don't you open your mouth, or i'm going to shut it for you real quick. >> sherman has a history of trash talking with michael crabtree and his post game comments stemmed from that and sherman making the game changing pass deflection. it elifted responses across the sports world. >> i wanted him to present himself in his best light, he's an incredible kid. he's got great sense about things and understanding and sensitivity, and awareness, and he cares and he's a very thoughtful person, so when he puts, you know, puts out those kinds of thoughts, you know, he has to know what he's saying and understand, and i think he's very understanding at this point, that, he caused a stir that took something away from the team. >> talking about taking away something from the team, two weeks until the superbowl. you know media members are going to run to him first every time

he can. we'll see how they handle it. >> mama needed to have soap for trash talking like that. >> neil young asking fans in canada to help limit mines of natural resources in his native country. the gas and oil industry are not listening. >> the sacred songs of canada's people, the singer has made common cause with the community which says pollution from the oil sands is devastating their lands, water and health. young, a canadian witness said his country is dishonoring historic treaties with the people known at first nations. >> we made a deal with these people. we are breaking our promise. we are killing these people. the blood of these people will

be on modern canada's hands. >> here's what he's talking about. the huge open pit mines where oil rich is dug from the earth to be transformed into oil. the first nation filed a legal challenge to a plan to nearly double the size of an existing mine, even though the first nation gets jobs and royalties from such projects. the chief said enough is enough. >> in the last 40 years, the development that occurred in the tar sands region has gone out of proportion. it is at a rate right now where your government fails to recognize the fact that we have a problem. >> canada's government said the rock star is wrong, that the mining is good for every canadian misthat oil industry said it works closely with first nations across the country. >> our industry is proud of the long enduring relationships, positive relationships that we have with canadas abridge

national people. >> all of neil young's shows were sold out. passing fundraising goals. that that will emboldened activists who say the fight for cleaner oil sands exploration is only beginning. toronto. >> we hope neil young will remember that's going to do it for this hour of aljazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. thanks for spending part of your morning with us. the headlines straight ahead in just two minutes. we'll see you then.

>> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news.