i thank them for the courageous decision they have made. welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters, these are the stories we are following for you. new revolutions about that chemical spill in west virginia. you spoke for 25 minutes -- >> i came here -- >> no, please -- >> trying to make peace in syria, even though the peacemakers are having a tough time. and al jazeera america continues our series with a look

behind home schooling, and how little regulation are causing concerns. ♪ we begin with major new developments concerning that west virginia chemical spill. al jazeera has learned and officials are now confirming a second chemical also finding its way into the elk river. now the department of environmental protection is ordering freedom industries to release any unknown chemicals by 4:00 pm today. the accident happened back on january 9th. authorities imposing a ban on tap water in and around the charleston area. and then on january 17th, part of the ban was lifted. and yesterday, just yesterday officials confirming the situation was worse than first reported. jonathan martin has the latest. >> reporter: for nearly two weeks the concern was about a chemical called mchm crude that

leaked into the ilk river. drinking, bathing, even touching the water was banned for days, then the order was lifted. now residents are wake up to news that a second chemical was in the water, this one called pph. west virginia officials learned that about 300 gallons were mixed in with the other chemical when a document was turned over. health officials say the amount of the chemical was small enough that it was likely diluted by the river water and that there are no new health concerns, and state chemical experts believe water treatment processes would have removed it. testing will confirm that. what is gone for good is trust. a spokesperson says quote . . .

>> and that was jonathan martin reporting from charleston west virginia. so what is pph? that's a question we put to our science and technology correspondent jacob ward. >> pph is a polyglycol ether, it is basically a solvent on the literature, they warned of it being a skin irritant. it was used for mineral flotation, whatever that means. it has less oral tock advertisety. but it is irritating to the skin. leaders from the assad regime and syrian's opposition groups are meeting face-to-face today. but in syria the fighting goes

on. millions of refugees living outside of their cities in camps. many say they don't believe the peace conference will end the violence. nick schifrin is at the conference in switzerland. >> everybody has been talking about one thing here, trying to create a transitional government that all sides can agree on that will remove assad from power. but assad is not only dismissing the idea of stepping down, he is actually talking about running again for president. so what diplomats are talking about is small baby steps towards peace. perhaps prisoner exchanges, perhaps creating humanitarian corridors to try to get food, water, and the necessary supplies to millions of syrians who are without all of those

basic necessities, and also localized peace treaties, trying to get some kind of truce in a small area and expand that into a city or region. but so far, del, what we have heard is not any of those specifics, willingness to go towards those steps and go towards those steps, we have heard a lot of actually accusing either side of being terrorists. >> and the two sides don't really have a someone to sit down and talk, because bashar al-assad is not talking about stepping aside, in fact he is talking about running for president again. >> yeah, there is a real chasm between both sides. and what we heard this morning is a real sense that the two sides were almost speaking past each other. the u.s. which sides with the syrian opposition, we heard from secretary john kerry, and he says no matter what happens in terms of these little peace

deals, at the end of the day this violence is on president bashar al-assad, and it's assad who has to go. >> the right to lead a country does not come from torture, nor barrel bombs, nor scud missiles. it comes from the consent of the people. and it's hard to imagine how that consent could be forthcoming at this point in time. >> now the syrian foreign minister responded to that, wagged his finger at kerry and said you have no ability to tell us who our president is or isn't. he gave a speech well beyond its time frame. and he accused the opposition of being terrorists. he said a lot of the other countries have blood on their hands. and while he was going on in minute 30 or 31, ban ki-moon tried to interrupt him.

>> i must finish my speech. >> but then i will have to give -- >> you live in new york. i live in syria. i have the right to give the syrian version here in this forum. >> yes, of course. i -- >> and del, what the u.s. and the syrian opposition says is that shows the syrian's government intransigeance and unwillingness to understand the level of violence inside of his country, and the international community's anger that the government is continuing to let that violence go on. >> nick thank you very much. while those peace talks got underway they almost didn't happen. iran was invited by the un secretary general and then disinvited within a span of about 24 hours. >> considering all signs, i

don't have much hope that this meeting can succeed in fighting terrorism, because some countries sponsoring terrorism are taking part. also it won't succeed in establishing peace and stability, because the countries that created instability are taking part. nevertheless if it helps the syrian people and freedom, it will be good. >> iran saying the un secretary general was pressured by the u.s. to resend that offer. it is alleged that snow done had some help when he stole the documents. snowden denied the accusation saying . . . snowden remains under temporary asylum in russia. thousands of anti-abortion protesters will be brafing the

cold today for the 41st annual march for life. that march being held each year at the anniversary of roe v. wade. the rally set to take play in the national mall and that's where we mind libby casey. and libby those gathered saying they will not let the weather slow them down. >> that's right. we'll see fewer people attending because of the logistics, some of the buses planning on coming aren't now necessarily able to make the trip. but we have talked to people who are here from michigan to georgia. so there is still going to be a gathering here today. somewhat of a curbed number of events only because of the weather, but they are still having speeches and conversation. the organizers wanted to take a different approach anyway. they wanted to make it more youthful and welcoming.

we saw a youth event last night, and we will see members of congress speaking here today. this event happens like clock work, del, every january here in washington, tens of thousands of people gathering. and the organizers want to spice it up. >> libby, though, this year is different, we're heading into the midterm elections, so how does the abortion debate impact the political landscape this year? >> a lot of people felt like this issue was somewhat in status for the last few years. but states have been moving to curb abortion rights, they have been curbing restrictions creating more limitations in terms of time, in terms of doctors having access to clinics, in terms of certification. on the national level we see two things. we see anti-abortion activists

working to try to make this an issue of economics. they are trying to get people concerned about the federal health care law and what sort of rights and regulations come in terms of abortion and payments for abortion related to national health care law. the activists who want to see more choices are seeing this issue play out in states like virginia. we just saw a gubernatorial race there where access to abortion did come up as an issue and any democratic ended up victorious in that race. >> libby casey in washington. i know you are from alaska so welcome to spring. [ laughter ] >> thanks, del. a final push in mexico to seay the life of a man that they is innocent. protesters trying to block the execution of a man accused of killing a houston police officer 20 years ago.

he was in america illegally, and the mexican government saying the death sentence violates international law and asking for a retrial. a blast of winter weather with a storm stretching a thousand miles with people now digging out and bringing a halt to air traffic in some of the busiest airports. john on top of the snow there are the bitter temperatures to cope with. >> reporter: you know, del, you are absolutely right. i was here 12 hours ago, at 11:00 last night, and it really was nothing like as cold then as it is now. the storm has cleared out. it's gone. it's over the ocean and now we just have these frigid temperatures which are left. and to be honest with you, i checked the forecast just before i came on, and it tells us that the temperature at the moment is

around about 8 degrees in new york, which doesn't sound too bad, possibly balmmy, but with the wind chill it feels more like 14 or 15 degrees. and forecaster this will go on through the rest of this week and into next week as well. you get the snow and now the northeast has to cope with very, very cold temperatures. john thank you very much. dave warren we're not looking at anything special. this is just winter. >> well, it's unusual to see temperatures this low for this long. yes. we can getting storms, certainly not after the ordinary, but you're getting one punch after another. with the deep area of low pressure you get the strong northwest wind and that brings in the cold air. when you factor in the it wither

cold wind and the low temperatures makes it feel like it is in to the teens below zero. we have a shot of colder air coming in across the northern plains, you can see this line of clouds across the front. the wind chill 51 below in fargo, so that other shot is continuing to push east. more on the national forecast coming up, del. >> in our continuing coverage of education in america we'll continue to take a look at home schooling.

welcome back to al jazeera america. those protests in ukraine now turning deadly. at least three men dying as protesters continue to clash with police. they are trying to take apart those demonstration camps. protesters are upset for the government's rejection of a european union treaty, and its further alignment with russia. jennifer how bad it is now? >> reporter: we have seen a lot of escalation today at least two protesters have died today as a result of the police firing at them. one of the protesters had four wounds. the other one near his heart.

the police deny they were using live ammunition. we have seen the protesters and police get right up in each other's faces today. and now there are burning barricades on the street that has been really the front line of all of this since sunday when this all turned violent. and behind me in independence square, there are hundreds, thousands of people coming up. the most we have seen at night here in more than a month as they come out to support those anti-government protesters. they are all waiting to hear what the opposition has to say. the opposition has just emerged from a meeting with the president, a face-to-face meeting with the president, and they are trying to find a political solution to this crisis. that meeting went on for several hours, and we're waiting to see what the result was. >> that is jennifer glasse joining us from kiev in the ukraine, jennifer thank you very

much. ♪ checking your business news so far today it looks like a repeat on wall street for a second straight day stocks are mixed. right now the dow is lower. the nasdaq, though trading higher. the arctic cold is driving the price of natural gas to levels we haven't seen in 2.5 years. an indication that the cold snap is going to last for several more days. the mortgage banker's association reporting its index of home loan applications rising 4.7% last week. the average 30-year fixed rate loan calling to 4.57%. the head of the cleveland clinic is warning that the affordable care act will cost jobs. the doctor telling ali velshi that if costs were to be

reduced, which was the goal of obamacare, the work force has to be smaller. >> we're going to see less money coming into health care. health care is the biggest industry in the united states, 17.3% of the u.s. economy. and if you look at that, and we are going to are reduction in employment -- or reduction in costs, it's got to be people that will be taken out. every ceo of a hospital i have talked to is talking about reducing the number of employees. and health care is the only industry that has grown jobs since 2000. so that could have major implications in a lot of areas. >> you can see more of ali's throughout the day and in his show this evening, "real money" with ali velshi. many families are upset with the schools in the u.s. and are

now turning to home schooling. and sheila macvicar reports some get lost in the system. >> reporter: ward is home schooling, something she is passionate about. parents set their own lesson plans and decide what and how to teach. there are no regulations governing home schooling. oklahoma is the one state where the right to home school is enshrined in the constitution. it is one of 25 states where there is little or no home schooling overnight. this these states home schoolers don't even have to show that schooling is taking place. ward is a member of a conservative christian organization that has fought for and won this deregulated environment. but there is a big gap between the home school ideal, and for many children the reality.

no regulations means parents don't have to register their home schooled children, and it's up to the parents to make sure the kids are getting an education, but here at this gated housing project in tulsa, oklahoma, we're told there are dozens of kids of all ages who aren't in school, and who aren't getting any education at home either. there's no way to know because no one is keeping any records. >> we're really concerned for these children. we hear stories of kids ten years old who don't know their alpha bet. >> reporter: this woman worked as an education coordinator. >> i think this is a hidden issue, hidden behind the vail of home schooling. >> reporter: truancy laws don't apply. in many state there is no testing. there's no obligation on the part of the parents to show that education is taking place?

>> no. >> reporter: heather knows a thing or two about bad home schooling. she helped start an organization of formerly home schooled kids pushing for more oversight. it's a horrifying litany, dozens of cases. how many? no one knows, because until she started her work, there was not even an attempt to keep track. children removed from school or never sent to school in religious or dysfunctional ones, starved, beaten, abused, and sometimes killed. >> parents should have the right to oversee their child's education, but they should not have the right to decide whether or not their child gets an education. tonight al jazeera america looks at education policies across the country. some say those policies are putting a growing number of

students on the school to prison pipeline. and coming up, a cafe that charges customers like no other. think time is money. we saw people who need clean water, who are in these u.n.

compounds and th

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. welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are today's headlines. west virginia officials confirming a second chemical finding its way into the elk

river. now freedom industries has been ordered to release any information regarding unknown chemicals by 4:00 pm today. and thousands of protesters expected at the march for life. that includes a rally on the national mall. those events scheduled to start shortly. a war of words in geneva. world leaders have gathered to try to end the violence in syria. there was a heated exchange between ban ki-moon and the syrian foreign minister. parts of indonesia are now water after saying of heavy raining. officials say 4100 people are staying in temporary shelters, an estimated 120,000 residents have been effected. as many as 12 have died as a result of the flooding.

and going back to our top story, people dealing with bitter cold and a terrible drought. dave warren joins us with both. >> yeah, the bitter cold, we'll start off with that. that is what is behind this storm that came through the northeast. we'll put these lines on here. this shows where the lowest pressure is. this actually grew. you see these lines growing out as you put this in to motion. that is the pressure deepening .are idly. now we're getting that strong gusty wind, and the wind continues to gust in from the northwest. high pressure building in over canada, difference with that low pressure and high pressure, you are getting gusty wind. that makes these temperatures get even colder as it brings in much colder air, it is now pushing south of north dakota and minnesota. and then we have another shot of

cold air coming in saturday and sunday. here is this front with light snow. you can see it moving through the midwest and northeast, and that will be even colder air behind it. just wave after wave of snow and cold air. it's dropping right now, we're not seeing the warmup happen yet. the snow is gone, but the though on the ground will stick around for a while, and could even rephrase tonight. 9 in philadelphia, 10 in new york, wind chills feeling like they are down below zero at least. wind chill advisory in effect because of this. here is the cold air coming in to north and south dakota. but look at these actual air temperatures. you see numbers going down to about 40, 50 below with the wind chill. it looks like we'll see temperatures easily dropping.

so look for a little light snow, but the wind chill is the big problem now, at least another 24 hours of bitter cold wind chills from the northeast all the way into the northern plains. del? >> thank you very much. warren buffet is giving someone else a chance to become a billionaire by picking college basketball brackets. they are offering $1 million to anyone who can fill out a perfect bracket. the odds by the way are 1 in 9 quinn trillion. he is teaming up with quicken loans for the contest. if more than one person gets the perfect bracket they will have to share the prize. there is a new spot in london called clock face. pay for time they spend there, not the drinks they consume.

the owners are hoping their cafe chain can go global. only time will tell. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. and check us out 24 hours a day at aljazeera.com. soviet russia has been fighting separatists and religious extremists for decades, now the winter olympic games in this sochi are just weeks away, and terrorist threats on the "inside story." ♪ hello, i'm ray suarez. the olympic gameshe