>> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america ♪ on the eve of the third anniversary of egypt's arab spring three deadly bomb blasts shakes cairo at the core with death and destruction. formal peace talks and the two sides are so far apart they will not agree to meet face-to-face. tragedy in quebec and a home for elderly people go up in flames

and hampered by the inferno and freezing temperatures. and we will go inside an environmentally friendly factory that makes less garbage in a year than a normal home makes in a day. ♪ good morning and welcome to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy and we have breaking news out of egypt and there has been a series of deadly explosions in and around cairo, the first happened this morning outside of a police station in downtown cairo and four people were killed and dozens were injured there. state television says witnesses saw a gunman opening fire on surrounding buildings. a second explosion near a metro station left at least one person dead and a third blast targeted a police station near the pyramids in giza and no

casualties there and this weekend is the third anniversary of the massive up rising of the american spring that toppled the president mubarak. peace talks are underway in geneva switzerland and no face-to-face meetings will take place today between the syrian government and opposition leaders. a u.n. mediator will meet separately with the two sides and meanwhile the leader of al-qaeda has weighed in and calling for unity among the syrian opposition. he is asking islam to stop fighting each other and focus on bringing down president assad and let's go to nick who is covering the meeting in geneva and good morning and it took a lot to get both sides to these talks and now they are actually working out of separate rooms, where does the process go from here? >> it has been taking a year and a half to get to the fact we have these talks and about 8

hours ago i talked to two western officials who said there was a plan, a plan for the mediator to sit in between the two sides and the two sides to face him and not each other and separate tables and everything had been agreed on and everything worked out. in the last few hours according to the syrian government the opposition pulled out of the plan and said they were not ready and not willing to be in the same room so what the u.n. says now is they will have shuttle diplomacy and what they call proximity talks that in one room we will sit the syrian opposition and they will speed to the u.n. mediator and the other room the syrian government will speak to the mediator and twl are no plans for the two sides to come together and u.s. officials say the fact they are here is a victory but clearly this shows stephanie how difficult it is to make any kind of progress to get them in the same room. >> oddly not surprising and prer digiting that with low expectations for the meeting all along and meanwhile nick al-qaeda is weighing in and calling for opposition fighters

to stop attacking each other and concentrate on the asaid government, will this have an impact on the current talks? >> i think this goes to show how difficult and complex this problem is. inside syria there is not one opposition, there is a handful of opposition and right now they have been fighting very violently and what the head of al-qaeda said this morning is appeals to the islam fighters in syria fighting each other at the same time and fighting bashir assad to come together and the fighters are not represented at the talks behind me. right now we have if syrian government and the syrian national coalition which represents what the u.s. would consider more moderate fighters inside of syria. so it goes to show if you have any kinds of progress here in geneva, not only does the violence in syria continue but the opposition parties inside of syria all of whom want to get rid of assad are no where on the same page and many not

represented here stephanie. >> reporter: we are reporting from geneva and nick thank you. it took a lot of pressure from the international community to even bring the syrian opposition to these talks. and geneva two may be the last chance for the syrian national coalition to assert itself politically and we explain the evolution of the coalition in syrian. >> reporter: opposition to bashir assad regime started on the streets in march 2011 and people paid with their lives and demanding change and reform. four months later it was no longer a nonviolent struggle and the people fought back. then came the first attempt not just to form a political leadership but a political body to represent the grass roots movement, the syrian national council was born in august 2011 but it didn't take long for internal risks to emerge and it wasn't just that, the council failed to connect with the protesters on the streets.

the west grew in patient and asked for leadership that could speak to every segment and every geographic part of syria. >> we have made it clear that the snc can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition, they can be part of a larger opposition, but that opposition must include people from inside syria and others who have a legitimate voice that needs to be heard. >> reporter: so in november 2012 the syria national coalition was founded in doha and considered to be a more representative body and groups in syria as well as the free syrian army were included and it got international support. during the friends of syria meeting in morocco it was recognized as a legitimate representative of opposition and faced the same problems of council, according to the first elected leader the snc was influenced by international and regional powers and stepped down

in protests a few months after taking office and yet again the p politicians in exile failed to get support in syria and didn't lead. to a certain extent the division among the syrian opposition gave the regime a lifeline, the failure of opposition's political leadership to unite the armed groups on the ground and bring it untear its wing created a vacuum and that led to a new war. [gunshots] a war against iraq within the rebel-controlled north of syria and lack of leadership led al-qaeda-linked groups to grow in strength, that in turn effected western support for the rebels and intensified efforts to find the political sentiment and resignations and international pressure that snc decided to attend the so called geneva two conference and boycotted would mean losing support from the west and under mining, what legitimacy it has

in syria especially if nothing is achieved. they don't have much to fallback on, on the ground the regime has the upper hand and it has repeatedly said it's not handing over power and could be the last chance to assert itself politically because until now it's the groups with the guns who have influence on the ground. and i'm with al jazeera beirut. >> reporter: the war has forced millions of syrians to flee the country. according to the united nations there are more than 882000 refugees in lebanon, 589,000 fled for jordan, 577,000 are now in turkey. almost 213,000 syrians in iraq and 132000 in egypt. that adds up to more than 2,400,000 refugees and the u.n. estimates 6 1/2 have been displaced in syria. south sudan has cease fire

agreement following talks in ethiopia and signed at a hotel and fighting will end in the next 24 hours, intense fighting over the last month forced half a million south sudan people to flee their homes and last week government forces recaptured two main cities under rebel control. a new transitional president of the central african republic is officially in office and catherine samba-panza addressed the crisis during her inaugural address and faces enormous challenges after months of sectarian violence and the first task is to convince christian and muslim malitias is to give up guns. >> the fighter of the celica they insist they should show patriotism and put down their arms and will no longer tolerate

this disorder in the country. >> reporter: as she spoke the violence and looting continued in the capitol of bongi. there are fears ukraine's political standoff is reaching a boiling point. antigovernment protests in kiev have now spread to at least five other cities. demonstrators in western ukraine's main city of laviv stormed the governor's office thursday forcing him to sign a letter of resignation. [chanting] that letter read i ask to be freed of my duties. the governor now says the resignation is not valid. now back in kiev tensions are hydrogen after a video of alleged police brutality surfaced this video and footage is of an antigovernment protester stripped naked in sub 0 temperatures and beaten by riot police and jennifer glasse has more on the story. does the footage fuel the anger of protesters there in kiev?

>> yes, stephanie it does. many ukrainians said it's one example of the abuses the police inflict on the people here in ukraine, that video has been all over television here in kiev and around the country. the police, the interior minister says 103 people have been arrested since these clashes began here in kiev and yesterday when opposition leaders met with the president yanukovych he apparently threatened to arrest dozens more activists involved in the protests here and the clashes nearby. now, we spoke earlier a little bit about how the unrest here is spreading, it's spreading here in kiev as well on both sides of independence square, behind me on this side of independent square opposition protesters have taken over two ministries this morning and on this side of independence square they moved the barricades up a few hundred

yards and taking this peacefully as they asked them to last night. >> reporter: what about rumors that yanukovych and the government may be trying to at some point impose emergency law status, what can you tell us about that? >> we have not really, you know, i think that would be a step that could really totally inflame things here. last week the president yanukovych and parliament pushes through draconian laws that make the protesters here criminals, the tents are illegal and the stage without the proper permit is illegal and that is why impatience turned into the violent scenes you saw earlier this week of president yanukovych and many ukrainians believe he is out of touch and shown no inclination to offer this to the protesters here and i think that is why it's spreading here and cities around the country, it's a very

dangerous time and looking at a tipping point for ukraine and the president will have to be careful either to listen to the people or a full crack down really could turn things very, very difficult here. >> a lot of analysts agreeing with you there and jennifer glasse is reporting from the capitol of ukraine, kiev, thanks jennifer. thailand's r constitutional court postponed the up coming election and the commission says the country is too volatile to hold the election on february second but a decree to hold the elections has been signed by the king and cannot be changed. this week the prime minister declared a state of emergency in bangkok after a wave of violent protests there and calling on the prime minister to step down. surprising show of diplomacy by north korea, the communist country wrote a letter to south korea that many call an olive branch and wants to create unity and reconciliation between the neighboring countries and adding what is important for paving a

wide avenue for meanting north, south relations is to make a bold decision to stop all hostile military acts and the peace proposal comes with a catch and wants south korea to stop military drills with the u.s. and they slugged it off and says it's wants action and not words. a winter white out in indiana caused a deadly 40 vehicle pile up and cars and tractor-trailers slammed into each other on i-94 which connects chicago to detroit, three people were killed in the crash, more than 20 were injured, eastbound lanes were closed overnight so crews could clear the wreckage and say viability at the time was quarter mile or less because of heavy lake effect snow. and crews in texas are spraying roads with anti-icing solution to get ready for a winter storm expected to hit during the morning commute there. and let's brick in nicole mitchell for the deep freeze being felt in the south. >> they are complaining about it has made it southward and we have a couple problems we are

still dealing with this morning. so as we continue off here is the broad picture. you can see snow, well southward where we are not used to it, i will is a closer look in a second. you mentioned the accidents that we had kind of in the michiana area and when you have it coming from the north and curving that is the biggest off the lake and some of what we were seeing yesterday, the heavy snow lending to the pile ups, still a little residual lake effect snow so be careful. this, if you lived in the south, i'm a northerner who lived in the south at one point, you don't know how to drive in this, you just, it's very treacherous out there and look at central texas, san antonio and houston and north of the area, there are reports of freezing rain, bridges, overpass, a lot of roads being reported as slick, we are not used to that so be very careful this morning and a lot of places saying do not travel if you don't have to. as we get the temperature divide is causing that and cold air

intersecting with warm air and you can get the freezing layer like we see this morning. a lot of other places like arkansas and mississippi the temperatures are cold enough that is just plain snow, that is a problem. opposite problem as we get to the west coast. we had high pressure in place and have a little disturbance coming in over the next couple days and maybe next week some rain to the northwest but in the meantime not only the fire hazards up but because of a system in the central pacific the coastal surf advisories are up as well. >> thank you, they are searching for 30 missing people in quebec after flames engulfed a nursing home and five are dead and fears that death toll could rise. the fire began at a senior living center 140 miles north of quebec city. many residents at the home have wheelchairs and walkers and trapped inside when the massive fire began overnight thursday. authorities are looking into the cause of the fire but they say the building was not fully e equipped with sprinkles and

daniel says firefighters had to battle intense flames and the brutal cold. >> reporter: a night from hell is how the local fire chief described what happened in his hometown of quebec. after midnight firefighters were calls to a senior citizens home and in minutes the entire front section of the building was engulfed in flames and there were screams for help and neighbors quick to respond and some using own ladders trying to rescue people off second floor balconys and it was too big and heat too intense. >> in the minute following this event volunteer firefighters were out there carrying elderly people to put them in a safe place, risking their lives. >> reporter: arctic-like temperatures hindered the rescue effort and not until hours later at daybreak when the fire was brought under control and the facility specialized in end of life care and the mayor said they were suffering from acute physical and mental disabilities

and many relying on wheelchairs to move around and could be days before the fate of all those lives in the building's 52 appointments is confirmed, the section hit by fire was built 15 years ago before the safety laws required sprinkler systems in home for the ij added. and this is a small tightly-knit community and they knew their parents relatives and family friends and a tragedy that will mark the town for again rayes to come, daniel with al jazeera. >> reporter: that building that burned down was home to more than 50 people and most residents were older than 75. hundreds of thousands of people effected by tainted water in west virginia are skeptical about the all clear of what test results al jazeera conducted independently reveal about the safety of that drinking water. and changes could come to marijuana laws across the country, why the federal government and some conservative states may be turning over a new

leaf. >> did not expect this to be landfill. >> reporter: reduced the waste to one pound of garbage a year and now it is even making money by going green. i'm mark morgan and coming up, in sports a snowmobile competitor takes to the course with a heavy heart dedicating the performance to the brother he lost one year ago. ♪ education continues... >> i'm a physicist, and i've gotten a whole new understanding of the meaning of inertia, from trying to get these ideas out... >> flip school, part of our week long in depth series america tonight only on al jazeera america

♪ ahead we will have results of an al jazeera investigation and what we found when we independently tested tainted water in west virginia but first let's look at what temperatures we will see across the nation today and metrologist nicole mitchell is back. >> we have some improvement and some places where you are not enjoying much and atlanta 13, minneapolis 14 and tells you how cold it is southward and the fact we have had a little bit of a warm up in the midwest versus the negatives at this time

yesterday. so yesterday morning at this time versus this morning at this time we have gone up 45 degrees in rapid city, so as you head out the door it will feel balmy versus the negatives we were dealing with yesterday at this time and over all the midwest will be above average and denver 53 and short lived, the temperatures start going back down tomorrow and that spreads across the country once again and back to you. >> thank you. health officials in west virginia say water tainted by a chemical spill is now safe to drink but some of the 300,000 people that were effected by the contamination are still not so sure. so al jazeera america decided to conduct our own independent test on the water in charleston and our test confirms that state experts have told the public is true, that is what our jonathan martin joins us live with this morning and you are in charleston and what do people say they will need to trust the water again?

>> well, time, stephanie, people say it will take time and want to see long-term and long-range testing before they feel it's safe to drink the water and al jazeera hired an independent environmental consulting firm to test the water, the tests were taken from the water hear at the canal river which is downstream from where the big chemical spill happened and we also had them test the water at a pregnant woman's home because you might remember after the do not use ban was lifted the c.d.c. came back and told pregnant women that they shouldn't drink the water out of abundance of caution so a lot of people are concerned about the water and the levels of the chemical in the water, so the tests we have got the results back last night and show the chemical that is really that everyone has been concerned about is at nondetectable levels. now of course the chemical is not supposed to be in the water at all but the c.d.c. does say that at the level of one part per million our less they believe it's safe for humans to drink. so again the levels of our test results show it's well beneath

that undetectable but we share these results stephanie with a lot of people last night and a lot of people say it's great but at this point they still do not trust and not convinced the water is safe. >> not exactly because it still smells, i have not drank it but i bathe in it and have not drank it and wash dishes and things of that nature but i'm still afraid to drink it and drink bottled water. >> i don't believe it because you can smell it in people's waters and smells like licorice. >> reporter: again a lot of people have been told to flush out their systems but people say after they have done that the water still has a very sweet smell and you heard a gentleman say it smells like licorice and they say the water is safe to drink public schools here are still not allowing children to drink the water in water fountains or in the cafeteria and a lot of restaurants are saying we are not serving the water, we heard one business owner tell us the other this

night it will be at least a year before she allows the customers to have the water, so still disdespidi disdespidi disdespite the results people do not trust it. >> reporter: jonathan thank you. it was a match up tennis fans wanted but didn't think they would see in the australian open and mark morgan is here on the federer match up down under. >> this was great for a while but it has become one sided now. roger and rafal meeting in the men's final and 3 third time they faced in their careers and led 22-10 and won 8 of 10 matches and the two men played in grand slam and nadal moments ago wrapped this up, he was in control the entire match and took the first set in a tie break in 59 minutes and closed it 6-3-6-3 and he was playing with the wicked blister the size

of a quarter on his left serving hand and very impressive for nadal to advance to the men's final and we will have a comprehensive look at the nadal slashg f --/federer. and they need to be aware of his presence and he is over shadowed and is a vital part of the team and when he is on the heat is hard to beat and fourth quarter and there is eric the head coach and bosch hits the jumper and 15 of 22 from the field and led the heat with 31, minutes later james find ray allen where he is behind the three-point line and allen knocks it down and arrested dwayne and 7-0 under the bucket and heat up by 5 and lebron drives and scores and had 27, 13 boards and 6 assists and 109-102 and the heat won four of the last five and tiger woods

tee'd off yesterday at torrey pines in california and he is hoping to use this as a spring board for the 2014 season and 9th hole and woods playing on the tougher south course and right off the tee and the ball was by the tents and he recovered and parred the hole but failed to birdie any of the par fives in his opening round. so we go to the 18th, another par 5 and trouble off the tee and pulls this one left and in the fairway bunker and drops his head, another bad drive and under five and 67% of the time but finished the first round at even par 72 and 8 shots behind this man, the leader stewart sink shot a 64 and 8 under par. it was an emotional night in aspen, colorado for competitor colton moore, one year after his brother died at a crash at the x games he was back with his

brother's memory front and center. with friends and family looking on moore scored 91.33 to win gold in the free style competition. it was his second x games gold and the first back in 2012 and moore returned to the scene of a tragedy with a performance dedicated to his brother. >> that is what i love to do and we push each other to go for it and i just knew he would be riding with me when i go ride so he is there with me and like i said before if i try to quit and he get me. >> reporter: where is the gold metal going? >> hung up with a picture of kalib. >> reporter: u.s. bobsled officials are defending selection of lolo jones to the olympic squad and jones is a former track and field athlete tried out for 2012 and made it and a metal in the first world cup race. sochi games she was one of three women for the spot on the team and the others had accomplished

resumes in the sport and fielded criticism through e-mails and social media saying they chose her due to attention she generates and she said it was because of performance and this starts on the 18th in sochi. >> she attacks attention in both sports and mark morgan thank you so much. three deadly bomb blasts ripped through cairo this morning. [chanting] the latest on the violence targeting police stations and how it's coming on a major milestone. big changes at nsa and what edward snowden said in a live web chat the same day the report was released. >> there are children that are suffering and if we waited a year to do a study commission may not live. >> reporter: opposition to pot may be going up in smoke, why some states you might not expect are thinking about changing marijuana laws to help families.

♪ someone leaves their home searching for a better life. >> two hours in, we come upon a body. >> now, in a breakthrough television event, al jazeera america takes you beyond the debate. experience first hand the tragic journey of these migrants. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on until you live near the boarder. >> six strangers with different points of view... >> i don't believe in borders. >> our government is allowing an invasion. >> ...get to experience illegal immigration, up close and personal. >> its very overwhelming to see this many people that have perished. >> a lot of families that don't know where their babies went. >> i want to make sure that her life, its remembered. >> what happens when lost lives are relived. >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves. >> on borderland. only on al jazeera america. >> any of you guys want to come to the united states?

states. researchers say air pollution from the factories made its way across the pat iffic, into california and arizona. the u.s. national academy of science says it makes up a quarter of air pollution. the pollution is a reminder that our demand for cheep imports has a boomerang effect. >> chinese factories are churning out the latest technology, sending it to our shores, along with something less desirable pollution. >> you see the pictures of people in budget with maths on. you don't think about what comes across an o. >> steven co-authored a study finding that emissions from chinese plants manufacturing exported goods have been found in

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy, a series of explosions struck the capitol of cairo this morning and went off near several police stations killing at least five people and the first was a car bomb outside the main police headquarters in downtown and four people died and dozens were injured, a second device went off near a metro station in geza killing one person and no casualties reporting following a third explosion outside another police station. mike hanna is in doha with the latest on these three attacks and mike good morning, this weekend marks the third anniversary of the start of the arab spring that drove mubarak from power and is egypt bracing for more of these attacks?

>> very much so, stephanie. the egyptian interim government had warned of attacks over this highly sensitive period. basically there are many within the opposition who are seizing the opportunity to express opposition to the interim government and military that put it in power. supporters of former post mohamed morsi who remains in a prison in egypt, so the interim government in egypt had been warning of security problems over this particular period and there had been an intensification of security in cairo and other cities of egypt clearly though are not sufficient enough in order for these series of explosions to take place in the early morning, clearly what would appear to be a coordinated series of attacks stephanie. >> mike, can you tell us a little bit more about the significance of these targets, you just described them as coordinated and we are talking about two police headquarters and a metro station here.

>> yes, the police station itself is in the heart of central cairo, an area that one would expect to be highly guarded particularly at this period. the fact that the attackers managed to get the car in front of their police station, through the numerous roadblocks that have been cast up around cairo and in the inner city itself very much a demonstration that despite the security crack down those in opposition to the interim government will remain effective. the other two explosions taking part in geza over the nile river over central cairo and the police station a clearly defined target according to those in opposition to the government and the metro station according to the interior ministry part of an attempt to have terror as the ministry puts and and confusion on this anniversary period. the interim government insisting

those who support it should come out to celebrate the three years of the revolution, the opponents of the interim government insisting that people come up to demonstrate against the interim government and the military that put it in power, stephanie. >> you spent a lot of time in egypt particularly when it comes to the metro station, isn't that an area near the pyramids that would normally be frequented by say tourists? >> yes, indeed, that is a particular area as i mentioned is in giza which is very close to the location of the pyramids and the prime tourist site within greater cairo but one must mention at this particular time given the sensitivities that are prevalent about amount of political division there has been a sharp drop in the egyptian tourist industry and no reports that tourists were among those injured in the metro explosion but certainly that particular area would in normal times be frequented by tourist

from inside and outside egypt, a point of concern, although to stress once again no serious casualties reported at that metro bombing and definitely no fatalities. >> mike hanna reporting from doha and thank you and producers mohamed and fahmy and correspondence dents peter greste are detained for 27 years in egypt and held for another 15 days. they are accused of spreading lies harmful to state security and joining a terrorist group and al jazeera says the allegations are totally unfounded. two other journalists from our sister channels are also being held, and a reporter and may home is a camera man and detained for five months. a new report from an independent review board says the nsa telephone data collection program is illegal. but the man who uncovered the secret surveillance programs is now on record saying he is not against spying.

edward snowden just thinks the u.s. went too far. as tracey pots tells us snowden made his case online. >> not all spying is bad says edward snowden, spying on other countries, that is okay. mass surveillance on american not okay, the former nsa contractor said in a live web chat from russia and denies stealing any pass words and says he was not working with russia from the beginning. >> i don't think there is strong evidence is indicating he operated with any foreign support. >> reporter: a government task force recommends the data collection snowden exposed be shut down, calling it illegal with minimal impact on catching terrorists. >> it cannot be regarded as relevant to a particular investigation or any investigation by the fbi. >> no chance for clemency. >> i think that would be going too far. >> he should return to the united states and face the charges. >> reporter: tracey pots reporting there, the white house

thursday fired back at the study over spying and it's rejecting the privacy and civil liberties find ings in that study and this is regarding former contractor edward snowden and karen with national security at the law school and thank you for being with us this morning and what is your impression of the online chat that mr. snowden held yesterday? >> he is emerging as a personality and over time he was careful object who he talks to and which outlet's but he is thoughtful and not rigid in how he things and not a knowable entity. and i think he respects the government. he made that very clear. he respects the american people. >> reporter: that is interesting you say he respects the government. >> yeah. >> reporter: i just want to show a little bit of what he said during the chat yesterday, this quote, my case clearly demonstrates the need for comprehensive whistleblower protection act reform.

if we had a real process in place and reports of wrongdoing could be taken to arbitors other than captured officials i might not have sacrificed to do at this point what the president seems to agree needed to be done. do you think snowden has made a good case for himself as being a whistleblower? >> i think he has and it's clear it's not an out let through congress and didn't feel there was an outlet for any whistleblower protection and didn't feel trusted by them and calls them loopholes but i think he has made a good case for himself as a whistleblower as opposed to what the government would like to call him which is a leaker. >> reporter: let's talk about what the government said about that eric holder weighed in and let's hear what he had to say. >> he broke the law that he caused harm to our national security. from my perspective he is a defendant. >> reporter: he is a defendant. you have a legal background. what is holder trying to say there by calling him a

defendant? >> well, i think one thing he is trying to do is not get in whistleblower versus leaker debate and not to use the terms h se a defendant. they have a criminal complaint against him and talking about what they want to do going forward, one of the most interesting things that is happening now is the conversation about snowden has evolved towards is there going to be a deal, is he going to come home, snowden mentioned it yesterday in his online chat and holder has mentioned it and it's now a buzz in the media so the question is he going to come home and is there a deal? >> reporter: he said he would have to plead guilty in order for them to talk. >> our system provides for a lot of ways around a very harsh, full weight of the law against snowden and of course there are a lot of people who would like clemency and pardon et cetera. but a plea can be anything. it's not to plead guilty does not mean anything in terms of your sentence and depends what

he pleads guilty to and what they arrange and he is open to talking and that is a new development in case. >> reporter: is part of what we see here some sort of vindication, the fact the obama administration does seem to be addressing privacy concerns with nsa surveillance, does that in some way help to clear snowden's name at least in public opinion. >> reporter: right, it's not just privacy concerns, it's concerns about legality and constitutionality of a program the united states was living under, not just massive surveillance we didn't know about which is the case but it's also is the law itself as codified by the patriot act something the americans want and is it constitutional and now courts are starting to push back against it as well as the media and experts who have been talking about it for a long time and now obama's own panel and he wanted to make it more powerful. >> reporter: saying that these programs are illegal unequally.

>> yes. >> reporter: karen greenburg director of national security at the law school and thanks for your insights this morning we appreciate it. federal prosecutors -- recreational and medical marijuana sales are expected to bring in big business and they are hesitant to do business with them because it could be a federal crime to do so but a potential change by the justice department could soon change that. >> i'm standing in a line in the snow outside, that's how i'm it is to me. >> reporter: colorado made history on january 1st when the state legalized marijuana for recreational use. the first in the country to do so. >> total is $59.74. >> reporter: by noon that day customers were lining up for bubba curb and truffles had at mchls dry in the business and it's the cash at the industry had president obama's administration rethinking its

pot policy. on thursday eric holder announced he will relax to ae low banks and credit card companies to do business with marijuana distributor because it's classified illegal in the law most dispensarys are operating on cash only basis without access to banking service or credit and owners complained about dealing with large amounts of cash at their places of business or even carrying earnings to irs offices to pay their taxes. holder addressed those concerns directly, saying you don't want just huge amounts of cash in these places. they want to be able to use the banking system and so we will be issuing so regulations i think very soon to deal with that issue. colorado's pot business could possibly rake inasmuch as $600 million this year and it's that number that may have other states following suit when it comes to decriminalizing

marijuana but decriminalizing marijuana use got an unexpected endorsement at the world economic forum from rick perry and speak from switzerland the governor said as the governor of the second largest state in the country what i can do is start us on policies that can start us on the road towards decriminalization. georgia may be days away from introducing a bill to make it the first state in the southeast to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. >> there are families that are leaving our state because to go to colorado because they need access to these medical cannabis. >> reporter: it's not as strong in louisiana and it gives doctors the ability to prescribe medical marijuana but patients are not allowed to buy it. something republican governor bobby jindle says is worth taking another look at. >> i'm opposed to the legalization of marijuana and

medical marijuana it's not an issue i looked closely at, if there is a legitimate medical need i would make it available under very strict supervision for patients. >> reporter: thomas with al jazeera. >> reporter: in a vote last week new hampshire became the latest state to take a step towards legalizing pot for personal use and new mexico lawmakers proposed decriminalizing it for medical marijuana use and andrew cuomo the same. and a federal judge blocked a state law that prevented community organizers from helping consumers sign up for coverage. the state says those organizers should receive 30 hours of training and pay a fee. but critics complained that would slow down enrollment in healthcare coverage and 16 other states have enacted similar laws. fbi said retailers should prepare for more cyber attacks and saying the f.b.i. circulated a confidential report to companies in the document the

agency described the risks of malware that effects cash registers and swiping machines and found 20 hacking cases like target during the holiday season and millions of target cousin -- customers had their credit and debit cards breached. and malware was installed on their operator system and it was very sophisticated and self concealing. green cars are a common sight only the road but one auto maker is going to a new level and jonathan betz took a tour of gm manufacturing plant where they reuse, recycles or converts all waste from the daily operations. >> every year this gm parts plant produces a million manifolds, 10 million fuel injectors, and millions more

engine parts. but hardly a pound of garbage. >> put your trash out this morning, that was more than they would send to a landfill in a year. >> reporter: at the up state new york plant gm spent three years and millions of dollars figuring out how to recycle everything, absolutely everything that would otherwise be thrown away from plastic wrap to cardboard packaging to industrial waste. >> we did not expect to become landfill free and didn't think it would be possible. >> reporter: especially challenging oil sludge from grinding out small parts like screws and gm used to send it to an industrial landfill. >> we filled 7 times, the 8th solution actually worked. >> reporter: the plant environmental team spent months figuring out a centrifuge, it starts like this and the oil is reused and what happens to the ash-looking substance?

>> it's going to a waste energy where it makes energy or steam. >> reporter: 110 out of 161 manufacturing facilities have gone landfill free and the latest last month inro , rochester, new york and they keep out enough trash every year to fill the betz of 1800 chevy trucks and a move that environmentalist applaud. >> progress in fuel efficiency and other environmental sustainable initiatives and the auto industry is one of the worst contributors to global climate change and progress is great but we need to see more of it and fast. >> reporter: gm is committed to the project and it means extra work for its employees. >> once they understand the full meaning of what it's for it will get better. >> reporter: they launched the

project to help the environment and discovered something unexpected about its trash. >> we just assumed nobody would want it and we were wrong. >> reporter: after spending money on recycling gm makes a billion a year off of it. somebody buys this? >> they pay money for it. >> reporter: trash that truly has become treasure. >> reporter: subaru and toyota are working to be waste free. business news this morning the selling may not be over on wall street, dow is down more than 100 points at stocks fell broadly yesterday. worries over weak earnings, unnerving traders here is where we stand and dow 16197, s&p 500, 1828 and nasdaq 4219 and asia shares were lower and concerns over weak chinese manufacturing lingers and tokyo down 2% and

following asia lead and opening lower and they are rattling a company and tells "the wall street journal" he wants ebay to break up and urging them to spin off pay pal and ebay resisted and as a result icon is seeking two seats on the ebay board and pr e paired for a proxy fight to own them and they own 2% of ebay. lehman brothers is working out deals from the bankruptcy, the former company has reached a settlement to pay fannie mae $500 million. fannie says it bought $2 billion bad mortgages from lehman and a judge must approve and the bankruptcy was the biggest in u.s. history. south korean samsung said profits declined for the first time in two years and the company made nearly $7 billion in the last three months but down 11% from the previous

quarter and blames the cost to promote galaxy. the mars rover was planned as a three-month exploration but turned into a decade-long mission and what it's teaching us about the mysterious planet. >> and schools are closed in the deep south as freezing rain and snow has made it in the direction, i will have your national forecast. >> the sun is rising over the capitol building in washington d.c., this is a live look this friday morning.

>> i'm phil torres,

♪ i'm phil torres, welcome back to al jazeera america, just ahead celebrating ten years on mars and nasa rover is making amazing discoveries but let's look at the weather on this planet and metrologist

nicole mitchell is back. >> we are warmer at least. it is cold this morning and it's perspective. getting off through the country and because of cold air that spread well into the south we have areas of snow still a little of the lake effect problem in michigan and a clipper system through the midwest and we will start where we are having problems this morning, the cold air intersecting with warm has freezing rain this morning and houston and i checked hobby and freezing rain and houston to sand antonia and houston and louisiana is pibing up snow at lake charles and in the south watching for advisories and the dry is so dry we have red flag warnings up next, to winter advisories and you don't see that very often, stephanie. >> reporter: scientists have found the oldest known living cancer in dogs and passes between animals during mating and found it dates back to one

breed of an huskie dog that roamed the earth 11,000 years ago and survived millions of mutations and one of two types of cancer that can be transferred from one animal to another. today marks the 10th anniversary of nasa rover spirit and opportunity landing on mars. the mission was only lasting three months with hopes of finding clues of water on the red planet but one of the rovers is alive and kicking and finding new surprises. >> ten years ago humanity travels to the red planet. well, we didn't go ourselves exactly, we packed up our best ideas and biggest questions into a pair of highly sophisticated robot bodies and launch them for a year-long journey to a planet that we hope to see with our own eyes and they were like siblings and identical in every way and sat down on the planet three weeks apart and hoping they would last 90 days and instead they went 25 times as long and

spirit functioned from 2004-2010 and opportunity which landed the second and making it the younger of the two is still alive. at the moment it's exploring the rim of a crater and continues to send valuable data home and spirit and opportunity were there in large part to determine if there was water and therefore the possibility of life on mars and succeeded and they turned up evidence of wet portions of the planet that they have supported life. and science seems like it's about cold certainty and rational choice but going to mars was a dream my idea and the rovers were named by a 9-year-old adopted girl named sophie and thanked the united states for the opportunity of making her dreams come true and going for millions of dollars was a crazy idea but this sort of dream is what science is about. it's about traveling beyond what we know and it isn't just we manage to do it, we are still

doing it ten years later. >> reporter: that was jacob ward reporting. in the ten years on mars opportunity has explored about 24 miles of the red planet, six weeks after it landed in 2004 it found evidence of water. and over the course of its life it has been back more than 100,000 high-resolution pictures of the red planet. the mac turns 30 and the apple product revolutionized computers and more accessible to everyday people like me, instead of typing commands users could navigate a graphic interface and before the debut they released a superbowl commercial and made reference to george orwell's novel, 1984 and michelle joins us with a look of the stories we are following for the next hour, good morning. >> a series of explosions rocked cairo and three killed in three separate attacks and attacks in ukraine spread to five more cities and opposition leaders

are still negotiating with the president and geneva two talks are underway and both sides of the conflict will meet separately with the u.n. need -- mediator. >> and cold in the south and dangerous roads and i will have your forecast coming up. >> 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.

result in students being arrested for minor violations. it's the school to prison pipeline. the obama administration has even weighed in on this. >> this is a must-see report. >> major cities facing homelessness. officials in chicago are making a push to document just how many people are homeless so they can offer up help in better ways. >> these are interesting stories. the united nations chief negotiator will be holding separate talks with warring sides from syria. they want to gauge the willingness to sit at the table in geneva.

as aljazeera reports, the summit got off to a rocky start. >> all syrian people at the moment want it to stop. >> in a condition presence that's supposed to talk peace, two sides are yelling at each >> tipping point, talk between government and the government, building the barricades and extending the uprising to other cities. >> bumpy roads as syria's government prepares to sit president peace table. the blame game begins. >> being in this program made me feel like i have more potential. >> the probability of potential.

how ninth grade plus math could add up to graduation. >> to be the only woman, the only minority woman here, i love the challenge. >> an uphill battle to break down barriers, how some women are holding their own in an industry dominated by men. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera, i'm richelle carey. >> i'm stephanie sy. syrian peace talking about are underway in geneva, the u.n. said no face-to-face meetings will take place today between the syrian government and opposition leaders. a u.n. mediator will meet separately with the two sides. we are covering the conference. nick, it took a lot to get both sides to these talks and now they're working out of separate

rooms. where does the process go from here? >> well, right now, there is a lot of positioning and spinning. if i were sitting on a chair with wheels, i think i would be very dizzy listening to both sides. the coalition members, the object significance party, we spoke to them this morning. they say they are demanding something from the government. they say they won't meet in the same room or across the table with the government until the government accepts something very specific, that there's going to be a transitional government that replaces assad that comes in and ends this violence. that transitional government technically has been agreed to by all parties here, but when the syrian government accepted this invitation, they said we don't actually agree with everything that you're demanding of us, so now the coalition is saying in order to meet together, we need to see the government in writing declare that they are willing to put forward a transitional government to replace assad.

on the other side, the co collision or government itself came down and spoke to reporters and said that the coalition, the opposition is not very serious, saying they had delayed talks, had canceled this meeting and we saw the deputy foreign minister this morning brave about 100 journalists right behind me to deliver that message. >> we had a very good meeting yesterday with mr. abrahimi. we agreed that today morning at 11:00 we shall meet here and he will chair the meeting, the syrian government will be on one side, the opposition on the other side. he will address both of us and that's it. >> you have no problem with that. >> absolutely not, what are we coming for? >> you think the opposition must have a problem in this. >> absolutely if there is something wrong and any change, then it must be the other side. >> what do you hope to achieve? >> we have to achieve peace.

>> his accusation is the coalition wasn't willing to come to the table. in reality, the coalition is giving a demand they accept the idea of a transitional government, so both sides are positioning, spinning us journalists and the world and we're still waiting for this afternoon, the coalition has asked for a response from the government. in a few hours, that response will come. we don't know what it will be, and then the talks may move forward. >> reporting from geneva, thank you. >> ukraine's turbulent uprising may be reaching a boiling point. let's take a look at live pictures in kiev. there is doubt that negotiations will bring peace. talks between opposition leaders and the that government ended in a tail mate for a second day. >> thursday's fragile truce was compromised by this video of police brutality, showing an anti-government protestor stripped naked.

it's sub zero there. ripeout police are seen grabbing him, slapping and kicking him as he is pushed into a police bus. the violent protests have now spread to cities in the country's central and western regions. >> they're also taking pictures of him. >> yes. >> joining us now is jennifer glass. jennifer, talks proved fruitless again thursday. what's it like in the central square there today? >> you know, it is a bitterly cold day and as you see behind me, there are hundreds of people in the square. that this has been the heart of the protest since they started at the end of november. a few hundred yards from me, in the streets, it runs up to parliament, the police remain in a line on a barricade there with their shields ready. the protestors may be 100 yards from them in a line of their own behind some burning barricades in a tense standoff.

>> and as you can see, we just lost jennifer glass reporting from kiev. that we will try to get back as soon as we can. >> there have been deadly explosions in and around cairo. the first happened this morning outside a police station in downtown cairo. four people were killed and dozens more injured. state television says witnesses saw gunmen opening fire on surrounding buildings. a second explosion near a metro station left at least one person dead and a third blast targeted a police station near the mir mids in giza. this weekend marks the third anniversary of the massive jump rising known as the arab spring that topped long time president mubarak. >> three aljazeera reporters have been held, accused of joining to terrorist group. aljazeera says the allegations are totally unfounded. two our from our sister channels

are also held. a reporter and cameraman have been detained for five months now. >> the white house is firing back at a scathing independent study over the nsa surveillance program. it is rejecting the findings alleging the program is illegal and needs to be shut down. >> we simply disagree with the board on the legality of the program, consistent with the recent holdings of the u.s. district courts for the southern district of new york and california as well as the finding of 15 judges of the foreign intelligence surveillance court, the administration believes that the program is lawful. as the president has said, however, he believes we can and should make changes in the program that will give the american people greater confidence in it. >> wednesday's report could create problems with future lawsuits against the n.s.a.

the findings allege the bulk telephone records program lacks a viable legal foundation. it says it raises serious threats to privacy and civil liberties and implicates constitutional concerns under the first and fourth amendments. it looks like attorney general eric holder is ready to cut a deal with edward snowden, saying the u.s. is willing to talk about resolving criminal charges against the former nsa contractor but he must take responsibility for leaking top secret information, in other words plead guilty. snowden defended his actions thursday in an on-line chat. >> edward snowden spoke to the world via the internet aside his defense team. dozens of questions were asked. we've selected three for you a look at. the question asked was: snowden replies:

>> second question:

>> defense secretary chuck hagel is ordering reviews of people in charge of the nuclear weapons, making the response after a series of allegations about misconduct by officers in charge of the weapons. an exam cheating scandal involved dozens of officers. he will convene a special meeting to discuss a plan of action to the incidents within 60 days. >> a big change may be coming for legal owners of recreational and medical marijuana businesses. thursday, attorney general eric holder is looking into relaxing transactions with banks for legal pot growers. it could be a federal crime to do so currently. >> texas governor rick perry weighed in on the issue of marijuana speaking in davos, thursday.

he favors softening penalties and touted his work toward decriminalization. he said legalizing marijuana should be left to the states. >> rescue crews will sift through rubble friday to identify victims of a fire that destroyed a nursing home in quebec. five people are dead and at least 30 others reported missing. the blaze began at a senior living center about 140 miles north of quebec city early thursday. many of the residents at that home depend on wheelchairs and walkers. authorities are looking into the cause of the fire but say the this was not fully equipped with sprinklers. >> a winter whiteout in indiana caused that, what you see there. that is a 40 vehicle pileup that happened thursday. cars and tractor trailers slammed into each other on i-94, connecting chicago to detroit. thee were killed, more than 20 others injured.

eastbound lanes were closed overnight so crews could clear the wreckage. visibility was about a quarter mile or less because of heavy lake effect snow. that is frightening. >> just a reminder how dangerous this weather can be. more wintery weather is hitting the country, including the south, facing slick conditions this morning. >> it's been a rough january for a lot of folks out there. heading out this morning, still problems in places we're not really used to dealing with them. the broad, it is the south we are concerned about today, even though we have another clipper into portions of the midwest. accidents in indiana, we had almost the perfect wind down the lake, allowing it to pick up the most moisture, that's why we saw so much lake effect snow yesterday. that's wound down a little bit, but still some problems there today. that in partly was more of the reduced visibility along with the snow. houston getting the freezing

rain this morning, becoming slick and treacherous, roads from san antonio, north toward austin, no advisories to drive on them and snow has spread into lake charles this morning. headed out, look and check and make sure the schools are open. for the rest of the region under the caution, by the time the moisture makes it this direction, looks like those temperatures might get above freezing to kind of help things out, but temperatures this morning are well below freezing, contributing the warm air or cold air intersecting with the warm. temperatures, dallas at 19, houston at 29. you know who's warmer than that this morning? bismarck is warm are than most of texas. we've got warm air out here but have the next clipper system coming through. i'll talk about this warm air, the thrill flop coming up in a little bit. >> my mother in texas texted me last night and said she is very, very cold. it is very cold there. all right.

[ applause ] >> the new transitional president of central african republic is officially in office. she addressed the on going crisis during her inaugural address, saying the country faces enormous challenges after months of violence. even as she spoke, violence and looting continued in the capitol. >> smiles, there haven't been many recently, but everyone is looking for a sign that this country might return to calm. it's all about this woman, catherine samba panda. she has the blessing of the french and several regional governments. she's ready to take a firm grip on power. she'll need to be strong to convince muslim and christian militias to give up their guns. >> to the fighters, i insist

they should show patriotism and put down their arms. we will no longer tolerate the continuing disorder in our country. >> but the disorder shows no sign of ending. not far from where the president spoke, looting, christians, stealing whatever they could from the houses of muslims who had fled. >> these are the people who drove the muslims away. they have special powers, they say to protect them from bum lets. >> the people here are not just looting, they're tearing buildings apart, trying to remove all trace of the muslim community that lived here and ensure that the muslims never come back. >> they dismantle shacks and they rip the metal roofing from a mosque. french soldiers watched all this

happen. it was left to rwandan peacekeepers to try and scare away the looters. [ gunfire ] >> every muslim we've spoken to in the last few days wants to leaf for chad. they say we just can't live underneath this violence. we have to choose between our country and our lives and they're waiting with thousands of people, to take trucks to go to chad and leave, after having lived in this country for many, many jen reactions. ♪ >> the president carries the hopes of a country whose fortunes could scarcely sink any lower. >> almost 1 million people, or a

quarter of the population have been displaced in the former french colony by clashes that began when rebels seized power last march in a coup. >> she must feel like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. >> here's a look at headlines making news around the world this morning. the philadelphia inquirer said 20% of city transit workers missed work wednesday, causing train on time performance to dip to 25%. it's no surprise. it's hard to get around in the metro area. >> that's a big number, though. >> the tampa bay tribune said some non-profit groups around pleased with the city's proposal, using $100 million in downtown tax money toward new baseball stadium. >> i have heard that one before. i don't know if you've heard this one before, this is my favorite. this shows how funny movie titles become translated into he brew.

"american hustle" has become" american dream." 2007's" knocked um" became the date who. skewed me. cloudy with a chance of meet balls became: it's raining falafe ls. >> if you're old enough to remember the six million-dollar man, it became the man who was worth millions. >> a new break and a decades old robbery case. >> the $6 million heist that helped inspire a classic monster film. >> how officials were able to crack this case wide open. >> that was a beautiful segue. a powerhouse in the electronics industry loses some juice for the first time in two years, how hard a hit samsung took in its latest quarterly results.

>> $500 million is our big number of the day. it's the big stake a wall street investor is taking. >> our in depth series on education continues... >> i'm a physicist, and i've gotten a whole new understanding of the meaning of inertia, from trying to get these ideas out... >> flip school, part of our week long in depth series america tonight only on al jazeera america attacked. the mourners have been

>> now to today's big number, $500 million, that's how much billionaire investor carl icon bought in apple stock thursday. the veteran investor can't get enough of the tech stock. he thinks the company's board of directors are foolish for not buying more. it comes on the heels of buying stock in the past couple weeks, in you a staggering $3.6 billion investment in the company. just a little bit of change. >> he has got his hands in everything. >> yeah, he does. welcome back to aljazeera america. speaking of millions of dollars, officials made a new arrest in the 1978 heist from kennedy airport in new york. in a moment, we'll see who you authorities think played a part in that robbery.

>> first let's look at temperatures across the nation today. nicole mitchell has that. >> it's not too often the north gets bragging rights over parts of the south. in the north, they like to rub it in, so there's reverse going on today. we have temperatures well, i mean 10, 20, even more degrees above average through the deep south and up the west coast, as well. warming is into parts of the midwest, bismarck 33, rapid city 41. that's warmer than texas this morning. this is easily 40 degrees warmer than yesterday at this time, so this feels wonderful as you're walking out the door. we have cold air for parts of the great lakes today, but that warm up, it is short lived, more cold heiress specially into next week. back to you guys. >> we want to bring back jennifer glass from kiev with more on greg protests in ukraine. jennifer, what can you tell us about this presiding to other

cities? >> >> that's. the protests here have spread to other cities. we saw it begin yesterday in the western city when protestors went into the statehouse building there,ed main government administrative building in that area. it's happened in four other cities. it happened this morning here in kiev just down the street here, two government ministries have been taken over by protestors here, the demonstrators want to keep pressure up on the government, looking toward an emergency session of parliament, hoping it will repeal oppressive laws last week that went into effect this week. >> jennifer glass reporting live from kiev, thank you. >> a monster robbery to bold, it was glamourized by hollywood.

for decades, police have been tracking the suspects. we are joined live this morning on set, alan, great to see you. this happened many years ago. why are they making arrests now? >> 35 years ago. under federal racketeering rules, there is no statute of limitations if there is an on going criminal investigation. officials believe they can believe the crime family's activities didn't exactly start and end with that robbery at j.f.k. airport. it has been a long trail littered with blood and bodies. it's an american crime atory that made a star outadded appearance on the big screen. >> it was a key moment in martin sore saysy's drama goodfellas. >> funny how? i make you laugh? >> nobody in law enforcement was laughing when crooks loaded a

van with cash and jewelry stolen from airport vaults at kennedy airport. investigators found the van but not the money or robbers. >> nobody knows for about just how much was taken in a daring predawn raid at kennedy airport. port authority police say $4 million. >> in forecast, it was more, $5 million in cash, another million dollars worth of jewelry according to charging documents, the largest cash robbery in u.s. history at that time. the five men were arraigned this afternoon in federal court in brooklyn. the charges stemming from a continuing federal investigation of organized crime and the organized crime family. they are vincent, his son, jack, tommy d. and john, of those, vincent is the only one directly

linked to the airport theft. a cargo agent was the only man ever charged until now. federal prosecutors aren't saying why they think they can tie asaro to the crime now. >> he goes all the way back. >> authority and reporter who's covered the mob for decades thinks somebody with inside knowledge has been talking. >> it's the a surprise he is still alive, because most of the people involved in the case were killed, bumped off, knocked off, or died of natural deaths. he's one of the last survivors, so longevity in the long run did him in. >> the lawyers say that his client is in cent, will fight the charges and is preparing for trial. one argument i guess the mere fact that he's alive. stephanie and richelle, interesting logic here. his lawyer says everybody involved with this case was what could, killed to keep them quiet. vincent is till alive, proving he couldn't have been involved. >> it's a fascinating story.

>> they are planning to go to trial. >> what a blast from the past. thank you very much. >> business headlines right now, on wall street, it could be an ugly start to the trading day, dow futures down sharply, unnerving traders. here's where withstan we stand : >> in asia, shares were mostly lower, concerns over chinese manufacturing linger. nikkei down 2%. european stocks opening mostly lower. >> carl icon is rattling another company, telling the wall street journal he wants ebay to break up. he urges ebay to spin off its pay pal unit, but so far ebay has resisted. he seeks seats on the board and is prepared for a problems sigh fight to win them.

>> the infamous wall street firm lehman brothers is still working out deals from bankruptcy, reaching a settlement to pay fannie may more than $500 million. a federal bankruptcy judge must approve the settlement. the bankruptcy was of the biggest in u.s. history. >> powerhouse samsung said quarterly profits dropped for the first time in two years. the company still made $7 billion in the last three months, down 11%, blaming the high marketing cost to promote those gal lacks see devices. >> anger over the ukrainian government is growing. >> demonstrators are moving into other parts of the country. >> fueling the outrage among sit jeans talks totallerring on collapse. the division between syria and the opposition forces threatens

the hopes for peace. >> using math to save a life. how an extra push in the classroom can i am fact the future of some teenagers. >> an unstoppable force means an i am movable object. that's superbowl forth eight in a nutshell and something's got to give.

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. >> good morning. welcome back to aljazeera america. >> tensions in ukraine remain high, demonstrators spreading beyond kiev. we'll look at if anything can restore order. >> tension also high in geneva as world leaders meet there trying to end syria's three year conflict. >> calculating the risk between

a potential life of crime and high school algebra. making an effort to tutor those at risk for life behind bars. >> first it took a lot of pressure from the international community to bring the syrian opposition to the talks. it may be the last chance to assert politically. >> opposition to bashar al assad regime started in march, 2011 on the streets. many paid with their lives demanding change and reform. four months that later, it was no longer a non-violent struggle. the people fought back. then came the first attempt, not just to form a political leadership, but body to represent the grassroots movement, the syrian national council was born in august, 2011, but it didn't take long for internal wrists to emerge.

it wasn't just that, the council failed to connect with the protestors on the streets. the rest grew i am patient asking for a leadership to speak to every segment of syria. >> we made it clear that the s.n.c. con no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition. they can be part of a larger opposition, but that opposition must include people from inside syria and others who have a legitimate voice that needs to be heard. >> in november, 2012, the syrian national coalition was founded. it was considered to be a more representative body. groups from inside syria, as well as a free syrian army were included. it go ahead international support. during the friends of syria meeting in morocco, it was recognized as a legitimate representation of the opposition. the coalition faced the same problems as the council.

the s.n.c. was influenced by international and regional powers. he teemed down in protest after taking office. yet again, the politician in compile failed to get support inside syria. >> the division among the syrian opposition gave the regime a lifeline, the failure of the opposition's political leadership to unit armed groups on the ground and bring it under its wing created a vacuum and that void led to a new war. >> a war against the armed group islamic state in iraq and within the rebel controlled north of syria. the lack of leadership allowed al-qaeda linked groups to grow in strength. that in turn affected western support for the rebels and intensified efforts to find a political end. with international pressure, the s.n.c. decided to attended the conference. boycotting the talks would have

risked losing support from the west, attending undermines legitimacy left inside syria especially if nothing is achieved. they don't have much to fall back on. on the ground, the regime that the upper hand and has repeatedly said it is not handing over power. this could be the last chance to assert itself politically, because now it is the groups with the guns who have the unfluence on the ground. aljazeera, beirut. >> here to offer insight on the talks is a fellow at the century foundation, a non-partisan think tank in new york. it's the a pleasure to have you with us this morning. there are a few things developing within the last hours. syrian state t.v. is reporting if there is no progress by tomorrow, the syrian side is leaving. this morning, talks only lasted

an hour and met only with the syrian side, not the opposition side. what does this say about the possibility that anything fruitful will come out of these talks? >> there is not terribly surprising. you may recall a couple of days ago when they had the opening session, the bitterness of both sides was extraordinary, the anger and feeling of absolute hostility on each side is such that it's amazing they even got to the point where they're having this conference, so obviously both sides are i don't thinking to a certain extent. the syrian government is now threatening to possibly leave in another day or so. all of this is a way of trying to see if they can gain something from the other side. unfortunately, what may result is that they both leave and there will be no meeting at all and no agreement at all. >> having said that, was it necessary to at least attempt these talks, or was it a waste

of time? >> you know, in diplomatic parlance, it's called confidence building measures. this was an attempt to try to bring the parties together not to create peace instantly, but maybe make some agreements on prisoner exchange or humanitarian aid or a ceasefire. at least if you can start with those small measures, it might build toward some sort of peace agreement over the long term. if they can't even get to that point, it's the a very bad situation. >> former state democratic official wrote a piece, suggesting that the threat of the use of force that ha to be on the table, in her opinion, because she said that was the only time bashar al assad responded in any way was when president obama had a threat of force on the table. obviously it's clear from polling the american people, don't have an appetite for that. what's your reaction?

she may be correct in that sense, because obviously the threat of force is something assad understands. all he's concerned with is wiping out the opposition, but if he knows a threat of force is going to be coming back at him, he may be willing to make some sort of deal. unfortunately, there's no real support for this kind of action in the middle east within this country. that's one of the reasons why i think obama has kept quiet about the issue of sending any sort of military forces, we're in a conundrum. where do we go at this point? i think the best we can do is what secretary of state john kerry is trying to do, get some small measures agreed with. maybe from that point, we can build a peace deal. >> what does it risk if something isn't done beside clearly this ongoing brutal war,

syrians being killed daily. is the stability of the middle east at risk? >> no question. the syrian situation is really impacting every part of the middle east. >> because in some ways, is it a proxy war? >> it is. it is destabilizing the entire region. it's a huge, huge problem. yes, it has to be solved, otherwise could spread to the point where you're overthrowing other governments within the middle east and then you have really the preface to the a world cries. >> these talks were supposed to last until next week, but the latest, syrian state t.v. is saying if they do not see progress, the syrian government will be pulling out tomorrow, so we'll keep everyone posted. thank you so much. >> the world economic forum is

underway in the swiss mountain resort of davos. in attendance, some of the biggest movers and shakers, representing nearly 100 countries around the globe. ali velshi recently spoke to i.m.s. chief. good morning, great to see you. >> good to see you. some days it's stephanie talking to me, some days richelle, i finally got it all worked out. there's a little snow here, not tip can go, it's usually snowy and cold. the economy a little better for 2014, a little sun coming out on cue to sort of underscore the fact that, 14 in terms of global economic growth, measured by g.d.p. is going to be stronger than 2013. that's across the world. in many cases, it's because the

united states will have according to the i.m.f., 2.8% g.d.p. growth, the economy will grow 2.8% compared to 2013. the i.m.f. attributes a lot of that to the fact that the u.s. government got its house in order, got a budget deal. i asked the effect of the federal reserve starting this pullback on the money it sort of contributes to the u.s. economy every month. she says u.s. economy will still be ok as a result, and here's why: >> it's fueled by the private sector, and that's a good thing, because we've observed a fiscal drive because budgetary policies were tightening public spending, were increasing revenues and that drag is gradually fading away as we move into 2014, so growth in the u.s. should continue to strengthen, which is certainly good.

>> >> i'm not going to pretend that everybody sits around like i do and compares g.d.p. growth in companies. the globe will be a little more than 3%, china will be more than 7.5%. that europe will be about 1%, which is good for europe, meaning things have bottomed out. the bottom line is 2.8% for the u.s. in 2014, not fantastic, not terrible. it's just in the middle. >> not everyone does sit around comparing g.d.p. growth and not everyone gets davos, the 1% of the 1%. how much does what happens there matter to everyone else? >> this is an excellent question, why am i even here? for most who had attend, it costs a minimum of $20,000 to buy admission. we don't pay that. it's expensive to stay here, but

our mayor from atlanta is here and was asked this question yesterday. he said it's small-minded to not understand that these are the world's leaders, c.e.o.'s, the smartest economists and academics in the world and they should be devoting some of their time to solve the problems for those who don't have the wherewithal to solve the problems. these 1% of the 1% should actually be taking time off and spending money to get together and seeing what they can do to help the world, so stuff they do here does actually count. >> thank you so much. you can see hills report throughout the day and on his show "real money" here on aljazeera america. >> green cars are now a common sight on the road. the one american automakers is taking its quest to help the environment to a whole new level. jonathan betz went to the auto show. >> every year, this general

motors parts plant proses a million manifolds, 10 million fuel injectors, and millions more engine parts. hardly a pound of garbage. >> you put your trash out this morning, that was more than this plant would send to a landfill in or. >> at this upstate new york plant, general motors has spent three years and millions of dollars figuring out how to recycle everything, absolutely everything that would otherwise be thrown away from plastic troop cardboard packaging to industrial waste. >> we did not expect to become landfill free. we didn't think that would be possible. >> especially challenging, oily sludge that comes from finding out small parts like screws. g.m. used to send it to an trill landfill. >> the solution actually works. >> this plant's environmental team figured out a way to separate it. >> you separate it into these

two. >> what happens to the ashy looking sub fans? >> the powder goes to a waste energy facility where it's either used to generate electricity or steam. >> since 2005, 110 out of g.m.'s 161 manufacturing facilities have gone landfill free. among the latest, rochester new york. >> all that cardboard plastic junk adds up, close to 38 million bags of garbage kept out of landfills every year. >> rochester keeps out enough track to if i am the beds of 1800 chevy trucks. a move environmentalists applaud. >> while it's very important that we're seeing progress in fuel efficiency arched other sustainability initiatives, the auto industry is one of the worst contributors to global climate change, to progress is great, but we need to see more of it, and fast. >> g.m. is committed to the project, even though it means

extra work for employees. >> once they understand what it's for, it will get better. >> g.m. launch would the project to help the environment but discovered something. >> we just assumed nobody would want it, but we were wrong. >> general motors now makes a billion dollars a year off it. >> somebody buy this is? >> somebody pays money for this. >> trash that's truly because treasure. that aljazeera, rochester new york. >> subaru and toyota are working to become waste-free. >> good for them. >> let the hype begin. i'm talking about the superbowl, of course, i'm going to let you do sports now. >> i like the hype with the pause. >> you just stay over there, ok? superbowl xlviii offers a contrast, the stout defense of

the seahawks against the high flying defense of the broncos. the d has made up for an offense has been less than stellar. ross shimabuku now with the tale of the tape. >> the end zone, touchdown! thomas i don't it's the highest scoring offense in the league, the broncos versus the number one defense in the seattle seahawks led by richard sherman. >> broken up, picked off! this game is over! >> you just use manning and brady, you're talking about a couple of the greatest passers who ever played the game in great systems that utilize their talent at the fullest. the best way to do that has been to let the guys throw the ball all over the yard. they can handle it and do well a understand win championships doing it. >> peyton manning will cap off a record setting season. he has the chance to become the

first quarterback ever to go to two superbowl titles. >> you enjoy this. you definitely have to take time to savor the moment. i certainly will. >> it's the first for future hall of famer champ bailey, who after 15 seasons will finally get to play on the biggest stage. >> you know, these guys, i mean, starting with the head coach, i mean, he's done a great job of making us understand the moats answered just taking advantage of them. i think coming back, we just found a way to win and keep going. that really goes to credit him, because he made sure we're prepared. >> for the second time in franchise history, the seahawks are preparing in the big game. seattle does not a. single player on their roster with any superbowl experience. >> we have a good team of guys here. we'll be there for a week, kind

of like it is, so our guys that have been through this in the past, years past, we kind of feel like we've been there before, not the superbowl, of course, but an event leading up to a big game and all that, we seem pretty comfortable that. >> seattle that to pressure peyton manning, who is yet to be sacked in two postseason games. weather could be a major factor or superbowl forth eight. wintery conditions could derail the broncos high flying offense, playing to seattle's hands, running that the football with mar chon lynch. >> marshawn is in for the touchdown. >> buckle up or bundle up, because this should be a good one either way. ross shimabuku, aljazeera. broncos vice president of football operations joh john hel who played in five superbowls shared his thoughts at the team meeting. they're saying hey, these guys

have been here before, listen to their experience and draw from that for next week's game. >> that's leadership. >> the seahawks don't care about that. >> it's going to be an exciting game. up guys go on. >> let's wrap. >> demonstrators are expanding across the country of ukraine. >> what's sparking the latest outrage.

>> 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.

>> syrias warring parties come together in geneva for formal peace talks, but the two sides still so far apart that they want to agree to meet face-to-face. >> the uprising growing in ukraine spreads beyond kiev. some worry the situation is reaching a boiling point. >> people in west virginia are hesitant to drink the water after a chemical spill. what test results aljazeera conducted independently reveal about the safety of that drinking water. >> ok, here's what we're going to do. >> let me stop you right there. there is no we. you are going to go get a job. >> the social media marking one year of sharing six second video

clips, 40 million users and growing. time may be ticking on this trend. >> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. syrian peace talks are underway in geneva, switzerland, but the two sides have not met face-to-face. opposition leaders are holding out. they want syria to accept the ground rules, including a transitional government without president assad. let's go to gentlemen they've i can't. it look a lot to get both sides to these talks. if they won't meet face-to-face, what are they doing there? >> well, they're doing, addressing the fundamental question of these talks, whether the syrian government and opposition can both agree that there will be a transitional

government that will replace assad and move forward for the rest of the talks. right now, that is not happening. the opposition told the government that it must accept the fact that there needs to be a transitional government in writing by 4:00 p.m. local, today 10:00 eastern. right now, the u.s. is shuttling between both sides, asking the government whether it's willing to actually do and accept that. on the other side, the owe litigation or rather the government is saying that the coalition, the opposition isn't being serious and scuttling the talks that should have started today with both sides in the same room. we are seeing competing press conferences behind me and today we saw this talk to the press: >> we had a very good meeting yesterday. i don't like to reveal what happens in these meetings. we agreed that today morning at 11:00, we shall meet here, and he will chair the meeting, the syrian government will be on one

side, the opposition will be on the other side, he will address both of us and that's it. >> you have no problem with that. >> absolutely not, what are we coming for no. >> you think the opposition must have a problem with it. >> absolutely, if there is something wrong and if there is any change, then it must be the other side. >> what do you hope to achieve? >> we have to achieve peace. >> that's the syrian government blaming the syrian opposition for the delay in talks. fringy, stephanie, what's happening here is positioning. if i were sitting in a chair with wheels, i would be spun around now and be dizzy, bottom line, these talks are continuing, bottom line, nobody's walking away from the table, they are trying to get to the same table and the u.n.'s trying to convince them to do that. >> with all the in-fighting within the syrian opposition, does that give the syrian government advantage during the

meeting in geneva. >> it's a great question, a fundamental question. the answer is yes, it does, as long as the opposition is fractured, is not united and we see some of the opposition inside syria not even represented here, as long as that's happening, that gives a lifeline to president bashar al assad. militarily, a lot of people believe that he has the upper hand, so electric as he's not facing a united adversary, u.s. officials admit that there's no way to pressure him to top the violence. there's no real way to convince him that he cannot act with impunity. they are trying to get some isolation of assad so both sides feel they can make small little negotiations, small steps toward peace, baby steps, as one u.s. official says. as long as the opposition is fractured, there's no sense that assad will stop the violence and

no sense that these talks going on in geneva will produce major results. >> another person following this, the leader of al-qaeda,al does a worr zawahari. >> the syrian government looks at opposition and looks at international community and says look, the opposition's all terrorists, look at these radicals, people who pledge allegiance to al-qaeda, we are fighting them. the opposition said wait a minute, there was no al-qaeda inside syria before the government started its campaign of violence, before all of this brutality that the opposition alleges the government uses began almost three years ago when this civil war began. both sides are still very much apart.

as long as al-qaeda keeps talking about fighters inside syria, as long as the syrian government keeps talking about terrorists, the government hopes that the west won't be able to take the opposition and push them forward, really give them the momentum, the power that they need to have in order for the two sides to create any kind of peace. >> there are a lot of outside observers who say the syrian government set the conditions for these type of "terrorism" to happen. thank you. >> hundreds of supporters of ousted egyptian president mohamed morsi are clashing with police in cairo. this comes on a day when police stations have apparently been the target of a series of deadly explosions. the first happened this morning outside a police station in downtown cairo, four people were killed in that attack and dozens more individual. tate television says witnesses saw a gunman opening fire on surrounding buildings. a second explosion near a metro station left one dead. a third blast went off at a police station near the pyramids

in giza. this weekend marks the third anniversary of the arab spring that eventually toppled president mubarak. >> our jur jury roomist will bed for another 15 days, accused of joining a terrorist group. aljazeera said the allegations are totally unfounded. two our journalists are also held, from our sister station. they have been detained for five months. >> health officials say water tainted by a chemical spill in west virginia is now safe to drink. some are not so sure. aljazeera america decided to conduct our own independent test on the water in charleston.

in our test, it confirms what tate officials have told the public. we are joined live from west virginia. jonathan, good morning. what do people say it will take for them to trust the water again? >> good morning, stephanie. well, the thing we're hearing over and over is that it will take time. people want long-term, long-range testing before they feel comfortable drinking the water. aljazeera hired a firm to take samples of the water to see how much which this chemical was in it, that spilled into the river two weeks ago. samples were taken from here, the river downstream from the spill. the samples were also taken from a woman's home, a pregnant woman's home. you might remember just a few days ago, the c.d.c. issued a recommendation to pregnant women saying out of an abundance of caution, they should not drink the water. the we learned that this chemical is non-detectable in

the water. it's not supposed to be in the we are at all, but the c.d.c. does say at the level of one part per million or less, it's safe for people to drink. the test that is we had taken, the results showed that the chemical is non-detectable. people we shared results with say they just don't feel comfortable at this point drinking the water. >> i mean, not exactly, because it still smells, you know. i haven't drink it, i bathed in it, but i haven't drank it, washed dishes, things of that nature, but i'm still afraid to drink it. i still drink bottled water. >> i till don't believe it. you can still smell it. you can smell like licorice. >> there's very little research that's been done on this chemical. there's been very little data out there available for people, so people wonder what the effects are long term for this.

people are told by the state and the c.d.c. that the water is safe to drink, but we learned that the public schools here in charleston are not allowing kids to drink the water. most restaurants are not serving the water, they're using bottled water, so still uncertainty here when it comes to just these results and the long term effects. >> you can't blame them. jonathan martin reporting live from charleston, west virginia, thanks, jonathan. >> rescue crews in quebec are searching for 30 missing people after a fire engulfed a nursing home. five people are dead. there are fears the death toll will rise. the blaze began at a senior living center 140,000 miles north of quebec city. many at the home depend on wheelchairs and walkers. they were trapped inside when the massive fire began overnight thursday. authorities are looking into the cause of the fire but say the building was not fully equipped with sprinklers. >> a winter whiteout in indiana caused a deadly 40 vehicle

pileup. cars and tractor trailers slammed into each other on i-94 connecting chicago to detroit. three people were killed in the crash. more than 20 others were injured. eastbound lanes were closed overnight to clear wreckage. visibility was a quarter mile or less because of heavy lake effect snow. >> cold weather now stretching deep into texas. for more, let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. good morning. >> you know it's not a pretty morning when most of north dakota is warmer than most of texas. we're seeing a couple problems, another clipper system through the midwest and this broad area of snow and freezing rain. we were just talking about that situation in indiana. this is from yesterday. we had just the perfect wind flow to pick up all of that moisture along lake michigan. the longer you get the wind over the lake, the more moisture it will pick up and that created that. that slowed down a little today, but still more lake affect areas. anywhere from houston, still

under the freezing rain, and that's causing us, it's been very slick conditions, now reporting freezing rain in lafayette, louisiana. lake charles, light snow and this has been persistent. it's not just flakes going by. haven't seen reports out of mississippi or alabama, but moisture is in the region. hopefully the temperatures rise before it causes problems. not fun when it's making slick conditions. in some of these places you see the green, we have red flags, combination of high winds and dry air from that last system. red flag fire conditions possible today. we're seeing that same pattern in the west coast with the dangers going up again. we'll have gusty winds. that could spread along anything that starts in this drought stricken area. >> meteorologist nicole mitchell, thank you. >> sweeping arrest of new york

mobsters in new york city. police say their all connected to the lufhsnsa heist years ago. >> edward snowden takes to the internet to speak about his role in the n.s.a. scandal when president obama indicates an openness to negotiate a plea deal with him. >> a republican congressman and what he says he will not give up in order to run for president.

>> there are fears ukraine's political standoff is reaching a boiling point. anti-government protests have spread to at least five other cities. demonstrators stormed the governor's office thursday, forcing him to sign a letter of resignation. the letter read: the governor now says the resignation is not valid.

>> in kiev, tensions are high after this video of alleged police brutality surfaced showing an anti-government protestors stripped naked. he was slapped around while they photographed him. >> the world economic forum wraps up tomorrow in davos switzerland. for more, we're joined in you by president o of theeurasia group. it is a removed, elitist event that never seems to accomplish anything relevant to us. is the forum relevant anymore? >> it's very relevant. in fact, it's probably the one place where more global leaders come together with the private sector, with public

intellectuals, with sort of the people that are addressing and knowledgable and impact the most pressing issues in the world. more than anywhere else you can find, you know, the world economic forum doesn't have power, but the convening influence is extraordinary. the reason people are saying it's in effectual is not because everyone doesn't come here, they all come here, 40 world cleared, major banks, major c.e.o.'s, the reason it's ineffective is the world doesn't agree on stuff. you are attending meetings here on things like syria, global banking reform, global trade, climate. just this week, the europeans decided to bail on their individual national 20-20 carbon limits. you just can't get agreement in the world. that is a systemic issue. >> there are talks in geneva

involving syria that seem to be falling appar. i want to ask you whether you believe there's a meaningful resolution to what's happening there. >> this, there isn't. the talks happening today are what they call proximity talks. they may be happening in the same room or nearby in the same building, but the sides aren't talking to each other. this is the first time the international community has heard from assad in a while. they have no interest in negotiating their own demise and yet you have the europeans, americans, saudis all basically saying that, you know, be assad is a war criminal and that he can't continue to govern. when they were in a position to do something about it, they chose not to. they're engaging on chemical weapons negotiation with his government. it's not credible to say that he has to leave. there's no political resolution in sight.

we'd like to see them stop blockading, both sides, humanitarian aid from actually getting to the people. this country's been destroyed. the refugees are massive within it's destabilizing lebanon and jordan. this is no question that you're going to continue to have civil war, but at least you could ease some of the human suffering. i think that's the most you can hope for now. >> we do hope for that certainly. russia of course continues to bolster syria. let's talk about the russian president, vladimir putin, between the olympics coming up in sochi and security concerns there as well as the crisis in neighboring ukraine, how would you assess putin's handling of both of these? >> well, i mean, putin himself has had a pretty good year. the ukrainians were talking about going under economically, they couldn't get a deal with the i.m.f., problem with the europeans and putin sweeps in

and decides to cut a $15 billion check, coming from the russian pension fund. that there's no other person in the world that could give the ukrainians $15 billion and frankly no other person that would want to. it doesn't help the russian people, but shows that russia is relevant and ukraine tilting toward russia. ukraine people don't like that, demonstrating across the west where there's much more orientation toward europe, so the country's very split and don't have many good choices. putin does have olympics coming up in the north caucuses. there are terrorist threats directly against his olympics. there are a lot of world leaders who are not going to come feeling russia is doing poorly and human rights and not a responsible partner to work with internationally. chinese and japanese are sending their heads of state. they've got business deals they want with russia. putin's not going anywhere.

he was president since 2000 -- >> certainly it is not in putins interest if ukraine dissolves into civil war, which is one expert we had on today suggested. >> no, it's not at all, but having said that, putin decided that he was going to spend whatever money he needed to to ensure the eight koreanian president was tilting toward russia and nowhere else. he wasn't going to join the european customs union. that's the result he got. i'm not sure that's the result he's going to be happy with given the level of instability in ukraine. it's a very divided country. that's not going to change. this is not just about money. you are not going to see stability in that country anytime soon. >> i want to hit one last topic. there were three explosion ins egypt in and around cairo this morning, police stations, as well as a metro station.

this weekend marks the third anniversary of the arab spring that led to the toppling of president mubarak, how significant is the timing of these pressure attacks and should we expect more? >> we should probably stop talking about the third anniversary of the arab spring. you know, usually you talk about anniversaries when the couples are still together. once they get diversed, you stop talking about anniversaries, right? there's no more arab spring, so lets stop it. in egypt, the military is in power. you had 40% turnout for the referendum of the constitution, 98 supported the army led constitution. most of the muslim brotherhood is in jail, and we're seeing violence. that is going to continue in egypt and that's a very unfortunate thing, but the average egyptian that spoken and it's in favor of stability and the next egyptian approximate the. frankly, the anniversary's done.

>> giving his take on several events happening around the world from calf rose. thank you very much. enjoy your time there. >> it has been 35 years since the heist of a lufthansa airport hangar. it was so bold, it made it into a film "goodfellas." >> this happened years ago. is this the last keen of this crime drama? >> maybe it's the beginning of the last scene. the trials start how to. these guys usually have pretty good lawyers, so we'll see. the feds made five arrests in and around the new york area, all members of the crime family, according to investigators. one high-ranking f.b.i. agent said they thought they had a license to steal and a license to kill. one of the men taken in is linked with the robbery that was a central plot element in a classic american gangster film.

>> it was a key moment in the new york mob drama. >> i'm funny, how? like i'm a chon, i muse you? i make you laugh? >> nobody in law enforcement was laughing back in 1978 when crooks loaded a black van with cash and jewelry stolen from lufthansa airport vaults at kennedy airport. investigators found the van but not the money or robbers. >> nobody knows for about just how much was taken in a daring predawn aid. the f.b.i. says $2 million, port authority say they believe $4 million. >> in fact, it was more, $5 million in cash, another million dollars worth of jewelry, according to charging documents. the largest cash robbery in u.s. history at that time. the five men were arraigned this afternoon in federal court in brooklyn. the charges stemming from a continuing federal investigation of organized crime and the crime

family. they are: only one is directly linked to the theft. a lufthansa agent is the only charged until now. >> it goes all the way back. >> author and former reporter who's covered the mob for decades thinks somebody with inside knowledge has been struck. it's a surprise that he's still alive, because most of the people involved in the case have been either were killed, bumped off, knocked off or died natural deaths. he's one of the last survivors, so longevity in the long run did him in. >> again, vincent asaro is the only man linked to the lufthansa robbery as laid out in the federal indictment. it's a 26 page document and

includes charges of murder, arson, extortion, and much more, crimes dating back to 1969. he entered a not guilty plea. his lawyer said the mere fact he's alive and hasn't been killed to keep him silent begins prove that he wasn't involved. >> who talked? who ratted? it's fascinating. thanks so much. >> taking a look at business news now, it is shaping up to be a bad day on wall street, dow futures down 100 points, tocks fell broadly yesterday and here is where we stand this morning: there are no economic reports scheduled for release today. in asia, mostly lower after chinese manufacturing down there. european stocks following asia's lead, opening mostly lower.

>> boeing is still having problems with its new dream liner 787. the company says the reliability of the plane is improving but only at 98%. that means two out of every 100 flights are delayed. the dream liner was supposed to be a game changer for the aviation industry because of its lighter body and sophisticated engines. >> j.p. morgan c.e.o. is getting a raise, the board voting to pay him more than the $11 million he made in 2012. the exact amount has not been announced. the raise comes despite the bank paying out $20 billion for legal settlements. >> a new report from an independent review board says the nsa's telephone data collection program is illegal. the board also says the program raises threats to civil liberties, but the man who uncovered the seek resurveillance program is on record saying he is not against saying. edward snowden just thinks the u.s. went too far.

snowden found a new jaw let to make his case, didn't he? >> he did. he did a web chat on line. he's actually done that before at least once we know of last summer. now a lot of other things have developed. he actually says the best solution here would probably be for him to come back to the united states, but not under these circumstances, so he's speaking out on line. >> not all spying is bad, says edward snowden. spying on other countries, that's ok. mass surveillance on americans, not ok, the former n.s.a. contractor said in a live web chat from russia. he denies stealing any passwords and says he was not working with russia from the beginning. >> i don't think that there is strong evidence indicating that he operated with any foreign support. >> a government task force recommends the data collection snowden exposed be shut down, calling it illegal with minimal impact on catching terrorists. >> it cannot be rewarded as relevant to any investigation of

the f.b.i. >> the torn general tells us there's no chance snowden will get clemency. >> i think that would be going too far. >> he ought to be returned to the united states and face charges. >> snowden has said that he probably should return to the united states, but the problem in his -- from his perspective is that he doesn't think he can get a fair trial here. >> tracy pots reporting from washington, thank you. >> america's changing attitudes on legalizing possibility may now be reaching the federal government level, the move that could help legal marijuana dealers in colorado and washington run their businesses more efficiently. >> republican leaders gather for their annual winter meeting planning the future of their party, but comments from a high profile member are setting them back, say some. >> he was in the battle of his life. >> one mother's story that sadly could be shared by many others. her son spent days in an emergency room after being

rushed to the hospital. >> is it a rivalry if it's totally one-sided? nadal and federer go head-to-head in the final. every day, someone leaves their home searching for a better life. >> two hours in, we come upon a body. >> now, in a breakthrough television event, al jazeera america takes you beyond the debate. experience first hand the tragic journey of these migrants. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on until you live near the boarder. >> six strangers with different points of view... >> i don't believe in borders. >> our government is allowing an invasion. >> ...get to experience illegal immigration, up close and personal. >> its very overwhelming to see this many people that have perished. >> a lot of families that don't know where their babies went. >> i want to make sure that her life, its remembered. >> what happens when lost lives

are relived. >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves. >> on borderland. only on al jazeera america. >> any of you guys want to come to the united states?

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. the republican national committee is holding its annual winter meeting. many of the discussions have been focusing on moving the party forward. one member's comments are criticized for setting the party back. lisa stark is in washington with details. good morning. what do they hope to accomplish and what was said? >> today, there's a wide agenda, but the goal of this meeting is

to put the republicans in a better position to take back the white house during the next presidential election. today, they are expected to finalize new primary rules for republican presidential primaries. they want to shorten them. one member said they want to limit, narrow the time that their candidates are slicing and dicing each other up. they want to continue to paint the party as a broad party. the luncheon speaker today, representative tim scott, an african-american -- senator tim scott, he's one of two african-american senators. for what was said, that was by governor mike huckabee. he spoke yesterday during the luncheon speech. the former governor, former presidential candidate talking about the issue of women voters, a big issue for republicans. he took on the democrats, saying they think women are hopeless and helpless and only want a government handout, like the contra septemberive coverage

mandate in the affordable care act. here's some of what he had to say: >> if the democrats want to insult the women of america by making them believe that they are helpless without uncle sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control here libido or reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it. >> now, those remarks were, as you can imagine, called offensive by the democratic national committee and out of touch. they don't help the republicans as they try to appeal to women. the republicans yesterday chose five rising gop stars, all five of them women, three of them minorities, but that was eclipsed by former governor huckabee's r. >> i can see why some women would be offended by that. >> new jersey governor chris christie is not there, but i

understand he is still a hot poetic at this meeting. >> well, people here of course are talking about governor christie under fire because of this of his top aids implicated in a scheme to close lanes of the george washington bridge possibly at payback against democratic mayor. the feeling here is that christie, they have to wait and see how this plays out. some say christie is a viable candidate and in fact got some support yesterday from the chairman of the r.n.c., speaking on cnn saying christie should keep his job as the head of the republican governor's soaks. he said he's still the best person for that job and a good fundraiser. stephanie. >> lisa, some interesting things coming out of that meeting. thanks so much volunteer recreational and medical marijuana sales in some states are expected to bring in big business this year. banks are hesitant to do business with pot retailers because it could be a federal crime. a potential change by the

justice department could soon thank that. >> i'm standing in a line in the snow outside. that's how important it is to me. >> colorado made history january 1 when the state legalized marijuana for recreational use. the first in the country to do so. >> your total is $59.74. >> by noon, customers were lining up for bubba kush and pot infused chocolate truffle. it's the cash end of the booming industry that had president obama's administration rethinking it's pot policy. on thursday, attorney general eric holder announced he would soon relax regulations that would allow banks and credit card companies to do business with marijuana distributors. because can bass remains a legal narc cottic under federal allow, most dispensaries have operated on a cash-only basis without taxes bank services or credit.

owners complained about the security risk of dealing with with large amounts of cash at their places of business or carrying their earnings to i.r.s. offices to pay their taxes. holder address thed those concern saying you don't want huge amounts of cash in those places. they want to be able to use the banking system and so we will be issuing some regulations, i think very soon to deal with that issue. colorado's pot business could possibly rake in as much as $600 million this year, and it's that number that may have other states following suit when it comes to decriminalizing marijuana. but decriminalizing marijuana use got an unexpected endorsement at the world economic forum from red state governor rick perry. speaking thursday from davos, switzerland, he said:

>> as for its medical use, more support coming from other republicans, as well, georgia may be days away from introducing a bill to make it the first state in the southeast to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. >> there are families that are leaving our state because to go to colorado, because they need access to this medical can bass. >> that republican support isn't as strong in louisiana, where current law gives doctors the ability to prescribe medical marijuana, but patients are not allowed to buy it, something republican governor bobby jindal said is worth taking another look at. >> i continue to be opposed to legalization of marijuana. i will look at a letting malt medical need, i would be open to making it available under strict supervision for patients. >> in a vote last week, new hampshire became the latest state to take a step toward leading possibility for use.

>> under terms of the agreement signed at a hotel, fighting will end within the next 24 hours. intense fighting has forced over half a million south sued niece to flee their homes. over the last week, government forces recaptured two main cities under rebel control. more than 600,000 people have been displaced by the violence in south sudan. 15% have fled to neighboring countries, 12% living at united nations bases inside the country and 73% on outside u.n. you bases. >> a south sudan policy analyst joins us from washington, d.c. this morning. thank you for being with us this morning. i want to start by showing satellite images from south sudan's unitedy state that your organization provided us with, the project that you belong to has been working with the satellite sentinel project. here are two images of the town.

tell us what we're looking at here. >> this is actually a small village near an oil producing field on the northeastern part of the state. here you have a small town near a really significant resource, the oil resources that the rebel's hope to use as a negotiating chip in the fighting and then later on in the mediation. so, what we have in that particular picture is imagery of destruction, of over 77 small dwellings and homes. the second pictures that you showed is that state's capitol city. in that second picture, this one is of the small village and there like i said, you have the right hand corner there, the evidence of the destruction of homes, which is one element to a broader process that's ongoing to collect evidence of the war crimes and potential human

rights abuses that are occurring all across south sudan and ensure that impunity isn't allowed to run rampant and people are held accountable for what happened. >> let's show another satellite image. this one is of a town, it's very clear what we're looking at here. it's completely destroyed. you can see how burnt out the homes there are. when you look at these images, it is clear that something needs to be done. there is as skis fire in place now. how garage jail is it no. >> the ceasefire is really just the first step on a long road for south sued knows to make their way to peace. that ceasefire is fragile. we've heard before the ceasefire went into place that both sides have been scrambling in a loft minute, last ditch effort to take control of areas. the rebel or armed opposition faction accused government forces of attacking them, even between the time this document

was signed, and right at this moment, the ceasefire should go into effect in a couple of hours. at that time, both sides are expected to cease hostilities and stop fighting, freeze in place and actually redeploy any allied forces. so in the case of the government, that might be ugandan forces that have come in on the side of the government, and those forces are expected to move out of forward operating positions. >> part of what we're seeing in south sudan now is this division along ethnic lines. this is a young country, and you've been studying it for quite some time. did you foresee that this type of tribal conflict might come to the fore, given that there doesn't seem to be a strong national identity. >> south sudan just gained its independence from sudan in 2011. there are a number of issues and the country continues to

struggle with underdevelopment and then as you mentioned, with the difficulties of forging a national identity. south sued niece i talked to feel a sense that they all did gain independence together, and most people, those who aren't carrying the weapons are really interested in forging a peace and moving back on the path of freedom and prosperity. it's and indication of the way the leaders were used those identities to mobilize and get people to fight on their side. >> it's an important perspective from the people living through this. thank you for joining us this morning. >> in washington state, hospital emergency rooms have become homes for thousands of mentally ill patients. officials are resorting to psychiatric boarding.

we have more. >> these are the moments linda cherishes the most. ♪ >> connections like this over music, she says are far and few between, when you're the mother of a son bottling mental illness. >> michael it is first psychotic break, he was jumping up and down on his bed. he was in the battle of his life. >> when her teenage son had his first mental break down, the family rushed him to the emergency room for help. instead of being admitted into the psych ward. he waited in the e.r. for three days. >> while it kept him alive, exacerbated the mental illness. >> michael endured psychiatric boarding. mental health patients detained in hospital emergency rooms when no other beds are available. they're parked in hall ways or bound to beds and given

medication while the hospital determines how to treat them. in extreme cases, patients are held for months waiting for proper care. >> it's terrible. it's a crisis, and it has been for a number of years and has only gotten worse. >> in a survey of 328 emergency rooms, the american college of emergency physicians found 79% reported boarding mental health patients. county mental health official says part of the problem is that hospitals have cut the number of psychiatric beds available. they make more money from medical and surgical procedures. states have cut funding or closed state run psychiatric hospitals. >> for years, lawmakers have been making it easier to detain folks in the civil commitment courts, but failed to follow up with funding to handle the in flux of people into this court system. >> mental health courts like this one in seattle are also overwhelmed by the epidemic.

72 hours after a patient is involuntarily economied, they are brought before a judge to determine if they stay. this is when the patient is finally assigned a bed and room for treatment. >> it's bad for the patient, bad for the staff of the hospital and bad for the community. >> a super court judge recently ruled mental health boarding unconstitutional. without an alternate, some argue this could cause more problems. the ruling is now up for people. ♪ >> her son was eventually treated for bipolar disorder, but she says they both carry scars from her son's experience in the emergency room. >> i might be in the mental health clinic standard, i don't know. i hope i won't be on the streight, because we don't have funding for beds. >> compassion, respect and funding, a formula many say is difficult to achieve. health care advocates agree he,

it may be the ultimate solution. aljazeera, seattle. >> washington state ranks last in the nation for available community psychiatric beds per capita. >> two rivals meet on the tennis court. how was the match? >> i think we were hoping it would be closer. i'm kind of bummed out. nadal and federer one more time, expected to be close, wasn't. nadal was poised to win his 14th grand slam title, tying him for second all time and only three behind federer. this was the first set today and it was tight. it went to a tie breaker, nadal winning, then he proceeded to make all the big shots the rest of the way, steam rolling federer 6-3, 6e.3 to close the match. nadal improves to 9-10 and 9-2 in grand slam events, his eyes on another title. he will because the only player in the opener are a to win each

major at least twice. he spoke about beating roger again. >> first of all, i play with roger always is a very special feeling. he's probably the opponent that when i go to court i have very, very emotional feelings ever we play for important things in our career and today was another important match. he's a really great champion, and for me, is a really honor to be in the same arena like him. >> next up, another swiss challenger who has virtually nothing to show for his 12 career matches against nadal, 2-12-0 head-to-head. 2-0 in grand slams and 12-0 all time. this matchup has been so lopsided, he hasn't won a set against nadal. >> women tomorrow, another aussie open final appearance, third in four years.

she has one major title to her credit. >> it's time to tee it up. tiger woods in action for the first time this season in california. he's won eight times on this course and hopes to use this event as a springboard for his 2014 season. ninth hole, woods playing on the tougher south course today. here he is on the tee. boy, he is no the going to be happy with this shot, as you can tell, troops the club and everything. the ball ended up near the tents, that's not good. tiger would recover, but failed to birdie in par fives. to the 18th we go, another par five. woods again pulls the shot left and into the fair way bunker and drops his head accordingly, another bad drive. he finished and even par if he didn't two after 18 holes, eight shots behind the leader.

that's a look at this morning's sports. >> house speaker john boehner said he enjoys his life too much to run for president. jay leno asked if he'd ever consider being commander-in-chief. he replied with a big no saying he likes to drink red wine and smoke cigarettes and isn't willing to give up his leisure time. he told leno he and president obama get along fine despite their political differences. >> coming up: >> we're focusing on the popular social media letting users make creative videos six seconds at a time.

>> evey sunday night,

>> welcome back to aljazeera

america. let's get a look at where the snow and rain may fall across the country today. nicole mitchell is here. >> after that big east snowstorm, it was dry until it brought cold air intersecting with the warm air. just enough moisture snow we are talking freezing precipitation across the south. this is 15-20 degrees blow average. houston 35, minneapolis, 33 today. the temperatures the same from minnesota to texas, that's cold air. seeing snow, we've got lafayette freezing precipitations, so this is going to be treacherous on the roads. we had these problems in houston. but more impressive that we've seen snow all the way to parts of the gulf coast this morning. back to oh you. >> a year ago, micro blogging and messaging site twitter launched a unique video service

called vine letting people share six second looping videos through their phones. the service has now attracted more than 40 million users. >> from animal antics to practical jokes. >> that was a close one. >> video site vine is just a year old, but already making its mark on the world of social media. >> six seconds is the perfect amount. europe not going to have anyone stop the vine in less than six second and not watch it all the way through. >> vine lets you capture and share short looping videos and it's brevity has inspires creativity. features like stop motion let you record small chunks one at a time. >> the service is owned by twitter and it's this platform with it's 645 million users

where the videos are most often shared. it has competition. facebook owned infra gram let's users share 15 second long videos and more than 150 million users have signed up. >> some longer videos, around the 10 second mark, you see the first significant drop off in viewership. >> ok, here's what we're going to do. >> let me stop you right there. there's no we. you are going to go get a job. >> videos, streamed one after another as entertainment. fans say it represents an unfiltered sample of contemporary culture. >> there are things i want to say, 15 seconds is too much time. >> you know why i like vine that? it ain't got no filters so if you ugly, you ugly. >> the jury's out on whether it's a service that will still be used in the years to come.

>> it's hard to tell whether it will be an integral part of life in five years. it is getting traction. >> more than a billion smart phones are expected to be sold this year. with more than 2.5 billion people on line, we are increasingly sharing life's moments. >> if you aren't talking money, i don't want to talk. >> which service people choose to use will come down to personal choice and it seems, our attention span. >> no! >> that does it for this morning. thanks so much for watching. "consider this" is coming up next. have a good morning. >> our in depth series on education continues... >> i'm a physicist, and i've gotten a whole new understanding of the meaning of inertia, from trying to get these ideas out... >> flip school, part of our week long in depth series america tonight only on al jazeera america

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.

>> ukraine's protests erupt in violence, is russian president putin pulling the strings? inside the shadowy world of the al shabaab terrorist group. and how they can't stop talking about whisper. i'm antonio mora. welcome to "consider this". the warehouse says it will