... >> you are watching al jazeera america. i am jonathan betz in new york. >> women and children in these besieged area, in the old city are well, to leave immediately. >> women and children, a small sign of progress at the syrian peace talks. >> a national figure during hurricane katrina. the former new orleans mayor could face prison, the fall of ray nagan. >> a hospital fought over a

pregnant woman on life support. >> they worked in mines, shined shoes or sell drinks. why 12-year-olds in bolivia are fighting to keep it that way. >>ing it only the second day of piece talks but we saw a small victory for rebels. women and children will be allowed to leave a key battleground city. the syrian government is drawing a hard line saying it will not give any ground in damascus, the company's capitol. the fighting rages. more now from nick schifrin in geneva >> reporter: the violence in syria is continuing unabated. we shouldn't diminish this is the fact the first agreement the two sides have made in three years of war. it's notdeler how it will work on the ground or whether it will alleviate any suffering. there is nowhere that suffering

needs to be alleviated more than what used to be syria's third largest city, homes. >> most of homes simply no longer exist. f for two years, it's been pounded by bombs, mortars, art i willery. the assad regime has tried to crush this city that was the cradle of the result against the rule from the ground and from the air. almost every day, the terrifying sound of jets. and the horrifying, inevitable plume of smoke rising above a neighborhood. the city's population was once a million. today, more than half the houses have been destroyed. >> residents force to eat greens picked off of the side of the road. those greens are the only sus 10 answer for 22-year-old resident and self described activist hol

ladd al susni. he spoke to us from the countryside. this is what we eat, he says. it's been 11 months, nearly a year. he says he has no fresh food, no electricity, no water, and just 20 minutes into our conversation, the first distant rumble of war. less than a mile away on the hill above him, we stay with him as he shows us rocket strikes in a neighborhood controlled by the opposition. these strikes happen so often, he says, barely sleeps. in geneva, 2,000 miles away, saving homes was the main subject for the syrian peace talks. >> they have suffered a lot. >> the syrian opposition pressured the government to stop the holmes blockade. the government blamed the

rebels. >> they are the ones who are shoot can at the humanitarian assistance. >> after shuttle diplomacy, the u.n. convinced the regime to release some of holmes' suffering. >> what we have been told about the government side is that women and children in these besieged area in the old city are welcome to leave immediately. men like halid for now are still stuck. we asked him after everything he has seen if he still loves syria. >> i love everything about syria but the wars and the tools of injustice from the army and the leadership, they have destroyed syria. halid wants to stay in holmes even though 20 minutes after the first attack, the bombing started again. sklar the u.n. says it hopes to

send in food, water and medicine to holmes tomorrow but the government hasn't agreed to lift the blockade so it's not clear when the desperately needed aid will actually reach the people in holmes. the u.s. military says it carried out an airstrike in somalia. a senior commander was killed when a missile hit his car in southern somalia. they suspect it came from an american drone. the u.s. has launched several strikes against al shabaab members including a failed navy seal raid in october. the mil statement agreement was behind the mall attack that killed 67 people last year. protests in ukraine are escalating. crowds took over another government building. the opposition rejected an offer from the president aimed at calming the anger. jennifer glass has that story. >> there wasn't enough space in kiev saint michael's cathedral for the funeral of a man they call a hero.

he would have turned 26 today. he was killed in clark with police on wednesday. one of the first fatalities in a growing rebellion. anti-government protest ors cleaned up one of the latest government buildings they seized in kiev. this used to be a museum to lenin. now, it's headquarters for those defending democracy here in against square, the game has changed. the president is listening now. opposition leaders rejected his offer to share power. they think they can get more. >> the opposition has made a lot of progress in one week. for two months, victor yanokovich ignored protests but after they started spreading around the country, he was ready to come to the bargaining table. now, the opposition feels like they have the upper hand because they say they have the people on their side. including ukrainian mothers who came to the capitol to show their support for change with a mention for the president. >> we want him to resign so that we can pivalates move toward

europe and live like europeans and have decent salaries and live happily like the rest of the world. >> across ukraine, the people heeded opposition calls to come out and they did even in kate country's east, normally a presidential stronghold. they are facing resistance from government supporters. in independence square, itself, there is a shrine to him. ukrainians stop to reflect on the costs the country has paid so far and pray for a peaceful outcome. >> so now, all eyes are on what will happen next. the opposition has said it will continue negotiating with the government, but no talks have been set. an emergency session of parliament is set for tuesday when they are expected to address some of the issues raised by the opposition including the repeal of laws that criminalize elements of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. president victory yanokovich has given no indication he intends to step down. >> that's what the opposition would like to see, or at least see several elections next year.

it will be an eventually week here in ukraine. >> our jennifer glass in kiev tonight. the unrest there is spreading beyond the capitol. demonstrators stormed government offices in at least nine other cities. this report from western ukraine. >> the regional administration building in the city of the west of ukraine on thursday, a large crowd arrived here and they went inside and got the regional governor, appointed by yanokovih and took it back, nonetheless. the protesters are in full control of this building. they are maintaining a 24 hour presence here singing songs and keeping spirits up. they say they are not going to move like people in index square in kiev until their demands are met. they have erected large barricades made up of tires and bags filled with snow to stop

security forces getting anywhere near here it's one of many sites. it's part of a movement that has spread across the rest of the country. they have been heartened and many people from this city have gone to independence square there to further those protests. so there is a lot of solidarity between these people and the capitol. >> here in the states, police have found the journal of the maryland shopping mall gunman. it shows he was generally unhappy but it does not refer to why he killed two people or if he even knew them. the 19-year-old enjoyed skateboarding and lived near the ball with his mother. kimberly duke hearted has more >> reporter: police safe he took a cab to this shopping mall, was dropped off at 10:15 a.m. he was heavily armed with a shotgun and backpack filled with

homemade explosives. an hour later, he entered a skateboard shop on the second floor and opened fire on two people killing both before turning the gun on himself. police are still trying to understand why agular took the lives of 25-year-old tyler johnson and 21-year-old brianna lolo. both worked at zumi's, the skate shop. >> we are not able to verify any relationship at this point between him and either of our victims. we can't establish that there is one or that there is not one. that is an open question. >> beyond that, little is publically known about the victims and the shooter on what appears to be her facebook page, one of the victims, briana says she is a mom and an assistant manager at the store. five other people were injured at the mall. only one was shot. they have all been released from an area hospital while police are still searching for answers. a memorial facebook page has been posted for the two victims. kill meny duke hearted,

al jazeera. >> a court helped a family close a difficult chapter in their lives. a texas judge ruled a hospital had to allow a pregnant, brain-dead mother to be taken off life support. the story now from al jazeera brandon truck ling in dallas. >> gone are the cameras. gone are the lawyers fighting to keep marlice munoz on life support after doctors declared her brain dead. this morning, john peter smith hospital took her off life support released her body to her husband, eric. >> no comment. >> eric munoz didn't wish to speak to the media. his attorneys issued a statement saying the families local now proceed with the somber task of laying march lease munoz's body to rest and grieving over the great loss that has been suffered. on friday, ag judge ruled jps hospital in fort worth, texas had until tomorrow evening to remove munoz from life support, which her husband says she would have wanted. the family had asked a judge to have machines turned off. the hospital countered by

arguing texas law wouldn't allow it to take that action because she was pregnant. the case has generated a great deal of attention from groups on both sides of the abortion debate, with some anti-abortion activists arguing munoz's fetus deserved a chance to be born. today, demonstrators stood outside the hospital. >> we are very disheart ended that the hospital chose to pull the plug of this 22-week old unborn baby. >> jps issued a statement stating that the hospital's role was not to make or contest the law. with the case bind thhim, eric munoz is focusing on being alone as he raises the couple's young son, a little over a-year-old. >> i come through the door and et cetera waiting for mama to show up. >> that's the hardest. >> people close to the family now say they all must find the strength to complete what has been an unbearabley long and arduous journey. brandon truckly, al jazeera

dallas. >> the fall from new orleans. hurricane katrina but now ray nagin faces a court hearing. >> the super bowl is in n ychls do so many people have a new york state of mind? on al jazeera america.

it has been quite a fall for former new orleans mayor ray nagan. >> the world learned his name. the city blamed him for the painfully slow recovery. now, he faces prison charged with corruption and accepting bribes. his trail begins in the morning in new orleans. success. within a few days after hurricane katrina, it seemed the entire world knew of new orleans mayor ray nagan. >> he had this one shining moment when he went on wwl radio and said, mr. president get your ass down here. that was great. >> he was soon criticized for decisions and lack of follow drive-thru. now, on trial for corruption, it appears the former mayor has

opted out of a plea deal and is ready to put his fate in the hands of a jury in a place where many still blame him for crimming their recovery. >> a lot of people did not field that the rebuilding was going as expeditiously and smoothly as they liked. >> with the city in shambles, nagan shifted his reelection approach. he returncalled for a return to quote chocolate city. >> what he did in 2006 was play the race card. the issue became about the right to return. >> really resonated with african americans who had been displaced. >> 6 people with city contracts from nagan had pled guilty to bribery. >> this corruption took hold. it might have had its root in

the first four years but it took hold in the second four years when all of the money started coming in and these shady contractors came around and started sleeping up to him. >> you've got the ability to let contracts for the city and so sort of -- for a certain fee, i will give you this contract. >> last year, a federal grand jury indicted him on 21 corruption related charges, alleging he took more than $200,000 money from personal favors from contractors now set to testify against him. >> what ray nagan is going to have to do is convince these 12 jurors that roughly al half a dozen of his former friends are now lying to help themselves. >> that may prove tough in a town where wounds haven't healed. >> they are tired of ray nagan. you are tired of it in the way of your tired at looking at a bad rug. you want to throw it out and see it taken away by the trash guy. i think people are tired of ray nagan but they don't want him to

just fade away. they want to see him pay for what he did. >> if he does have to pay, it won't be in dollars. it will be in days, months and years in prison. ben limon. >> the super bowl is a week but there seems to be some confusion over exactly where they will be playing. alan shaufl he feel r explains why >> reporter: the official logo says njnj, new joy/new jersey. but ask people where the big game is being played this year and they will likely tell you. >> new york. >> being held in new york. north. the big apple. >> new york. >> unfortunately, the super bowl is being played in new jersey. unfortunately. >> well, that's the problem. isn't it? there is the city over there. gotham, the big apple, the city that never sleeps. and it is a hell of a town to be sure. but the game is do going to be played over here. one state line and a couple of rivers away in east ruth you are ford, new jersey. >> so, new jerseyites within

sight of but so far from the center of the super bowl universe across the hudson can be forgiven if they are just a little miffed? >> everything may be directed at new york, but the game will be held in new jersey. >> if you look at the ticket, itself, it shows my hat and they show it a little circle like that. i don't think that's fair. >> super bowl advertising is new yo yorkcentric. look at how the n.f.l. is promoting the game. all overman hatten, you will find super bowl reminders, including 12 blocks of broadway through time square that have become super bowl boulevard. not to be sidelined on this issue, jersey city's columbus drive will be known for one glorious week as super bowl drive. also, both teams are staying in jersey city and the circus that is media day will be held in newark. some of the hundreds of millions of out of town dollars will be spent here and, none of this comes as much of a shock to the garden state.

>> we appreciate all of the a o accolades and all of the advertisement and all. we appreciate all of the attention. but the game is being held in new jersey. >> for jersey, the whole thing is a bit of a familiar cold shoulder, from the first colorado weather super bowl in n.f.l. history. >> alan schauffler, east rutherford, new jersey. >> new jersey, new york. it's new jersey. they get the credit. >> that's where the teams are tonight. >> that's right. the jersey is getting a lot of love. things are getting real, jonathan because, believe it or not, let the high school man hoopla begin. they landed in new jersey. the seahawks flew into new york airport where they were having issues. looky here, 12th man flag got stuck on the plane and ripped a hole in the flag. the seahawks franchise making their second appearance in the super bowl. none of the current players have any super bowl experience. both teams are staying and practicing in new jersey versus staying in new york city and all

of the distractions. coincidence? i think not because let's face it. a championship is on the line. seattle does have some experience at met life stadium. back in december, they hammered the new york giants 23-zip. we have to do everything we can. we had a great week of practice this past week. we are looking forward to being here obviously to be in new jersey, new york, again. we are hoping that this would, you know, come true. and sure enough, it has. >> it's an extraordinary challenge. we have a good defense, good guys that can maplay over there we are going to see how this match-up goes. they have to play us, too. and we will see how that works out. >> now, the denver broncos arrived earlier in the day. the broncos are making their seventh appearance in the super bowl. all eyes on peyton manning looking to capture his second super bowl title. there is a lot of speculation if

don ver wins the super bowl, peyton at 38 years young will call it a career. what do you say, peyton? >> i still enjoy playing football. i feel a little better than i thought i would at this point coming off of that surgery. and i still enjoyed the preparation part of it, the work part of it. everybody enjoys the games. everybody is going to be excited to play in the super bowl. i think when you still enjoy the preparation and the work part of it, i think you probably still ought to be doing that. >> look at this. surf's up in hawaii. there was a high of 80 degrees for the proceed ball in the 808 stands. >> that's not me. i know what you are thinking because i am surf. >> we tried to spike things up with the proceed bowl, intensity picked up a bit. teammates going against one another and j. j. watt, a big wave, stand up, j. j. atta boy.

in the fourth, game tied at 14, team standard going prime time. nick bowles with a rainbow connection to cameron. dig this: team rice would actually rally back to win it, 22 to 21. now, the dweweather was a bit cooler here in new york with super bowl a week away, they are kicking off the stadium series, kings and ducks hit the stadium. last night, the rangers and devils laced it up at yankee statement. quite a site. 50,000 fans braved the conditions. today's game was actually delayed for 90 minutes because of the glare on the ice caused by the sun. once the glare went away, the rangers started to shine. shine bright like a diamond. i can tell you this, rangers scored six straight goals to go on to beat the devils, 7 to 3. >> it was cold.

there was a little bit of snows in the second period. the only thing i found surprising was the quality of the ice. you know, you think think that on a day like this, from below 32 farenheit height you are talking about idea conditions, you shut be able to get ice and they had issues with the ice. i was just surprised about that. >> hopefully they can get the ice right because there is going to be another game on wednesday at yankee stadium. i was talking to rebecca stevenson. she h she said it will be like in the low teens. >> how cold was it this morning? >> the low 20s. but, you know when the high temperatures in new york on wednesday is 19. and it's only going to go down. >> great time to be outside to watch a hockey game. >> like being on the ice, yourself. except you won't work up a sweat. >> we have had a lot of cold weather out there. temperatures are only going to dive even lower in the days ahead. temperatures now below zero for minneapolis. this is one of the areas that's

getting hit with the arctic air as it slams in from the midwest. as we expect the arctic air to sag in, it will make its way across the great lakes. so we have got wind chills dropping down to 50 degrees below zero. it's been happening from north dakota today. it's going to be transferring over across the great lakes through monday and tuesday and into wednesday. we will be in the midst of the arctic air. let's talk monday. >> we are talking severe sold weather. here is the wind speeds now. wind gusts up to 40 miles an hour for chicago. chicago. you just continue to have day after day of temperatures below zero. right now, it feels like it's 16 degrees below zero in chicago. this is our coldest area in the northern midwest. low temperatures will start out well below zero from fargo to minneapolis, and even smoemz, four belowomaha, four below. as we look at low temperatures to start the day, denver, 10 degrees. to the northeast, it will be in the low to mid 20s. the west, that's where we are

going to get the more comfortable weather highs will be 50 for seattle and we are finally, looking at rain coming into the west. that's going to start to happen late monday night into tuesday, wednesday. southern oregon first as we get across much of the south, we are tracking a storm system. it's going to bring lighter snow through the day tomorrow, mainly around the great lakes but stretching around west virginia. we have more snow to talk about for the southeast. jonathan, that's going to come up mid-week. >> more snow. thanks, rebecca. congress returns to work tomorrow. ahead on al jazeera america, will they be able to come together to help millions of americans out of work? that story next. also, the president's state of the union speeches this week. we will have a preview ahead.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i am jonathan betz with the headlines this half hour. despite the ongoing fighting, there was progress in the second day of the syrian peace talks. both sides agreed to allow women and children to leave the city of holmes. it's been under siege for nearly two years now. a u.s. air strike is believed to have killed a senior member of a rebel group in some alia. a drone struck one. commanders in his car. a texas mother who had been brain dead for almost two months was taken off life support. the judge ruled her family should be able to remove the ventilator keeping her alive. she was 14 weeks pregnant sparking protests from right to life demonstrators. the week ahead. this week, we focus on the state of the union. on tuesday, president obama will lay out the agenda. this is arguably his last most

powerful opportunity to frame the conversation in the capitol. next year, lawmakers will be focused on the twbt 16 presidential campaign. the president is expected to focus on income inequality. >> could clue appeals for raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits and making college more affordable. should we expect more results? the state of the union called for immigration reform, gun control laws and raising the minimum wage. none of those things happened. from more of what we can expect, with foreign policy magazine and san chose morano about human rights watch. i began by asking james about the president's 2013 state of the union. >> he thought i have got the wind in my sails. he got this expression, i can break the fever. he gave a very ambitious state of the union speech. as you said, the ambitious things he called for failed. so

the theme of this year, if you listen to all of these spokesmen and probationies is the president has some powers of his own for which he does not need congress. he will proceed mows more modest things he says he can accomplish on his own. the limited powers of the president mean the things you can accomplish without legislation are pretty modest compared to what you can accomplish with legislation. >> maria, what do you say? >> that's true. but at the same time, there are many things he can accomplish. i would love to see him speak about guantanamo and his enormousability now to transfer prisoners out of that location to other countries. >> he inc. sifted he wanted to close that forrier. >> one thing we expect him to talk about is immigration reform. i want to remind our viewers what's at steak here last year, the senate passed a bill for millions of undowd immigrants including those who came to the u.s. as children. it also helps reunite families by clearing back log of green

card applications and incretioning visa. the congressional budget says it would cut by a trillion dollars. >> i think the reason he will is the republicans are scared on this one politically. there are a bunch of other issues like, say, minimum wage where i don't know if they are scared enough. they are afraid of losing the hispanic vote and not having a political future. they are trying to find middle ground. the position they have taken now is we will give -- people here illegally a path to legal status but not to citizenship. obama says it has to be a path to sitship. >> that's negotiable territory. >> close to 2.4 million people. got the numbers here -- in prison in the united states. it's a huge number. 51% of those are incarcerated for drug-related crimes and the attorney general has encurraned federal prosecutors to pursue

lighter sentences for low-level drug offenders. i think it's striking to note that half of the people arrested for drug crimes are arrested for marijuana possession. you know, it seems like these kind of tiptoeing into these waters. do you think he might tiptoe a little further? >> there is a lot of international pressure for this as well because of the harm that the drug war has caused in other countries and within the u.s., it's true, a huge number of people who served only -- committed only low level drug offenses are serving long sentences due to mandatory minimums in the law. there is movement in congress in this direction and if he threw his weight behind it more aggressively, i think we could see progress. >> let's talk about foreign policy. the house and senate passed a bill that includes a trillion dollars in discretionary spending. i don't think people realize how much money goes tophon governments of that $621,000,000,000 goes to military state department. break it down further, afghanistan gets $85,000,000,000

a year. israel, $3,000,000,000. he script, a billion and a half. global health programs get close to $9,000,000,000 there. you know, when you look at the president's foreign policy record, james, do you think that this is something that he is going to focus more on 2014? >> well, false in terms of the state of the union speech, he will say as little about it as possible. once upon a time, that's what these speeches were about. you would go around the world and say here is our relation with this one and that one and then talk about domestic policy. that's long in our past. >> why do you say that? >> a good reason. i saw a poll that asked people: what's the most important issue in your mind? seven % said foreign policy. you don't have to be a political genius to say, mr. president, could you, like, not spend more than 7% of the speech on foreign policy? more bradley, i think that there is just a sense of fear about the world in the american people. i think there is a sense of exhaustion with foreign policy add fiancées ventures, a sense that whatever we do is going to

be bad. deep pessimism. in a state of the union speech where the goal is good stuff i have done and good stuff i will do, it's not easy to find foreign policy issues except, i think, iran, which you could make a good argument the president should dwell on. >> this is an opportunities. 30 million americans are going to be watching. for him to stand there and say we should care about what's happening in iran and syria and other places? >> the country should care, of course. it's also his responsibility to bring the country back to basic values and to make the country understand why is doing certain things he is doing. >> again, that was maria mcfarland, sanchez morino from human rights and jabs traube from foreignmes traube from foreign-month-old morsi will go on trial for a jail break during the 20s 11 uprising. on tuesday and went, ben bernanke will chair his last meeting on the group that sets

interest rates and janet yellen will take his place, the first woman at the helm of the federal reserve. all indications are the president and republicans are set to clash once again over the nation's debt ceiling. the next deadline is the first week of february. >> that's with a $17 trillion u.s. debt will hit it's limit. both sides are digging in. this morning, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said there will be no deal until the president gives up something major. mr. obama's advisors say that is not going to happen. it was just last october when the government shut down for 17 days because the two sides could not agree. congress is back in session tomorrow. >> that's too late for a lot of americans. an estimated 1.6 million people lost their unemployment benefits and were unable to pay for basics. kimberly hawket has more. >> when meth eat a mckinley lost her job, she had to move in with her sister while she searched with work.

it was manageable because the u.s. government was paying mckinley a monthly allowance to cover some expenses. in december, her unemployment insurance check simply stopped. >> congress just cut it. went on vacation, went on recess, and while they are enjoying their lives, the american people are suffering. >> despite some of the worst long-term unemployment numbers in a half sent re, the u.s. congress let benefits for the long-term unemployed run out. for years, those benefits were automatically renewed until december. mckinley took her frustration to lawmakers to let them know millions of unemployed americans believe it was morally wrong. >> shame on them. i am going to repeat that again. i say, shame on them. >> on this day, only democrats seemed to be listening to that message. >> in a way, i am very sad. we should not be at a press

conference. we should be on the floor of the house voigtting to extend unemployment competition. >> republicans in the house of representatives say they have no plan to drop unemployment insurance. republicans in the senate say they can't support extending the benefits unless it's accompanied by a plan to pay for it and that is where the two sides can't seem to agree. >> mckinley and her supporters delivered half a million signatures to the top republicans in congress to press them to work with the opposition democrats towards a solution. a previous group of voters. >> this is not how things get delivered. >> on that day, none of the republican leaders was willing to speak with with lucida mckinley. 4 million americans have been out of work for more than six months. mckinley is convinced the politicians have no idea of their suffering.

>> we are going to see turmoil on our own streets. when we sent troops over to keep piece in other countries, we better bring them back because they are going to be needed here that's the sdpraiths level. the? >> it's a level she expects will get worse as congressional politicians bicker over whether the country can afford a program unemployed americans were once able to count on. al jazeera capitol hill. >> egypt said it will hold presidential e elections before it votes for parliament. today's announcement comes after a violent weekend of protests. $49 people were killed in clark between supporters of the interim government and those loyal to the ousted president. the head of egypt's army is expected to run for president. al jazeera cannot report from cairo because our journalists have been destayed -- detained. they have been in custody for 29 days. they are accused of spreading

lies harmful to state security and joining a terrorist group, allegations al jazeera says are totally unfounded. two other journalists from our sister channels are being held. abdullah al shami and bugger is a cameraman. they have been detained for over five months. a natural gas pipeline blew up incapped, the fireball hundreds of feet in the air, caught on camera. look at that. about 40 miles south of winnipeg. officials shet off the gas, let the fire eventually burn itself out. residents say despite the below zero temperatures, they could still feel the intention heat from that fire. >> it was like being a barbecue, at a bon fire but we are a quarter a mile away and. >> no one was hurt. authorities are trying to figure out what sparked the explosion. >> gas was cut off to 5,000 people. warming shelters were set up to help those deal with bitter

cold. >> in bolivia, nearly a million children spend days not in school but at work. the government is trying to end child labor action wants to end the legal working age but many children are fighting that move. more from lapaz. >> alan is 7 years old. and washes cars for a living. he is one of an army of child laborers in bolivia. they sell bus tickets and alcoholic drirningdz, polish shoes and tend market stores. some just do whatever thing. >> there should be no poverty in bolivia but there is a lot of poverty. we shouldn't have to work unless we want to work. >> mod rano started work when he was eight. now 14, he sells chewing gum and sweets on the streets outside clubs and bars on weekend evenings. he has on his face what he called a work accident. >> there is discrimination, sometimes from the authorities. the police come and ask what i am doing, that i should be sleeping in my house. they will take my money and say

that i am a criminal. >> the president's campaign for a dignified population. they are trying to update labor laws raising the legal minimum age at which children can start work to 14. a child alone on the street, selling shoes is easy pray to a whole host of violations from the sexual to the economic. >> the chaotic la paz traffic plays host to thousands of child workers. we have been here for a while, you hardly notice they are here. some of those children are fighting to take control of their own destiny. they belong to a children's organization that last month protested against the government proposals. they were beaten by police but then invited to breakfast with the president morales, himself, a former child worker.

>> i think we will give up school to work, but it's not like that. you have to understand the reality in bolivia. it's probably not like this in other countries, but we still have to protect children because we are the future. >> diaz is 12 years old, working since he was 7. like most child laborers, he works out of necessity because his family is poor. >> there are some clients who are a bit strict, especially if you stain their socks. then there are some who clear off without paying. >> the government recognizes that the mental and physical health, the dignity of these children is at risk. the children know it, too. but they also know that bolivia cannot change overnight. in the meantime, they are demanding protected, more dignified working conditions. daniel schymler, lapaz, bolivia. >> john siegenthaler seeing spoke to jill abramson, the executive editor of "the new york times" and he asked her if

the snowden scandal compares to the pent agone papers back in 1971 when daniel elsburg gave the "new york times" exposing president johnson's lies about the vietnam war. >> it's hard to say. the pentagon papers and, you know, and in that situation, obviously daniel elsburg was the source for that material coming out of the pentagon. >> material exposed really terrible, terrible official lies by the u.s. government. lies about about the vietnam war. >> made that so consequential because of that. in this case, the material has, you know, provided a window on to, like, the scale of ease

dropping and all kinds of troubling things. and some, you know, certainly misstatements by officials, but i am not sure they have exposed, you know, a wholesale cover-up and public lying over years and years the way the pentagon papers did. >> so do you agree, disagree with the evidently's opinion when it comes to edward snowden and amnesty, or do you have an opinion? >> i don't have an opinion. i value the fact that by doing what he did, edward snowden did help the "new york times" keep the public informed on what i consider to be very important matters. >> you can watch the rest of that interview on talk to al jazeera.

>> that's at 1:00 a.m. eastern time. el pasoing spoiler alert. a gleam update plus the winners is helping change music industry. same-sex couples in florida are taking their fight to marry to court.

health officials have boarded royal caribbean where hundreds of crewmez and passengers got sick after leaving from new jersey os tuesday. >> it was a terrible experience. i have been on this boat before. we had an amazing time when we

were here. this time, it's juv been awful. >> not a good vacation. over 300 passengers and crew members got ill aboard the cruise suffering from cached row intestinal issues, and has been sanitized. scientists from the national institutes of health agiving dozens of people the flu by squirting it up their noseds. researchers have squirting it up their noses. they are quarantined for nine days. they are given $3,000 for their time. >> the battle for gay marriage in florida will play out in court. six same-sex couples want the state's ban struck down. al jazeera christina puigue hash has more. >> 3-year-old blake has two fathers, todd and geoff delmay. over the last 11 years, they have built a life together, even

taking on the same last name. but now, they want to get married. >> it's one piece of society and community that we have not been allowed to participate in, and we want that opportunity and the time is now. >> they have rings on their fingers. but they want the paperwork to make their union more than symbolic. >> for us, when you get married, it's your wedding band is worn on your left hand. and so until that happens, it will be worn on the right hand. >> the delmays are among six same-sex couples in a lawsuit. it will challenges florida's ban against same-sex marriage. >> we stand here for those who have applied for marriage licenses and faced the humiliation of being deny. >> the couples say florida's ban on same-sex marriage is discriminatory and violates the constitution by denying them the legal rights for heterosexual

couples. >> last summer, the supreme court overturned key parts of the defense of marriage act mean that federal benefits can no longer be denied to same-sex couples. florida voters have not considered the issue since 2008 when over 62% voted to maintain the state's position against gay marriage. gay activists in florida say that since then, public opinion that changed. opponents of gay marriage disagree. >> this lawsuit is a cheap publicity stunt. millions of florida voters voted to respect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. it's troubling and disturbing that there are people out there with this hate and this intolerance and this bigot tri against the will of the people of florida. >> still, couples like summer green and pamela farber who have been together for 25 years are hopeful. >> it's having to say, this is my partner. this is my life partner, you

know. this is my wife would be very gratifying. we feel the time is now. >> but if the state chooses to fight the case, it's likely to take years for the courts to settle it. christina pigue, al jazeera, miami. a chinese human rights activist says he has been detained by police. hi higia has focused on the chinese democracy movement as well as hiv aids. police summoned him on suspension of causing a disturbance. it has gone up again. this time, by $0.03. the u.s. postal service increased the price of a first-class stamp from $0.46 up to $0.49. it's the highest spike by the way in about a decade. internet has hut the postal service pretty hard. it lost about $5,000,000,000 last year alone. usps wants congress to allow it to end saturday living and reduce payments on retiree health benefits. make lee more and ryan lewis won

their first award given out at the grammies winning best new artist. their road to success has been far from conventional. al jazeera's courtney healy has more. >> we go. this is a moment. tonight is the night. >> mac lee more and ryan lewis video was filmed on locations worldwide, featured singer ray dalton sings the refrains which went platinum on a beach in new zealand. ♪ >> at the video's end, mac lee more sky dies in seattle, planting a flag which reads, "the heist." it's the name of their third album, which skyrocketed them into the stratosphere of pop stardom but they began their ascent on their own, building their audience through social media for years. >> the base that they built was all independent, all using youtube and social media and other tools that are available

to artists in the digital age. so first, they built a huge fan base, not to take away their schooechlt there that put them into massive pop success into lady gaga's world. >> that's when they needed traditional radio and traditional record labels. >> if i was gay, i would think hip-hop hautes me. >> they have hit chords with their social consciousness. something hip-hop stars haven't been known for ♪ even if i try. ♪ the video which embraces diversity has also gone viral. ♪ none of my love. >> courtney mckinney, al jazeera. >> a big year for that group. in addition to best new artist, they also won best rap album, best rap song and best rap performance. al jazeera arts contributor spoke about their non-traditional road to the grammys? >> music industry has been a

calcified institution for the past 20, 30, 40 years. it made all of its money by having this monopoly, by paying radio stations to get songs onto -- on to the radio and, thus, into people's homes. the fact that we see this edifice cracking -- and there have been quite a bit recently, mac miller had a number one record that was independent artist. but mac lee more and ryan lewis, not only did they do it on their own, but they are flying the flag for it. one of the things is how they are independent and proud and they even took a real solid shot at jimmie ivene, who is head of universal records which i can't remember anyone in history on their level doing. >> as for the remaining top award that the grammies, draft punk and pherrell, and album was draft punk's random access memories and song of the year was royals by lord. i would sing them from you but i will spare you. a striking eruptioin has

subsided enough to reopen the airport. last night's streams of hot lava poured from the top of mount aetna. officials closed the aport and the air space. today, the earth was still shaken. aetna is no longer spewing lava. po pope francis gave a speech at the vatican today calling for peace in ukraine. after he spoke, a bit of surprise. take a look at this. two doffs he released above the crowd were attacked by a sea gul and a crow. one broke free after only losing some feathers. the crow picked at the other dove before it escaped. the fate of the doves was unclear. a lot of people there praying for those birds. a quick rehinder for viewers before we go, al jazeera america will have live coverage of the state of the union starting tuesday. headlines after a very quick break.

the stream is uniquely interactive television.

'. eractive television. you are watching al jazeera america. i am jonathan betz with tonight's headlines. despite the ongoing fighting, there was progress in a second day of the syrian peace talks. both sides agreed to allow women

and children to leave the city of holmes. it has been under siege for nearly two years now. the u.s. says it carried out an airstrike against a suspected militant leader in some aldia, leaders of the group, al shabaab said a missile hit his car. they suspect it was a drone strike. police found the journal of the gunman that shows darrion aguilar was unhappy but does not reveal any link between the 19-year-old and the two people he killed. a texas hospital made a court order and took a pregnant woman off life support today. she had been considered brain dead for two months. the hospital had been keeping her alive in accordance with the texas law but against her family's wishes. health officials have boarded royal caribbean's "explorer of the seize." they are investigating why hundreds of passengers and crew members got sick. they are suffering from symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea. those are the headlines on this sunday.

access presents "money for nothing: inside the federal reserve" is next. find us online at al jazeera america.com and tuesday night, at 6:00 p.m. have a great night. >> >> the dollar is the most remarkable achievement in the history of money. think of it. this piece of paper cost nothing to produce, there's nothing behind it except the goodwill of ben bernanke, and the u.s. congress. this