>> that open your world... >> it can be very dangerous... >> i hear gunshots... >> the bullet came right there through the widdow... >> it absolutely is a crisis... >> real reporting... >> this...is what we do... >> america tonight, only on al jazeera america. happening this morning president obama is putting the finishing touches on his state of the union address and many see this year's speech as the opening in the 2014 mid term elections. a deep freeze in the deep south, southern states accustom to warm weather have snow and ice and frigid conditions. emergency session to talk about an unpopular antiprotesting law

in an effort to ease tensions. he inspired a generation of musics with songs and political activism, this morning fans remember pete seeger the father of american folk music. ♪ s that s th s thats that flsh flush thank you for waking up with us and i'm tomorrow place draden and we begin with president obama who is preparing for his fifth state of the union tonight and it's different and he has to address with sub par approval ratings and increasing doubt that the country is improving under his watch and according to an abc news poll the approval rating is just 46% and the lowest going in a state of a union address. most americans remain sour on

the economy and the direction the country is going in and the state of american politics over all. during the address the president will try to turn the public's attention to his key initiatives and include early childhood education and minimum wage and affordable care act and lisa joining us from washington and the president as you know, lisa comes in the state of the union after a very difficult year and dealt with a shut down and obamacare and gun control and immigration stymied and what can we expect to hear to change the perception? >> we are told he will give an optimistic and up beat speech and focus on opportunity, action and he will help solve america's problems and we will hear a lot about equality and it is a big theme from the white house as you know and help the unemployed and the middle class and try to create pathways for people to

increase their opportunity. and we less expect them to draw contrast between his vision and the republican's vision going forward. >> it's an election year and democrats hoping for a different tone from the president tonight, what do you hear from his base about the speech? >> they really want him to draw sharp contrast between where the democrats see the country and what the republicans want to do and talk about the minimum wage and unemployment and also college education. remember, this is a mid term election year and the republicans want to hold on to the house, which they are likely to do but they also want to take control of the senate and they are poised to be able to do that. the democrats really want the president to set this up as a stark contrast to help them hold on to the senate and help their race as well as the president going forward. >> lisa stark in washington this morning, lisa, thank you. in addition to laying out his domestic agenda in the speech president obama is expected to

touch on foreign policy goals. two years ago his administration announced a shift in focus towards asia as china emerges as an economic power and al jazeera's melissa chan looks at the so called asin pivot. >> reporter: out on the ocean and part of the pivot to asia. by 2020 the plan is to shift a majority, 60% of the country's war ships to the region along with maintaining six aircraft carriers. this is one major reason some consider it the only reason behind the asia pivot and china and the growing power worried the united states and other asian countries. >> everyone in asia follows the same approach towards china and includes the united states and japan and it's a combination of engagement and hedging.

>> reporter: jaw pab has watched as china has become bolder and they are locked in a battle over islands and up setti setting alleys like the philippine looking to the u.s. for help and see john kerry spending more time in the middle east. when administration officials back pedalled and stopped calling it the pivot and talking about the rebalance they wondered if president obama changed his mind and opting for a softer approach and u.s. and china are top trading partners after all and china has not welcomed the pivot considering the strategy circlement. >> chinese have almost a paranoid view and whatever we do we attempt to encircle them and you can layout the ways in which we are not encircling you.

>> reporter: they have a chance to put the asia pivot back on track. >> the united states has a profound stake in what happens here because we need and we are and we will remain a pacific power. >> reporter: it's one thing to move ships to sea, the hard part of the pivot strategy is not with military affairs but with trade, president obama would like to see an asia pacific free trade zone, those negotiations have taken and will take years. melissa chan, al jazeera, san francisco. >> reporter: republicans are taking swings at the affordable care act ahead of the state of the union and have a plan to replace the current law and say obamacare just isn't working. their plan called the care act would draw up mandates that require everyone to be covered or pay a fine and there have been proposals to repeal the president's healthcare law but this is one of the first to provide an actual alternative

plan. school choice may be another one of the core election year issues for republicans and tennessee senator lamar alexander will introduce a bill today to give low income families to spend it on any school they want to send their kids to and redistrict about $24 billion from public schools and states could use the money as vouchers or scholarships to send low income students to private or charter schools and alexander was the u.s. secretary under hw bush and we will have comprehensive coverage of the state of the union both before and after the speech starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern and have the speech live at 9:00 eastern. hillary clinton is talking about the secretary of state and what she could have done differently and she was in new orleans for the automobile conference. during a question-and-answer session clinton spoke about her biggest regrets while leading

the state department. >> my biggest, you know, regret is what happened in benghazi. it was a terrible tragedy. >> reporter: clinton praised chris stevens killed in benghazi for his service. when asked of her plans for 2016, if she is going to run for president clinton replied i have to say i don't know. let's talk about the weather here. the arctic blast causing frigid temperatures across much of the country is now heading south and al jazeera's has more on the cold snap. >> we just about had enough of this weather. >> reporter: that is the sentiment of many chicago residents which like the rest of the midwest is in the grip of another arctic blast accompanied by white out snow. much of the country has seen january with wave after wave of air pushing down from canada and unrelenting cold that will not

let up. >> oh, my goodness i'm ready for a little break, aren't you. >> reporter: most of the midwest will not be above 0 and minneapolis it's minus 15-30 below and schools across the state will be closed for the fourth time this year due to dangerous temperatures. those brutal, dangerous winds are causing misery on the roads and blowing snow and ice slid the bus off a highway this illinois and colorado pile up after pile up. >> this is crazy man. >> reporter: making matters worse 24 states are enduring a propane shortage after a pipeline exploded south of winnipeg and thousands without heat in minnesota, north dakota and wisconsin where they declared a state of emergency. >> it would allow us to call out the national guard to provide direct assistance. >> reporter: 27 states are now locked in the bitter and frigid air which is moving south and has those states battling cold and ice getting ready. >> as always in these types of

situations we are hoping for the very best conditions and planning for the worst. >> reporter: from the gulf on up the coastline, cities not e equipped to deal with snow and ice are kicking their emergency plans into full gear. >> we have a lot of inexperienced drivers in the snow and ice because it only comes here every few years. >> reporter: from texas to georgia to north carolina crews are out in force trying to get ahead of the freeze. >> we are not geared up to do 1,000 miles of roads if they ask, we have to close the road. >> new orleans are bracing for a quarter inch of snow and may not sound like a lot but the big easy has not had measurable snow the more than five years and public schools in new orleans will be closed today and it's not clear how long. >> we will be on call all day and out tuesday and wednesday and we will see it from there. >> reporter: and i'm with al jazeera. >> reporter: and we are joined from new orleans where they are getting ready for a cold snap and you don't hear that often,

ben, what is the city doing to prepare for all of this? >> we certainly don't hear that, that is the big problem, that is what state police are talking about this morning. people here are not used to driving in the snow even though it may not be that much they say potentially a half inch of snow people have not seen that in quite sometime and don't have snowplows waiting to get this stuff off the roads to help people. so police right now are urging people to not drive today because they expect it to be that bad. right now we are standing on the causeway bridge. this is a 24 mile bridge, the longest one in the entire world as a matter of fact and connects the north shore of lake ponchatrain and come 10:00 or 11:00 central time they will not do that because the bridge certainly will be closed along with swats of i-10 which goes east to west across the state and expected to be closed because there are so many bridges. going to be some really tricky

transportation problems this morning. police urging most people if they can to stay where they are. >> something they are not used to down there, ben is joining us from new orleans this morning where they are expecting a half an inch of snow and thank you. we talk about these temperatures across the country and you don't want to play around with them and nicole mitchell is here to tell us how dangerous the ice storms are. >> we are talking about the snow side so far but i'm more concerned about the ice from texas through the carolinas and talking the deep south could get ice and possibly snow on top of that. this is not the part of the country that deals with this well. no one deals with ice well and it's always hard to deal with but especially if you are not used to it. we had cold air shooting across the country has gotten in the deep south. what happens with that is in a normal atmosphere and warm at the surface and colder as you go up, that is why the mountains are always cooler than lower levels and today we have seen temperatures drop 10, 20 degrees from yesterday at this time.

some of the cold air got under the normal warm air and that is why when you get moisture you have sleet or freezing rain and get the warm layer and if it's sleet then it sends enough time on the new freezing level by the surface that it refreezes and with freezing rain it freezes before it hits and it's a super cool droplet and ices anything it coats and that is what we are seeing with this. as more of the cold air fip -- filters in it will convert to snow but freezing rain will cause problems when it does things like not only making the roads treacherous but if we get a quarter inch or more we have downed power lines and at a half inch and then it is devastateing and could have a lot of problems today and the temperatures through the rest of the country very cold out here. even up through the northeast and huge travel problems on the roads and airports that cannot

deice well in the south and a slow day and back to you. >> reporter: happening a few moments ago ukraine parliament revealed antiprotest lays and trying to ease tensions between demonstrators and the government and made the decision during a special emergency session this morning after the ban sparked days of intense protests and the country's prime minister has also stepped down and the protest began more than two months ago after the government failed to sign a trade deal with eu and jennifer glasse is following the fluid situation in kiev and a lot happening overnight, jennifer, could the parliament's decision help ease the crisis here? >> well, it certainly is one of the main demands of opposition and parliament repealed the laws and it was funny to watch because they were passed on january 16, and quickly by a show of hands it was taken almost an hour to repeal them all in parliament today but an

orderly vote. it is certainly one of the opposition's main demands that the laws, repressive and sweeping law that criminalized freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, that they are repealed. the prime minister's resignation also another step but as one of the opposition leaders, klitschko, "the boxer" said it is a step in the right direction and this morning we are seeing a kiev court reacting, anticipating parliament's move and released 35 people who had been arrested and not been charged for demonstrating over the last two months and expected to see more people released in the coming days. >> reporter: jennifer i wonder the opposition has rejected concessions offered by the government could the resignation of the prime minister work in the opposition's favor? >> well, it is a step in the right direction. the resignation has been tendered. the president has not accepted it yet but we expect he will

since he already offered that job to one of the opposition leaders. they have rejected that offer because they believe the president is trying to divide the opposition. there are three main opposition leaders with three main opposition parties. they are trying to find a balance and way to move forward. i think what we are looking at is trust-building measures and a lot of miss trust between opposition and the government and a lot of miss trust between the people in the square behind me and tens of thousands who demonstrated all over ukraine and want to see results and want to know the opposition leaders can deliver them and they will stay out on the streets until they see the kind of changes they want and the main change is a change in leadership and would like to see the prime minister viktor yanukovych step down or call presidential elections this year. they are scheduled for 2015 but the people would like to see the president step down and would like to replace the parliament as well. so still a long way to go here in ukraine. >> reporter: you will be following the latest developments throughout the morning and jennifer glasse in

kiev and jennifer thank you. nsa is using popular smart apps like angry birds to keep an eye on you according to edward snowden. the data can include personal details such as the user's age, gender and even their location. according to the report in the guardian the information provided by those apps gives the spy agency access to large quantities of data without hacking into individual smartphones. still ahead this morning fighting fire with ice, the extreme challenges firefighters face in the freezing cold. plus chemicals in the water, why a west virginia river may have been even more contaminated than originally reported. and pictures from space. new cameras that may change the way we see the world. >> i'm john henry smith in sports and we are wrestling what to do about the increasingly legal drug marijuana. >> and thank you and looking live at the umpire state

building lit up in blue and green in honor of the seattle seahawks and fans will use social media to determine which team's colors top the building and we are coming right back. ♪

♪ good morning and welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm thomas and coming up, next the very big hurdles firefighters are facing working in sub 0 temperatures and first metrologist nicole mitchell and how long will these temperatures actually last? >> we will get slow warm and it's january and not going up that high and when they do go up we had negative across the midwest yesterday and now we have seen anywhere from the east coast through the south, a lot of teens and 20s through the south but that is about 20 degree drop from where were at yesterday and the midwest and add in wind and we have wind chills and chicago minus 2 and fargo feels like minus 32 and the temperatures slowly rise over the next couple days but still a lot of wind chill advisories across the region because you can get frost bite

quickly in these conditions and looks like chicago makes it above 0 and not too long of a stretch and tomorrow milder. >> and we are hearing the best advance during extreme temperatures is to stay in doors and work from home but as al jazeera reports that is not always an option for everyone. the bitter cold has problems for firefighters and other works. >> fighting fires there are no days off, just an add add challenge, scenes like this in new jersey demonstrate how difficult it is to douse blazes with water. the structure is literally frozen. >> it truly can be challenging in these extreme, extreme cold and frigid temperatures. >> reporter: deputy chief barry liss lives in north chicago and without the help of heaters and deicing and antifreeze and the

biggest concern is use of water. >> the most critical element when we are faced with this type of weather is the cold temperatures and the fact that water quickly freezes so when you use it to extinguish it it's important to keep the water viable and moving. >> reporter: to do that trucks have pumps that are churning the water to help prevent freezing. and fighting fire in extreme temperatures becomes a multi agency effort working hand in hand with police and public works to bring in salt and direct traffic. >> the fact that the structure is getting an enormous amount of water and ultimately will freeze, that we continue do anything about but we try to make the scene safe for our operation. >> reporter: as for the gear it's the same, bunker pants and helmet and to protect them from fire, not the ambient temperature outside. >> the equipment we give them that is actual, the safety gear

that firefighters wear is the same weather as today at 15 below 0 or 110 degrees fahrenheit during a peak summer heat wave. >> and we are reporting, the firefighters also worry about keeping victims warm and many people they rescue are not dressed for cold weather and hypothermia can set in quick during the temperatures. florida could be the next state to legalize medical marijuana and the supreme court signed off on a ballot for november and more than 700,000 people from florida signed it to get potato the polls and medical marijuana is legal in 20 states and washington d.c. but florida would be the first southern state to legalize it. one activist group is using the superbowl to push for more pot and the two teams competing in the big game, the broncos and seattle seahawks hail from the only to states that lech liked the recreation use of marijuana and the policy project says it

will plaster billboards across met life with propot messages and the group is asking to scale back punishment for players who use the drug. the use of marijuana for medical use in the nfl is also creating some talk during superbowl week and spreading across the nfl day. >> the famous press conference in all of sports are infamous and an event within the event and happens this morning and it's time for superbowl 48 media day in new jersey where they will field questions from x and o to questions like do you believe in voodoo and will you marry me and are questions from years past and more serious questions surrounding the concussion crisis and roger commented on the use of medical

marijuana to treat head injuries saying we will follow medicine and if they determine this could be a proper usage in any context we will consider that. our medical experts are not saying that right now. unquote. monday the seahawks pete carol also weighed in on the subject. >> we have to continue to explore and compete to find ways that are going to make our game a better game and take care of our players in the best way possible. the fact that it's in the world of medicine is something obviously they the commissioner realizes and him making the expression we need to follow the information and the research absolutely i'm in support of and regardless of what other sigmas may be involved we have to do this because the world of medicine is trying to do the exact thuing and figure it out. >> reporter: the nfl crisis does not affect it and it goes to every play of high school and youth leagues and they developed

a program it hopes will monitor and limit brain trauma in youth sports called hit count and al jazeera mark morgan reports. >> head count is a program designed to prevent and minimize the effect of concussions and hits to the head in youth and high school sports with special emphasis on football. sensors will be placed inside helmets to keep track of the number of hits to the head. >> 1.5 billion impacts to the head in youth and high school football in america every year and that is a big number. of 1.5 billion impacts, 500 million of them are unnecessary, 500 million are happening in practice where they are not needed to teach the game safely, to teach athletes how to play. >> reporter: hit count is ultimately a behavior change tool and it's about how we can at the team level and even at the individual level look to see is that youngster likely taking

an excessive number of hits. >> the importance of hit count is that as a parent i cannot be at every practice and not every game, we carpool but i can know what is going on at practices and games and what is going on with his head and also i think it's a way to help people in the coaches and teams and the leagues understand what's going on with brains and the impact that this can have for kids. >> i think with information like this maybe we are moving in that direction where we can get more people to say hey, do you know what, maybe they should only hit one day a week and when they hit the one day aweek maybe they should hit at half speed and not a full speed hitting practice. >> reporter: they like this as a pitch count for the brain but insists the technology is part of the process and schools, athletic directors and coaches and parents must all be involved in making youth sports, especially football safer for

athletes, mark morgan for al jazeera >> thank you, mark and that is sports for the hour and next hour we look back on what was a turbulent year for the nfl. >> reporter: they are deadlocked for removing bashir el assad. >> we are 10,000 years old and know what is good for us. >> we will take an indepth luck of refugees displaced by syria's council war and a king pen is arrested in mexico, how the relationship is changing between the government and vigilante group fighting against drug cartels and getting rich off of peanuts where the crop is practically worth its weight in gold. in a live look at time square, broad way has been turned into superbowl way to feature games, concerts and the taboggan ahead of the super bowl taking place

in the hudson river in new jersey. we are coming right back. ♪

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world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. ♪ good morning and welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm thomas and here are the top stories we are following at the hour, snow and ice is moving across the south and they are closing schools and flights and keeping chicago and minneapolis in sub 0 temperatures. president obama goes to a state of the union address with a low approval rate and will focus on healthcare and the economy and during an emergency session they agreed to throw out antiprotest laws. before the meeting the country's prime minister resigned in an attempt to ease tensions.

in fact, you are looking live at the main square in kiev where most protests have taken place. days ago there were violent clashes here but right now things are relatively calm. syrian peace talks are hitting a roadblock in geneva and both want a role in government and working out details to bring humanitarian aid to syria's war-torn cities and that is stalling a plan to evacuate women and children from the devastation in the city of homs and they are preparing to deliver rations to 2500 people there but waiting for the green light from all sides and james has more on the diplomatic tug of war. >> the syrian government delegation arriving for the latest round of talks, this is the first time the most difficult item of political transition has been on the agenda. their position remains

uncompromising. >> while the media and the so called opposition talking about president assad and what they call the regime, our country has been destroyed, our factories and schools and hospitals and our people, we have six million displaced syrians. >> reporter: why doesn't president assad for the good of his nation and the good of the people step aside and someone else take power. >> family had power for 44 years and maybe that is long enough. >> for the nation or the people know what is good for them. we are 10,000 years old and know what is good for us. >> reporter: when the two sides met it was a stormy meeting, the syrian government produced this paper on transition, it's a new document but it has nothing new in it, from the syrian government side, conditions rather than any concessions. it's not just on transition where there is deadlock, the opposition does not trust an offer from the government to let women and children leave the old city of homs.

>> we are there because we previously have experience, and for example the people were allowed out a few months ago. but there were many boys and men that got kidnapped by the regime once they are out of the city. we don't trust them. >> reporter: on sunday the media were told a humanitarian deal in homs was one small breakthrough for these talks and now that issue just like all the others remains deadlocked and james with al jazeera geneva. >> reporter: 1.5 million people live in homs before fighting broke out there three years ago and 1200 women, children and elderly still remain in the city. there are almost 2.5 syrian refugees displaced by the civil war and lebanon taken in almost 900,000 refugees. jordan almost 600,000. there are 580,000 in turkey. more than 200,000 in iraq and

more than 130,000 in egypt. but that does not take into account the estimated 6.5 million displaced within syria, these displaced people remain in desperate need of food and medicine and 5 million of them are children. carolyn miles president and ceo of save the children returned from jordan and lebanon where she met with many syrian refugees and good to have you with us this morning because you have gone beyond the image of spending time in the settlements and take us to lebanon and what did you see and what are the people going through? >> it's extremely tough for families and there are many, many refugees in a very small country and living in these informal settlements where there is no camp in lebanon, in some ways that is good but they are living in very rough conditions. when i was there in the baka valley they have mountains and the temperatures are cold and

had a big snowstorm a week before. some of theents -- tents collapsed and freezing water flowing in the tents and many children in the camps as you said, over two million children that are in dire need both inside and outside of syria. and they are in need of everything really. and many of the kids are not able to go to school, which is extremely difficult as we go into, you know, three years now of this crisis. >> reporter: and beyond jordan or lebanon i should say you also visited refugees in jordan and mentioned your agency distributed winter boots and it's the middle east and a lot of people don't realize it's winter there and refugees are not e -- equipped for the elements. >> i sat and talked with families and left syria virtually with nothing and i heard one story from one young girl who told me about her trip

and how at each stop along the way she had to leave something behind and finally when she got to the end she had the clothes on her back and one small book from home and refugees are arriving with nothing. it's very cold in both jordan and lebanon and they really are in dire need of support. as i said we are going on three years now in this crisis and many refugees have been in this situation for quite a while. >> we saw images of the little girl you mentioned traveled with her family for days and only during nights, are you able to get aid to the people who need it most? >> well, i think we are trying. it's a very large crisis, so i think there is not enough resources to supply all the things that people need, but we are able to give kids in jordan and syria things they need in terms of warm winter boots and blankets and food which in a place like jordan we are

distributing food to 85,000 people in that camp. but there is still a tremendous, tremendous need for support for children and as i said one of the things we are trying to do is get these kids into school because many of them have been out of school now for two and three years and if you think about the feature of syria and you think about the impact that is going to have, it's really sobering. so one of the things we are working very hard on is getting kids both in lebanon, jordan and iraq into some kind of school. >> reporter: is there a sense of hope among the people? did you return feeling any optimism? >> well, i think one of the things i certainly was struck by is the determination of the syrian people. so they are very determined to make a life for themselves and they really want nothing more than to go back actually to their country and to rebuild it. so i think that certainly gave me hope. the kids give you hope because

despite everything that is happening to them and it is extremely difficult day after day, they are still kids and they have a lot of hope for the future, so that gives me hope i think. one of the biggest issues right now is getting to those populations inside syria as your story talked about previously. and getting the aid to the 4 1/2 million people inside syria who have been without basic necessities for a very long time. >> save the children is the name of your organization and i hope more people will donate and help you out and we certainly appreciate the work you are doing and carolyn miles president and ceo of save the children and good to have you with us this morning. ousted mohamed morsi back in court today and accused of kidnapping and killing policemen and organizing a mass prison break in 2011 and facing a slew of different charges in three separate trials. meanwhile a senior egyptian official has been killed, shot to death outside his home, so

far no one has claimed responsibility for that attack. also in egypt the military council says it is clearing the way for the army chief and interim leader to run for president. lcc led a coup over throwing president morsi and it's powerful in the government and in control of the country since morsi was removed from power. mexican forces have captured a top leader of one of the country's most violent cartels called the knight's templar and they have been criticized for increased violence in the country. >> caught hiding in a closet, one of mexico's most big drug bosses arrested monday morning. >> translator: the lawyer known as altio or uncle had a 2 and a quarter bounty on his head and one of the tomorrow leaders of

the drug cartel and wanted on drug and money laundering charges. >> translator: this person allegedly controlled drug traffic in the city with a tight link of leaders of the criminal group operating in the area. >> reporter: earlier this month the government deployed soldiers and federal police in response to heavy fighting between vigilante group that sprung up to fight the cartel and leaders wouldn't lay down arms until cartel bosses were detained and this comes at a critical time for the mexican government despite increased number of military police vigilante groups and neighboring states continue to grow and it's up to the government to prove they can bring peace and security to a troubled region. >> the government is acknowledging the vital role played by the vigilantes or so called self-defense groups and on monday they met with the vigilante leaders and announced

their members would be integrated into a world defense core. >> translator: this rises great expectations for the region and what we need is a strong common front whereby trust can be rebuilt. >> reporter: it wasn't so long ago that vigilantes were disarming the police who they accused of working with the drug cartels. now the mexican government says arresting one of the founders of the knight's templar is a step in the right direction, helping to regain the trust of the people, david mercer with al jazeera mexico city. >> reporter: there were an estimated 20,000 men serving in vigilante groups across mexico. in pittsburgh they call it a public health crisis, a sudden and dramatic increase in drug re-related deaths and people died overdosing on heroin and call this potent form of heroin bud ice or theraflu but not the

kind in the drug store and it's laced with a powerful drug called fentenyl that is 100 times more potent than morphine. and two people killed by a gunman is open for business and extra security when they entered the mall on monday and a makeshift memorial was paying tribute to the people of the attack and the general manager said the stores are open but not business as such. >> repairing the physical nature of the mall is complete and we are now here to repair the hearts of our retailers and our community. >> reporter: police have not yet determined a motive or any connection between the gunman identified as 19-year-old darian marcus aguilar and the two victims. grand jury indicted a north carolina police officer for a shooting death of a college football player and randall kerick is facing charges for killing jonathan last september and shot ten times after his car broke down and knocked on a door

seeking help and a separate grand jury refused to indict him but said the first grand jury did not have a full panel. freedom sfris says about 10,000 gallons of chemicals leaked from a storage take in the west virginia elk river and that is 2500 gallons more than the company's initial estimate and it's from the department of environmental protection and say figures provided by the company about the chemical spill are now under review. the tainted water initially impacted 300,000 people but say the water in the area is now safe to drink. the nut is not hard to crack and the peanut business is, in fact, booming. and as al jazeera's nicholas discovered it's all due to a growing demand in china. >> this is no exceptional harvest and yes it got 60-year-old peanut farmer

excited. this was not worth much until the arrival of chinese buyers and one ton of peanuts is a pot of gold to make him rich. >> translator: this is my treasure and if i can sell all of them, all of my needs for extended family and i will be covered for the full year to come. >> reporter: almost half of all land is used to farm peanuts and since 2013 chinese buyers have been offering twice the local market value for it. chinese businessmen are very discrete. you will rarely come across them in this region but they are here, hiring staff to buy peanuts off farmers and build processing factories like this one. and here the plan is to make peanut oil expected to asia where it's used for cooking and china is the largest export of peanut products and it is growing demand and also domestic market and the appetite for the nut has changed the farmer's

collective bargaining power who relied on local millers to buy the crop. >> translator: decades they are buying the peanuts at lowest price and keep us in poverty and with chinese we have a better option. >> reporter: he signed a deal to boost economic ties for the next ten years. >> translator: and we will do everything possible to accompany the social commitment development here so they can improve the lives of its people. >> reporter: the sudden interest in the peanut interest has taken the millers by surprise and farmer no, sir longer want to sell goods to th them. >> translator: this is a disaster not just for us but for the whole region, the truck drivers, the seasonal staff we hire and peanut sellers will lose our jobs. >> reporter: when processed it

is worth ten times more and offering large sums of money for the land to build factories and how tempting this is to be the land where generations farmed peanuts is not for sale at least for now and nicholas hawk. >> reporter: we should point out 60% of the people here work in the peanut farming industry. this is the business headlines and investors hope to put the brakes on a resent shell off and futures are higher at this hour and yesterday's lost was the worst week in stocks since 2012 and the dow is 15837, s&p is at 1781. both the dow and s&p are at the lowest levels since mid december and nasdaq is 4083. in asia it stabilized after several days of selling and investors worrying about a slow down in china and the hong kong posting modest losses and

european stocks on the rebound, markets there trading higher right now. the federal reserve is taking a fresh look at interest rates today. the central bank begins a regular two-day meeting and whattel street is worried that policy makers could have further reductions in stimulus this week and the feds should trim the monthly bond purchases. >> i'm of the opinion we need to get out of this thing and let the chips tall where they may and i believe the fed, if they are faced with a significant decline in economic activity will be a little bit resistant to do it. >> reporter: on the economic calendar today the commerce department releases durable goods for december followed by standard and pores of the shiller prices and yahoo will talk about earnings and up beat about the company but then came a surprise two weeks ago that the coo was leaving and the

shares shed 10% since then. it could be a rough day for apple and the stocks sank in after hours trading despite posting record earnings last quarter and apple reported selling 51 million phones but fell short of expectations and adding to disappointment the revenue in the current quarter might decline. and a new camera is installed at the international space station, the high-quality images of earth you will soon be able to access live right on your computer. plus an avalanche blocks off the only road in and out of a town in alaska, what officials say caused the massive slide. and we have a dangerous ice storm developing in the deep south and rain where we need it, i'll have your forecast. ♪

don't miss special state of the union coverage as only al jazeera america can deliver. right here on al jazeera america.

welcome back to al jazeera america, just ahead the new space camera that puts a satellite view of earth at your fingertips and speaking of that they will be freezing today and metrologist nicole mitchell has a look at the temperatures across the country. >> and also looking at what they are doing, all the way through the south the cold temperatures mean we have areas of freezing rain and snow through the deep south, in the mid-atlantic and get to that in a second but look at this on the west coast because we will talk about the south and want to mention it once this hour and we are starting to get a new weather system in here and exceptionally dry from moderate, severe and extreme drought as we go from north to south into california and we need rain in the areas and by thursday and central california could see some moisture. but the ice storm is the biggest problem and we are already seeing freezing rain and sleet in places like austin and we

want it to switch to snow because it's less treacherous than the freezing rain. >> and seeing below freezing temperatures and alaska and the climate being blamed on an avalanche and this is a town that was blasted by a massive snow landslide last friday and saturday, ten straight days of above freezing temperatures and coupled with the rain and the snow and created snowy hundreds of feet long and up to 40 feet deep and blocked off 50 mile stretch of road leading in and out of valdeze and the only road there and hope to have the road reopened later today. better understanding of the area and that is in the southeast region of alaska and 300 south of anchorage and the population is just over 4,000. and valdez was the most snowy

city in the nation but weather.com and has 326 inches and to put that in perspective syracuse always the leader in snowfall only gets around 112" per year. two russian cosmonauts put a camera out on the space station and could change the way we see the world and could provide almost anyone a high-resolution view of the earth's surface. >> floating outside the international space station the senior russian cosmonauts are installing cameras to send high definition pictures to erlive via the internet and pipelines to volcano and the people who built the cameras say it will be available to almost anyone with an internet connection. >> we will sell to the governments and the ministries

informing and agriculture of course. secondly we will be targeting businesses and people who want to be able to track farms, business intelligence, mining, resources and things like that around the world and thirdly we will take it, process it and stream it over the web so the farmer can log in with their phone and get a picture of their farm taken two weeks ago on their phone and all three segments of the market. >> reporter: nasa and google and others offer space images but earth cast and private collections will be higher quality and more detailed and able to zoom in on a battlefield or a city square and that does raise privacy concerns. one said the rush by private companies to provide data from space amounted to silicon valley sending up its own spy satellites and governments and privacy advocates say they will be watching the new projects closely and in the end the space walk had mixed results and say one of the two cameras is

working and the other is not yet providing quality data and it will be several more months at least before the pictures stream from space, up close and potentially more personal than ever before, daniel with al jazeera. . >> the company expects the video system to be fully functional by this summer. trouble for the moon roover, and it broke down studying the moon's crust and could not deal with the lunar environment. folk muscina pete seeger has died. ♪ family members say the 94-year-old singer died peacefully in his sleep at new york presbyterian hospital and during his long career he was not only an icon of folk music but active in environmental causes and as a song writer he wrote or cowrote songs including if i had a hammer, turn, turn,

turn, where have all the flowerers gone and kisses sweeter than wine and morgan has a look at the top stories we are following at this hour. >> that is right, president obama gives his fifth state of the union address tonight and expected to focus on three key words and that is opportunity, action and optimism. then ice from an arctic blast is expected to cause some pretty serious issues down south where they are not used to this kind of weather and schools closed across several states and thousands of flights cancelled. and then ukraine parliament repealed the controversial antiprotest laws and just moments ago the prime minister resigned. also ahead in the next hour the ceo accused of laundrying drug money through bit coins and some people are cutting ties with their cable companies and saving money without losing the shows they all love. >> and i'm metrologist nicole mitchell to dangerous wind chills to ice storms and dealing

with troubles. >> reporter: and thanks for watching al jazeera and we are coming back in 2 1/2 minutes, see you then. 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?

there's more to finical news than the ups and downs of the dow. for instance, could striking workers in greece delay your retirement? i'm here to make the connections to your money real. >> a deep freeze in the deep south, getting so could by snow, ice and frigid conditions. >> president obama putting the finishing touches on his state of the union address. many say this is the opening salvo for mid term elections. >> i needed to save money and felt that was a cost i could cut. >> they are calling it quits with cable, the growing number of americans ditching it in favor of more cost efficient

options. >> he inspired a generation of musicians with songs and political action v.i.x. this morning, remembering pete seger, the father of american folk music. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. >> the dangerous cold that's gripping much of the u.s. is now spreading. a number of states in the midwest are dealing with sub zero temperatures. >> the arctic blast is moving into places not used to this cold weather, texas, louisiana could see freezing ice and temperatures, causing widespread travel days and power outages across the region. we are in new orleans. what are they doing to get ready. >> they are starting to salt the

roads, but the big problem is what you just talked about, people here just are not used to driving in the snow. we don't have it very often, vice president had it here in about five years. we're on the cause way bridge now that connects the north shore to the south shore to the city of new orleans where a lot of people commute every day. this morning, about 10:00 a.m., they're not going to be able to do that, tate police expected to shut down roads like they are all over the country right now. >> we've just about had enough of this weather. >> that's the sentiment of many chicago residents which like the rest of the midwest is in the grip of another arctic blast accompanied by white out snow. wave after wave of bone chilling frigid air has been pushing down from canada, cold that just won't let up. >> oh, my goodness. i'm ready for a little break, aren't you no. >> today once again, most of the

midwest won't climb above zero degrees. in minneapolis, it will feel like minus 15 to 30 below zero and cools closed for the fourth time this year due to dangerous temperatures. winds are causing misery on oh the roads. blowing snow and ice slid this bus off a you were in illinois, and in colorado, pileup after pileup. 2014 states are enduring a propane shortage after a pipeline exploded south of winnipeg. in wisconsin, the governor declared a state of emergency. >> in a worst case scenario would cal enable us to call up e national guard to assist. >> as always in these situations, we're hoping for the very best conditions and manage for the worst. >> from the gulf up the

coastline, cities not equipped to deal with snow and ice are kicking emergency plans into full gear. >> we just have a lot of inexperienced drivers in the snow and ice, because it only comes here every few years. >> from texas to georgia oh to north carolina crews are trying to get ahead of the freeze. >> we're not geared up to do 1,000 miles of roads. we just have to close the roads. >> cities along the gulf coast are bracing for a quart are inch of snow. it may not sound like a lot, but the big easy hasn't had measurable snow in five years. all public schools in new orleans will be closed today. what's not clear is how long. >> we'll who can again tomorrow and be on call all day. we're out for tuesday and wednesday and see it play from there. >> it's a tough thing for people down here, really not used to it. stores last night were packed with people stocking up for today. bus service is closed, many flights are not happening and

state officials say they just have to be more precautionary than many maces, because not used to bracing for this kind of weather, much less driving in it. >> ben, some of those places don't even have snowplows. thank you very much. >> imagine that being one of the hundreds of thousands of people who don't have shelter from the cold. aljazeera is live from manhattan where volunteers spent the night getting a head count of the homeless to help them down the road. >> it's called hope, homeless outreach population estimate, essentially a city street survey conducted on a single night once a year. this year, with the wind chill temperatures in the single digits, leaders say these cold conditions actually help them get an accurate count of those people who truly need help. >> it's brutally cold. >> bundled up in boots and

coats, they walk block by block searching for the homeless. >> we're with the city of new york, doing a survey. >> as part of the survey, the volunteer ares must talk with people they find sleeping in the streets or hanging out on the corners. >> you live out here? so you're not homeless. ok, great. >> to ensure the volunteers are thorough, the city even plants people pretending to be homeless. >> she is not homeless, this is to make sure that we are covering our areas and doing what we need to do. >> they have only come across a few homeless, but they are just a handful of volunteers out of 3,000 covering nearly 15,000 miles across thety. they walk in the middle of the night in homes of getting the most accurate count. they do not count the people they say sleeping in buildings or subway cars. >> the more we know who's out here, we'll know where the large amount of homeless people are to

better service them. >> a night as cold as this one the temperatures in the teens they say helps their cause. >> if they're out here, it's because they have nowhere to go. >> to volunteers like this woman, these people are more than just numbers. >> would you like to come in for the night? it's pretty cold out here. if it gets too cold, please don't stay on you here. >> she believes getting a count helps those who really need it. >> nobody deserves to be living on the street. everybody needs somewhere to go. >> now this information gathered overnight also contributes to the overall homeless numbers across the country, which stand about 610,000. now in the nation's biggest city here in new york city of more than 8 million people, there are 3,000 homeless people. that's as of last year, and that compares to the year before that in 2012, of just a little bit less, actually, about 100 people

less, so the hope is that number continues to go down every year. morgan, that's staggering. live in manhattan, erika, thanks so much for being with us this morning. i know, it's staggering, right here in our back yard. for more, let's bring in nicole mitchell. >> as we head out, temperatures have dropped across the country. some places dropping 30-40 degrees from the day before in the midwest and now the east coast and south places have dropped 20 degrees from what you were seeing yesterday morning at this time, so teens, 20's and that cold air is contributing to what we're worried about this morning. it's not only the brutal wind chills in the midwest and temperatures, now we have that cold air scooting under what our normal atmosphere is which is warmer at the surface, colder as you go ahost. when you get a layer like that, i contributes and areas of moisture in freezing rain.

i'll explain that in a second. you can see that from austin texas to louisiana, alex andrea, mississippi, some areas north of that snow, south is rain. the rain coats the roads, trees, weighs that down and breaks it. it's how much time it spends in the warm layer before it hits freezing when you get sleet. if the whole atmosphere is cold, you get snow instead. this can bring down branches and power lines. over a quarter inch are the more significant problems. this area is going to linger through much of the day as it switches over to snow. >> there is a political chill in the air in washington. tonight's state of the union address coming at a crucial time for president obama. his approval ratings are at near record lows. over the past 12 months, the administration has been marred

by problems with the affordable care act that failed legislationive control. this is actually one of the most important speeches of the president's second term. >> del, it is. he has promised to make this a year of action. he will reportedly begin to make promise good tonight, he can specking to announce that he will order all new federal contractors to pay their workers at least $10.10 an hour, far above minimum wage, that's according to reuters and the new york times. it's justify one way the president hopes to show that easterrous about moving the country forward with or without congress. >> president obama is looking to leave a turbulent 2013 behind, and turn the tide in 2014 with his fifth state of the union. tonight, mr. obama, who's polling in connection are at an

all time low faces a congress whose numbers are even lower. >> i've got a pen and i've got a phone. >> that was president obama nearly two weeks ago, who it is he has a new plan of action, doing what he can on the big issues, when this pole rised congress is unable or unwilling to act. >> success in washington of any party should not be measured by how many bills congress passes. >> let's be careful that we don't create a situation and momentum where congress is sort of an afterthought. >> president obama is expected to focus on three key words, opportunity, action, and optimism. the president talked about that in this vine video monday. >> it's time to restore opportunity for all. >> words that democrats hope address every day concerns of americans, like job training, retirement accounts for workers who don't have 401k's, promises from businesses to hire the long

term unemployed. >> that's precisely what is needed in my state, where the middle class is really shrinking. >> then there's other issues, immigration to education and income equality. he'll face an even more grid locked congress with many up for reelection this year, and past battles like the debt ceiling coming round again. >> if president obama wants to give an honest, candid state of the union address this week, he'll amounted the fact that his economic policies are not working. >> many themes in his past speeches will likely be repeated. >> background checks, immigration reform. >> raise the federal minimum wage. >> republicans have thee responses ready, already calling tonight's speech just more talk. >> it would be nice to hear how he's going to put all these speeches into action.

>> how is he going to put these speeches into action? if he has to as he's made clear, go into executive orders. republicans are warning him saying if he does that, it will make it more doubly difficult for him to get anything through on capitol hill. del, we'll see how the battle lines are drawn tonight. >> you're veteran. is this the first time you've seen commercials denouncing the speech before a state of the union speech? >> it is amazing both the democrats and republicans now have these rapid response units and put things out very quickly. i think you are see that go this year and you're going to see it going forward. they already have their attack lines marked. >> wait until 2016, they'll probably already start talking about the inauguration speech. lisa, thank you very much. >> a reminder that aljazeera will have comprehensive coverage of tuesday night's state of the union address both before and after the speech beginning at

6:00 p.m. eastern time. of course, we'll have the president's speech live for you at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. >> speaking of washington, del, hillary clinton is speaking out about her time at secretary of state and what she could have done differently. she was in new orleans a the a conference for the national automobile dealers association. during a question and answer session, she spoke out about her biggest regret while leading the state department. >> my biggest, you know, regret is what happened in benghazi. it was a terrible tragedy. >> clinton did praise ambassador chris stevens who was killed in benghazi, for his service. when asked about her 2016 plans, she said i have to say i don't know. >> after being censored by arizona's republican party, the state party reprimanded the senator for being too liberal, saying he was disastrous and harmful to the country, telling

politico that the comments were regrettable. he said the criticism won't stop him running for a sixth term. >> months after pleading guilty to drug charges, congressman raddle resigned. he was arrested for trying to purchase cocaine from an undercover police officer. in a letter to house speaker boehner, he said his struggles with alcoholism made him "extremely irresponsible involving cocaine." >> just about an hour ago, ukraine revealed it's anti protest laws, which are largely to blame for the current unrest. the decision was mailed during a special emergency session this morning after the ban sparked intense protests. the countries prime minister that also stepped down. aljazeera's jen i have glass has been following it from the very beginning. jennifer, under the constitution, the department of the prime minister, when the

prime minister leaves, it's means the entire government. is this what the opposition has been waiting for all along? >> it's part of what they've been waiting for. they want to see sweeping changes. the repeal of that law is one of their many demands. they'd like to see, the prime minister is very, very unpopular here. it's no surprise since the president offered his job to one of the opposition, twice offered his job to the opposition leaders, they have turned that offer down to join the government. if the prime minister resigns, we have no reason to expect the president would not accept his resignation. that does dissolve the cab knelt of ministers. what the opposition would like to see is new leadership at the top and that's the president. they would like to see him resign. he's showing no indication that he'll do that. failing that, they'd like to see elections this year instead of next year, presidential and

parliamentary. the opposition would like to clean house. they've got tens of thousands of people in the streets here and around the country supporting them, so still have a lot of momentum. >> now that the prime minister has resigned and protest ban repealed, what's next for the country? >> i think we're going move forward and see negotiations between the government and opposition, between the president and the opposition continuing. later today, catherine ashton comes to town. this all started when the president failed to sign a trade deal with the european union. many believe such a deal would help alleviate the crushing corruption here that permeates every level of life and keeps many from being successful. it's unclear he whether she will bring anything to the table, will get any sense that that deal could be revived anytime soon.

it's unlikely with the current president. it's been a very fast-moving, very much a changing situation. a week and a half ago, the president wouldn't even talk to the opposition now is giving much which what they want moving forward. it depends what happens on the streets. if the people on the streets believe they're getting what they want, they might move home. >> a very fluid situation, indeed, and you've been there from the beginning. thank you for joining us this morning. >> talk about pulling the plug on cable t.v., more and more of you ending that your relationships with your contempt providers. why they're ditching their subscriptions and the options in their place. >> the n.s.a.'s smart phone app the agency is using to collection information about you. >> our big number of the day, and a big milestone for smart phones. we'll tell you who's cashing in, next.

>> that is the number of global smart phones that were sold last year. 2013, the first time more than a billion smart phones sold in a single year. samsung dominating the market, 31% of the sales, apple second, l.g. and lenovo. welcome back to aljazeera america. >> more and more people are saying goodbye to their cable subscriptions, opting for alternatives to getting those favorite shows. we'll tell you why. >> first let's find out how cold it is going to be where you are with nicole mitchell. >> it has definitely dropped temperature wise. i want to mention these are not the temperatures at least, this is how much it's changed from yesterday. in the northeast, a lot of temperatures in the 30's and 40's dropping over 20 degrees in a lot of cases to the teens this

morning. here's's that broad picture. we'll have temperature drops in the south. we were already cold in the midwest. we'll start to nudge those temperatures northward, but in the meantime, chicago minus 21 wind chills, far go minus 22, very dangerous levels. the rain-snow line we have with the freezing precipitation, the midwest tomorrow definitely getting up above freezing. i guess we'll take it. >> they've got their eyes on you. according to n.s.a. leaker edward snowden, angry birds and google maps are really not just fun and games. he says n.s.a. is using them to collect your personal information. that can include your age, gender, even your location. according to a report on the guardian, those apps give the spy agency access to large quantities of data without having to hack an rid smart phone i don't the government working on the new way to keep the targets of its spy operation

secret. five research teams are developing systems for encrypted searches, looking at electronic records stored outside government possession. that would allow phone companies to keep their records four and third parties, as well but allow the government to search those records at needed. >> talk about cutting the cord, a growing number of television watchers are now canceling cable subscriptions switching to less expensive options. we take a closer look at why. >> the television is still there in the living room, it works, but not the way it used to. matthew and his wife took a hard look at the cable bill and decided to cut the cord. >> i felt like i needed to save money and felt like that was a cost i could cut. >> the family still watches television but they depend on a roku distribution box and other devices to watch streaming

services. they are a growing class of television watchers. >> we can stream the latest shows based on a subscription and we can see everything we want right there at a fraction of the price. i mean, i think we're paying $8 a month for that. >> the ratings company said people 18-49 that advertisers want to reach are watching an hour less of traditional television a week than a queer ago. at the same time, they're watching more video entertainment. they can watch on a variety of devices, on a tablet at the kitchen table if they like. television has come a long ways. it's clear that the audiences no longer interested in showing up at 8:00 to watch a piece of television. if that becomes true, then more and more content will sit on servers and be offered up to you whenever you want it on whatever device you want, wherever you are. >> the television audience

appears to be undergoing a major shift that will change how entertainment is delivered. >> roughly 5 million cable and satellite subscribers have disappeared within the last five years. a new york research firm says that television subscriptions have dropped 6% in just the last two years and streaming services have grown by 4%. americans are abandoning they're linear television for streaming services like hulu, they film, amazon prime and you tube. >> a growing number of younger viewers have never paid for a cable or satellite service and possibly never will. >> they had come out of college, they finally get their first home, and they decide they don't need cable and satellite services. they don't want to pay $120 a month. >> good, good. >> more matt, the down side is the lack of live sports and news, but otherwise, there's a wide world of watching and clever ways to hook it up. he only cut the cord.

he didn't throw away the remote. aljazeera, los angeles. >> between 2010 and the end of last year, an estimated 5 million people ended their cable and their broad band subscriptions. >> turning to business news now, investors hoping to put the brakes on recent market selloffs, futures higher at this hour, yesterday's loss extending the dow's worst week since 2012. both at their lowest level since mid december. in asia, stocks stable after several days of selling. european stocks are on the rebound, markets trading higher right now. >> the federal reserve is taking a fresh look at interest rates today as the central bank begins one of its regular two day meetings. wall street is worried that policy makers could renounce

further reductions in stimulus this week. this meeting will also be the last for better than bernanke who steps down friday. >> what he's done is at least enabled the plane to steady its wings and try to achieve level flight. we're not quite there yet, but a the least he's created an environment in which that could possibly occur. >> the commerce democratic releases durable goods for december, followed by s&p's release of home prices for november. >> a lot of eyes on yahoo today, the company reports earnings after the bell. at first, analysts were upbeat but then came the surprising announcement two weeks ago that a c.e.o. was leaving. yahoo shares have she had about 10% since then. >> it could be a rough day for apple, stocks sinking despite posting record earnings in the first quarter, selling 51 million phones, short of expectations, adding to the disappointment. the revenues in the current

quarter might decline. >> the road ahead, president obama prepares to share his vision for the country tonight. >> we're talking with former senior staff members about former presidents clip to know and bush about which of the president's goals he will most likely accomplish. >> could you crane's prime minister steps down. >> concussions, bullying, empty seats, nfl commissioner roger goodell has much to discuss at his state of the league address. we'll have a preview. we're talking with those affected most. understanding where we are, taking a critical look where we're going. >> there is much progress to report. >> immediately after stay with us as we get your reactions live from around the country and across the globe. don't miss special state of the union coverage as only al jazeera america can deliver.

right here on al jazeera america.

>> no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. on al jazeera america >> good morning to you, to aljazeera america. >> the president is set to address the nation tonight with his state of the union address. we'll talk about what he needs to say in his speech.

>> ukraine's prime minister offered to step down as the countries parliament holds a session today in hopes of bringing an end at the violent clashes between pr protestors ad the government. >> folk musician pete steger dying. >> a crucial time for the president and nation, the income gap between rich and poor and the economy dominate the nation's headlines. cities hard-hit by unemployment will be listening closely. >> the historic civil war battlefield town of winchester, virginia has a population of 25,000. many are struggling as they deal

with the fallout of a stagnant u.s. economy. in a tavern, frustration is evident. >> parts of the northeast, rust belt states are all doing terrible. people are leaving them. >> barbara and her husband both have jobs but worry about their children's prospects, now in college but facing few job opportunities when they graduate. >> just coming right out of college, it's very difficult to find a job, as a young adult. with the economy the way it is, it's even tougher on them. >> you're really worried about that. >> i am extremely worried about that. >> many plants here in winchester used to offer young people opportunities, but in recent years, many have closed down, taking hundreds of jobs with them. >> when it comes to unemployment, winchester has been hit hard, 10 years ago 25% of the jobs in this town came from manufacturing. today, it's less than half that. >> the president of the united

states. >> that's why so many here, like other parts of the united states, will be looking to president obama for answers when he makes his annual state of the union address on tuesday. many are listening for a plan to get americans back to work. still, despite the bleak numbers, some are thriving. >> the wealthy are doing quite well. >> a professor in winchester said free trade agreements and the the transpacific agreement have come at the expense of middle class jobs. >> these fast track agreements basically take jobs abroad. it's reached the point where there's a divisiveness in wealth that divides us. we need to bridge that some way. >> it's not clear if president obama's state of the union will contain a detailed jobs plan

some in winchester are looking for. with the sputtering u.s. economy, the patience of many is wearing thin as is the hope they will see a fairer america. >> david good friend is the former secretary of staff to president clinton. i will ask both of you, let's set aside the talking points. mr. good man, i'll start with you. >> i think on immigration reform, i take the speaker of the house at his word that republicans in the house are willing to look at a package of reforms. the question in my mind is really whether there's too wide a gulf between the senate position, the is that the already passed it's immigration reform package and whatever

emergion as the house version, but just having that movement alone suggests to me that there is a possibility of hope for immigration reform. i think brad, here, might have some thoughts about why that might be playing out politically. >> do you believe the speaker will keep his word. >> i think shoot he will. the question is will the president lead. the president mentioned immigration reform five years ago and said that was going to be his first priority in his first year and he's failed to accomplish it. >> that sounds like a talking point. >> even when the president -- >> no, no, no. >> mr. blake man, good morning opinion the question is will the speaker lead on this and allow this particular bill to get to the nor of the house and if so, how intact will it be and will it be something that the senate democrats can actually stomach? it goes to presidential leadership. the president and the white

house has said they are going to wait for congress to act. the president should call the leadership to the white house and iron out a bill that can pass -- >> should be in that bill that will pass muster with the republicans in the house, particularly the tea party. >> the tea party is the super minority within the republican party and i wouldn't give them the credibility that the media loves to give them. they are not holding hostage any bills in the house. on the contrary. we've had a budget agreement, we're going to have a debt ceiling agreement and we can have an immigration bill. the bill should contain securing our borders, number two dealing with the 12 million illegals here in america with a pathway to citizenship. >> you think there should be a pathway to citizenship. >> that's a major accomplishment right there. let's just take stock of the fact that brad and i, as different as we are politically

can see eye to eye on that. if that's a fine mick emerging in washington now, that really, really is important, because the pathway to citizenship was sort of rosetta stone, if you will, for a lot of the latino leaders who wanted to see immigration reform not just for high skilled workers wimp the tech community wants, but the pathway to citizenship. that if that holds and we see movement on that issue in the house, i believe we'll get it done this year. >> i will let you respond to the talking point that the tea party is now just a small sliver of the republican party. that seems to be the new line of reaping coming out of washington. is that the case. >> i do think we saw a repudiation by the tea party in reaching the latest budget deal. that's something we simply to have acknowledge that's there. i also think that we're witnessing a change in some of the core republican interests, such as the chamber of commerce,

heretofore anxious to support tea party candidates in the primary and now doing the opposite, supporting the more moderate republicans. those i take as a positive sign. even though i'm a democratic, a progressive, i want a healthy party. the count i is better off when both are vying for the middle. if we see that kind of motion in the republican party, i'm all for it, i support it, i applaud it. >> the gop tapping congresswoman kathy mcmorris to deliver the response, one of three responses on the republican side, are they reaching out trying to include more women, the female vote in 2016? do you see that as a calculated move or just coincidence? >> no, i think it's a calculated move for sure. look, it's not enough for republicans to ask for a vote. we have to earn a vote. the women's vote as we've seen in recent elections, in the christy election in new jersey,

in virginia the governor's race, women are the deciding factor in many of these elections. coming up in 2014, hispanics. we have to earn the set showing the talent that the republican party has. she is certainly one of the rising stars in the republican party the. >> an opportunity for you to be partisan, this morning we are horning the president is once again preparing to go it alone if he can not get the house to cooperate. what's your reaction to the white house pushing the pen more? >> i think the president coming before a co equal branch of the government and sticking his eye in the congress saying i'm going to act with or without you is not helpful to him governing and not helpful to the country. his modus on that randy is if you don't like what i'm doing, sue me. the president overstepping his constitutional authority is not helpful to him or the country. >> contain respond to that?

>> let me ask you this. would you not agree that the republican house has been more confrontational than cooperative during the first five years of his administration? >> i disagree. >> what does he need to do, what do they need to do to get the poll numbers back up? what do both sides and the white house need to do to get the public back on their side? >> well, i do think that action of any sort oh is always a good pathway to popularity. i go back to the civil war battlefield when president lincoln was so frustrated with his generals for not doing anything and when general grant finally took over, even though a pattle might come to a draw, he would march his men laterally just to move them and the men cheered. the country loves to see action. the country loves to see decisiveness. this is where i differ with brad. both brad and i worked for

presidents during their second term a the a time when congress was going in a different direction. we both understand the power of the presidency to simply manage the federal government and execute not just executive orders, but to impress upon the independent agencies taking action is really important. >> before we get to that one example, i'll let mr. blakeman respond first. >> ok. away president needs to understand that there's limits to his authority and the best way to get things accomplished is working together. the way you do that, the president nodes to lead. he has the bully pulpit, the ability the call people to the white house and have serious negotiation. it's not waiting for bills to come to you, it's negotiating those bills prior to them reaching your desk and that requires time and effort, and the president hasn't put that in to date but he certainly has the opportunity to do it in the next term. >> i thank both of you sech for being with us this morning.

>> controversial antti protest laws have been lifted in the ukraine in hopes of ease in rising tensions between protestors and the government. 35 people who were arrested under the two-week-old law have already been released and more are expected to be freed in the coming days. the protest intensified more than two months ago after the government failed to sign a trade deal with the e.u. the prime minister has offered to step down, but the opposition has already refused to fill his spot. here to dissect the hatest development out of kiev is the executive director of the american institute in ukraine and former state democratic official on eastern european affairs. the prime minister offered to resign and the pro testify ban repealed. what else are protestors waiting on. >> one of the key demand is that the president resign and new elections held. right now, the next presidential

election is scheduled for 2015. the protestors want this moved up. eminently in 2014 to be a whole new presidential elections that results in a whole new change of government. >> according to the constitution, the resignation of the prime minister actually means the resignation of the entire government. is the president next? >> it means as prime minister, he's head of government, but the president is head of state. what they want and really, the ukrainian constitution is a presidential system, no a parliamentary system. it's more a u.s. style or french style presidential system. really, the key player is the president. he has a lot of discretion over foreign affairs and brought powers, and so, they want him to go. they want new elections to be held soon. they want to move the date forward from 2015 to 2014. >> is it likely he will?

>> i think if he does, that will be huge. that's why, you know, he doesn't want to do it, because obviously, you know, he's counting on a 2015 reelection campaign. he needs time to get over this phase of these demonstrations and things. he doesn't want early elections. on the other hand, if he doesn't do it, what will this mean in terms of the situation in the streets of kiev, will the demonstrators continue to how long out in the streets of kiev pressing these further demands. this is the first step. this is part of the package of demands that they're making. >> you said this is just a first step, what do you think is coming next? >> well, again, it's the question of seeing how, i mean the prime minister that resigned, we have to see that the president accepts his resignation. we have to see how the crowds react to that. you talk about release of prisoners, that's one demand made. the president has said that he wants to do so that the

protestors end their occupation of squares and buildings and things like that as a precondition for release of the prisoners. so oh, you know, how will they do that? are the protestors treating this as an actual negotiation or are they simply making demands. if this plays in the rest of ukraine as demonstrators simply making demands and giving no quarter, then you provoke the reaction in other parts of ukraine including the possibility of a rise in separatism in pats of ukraine that don't go along with what they see at a coup. >> this whole thing started as a pro e.u., pro russia wrist. has it evolved into more? >> certainly what touched it off was the european russia issue over these two trade deals that ukraine had to decide between in association with europe or a customs agreement with russia. it's portrayed that the russian side was taken, the president

rejected the russian trade deal out of hand, the cusps union. he negotiated an association agreement with the europeans, but in the last minute decided not to sign it because he rewarded the terms as prejudicial to ukrainian interests. what he said was we will newt sign this in november but send this back to brussels for amendment with possible signing in 2014. that's all part of the issue that's happening here. right now, the russians today are going to brussels for negotiation witness and the e.ue agenda. ukraine, which is the second poorest country in europe are not in the position to make draconian chases, go this way or that. they have to go to both. that's the key to peace and to proper settlement in ukraine is europe and russia coming together and negotiating with

ukraine. >> still waiting to see if they do come together. thank you very much, executive director of the institute in ukraine. >> the superbowl, a good time that to take a look back at concerns and controversies and john henry smith joins us for that. >> superbowl week upon us. amidst the celebrations, the man in charge will explain nfl football, its highs, lows, where it's been and where it's going. >> as the nfl prepares to crown it's 2013 champion, the commissioner will address the status of his league during his annual superbowl briefing. now in its eight year at the top, rarely has goodell had to

answer so many questions, concussions, bullying, weather affecting his product. the changing times is part of the job description. >> we will always evolve and make changes going forward that we think improve the safety for the players, but also improve the excitement of the game. >> trying to dispel the perception that the league hasn't done enough to you address health and safety, goodell is implementing rules thought to make football safer and softer in the eyes of many long time fans. >> we've tried to take dangerous techniques that we think lead to injuries and remove them from the game. that's been part of our history over the decades and it's made the game safer and better. >> after avoiding the question of a link between cognitive deterioration and the game for years, on august 29, 2013, the nfl agreed to a $765 million settlement with over 4500 former mayors who had sued the league.

with money set aside for exams and research, the proposed settlement capped individual payouts at $5 million for those with alzheimer's, $4 million with those diagnosed after death and $3 million for players with dementia with a group that could total more than 20,000. the judge wasn't sure it was enough. she wrote in ponce to the preliminary motion: she denied the motion until further documentation is shared with the court and if it isn't, this could mean a new round of negotiations. speaking on cbs this morning, goodell has this to say about the ruling: >> it's not going to be simple for goodell to quiet the

discussions about concussions. the miami dolphins bullies investigation spill into the new year, will he attempt to change the culture of the locker room? after the miami allegations surfaced, goodell had this to say: while the h.d. experience and the recession might have put a dent into revenues, the commissioner has increased games overseas looking for new revenue streams for the league. >> ownership understands this is a market where we need to be more active and we need to continue to grow our game. >> this season and off-season, roger goodell and his nfl will be evolving in a couple directions that weren't in the playbook. ross shimabuku, aljazeera. >> thanks so much, ross, goodell later this week is also likely

to have more to say about expanding the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams, something he reiterated that the league is considering by the year 2015. >> remembering a legend, pete seger was often called the father of american folk music but became more than just a singer. >> we look back at his lengthy and sometimes very controversial career. ♪

consider this: the news of the

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm morgan radford. his songs influence bed musicians and gave a voice to those fighting the establishment. we'll who can back at legendary

folk singer pete seger. >> first lets find out where it's going to rain and snow he across the country. >> we've got them both, and freezing rain in the middle, the southern tier of the country having problems. the west coast, i'm excited about this, we have been so dry, and you can see that system coming in anywhere from the moderate drought north to extreme drought in california, and as the system comes in over the next few days, even by thursday, central california can pick up rain. anything we need, even though it causes a few problems. the southern tier of the country, areas of freezing rain will eventually switch to more snow, but causing very icy conditions, roads closed, schools canceled, flights delayed, it's just not a pretty day. >> knock musician and political action visit pete seger has died, passing away last night at a new york hospital in his

sleep. seger was not only an icon of knock music, also very active in the civil rights movement and environmental causes. we remember the life of this legendary american folk singer. ♪ ♪ >> you may not recognize his face, but you certainly know his music. ♪ >> he wrote hundreds of songs performed by many of the greats in american folk music. ♪ every day, turn, turn, turn." >> he was a gifted atory teller and he under at the feet of a master, woody guthrie. >> when i first heard this song sno.♪ ♪ >> i said that's just too simple. ♪ this land is your land >> he was black lifted and sent to jail for refusing to answer question about his former ties

with the communist party, reemerged as a pioneer of protest music. ♪ we have overcome someday." >> his song became the anthem of the civil rights movement. another that he wrote during the vietnam war. ♪ where have all the knowers gone ♪ >> his banjo red this man surrounds hate and forces it to surrender. >> seger did not surrender, a singer activist well into his 80's, music bruce springsteen said he reawakened the lost voices of america. ♪ >> the black listing kept him off of american television for more than a decade in the 1950's and 1960's, but his career

continued to thrive. he kept performing up until the avery end. >> president obama will deliver his state of the union address tonight. that. >> ice from the arctic blast expected to cause serious issues in the south, several states canceling school and flights canceled, as well. >> ukraine's parliament repeeling anti protest laws. the countries prime minister resigning in a bid to ease tensions there. congressional leaders are reaching an agreement reducing spending by tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. the fallout american families could face about that bill becomes law. >> how some teachers in washington taking a lesson from overseas having students spend their entire school day outdoors. >> the aljazeera morning news

continues. del walters is back with you in just two minutes. remarkable documentaries

the state of the union on al jazeera america. join us for complete coverage of the issues facing all of us from health care and immigration to the economy an national security. we're talking with those affected most. understanding where we are, taking a critical look where we're going. >> there is much progress to report. >> immediately after stay with us as we get your reactions live from around the country and across the globe. don't miss special state of the union coverage as only al jazeera america can deliver. right here on al jazeera america. >> president obama putting his finishing touches on the state of the union address. many see this as the opening salvo for 2014 mid term election. >> a deep freeze, caughtern states used to warmer weather getting so could with frigid conditions. >> ukraine repeeling an unpopular anti protesting law to ease tensions there. ♪

>> he inspired a generation of musicians with his songs and mythical activism. fans are remembering pete seger, the father of american folk music. >> good morning, welcome to to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. tonight's state of the union address coming at a crucial time for the president. according to the latest polls, the president's approval rating now just 46%. that is his hoest rating going into a state of the union address. most americans say they are sour on the economy, the direction of the country and the state of american politics. lisa stark is in washington. the president coming into the state of the union address after let's say a difficult 2013. what can we expect to hear tonight no. >> it was a tough year for the president especially with that rollout of obamacare that did

not go very well. the president promised that 2014 will be a year of action and hopes to make good on that promise starting tonight. the president, during his speech, will announce an executive order that would raise the federal minimum wage for federal contractors, include in janitors, construction workers, would raise that federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. it's currently $7.25, that is a big jump taking effect for federal contractors in a year. the president hopes this will highlight the fact that the democrats, his party, really want to help the middle class. >> president obama is looking to leave a turbulent 2013 behind, and turn the tide in 2014 with his fifth state of the union. tonight, mr. obama, who's polling numbers are at an all time low faces a congress, who's numbers are even lower. >> i've got a pen, and i've got a phone i don't that was president obama nearly two weeks

ago, who says he has a new plan of action, doing what he can on the big issues, when this pole rides congress is unable or unwilling to act. >> success in washington of a president of any party should not be measured alone by how many bills congress passes. >> let's be careful here that we don't create a situation and a momentum where, you know, congress is sort of an afterthought. >> president obama is expected to focus on three key words, opportunity, action, and optimism. the president talked about that in this vine video monday. >> it's time to restore opportunity for all. >> words that democrats hope address everyday concerns of americans, like job training, retirement accounts for workers who don't have 401k's, promises from businesses to hire the long term unemployed. >> that's precisely what is needed in my state, where the middle class is really shrisking i don't then there's other

issues, immigration to education and income equality. he'll be facing an even more gridlocked congress, with many up for reelection this year and past battles, like the debt ceiling, coming around again. >> if president obama wants to give an honest, candid stay of the union address this week, he'll address the fact that his economic policies are not working. >> many themes in his past speeches will hikely be repeated. >> background checks. com presencive immigration reform. >> raise the federal minimum wage. >> republicans have three responses ready. they're already calling tonight's speech just more talk. >> it would be nice to hear how he's going to put all of these speeches into action. >> the president has had trouble putting his speeches into action, because, of course, congress has been very reluctant to pass many of the bills and proposals that the president wants. that's why the white house is now saying the president will

use his executive order powers as much as possible even as he promises to continue to work with congress. del. >> dems are also hoping for a different tone from the president tonight. what are you hearing from his base about the speech? >> they really want to hear a populist speech. they want him to talk about items, about how the middle class can move up. they want him to really talk about the issues that people are concerned about, unemployment, the minimum wage, retirement savings. they want him to get into specifics and set the groundwork for the 2014 mid term campaign that's coming up where the democrats are going to have to work hard to maintain control of the nat. >> he's is a, thank you very much. by the way, the state of the union address dates back centuries, but these details the speech is more of a prime time television event watched by millions around the world. we take a look back at the history of the address. >> its a ritual that began with the nation's first president, an annual address on the health and

direction of the country, an address loosely defined in the cops substitution: jo now an annual tradition. it was written remarks, changed with woodrow wilson. >> it was radio and t.v. that transformed it into a night of political theater. today, it's the media and politicos who watch closely. >> often ridiculed for being laundry list but groups of happy to hear their issue mentioned. the most important transformation is that this is not a report the to congress, this is a speech to the nation.

>> the president of the united states. >> the president's trip down pennsylvania avenue is symbolic. as he walks into the house chamber, members of congress plant themselves for a hand shake and moment in the spotlight, some camping out for hours. it's a night of pause and ovations, or sometimes staying mum. the most explosive moment of recent years was silently. supreme court justice samuel alito mouthing not trough as the president criticized the court's decision on campaign finance. whether or not the members of the congress likes the message, most show up to respect the office and tradition. >> i think it's important that when the president of the united states, whether he's a republican or a democratic, man or woman, when the president of the united states comes to address the congress, that web there to listen. >> also in the audience, all the cabinet secretaries, but one, the designated survivor at an

undisclosed location for safety, military leadiers and the first lady sitting with special guests. >> millions of americans will tune in to the address, one not given because of a crisis or an election, but because it's a tradition. libby casey, aljazeera, washington. >> republicans are still taking shots at the affordable care act ahead of the state of the union address. thee senate republicans unveiling a plan to replace the current law saying obamacare isn't working. their plan calls the care act saying it would drop man dates that everyone be covered or pay a fine. there have been several attempts to repeal the health care allow, but this is the first to provide a plan to remace it. aljazeera will have comprehensive coverage of tonight's address, beginning at 6:00 p.m. eastern time. of course, we will air the president's speech live when it occurs at 9:00 eastern time.

>> hillary clinton speaking out about her time at secretary of state and what she could have done differently. during a q. and a, she spoke about her biggest regret while leading the state department. >> my biggest regret is what happened in benghazi. it was a terrible tragedy. >> she praised ambassador chris stevens, who was killed during his service in benghazi. when that asked about her 2016 plans, she reapplied i have to say i don't know. >> the arctic blast heading south. we are in new orleans. they are getting ready for a big cold snap and even snow. what are they doing to get ready? >> they're doing a whole lot of things. you can see a little rain starting to come down right now and the white caps on the headache behind me expecting the white stuff within the next few hours. now over my shoulder is the

causeway bridge, 24 miles that connects the north shore to the south sheer here in the city of new orleans. commuters usually would be stacked up at this time. traffic, this is really high volume traffic time and they would be really backed up on this bridge. you can see barely anybody moving right now. same thing across the country, as a matter of fact. >> we just about had enough of this weather. >> that's the sentiment of many chicago residents which like the rest of the midwest is in the grip of another arctic blast accompanied by white outsnow. much of the country has seen wave after wave of bone thinking frigid air pushing down from canada, cold that just won't let up. >> my goodness, i'm ready for a little break, aren't you? >> today once again, most of the midwest won't climb above zero degrees. in minneapolis, it will feel like between minus 15 and 30 below zero and schools across the state closed for the fourth time this year due to

dangerous temperatures. those brutal dangerous winds are causing misery on the roads, blowing snow and ice slid this bus right off a highway in illinois. in colorado, there is pile up after pile up. making matters worse, 24 states are enduring a propane shortage after a pipeline explosion south of winnipeg. thousands are without heat. in wisconsin the governor declared a tate of emergency. >> worst case scenario, we can call up the national guard to provide assistance. >> states are locked in the bitter and frigid air moving south and has states battling cold and ice getting ready. >> as always in these types of surveyings, we're hoping for the very best conditions and manning for the worst. >> from the gulf up the coastline, cities not equipped to deal with with snow and ice are kicking emergency plans into full gear. >> i just have a lot of inexperienced drivers in the snow and ice, because it only comes here every few

years. >> crews are out in force trying to get ahead of the freeze. >> we're not geared up to do a thousand miles of roads. we just have to close the roads. >> cities allege the gulf coast are bracing for a quarter inch of snow. that may not sound like a lot, but the big easy hasn't had measurable snow in more than five years. all public schools in new orleans will be closed today. what's not clear is how long. >> we'll be an call pretty much all day. we're out for tuesday and wednesday and we'll play it prom there. >> the theme of the day, at least down south is transportation trouble. state officials expected to close many highways, roads, freeways, even i-10, connecting mississippi to texas through louisiana is going to be closed in many parts. that's what officials are saying. if you can, stay home today off the roads. >> you've lived there for three decades. have you ever seen any snowplows

no it's a cost measure. they say if they don't have snow, why have the plows. >> that's the big problem. this never happens down here. people are just not used to going on the roads, driving these icy roads and snowy conditions. somewhere up north, people may be more cautious, more experienced driving in these kinds of conditions. down here, not so much the same thing. yeah, they're really not prepared to deal with that kind of thing. they are salting the roads which can provide a little bit of help, but for the most par the they are saying stay home today, stay off the roads especially people who aren't experienced with those kinds of things. >> ben in new orleans. i lived a couple years in raleigh, north carolina and you lived in atlanta. >> and my military is in mississippi. they are not used to driving in this, even us northerners that can drive stay home because you're afraid of others on the road. where ben was with that bridge

nearby, you get the ground and road over that, it gets a little insulation before the road gets that, but bridges don't have that insulation, so those freeze fastest, so watch out for those as we get the hazards through the south. it really is better to stay home. what we had, this cold air has sunk to the south, the stuff we've been dealing with everywhere else. usually you have a warm layer around it gets colder toward the atmosphere. we get that cold layer under with a warm layer wedged in between. the snow comes down, hits the warm layer, turns into rain. then there's that freezing level at the surface. if it's a deeper hair, it turns back into sleep. a shallow layer has enough time to super cool and refreeze when it hits the surface. you get it not only on the roads that causes problems, but it can weigh down tree branches. a quarter inch of ice is when we see power outages and things of

that nature. snowplows in the region are few and so is reicing equipment. we are seeing more reports of freezing rain as the cold air comes fart are in. it will switch to snow, which i also think is more dangerous, because the snow covers the ice and you can't see the slick spots. we're going to have a lot of problems with this area lingering in the south through the day, and that's not our only problem. we're going to talk more about the cold coming up in a few minutes. >> we're not going anywhere, either, so we'll have all the details also that storm moves through. >> this morning, ukraine's parliament repealed unpopular anti protest laws to ease tensions. they made the addition during a special emergency session this morning after the ban sparked days of protest. the prime minister offered to step down. the oh opposition refused to if i am his post. protests began more than two months ago after a failed trade

deal with the e.u. we have been following this situation in kiev and this decision by the parliament, is it going to ease the tensions there? >> it certainly is, as one of the opposition leaders called it a step in the right direction. it is, you know, one of the opposition's demands to move forward to try to end two months of demon trigs here in addition to reappealing these laws, which the parliament did almost unanimously here this morning, they are also calling for an amnesty, for anybody who's been detained, arrested or jailed in the last two months under these laws, demonstrating against the government. the release of one of their main opposition leaders has been jailed for two years. they'd like to see her release.

they'd hike to see a change of leadership, the president resign or call early election. >> the opposition so far rejecting concessions by the government. could this proposal by the prime minister work in their favor? >> well, it certainly helps, because when the prime minister resigns, the government has to resign. he has offered his resignation. the president hasn't accepted i did yet. we think he will. we think it's a form at, because he did offer the prime minister job to one of the leaders of the opposition over the weekend. they declined that. they really are trying to force early presidential elections this year or the president's resignation altogether. it really is at this point up to the people. the opposition leaders will have to convince the people that they're getting everything they want before the people will leave the streets. one of the conditions of amnesty which they're asking for, one condition the government is putting on amnesty is all the

protestors must leave public streets and government buildings they've occupied. that's going to be a tall order for thousands of demonstrators who have been here for two months demonstrating in the bitter cold. very much they people this is the future of their country, the future democracy of their country. they have to be convinced the government is going to act on everything it says it il will at on. >> we are also following breaking news concerning syria. those peace talks once again hitting a road block, meetings in geneva have been canceled for the rest of the day because both sides still disagree with the transfer of power and the transitional government. there are still plans being worked on for aid, also to safely evacuate women and chirp from the hard-hit city of homs.

they are waiting to get the green light to deliver aid. >> an area known for violent clashes is trying to change its image and become a tourist destination. changes in kashmir are turning visitors away at the height of the season. >> chemicals in the water, why a west virginia river may have been more contaminated than once thought. >> most children naturally gravitate toward wanting to play scout doors and get muddy and messy and may in a hands-on way. >> a school in the forest is changing ideas about education.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. straight ahead, we'll tell you how fixing the environment actually turned away those at a popular ski resort. >> one upside of this is for recoats, it's snow making weather for many places. this is the temperature change

from yesterday, 30's and 40's, temperatures have dropped over 20 degrees, places like philadelphia, 25 degrees cooler this morning versus last morning because now temperatures are in the teens. you really feel that walking out the door. you want to be bundled up. twenty's and 30's, that's that cusp where we're get aing freezing rain and show and still negatives in the northern tier of the country with wind chills even till 30 below zero in cities like far go. today, temperatures nudge up. chicago might make it above freezing for the first time over 24 hours. that we are going to see the south stays cool but into tomorrow, milder into the midwest, and when you have a wind chill of 40 below zero yesterday in minneapolis and go up to 30, at least it feels better, even though it's still definitely cold out there. del. >> thank you very much. >> violence between india and pakistan has made tourism a tough sell as both countries

claim kashmir. it is once again drawing skiers follow around the world. the tourism market is taking a hit because of a decision by india's high court. >> it's cold in this part of kashmir and breath taking. it's what draws tourists from around the world to these slopes. in september, tourism took a hit. not because of silence, but because of a high court order for hotels to upgrade sewage treatment facilities. >> this was to preserve the environment in order to have the better facilities for the tourists. >> but hotel owners say the order was sudden and they were caught off guard. more than half the number of hotels in the area had to ask guests to leave to comply with the order. >> all my friends had to shut down. because of that, because within two weeks, the court swung into

action and said you know what, the hotels have to close down until they get it in place. >> most of the hotels have reopened. others will have to wait until the bitter winter ends to build the required sewage treatment units. as news spread to the hotels were shut, tourism took a hit. >> all of a sudden, word went around that kashmir is shut, even though 50% are still open. >> for decades, kashmir was considered dangerous, keeping tourists away. in recent years, that reputation melted away and tourism started booming. now the snow is falling, the hotels ready, but again, tourists are staying away. >> industry and tourism officials are trying to get the word out that the area is open and safe. >> kashmir is open, please do

come. >> he has been skiing for decades. he said potential tourists should rely on the word of those who have been to kashmir. >> we are proof that the people are coming here. you can ask them the details. >> bookings are only a third of what they should be forian and it might not be until next season tourism recovers. moderate snowfall makes this an ideal destination. the only thing remaining is stronger publicity to lure back the tourists. aljazeera, in india administered kashmir. >> the the states had more than 1.6 million tourists in 2013. >> in business news, investors hoping to put the brakes on recent selloffs, futures higher at this hour.

both the dow and s&p are at their lowest levels since mid december. >> in asia, stocks stable after several days of selloffs. investors continue to worry about a slow down in china. european stocks on the rebound, markets there trading higher at this hour. >> the federal reserve is looking at interest rates today. the central bank begins one of two scheduled meetings, wall street worried that further reductions could be nunsed this week. one analyst saying the fed should trim its monthly bond purchases. >> i'm of the opinion that we need to get out of this thing and let the chips fall where they may. i do believed fed, if faced with a significant decline in economic activity, will be a little bit resistant to do it. >> on the economic calendar today, the commerce department releasingdural goods numbers for

december, followed by s&p's release of the index of home prices for november. >> yahoo getting attendance today, reporting after the bell earnings. analysts were upbeat about the company when came the surprising announcement two weeks ago to the c.e.o. was leaving. yahoo shares have fallen 10% since then. apple saying that revenue in the current quarter might decline. >> a deal is struck on the farm bill. we'll tell you what it means for millions of struggling american farmers battling hunger. >> an accused drug pin under arrest in mexico. how the relationship now changing between the government and vigilant tee groups that fighting drug cartels.

>> if they're here, they have nowhere to go. >> new york city's homeless on a bitterly cold night. volunteers are making sure those without homes get what they need. >> will you marry me? and can i measure your biceps, we are talking nfl media day question. the he'd i can't hype machine goes into over drive in just a few hours.

>> welcome back. snow and ice moving across the south, forcing schools to cancel classes and airlines to halt flights. arctic blast keeping chicago and minneapolis in sub zero temperatures. >> president obama going into his fifth state of union address with a low job approval rating,

expected to focus on health care, and the economy. >> ukraine's prime minister resigned to he's tensions there. >> a final version of the farm bill is expected to be voted on today, that funds food stamps, food labeling and three-point of livestock. the deal cuts from farm programs and food stamp benefits. the house expected to vote on the bill wednesday, less cheer when the nat will take it up. why is this farm bill so important to everyone in america? >> every american eats, so anyone who cares about having enough to eat on a daily basis should care about this bill. it's particularly important to more than 47 million americans who depend on the food stamp

program to subsidize low wage emmoment. instead of increasing funding for a program that works, congress is about to gut the program yet again to pay for more corporate welfare. >> people don't make that connection between a farm bill and food stamps. join them together for me. >> food stamps and food benefits have been in farm programs since the new deal. it's basically been a compact that we're going to help farmers by buying more of their is your must products and assure americans don't have mass starvation. that deal has unraveled as more and more farm subsidies haven't gone to farmers, they've gone to huge corporations while food bills are chairbed to families, senior citizens, children and

veterans. >> we're talking about a $4 billion cut and $40 billion in cuts approved by the republican majority in the house, that's almost $9 billion reduction in 10 years, compromise or much ado about nothing? >> i actually think it's a terrible sellout, counter productive -- >> you are talking about on the part of the democrats in this case. >> yes. i think it's the wrong policies pushed by the republicans, just because they are pushing something that is ridiculously horrible doesn't mean the democrats should accept something that is just horrible. it is going to kill the american economy. every dollar spent on the snap program generates benefits for the u.s. economy. we know exactly what works. when democrats and republicans join together in the 1970's to create the modern nutritionist safety net, we almost entirely ended hunger in america.

the only reason it's high today is we're going backwards on what we know works. >> the one thing unanimous is if the bill doesn't pass, milk prices are going to go through the ceiling. >> being black mailed into a horribly mediocre at best bill massively increasing corporate welfare while slashing food to hungry people, we shouldn't be black mailed into doing that because congress won't do its job. >> thanks for being with us this morning. >> thank you. >> school choice may be one of the core election year issues for republicans. tennessee senator plan to go introduce a bill today giving low income families federal money to spend on any school they want to send their kids to. legislation would redirect 24 monday from public schools. states could then use that money as vouchers or scholarships to send low income students to charter schools.

>> senator john mccain said he's fired up after censured by the party. the former presidential candidate saying the comments were regrettable, saying the criticism won't stop him from running for a sixth term. >> mexican forces captured the top leader of one of the countries most violent drug cartels, the knight's templar. his arrest is a victory for federal authorities who have been criticized for increased violence in that country. >> caught hiding in a closet, one of mexico's most notorious drug bosses arrested monday morning. the uncle haled a two and a quarter million dollars bounty on his head, one of the top leaders of the drug cartel and wanted on drug and money laundering charges. >> this person allegedly

controlled drug traffic in the city, maintaining a direct and tight link with the leaders of the criminal group that's operating in the area. >> earlier this month, the government deployed soldiers and federal police in response to heavy fighting between vigilante groups that sprung up to fight the drug cartel. they wouldn't lay down their arms until cartel bosses were detained. >> the arrest comes a the a critical time for the government. despite an increased number of military and police, vigilante groups continue to grow. now it's up to the government to prove they can bring peace and security to a troubled region. >> but the government is also acknowledging the vital roll played played by the groups. state government met with the vigilante leaders and announced their numbers would be integrated into a defense core.

>> this is get a for the region. what we need is a strong common front whereby trust can be rebuilt. >> it wasn't so long ago that vigilantes were disarming the police, who they accused of working with the drug cartels. now the mexican government says that arresting one of the founders of the knight's templar is a step in the right direction, helping to row gain the trust of the people. david mercer, aljazeera, mexico city. >> there are an estimated 20,000 men serving in vigilante groups across mexico. >> in the last week, two dozen people have overdosed on her win called bud ice or they are are a flu. it is laced with a drug which is 100 times more potent than morphine. >> in a maryland mall where two were killed is back open for business. there was extra security when

customers went back to the mall monday. a attribute was paid to the victims. the mall's subsequently manager said stores are open but it is not business as usual. >> we are now here to rare the hearts of our retailers and community. >> police have yet to determine a motive or any connection between the gunman identified as 19-year-old and his two victims. >> officials saying the leak into the elk river is larger than reported. the revised number was given in response to an order from the west virginia environmental protection unit. the company is now under a review. the tainted water initially affected more than 300,000 people. they say water there is now safe to drink. >> as frigid also it is for most of us, imagine not having shelter from the cold. that there are more than 600,000

people who are homeless across this country. erika is live in manhattan where volunteers spent the night getting a head count. >> we're talking about a survey called home, homeless outreach population estimate, essentially, it's a city street survey conducted once a year, and only on a single night. this year, with the wind chill temperatures in the single digits, leaders actually say that these cold conditions help them get a more accurate count of the people who are truly in need. >> it's brutally cold. >> bundled in boots and coats, they walk block by block searching for the homeless. >> i'm with the city of new york. we're doing a survey. >> as part of the survey, the volunteers must talk with people they find sleeping in the troats or hanging out on the corners. >> do you live out here? so you're not homeless, ok,

great. >> to ensure the volunteers are thorough, the city plants people pretending to be homeless. >> she is a decoy, it's just to make sure we are covering our areas and doing what we need to do. >> teams have only come across a few homeless people in their area, but they are just a handful of volunteers out of 3,000, covering nearly 15,000 miles across the city. they walk in the middle of the night in homes of getting the most accurate count. they dew not count those sleeping in buildings or subway cars. it's strictly on that the streets the. >> the more we know who's out here, we'll know where the large amount of homeless people are to better service them. >> a night as cold as this one, temperatures into the teens, they say helps their cause. >> if they're out here, then it's because they have nowhere to go. >> to volunteers, these people are more than just numbers.

>> would you like to come in? if it gets too cold, please don't stay out here. >> she believes getting a count is a step in the right direction to helping those who need it. >> everybody needs somewhere to go. >> new york city and the the only major city in the nation doing this kind of count of the homeless. in fact, chicago just did a similar one last week. in the nation's biggest city of new york city, a population more than 8 million people, they did a count last year, they counted about 3,000 homeless people. now, that number was down from the year before, about 100 people, the goal is to hopeful hi see that number go down with every single survey. in the end, these numbers helped them gather information about what outreach programs are needed where and also factoring in city, state, and federal funding for those programs, as well. del. >> erika, thank you very much. >> florida could be the next state to legalize medical

marijuana. the state supreme court signed off an a ballot measure for november, more than 100,000 people in threw da signing a petition to get it to the polls. florida could be the first southern state to make it legal. >> one activist group plans to use the superbowl to push for marijuana. the broncos and seahawks come from the only two states that have legalized recreational use of marijuana. it will have bill boards with pro pot messages. the group is asking the league to reduce the punishments for players who get caught smoking possibility. >> the superbowl still five days away, but the celebration has already started. fans braving sub freezing temperatures for kickoff, new jersey governor chris christie and new york mayor on hand. that the crowd was treated to

fireworks and music. the nfl hype machine already in full gear, media day today. who knows what type of questions are going to be asked. >> it is the superbowl of crazy questions. i've been to two of these and i've had at least one question i would like to take back, but that's for another day. this morning, time for superbowl xlviii media day where mayors will field all manner of questions from double in voodoo to can i measure your biceps. safe to say the two superbowl questions would rather deal with football questions. monday, they did just that with a little weather sprinkled inouye i mean there's no question we've played our best football the last month of the season, including the last two weeks, so i think that's important. i think the same could be set for seattle, as well. again, it usually comes down to a team that executes and place the best game, regardless, so i

think that formula will and true. >> forget what the weather factor is in this thing. anytime you do something of this magnitude in narc, new jersey area, you're going to get a great performance by the people and by the spirit of the area, the history and the background of new york's teams and just the fans that have come from here forian reactions warrant it. i get it. we don't care about the weather. it might not be as comfortable for people to sit at the stands on this game, but the rest of it, of course the new york area deserves to have a game of this magnitude. >> well, it's usually toward the end of superbowl week when nfl commissioner holds his state of the league address, but he didn't wait for that event to discuss some big changes the league is considering hike expanding the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams. that's a move that would expand wildcard weekend by possibly

having playoff games on monday and friday as well as saturday and sunday. also, goodell is considering eliminating extra points after touchdowns, saying they've become too automatic. speaking of automatic, can a 25-year-old already be a legend? yes, for kevin that durant, scoring 30 points or more in heavy straight games. scoring points is nice, but when it matters is the stuff legends are made of. he scored 13 of his are one in the fourth quarter. the first lead since the opening two minutes of the game, after atlanta tied, he had the ball in the final seconds with two guarding him. he drains the game winner. thunder win 111-109. >> the nhl allows players to compete in olympic competition.

that given security concerns in sochi, russia, he's not sure the league will allow the players to compete this year. he says we do not doubt that all necessary steps are being taken by the russian government to ensure the safety of the that's in sochi. he indicated monday the league is undecided about letting its mayors go to the olympics beyond this year. >> from the ice monday night, something you rarely see, more trouble than he can handle. islanders still fall to the bruins 6-3. that is your look at morning sports. >> thank you very much. that according to edward snowden, smart phone apps hike angry birds around just for fun, the n.s.a. uses them to collect your information, age, gender and where you are. those apps give the n.s.a.

access to large quantity at this time of data without having to hack individual smart phones. >> a new agreement with the justice apartment hows internet companies to reveal how often they turn over your information to the government for those national secure investigations. it ends lawsuits filed by several internet companies including facebook, google, microsoft, yahoo and linked in. the companies now have to wait six months before releasing information about those intelligence orders. >> the u.s. is working on a way to keep those who it targets secret. five teams are developing systems for encrypted searches of electronic records stored outside government possession. the plan would help allow the government to store american 14 records with service providers or a third party but still search them if needed. >> still ahead, a school without walls. >> what is missing from their life is free play. >> how one woman is changing the

way children learn with a school that i also here, outdoors. that. >> an avalanche blocks the only road in and out of an alaska town. what officials say caused the slide and what they are doing to clean it up. >> conditions deteriorating in the deep that south. i'll have the latest on our ice storm. >> this is times square. right now, you can see that big lombardi trophy in the middle. it is all blocked off and made friendly for all the fans coming for the superbowl. security. we're talking with those affected most. understanding where we are, taking a critical look where we're going. >> there is much progress to report. >> immediately after stay with us as we get your reactions live from around the country and across the globe. don't miss special state of the union coverage as only al jazeera america can deliver.

right here on al jazeera america. >> every sunday night al jazeera

>> welcome back to aljazeeraeera marrying. straight ahead, we're going to tell you about a school without walls because the classroom is outside, first let's find where the rain and snow is going to

fall across the country today. >> we have some down that sides and upsides of all of this. i want to point out the west coast. we have been in drought conditions up and down the coastline in california and extreme drought. we're finally starting to see moisture. by thursday, even central california could pick up some of this, so this is tremendously good news for this region. back to our big problem spot today, deep south to mid atlantic, northern parts of louisiana, mississippi, alabama already reporting snow, but with that layer of warm air creating the conditions for freezing rain and then the colder stuff back at the surface, we have had icing reports into southern portions of those states. that's going to really make things treacherous on the roads and continue through the day today. it is going to be a problem spot out hoar. the kids off cool are pulling out the sleds and have a sense of humor. in heard hey, salt's not for

roads in the south, it's for our margueritas. >> i like that. nicole, thank you very much. >> warm weather being blamed for an avalanche in alaska, the town of valdez hit hard. ten straight days of above freezing temperatures coupled with rain weakened the snow there, avalanches create i can hundreds of feet long. it blocked roads out of valdez and no one can get anywhere. >> it is about 300 miles east of anchorage. population there is just over 4,000. it's also the snowiest city in the country with an annual snowfall of 326-inches. syracuse, which you hear about often only gets about 112 inches a year. >> for most of us in kindergarten, remember when recess was the chance we had to

go outside? a school in washington state is changing all that, experimenting with a popular european program where the classroom isout doors. >> deep in the woods on an island just outside of seattle, it's the start of a new day at the nature school. ♪ >> where mother nature sets the curriculum. >> the kids are outdoors 100% of the time, no mat are the weather, no matter the season. >> there's no such thing as a snow day here. the students ages 3-6 eat, play and learn outside. on this cloudy day, weather pants and snow gear make up the uniform. >> this is our com posting toilet, and actually a lot of the kids do like to pee outdoors. we dew have a mace, a designated place where they're allowed to pee outdoors. >> seven years ago, she started the first united states school in the forest on five-acres of land, taking a popular european

program. her to the mow, kids can't bounce off the walls if there are no walls. >> most children naturally gravitate toward wanting to play outdoors and get muddy, mess sigh and play in a hands-on way. >> no plastic is to or tech gadgets here. the kids use sticks, mud, trees, and plants to learn about the world around them. it's a chance for children to power down from our technology-obsessed world. >> what is missing from their life is free play. >> there are no textbooks or teaching of a.b.c.'s here which begs the question are these kids on par once they enter traditional schools. she says absolutely. >> with these forest kindergarten kids, we retained their hunger to learn. >> there are no studies on the impact of this type of program,

but it is catching on. in the last five years, a handful of similar schools around the country have also opened. >> for me with, it's the a perfect fit. they don't have a lot of curriculum-based things, it's just exmotherration based. >> this year, she has begun tracking her former students success. she says during the first few years of life, nature offers a much greater lesson than any textbook ever could. >> educators from south korea have gone there to learn to copy that particular program. >> there is trouble for china's moon rover. the lunar explorer broke down studying the crust. the rover could not deem with the environment. it was half why through its thee month mission. >> folk musician pete seger has died. ♪ ♪

>> the 94-year-old singer died peacefully monday in his sleep. during his long career, he was an icon of folk music and active in civil rights and environmental causes. he co wrote songs including "if i had a hammer,"" turn, turn, turn" and "where have all the flowers gone." thanks for spending part of your morning that with us. we're back in two and a half minutes with more headlines. you can always check us on you 24 hours a day on loin at aljazeera.com where the news never stops. and a reminder, we will be broadcasting the state of the union address live. our coverage begins at 6:00.

the state of the union on al jazeera america. join us for complete coverage of the issues facing all of us from health care and immigration to the economy an national security. we're talking with those affected most. understanding where we are, taking a critical look where we're going. >> there is much progress to report. >> immediately after stay with us as we get your reactions live from around the country and across the globe. don't miss special state of the union coverage as only al jazeera america can deliver. right here on al jazeera america.

here is more of what is ahead. >> president obama prepares for address. >> tomorrow night it's time to restore opportunity for all >> it's an indication of a new bipartisan spirit. we need it. >> one thing that needs to economy.