were stolen by hackers over the holidays. "america tonight" with joie chen is up next. you can get the latest from aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight," frozen out. atlanta immobilized by a blast of nature. >> how far have you gone in eight hours. >> a mile. >> so you've been in this traffic jam since 1:30 yesterday? >> how humans managed to make it a disaster. and also tonight, from international fugitive to noble prize nominee? can edward snowden ever come home? and is it time for the u.s. to make a deal. >> we heard the number of

1.7 million documents. if you printed them out and stacked them, they would be more than 3 miles high. >> and priceless. nba superstar, anthony harway and the employees who inspired him to get off of the hardwood and onto the sideline. >> i'm just enjoying it. >> good evening, and thank you for joining us. i'm joey chen. it's not a stretch to say that atlanta never deals well with emergencies, but even someone with a lot of affection for that city, what's going on right now is incomprehensible.

we hear 10, 12 hours, people stuck in their cars, only to finally give up and walk a couple more hours to walk the icy roads home. children stuck in schools, and people sleeping in big box stores because of the unprecedented deadly weather. some of this is nature's fault. but it turns out that some of what happened is a manmade disaster. the chaos in atlanta started with the weather ports creating everyone scrambling to get home. on mostly untreated roads, nearly 1,000 wrecks reported. and thousands left stuck overnight freezing in their cars. charles was stranded on a bus along with 80 other passengers south of atlanta. >> it was very frigid on the bus, and the inside and the outside temperature couldn't

have been much different. it was a really miserable situation. >> somewhere amid all of the misery, new life. baby grace was born on the perimeter of 285. >> i could see that the baby's head was crownering, so i went back to my car to get first aid kit and gloves and the head it popped out. >> across atlanta, it turned to ice. >> we had to close the schools, and we promised that the staff would be at the school until every child was picked up. >> and in stores. jackknifed trailers left across the interstate and at least 12 dead. snowed out atlanta is a facebook page where thousands of people had been toasting. angela went out this morning to hand out supplies. >> this is highway 92, and we're handing out water and food.

there are tons of people that need water and food. if you can, go out there and help somebody. >> incredible. so who is to blame for all of this? the governor of georgia and the mayor of atlanta are under a storm of heavy criticism for their slow response, and they took to the airways to defend the city's preparedness. >> what can we do to avoid that? we can't control mother nature. just as we could not make better predictions and neither could the skew superintendents. that's why the school children were in the situation they were in. because they were looking at the same modeling that we were looking at as well. we closed the city of atlanta based on the system of maybes, weapon not be a very productive government or city. >> i understand that the people are frustrated and angry. if there was one major lesson learned in the middle of the

challenge, that would be that we need to stagger closings for private sector closes for government and the school system. so if i had my druthers, i would have the school closed first, and let the parents get their children home safely. and then have the private sector businesses go home, and then the government go home last. >> so why did things go so horribly wrong? william waugh is a professor at georgia state university. and you happy to be in washington and not in atlanta today. but talk to us a little bit about this. we heard the governor's point, and we heard the mayor's point, but isn't there a lot of human element to what has happened? >> some parts of it are the interpretation of the risk that the largest part of the city was right on the edge of what was a storm advisory. that is saying that it could or could not. >> that's what the governor was

saying. we shouldn't close on maybes, and is that what you would advise leaders like these? >> there are not a lot of certainties with the weather. and the may be is sometimes the best information that you have to make your decisions. >> shouldn't they have seen this? >> i think they should have anticipated it and certainly been prepared for some expansion of the area where the storm was expected to be. >> i'm a long time resident of atlanta myself. and i will say that i have been through a number of ice storms and snow storms, and it's not that this never happens in atlanta. and in fact, just a couple of years ago, there was another big incident, and after that, the said that it had gotten itself prepared and it had purchased trucks and made plans for such an machine, and why didn't these things come into play? >> some part of it is who is making the decisions? the police department makes

decisions about the road conditions and the school district makes decisions early in the day about whether the children will be picked and up taken to school. and the governor makes his decisions about the deployment of state resources, and it's a very fragmented process. >> it's puzzling to look at it. and there are other cities throughout the south that went through bad weather in the last few days, and they're still in it, but why is it so much worse there? >> i'm not sure that it's worse there. but the new mayor of new york city is interesting to contend with the crit sim of the snow response this. it has caused a good number of public officials to lose their jobs. >> so when you teach, do you work with civic leaders, city leaders, mayors, city officials to teach them. >> i have worked with the city

of atlanta, the combined atlanta and fulton county machine, and i have worked with them in the past. and fema agencies around and other organizes, and even worked with small businesses and non-profits with decisions. >> and you advised that they set a particular schedule, look, once it gets to this much certainty, we advise you to do this. and it seems like there must have been something in please. >> typically, there's a threshold of what you look at in terms of when you open the operations center, and shelters and make zig decisions of sorts because you need those things in response to actionful. >> what is the key for the officials? you say this is the thing that causes elected officials not to get elected again. but why don't they make more

meed responsive decisions? >> it's in part lack of authority, and these days, lack of resources. >> are they sometimes just risk? >> sometimes you're afraid. if it's an issue with sheltering in place or evacuation, in fact, there's legal liability associated with making those decisions. businesses don't like you to shut down and send people away when they want to sell dinners or hotel rooms. >> unfortunately, there are still too many people out at this hour trying to get home. professor from georgia state university, disaster management. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> and other parts of the southeast ambushed by the ice storm, but more trouble lies ahead. aljazeera meteorologist, kevin is monitoring the conditions. >> we're still out of the woods in the southeast. but the real problem is going to

be in southern georgia. we want to take you back to a couple of days with the storm coming. the forecasters knew that this was going to be issued. meteorologists across the region, and they anticipated whether it was going to be strong enough, heading to the north. and some of the models say yes, absolutely. but in a situation like that, you always want to be pessimistic, and you want to take the more proactive way of handling it when you're dealing with a city like atlanta. where we are right now this evening, we're looking at still freezing rain across the south as well as south carolina. and this is going to cause a problem on highways 10 and 95. temperatures this evening are going down, and we still have winter storm warnings in georgia and florida as well as warnings back here in texas. let's look at the temperatures as you good through this evening. in atlanta, 16°, and birmingham, down to 10.

what that means, any precipitation that has melted in the day as the sunlight hits t. it's going to freeze in the overnight hours, and it's going to be slippery. not so much in the interstates that were plowed, but in the community that were not plowed, people will not be able to get out of their sub divisions. as we go to the next couple of days, we'll see very cold air. so thursday morning, 16°, and as we go to friday morning, 22°. so a couple more days of freezing overnight, and then as we go to the weekend, things will be improving and over the next couple of days, the storm system is going to be making its way out here to the east. and the temperatures warming up quite nicely, and also, many places in the area will be warming up. that's the national weather. and back to you. >> our meteorologist, and

cuppincoming up next. the president's promises for cities, and who is going it alone.

>> on the day after his fitting state of the union address, president obama hit the road trying to sell his signature policies in some of the cities

that could benefit the most. places like maryland and pennsylvania, towns hard hit by the economic downturn, struggling to come back. but there's something different about the president's message this time around. last night he said that local leaders might need to raise wages on their their own and create economic opportunity from the bottom up. >> do what you can to raise your employee's wages, it's good for the economy, and it's good for america. every mayor, governor, state legislature in america, i say, you don't have to wait for congress to act. americans will support you if you take this on. >> the president's comments were directed at people like our next guest, philadelphia mayor, michael nutter, and he's leading the city through tough economic challenges, and he did get help in washington.

mr. nutter, i appreciate you being with us. and i want you to think about the president's comments, first of all, he was suing that things like the minimum wage up might need to come from the state at the local level. and is that empowerment for you at the state and the city level or a matter of dell grating that responsibility to you? >> i think that the president was very clear that he wants the national wage to be raised by the federal government to $10.10, and he wants congress to be take action other that as soon as possible. >> he did encourage them to do that last year, and they didn't act on it. >> in many instances, the house republicans have to figure out who they're going to serve. are they serving special interest or the people they were elected to represent? just like we have seen the unfortunate expiration of

unemployment insurance benefits, which the president mentioned in the state of the union as well. congress need to do its job so other americans struggling can give and get to a job. but to answer your question the president said, this is what we're going to do on the state level. and local officials, you should do what you can do. >> so we see this coming from the ground up. and i wonder what that says. are we talking about small is beautiful, and better from the bottom up? >> no, unfortunately, in many stances, it's the affirmation by many of us, the frustration of trying to deal with that place called washington d.c., and again, from my perspective at least, mostly with the republicans in congress, house or senate, who is main task is to frustrate the president, so many times, you're seeing a

ground up, region al approach. so we're part of southeast pennsylvania and if we had a regional approach to dealing with the minimum wage, that's certainly a conversation that i want to get into. but again, none of us should automatically set the idea that the congress and the political inenvironment is so dysfunctional that we should accept nothing, no work. there's a level that we don't put up with that nonsense. >> i want to talk about a couple of things, the promise that the president is talking about for your city and four others as well. and is that going to make a difference when you have high unemployment and crime problems, and you have west philadelphia and it's going to be a tough one to make a promise to. >> here's the deal. there are a lot of assets in that part of philadelphia and the president promised that he was going to work on that issue

at the last state of the union and came through just a few weeks before the state of the union last night. and he made those designations. we're very proud in philadelphia to have received that. the designation from the president of the united states. >> but it doesn't come with any money. >> it comes with the ability to score grants that we'll be going after. we have dollars already coming in, but the application process and the initiative requires better coordination for dollars coming in to leverage additional federal and private. there are great neighborhoods out there, the people have had a tough time, but never gave up. >> your city was pretty effective in dealing with the weather crisis you had just a few days ago, and we're looking down south, and seeing a lot of reporting down south in atlanta and the troubles they have had just getting people moving.

people are spending hours and hours sleeping in their cars because they can't get home. how does a city like yours work through a weather disaster of the same variety and not have these kind of problems? >> these are cities that don't see anywhere near the kinds of weather events this we get in the northeast. when you start getting to baltimore and philadelphia and certainly new york and boston and chicago and any of these cities. >> we know, and in 2011, atlanta went through this and bought salt trucks, and made preparations, and how did they not get it together when you go through a snowstorm. >> we get them on a regular basis, and we have had episode in the last couple of days, an inch here and 3 inches here, and we're on constant ready alert.

because we get snow from december to march, and it's unusual for atlanta and new orleans to get it. >> and you get it when the time requires it, right. >> we do the best we can. >> thank you for being can us. coming up next, can edward snowden go from exile to nobel more thane? nobody honorary?

>> snapshot of the stories making headlines on america tonight. a bully on capitol hill? the cameras are still rolling after a reporter asked u.s. congressman, michael grim, about his campaign finances, and that's when things got ugly. grimm threatened to show the reporter off of the balcony.

the security breach at target. eric holder is tedicated to locating the thieves who stole the millions of credit card numbers. spy games continue. in her first speech to parliament, german chancellor warned that countries who spy on allies can damage relationships, but she accepted the invitation from president obama to visit washington. and whistle blower, edward snowden, has been nominated for the nobel peace prize, but he could share the same honor with the president who revoked his passport, barack obama. they said that he remains a serious threat to the nation's security. >> reporter: on capitol hill wednesday, the senate intelligence committee was in session. >> i'm speaking of course about the most massive and damaging

theft of intelligence in our nation's history >> reporter: and not for the first time, edward snowden was the main topic. >> what snowden has stolen has gone way way beyond his concern for surveillance programs. we have lost intelligence sources, including some shared with us by valued partners, and terrorists and adversaries of this country are going to school on trade craft. and the insights they're gaining are making our job of mucher harder >> reporter: since he net the u.s. last june for hong kong and then moscow, he has leaked u.s. secrets on an epoch scale. >> if you printed them all and stacked them, they would be more than 3 miles high. >> reporter: collection programs, prism, muscular, turmoil, indiscriminately sucked from phone and data companies,

most from americans suspected of nothing. embarrassing revelations about spying on foreign leaders, tapping german chancellor, angela merkel's cellphone, spying for commercial gain. >> spying on successful companies, to prevail to have the advantage of knowing what's going on in the scientific community. >> i don't want to preempt journalists, but what i will say is there's no question that the u.s. is engaged in economic spying. if there's information at senan's, they will take it. >> the tremendous gathering for

the guardian newspaper, one of the first journalists that snowden reached out to. >> he has brought to light illegal forms of surveillance. >> after the leeks, the liberties board investigating the collection of phone data concluded. >> the government should end its phone record program. >> and last month, a u.s. judge ruled that the collection of telephone records was "probably unconstitutional." >> only a real check on power is if we the public know what they're doing, and that's why it was so important that he shed a light on it. >> snowden is in exile without a u.s. passport, facing espionage charges here, for some. he's a traitor, and for others, he's a patriotic whistle blower

who revealed government excesses. >> i think there's a push to get him pardoned and he's a courageous whistle blower. i don't think there's any indication that he was a traitor. >> edward snowden, he started an important conversation about government intrusion and surveillance, a conversation that has new eyes on the watchers. >> i will reform our surveillance programs because the vital work of our intelligence community depends on confidence of the public here and abroad. the privacy of the public is not being violated. >> it will take a lot for some people to believe that. but edward snowden for the peace prize, they said we don't necessarily condone his disclosures, but we are certain that the debate has contradicted

to a more peaceful world order. and transparency in a leading principle in global security and policy. and its value can not be overstated. >> pretty big statement. i've seen a lot of editorials and is it time to grant his clemency, time to let him come home? back and forth, and is there really a movement and is it even possible that the u.s. government will grant him clemency? >> clear he's supported. and you can see by that bus driving around was washington d. they are prepared to put money out to help him. but he faces charges here that could net more than 100 years in prison. and the white house said that he must come back and face those charges. there's more nuance from attorney general holder, and the

intelligence community. suggestions that we know he has a lot more documents, and maybe if he didn't release them, maybe we could have a conversation. a conversation, so the notion of all out and out clemency, forgiveness, there's clearly wiggle room in there. >> did the president at all show his hand on this in the state of the union? >> just that one remark, i will reform our surveillance policy. and that's a question that's meant not just for domestic consumption, but people like ang lack merkel, who remains really annoyed by what the u.s. did to her and her country. >> is there a sense in government that no matter what has been said about snowden's disclosures, that it's really in the realm of embarrassment to the u.s. government rather than really security of violations

that expose the country in some continuing fashion? >> there's an element of embarrassment, clearly. when the chancellor of germany says, thank you very much, you've been listening in on hi personal cellphone? really? there's the level of embarrass many, anembarrassment, from the intelligence community, this is the drumbeat that has given the terrorists a roadmap to understand exactly how we operate, and they can see that we're not where we used to be, because we were listening to them and now we're not there, and for some, it's not true, that snowden should be punished because of that. but repeatedly, we have concluded that there has been no damage to u.s. interests by the revelation of this one program called project 215. but the administration alleged

that this particular sucking in of all of these telephone conversations have been instrumental in preventing other terror attack. the board again concluded that there was no evidence of that. >> very interesting. thank you very much. >> after the break, taking stock of obamacare in a big test. a success story out west. and what's working with cover california.

>> no american, none, zero, can ever be dropped without coverage for a preexisting condition like asthma, back pain or cancer. [ applause ] no woman can ever be charged more just because she's a woman.

>> the president back out selling the affordable care act once again to a nation divided over healthcare reform. you saw that in the chambers in the state of the union. the president spent about 5 minutes touting his reforms, but you don't have to convince too many californiaians that the insurance exchange is a model of health. they have enrolled 625,000 people. a number that marks the state halfway to its goal of 214 million people the end of tournament 7 million americans need to sign up by the march 31st deadline. so what's the secret behind california's success? the executive director of health access california joins us tonight. and so tell us what has made a difference out there in california? >> well, we got started early.

we were able to pass the first in the nation law, to pass an exchange bill and set up the marketplace called cover california. we did that under a republican governor, and we didn't have the political obstacles that have plagued the state in the implementation. and we were able to use the time we had to get things going. this is a really difficult thing to do. the individual insurance market was fundamentally broken, and the changes took a lot of time and effort. and without the political obstacles that you see without housing and consumers, we were able to improve the affordable care act for the benefit of california. >> there are areas of concern. hispanics and latinas make up the majority of those uninsured. 46% eligible for coverage, but they are only 20% of the

healthcare enrollees. what's the problem there, and how do you fix it? >> even with the fact that we started quick out of the gate, we weren't ready in time with the basic infrastructure. and the spanish language website wasn't operable in october or november. and the applications in spanish and other languages wasn't ready until christmas eve. and most importantly, the on the ground enrolling councilors, the people that were going to work with the individual people with the process, we wanted 10,000 of those folks, and we had 300 in october. and we're up to about 4,000 now. so for the scale of california, a big state, we're on our way, but we have more work to do. even to a state that's committed to doing this right, this is a big, bold task, and we're trying to meet it as much as would be. >> there are big deadlines

ahead. there is always that question of what might have been. we have the problem with our state, but we can't look back now, what can we learn if your situation and moving forward. and after all, there are only eight weeks left for the first deadline. >> even though we're a red state, we're a blue state. we are showing that it can work in a state with big problems. we have over 1.5 million people signed up for some form of financial help for coverage, if you include the medicaid expansion as well as california. and it means boots on the ground and getting people enrolled and having the systems in place and getting out there.

what's inexcusable that some states are doing, blocking the medicaid expansion, and actively discouraging people it sign up for coverage, leaving people unassured. not only are they leaving federal money not coming to their state, but leaving families top live sicker, to die younger and be one emergency away from financial ruin. >> but are states looking to to you for advice in the time for the deadline, what can they do? >> they can work with community groups to be partners in enrollment. and they can use the tools, and the federal website is now up and running, and they can use that tool to get enrolled. there are several national campaigns to reach out. and this is a resource that they

need to take advantage. we think there are exciting prospects. signing people where they are as they become uninsured. so whether it's through the unemployment programs, or other human services, we know when people fall on hard types, lose their jobs, we know that they become uninsured. so to take advantage of that and give the people the care that they need. >> anthony wright, executive director of health access california. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> in the inland empire of southern california, more than 3,000 people will be extended health coverage this year alone. and they are concerned that there won't be enough doctors to meet the region's need. a california medical school has come up with a unique plan that could help with the doctor drought. >> reporter: jennifer hawn has always wanted to be a doctor.

a daughter of immigrants, she's a first year medical student with a strong desire to serve. >> ultimately, one of my desires to go into medicine was to work with the under served communities. >> but in the system of for profit headache, medical help is expensive and requires students like hawn to get big loans. >> we're requiring big debt, $40,000 to $50,000 a per. so $400,000. >> hawn studies at the university of california riverside, which has a severe shortage of doctors. >> because 40% of the doctors in the state look like me, 55 or older, we'll have a deficit in ten years, no matter what anyone does. >> dr. richard olds is a critic of the kinds of outcomes that

the american healthcare system produces. >> the healthcare system that rewards keeping people healthy senior better than a healthcare system that basically awards people when they're desperately ill and saves their life at the end is basically the way it's structured. >> and he's also a thinker with the loomer shortage of doctors. that will be particularly severe with family doctors, and physicians. they earn far less than specialists, like cardiologists or orthopedic surgeons. many choose that to pay off medical school debt. so uc riverside is trying an experiment. the only one of its kind in the nation. certain students who choose primary care and agree to practice in the local community will get full skips. >> rereversed the financial

incentives. >> hawn, who is one of the first to receive the full lied scholarship, said that it's a relief to her and her family. >> it definitely lifts a big weight off of my shoulders, knowing that i won't have to pay back so many of my loans after i graduate. and it gives me a better idea of the kind of doctor i want to be. >> it's not just california facing a looming doctor shortage. according to a recent report by the american medical colleges, there could be a nationwide shortage of 90,000 doctors before the end of the decade. the shortage will worsen when president barack obama's affordable care act goes into effect next year. >> you put them in the system. and they only sought out emergency care.

>> but the main reason for the doctor shortage, the country is the shortage. us patients have to rely on second tier performs like nurse practitioners to pick up some of the slack. and the country will need more original thinking and innovative programs like uc riverside. >> if we're successful in the united states, americans will also need plenty of dedicated would be doctors. >> at this hour, a team player

to a team leader. nba superstar, hometown hero, kepi hard way.

>> finally at this hour, we hit the haudricourt with anthony penny hardaway. he retired from the nan years ago, but he never left the game. it left him as a coach in an unusual situation, and what happened next? it's the stuff for the silver screen, and sarah has a story of a unique situation, changing the city of memphis, one hoop at a time. >> reporter: in memphis, basketball is practice religion. in the city of binghamton, one kid dared to dream the impossible. former nba point guard, anthony

penny hardaway started here and went on to be an nba all-star. though a decade has passed since he hung up his jersey, he vowed to use the game he loves to inspire a group of middle schoolers with what might be impossible. a friend battling colon cancer, in 2010, desmond was given 24 hours to live. a staph infection ravaged his chemotherapy infused body. but then the father of three woke from a medically induced coma, and he told his friend, help with the lines. >> i said i know we're going to be okay, and we're going to win the state. and that was that year's team. and i thought he was crazy,

you're not even worried about your health, you're worried about the kids. >> protect the ball. remember what you saw on the film, we're all that we got. let's put on a show, man. let's go. >> in the end, hardaway decided to honor his friend's request. >> no foul. no foul. >> did you ever think that you would be a middle school coach? >> no, not at all. i never thought that i would be a middle school coach. it just happened. and i thank god for putting me in this situation, because i'm enjoying it. if you don't invest in the community, the killers and the robbers and the things that we hate seeing on the news, we invest our time, and all they want is love, invest our time. >> people are so big, they can't imagine how great he is as a person. it brings tears to my eyes.

because i knew the job was hard, but with the help of penny, he has made it that much more easy. >> hardaway's new job involves much more than just teaching the game of basketball. when he returned to gang infested binghamton, there was little change on the haudricourt, with the constant stream of players. >> i wanted to make a difference in the neighborhood that i grew up. and the mentalities of the boys, and there are no fathers and the moms are working hard to make ends meet. the neighborhood is tough. and you can get lost in the neighborhood if you stay there. and i wanted to change the culture and bring a winning attitude to the school. >> and you have walked in their shoes. >> yes, that was me, walking through the same halls, didn't have a father and my mom was

gone, and i was raised by my grandmother. and i knew where they were coming from. >> he walked through the halls to check on his players and demand progress reports. he preached doing the right thing in and out of the classroom, and personally asked gang leaders to stay away. >> why do you care? why are you here? >> i care because the love was given to me in my neighborhood. my neighborhood was awesome as far as support. my grandmother was there in the neighborhood. and i told my grandmother, if i ever made it, i never will forget where i came from, and god has given me a giving heart. and it's an easy job to do. going back and touching lives. >> merriweather recovered enough to return to the bench, but the chemotherapy had taken its toll. hardaway stepped in as coach. he was given the season the he took over.

and then a second. >> it was a total team coaching effort. everybody played a role. the tochers, the players, the family, the principal, it was a total team. it was gratifying. we took a team that had no confidence when i first got there, to a team with a lot of confidence. and that's what makes it so great. >> reporter: still fighting colon cancer, merriweather requires biweekly chemotherapy treatments, which leave him physically draped, but he refuses to stay home. >> once i see one of the boy's faces, i jump lack into being a coach. no pity party. >> why do you do this? you don't have to. you're sick, and you could easily get a pass to do nothing. >> because we put so much in to help the kids. binghamton is not hard. >> we play the game tonight. we coming home on a cj and not

shooters. we not face guarding the shooters. >> preparation starts long before tipoff. >> you relocate and throw it over his head. that's right. >> then it's off to hardaway's home where the team shares a meal and goes over game film. >> we can't make the same mental mistakes. get off the block like this. you always want to come out. >> starter, alex lomax, spent the last three years under hardaway's wingspan. >> he's really like my father. because my father is my life. if coach wasn't around, i think that binghamton would be a different place, and i thank god that i can be around coach penny how long i can be around. >> reporter: geena davis is

the assistant director at the community center. >> reporter: so it really made a difference in his life. >> it did. penny is just a genuine good-hearted person that wants to see our children grow, and grow to be positive. >> reporter: how has their basketball team changed? >> it's just the morale of the people now that's behind the basketball team. and a lot of the parents that i used to didn't see, i see a lot of them now, because the basketball players are really into it with their heart, you know? and penny, he's the coach, but it's not just about coaching, it's about being the parent of the students. and it has really made a tremendous difference.

>> today they're competing in a holiday basketball tournament with regional teams. the lester lions give up their lead and lose the semifinal game, taking third place. the pride of the lions is intact. >> this is an experience of love. everybody who didn't play, you have to get better by the time we get to city and the state. >> this marks the third and final season for hardaway, they are parting ways for something more valuable. for the players, hope. and hardaway, a promise kept to the grandmother who raised him. the lester lions have their prize on another prize coming up, a third state championship.

>> let's go! >> you know e. they want that. sarah hoi is here, and it's an incredible story. what happens now? coach penny leaving the team, what happens now. >> he's super tight lipped and he did guarantee that he will remain in these kid's live. and he's not going far, and he's not leaving memphis, but he has something up his sleeve. >> he does, and this is not the end of the season right now. >> that,, this little team that could is playing tonight in the city championships. >> aways to go. and did you feel that penny hardaway, he could go anything, travel and go to hollywood. and is he for real?

>> he is. we spent a week with this man, and i asked him point-blank, we have cameras here, and you could be doing all of this for show. this was put it his heart. and he's honoring his grandmother. and this is real to him. >> and for the kids, this is the long haul, and it's not going to be good-bye be. >> they are with the family, and the same uniform and the warmups, and you saw the bus, the van rather. they're together 24-7 almost. and this is a tight-knit union. and he's not leaving them. >> it's penny hardaway, and they couldn't fail that notice that. >> this is a large man, and he's an nba superstar, so when you're at these games, you see his heart. and not to mention, he stops to take a photo with anyone who wants one. they gun for the team. and they do have a target on their back, so it makes

competition pretty interesting. >> "america tonight," sarah, and we're going to find out from you how they do. that's it for us on america tonight. please remember, if you want to comment on any stories, log onto aljazeera.com/"america tonight." and you can find us on twitter or on our facebook page. good night, and more of america tonight tomorrow. >> welcome to al jazeera america. a city crippled by a few inches of snow and lots of ice. the icy operations and conditions forced many

children to spend the night at school. residents are blaming government officials for their response. president obama took his state of the union message on the road. the president gave speeches in maryland and pennsylvania today. he spoke about the narrowing inning gap and introduced a new retirement plan. a small step in the syrian peace talks. both sides have said yes as a basis for peace negotiations. but the main un mediator says there is also chance for a breakthrough. he has been wanted for years. the state departmental dieda financier is more active than ever. he moves money and operatives the afghanistan, the west and now syria as well. they say he is a growing threat. the justice department investigating the data breach. the information of 40 million customers and names and addresses of 7 0 million more

stolen by hackers over the holidays. those are the headlines at this hour. see you back here at 11 eastern. we will take you inside a prison in brazil which many people describe as hell on earth. consider this is up next. >> >> as the white house negotiations negotiates with iran, why are two americans still in prison while another is missing. also a disturbing oscar nominated look at whether the war on terror is creating more enemies for america. plus outrage in atlanta after a frigid response to a small snowstorm and should college players unionize? this is consider this and here's more on what's ahead. >> he was a former us soldier, is