could. >> we'll wait for that. malcolm gladwell, thank you for joining us and thank you for joining us on n. this is al jazeera america live. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. breaking news, a new allegation that chris christie knew about the controversial lane closures as they happened. and just in, christie's response. a new effort to help millions of americans who have been unemployed the longest. and dozens of companies have already signed on to change how they hire. a big hurdle just cleared for the controversial keystone oil pipeline. the state department says it has no major environmental

objections. >> and we are following breaking news about the political revenge scandal surrounding new jersey governor chris christie. the man who ordered the controversial lane closings said christie knew who was happening as it was happening and says he has the evidence to prove it. and moments ago we got chris christie's response. john, this really broke an hour or so ago. all we can do is walk our audience through the sequence of events. so much is up in the air. we don't know what the evidence that david wildstein is. the "new york times" puts on its web site a story that governor christie knew about the lane closures while they were taking place last year. and the evidence comes from a

letter that was sent from the lawyers representing david wildstein who is a friend of governor christie, they went to high school together. he is the guy who ordered the lane closures on the world's busiest bridge, the george washington. and the lawyers are asking the port authority of new jersey to pay for some of his legal expenses. he has testified before a new jersey state committee and he is probably going to have to testify more in the future. now the telling paragraph comes right at the end where the lawyer acting for david wildstein says the following words: evidence exists as well tying this to christie to having knowledge of lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed.

so what what we have here is a letter from wildstein's lawyers to the port authority in which they are claiming that evidence exists. earlier the phrase on the "new york times" web site was that wildstein has evidence. now it is evidence exists, that is a subtle difference. >> it is. >> we don't know what the evidence is. but clearly a friend of governor christie, a man who he teased at the two hour press conference injuries january 9th. he said look, i haven't spoken to david wildstein anymore than on a handful of occasions and now to all intents and purposes, if this is true, here is wildstein on the face of it any way throwing governor christie under the bus. but we must wait and see for the evidence to come out. this is interesting. there has been the shuttle shift on the language on the "new york times" web site.

evidence exists. which is different as you made the point, there is evidence and i have it. yeah, now here comes governor christie with a rebuttal. al jazeera reached out to the christie administration in trenton and the response is as follows, it is not very long. i'll read it. the response is that mr. wildstein's lawyer confirms what the governor has said all along. he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever mr. wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with. as the governor said in a december 13th press conference he only first learned lanes were closed when i was reported by the press and as he said in his january 9th press conference had no indication that there was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise on the morning of january 8th. here comes the punch line, the governor denies mr. wildstein's lawyers other assertions. so there we have it. that is as far as we got. reminded our viewers why are we talking about governor

christie who is the governor of great state of new jersey, he is until all this happened was a front-runner to be on the gop ticket on 2016. all right, thank you. we are already getting democratic response to this news on social media. maria is following that for us. the democratic national committee put out a rapid response just a little while ago. it says chris christie said he barely knew david wildstein. that was untrue. he said he hadn't seen mr. wildstein in a long time that was untrue. he repeatedly said he had no knowledge of the lane closures, today's revelations raise serious questions about whether that is true. i know it is super bowl weekend and cuts are christie doesn't want to talk about anything but it looks like he will need to change his plans. the communication director for the dnc also tweeted out earlier christie isn't doubling down folks. if current statement is true then he did not tell the truth

in two previous pressers. when did he know? david axelrod just tweeted out earlier, said that from the start christie could survive so long as no smoking gun leads to him. this could be it. now don zimmer the mayor of hoboken new jersey, she has had no reaction to this. the republicans have had no reaction yet. rnc on their twitter feed, no reaction. if you get something new and hot that pops up there, weigh us in. >> good to see you. you have read through the statement on the "new york times" web site. what is your reaction to this? >> listen, there is reason for euphoria in democratic circles if you want to see chris christie go down for this vengeful act. but, in fact, this says nothing about whether it was

revenge and when you read into the governor's statement that was just read, it says that we had no prior knowledge. does that mean he didn't know it was going on beforehand and did he really tell the truth at the press conference? there are ways of him getting around. we are looking at a lawyer's posturing on behalf of david wildstein. lawyers are known to posture from time to time. >> can he survive if he is parsing language like this. it gets back to what did you know and when did you know it? >> i don't think he could have survived before today. i think his national aspirations were up. you saw the -- of course the poms, i like them and i'm proud to like them because i think it is fun to watch, but they don't mean that much. but mill -- hillary cline in the latest pole trouncing christie. they will not send someone risky any way.

he tarnished what he was. if this bears out this was thuggery and revenge then it will harm him more. but i think he has to worry about keeping his job rather than his next job. >> we should reminded everyone adrowned the country why he has become something of a significant figure in republican politics. this was a man who was a republican governor in a blue state, and he was essentially galvanizing that state. he was getting democratic support from mayors up and down that state for his reelection bid, correct? >> yeah, he was. he was -- i think we all saw him on a national stage in new york in the tri-state area. he was a known quantity. and people who follow politics closely know christie. he came on the national seen during 2012. he was the governor of the state that was badly hit by the storm. he famously put his arm around the president and that tanished him with republicans

but brandished a new image for him among democrats. and turns out ironically now that it is probably a picture that the president regrets more than christie in a way. but, you know, that's -- you hit on something, tony. which is the way he is popular among -- you know, he was a new brand of republican that could cross party lines. he did it in his own state. new jersey is a very different state than the country. new jersey republicans and democrats are different than the ones he would ultimately meet in iowa and south carolina. >> so last question for you. are there some rounds who will privately not publicly, privately be happen delay chris christie is spinning in the winds here a little bit? >> yeah, i would say so. i would say ram paul is having a chuckle. he was no friend of chris christie's he thought his money reigning raising machine would be a challenge. rand paul made no bones about the fact that he intends to

run. chris christie has not announced anything. the republican party would have had an opportunity to soul search who they are. that sounds like a touchy-feely way of saying it. but they do have a divide in that party. he would have been a good representation of an alternative for that party and will not get to have that. >> mike as always, great to talk with you. have a great weekend. president oobama launched a new effort to help those who have been unemployed the longest get back to work. >> it is a cruel cash-22. the longer you are unemployed, the more unemployable you may seem. now this is an illusion, but it is one that unfortunately we know statistically is happening out there. >> the president says dozens of companies have agreed to change their hiring practices and stop discriminating against people who have been out of work for a long time he also announced 150 million grant to help nonprofit groups

working to connect companies with long term unemployed. mike viqueira joins us now from the white house. >> the president is pulling out all the stops and has two goals in mind. first, he wants to do everything he can short of congressional action. you heard what he has been using, the pen and the phone. he has been putting that to full force. but trying to play the outside game to try to force congress to do some of the things that congress especially republicans have been reluctant to do, namely extend long term unemployment benefits that expired at the end of last year. there are now 1.6 million people who do not have long term unemployment insurance who had it last month. the president took to the east room. you right, he had some of the biggest companies represented by ceos and other executives and trying to address the subtle discrimination. if you have been unemployed for a long-term. say six months or more. then the data seems to show that companies will discount

your application, discount your resume. so the president trying to get the companies on board to get their h.r. divisions on board reilly, to take a second look at the applications. here is what the president had to say. >> and on tuesday i delivered my state of the union address. i said while the economy is getting stronger and businesses like yours create 8 million new jobs in the past four years. unemployment rate is lower than it has been in over five years. we all know we have still got a lot more to do to build an economy where everybody who is willing to work hard and take responsibility can get ahead. that is part of the problem. >> the unemployment rate may be the lowest it has been. it is at 6.7%. but so is the job participation rate at the left point since 1978. hundreds of thousands of people have given up looking for work and unemployment remains a dark spot on what is otherwise a bright economic picture. this wraps up a long week. the president of course starting on tuesday night with

the state of the union. then hit the road trying to raise the minimum wage. but it is clear that he is going to need congress if he is going to impact some of the issues and help the middle class, help the unemployed in any kind of significant way, tony. >> all right, mike viqueira. thank you. let's bring in ali velshi into this. give us context on this. how serious is this problem of the long term unemployed? >> the unemployed people in the united states fell to 10.4 million, the official number in december. the latest numbers we have. now 3.9 million or 38% of that number of the 10.9 million are long term unemployed, meaning they have been out of work for longer than six months. crucially as mike said, a number of these people have stopped looking for work. 2.4 million have stopped looking for work because they don't think that there is a job out there for them.

and the president is setting out to address many of the ceos. the issue if you are long term unemployed you are less likely to get a job regardless of your skill or education level. there is a stigma around being long term unemployed. the issue is that many long term unemployed just fell out of the workforce because of the economy. they didn't do anything to get there, but now they are finding it hard to get back there. >> so another focus for president has been growing the middle class. and your focusing on that issue all next week, beginning on monday. tell us more about it. we are starting monday. but what we are doing is kicking off a yearlong conversation rebuilding the dream we are calling it. we are kicking it off with an hour long special on monday. today's middle class is under country pressure and rebuilding the dream is crucial for all of us because the most important part of a robust economy is the middle class which consumes and pays taxes. on monday i'll be joined by the former u.s. labor

secretary robert reich, bob schiller, teamster union president james hoffa and personal finance expert suze orman, we are trying to find solutions. >> wow that is big. can't wait for tonight's show, 7:00 p.m. eastern here on al jazeera america. president obama says he may be open to an immigration bill that does not include a path to citizenship for the estimate 11 million people in the u.s. illegally. he made the comments in an interview with cnn. >> if the speaker proposes something that says right away folks aren't being deported, families aren't being separated and we are able to track top young students to provide the skills or start businesses here and then there's a regular process of citizenship, i'm not sure how wide the divide ends up being. >> well, the comments come on the heels of house republican

leaders release their immigration principles. they include allowing adults living in the u.s. illegally to get legal status after paying back taxes and fines. montana's glacier national park is losing its glaciers. up next, the team from tech-know looks at the change and how one group is trying to rescue the park. >>

>> amanda knox says she will fight the new guilty verdict handed down by an italian court yesterday. knox was set free in 2011 but an italian supreme court overturned the decision. she says she is shocked by the court's decision. >> i don't even know like what their motivation could be. like this really has hit me like a train. i did not expect this to happen. i really expected so much better from the italian justice system. they found me innocent before. how can they say it is guilt

beyond a reasonable doubt? >> she and her ex-boyfriend were convicted six years ago for killing british student meredith kircher. her ex-boyfriend handed over his passport to authorities today. the family of the victim welcomes the new verdicts and is waiting to put the trial behind them. >> glad that it has been upheld this time so we hope to obviously come to the end of the trial and nearer to the truth and the end so that we can stop and just remember meredith who she was and draw a line under it as it were. both face 25 years in prison if the verdict is upheld. the controversial keystone excel pipeline has cleared a major hurdle. a report released a short time ago raises no environmental objections to the pipeline which will run from canada to

texas. >> state department officials are keen to stress that the release of the final environmental impact statement or seis is just a report, it is not the final decision on whether trans canada will be allowed to build the keystone excel pipeline on u.s. territory from the canadian boarder to the gulf of mexico. officials also say that after ample public input in the past year that now it is for the government agencys to figure out what other impacts could be created if this pipeline indeed is constructed. and then it will be up to the secretary of state john kerry to decide whether the economic benefits outweigh economic, political and environmental concerns. the technical report released on friday indicates there brother would have not be any negativism pacts in terms of wetlands, climate change, environmental facilities or the local economies. however, there's considerable political pressure to build this pipeline and the

administration is already hearing the pressure from particularly republican members of congress. >> that was roslyn jordan many washington. the ice that made montana's glacier national park famous is melting, that is according to scientists who say the slow but steady rise in temperature is enough to threaten a way of life. here is the story. >> the scenery is breathtaking. rushing rivers. picturesque prairies. many parts of western montana look untouched by man. people come from around the world to fish the black foot river and other waters. today, there is a threat to this popular pass time global warming is putting the state

fish the cutthroat trout in danger. >> all right, we are going to need the net, the fisher and the tagging equipment. >> clint monitors fish and rivers for the u.s. geological survey. they are looking for solutions. >> this area is actually warming two to three times the global average. >> worse case scenario would be that the rivers dry up, warm up too much to the point where trout can't inhabit the waters anymore. >> mofeld and his team work the stream in glacier national park. >> this is kind of iconic. it is the poster child of climate warming in america. as temperatures start to increase we can actually see fish starting to move up the mountain side. >> what are we doing? >> surveying a stream where we

hope to tag native cutthroat trout. these fish like it cold? >> they like it cold. >> sooner or later there will knob where else to go. >> so earlier i spoke with phil torres and asked him who is tracking these climate changes and what kind of impact is it having? >> a lot of it is the usgs. they are not only tracking the temperature increase. they are tracking the actual fish. which is pretty cool. >> how much warmer is it getting? >> right now it looks to be between two and two and a half degrees above the average for increase that we are seeing in other areas. >> and that's a big deal. a temperature increase of one or two degree says a big deal? >> absolutely. and we are seeing the impact of global warming is trickling down into the rivers in which the trout are found. these trout are used to cold water. they are the iconic trout, the

cutthroat trout. when when the temperatures of the rivers are rise, they to have move to a colder area and are running out of places to go. >> are you suggesting that in some areas here the water is actually getting too warm for the trout? >> yes. it is actually getting above 73-degrees. that is their cutoff that they are finding. so what they are doing to be actively trying to protect these fish is when the rivers get above 73 they say okay, no tourists can go in and do any fishing because that is -- >> that is an impact on tourism. yes. >> talking glacier national park, montana, one of the top attractions. >> 250 million a year going towards this tourism and fishing industry. if somebody takes a trip to montana and finds out they can't go fishing because it is too warm, they are not going to be too happy. >> let's be honest about this. this is a traditionally blue state. i would imagine -- >> red state. >> exactly. what am i thinking. a red state and i would imagine that you to find

plenty of people in montana who would be skeptics of global warming. i'm wondering watching what is happening with the trout, with the lake water temperatures is it starting to get some people to take another look at this? >> you know, i call this is a success story because they are seeing it hit their bottom line. it is affecting the local economy and so it is getting communities together and people that are otherwise yeah might be resistant to the idea called to action. they are getting out there and doing what they can and trying to spread this story on a global basis. they can't reduce emissions of the entire world right there, but think can do what they can to ensure the impact is as little as possible. >> what can they do? >> they are doing a few things. they are cutting off fishing when it gets too warm. >> shutting it down. >> right. >> and they are tracking the fish. what they want to do is be able to measure on a year by year basis how far the fish are going and any hybridization happening between the cutthroat and rainbow trout because that is not good for the trout

populations. >> give us a preview of what you have on the show on sunday. >> on sunday we have got some good stuff. besides the trust we have gdf 11. what? in a protein in young mice and they put it into old mice. and they found it restored that old mouse aye heart to look young again. >> really? >> and they think there is a lot of potential applying the proteins in humans. it is going to take a bit more than just a young heart to live forever but they are on the right track. >> for get about fda approval, i want that now. good to see you why. >> good to see you too. >> check out techknow 4:30:00 p.m. eastern. >> after eight years ben bernanke stepped down today. he stepped down as the nation was in the midst of a real estate bubble that was about to burst. he led the nation and many said prevented a second recession. the unrest in ukraine may

have taken a dark turn. a protester says he was kidnapped, tortured and left for dead. a live report from kiev next. also the state of texas buys so many textbooks that it can influence publishers around the country. today a decision about who gets to hold that influence.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. the man who ordered september's lane closings of the george washington bridge says new jersey governor chris christie knew all about it as it happened. in a late letter david wildstein's lawyers say they have evidence to prove it. christie denied knowing about it beforehand. we just got a response from his office. christie reiterates he had absolutely no prior knowledge

that it happened and denies other assertions in wildstein's lawyers letter. president obama took steps to help the long term unemployed. the president signed an order barring federal agencies from disqualifying applicants because they are out of work. more than 350 companies have signed pledges to undertake best practices for hiring the long term unemployed. the first round of syrian peace talks are over with no concrete resolution. they ended with promises of more negotiations about a week's time but syrian government representatives say they to have ask damascus before they can return. the uprising in ukraine now has activists claiming they are being attacked by government forces. john kerry is in germany to meet with protest leaders from ukraine. he says the country's president is not doing enough to end the conflict in that country. despite a new law that drops charges against protesters if they leave government buildings.

let's go live now to jennifer glasse in kiev for us. >> well tony this case proves what many activists say has been the case all along that the opposition has been targeted by the police. this is a case of an opposition activist who had been missing for eight days and was found just last night. he was beaten and left for dead in a ukranian forest. opposition activist says he is lucky to be alive. >> i was crucified. i have got holes in my hands. a part of my ear was cut off. they cut my face. there is not a spot on my body that hasn't been badly beaten. i couldn't tell who they were because it was always dark. but the accent was russian. i will tell you more later. now i cannot see very well because i have been in darkness for so long. >> he was a thorn in the side of the government.

he organized vehicle convoys to protest government minister's homes. and group members received threatening text messages. then their leader vanished. >> he isn't the only one who disappeared. an independent monitor says there are about 30 people still missing. relatives don't want to talk about them in public because they are afraid of making the situation worse. they just want to see their loved ones come home alive. >> every night volunteers at my sos record what they see at a radio station to share what they note about -- >> the most notorious cases ofsivic rise abuses. missing persons, arrested persons and god forbid if there are any persons that lost their life. >> their hot line helps keep track of the missing and they have a list of lawyers who will help ukranian whose have been arrested or detained. >> it's important even to know

what they can do, what they are not to do, what they reentitled to do. because the -- it not -- >> human rights watchers accuse the ukranian government of targeting medics. it is a pattern of abuse they have seen before and called for an investigation. as he left to meet with the secretary state in germany, one of the opposition leaders called for the same. >> in munich we will insist on an international investigation of all the cases of killing, torture and kidnapping of people. and the fact that journalists are being targeted and shot at. today's events regarding proves that in ukraine death squads have appeared. >> in independence square at the heart of opposition demonstrations, they read names of the miss, in the hope that someone might know something and ensuring that

those who are out of sight aren't out of mind. >> and tony, tonight a standoff at the hospital where he is being treated. the police are there. they said they went to interrogate him but his supporters say they went to arrest him. they have issued an arrest warrant for him claiming that he has been charged with inciting riots, the kind of mistrust that the opposition of the authorities here the supporters protect him the police say they are protecting him too but they are also there to arrest him. hey jennifer, where is the president yanokovich in all of this? >> well, tony, victorian could very much called in sick. he has taken indefinite sick leave. he has a respiratory infection and high fever. he did sign the two laws that parliament passed into law that is a provisional amnesty

that says opposition supporters will be freed but only after opposition supporters leave government buildings they have occupied which they don't plan to do. and the other one repealing the draconian laws limiting freedom of speech and expression here. but opposition supporters are concerned that the president's sick leave may mean that he is trying to give himself political cover for anything that happens here. >> jennifer glasse in kiev. good to see you thank you. a new study questions the safety of fracking. fracking is the process of drawing natural gas from deep underground by pupping water, sand and chemicals into the earth. the report from the colorado school of public health says living close to a fracking site can increase birth defects by 30%. >> well the study mostly focused on people that lived within 10 miles, a ten mile radius of these sites and people who lived in areas that were much more removed. and what we found was that

there was an association between the -- how close you lived if you were the mother how close you lived to the wells and the likelihood of having a child who would have congenital heart defect. most of the other findings in the study were negative, meaning that we did not find associations for any of the other factors of concern. >> dr. newman says more research is needed before any changes to fracking policy. local media says turkey has gotten rid of 700 more police officers over an investigation into corruption. altogether 5,000 police officers have been dismissed or moved. this started when a number of businessmen and the sons of three cabinet ministers were arrested in december for suspicious construction deals. and the prime minister says it is all part of a plot to undermine the country's economy and his government.

life expectancy for the average russian man is more than a decade shorter than an american. and now a new study suggests vodka is largely to blame. al jazeera's peter sharp is in moscow with the story. >> vodka has been part of the social fabric of russian life for nearly 600 years. but today for a growing section of the population here, the party has gone on too long. at a wednesdaying the couple toast their future with vodka. a drink that will follow them through their lives. divorce rates are soaring, alcohol too often the cause. now a new study confirms vodka is the major cause of the extraordinarily high risk of early death in russian men. and confirms that 25% of all russian men died before they reached 55 due to heavy drinking. and to put that into perspective, the rate in britain is just 7%. >> there are only alcoholics here. oh so many. >> first of all vodka is so

cheap. it is the cheapest 40 proof drink you can get and only costs $1 a bottle. >> russian people drink a lot because they want to forget about their every day problems, the problems with politics, the problems with job and problems with family. it seems to me that when they drink they forget about all their problems. >> and it is not just the vodka on its own. it is the whole lifestyle of persistently heavy drinkers that throws other drink represented factors. violence, suicides, alcohol poisoning, accidents, especially traffic accidents, russia's love affair with alcohol comes at such a cost. >> 100,000 people were followed for a decade and asked how much they drank. >> drinking a lot of vodka or

other hard liquor is typical of russia and ukraine. in english it is called binge drink. it is this consumption which is the main cause of death. >> president yeltsin's drunken outings on the world's stage ensured he was no role model for the youth of russia. but since 2006 when alcohol policy forms were introduced and anti-drinking campaigns broadcast on state television consumption of spirits has fallen by a third. however, in a country where average life expectancy for men is only 64, vodka takes the lives of a quarter of all men before they even reach 55. and that could just prove sobering. al jazeera, ms. co. another cruise ship with sick passengers dock in texas. didn't we have a story earlier on this? maria with that and other news. we did. cruise ships have been getting

a bad wrap and this will not help their public relations. another cruise liner had to abort its trip after a noro virus outbreak. they stopped in hue u houston because 170 passengers of the nearly 4,000 on board got sick. cdc boarded the ship to ensure sanitation before its next departure. this follows a royal caribbean liner who also had to cut its trip short after 600 people became sick with a gastrointestinal illness. in montana, a diocese is going bankrupt. the diocese in helena filed for bankruptcy. lawsuits claim clergy members abused 350 children between 1940 to 1970 and the die is knew about it. the state bankruptcy court will have to pay the 15 million in compensation as

well as compensation for victims who come forward later. in ohio a man who planned for 18 years to be buried atop his beloved harley-davidson will have his dying wish fulfilled. billy stanley will be buried a plexiglass casket where embalmers will strap him to the seat of his harley-davidson electroglide cruiser. his family says it helped him retain his sense of adventure. in salt lake city, utah a cafeteria manager and district supervisor have been placed on leave after allegedly taking away lunches from kids who had money due on their calf tire yeah bill. some parents say they were not informed of the past due balance and are outraged that the school would take such harsh measures. >> that is outrageous. yeah. outrageous. >> it is embarrassing for the kids. >> all right. >> good week toned you. you too. have a great week agenda. >> california's drought has had at least one unusual

effect. a mini boom in the state's gold mining business. we will speak with someone who is in the middle of it. that's next. >> real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america.

>> no doubt about it, innovati

>> welcome back everyone to al jazeera america. texas is one of the largest buyers of school textbooks in the united states. it's decisions often have widespread implications in other states. but the recent years there have been ideological battles among members of citizen panels who review contents of the books. today the board of education moved to change the rules. heidi joins us from dallas. if you would, tell us about the board's decision here. >> good to sey too tony. today's decision changes the requirements for the citizen

panel that is an advisory panel for the texas board of education. and now rather than giving each panelist opinion equal weight they are putting priority on panelist whose are experts or educators in their specific field. now, what this doesn't change is the actual make-up of these panels. there is only two requirements to be appointed. you have to be a resident of texas and you have to be at least 18 years old. now, why do we care about the opinions of these people? because if you look just back last summer there were two of these advisers who caused the texas -- the board of education to halt the process of approving a biology book. now both of these members were anti-evolution. one wanted it emphasis on creationism, the other wanted less emphasis on global warming, well that caused some contentious debate among the board of education. they approved the biology text as is.

but that again ignites the fear that social conservatism was being put over academics. >> we mentioned what happens in texas with these textbooks can ripple a across the country. what are the potential implications of today's move? >> right, well, it also a question of economics. because texas is a big state it has immense power in ordering from these textbook publishers. what each line of text in the textbook says. so a they will only by textbooks that explain creationism or not global warming then by default a lot of these other states will have no other option but to buy the same textbooks that are marketed elsewhere. >> is this the end of the fight over this issue? >> i think far from it, tony. because this is a fight that has gone on for well over five years. and the current board of education in texas is more

moderate than it has been. some social conservatives lost their election, but the texas freedom network a left leaning group issued a statement after today's vote saying that while we would like to see stronger protections against political meddling the new rules at least show board members are aware that they need to clean up the adoption process, referring to the textbook adoption process. >> heidi, appreciate it. in dallas, texas. a drought crisis in california right now. listen to this. the state officials say they will not be able to provide water to agencies serving 25 million people and 1 million acres of farmland. this is the first time in a 54 year history of california's water department that this type of action has been taken. they say water in the state's rest voyeur is far below normal and there is simply not enough water. jacob ward is live for us in los angeles. he is following the story.

what does this announcement mean? >> well, tony, this declaration is basically a emergency act that allows the state to sort of step around a bunch of laws that have driven the state for a long time life is water in california in the way that it is with almost no other state and so this allows them to pullback none essential uses of water, apply for federal aid and do a number of things. state officials at the press conference said although they tried to plan for this kind of thing, this year took them by surprise. >> we should always be planning for dry years. that is one of the reasons we attempt to deliver as much water as we can in wet years consistent with those environmental protections so that it is in storage in the places of need. we will always be challenged in a year as dry as this one. >> this is really a terrible, terrible situation and state officials are putting a brave face on. but this is a bad situation. >> yeah, how much of a crisis and maybe you can help us put

it in some kind of context here is this drought for california? >> well, right now, we are about halfway through what could be the rainy season, and there has been almost no rain. but, that said, even though we have been halfway through it, we are looking at what is probably going to be one of the top three droughts in 500 years. the last bad for 1580 and 197 self. this is probably on record will go down as the worst drought the state has ever seen. this means that we are going to see an increase in forest fires. we are going to see fisheries fall apart. that will move all the way up the food chain. and the really scary part is the blood vessels of the state, the groundwater supply that moves through the geological layer, when the water disappears from that, it collapses. basically the blood vessels of the state collapse and will never come back. so this is a bad situation. >> and if i could for a second here, there was a pretty severe drought in georgia a

few years back and what i remember about that is that it took a very, very very long time for water levels to come back. so we are talking about a drought in present time that could last the effects of which could last for i don't know, i don't know how long. >> yeah, that's really the thing. we are looking at not just a seasonal things. everyone slugs their shoulders and says oh this is a bad one. we are looking at permanent damage to the ecosystem and california is the breadbasket for the country. this drought is gripping many parts of california, right? but there is an upshot. there is gold in them thar hills. i don't know if that came off. the receding waters are expoing new areas for professional and amateur prospectors and people are lining up to take part in this modern day gold rush. joining me from auburn, california is heather willis. it's okay, you can smile. how are you, heather?

>> i'm fine. how are you this evening. >> i'm close to my weekend. she is the owner of pioneer mining, a prospector supply store. how is business today and how many customers have you had come through your doors? >> today alone i say we probably had about 30, 40 customers come through our doors. we are pretty popular right now. so how long have you seen this uptick in traffic. how long has this been going on. this sort of boom for you? >> it kind of comes into effect any time the water level is really drop. but two months especially. >> what do i see in front of you here? what is that that you are selling there? >> what we have got are some different types of equipment that we offer that kind of people are using out in the rivers today. you have some boxes, gold pans, sniffers and some

beginner books, little things like that. a general set-up for people getting out and wanting to prospect is about $150 of the stuff you see here. >> it is portable. >> has it been a good couple of months for you? >> yes, it has, actually. we have definitely seen anywhere between a 10 to 15 increase in sales. >> so, with the material in front of you can you describe the process how this works, if people come in, they buy the equipment and then what do they do with it? >> what they do is take it to the rivers. number one thing they do is they will go out and look on the sides and figure out different areas near the water where they can pull up material. and then what they will do is shovel it through one of these. the box will take those buckets of dirt andry dues it down to next to nothing and what happens, after it is finished, you take the carpets out and pan it in a pan and the pan with the pan after you

man it you sniffer it out and then eventually put your gold in vials like this for showing off. >> as i mentioned a moment ago, i have got a weekend coming up here and this is beginning to feel a little intriguing to me. is there really gold to be found out there and how much can you actually find and what is it really worth? >> well in actual monetary value it is worth quite a bit but there is a higher price on the actual sentimental value. there is definitely still gold throughout in those hills. i actually have a few different types and this is what makes it very popular right now. generally before the drought was in place you had a lot of small pieces like these but what happens is now that the rivers are so low they are able to get into areas they couldn't and so you start finding ones like these. >> hey, that's terrific.

so don't be surprised if you see me knocking on the door at some point next week. it is good to talk to you. thanks for the time good to see you. the owner of the pioneer mining company. that is is a prospector's supply store. have a good weekend. thank you. >> you too. come see me. >> will do. all right. the great barrier reef, prospector off australia's northeastern coast is the largest coral reef home to more than 8,000 species but a new decision by the government has them in a heated debate. >> already a united nations agency is considering whether to describe the world heritage listed barrier reef as in danger. now what environmentals are described as -- 300 cubic meters of sand dredged will be dumped at sea within the marine park. the coal industry wants the

port deened so they can export more material. it says 30 years of dredging elsewhere has had no negative impact on the reef. environmentalists disagree. they point to glad stone where an inquiry is underway whether dredging there diseased fish, killed sea grass and harmed turtles. despite years of denial, who said the runoff from land after it led to diseases in fish, whistle-blowers say leaking spoils from dredging operations are partly to blame. 47 environmental conditions will be imposed and spoils won't be dumped over coral reefs. it is important to note that the approved disposal area does not contain coral reef or sea grass beds. >> environmentalists say that is not enough. it the travels and blocks off light killing life. we will see the condition of the reef only get worse.

and this is just in the edge. this 3 million cubic meters or 5 million tons of dumping is only the first of a number of proposals to expand ports and allow more dredging and dumping across the reef waters. >> the more industrial projects that are allowed, in other words, the more fish suffer. >> the great barrier reef marine park authority is supposed to be an independent watchdog looking after the interest of the reef. critics point out it is a government agency and the government has made it clear, its priorities are economic. this decision environmentalists say amounts to putting the interests of the coal industry above australia's greatest natural resource. for al jazeera, sydney. >> when we come back, an update on top stories. >> for less pay. >> people are struggling everywhere. >> school loans... morgages... inflation... taking it's toll... >> we live paycheck to paycheck...

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>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. new jersey governor chris christie is repeating he had no knowledge of the lane

closures over the george washington bridge. it comes after the man who ordered the closures wrote a letter who said christie knew about it and there is evidence to prove it. president obama is taking steps to help job seekers find work. one issue, applicants who canned find a job because they have been without work for extended periods of time today the president ordered federal agencies not to discriminate against long term unemployed. a state department report finds the controversial keystone xl pipeline will not cause major environmental damage. president obama has been unpressure from republicans to allow the pipeline to carry oil through the u.s. from canada. environmentalists have warned it will cause too much damage. secretary of state john kerry is expected to meet with opposition leaders from ukraine. perry criticized ukraine's president saying he has not done enough to end turmoil there. and first round of syrian peace talks are over with no concrete resolutions. they ended with promises of

more negotiations in about a week's time but syrian government representatives say they have to ask damascus first if they can return. tony haris in new york. real money withal ali velshi is next on al jazeera america. >> good-bye january, and good riddance! your investment took a beating this month. i tell you what that could mean for the rest of treant. 2014. rebuilding the american dream for the country's middle class. plus the college football player that got tired of sweaty shirts and created a multibillion dollar business. i'm ali velshi and this is "real money."