>> winter storm warning from the midwest to name the blast of snow and ice that is crippling roads, rails and runways nationwide. it contaminated the drinking water for a quarter million people. the white house wants to know if the chemical spill in west virginia is a crime. >> there were a number of specifics threats of varying degrees that we are tracking. >> security in sochi - catching the eyes and ears of american

agencies. the threats they are monitoring days before the opening ceremony. >> people didn't believe you could be psychologically coerced to confess to a crime you didn't commit. >> free at last - after years behind bars, what is behind the number of overturned convictions in america. >> millions of americans are waking up to another winter headache this morning. a major snow and ice storm that hammered the midwest on tuesday is beating up the north-east. several states issued winter weather alerts and warnings in kansas and new jersey are under states of emergency. >> good morning, welcome to al jazeera. om-stephanie sy. americans have been busy digging their way out of monday's storms, their shovels will not

get a rest. thomas drayton tells us how it impacts the country. >> the all-too familiar sound and sight is back. >> this year is terrible. >> i can't remember it being so cold for swiften. >> another blast of snow slamming two dozen states. with kansas and missouri taking the brunt, and the storm taking aim at the north-east. blizzard like conditions in near zero visibility. every plough and snow truck on the road trying to stay ahead of the falls. there are concerns things could get worse on highways. >> if the winds pick up, we'll see drifting. >> kansas city mayor is warning residents the heavy snow is the beginning. the city will be in a deep preez for the rest of the week. >> the main thing is don't let the fact that the snow stops

make you feel safe and comfortable that you ignore the low temperatures and the things that came with it. >> 32 states are under a form of winter weather alert, more warnings than any single storm last year. it is spreading fast. in ohio, a winter storm warning has been issued. an ice warning in other parts of the state where a shortage has some worried. >> there's a lot of kids. this is a kid-friendly neighbourhood. someone could slip and fall. >> in texas, the second winter storm caused a deadly accident. icy roads blamed for a truck that went careening into a sheriff's deputy and three bystanders, killing one. >> freezing raun and snow made roadways treacherous. a tractor trailer topple, and

trees and powerlines took a hit. 50,000 were hit without electricity. >> and now all the snow, ice and freezing temperatures from the north-east, from nebraska to new york. the bad weather is promising a dangerous come ute this morning. new yorkers could get a mix of snow and sleet. >> it could impact half an inch of ice. unwomb news for the post super bowl. >> all the storms are leading to a big road salt shortage. kansas, indiana, pennsylvania and ohio have gone flow their stockpile. some are using sands, others must make do with what they have. >> let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell for the latest on the storm. >> this has been a far-reaching event. we have this yesterday.

we were dealing with it while it moved through kansas, getting a foot of snow, through the great lakes, impacting the north-east. we have snow and rain to the south. >> let's look at the north-east corridor, where you see the line of freezing precipitation. a lot of times temperatures drop. you may go from freezing rain to snow, which can be approacherous. it coats the roads. this has been different. there's another warm up as they move northwards. places with heavy snow switched to freezing. we saw it in pittsburg. and the snow switching to the sleet and freezing rain. it will be a treacherous day regardless of how you look at it. all the low-pressure areas moving off. then eventually, later today, completely off the coast, cooler

air behind it, not a big arctic push where textures dropped 10 or 15 degrees. here is how this progresses. later this afternoon some of this clears the coastline, into new england where we get the heavier portions of snow. some of the totals that we'll look for, once you get north of connecticut, or roled island, a lot of places could see a foot and a half. this will be a mess. this is why we a winter storm warnings. we are watching something for the weekend. more coming up. a lot on our plate as we statar february. >> let's take a look at the skies. winter storms cancelled 6,000 flights. the number is growing. more than two are cancelled today as the wintery mix moves

in. checking in with the flight tracker, there are 600 flights in the u.s. each one is represented by the orange and red plains. we have breaking news out of geneva, a u.n. children's rights group released a report accusing the vatican of adopting policies allowing priests to sexually abuse children. systematically placing the reputation of the catholic church over protecting children from abuse. >> the holy sooer has adopted policies and practices which led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators. the holy sooer placed the rep u taghts of the church and protection of the perpetrators above children's best interests. >> a panel grueled official

about the handling of priests that they were aware of 400 now cases, involving members of the clergy in 2012. several branches of the u.s. military are embroiled in major scandals. the army, national guard members of accused of camming the army. the navy is taking heat on sailors cheating on champs. on the heels of a similar cheating scandal in the air force. >> a recruiting program was being vest. it cost taxpayers millions. >> even one case of fraud would have been too many. instead we know that thousands of service members, their families and friend may have participated in schemes to defraud the government they served and the taxpayers.

>> 1200 individuals, 200 officerses and two 2-star generals are implicated centring around a government program that paid cash for recruitment to the guard. the recruiting program got out of hand. its intent was to offer financial incentives for recruits for iraq and iraq. >> all of the other traditional thoth that had worked -- methods that had worked weren't working. >> tuesday it's been revealed the navy is investigating a cheating scandal on written tests. it's believed 30 senior officers are involved. >> this is a soars incident. as the cno said, interring rity is the foundation of the business. n.c.i.s. began an investigation. the air force has its own

cheating scandal. the number of missile launch officers hit 92 out of 500 staff. they are accused of sharing the answers to text questions via text. neck about the cheating but failing to report it. the u.s. gent secretary says the pentagon has to crack down. >> the military has been put on such a ped es tall and held on high regard that they are not as careful as they used to be in terms of the things that they do. they say, "we are better than everyone else so we can push the envelope here or there. >> three branches, three scandals and a lot of explaining to do by the top brass. >> that was john terrett reporting at a senate hearing on the army scandal. it was suggested national guard members accepted $29 million in

kickbacks. >> afghanistan's president hamid karzai has been holding secret peace talks with the taliban. a government spokesperson said the talks took place in dubai. hamid karzai refused to sign aagreement allowing us troops to stay in the country. they threatened to pull all forces out of the country. president obama met with stop u.s. military commanders on tuesday. north and south korea have agreed to allow some families separated by the korean war to reunite. it will be the first face to face meetings for many, in more than three years. they are scheduled to take police this month. many families were split apart. communication between the countries, including travel and phone calls have been banned. the white house launched a criminal investigation into the

west virginia chemical spill. investigators began the probe after the january accident. it tainted drinking for for more than 300,000. subpoenas have been sent. several lawmakers called for tougher laws to protect the public. >> americans have a right to expect when they turn the tap on, the water they get is safe to drink. >> al jazeera's robert ray has been covering the story from the beginningment the chemical spill is the latest controversy in a state with thousands of plants, mines and little oversight. >> ask the locals and men will tell you the place they call home, west virginia, and better known as the chemical val yip. >> at the -- valley. >> at the risk of having mishaps are concentrated because the chemical industry is concentrated here.

>> investigators from the chemical safety board investigated three deaths. the most recent at this plant in 2010. a worker died when a hose sprayeded him with a deadly gas. it was recommended that the state create a separate board. >> we heard that the state was not able to respond to the negotiations. it was impossible for them to do it. those are the last words we have. >> a spokesperson forn the west virginia -- person for the west virginia department of health sass june 30th, 2011, was the last investigation. at the time the as si and the departme department of environmental protection agreed to: >> no legislation was ever introduced. >> it's challenging considering that i'm the first person that

introduced it to the state in 2009, before the chemical safety board. to be here again at this moment saying the same thing is challenging. >> this person represents a group from people concerned about chemical safety. it formed in 2004, a chemical was released, killing thousands. it was made and stored at a plant in institute west virginia. nigh hopes public outrage that contame nated the drinking water for 300,000 people will bring tougher regulations. >> a senator talked about his pregnant wife avoiding the water. one of the reasons these issues are swept under the rug is because a lot of people in decision making power aren't dealing with the ramifications first hand. >> two bills have been introduced requiring stricter

oversight - too late for this incident, but maybe preventing a future one. >> the federal investigation comes amid concerns that the tap water is not safe to drink. public and officials assured the residents that the chemical is no in the water. >> the affordable care act could convince many americans to work left. by 2017 obamacare will reduce workforce participation by the equivalent of 2 million full-time jobs. the new law could lead workers to limit their hours to avoid losing federal subsidies. house republicans say the obamacare is bad for the economy and the cuts are voluntary steps? >> it says that you will not see an increase in the unemployment rate, that when you stee

changes, it will be a person that didn't want to work the hours. they still have the option to. they can, but in that case maybe they'll decide they don't need to any more, and that, in their case, might be a better choice and aption than what they have -- option than what they have before. >> the ceo reduced their estimate. 24 million should be signed up by 2017. >> the senate approved a farm bill. it's headed to the president's desk. it's allowed subsidies. it comes with the cost of many families. it include 8 billion in cuts over the next 10 years. it's a lose of about $90 a month. >> american intelligence -

taking action on security in sochi, russia. new threats that have americans concerned about safety at the games >> and a governor tennessee - why high school students may want to pick up and head there before they grad utility. >> david beckham set to make a return to the united states, but this time not as a player. >> taking a look outside maddison square park where snow turned to rain.

>> good morning and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> straight ahead participation security threats at the winter games in sochi. first, a look at temperatures across the nation. meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. >> good morning, we are dealing with cooler air. the next weather system came

through, dropping down temperatures. not as arctic assan. chilly nonetheless. part of the plains run 20, 30, 40 degrees below average. it will be chilly. to the north-east temperatures around freezing. there's a dividing line between the snow and rain. as we look up and down the road signs, chilly air into parts of the north west coast. >> billings 96. parts of oklahoma in the 20s, whereas normally we'd be closer to 50 for averages. as we get to the arrest of the reggon, cold. four is the high in fargo. more snow. more on that coming up later. >> thank you. >> just days before the start of the winter olympics in russia there's major security concerns as teams make that way to sochi.

american intelligence officials testify before congress. matthew olson says the u.s. is concerned about instability in the region and is working hand in hand with russia. >> we are shark information with the ush -- sharing information with the russians, they are sharing with us. as of now, i would characterise the level of sharing as good. >> austria's team is it the latest to say it received a threat. several letters turned out to be a hoax. russia is trying to allied fears with a massive security presence in sochi. >> sport is not the only thing on show in sochi. far from it. until the first ski is strapped on or hockey puck struck, russian security has the stage. cossack police men are on the

street and military boats control the black sea pipeline. >> threats from armed separatist groups based in the north added to glittery global sentiment, fuelling claims that russia would not be able to protect them. >> there are many security experts. >> most probably attacks would be impossible. i think the terrorists prepare to carry out an attack on less reacted places. these are faced in the south of russia. two suicide attacks on volgograd's system last september suggest this is achievable. there are threats of a different nature. on tuesday the austrian olympic committee said it received a letter saying two of their athletes had been kidnapped in sochi. similar letters last month turp youed out to be a hoax.

there's a huge multi layered security personnel. it will make sochi hard to attack. nothing could be 100% safe. until all the competitors and spectators back home, and socchi have returned to normality. sochi won't be able to boast it put on a trouble-free games. if it's achieved there'll be immense satisfaction, and many russians point to all the worries. that is a big if. >> opening ceremony for the sochi games kick off on friday. many americans plan to watch the ents on television. according to an associated press poll. 65 watch the event. despite a 9-hour plus time

difference. no surprise. figure skating ranked, 24% saying they'll tune in to watch the event and one-third are concerned with russia's ability to protect the olympics. >> snow boarder shaun white is a star of team usa. the two-time olympic champion is nursing an injury. ross shimabuku tells us what happened. >> shaun white wants to be known as the animal versus the flying tomato. he is nursing a wrist injury after falling on the course. white and other competitors are homing changes will be made to the course. the wrist and other nagging injuries will not be a problem. we can't say the same for finland's athlete who fell and hit her head, suffering a

concussion. another broke their collarbone on monday. >> safety around sochi is a concern. for those athletes there, they feel pregd. >> we feel safe, in a bunle. they have assured us that the security is tight and everything is fine. i'll focus on my competition. no matter where you go. something could happen. i'm not worried about it. >> there's a lot of changes to security. i'm not concerned. the organising committee has done an amazing job making sure everyone is safe. i feel safe. i'm not worried about it at all. i talked to my family. they are coming over in a couple of days, they are not worried. >> can magic work his magic. magic johnson who brought showtime and re-juvinated the boys in blue. he's hoping to save the l.a.

sparks and said they lost him $12 million. hopefully magic and the dodgers ownership group can provide a spark. >> david beckham is back in the headlines and it's not because of his underwear add, stephanie sy. he's back in major league soccer. he's expected to be named the owner of a miami franchise that will play in 2016. he got to buy the frap chis for a -- franchise for a did you notted rate of $ -- discounted rate of $25 million, a rate established when he signed with the l.a. galaxy in 2007. >> he's famous jamous. he led the seminoles to a championship. he's going prime time. like another star, dion sanders.

jameis winston is football star, he is a 6-foot 4 out fielder. he'll be the closer on the florida state team, ranked number six in the nation. over in the caribbean series, puerto rico swinging a stick. eddy rosario at the pitch. puerto rico up one zip. cuba answered. tied up at one, taking the lead after the third base, a boo boo cuba win 2-1. spring training is in the air. right around the corner. pitchers and catchers for the arizona diamond backs report form. most teams start next week. the boys of summer are back. >> hopefully them bring the weather with them. out with the omed old, in with

the new. bill gates no longer chairman, and the man taking the reins at microsoft. >> officials are supposed to be here to serve and protect us, citizens, basically threw my life in the gutter and left me to die. >> they spent years behind bars for crimes they didn't commit. what's behind a record year for overturned convictions in america. >> who is the authority, man or god. >> evolution versus creation. bill nigh takes on the creator of the foundation museum in a debate.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy, and these are the top stories at this hour. a winter storm slams 32 states,

cancelling classes and grounding flightsment the system hammered the midwest on tuesday and dumping snow and ice. the white house is considering criminal charges in the west virginia chemical spill. a team of environmental officials is in the state to investigate concerns about drinking water. a spill contaminated water for 300,000 people. as we told you this morning, a u.n. children's right group released a report, accusing the vatican of adopting policies allowing a priest to sexually abuse children. our correspondent is in geneva. give us details revealed in the report. >> that's right. it was, if you like, a report card into the vatican's compliance with an important u.n. treaty, the unreason convention on the rights of the child. assist something that the vat

cap is coy in terms of giving evidence. two weeks ago they turned up to geneva. today in geneva that report is released and does not make comfortable reading if you are sitting in the vatican. it is full of significant criticism of the vatican's pollities when it comes to a toxic issue of child abuse, which we know is a huge issue. the vatican is not willing to come to terms with the scale of the problem, or take responsibility for it. >> at a press conference the chairman gave us an impression of how the vatican, in her view, is still failing. >> the holy sooer adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators.

the holy sooer has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation. church and the protection of the perpetrators above children's best interests. >> amongst the failings is conditioned policy of moving offending priest from country to country to avoid prosecution. the u.n. committee says the vatican is refusing to share data. according to the u.n. committee the vatican is refusing to make it compulsory practice for bish opposed around the world to report allegations of abuse to local police force, a raft of failings and recommendations that will make uncomfortable reading in the vatican. >> it will be interesting to see the rehabilitation this morning.

>> microsoft has a new chief executive officers, satya nadella. he steps into the role of ceo after 22 years at the software chint. he served as vice president of the microsoft cloud and enterprise group. microsoft cofounder bill gates is taking on the role of technology advisor. ism i'm thrilled that satya nadella arrived me to step up, increasing the time i spend at the country. i have a third of my time to meet with product groups and will be fun to define the next round of products, working toot. >> here to tep us understand what the -- help us understand what the chance at the top is, is professor at the stern school of business. >> back in 2008 bill gaits said

he was leaving microsoft to focked on philanthropic work: are you surprised he has taken a high-profile role as technology officer within the. >> this was not part of the plan when mr gates stepped away. given the struggles that the company had in terms of strategy, innovation and technology, there's a sense that he needs to become involved. he is the public face to developers, to investors, to everyone of microsoft. this is his legacy, his baby in many ways. he has an invested interest. >> he seemed excited in the video conference. is there a sense that gates wants to come back, or that he needed to rein vigourated the company. >> he's been on the board since stepping down as ceo and has been involved. there's no doubt he would rather

spend times working on product teams than in board meetings discussing legal issues. he would have hoped that they didn't have to make the step, that the company would have come up with the innovations to lead into the future. >> what are the challenges that the company are struggling with? >> there has been a huge switch to mobile. microcost is by far the lagered in that space. dragging behind google and the android system. it's questionable whether they can make inroads into the space. if they can't, the question is can they preserve what they have it and develop the b to b side to find what comes after this and make it back into it at that point in time. their possession is untenable. >> do you think bill gates will give satya nadella the freedom

he needs. a lot compared it to the relationship with gates earlier. >> gates had a difficulty stepping away. in recent years he has done a better job, he played the role he's been asked to play. and my sense would have to be in order for this to happen in the first place, there has to be clear declinations. gates will be involved in product teams. my sense is that at this point gates figured out how to work with a ceo, the biggest question is if things don't turn around, whether there's pressure put on. i think gates wanted an outsider. someone new. but i think there was no good

candid date, fit for the company. >> mr satya nadella is not an outsider. >> no, but he's not from the tradition part of the business, office and windows, he's been in the cloud business. >> jpeggers, thank you so much for your insights. >> tech clients are teaming up with president obama to help bring high speed internet to more classrooms. they are all donating to the cause and have committed 750 million. the federal communications commission will kick in there 2 billionment the president want to braining high-speed internet to 99% of stupid. tennessee governor is offering details about an education plan,

wanting to provide community college or technical colleges. >> we'll ask you to do community service and ask you to have a mentor. one of the things we see is mentors are a key. particularly if no one has been to college. it's a ski criteria. the governor said the plan would apply to all students. he says it would cost 34 million a year. >> jpmorgan chase and morgan stanley are paying big bucks. jpmorgan will pay $614 million to settle lames that mislead the government about the quality of mortgages for after a decade and agreed to improve mortgage lending practices. morgan stanley has a bigger

bill. coughing up $1.3 billion. this to settle claims that it sold bad mortgages to fannie and freddy mack. wall street is playing it safe after the bounce back. stock futures are pointing to losses at the open. the do you starts the day at $15,445. the s and p stands at: >> a market watcher said despite sell-offs, investors should hold on to stocks. >> the septemberment was negative. we came off a 2.5 year bull market. people thought the market was oversold. they have been looking for negative news. now, i don't think this is a time to sell stocks. >> in asia markets enning the day mixed. >> european markets are mostly

higher after three straight days of losses. we'll look at the health of the job market. adp will report. commests expect 180,000 jobs were created in january. it's a preclude to the monthly jobs report. the labor department reaches that on friday. >> puerto rico is having a harder time to borrow money. it's been reclassified as junk status. according to "morning star", 70% of municipal they hold bonds. >> a programming note. ahead in the 8 o'clock hour, "real money"'s ali velshi will be here to talk to one of the biggest names in commercial development, bruce ratner. >> there has been a jump in u.s. prisoners released after wrongful conviction.

a national register keeping track since 1989 says it recorded the moment exxonerations. diane eastabrook takes a look at the trend. >> this is a photo of a joyous man walking out of prison to meet his family after spending near 20 years behind bars. >> they were all in front of the prison waiting for me to step out. it was unreal, you know. something that seemed like a movie. >> he is among 1300 xponnerated for -- exonerated for wrongful convictions. 2013 saw the largest sam amount -- amount of exxonerations. >> university's law school publishes the registry. 20% of the cases last year involved people pleading guilty to crimes they didn't commit. >> people didn't believe that

you could be psychologically coerced to confess to a crime you didn't commit. we know that it's not ubiquitous, it's far from unheard of. >> he claims he was coerced into confessing to the murder of an 11-year-old girl. prosecutors maintained the get even after d.n.a. excluded raviera of the source. he was eventually exonerated because of insufficient evidence against him. ha works nearby in the laboratory at the medical school and is a visitor at the center for wrongful convictions. he doesn't want to see what happened to him happen to someone else. >> it's difficult to know and believe that officials that are supposed to be here to serve and protect us, citizens, basically just threw my life in the gutter and left me to die.

>> rivera moved on with his live, he feels stigmatised for searching time in prison, something he's not sure his exxoneration will erase. >> the national registry for exxonerations says the rise is due to the willingness of the prosecutors to re-examine closed cases. >> a florida high school student says she's being bullied because of her religion. she's been verbally and physically assaulted bus she wears a head scarf, a hajib. >> a boy opened the door when i left the ninth grade building and yelled, "terrorist one", he wan away. >> zara hopes to teach other stupid to feel comfortable expressing their faith. school officials are looking into the case and will take steps to keep zara face. >> new york's city mayor bill de

blasio will not march in the st. patrick's day parade. it does not allow parities papt to carry gay pride card. it's the first time in 20 years that a sitting mayor did not take part informant parade. >> a federal judge is deciding whether to overturn a ban, challenging an amendment to the constitution. protesters of both sides of the debate demonstrated outside. the virginia prosecutor doesn't agree with the ban and will not gpd it in court. -- will not defend it in court. >> the federal judge said she'd rule quickly. everyone involved agreed it would most likely wind up in the hands of the supreme court.

>> scotland has legalized same-sex marriages. the new law allowing for civil ceremoni ceremonies. the first marriages likely to take lace in the fall. >> was the universe created orevolved. two experts took the debate public. jonathan martin travelled to miami. >> is creation a viable model in this modern scientific era. it brought a sold-out crowd to petersburg to hear bill nigh face off with ken ham, christian author and founder of "the creation museum", what makes the united states a world leader is our technology, our new ideas, innovations. the battle is about authority, science, evolution. it's about who is the authority in this world, man or god.

>> the debate came about because of a video blog ni posted in which he said teaching creationism was harmful to students. it prompted ken ham to challenge bill nigh to the debate. bill nigh used examples from nature to counter the creationist view. >> there's a tree in sweden, it's 9,550 years old. how could the trees be there if there was a flood 4,000 years ago. >> ham stuck to a distinction between different types of science. >> you can't observe the age. earth. you don't see it. there's a difference between historical science, talking about the past and observesal science tucking about the present. if we eschew science and the process and divide science into

observational science in historic science, we will not move forward and embrace farl laws. evolution is obvious welcomingly accepted, the same level does not exist in the republic. 60% of americans believe in evolution. white evan gel call conservatives were more likely to believe that. >> i think it will compel many people to explore science and what they believe and why we are here on either. >> nigh and ham did not expect to change the other's view, but the discussion was important. >> the creation museum says visitors from 29 states bought seats for that debate. >> staying healthy in your teens

could have an impact for the rest of your life. having high blood pressures at the age of 18 can increase heart disease. people with above normal blood pressure are four times as likely to have high blood pressure. >> good news for people always a little cold. a new study says shivering is like a form of exercise. the muscle response triggered by shivering is similar to those of individual kerrses. the body responds to a drop in temperature by increasing energy and generating heat. >> more than a dozen sln killed by a -- have been killed by a volcano in indonesia. why americans 9,000 miles away may be at rick. >> i'll have the forecast coming

up. >> taking a live look at the dig-out in new york city's maddison square park, where the snow has turned to rain.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. straight ahead, why a massive volcanic reaction on the other side of the world is raising concerns in the u.s. first a look at the snow and rain. i have a feeling we have a bit of that. >> we have a lot of that. look across the country. the big storm moving to the east coast. i want to, before i hone in, you can see clouds approaching the west coast coast. tonight, tomorrow, friday, a storm system approaches.

very needed rain. you will have those conditions. widespread, all the way from rain in the south to snow and freezing rain. some cities, the core of this, the east coast - chicago, for example, so much snow. we are on our third snowiest winter going back through the records. winter is not over. it's been snowing since 4 o'clock. last even's commute. we have been dealing with the know. leave land it went from snow to freezing rain and that will be happening in the noost. more about the snow totals in a few minutes. >> the seattle seahawks are getting ready to sell brit. mayor expect about 300,000 fans to cheer the seattle seahawks. their blow-out victory gave the

city their first major sports championship in 30 years. a volcanic eruption in indonesia killed so people. tens of thousands were forced to evacuate. millions of americans leaving on the west coast face a risk and may not know it. >> indonesia seems impossiblery far from the united states and in a sense assist. 9,000 miles of ocean separate our country from the island nation. indonesia seems remote and the volcanic devastation unfamiliar. we are, in fact, connected. the united states sits at the other end of the pacific ring of fire, a 25,000 half circle of constant geologic violence, encompassing the pacific ocean.

tech tonic plates if as each other. setting off sun armies, earth i takes. mount sinabung is where it took place. the pacific coast is the eastern border. the eruption in the 1980s, was like the one in indonesia. they were the tall pointed kind of volcano that erupt violently, rather than oozing lava. >> the flow of ash known as a pyroclastic flow, did the same damage on mt st. helens, flattening 230 miles of vegetation and buildings, leading to the death of 57 people. both were atop the ring of fire. >> the sheer beauty of indonesia and california is a result of the movement along the ripping. in the burkely hills is round-top. it's a volcano.

it's been extinct for 10 million years. a few moment. the pacific is full of g features like this. >> the past weekend saw eruptions in ecuador. it is constantly in motion. the truth is along the pacific the americans live on unstable ground that indonesians do. the earth sweep us away. >> mount sinabung had minimal volcanic activity for 400 years before it erupted in 2010. four people have been arrested on drug charges in new york city and are being questioned in relation to the death of philip seymour hoffman. they may have supplied philip seymour hoffman with heroin. he was found dead in his apartment on monday.

broadway theatres will dim their lights in honour. >> officials warning people to stay off the roads and indoors as the winter storm moves across the country. >> there's a new report finding the federal healthcare act could eliminate 2 million jobs because workers are cutting back on their hours. the white house is sending health and environmental officials to west virginia to address public concerns about the drinking water following the chemical spill. and a battle over inmates are put to death and what witnesses say about watching executions with a new drug cocktail. at 8:30 eastern developer bruce ratner will be here, talking about the growth of new york real estate, buildings, and brooklyn's berkeley center and $229 million redevelopment

project. >> i'm meteorologist nicole mitchell, it's wednesday and we are on our second storm. i tell you when the freezing rain is on the commute. we'll be back in 2.5 minutes. have a great morning.

so many money stories sound complicated. but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break down the confusing financial speak and make it real. >> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get

straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news. >> old man winter comes back swinging, this time slamming the nation from the midwest to northeast with snow and ice, making travel a nightmare. >> there is a new u.n. report expressing gave concerns accusing the vatican of accepting policies that allowed priest to say rape children. >> we didn't expect to see what we saw. we expect it to look like he just went to sleep. >> the lethal injection

controversy. the family of one death row inmate is taking legal action against the state of ohio. >> to find something new is absolutely extraordinary. >> commemorating a comedian, charlie chaplain remembered in a novella, worth a thousand words. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm libby casey. >> i'm del walters. millions of americans once again waking up to another winter headache this morning, a major snow and ice storm hammering the west and midwest now making its way east. >> it is in ohio, west virginia and kentucky leaving a mess in its path. several states have issued winter alerts and warnings with kansas and new jersey under states of emergency. after hit by a storm monday, parts of the northeast are

preparing to break out the shovels once again. thomas dayton has a look at this storm wide reaching around the region. >> that all too familiar sound and site is back again. >> this year is kind of terrible. >> i can't remember it being so cold or so much snow for one season. >> another blast of snow slamming over two dozen states with kansas and missouri taking the brunt tuesday, and now the storm is taking dead aim at northeast. blizzard like conditions and near zero visibility in the great plains had every plow and salt struck out on the road trying to stay ahead of a constant snowfall. now, there are concerns things could get worse on highways. >> the wind picks up, we may see drifting. that would be our greatest challenge. >> kansas city's mayor is warning residents that heavy snow is just the beginning. thety will be in a deep freeze for the rest of the week. >> the main thing is don't let

the fact that the snow stops make you feel so safe and comfortable that you ignore the low temperatures and the things that come with it. >> today, more than 118 million americans in 32 states are under some form of winter weather alert. that's more warnings than any single storm last year, and it's spreading fast. in ohio, a winter storm warning has been issued, with 6-14 inches of snow possible. an ice warning in other parts of the states where salt shortage has some worried. >> increased risk of accidents. this is a kid friendly neighborhood and schools down the street. a kid could slip and fall. >> in texas, a second winter storm caused this deadly accident. ice rye roads are blamed for this truck which careened into a sheriff's department and bystanders, killing one. ice wreaking havoc in arkansas,

making roadways treacherous. a tractor trailer toppled during rush hour and trees and power lines took a hit, leaving almost 50,000 without heat and electricity in the bitter cold. now all that snow, ice and the freezing temperatures are hitting the northeast. from nebraska to new york, the bad weather is promising a potentially dangerous commute this morning. new yorkers could get a mix of snow and sleet that could pack nearly a half inch of ice by wednesday. unwelcome news to a region still digging out from monday's post superbowl snow. aljazeera. >> all of the storms are leading to a shortage of road salt. some states like kansas, indiana and pennsylvania have already gone through their stockpiles. other states are using sand to stretch supplies. >> pour more on this storm system, let's bring in nicole mitchell. >> it is a nasty mess out there. >> it really is.

we're having a lot of problems. it's already moved through the midwest. in kansas over a foot of snow as this moved through. we've had records set from kansas through ohio, now this is hitting the northeast. let's take a closer look. detroit, we've had persistent snow. we can see we're in a heavy band still since last night, so the morning commute is still rough, if you're even commuting and maybe not taking the advantage to stay home for the day. the rain extends to the south but the big problem that is first it was snow and then enough of a warm up that some of this has switched over to freezing rain. we saw that happen in cleveland, pittsburgh, now happening around the new york city area. heavy snow, dense snow and then the freezing rain on top of it. this if you're trying to shovel it is really difficult and if you have heart conditions can be dangerous because it's so heavy and takes such exertion. know north of the new york city area is the core of the heavier

snow. the freezing stuff doesn't mix in. some places could see a foot, even isolated spots, a foot and a half. as we get through the rest of the day, what did all this look like then. this is 9:00, still very much across the region. it starts to move out a little more by 1:00 and then later this afternoon, entirely out, but cold air behind this, and some places into the extreme parts of new england will still be watching for some of that snow. another system we're watching this weekend, as well. so it doesn't end as fast as we would like. >> more bad news. a new children's rights group accuses the vatican of adopting policies that allowed priest to say sexually abuse children. in the report, the u.n. says the vatican time and time again placed the reputation of the catholic church over protecting children from abuse. >> the holy see has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of

the abuse by the impunity of perpetrators, placing the church and protecting the perpetrators above children's best interests. >> last month, a panel grilling the catholic church's handling of a pedestrian final treat, they are aware of 400 new cases of child sex abuse involving members of the clergy in 2012 alone. >> critics of the affordable care act are attacking after a report predict that had obamacare will shrink the workforce by the equivalent of two and a half million jobs. >> while that report sounds like bad news, the white house said it's positive. erika explains pop how could losing jobs be good? >> it seems strange, job loss is usually bad for the economy, that is unless those millions of americans choose to leave those

jobs on their own, which is what the non-partisan report actually says. that's why the bam that administration is calling this a good thing. >> critics are constantly attacking obamacare. now a new report fuels the fire. >> the bad consequences are worse than anticipate anticipated. >> that's not exactly accurate at least according to the study. the congressional budget was a said it will be the equivalent of 2.5 million full time workers by 2024. rather than an increase in unemployment, the reason there will be millions of fewer workers is those people will choose to work less, meaning some will find they can afford to work less because they still qualify for the subsidized or free health care. >> they are making a choice about their overall quality of life. >> those workers who feel trapped in a job will no longer

have to keep a full time position just to get health insurance. >> maybe a spouse who wanted to be part time so they could spend more time with their family now is able to do that. somebody else who wanted to start a business and become an entrepreneur and was terrified of doing it because they'd lose their health insurance is now able to do that, too. >> now there is as flip side to this which has come up before. the report found some businesses will try to get around the obamacare mandate to provide coverage by reducing positions or hours. overall, that impact will be less than the bigger number of americans opting out of the workplace. >> the senate approved a long awaited form bill, now headed to the president for his signature. the bill allots more than $950 billion in farm subsidies, food stamps and crop insurance over five years. it comes with a cost to many

families. the bill includes $8 billion in cuts to food stamps over the next decade. that's a loss of about $90 a month for the more than 1.7 million people who rely on them. the president is expected to sign the farm bill into law on friday. >> the justice department launching a criminal investigation into that west virginia chemical spill. federal investigators began the probe in january in charleston. that accident tainted the drinking water for more than 300,000 people. subpoenas have been issued. that spill is also the subject of a senate hearing on tuesday. several lawmakers calling for tougher laws to protect the public. >> americans have a right to expect that when they turn their tap on, the water is safe to drink. >> the federal investigation comes amid concerns that the tap water in west virginia sometime isn't safe to drink. public and utility officials have assured residents that the dangerous chemical mchm is no

longer in that water. >> president obama met with senior military officials at the white house on tuesday. they discussed the future of american troops in afghanistan. as aljazeera's mike viqueira reports, relationships are increasingly becoming strained in light of new revelations. >> arriving at the white house, commander general joseph dunford, here with a sit down with the president and top officials. on the table, the troops in afghanistan and the refusal of its leader to come to terms. the latest revelation reported secret talks between karzai and the taliban trying to cut his own deal by cutting out american forces. he has refused to sign an agreement allowing a residual force to train and assess afghans post 2014. the nato combat role will come to an end.

republican accept tories pressed for an agreement. >> you see what happens when security falls apart. iraq is exhibit a, but afghanistan would be worse. >> they were critical of president obama, accusing him of floating a plan to abandon afghanistan all in three years. >> president karzai is paranoid and irrational, but like most people with mar know i can't, there is as basis for that. when he reads that the united states is planning on having everybody out by 2017, then he makes accommodations, such as trying to negotiate with the taliban. that is completely understandable. >> the white house hit back, but would not say how long mr. obama plan to say keep troops there, even with an agreement. >> i don't doubt that some senators envision u.s. troops remaining in afghanistan for decades. some envision troops in iraq for

four decades. that's not the penalty's vision. >> time is running short for a deal. >> they may end up with no u.s. forces in the country, karzai without an agreement and the losers will be the afghan people. >> karzai needed to sign the deal by the end of last year, because the u.s. military needs time to plan. now we're into february. the white house is not giving deadlines, only saying the deal needs to be signed within a matter of weeks, not the months karzai has asked for. >> karzai has insisted any decision to sign that security agreement should be made by his successor. election for the next leader of afghanistan takes place in april. >> just days before the start of the winter olympics in russia, still major security concerns as the teams are now arriving in sochi. american intelligence officials testifying before congress on tuesday, national counter terrorism senator director matthew olson says the u.s. is

concerned about instability not region and working with russia to investigate any and all threats. >> we are sharing information. there is always more we could do, but right now, i would characterize that level of sharing as good. >> austria's team is the latest to say it is receiving threats, saying two athletes would be kidnapped. similar letters sent to a number of countries last month turned out to be hoaxes. >> the united states and european union are trying to mediate the political crisis in the ukraine. protestors want the president to step aside and call for new elections. the e.u.'s foreign policy chief will discuss today a possible financial aid package in exchange for democratic reforms. vice president joe biden spoke on the phone with yanukovych last night. he urged him to resox the crisis and accept international

support. as aljazeera reports, there are pro government citizens who don't want the west to interfere. >> an ugly confrontation flares in the city of odessa. supporters of closer toys to europe nearly come to blows with those wanting to stay with russia. the tension here are running high. outside the city hall, a mirror image of the tents reconnected in independence square. these are manned by so-called battle groups, determined to prevent any occupation of public buildings here by anti-government forces. the governor's headquarters have been barricaded, a small force of police guard the main entrance with riot shields ready at hand. new volunteers arrive every day to help. they say they can summon 1,000 men within minutes if needed.

>> i am a russian. in 1998, i came to ukraine, but i'm still a citizen of russia. i live in ukraine and can tell life is good and that my feeling in russia is two brothers. i came here to support those protesting against western meddling here. >> the russian orthodox space has been rooted here for hundreds of years. the monks are appalled with ma is happening kiev. >> this may be used by extremists, by this armed terrorists. i want to tell them that your opinion is not of all ukrainian people. >> the city's port is locked in a sheet of ice that has turned the black sea white. it's here on the famous steps

where the nightly vigil is mounted. scenes have inspired generations of film makers. there was nothing inspiring about the number of protestors mustered on the night we visited the rally. >> it seems the cappuccino makers here are not doing nearly as much business as their colleagues in kiev. the seeds of protest here are falling on frozen ground. aljazeera, odessa. >> russia has currently suspended its $15 billion loan package to ukraine. >> in thailand, protestors are vow to go continue their protestations, challenging the national election. protestors disrupted about 10% of the polling stations in that country, the prime minister

calling for early elections, hoping to calm the tensions. the results won't be announced until the voting is completely. >> north and south korea have agreed to allow some families separated by the korean war to reunit. for many, it will be the first face-to-face meetings with relatives in more than three years. those reunions are scheduled to take place in north korea later this month. millions of families were split apart after the korean war ended in 1953 and all communication between the countries including travel and phone calls has been banned ever since. >> people are dead follow a sectarian attack in pakistan, a suicide bomber blowing himself up outside a hotel on the northwestern city on tuesday. at least 40 others were injured. police say the hotel was run by shia muslims in the neighborhood. a cleric was killed that in attack on the same day. >> for a look at headlines around the world this morning, the washington post saying that virginia lawmakers want to bring back the electric chair.

it will only serve as a backup if lethal injection drugs aren't available, virginia second to texas when it comes to execution, execute in 110 inmates since the death penalty was reinstated. several other states are considering the electric chair. >> in asia, the japan times has a report on the diplomatic dance between the u.s., south korea and japan. president obama is he can specked to visit the region in april. according to people familiar with the matter, tokyo would like its visit to last a few days giving the president time to meet with the prim minister and the emperor. meanwhile, south korea is extending an invitation to president obama and would like him to take a longer visit in seoul. tension between those two countries, seoul and japan and tokyo have had high tensions. >> it has been a very tough road for the united states in the

asian practice ris pacific rim. our final headline this morning takes a look at an unusual statute at wesley college, say inning. the boston globe said the realistic statue of a man walking in his underwear near the center of campus outraged a number of people. hundreds of student have signed a petition want the sleep walker removed. it's part of an exhibition that will be there until may. if the purpose is getting people talking, it has achieved that. >> the president's overhaul of health care. >> the affordable care act could be a jobs killer. >> why obamacare could discourage people from working and the surprising white house response. >> there are questions emerging

over untested mixtures of drugs to execute inmates. some say it's unconstitutional. >> our big number of the day taking fierce on investors portfolios.

to the continuation of the abuse

>> today's big number create ache sliver of panic, $3 trillion, that's a lot of zeros, the dollar amount from stocks over the past two weeks. >> clients are told to remain calm, saying profits are rising and stocks are now cheaper. the two week dip has done little to dent the $9.6 trillion in stock value that was created worldwide last year. >> $3 trillion, how much did you account for? >> not quite so much, del. >> 1995. >> welcome back to aljazeera america. president obama's affordable care act is being credit sides once again over its effect on the workforce.

>> let's look at temperatures across the nation today. meteorologist nicole mitchell, tell us about the snow and rain. >> there is a lot of that. the temperatures are factoring into that. what happens, we get farther to the north like portland 21, that's going to be just straight snow. some of our major cities, we saw this happen earlier in pittsburgh, enough warm air as it came in that it was snow and converted to freezing rain and sleet. that's happened around new york city, as well. that makes things extra icy and shoveling, extra heavy that what you're going to have to deal with. let's look at other temperatures behind this system, denver minus 14. their average high and low is 45 and 17. we're already running 30 degrees below average. by this afternoon, temperatures only 40 degrees blow average, so definitely some cold air as we get on the backside of all of this. back to you guys. >> if we talked about this morning with our colleague, a new report released by the non-partisan congressional

budget office predicted that by 2024, the u.s. labor force will have fewer positions due to the health care law. joining us is a professor of economics at university of married. he's in washington this morning, joining us from there. the white house responded to the c.b.o. report saying this is a positive, not a negative. >> i think that was c.b.o.'s analysis itself is about the choices that workers are making in the face of new options afforded to them by the affordable care act, not something about firms destroying jobs. >> professor, republicans have said this is obamacare killing jobs. give us your take. >> certainly it does. i mean, it encourages people not to participate in the labor force, to take the white house's rationale to it's logical destination, they're basically saying it's a good idea to give people money not to work. if that's the way to make social

progress and improve the economy, then i have recklessly spent too much money on a very expensive education in economics. >> what about americans who were staying in a job just to get health care, job lock, stuck in employment even though you are too old to be working so much, you don't want to be work that go long or want to be an entrepreneur. isn't that a good thing to give opportunities? >> i don't think it's a good thing to encourage people over the age of 50 to make reasonable choices about whether they work or not. it doesn't appear this is going to relieve job lock. it's still an all or nothing thing with full time employers. consider your situation, do you think we're going to give up group health insurance, largely subsidized to we can earn less than $45,000 a year for the privilege of then getting subsidized health insurance?

>> i don't think that is going to be very large numbers. what the report doesn't take full account of is very high marginal taxes on older people who have significant investment income just because they've been preparing for retirement, which will encourage them to leave the labor market prematurely. in anern environment with the social security trust fund is highly stressed not increased for increasing longevity. this is going to create problems. there's lots of things in the report neglected as the c.b.o. is inclined to do for fear of upsetting democrats too much. >> it is a no one partisan organization. could that withdrawal of the labor supply actually help push up wages because employers are looking for folks to take the jobs? >> yes, it would push up wages, just as extended unemployment benefits have that effect, as well. that in turn reduces productivity and employment in the united states growth and so

fort. wages being too high in some sectors has been a problem, just as wages too low in other sectors created social disruption. it point out that over and over again, the c.b.o. has gone from a low ball estimate of this to a somewhat higher estimate and it's pattern of behavior does draw into question it's non-partisan conduct. >> thank you so much. professor of economics at the university of maryland. >> we are set to get a look at the health of the job market. private sector employment reported on. 80,000 jobs were created in january, that report a prelude to the closely watched monthly jobs report. the labor department set to release that friday. wall street seeming cautious, the dow futures pointing up wards, starting the day at 15,445, the s&p at 1755 and the nasdaq back above the key $4,000

mark. one market watcher saying the recent selloff may be an opportunity to buy. >> you want to do what warren buffet does. he does is when everybody's selling off, he's buying. right now, you can buy stocks at a 6% to 17% discount from the beginning of the year. i don't think it's a time to sell. >> in asia, markets ending the day mixed, the nikkei rising 1.2%. china's shanghai deposit remaining closed for the holiday. >> j.p. morgan chase and morgan stanley are paying big buck to say settle lawsuits. j.p. morgan will settle claims it misled the government and that the quality of some of its mortgages over a decade. morgan stanley has even a bigger bill to pay. the financial firm will have to cough up nearly $1.3 billion to

the federal housing finance agency to settle claims that it sold bad mortgages to fanny and freddie mac during the housing boom. >> a programming note. ahead in our 8:00 hour, ali velshi will talk to bruce ratner. >> a growing controversy, trying to secure a secret deem with the taliban. >> hamid karzai has reported by been talk to the group. >> how those talks could affect future relations between two countries. >> major allegations against the vatican in sexual abuse of children, saying the church's appealses are to blame for the crimes. >> what were you doing when you were nine years old? meet the phenom playing and starring on her basketball team.

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm libby casey. relations between the u.s. and afghanistan president are strained. there's revelations that he was holding secret peace talks with the taliban. >> the use of drug cocktails when death row inmates are put to death are a controversy we'll discuss. >> some of standing by the motor city. why they're sticking with detroit. >> that's good. >> america's largest pharmacy has just taken a stand against smoking. c.v.s. will no longer sell cigarettes or other tobacco products, meaning a sacrifice of about $2 billion a year in sales. it came to the realization that cigarettes have no place in an

environment where health care is delivered. president obama just weighed in on the move, thanking the c.e.o. of c.v.s., saying the decision will help advance my administration efforts to reduce tobacco related deaths, as well as bring down health care costs. >> president obama met with senior military commanders to discuss the security situation in afghanistan. that meeting coming as the afghan government confirms that reports that hamid karzai tried to broker a secret peace plan with the taliban in dubai. relations have been strained between the countries because karzai refused to sign off on the security deal extending troops in afghanistan beyond 2014. a veteran of natural security and foreign affairs reporter joins us from washington, d.c. good morning, kevin. lots of head scratching going on this morning. how is this latest report going to affect the u.s. end game in

afghanistan? >> it makes things harder for washington to predict what is going to happen with the end game. that's the most important thing right now pour military planners. they say they need to know and they needed to know a couple of months ago what the u.s. force in afghanistan is going to look like after the end of 2014 when president obama wants the end the fighting. >> i want you to look at two statements president karzai has stated, the first in a speech where he said that afghanistan can support itself economically. >> i don't believe in aid. i have never believed in it. my colleagues know that. i have never asked any foreign country for assistance in my meetings. never. i don't think afghanistan will ever be made with foreign money. >> and then he had this to say in november. my trust with america is not good. i don't trust them, they don't trust me. during the past 10 years i have

fought with them and they have made propaganda against me. some might be asking right now who's side is hamid karzai on. >> well, good question. you know, he's on his own side and he always has been. the man has a point. the united states government tried to work for his ouster instead of reelection, but this is the man they have and they have to deal with. at the same time, to his first statement about not receiving u.s. aid, he has received bags of cash from the c.i.a., actual bags of cash. for him to pretend he doesn't want u.s. aid or doesn't understand the benefit on it and is completely dependent on foreign aid is very hard for at least this reporter to swallow and washington to swallow. >> while the united states and afghanistan engage in this at thititfor tat there are soldierh boots on the ground, they are

they are sons and daughters. there's an old saying who wants to be the last cell injury left in vietnam. why should any parent of a soldier want them to remain in afghanistan? >> i can't answer that. i'm not a parent of a troop overseas. i think the point you're getting at is this worth the cost and that's exactly what the white house is going through now. the bigger question is what comes next, as you said in the beginning. do we need united states military force in afghanistan and if we do, why. do we need them to chase the remnants of al-qaeda, the taliban which are mostly not even located in afghanistan, their in pakistan. do we need them for something larger, to keep security in that country so that there is more time for the economic aid to come. we don't know. >> that's the bottom line. we don't know. thank you very much. executive editor of defense one joins us from washington, d.c.

this morning. thank you. >> texas is set to execute a female death row inmate, sentenced for murder in 1998. her attorneys have appealed, but her request was denied. she's the 14th woman to be executed since the supreme court allowed capitol punishment in 1976. almost 1400 men have been put to death in that same time frame. >> in some states, prisons are face ache shortage of drugs to execute death row inmates. in the search for alternatives, executioners have turned to a controversial combination of drugs. there's been legal challenges to these experimental drug cocktails. >> christopher has been on death row in louisiana for 20 years for the 1992 killing of his 6-year-old stepson. louisiana could not acquire the drugs typically used in executions, so his lawyer argued the state planned to experiment on the 70-year-old condemned man.

>> we believe there's going to be a serious risk that there will be pain and suffering that's unavoidable that will be inflicted pan him and it shouldn't be. >> pain and suffering is what the family of condemned prisoner dennis mcguire claims he endured during execution in ohio last month. he was convicted in 1994 for the rape and murder of a pregnant newly wed. the prison system ran out of lethal injection drugs so turned to a new combination. the combination, drugs that no state used before. in an exclusive interview with america tonight, the man said his father feared white might happen. >> we didn't expect to see what we saw. we expected it to look like he just went to sleep. that's what we expected. >> i've seen about 18 others,

and this one differed dramatically from those others. >> columbus dispatch reporter allen johnson, one of the witnesses said he had never seen and execution anything like it. >> this one was different. after three oh four minutes, dennis mcguire began gasping for breath, his stomach and chest compressing. >> his son read from an after about exactly what he saw in the death chamber. >> after making the first noise, my father then tried to lift himself off the table by arching his back and pushing his head and wrist against the gurnee. >> this went on for a very difficult 10 minutes, as he was gasping for breath, making these gutterral sounds, straining against the restraints holding him done at his chest, legion and arms. he couldn't get up, but appeared to be trying to get up or at least raise up in some fashion.

>> he made a noise that sounded like he was fighting for air and grunting at the same time. it was extremely loud. while this was happening, the warden and the guard in the white shirt had horrified looks on their faces and appeared that they were in shock at the way that it was happening. >> now mcguire's people family is filing a lawsuit to stop ohio from using the drug combination that killed him, arguing that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. >> when you strap somebody to a board, dedrive them of oxygen for 25 minutes as they slowly die in front of their family, it would take a good imagination to come up with a more brutal form of execution than that. >> aljazeera. >> later on "america tonight" part three of the crime and punishment series looks at new

york's stop and terrific policing program. you can watch that they're 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 p.m. pacific. >> a u.n. children's rights group out with a blistering report accusing the vatican of adopting policies that allowed priest to say sexually abuse children. as reported, the u.n. claims the church covered up the cases instead of protecting children. >> if you like a report card into the vatican's compliance, the u.n. convention on the rights of the child, now it's something that the vatican has been roar coy in terms of giving evidence over, over the last few years, but two weeks ago, they eventually turned up here to geneva and grilled by members of the u.n. committee and today in geneva, that report is finally reds and it does not make comfortable reading if you're sitting in the vatican this morning. it is full of some very significant criticism of the vatican's policies what it comes to this toxic issue of child

abuse, which we now know is such a huge issue. the committee said that the vatican is still not willing to come to terms with the scale of the problem or take responsibility for it. at a press conference, the chairman gave us an impression of how the vatican in her view is still failing. >> the practice of offenders mobility, moved from parish to parish when things were discovered and this still places many children at high risk of sexual abuse. another matter was the code of silence that was imposed by the church on children and the fact that reporting to national law enforcement authorities has never been made compulsory. >> the u.n. committee says the vatican is refusing still to share data on its own investigations. according to the u.n. committee, the vatican is still refusing to make it compulsory practice for

bishops around the world to report allegations of abuse to local police forces. a whole raft of failings and recommendations. >> the committee's recommendations are non-binding and the u.n. has no way to enforce them. the panel is asking the vatican to make the changes and report back in three years. >> in its hey day, detroit boasted more homeowners than any other city in the country. in the 1960's, companies and jobs started moving away, taking a million residents with them. while some left, others chose to stay. >> when the snow falls, daryl clears off a snow free path for his neighbors. even though these days, his street much like the rest of detroit is a shell of what it used to be. >> the streets was full, people riding bikes, shooting marbles.

that's my grandmother, my grandfather. >> he bought this home from his grandfather who raced his children and grandchildren here. today in a neighborhood of gutted houses, the home is like a beacon of light. even though the house is worth less than when he bought it 20 years ago, he won't let go of it. only a true detroiter, he says would understand why. >> for one, i was raised in detroit, and i know detroit is coming on a comeback. >> a comeback is what this bankrupt city, homeowners and entrepreneurs. >> we boarded up these buildings on the corner and put murals on them. >> i love detroit. i was born here, raced here. >> the native detroiter could have chosen an easier place to open a coffee shop and movie theater but built on the west side, an area untouched by recent redevelopment efforts. he joins teams to clear blighted

homes. >> you'll never hear me lifting the ills of detroit or the world. people are working together to rebuild the city. that's where the focus should be. >> he believes in 10 years, detroit will be leaner and greener with blighted homes redeveloped into something bigger and better. >> bigger and better is also what efforts like the motor city mapping project is hoping to make way for. 225 surveyors are combing 129 square miles, snapping pictures of every parcel of land in detroit. >> this is the first of its kind. we've got to do the entire city, every park, everything in the stiff. >> the federal, state and city partnership will use the data to determine where to fight blight. it's the next step in rebuilding. >> people say you can't never go home anymore, but you can. >> daryl has no idea what his detroit home will look like in the future, but says he's certain the city will come back. it's what the 700,000 other

detroit holdouts are holding on to. tanya moseley, aljazeera, detroit. >> there are now more than 78,000 abandoned homes in detroit. >> a lot of people pulling for the city to make a comeback. >> what were you doing when you were nine years old? probably not what you're about to see, a young girl making the varsity basketball team. >> only in my dreams. >> ross shimabuku joins us with the story. >> it's an unbelievable story, by the way, del i believe was anchoring the news at nine years old. >> i had a microphone. >> in black and white t.v. >> jada is the queen of the court, nine years old lighting it up in orlando. if i was a basketball coach in college, i would offer her a scholarship right now. we have more on this rising star. >> most high school athletes have to wait until they're upper class man to make the varsity team. jay den newman hasn't even gotten out of fourth grade and

has been running point for the downey christian high school girls basketball team for the past two seasons. >> it's fun. the people who i play against, they think that i'm not good, but after that, they see different on the court. >> when you go through the handshake line, what's that like? >> they're like wow, good job. i didn't know you played like that. >> nobody gets mad at you? >> no. well, sometimes. >> the 4'7" prodigy averages 15 points and seven assists her game. her father, who's also her coach said she first born to play. >> she's daddy's little girl, so she wants to do whatever daddy does, whatever daddy likes, she likes to watch. whatever i do, she's with me 24/7, so just being on the couch with me, watching games from when she was not even watch to go today, so right by my side. she'll tell me what the coach needs to do, what the players

need to do. she knows the game better than most men. to be able to shoot long-range threes, to be able to handle the ball so well at that age, even in the nba some girls can't shoes how she shoots. >> she has a very cute, young, innocent face and then she's like a silent assassin on the court. >> she's very cute, oh, she's so cute and she'll go by you real quick. you try to play tough on her and she still goes by you. she is so cute, they go, but then she place. >> the newmans are used to the national spotlight after her brother made headlines when he started for the boys team as a sixth grader. mom was a former point guard, as well. she now plays super mom, working her job while juggling everyone's busy basketball schedule. >> while day den focuses on the years of high school basketball ahead, she dreams of the next level. >> i want to go to college and

play for the hurricanies. then i want to go to the wnba and play for the l.a. sparks. >> who's your favorite player? >> dianna a terosi. >> have you met her yet? >> no, but when i was on the queen latifah show, she signed a jersey and gave to it me. >> at the rate she's going, there will be a lot more of this in her future. jessica taft, aljazeera. >> you go, girl. >> she and her brother are both playing at the high school level because they're in a parochial school. she wants to play at uconn. if i'm head coach, i'm offering her a scholarship right now. >> i was that good, but i stopped growing at 47:00 when i was that age. >> i heard your basketball stories. >> they were only stories, trust me. wow. >> pretty fantastic. >> a new piece of work coming from your favorite, charlie chaplain. >> the film legend is venturing

into a new artistic medium. >> the jump he is making from the big screen.

>> no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives

>> you are looking live at a shot of the flat iron building in new york city. we are getting a mix of wintery weather. it appears to be tapering off at least for now. good morning, to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm libby casey. a trailblazer in cinema, 30 years after his death, new work from charlie chaplain. >> first let's get a look at the snow. >> it's national weather person's day, so only fitting we would have a big storm to work with. as we get out the door, this

happen moving through the midwest and central plains yesterday. there's a system coming toward the west coast. we need the rain and snow. we've been exceptionally dry. in chicago, we're already on the third knowiest winter and we have time to go. chicago saying you can definitely have some of ours. all of this has moved into the northeast or most of this. it started to snow in some places, but enough warm air, new jersey, for example, freezing precipitation. on the north side, some cities could get over a foot of snow. it's going to be a rough go today. back to you. >> thank you very much. >> charlie chaplain is back. 35 years after his death, he reveals a hidden talent. we have the details of the little tramp with the pen. >> he's the man who's face said a thousand words even where the script didn't have any. charlie chaplain, a film star,

screen writer, director and composer and now november he willist. it was pulled together from manu scripts found among 150,000 pages of his archives. >> to find something new produced by chaplain is absolutely extraordinary, because there can't be that many more times that it's going to happen. well, you never know. >> the pages were full of drafts and second drafts and took film experts 12 years to assemble. >> our aim is just to reveal another side of the genius. >> the novel was the basis for his film "lime light" considered at his last great film. >> it's quite of a deep reflection in the relationship between the artist and his own art, and his own audience.

the book goes much deeper into the nightmares and shadows of this aging comedian. >> he was born near here on london's south bank. while many of his movies were filmed in california, he never forget where he came from. >> many thousands were drown to the square. >> the film had royalty at the local premier. the novella's release coincides with the anniversary of his putting on his most famous costume. >> by two years later, there wasn't anyone in the world who didn't know his name. it was called chaplain mania. >> it considers to this day. >> the novel doesn't have an american or british publisher but will be available on amazon

on the italian publisher's website, as well. >> officials in several states warning people to stay off the roads and indoors as that winter storm system moves across the country, the ice and rain hitting the northeast hard today. >> a new report cites the federal health care law, saying it could eliminate 2 million workers, cutting back on hours trying to avoid losing subsidies. >> commercial developing is going to be here talking about the growth of new york city real estate. he'll also talk about brooklyn's barclays center and his redevelopment plan. >> it is one of the biggest questions that has ever faced mankind, where do we come from. two men on opposite sides that have coin facing off over the theory of evolution. >> it's only wednesday and we're on our second winter storm this week. i'll tell you where snow and freezing rain are equipling the

morning commute. >> the aljazeera morning news continues, del walters back with you in two minutes. in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> another blast of winter for a large part of the country from the mississippi valley to new england, people digging out from snow and ice. >> a report highly critical of the vatican by the united nations, the holy see accused of covering up sex abuse of children by priests for decades. >> there are a number of specific threats of varying degrees of credibility we're tracking. >> concern ahead of the winter games in sochi.

despite reassurances from russia that the olympics will be safe. >> a sign of economic recovery, the real estate market moving forward. we'll be joined by one of the biggest names in commercial real estate. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. with little time to cleanup from the last storm, another is punishing the country. kansas city has canceled flights today. more than a foot of snow falling on parts of that state. louisville, kentucky, the ice is the problem. across are trying to keep up with outages that reached 8,000 at the height of the tomorrow. in takano, schools are can cred because road conditions are too

dangerous. in central pennsylvania, a fatal accident is blamed on the snow here harrisburg. we have more on our latest blast of winter weather. >> that all too familiar sound and sight is back again. >> this year is kind of terrible. >> kansas and missouri taking the brunt and now taking aim at northeast. near zero visibility in the great plains had every plow and salt truck on the road trying to day ahead of a constant snowfall. now, there are concerns things could get worse on highways. >> if the wind picks up, we may see drifting. that would be our greatest challenge. >> kansas city is warning residents the heavy snow is just the beginning. this city will be in a deep freeze for the rest of the week. >> the main thing is don't let the fact that the snow stops

make you feel so safe and comfortable that you ignore the low temperatures and the things that come with it. >> today, more than 118 million americans in 32 states are under some form of winter weather alert. that's more warnings than any single storm last year and spreading fast. in ohio, a winter storm issued with six to 14 inches of snow possible. an ice warning in other parts of the state where salt shortage has some worried. >> this is a kid friendly neighborhood, i'd hate to see a kid slip and fall. >> in texas, the second winter storm this weekend caused this deadly accident. icy roads are blamed for this truck, which went careens into a sheriff's deputy and three by standers, killing one. ice wreaking havoc in arkansas,

freezing rain and snow making roadways treacherous, a semi toppled during rush hour and trees and power lines took a hit, leaving almost 50,000 without heat and electricity in the bitter cold. now, all that snow, ice, and the freezing temperatures are hitting the northeast. from nebraska to new york, the bad weather is promising a potentially dangerous commute this morning. new yorkers could get a mix of snow and sleet that could pack nearly half an inch of ice by wednesday, unwelcome news to those still digging out from post superbowl snow. >> for more, we turn to nicole mitchell. >> the commute is very treacherous now. with has heavy snow and some places where that has switched to freezing rain or sleet, that's going to weigh down the power lines, tree branches, so

we could see more widespread power outages as this gets into the northeast. this already had a history through the central plains, parts of kansas, over a foot of snow with this, heavy ice in some cases in arkansas and persistent snow since last night in the detroit area. the core on the southern edge of this, enough air that snow switched to freezing precipitation. on the north side of that, where it is the heavy snowfall, this is already by 9:00 today, but some places could get another foot of snow. as we get toward the lunch time, starting to move out a little bit and for some places by the return commute, it will be over, but still plenty on the roads. behind that, we get cooler air coming into play, so not the deep polar freeze like in a couple cases, but still nonetheless some chilly stuff. this is the afternoon. this is 4:00. you can see this from our big

cities, but new england still dealing with the snow and that's where it could pile up significantly. these darker blues that you see could be the places that is a foot of snow or more. we have something we are watching for the weekend. it is going to be a busy week. >> nicole, thank you very much. >> a u.n. children's rights group releasing a scathing new report on the catholic church, accusing the vatican of adopting policies that allowed priest to say sexually abuse children. >> the holy see adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators. the holy see has consistently placed the preservation and reputation of the church and protection of the perpetrators above children's best interests. >> you may recall last month, a panel grilled vatican officials about the church's handling of

pedophile priests, telling the committee the vatican was aware of 400 new cases involving slower gee men in 2012. >> several branches of the u.s. military embroiled in scandal, accused of scam ago program that paid them to enlist new soldiers, the navy also taking heat following allegations that sailors were cheating on their exams. that comes on the heels of another air force scandal. we have more. >> on tuesday, the senate investigated a recruiting program that cost taxpayers millions of dollars. >> even one case of fraud would have been too many. instead, we now know thousands of service members, their families and friends may have participated in schemes to defraud the government they served and the taxpayers. >> 1200 individuals including 200 officers and two two-star

generals centered on a scheme that paid for recruitment referrals. the army said the program had gotten out of hand, its in tent to offer financial incentives for troops to iraq and afghanistan. >> it was what can we avoid to do to avoid the draft, because that was beginning because of all that was happening. all of the other traditional methods that had worked for honestly 20 years. >> weren't working. >> they weren't. >> it's been revealed the navy's investigating a cheating scandal on written tests relating to training on navy nuclear power reactors. it's believed 30 officers are involved. >> this is a serious incident. integrity is the foundation of our business. the training command and ncis have begun a full investigation. >> the scandal comes after the air force revealed its own

scandal. the cheating test scandal has hit 52 out of 500. they are accused of sharing answers to test questions by text and knowing about the cheating and failing to report it. the u.s. assistant secretary of defense and naval captain said the pentagon's got to crack down on this behavior. >> the military has been been put on such a pedestal and held on such high reward that they're not as careful as they used to be in terms of the things that they do. they think well, you know, we're better than everyone else, so can push the envelope here or there. >> three branches, three scandals and a whole lot of explaining to do by the top brass. >> that is reporting from a senate hearing. it was suggested that national guard members accepted more than $29 million in kickbacks. >> critics of the act and got are an the attack. a new report predicts obamacare

could reduce the workforce by more than 2 million jobs. the white house is saying this is good news? >> that is right. you would think losing jobs is bad, unless millions of americans choose to leave those jobs on their own, which is what the non-partisan report actually says is the reason behind the drop in workforce. that's why the obama administration calls it a good thing. >> a new report is fueling the fire of attacking obamacare. >> it is worse than anticipated. >> that's not exactly accurate according to the study itself. the congressional budget affairs says due to the affordable care act, there will be the equivalent of 2.5 fewer workers by 2024. the reason there will be fewer workers is because those people with him choose to work less, meaning some people who get insurance will find they can afford to work less because they

still qualify for the subsidized or free health care without a full time job. the white house said the opportunity to choose is what obamacare is all about. they will no longer have to keep a full time position to get health insurance. >> maybe a spouse who wanted to be part time so they could spend more time with their family now is able to do that. somebody else who wanted to start a business and become an entrepreneur and terrified of doing it because of losing health insurance is now able to do that, too. >> now there is a flip side to this, which has come up before. the report found some businesses will try to get around the obamacare mandate by reducing positions or hours. overall, that impact will be less than the millions of americans opting out of the workplace. del. >> thank you very much. >> america's largest pharmacy

chain taking a stand against smoking, c.v.s. no longer selling cigarettes or tobacco products. the store chain could lose $2 billion a year in sales. c.v.a. said it came to the realization that cigarettes have no place in an environment health care is delivered. >> patients put their trust to us to put them on the path to better health. it's the right time and the right decision to remove cigarettes and tobacco products from our store shelves, positions us for a growing role in the health care delivery system. >> president obama thanking the c.e.o., saying the decision will help advance my administration efforts to reduce tobacco other related deaths, as well as bring down health care costs. >> organized attacks on gay people in russia are on the rise because of the anti gay laws. human rights say gay communities

are under a bar acknowledge since that law was signed. this video shows gangs of men beating gays. the majority of those attacks go unpunished. the new law bans homosexual propaganda. days before the start of the olympics, there are major concerns as the teams are making their way to say sochi. american intelligence testified tuesday, saying the u.s. is now concerned about instability in that region and working with russia to investigate all threats. >> we are sharing information with the russians, they are sharing information with us. there's always mother we could do in that record, but as of right now, i would characterize that level of sharing as good. >> russia is trying to allay... with a massive security presence in sochi. >> sports is not the only thing on show in sochi.

far from it. until the first ski is on or hockey puck struck, russian security has the stage pretty much to itself. policeman are on the streets and military boats patrol the coastline. it's a deliberate show of force and this is why, threats from armed separatist groups added to already jittery global sentiments about the games and fueled claims russia wouldn't be able to protect them. many security experts think enough has been done. >> most probably, attacks on olympic athletes or guests would be impossible, and i think the terrorists would prefer to carry out an attack on less protected places. these places are unfortunately based in the south of russia. >> two suicide attacks on volgograd last september suggest this is achievable. then there are threats of a different nature. tuesday, the austrian olympic

committee received a letter saying two of their athletes would be kidnapped in sochi. similar letters sent to various country olympic committees last month turned out to be a hoax. there is as huge multi-level security with robots, drones and some 100,000 personnel. it will make sochi very hard to attack, though nothing can ever be 100% safe. >> of course, all the competitors and visitors when home, then is when they can boast they put on safe games. many russians will point to all the worries at just so much western scare mongering. aljazeera, sochi. >> the u.s. ambassador to russia announcing tuesday that he is going to leave his post when the

winter games end in sochi. he was given the difficult task of trying to reset relations with russia during the president's first term. a professor of political science at columbia university joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> what is going on with the united states and russia. >> >> the united states is trying to figure out how to make headway against a country that seems to be turning to us with hostility increasingly with time. it's a very difficult relationship, but we have to put it in context to realize we're not in the cold war or dealing with a country that just invaded one of its neighbors, so things aren't that bad. >> with the exception of nuclear weapons not pointed at each other, the atmosphere is really not that much different. >> there are positive things happening. we have to keep in mind there's been a lot of cooperation with russia on dealing with the iranian nuclear question. it was really a big benefit to the united states that president

putin and that his foreign minister stepped up to try to make headway in the syria crisis in the fall. i think we have to keep those positive parts of the relationship in mind, as well, but it is difficult. >> ambassador considered by many to be a controversial character. why? >> he was outspoken, the first twitter ambassador. he tweeted his thoughts and said what he thought. >> and those thoughts were? >> well, he was talking to a school group, a college group in moscow about things that were happening with u.s. and russian foreign policy concerns. he said he came right out and said that russia had bribed kyrgystan to kick out the u.s. military base helping with the withdrawal in afghanistan. he said kyrgystan couldn't pay as much. i think countries pay off other countries to have military bases on their territories, but it was not the kind of thing you necessarily expect an ambassador

to say. i think the big store is that russia has just spent so much really torturing him, they followed him. at one point they felt his cool was hacked. it's been a very important couple of years for him. >> two days before the olympics. imagine them taking place in chicago or new york, or washington, d.c. and two days before the olympics, the russian ambassador decides that he wants to leave or he or she wants to leave. was this not a slap in the face to russia by the ambassador. >> i don't think so. he's staying on so that he can be part of the american delegation. that's a positive sign. >> he could have waited until he announced until after the games. >> i guess that's true. he could have done that. i think he's eager to get back to his family in california. that's quite jen i didn't know, the family has been because since september, the start of the school year, ambassadors don't make policy. they implement policy, try to

smooth the way for things. the close of the sochi olympics is a good time for there to be a changeover and it's good he didn't resign before they happened. >> he was supposed to help reset relations with russia. did he manage to reset those relations and if so, what needs to be reset. >> the reset was actually started back when he first working for obama before he came the ambassador. ambassadors don't make policy, they implement policy. i think mike mcfall did everything he could to try to get more agreement with the russians. when working for president obama, he was really responsible for spearheading the negotiations on the new arms control treaty. he was really spearheading getting russia into the world health years of age. i think partly he knew too much. he had been a real expert on russia who lived there for long periods of time. he knew everybody in the previous administration,

including people who were real opponents of putin. i think putin just decided he was going to get him at a personal level for no reason. >> thank you so much. you put that so succinctly. >> my pleasure. >> the professor of political science in columbia university. we are awaiting autopsy results in connection with the death of actor philip seymour hoffman, but police are not waiting. we'll tell you why four people have been arrested. >> to be here again at this particular moment saying the exact same thing is really challenging. >> folks in west virginia still complaining about the chemical companies there lock before they say that toxic spill spoiled the drinking water for a quarter of a million people. why they say something needs to be done. >> while the economy continues to dig out of the recession, one sector is booming. the man at the center of new york city's real estate renaissance, and why he says now is the time to buy.

we'll be talking with megadevelopper bruce ratner that

>> these are live images coming ouch russia right now. the olympic torch arriving in sochi, that signaling that the winter games are only just two days away. once again, security concerns, though in russia ahead of those games. good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. federal investigators taking a look at last month's chemical spill in west virginia, but first nicole mitchell has the latest on the weather. >> you have more of the 20's and northward, it's snow which is enough that a problem, new york at 32. philadelphia at 33. snow has switched to ice and freezing rain around the philadelphia area. not only slick roads, but that brings down power lines and tree branches, hundreds of thousands without power. we have behind this a core of cold air.

denver, we are at a high of seven today, that's about 40 degrees blow average. del. >> four people are under arrest this morning on drug charges in new york city, all of them facing questions in connection with the death of actor philip seymour hoffman. authorities believe they are the people who supplied the actor with heroin. he was found dead sunday of an apparent drug overdose. the autopsy results are expected next week. broadway lights will be dimmed in honor of the actor this evening. >> federal investigators beginning a probe in charleston after an industrial accident tainted drinking water. it was the subject of a hearing in the senate, lawmakers calling for tougher laws to protect the public. >> americans have a right to expect that when they turn their

tap on, their water is safe to drink. >> aljazeera's robert ray has been covering this story and reports the chemical spill now the latest controversy in a state with thousands of plants in mind and little oversight. >> ask the locals and many will tell you the place they call home in west virginia is better known as the chemical valley. >> at risk of having mishappens in chemicals are concentrated, because the chemical industry is concentrated here. >> since 2008, investigators have investigated three deaths at area facilities. the most recent was at this dupont plant in 2010. there, a worker died when a ruptured hose sprayed him with a deadly gas. after each incident, the chemical safety board recommended the state create an oversight board for chemical facilities. the suggestion fell on deaf ears. >> we hear from the state that they were not able to respond to

our recommendation and they were not -- it wasn't possible for them to do it. that's the last word that we got. >> a spokesperson for the west virginia verge department of health and human resources says the last word on the issue came june 30, 2011. at the time, that agency and the department of environmental protection agreed to jointly approach the legislature to provide funding for a study of successful initiatives from around the country, yet no legislation was ever introduced. >> it's really challenging, considering that i'm the first person that introduced it to the state in 2009 even before the chemical safety board so to be here again saying the exact same thing is really challenging. >> she represent as group called people concerned about chemical safety, founded in 1984 following a disaster in india. there is the chemical was released, killing thousands. the same chemical was made and stored at a plant in west

virginia. the public outrage over the freedom industry's chemical still that contaminated the drinking water for 300,000 people will bring tougher regulations. >> one of the senators was talking about his pregnant wife avoiding the water. that impacts him on a very personal level. one of the reason issues get swept under the rug is because people in decision making power aren't dealing with the ramifications of their decision firsthand. >> two bills are introduced requiring stricter oversight of the chemical facilities in the state, too late for this incident, but maybe preventing a future one. charleston, west virginia. >> that federal investigation comes amid concerns the tap water in west virginia still is not safe to drink. >> commercial real estate is booming, especially in the big apple. we'll talk to a man in the center of the building boom. >> free college for any student with a high school diploma.

the state that is considering that move on higher education. >> ross shimabuku in sports. shaun white has had a change of heart, why the two time olympic champion is pull out of one of his events.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. the health of the jobs market being questioned, but one part of the economy is booming, commercial real estate. some say just take a look at new york. we have more. >> these skyscrapers dominating manhattan are more than feats of office engineering. >> office buildings are where american business lives. >> commercial real estate is a

$12 trillion chunk of the u.s. economy. the market suffered in the aftermath of the financial cries in 2007, shrinking by 25% but recently is seeing a comeback especially in new york. in 2013, non-residential construction was estimated to have hit more than $10 billion. that would be up about 16% from 2012, according to the new york building congress. >> at the forefront of this, high profile projects such as the world trade center towers and more recently hudson yards. >> that's the equivalent of three empire state buildings. >> another eye popping indicator is the leap in property values. in manhattan, prices have surged nearly 60% in the last three years, for outstripping the national average. >> i don't find that surprisedding for do i see it as a warning bell.

we have a great deal more liquidity in the market. >> investors want to put that cash to work. >> if you can collect good rents from named tenants and get yield, it's driving prices. >> buyers who purchase pro fee towers like the g.m. building in new york at the height of the market are now able to sell those properties and make 20% or more on investments. commercial real estate is facing an uncertain future because of the federal reserve. policy makers are pull back on the billions of dollars they've been spending buying long term bonds. economists believe that will raise borrowing costs. >> clearly the low interest rates have facilitated the rise in values of commercial real estate. if you see an increase in interest rates, it's likely to have a strong impact on values. >> there is a silver lining. analysts say the fed is likely to cut its stimulus slowly to give the market more breathing room a adjust to new financial realities. aljazeera, new york.

>> for more on what is fueling the real estate boom, we turn to real money's ali velshi. good morning. >> don't ask me. what do i know? i happened to be with somebody who does. one man who knows more is bruce ratner, the megadeveloper behind brooklyn's barclays center. he's also minority owner of the team. you just heard the story. give me a sense of what is fueling this remarkable growth in non-residential and residential real estate in new york, because we're hearing about an economy that on one hand is firing on all cylinders and on another not not certain. when it comes to commercial real estate, it's strong. >> it's very strong in new york city and other places in the country. there's a lot of reasons for it. in new york, it's safety and security, so a lot of foreign investors looking for a place to put money and this country is far and away the best place, all

surveys show that. second, low interest rates and third a believe that new york and particularly this country is going to continue to be safe and grow so that's where the money is going to go. where are you going to put money today, the market has gun up a lot, so i that i it's all those different factors. >> it is people from other places making investments, seeing the u.s. as a particularly stable place even if interest rates are going up. >> even for u.s. investors, seeing new york is a place because of the foreign investment, because of the fact that this city is sort of the capital of the world, that's where people want to invest. >> does the idea that interest rates are creeping up and will start to go up have an effect on this part of the business? >> yes, it does. remember, what happens is interest rates go up, now all of a sudden a building that looks profitable isn't to profitable. despite the foreign investment, the u.s. market drives most of the investment here. as interest rates go up, it

becomes less profitable to own a building, buy a building. once that begins to happen, things slow down in the real estate market. it depends on how fast they go up, if they go up very slowly, we're ok. interest rates, however, my experience is when they start going up, they go up very rapidly. that's why i think the fed is being so careful. >> investing in long term, you have to make decisions now about buildings that will be leasing or selling years from now. are you still aggressive? >> very aggressive about new york. we have to look farther ahead. when we look at different patterns, we are an island. manhattan and brooklyn and queens are on islands, stanton island are on islands. we are an island. there is very little land. very little land, projection on growth of new york city, both as employment and a number of people moving to new york is a lot, substantial.

we will be 9 million people in about 15 years. that's steady growth. we have 94,000 jobs this past year created. there's just tremendous growth in the city. >> let's talk about income inequality, the topic of the day. we did a special on the middle class and former labor secretary rice was quoting a number saying the richest 400 americans have the same wealth as the poorest 150 million americans. there's a number you quote, the 85 richest people in the world have the same wealth as the bottom half of the world. >> it's almost hard to believe. those numbers are just extraordinary. you're to be complimented on that special, because and it is huge issue. i think it's probably the most important issue not only in this country, but worldwide. whether it's the ukraine or united states or middle east or asia.

>> all very similar. >> we had a situation where that can't last forever, and we're finding that again to be in ukraine, where it has to do with unemployment, jobs, middle east, the united states, or even in china, where it seems calm and it is calm, relatively, but there's going to be trouble in this world unless we really begin to keel with that problem. >> in america, when the pro tests begin, the 1%, the occupy wall street movement, it didn't subsequently end up being something that was threaten to go anybody that wasn't in the midst of it and wasn't that threatening even if you were there. now we hear talk of people who are fanning the flames are class warfare and we have people defending against it and people encouraging it. how do we start to deal with this? we can't tell rich people not to be rich and we'd like to get unemployed people employed. >> we need a real discussion constantly about the issues and how we deal with the issues. as long as we keep doing that,

we'll solve it. if we call everybody names and both sides, it's not going to work. if we keep being divided, it's not going to work. it has to do with discussing it and talking about it. easier said than done because the problems are discussible, dealable with, but it's going to take a lot of work to change. >> the one proposal, the federal minimum wage is $7.75. the president has called for a $10.10 minimum wage. some say it should be higher and others say let the market deal with this, bring the minimum wage to zero, no minimum at all and the market will employ everybody, maybe for $3 an hour. >> we don't have an officials market such that if you brought it to zero you will get more jobs created because you've got a low wage. that just isn't the case. anybody who says that is silly, really. ten-dollar wage only amount you

must involve the problem. they'll begin to touch the problem of the poorest americans. we have all kinds of problems, so we have a problem with the poorest americans, people who are on food stamps, on all kinds of pay, we must increase that minimum wage to begin to deal with that problem. there are so many other problems in terms of he equality of income, but that has to happen. >> we have real middle class families who are struggling to own businesses. these are the job creators as you know, and at one point, it's still a small business, but a big small business and they complain that the combination of minimum wage and cost of employing someone, all the cost that you pain in addition to wage is making it hard for small businesses to add workers. how do we square the circle? we're the richest, most profitable country in the world and some people earn $7.25.

>> as a small business, i started with one employee. it is very difficult, all the kinds of regular allegations and everything that happens to really make a go of it. it's difficult. on the other hand, if you look at it. we have a lot of new businesses created and the most important is it's all a balancing act. i'd choose to take that $10 wage over a lot of other regulations, because it's a whole group of things that makes this difficult. that may be one, but that's not the biggest. it's just difficult to do business. we're very competitive. laws change. income taxes and so on, but i don't think the minimum wage is really related to the issue of how well someone does in a business. it has a lot of other factors that are much more significant. >> as a developer, you deal with regulation all the time. frankly, most of us like the fact the developers deal with regulation, keeps our buildings safe, neighborhood's correct. but can we do things to make america a better place to do

business on that front? >> well, there is no single way. i don't think there's any easy way to do that. i think really just having a good economy is the number one thing and good economy of course depends on small businesses. all the kinds of whether it be the federal reserve creating low interest rates, whether it be making sure that there's not speak will active issues, all the things that led to the problems we had over the last five or six years, that's the number one thing. i don't think this issue of regulation here or there is the issue on business. the issue is the overall economy and there are a lot more issues that affect that than small regulations, global issues, banks, interest rates, the president, those are the kind of issues that affect business. >> there are two plain facts right now to our viewers, one is i'm very bald and you are real

rich. >> the country is supposed to be the way we all intended it to be. the quality of income is really important. it goes to education. if you're wealthy, you can afford to send your kids to private school, it per pet waits itself. we can't have that. even for the good of the wealthy. i lived through the 1960's where i thought there was going to be a revolution. i was part of that. we're not going to have a revolution here, but we cannot have a situation where two thirds of the people in this country thought occupy wall street was a good thing. that says we need to fix things, that i want to contribute in any way that i can to fix that. >> one of the things that's clear is that education does help. you actually are well educated, got your undergraduate at harvard, law degree at columbia and you're worried whether not enough people are getting educated or we don't have enough focus on the idea that the middle class needs to have a college education in order to succeed. many in this country don't

agree. in germany with its success, education is amajor priority. >> so, if you were to talk about what i would say the single most important thing for creating a strong middle class is education. the other thing that has happened is knowledgable. you have robert rice on a program here. he is the original person, 20 years ago that talked about knowledgable workers. they will get a job, be in the middle class or upper middle class. that's the most important thing opinion the motor important thing we need is education. we have a sophisticated jobs knowledgable workers. we have divided our receivers into in this workers and service workers. speaking of divides, that's getting worse and worse. that is the single motor important, i believe that's the best ticket, really for the whole world is education. that's obvious and easy answer. i think it's actually a very clearance, because we can see what kind of workers it takes to run different aspects of this word and it's knowledge workers,

knowledge workers, knowledge workers with that if you're a service worker, you're not going to have a good time. >> we've got to get some news into the show other than this. great to see you. >> ally, you said you're bald and he is rich. i will remember that line. ali velshi. we are following breaking news on the jobs fronted. payroll firm was on 175,000 sector jobs created in january. that is worse than economists had been predicting. data revised downward, as well, that report is a prelude to the closely watched month job numbers, figures released on friday. stock futures are lower after that report, down 41 points. the dow started at 15,445, the s&p at 1755 and the nasdaq back above the key 4,000 level.

one market watcher saying investors should still hold on to their stocks. >> i think the sentiment was negative, because we'd just come off a two and a half year bull market. people thought it was oversold, looking for negative news. there has been a little, giving an excuse to sell off. right now, i don't think this is a time to sell stocks. >> in asia, markets ending the day mixed. european markets have turned mostly lower. >> was the university created or did it evolve? two experts going toe-to-toe on that subject last night in kentucky. >> is creation really a viable model in this mod he were scientific era? that brought a sold out crowd to here bill nye the science guy.

>> what keeps the united states ahead, what makes the united states a world leader is our technology, our new ideas, our innovations. >> the battle is really about authority. it's more than just science or evolution of creation. it's about who's the authority in this word, man or god. >> the debate came about because of a video blog posted in september, 2012 in which he said that teaching creationism, the believe that humans have always existed in their present form was harmful to children. that racked up 6 million views, prompting ken hamm to challenge nye to this debate. he used nature. >> there's a famous tree in sweden, 9,550 years old. how could these trees be there if there was an enormous flood just 4,000 years ago? >> he stuck to a distinct

between different types of science. >> you can't observe the age of the earth. there's a big difference between historical science talking about the past and observational science talking about the present. >> if we continue to es which is chew science and try for it to be a historical science, we will not embrace natural laws and make discoveries. >> while evolution is overwhelmingly accepted in scientific circles, the same certainty doesn't exist in the american public. 60% of americans believe in evolution, and 30% support creationism. the poll found white evangelical conservatives were most likely to support that belief. >> just coming together and trying to reconcile and it's very encouraging. i think it will compel many more people to explore science and what they really believe and why we are here on earth.

that is the big question. >> they both did not expect to change the other's view but felt the discussion was important and would allow those watching to think critically and decide where they stand. jonathan martin, aljazeera. >> the winter olympics now two days away, but big news concerning a big star. >> snowboarder shaun white decided to pull out from the slopestyle competition. the 27-year-old white injured his wrist after fall hard during a practice run yesterday. he thought he was manage the pain, but the injury was too much for him to handle. he's pulling out of the slopestyle competition and will focus in on the halfpipe competition next week. you see white is a two time defending champion in the halfpipe and hopes to become a three time gelled medalist in that event which has set an american record. >> the u.s. women's hockey team has been in every olympics since first introduced in 1988.

this year's group is very hungry, some calm it desperate. they finished behind canada in each of the last three games. the u.s. will have to focus on the opening match saturday. >> when you come up short, in vancouver, you come up short, it doesn't feel good and you kind of use that at first as motivation kind of in how you're going to prepare and do moving forward in the next four years. for those of us who have been on teams in the past that have been unsuccessful against canada, this burns in your heart every single day. >> we haven't won a gold medal yet. as i gelled older, i have something where i realize ok, time's a ticking here and we've got to execute at the end of the game, we've got to execute each game leading up to hopefully earning a spot into the final game. >> safety around sochi has been a big concern. for the athletes already there, they say they feel protected. >> we feel safe above all and

they assured us that security is tight and everything should be fine, you know, and i'm going to focus on my competition and no matter where you go, something could happen, so i'm not really worried about it. >> there have been security. i'm not concerned. the organizedding committee has done a job of making sure everybody is safe. personally, i feel very safe here and i'm not worried bit at all. i talked to my family. they are coming over in a couple of days and they're not worried. >> here are some events to look for as sochi games kick off thursday. the action starts 1:00 a.m. eastern team with slopestyle equal paying events minus shaun white. figure skating will hit the ice. friday, the spotlight is on the opening as her moneys and early saturday morning, 3:00 a.m., the women's hockey team begin their journey taking on finland. >> magic johnson who brought show time to the lakers, then as

far as the dodgers ownership group rejuvenated the boys in blue. he hopes to save the sparks who's previous owner said he lost $12 million since operating the team. hopefully magic and his group can provide a spark after agreeing to purchase the franchise. >> david beckham back in the headlines. the former major league soccer star is expected to be named the new owner of a miami mls franchise expected to start flying in 2016. he bought the franchise for a discounted rate of $25 million, a rate established when he first signed as a player with the l.a. galaxy in 2007. >> in seattle, the seahawks will be having their superbowl parade celebrating their championship and some 300,000 fans are expected to play who can key. >> i get the feeling they will be celebrating in seattle. when we come back, we will be

talks about free college for anyone with a high school diploma. the governor of one state wants to make it reality. this is a live look at a very snowy new york city. nicole mitchell back in just a few moments with your forecast.

>> every sunday night, al jazeera america presents...

>> welcome back.ca presents... we have a major snowstorm we have been following across the country. more clouds to the west coast with the system that will impact starting tonight and tomorrow, so monitor for that. the snowstorm, the heaviest core is making it into new england. south of that, new york, philadelphia that started with

snow just warm enough that we have a corridor of freezing rain. that has been heavy enough that philadelphia, hundreds of thousands of people without power this morning because of freezing rain on the power lines, the trees and bringing power lines down. also, very treacherous roads. >> today, this is on the move. by this afternoon, bigger cities will get out from it, but the northern tier of that will linger through the day, and that's areas that aren't seeing the freezing rain. it's just straight snow where we could have heavier accumulations. some place could get over a foot of snow. and it is mess out there. be very careful. >> tends governor providing new details about his unprecedented education plan. he wants to provide two years of community college or technical school for all high school graduates free of charge, saying his plan would apply to all students in tennessee regardless

of financial status or academic credentials. he said it would cost $34 million a year. >> thousands braving the cold in japan for the ice festival, a chilly nine degrees. 200 snow and ice sculptures are on display, one supporting japan's olympic team wishing them luck in sochi. each understand every year, 2 million visitors are drawn. that's going to do it for this edition of aljazeera america. we'll have the latest headlines for you straight ahead in two minutes. you can check us out 24 hours a day by going to aljazeera.com.

al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. >> welcome to aljazeera america, these are the stories we're following. another major winter storm threatening to dump a foot of snow on the northeast, pounding parts of the great plains in the midwest. more than 2,000 flights have

been canceled. >> a u.n. children's right group accuses the vatican of adopting policies that allowed priest to say sexually abuse children, claiming the church covered up case to say protect its reputation instead of protecting children. the vatican said it regrets the u.n.'s attempt to interfere with church teaching. >> c.v.s. will no longer sell cigarettes or tobacco products. the company said cigarettes have no place in anern environment where health care is delivered. >> the affordable care act could have americans working less, according to the congressional budget office saying by 2017, obamacare will reduce workforce participation by 2.5 million jobs. the new job could lead some workers to limit their hours. the white house now looking at criminal charges in the west virginia chemical spill.

a team of justice department officials in the state investigating concerns about the drinking water. that spill contaminated water for 300,000 people. those are your headlines. "consider this" is next. "consider this". here is more of what is ahead. >> oscar winning actor philip seymour hoffman was found dead in his manhattan apartment. >> the tragedy bringing to light the growing epidemic of use. >>