>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello welcome to the news hour, i'm jane dunton, in doe ho. the un condemns the catholic church over decades of child abuse and demands of fenni fenninger -- of oh offenders are handed over for chiel. i'm in london. among the stories we're covering

in europe, steal mate in kiev, as the chief meets the ukrainian president. and the trial opens of the man accused of being behind the collapse of one of ireland's biggest banks. ♪ two damming reports about the abuse of children worldwide have been released by the united nations. in the first the catholic churched is denounced for allowing priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over the decades, and the second on syria describes the unspeakable surfering of its

children. first let's take a closer look at the severe condemnation directed at the vatican. they say it is a crime not a moral failing. they protected pedophile priests by moving them around, and it says this practice is still happening. nuns and priests who spoke out were ostracized and those who [ technical difficulties ] >> the catholic church signed up to the convention in 1990, and part of its commitment is to be periodically reviewed on its

performance. the scandaling relating to child sex abuse, on january 16th the vatican did agree to send a delegation. i was here. it was a very gruelling cross-examination, a culture clash between the un and the chosed institution of the vatican if you would like. and it was predicted even then that this report released here in geneva today would pull no punches, and it certainly delivered on that. the report is a devastating critique of the vatican's performance in dealing with child sex abuse. it says it is still not willing to take responsibility for it. >> the whole issue has consistently placed the

preservation of the reputation of the church and the protection of the perpetrator's above children's best interests. >> reporter: the report lists many failings and has many recking mend a decisions. it is accused of still moving priests from parrish to parrish to avoid prosecution. all known and suspected abusers must be removed and reported to the police wherever they are, the church must pay compensation and provide rehabilitation to its victims. this ongoing crisis continues to playing the credibility of the catholic church and its new hope. the committee says pope francis must call on outside help and everything must be made public. >> the credibility of the church will always be in question

unless it protects the children. >> reporter: the report's tough stance will be welcome by victims of abuse word wide. the committee numbers them in the tens of thousands. >> for so long we have been disbelieved and criticized because they -- the church said that we were only after money, or we are theun -- [ technical difficulties ] >> reporter: who is a change of the secretive culture of the catholic church. the vatican has ronned to the un's report, it called it distorted, unfair and ideologically slanted, but added

it would study it thoroughly. and said the catholic church is committed to protecting children from abuse. jack va lair row is from catholic voices. he joins us live from london. what is your response to the un report, jack? >> hello, i think it's a terrible report, full of so many mistakes it's hard to know where to start. i would summarize the problems in three areas. first, it takes absolutely no account of the history of abuse reform that has been going on in the catholic church in this the last 12 years. the guidelines and procedures that have been developed to tackle this problem which were very real -- >> and still ongoing. >> well, this is what is not true. because the procedures and guidelines that have been developed in the catholic church are the best in the world.

this has been said by goes in the west. the catholic church has been the catalyst to change in the uk it has lead the change in many institutions, in schools, local authorities, other institutions -- >> if that is the case how come nobody has been brought to court for instance? how come there is nobody there -- >> lots of people -- hundreds of priests are in prison. millions of pounds of dollars have been paid to victims. this is just absolutely untrue. it is incredible that a un report could say this. >> the un report found that nuns and priests who spoke out were awes are sizes, priested who were found guilty haven't faced up to their crimes, instead they have been moved around as we have seen happen for decades. >> that is just not true -- priests were moved from

parish to parish in the '80s, and that stopped in the late '90s, and certainly in 2001 when the new procedures were established. that stopped happening. if a priest is accused of abuse nowadays. it is immediately investigated. and if he is found guilty he is sent to prison. so these things are no longer happening. but the most worrying thing about this report is this, it tries to impose an adeology of gender and sexuality on the kat rick church. it says it should change its teaching -- >> i'm going to jump in there, because that is a whole differentish you -- >> but it just shows -- >> -- it hasn't been addressed. and many confirm that. they say very little has

changed. >> well, that is not true. >> the perception is that change hasn't been implemented. >> well, maybe the perception needs to change, but it certainly has changed completely in the way that the case is handled. for example in usa the rules were established and in the uk, and they require mandatory reporting, and all cases have been reported since -- >> but it hasn't happened though, has it? >> pardon? the >> retrospecttively this hasn't happened? sdmrfrms yes, of course, if the allegation is from 1960, that is also investigated. the problem is sometimes these terrible things were done by people who have already died, so there is only a limited amount that you can do. but victims have been compensated. the new committee that pope

francis established in december of last year was to ensure that victims were looked after, because he said, the legal side and the procedural side is already in place, and we're leading the fight against child abuse, but are we looking after the victims as well as we should. and this is what the committee is k looking at now. so we want to ensure that victims from the past, they are still looked after, and the proper compensation is given to them. >> that's certainly good to hear. the un also suggests that by 2017, everything that has been put forward is implemented by the church. is that going to be possible? >> well, because as i say there are so many errors in this report, and many of the things they say the church should do, the church is already doing. and whether they take that as recommendation -- or they say

that's already happening, that's already happening, that's already happening. if i were the vatican i would withdraw from this convention, because this report is so outrageous that i think that -- that they should be -- they should be rejected and the report should be rewritten. >> well, on those words, jack good to talk to you, from catholic voices. >> thank you. in syria two children are the greatest victims of the war. a report has been provided of the most devastating picture yet. it says the government has tortured children as young as 11 years old, that includes beatings, rapes, solitary confinement, and being forced to watch the torture of relatives. children have also been used as high man shields. one example from 2011, government forces said they

could kill children unless the rebels rur rendered we this the un special representative for children, and she says it is syria's future generation that is paying a high price. >> recruitment of children is -- at least since our last report, recruitment and use of children is now a trend. they are used as combatancombat some have been injured or killed, they are used to support, as mentioned in the report, the armed groups. many are killed not only because they are fighting, but because

they are performing these functions that are in the middle of the battlefield. if we don't care about the children syria today we will not have a future. these are the future generation, and this -- you cannot [ inaudible ] peace if people that will be the future are today paying such a high price. >> let's go to james bayes at the united nations in new york. how is this going down there, james? >> well, obviously there is shock at a report like this. we know how bad things are on the ground in syria, but when you hear the very graphic details of how it is affecting the children of syria, that figure of 10,000 children over now almost three years of conflict, who have been killed, and you hear those awful stories of children being tortured and forced to be soldiers.

and those are the extreme cases, just think of the ordinary children living in a war zone, some of them living with the trauma of seeing members of their family being injured or killed, traumatizing a whole young population of syria. this report will go to the security council in the coming days to assess it. i think it's interesting that actually this report was given to the security council in written form over a week ago, and the un didn't make a big fuss about it. i think that's partly because the security council still has to meet to hear all of the details. i think also there is a bit of sensitive at the moment about the syrian situation. people are concerned with those peace talks that have been going on in geneva and are due to resume next week that they don't

really want to do anything that could derail those peace talks and certainly detention of children was something the opposition was talking about when i was in geneva last week. >> thank you, james. plenty more to come in the news hour, including where myanmar's government bulldozed a neighborhood. a new report on vie -- i have lain ka's, saying they systematically destroyed mass

graves of civilians. >> reporter: in the final months of the civil war, one last push against the tigers. away from the views of the international media, they did not have access to the fight in which there are claims that up to 40,000 people died. now an international team of investigators says it has found evidence that civilians were deliberately targeted and subject to other war crimes. the report refers to violations of international law by both sides in the civil war, but claims investigations found evidence that the forces were responsible for a majority of these violations. for the first time, the report aledges the army could have

systematically destroyed [ technical difficulties ] >> reporter: the report concludes that reconciliation will not be achieved without a

comprehensive independent international investigation. for but the government the call for international investigation amounts to interference. >> translator: what we faced was a more serious and brutal challenge than they ever faced. >> reporter: while the government braces for a standover, hundreds of thousands of civilians are still hoping foreclosure. [ inaudible ] an advisor on reconciliation told al jazeera that sri lanka will be conducting its own investigation. >> it's not a body of understanding, the main point on which they actually cite what seems to be the only case of [ inaudible ] we will not have international interference in

sri lanka, just as i hope you in qatar will not allow international interference, there is such a thing of [ inaudible ] national sovereignty. the americans have a one size fits all except themselves, and don't you fall into that trap. [ inaudible ] oh, yes, yes, it is okay. but you people think everybody is about war crimes. it's not. it's about reconciliation, and that has many aspects, including working with survivors. we need to move more quickly, and i have said so repeatedly. it is not only about war crimes, there are certain issues that need to be investigated further, the government should have an n investigation [ inaudible ] it is not about vindictiveness, it

is about working towards a common future. the eu's policy chief has met with victoriani yanukovych n an attempt to end the opposition. >> that's right, jane. they are trying to curve the president's power by changing the constitution. the barricades and protesters remain, but the country's interim prime minister has insisted that nationwide unrest is declining. neve barker joins us live from kiev now. neve, hi, good to see you. this talk of a stalemate between the two sides, is katherine ashton making much headway? >> reporter: well, this is her

third trip to ukraine since the conflict began. she met with the opposition late on tuesday night and this afternoon met with the ukrainian president. she has just started to speak about the results of these talks, and has indicated, as was thought that the european union and u.s. are planning a financial aid package to help the country's troubled economy. the national currency has been fluctuating wildly for weeks now, and this afternoon plummeted to a new low. the concerns there are that the country will be in economic freefall without any kind of external help, but the concerns are that -- by the western [ inaudible ] presented by the eu and the us is this could well start something of a bidding war with russia. russia has already signed a $15 billion aid package for

ukraine. that is currently on hold while the country remains in political turmoil. the concern here, though, is that the dispute will now be much greater than solely the one over ukraine, that it will now become a rivalry between east and west. it is very difficult to say which side the markets prefer. but at least the feeling here in ukraine is that the country really needs to get its own house in order and be less reliant on external support. >> thanks, neve. now staying with ukraine and as neve was explaining there, the country is caught in a geopolitical tug of war between western europe and russia. david sent us this report from odessa on the choice that most

ukrainians face now. >> reporter: gas fired power stations provide the background of support for the industry. the kremlin has cut the cost of supplying them by a third. postponing the reforms needed to modernize the country's economy. this giant fertilizer plant is one of the many factories that may be living on borrowed time. sheltered from the cold reality of market economics. ukraine's heavy industries are hooked on russian gas. the deal with russia means that the country will remain on russia's financial leash. a deal with the european union would bring strict terms that would bring shock waves across ukraine. this family says it is worth the

price. >> translator: speaking for myself and my friends, i can say we are ready to pay the higher gas prices if that is the cost of ukraine's membership of the european union. >> reporter: that was a point of view shared by an anti government protester. we found in one of odessa's many snow-bound parks. this is an author of a book on the tactics of the game who believes that the president is responsible for the stalemate in the country. >> we a are an open country and we need [ inaudible ] everything. and we cannot live with this [ inaudible ] in government. yeah. >> reporter: the city's statute of lennon may have been banished to a suburban park, but the hand of the kremlin has not gone away. to russia now where the olympic torch has arrived in

sochi. the final stop on its 65,000 kilometer odyssey. the torch began its journey in moscow in october, and its route included the north pole, the highest mountain, and deepest lake. a train carrying gas has derailed and caught fire. it forced 700 local residents to be evacuated. the fire caused the partial closure of the trans-siberian railway. now back to jane in doha. in myanmar the government has begun bulldozing homes built by squatters. nearly a thousand homes built on the outskirts of the city have been destroyed. >> reporter: the footage taken

on a mobile phone, but you can see and hear what is going on. the home has become a pile of rubble. >> translator: i screamed at them. why are our heards who we regard as parents forcibly moving us out. they didn't respond to our question. we are not insurgents or drug traffickers, we are villagers and have been living her peacefully. >> reporter: but the army says the land belongs to them and the villagers have to move. dull -- bulldozers destroyed everything in their path. villagers grabbed what belongings they could, dragging items through the dirt. when it was all over, they sat bewilders, mothers and children

unshare where to go next. >> translator: we feel a great tragedy deep inside that the leaders of our country, including the president won't hear our voices. we have to take this lying down. >> reporter: the forced removal appears based on commercial grounds. the squatter camp lies close to the city also known as rangoon. it is now the commercial capital of myanmar. construction has taken off, and land and landownership has become a premium. many in this village has been displaced five years previously by a cyclone. this woman says she bought her house last year, but like many others she has no title deed to the country. the future for this small community and others like it

remains uncertain. still ahead, kicking the habit, why one of america's biggest drugstores is stamping out cigarette sales. and it's not cool runnings for jamaica's bobsled team, as they start with a slip up at the airport. those details coming up in sport with jo.

real reporting that brings you the world.

giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. ♪ this is al jazeera, and these are the top stories, the united nations has condemned the catholic church for failing to protect children from pedophile priests. the vatican has responded saying the report is distorted, but added it will study it thoroughly. a report from the united nations say children are being abused all over syria. nearly a thousand houses built

on the out skirts of rangoon have been destroyed in myanmar. the un report that the church failed to protect children comes with another report. >> thanks, jane. it's the biggest inquiry in child sex abuse, and it opened with heroining testimony from people who say they were abused by priests and nuns. there is evidence that some of the abuse was carried out under the cover of conflict. lawrence lee reports from northern ireland. you may find some of the details in his report disturbing. >> reporter: it's long closed now, but for years and years this place was home to little

girls who's parents couldn't hope and who were advised by the catholic church that it was the best place for them. little girls like this. made to eat her own vomit if she refused food. >> translator: if a toilet blocked, rather than pay a plumber, i had to go out of my classroom, and she made my kneel beside the toilet, and put my hand in and carry the excrement and carried it with my hands to the next toilet. the priests used to take me in the back and tell me god was happy with me. and i don't have to say any hail marys because he was very happy with me, and he would make me do things.

sometimes he would make me kneel between his knees. >> reporter: south of the border is the catholic republic of ireland who has already had to come to terms with organized abuse. but the united kingdom is not a catholic country and this is a small town, so how come for so many years the protestants apparently didn't know what was going on in places like that little house on the hill. hundreds of boys passed through this house. john was abused there, and always believed it incon vooefable that they didn't know about it. >> think they had to know about it. >> reporter: the long running conflict between the british army and the irish republicans in this count allowed abuse to

go on, and if the church wasn't looking for children, then they would be out on the streets. >> there was a vast and sinister conspiracy going on here, involving the most powerful elements in in northern ireland society. nobody is free from guilt on this. and it was not a small number of rotten apples. the perversity was rooted in the political and social realities of northern ireland. >> reporter: this inquiry is only happens at all, because people like john and katy have been prepared to confront their past. it is both tragic and shameful. three former bankers have appeared in court in ireland to face charges related to the country's banking collapse. the three former chiefs are

charged with helping to unlawfully prop up the banks share price in 2008. it is only the second time that bankers have been brought to criminal trial in europe. tim reports from dublin. >> reporter: and arriving at court, william one of three former executives of anglo irish bank, the collapse of which almost bankrupted the entire country. along with shawn and pat, they all denied the charges in a trial that will track the boom years to bust. the three executives are accused of giving unlawful financial assistance to individuals in in 2008 in order to buy bank shares to boost the share price. among the aledged recipients,

shawn quinn, once ireland's richest man with a huge global property portfolio, but when prices crashed around the world, he was left owing billions. >> the anglo irish bank is neen [ inaudible ] it was in fact the entire banking sector which was in trouble. i suppose that people identify more with the fall, but it was in large part fuelled by the property bust reexperienced here in ireland. >> reporter: it took nearly $40 billion to rescue the bank and the end tire sector. ireland needed an international bailout. >> the collapse cost the taxpayer between 25 and 30 billion euros which in a country of just 4 million people that's an awful lot of money. and it was one of the factors

that caused us to needed a bailout. >> reporter: the trial one of the most complex of its kind in europe could take six months. and tim joins us now from dublin. tim, this is a trial, presumably that will provide a fairly foren sick draw -- a painful period, of course for ireland, but also a pretty unusual trial putting bankers in this the dark. >> very unusual. only iceland has really done it before. but the anger here in ireland matches that felt in iceland, and it has clearly been felt by the prosecutors that these bankers should go on trial. they obviously believe they have enough evidence to win this

prosecution, but it is going to be a terribly long and complex process, and what we have been hearing mostly on wednesday is the prosecution describing basic things like what constitutes a company, how banks work. but within the last few minutes we have been getting to the it ine gritty, and they say it was mainly fear as anglo irish saw their shares plummeting, and they were desperate to try to retrieve that situation. they went to see people to urge them to borrow money for them, so long as they would in return invest in the bank so any share price might start to come up again. and as the judge said, they were approaching people on their holidays to get them to borrow money. the judge said if your bank

manager normally approaches you on holiday, you would run to the nearest sand hill to hide. >> now back to jane in doha. jerusalem's government has approved plans for 558 new settle homes in the occupied west bank. construction can begin as early as next week. israeli settlements are illegal according to international law. the palestinians have said settlement expansion could derail us-sponsored peace talks. this is another aggravating blow to the palestinian authority who during these peace talks have mentioned time and time again that really negotiations cannot continue unless it is acknowledged that's

jerusalem will be the capitol of a palestinian state. behind me, you'll see bethlehem, so basically these permits have been issued primarily in an issue that will further divide east jerusalem from the west bank. obviously this is not going to make the palestinians very happy or secretary of state john kerry happy to know that israel is persisting with these permits, because it is going to be another huge roadblock on a very bumpy road to peace between these two. >> thank you. one of america's biggest drugstore chain has kicked its tobacco habits. cvs will phase out sales by october 1st. the company decided it cannot longer sell cigarettes in places

where it also sells products for healthcare. legacy is a foundation that advocates the prevention of tobacco use, so can i guess your response is a good one? >> well, i think this is a huge step for cvs and a huge victory for all of us who want to prevent and stop this deadly disease from tobacco. i -- i think what they are doing is saying that, you know, if we really want to show that we are here for our customers best interests, the best thing that we can do is take this major step to really make a difference in their health and well-being. >> what sort of impact will it have? will it resinate with smokers or will they just take their business elsewhere? >> well, i think the step it will have is it will be a real

clarion call to every retailer in america. and i hope many will follow in cvs's steps after today. >> i'm sure the key is if it is a successful business model, isn't it? moving from this model to the healthcare type of model? >> i think it will prove in the long term a very, very smart business step for cvs. you know, in the long term, selling a product that kills about half of the people that use it, certainly can't be good for your business, so i think it will prove to be very successful, and therefore other retailers will follow. >> good to talk to you. thank you for your time. >> all right. coming up on al jazeera, hundreds of dead dolphins are washingen on to peru's beaches, baffling scientists.

and david beckham announces his return to football but this time as a owner of a new team in miami. >> welcome gentlemen. ♪

north and south korea have agreed on dates to briefly reunite families divided by war for the first time in more than three years. millions of families were split apart by the korean war from 1950 to 1953. more than 70,000 south koreans

have been asking to meet lost family members. chinese scientists are warning that a new strain of the bird flu virus has the potential to cause a pandemic and should not be upgd estimated. it says the virus killed an elderly woman in december and effected another person last month. ilt adds that it may be able to affect deep lung tissue. hundreds of dolphins have been found along peru's northern coasts. scientists haven't been able to explain why the mammals died. and it isn't the first time. >> reporter: a trip along the coast, the dolphins are lying dead. more than 200 carcasses washed up on the shore.

400 dolphins have been found dead since the beginning of the year. >> translator: we really don't know what the cause is. this year we have found evidence between interaction of dolphins and the fishing industry. but it's difficult to think that over 400 dolphins have died in this way. >> reporter: scientists have sent the dolphins kidneys, lungs, and livers to a lab to try to determine the cause of death. last year hundreds of dolphins were found in the same area. officials were never able to determine the exact cause of death. experts say the mammals could have eaten particles of plastic, or the dolphins may have eaten fish carrying deadly toxins. >> translator: these dolphins don't show any sign of human

participation in the death, the cause is much harder to find. >> reporter: officials hope to know more when the test results return in two week's time. a census has begun of elephants and other large animals in kenya. the last census suggested the elephant population was growing. other large mammals including buffalo will also be counted. now it's time for sport, here is jo. david beckham has announced he will be starting a new mls franchise in miami. he played for the galaxy and had the option to buy a franchise as part of his contract. the name of the team has yet to be decided. he says it will be a very personal project describing the

new fran as one for the people of miami. >> to me, i wanted to create a team that we can start from scratch. i know there was a team here ten years ago, and unfortunately they folded, but i think going forward, i wanted to create a team that can be very personal. everything that i have done out there my career has been very personal to me, the decisions that i have made are all very personal, and like this one, it's a big decision, but it's a very personal one. i want to make it my own team. >> even with his star-pulling power there's no guarantee the new franchise will be a success in the florida city. >> one and two and one, two, three. ♪ >> reporter: they might be a little too young to join david

beckhas miami squad, but you can't fault their enthusiasm. [ cheers ] >> reporter: and in a city that is already home to some of the biggest names in sport, it's an indication of just how far football has come, and there's little doubt here that beckham is about to take it further. >> it's growing, the parents are interested because this is like a social sport and all of that, but i think it's going to be a huge success. beckham, bring all the people, bring the soccer to the united states, it's great. to miami. >> reporter: his ambitions were never a secret. part of his contract at l.a. galaxy was an option to buy a franchise at a discounted rate. miami seems like the perfect choice at least on paper. but if they need a history lesson, they don't have to look too far. this stadium used to be the home of the miami fusion, a major

league soccer team that closed its door ten years ago. but they believe they can catch in on david beckham's celebrity status and love of the game. >> it will be a slow burn or a slow fizz depending on how the city reacts to the team. >> reporter: the training grounds of miami united there's excitement about the new franchise. but if you ask these players which teams they follow you, their answers are revealing. >> barcelona. >> barcelona. >> barcelona. >> liverpool. >> barcelona. >> reporter: ultimately in miami and beyond it's the fans who will decide who to follow.

the biggest name in snowboarding, sean white has pulled out of one of his tour events just days before the sochi games get underway. he had been planning to compete in the new slope-style event. but white took a heavy fall on tuesday, and that came just a day a norwegian border broke his collarbone on the course. the jamaican bobsled team arrived in sochi, but their equipment failed to show up on the flight. they plan to borrow equipment from other teams if their luggage doesn't arrive soon.

there's more on the winter olympics on our [ technical difficulties ] >> in a lengthy ban. renaldo will be available to play in the first leg against madrid later this wednesday. real coach is also expecting bail to make his return. the team will look to wreak revenge over their rivals. but going into this match, they are full of confidence, as they

are the ones that lead the league. barcelona are also in semifinal action. they are hoping to put their league defeat to valencia on saturday behind them. >> translator: whenever there is a defeat, the next game is a chance of vindication. not only must we show a different face than we showed during the second half against valencia, but we must be decided in the game. in italy they have moved to within one game of their first italian cup final since 1952. on wednesday roma who was second in the league, take on third place napoli. in the nba the indiana pacers strengthened their grip at the top of the conference on tuesday beating the atlanta hawks.

one team that probably won't be making the playoffs is the l.a. lakers. they still have a chance of making the post season, but if they are going to challenge the nba big boys, they might want to tighten up their act. that's all the sport for now. jane. >> thanks for that, jo. a cast away who claims to have spent more than a year adrift in the pacific, says dreams of eating his favorite food helped keep him alive. >> reporter: it's the stuff of hollywood movies. but could it be true? this man, a native of el salvador, says that he survived for 13 months adrift at sea. he washed ashore in the marshall eyelands supposedly more than a year after he says he left

mexico to hunt sharks. no one has been able to a verify his story. he claims his companion died after roughly a month at sea, after starving himself to death. >> translator: i was going to kill myself. i wanted to end my life, because my companion died of hunger and. the u.s. ambassador cautiously praised him for his survival skills. >> if what he is saying is true, he is one of the best survivalists around. >> the man who owned the boat says the last he saw him was in december of 2012. >> translator: here his colleagues went out on boats looking for them. >> reporter: his family in el salvador who claimed he left there years ago, say they never gave up hope.

>> translator: we prayered to the lord because i knew my son was alive. >> reporter: in 2006 three mexican shark fisherman also said they were lost at sea for nine months before reaching the islands. thousands of people are braving the cold to visit the japanese city of saporo, to view some 199 ice and snow sculptures on display. one of the sculptures was built to support the japanese olympic team in the up coming sochi games. others were from around the world. beautiful. do say with us here on al jazeera. we have another full bulletin of

news straight ahead. i'll see you then. ♪ al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters, these are the stories we're following for you. the hits just keep on coming snfl much of the country slammed by yet another winter storm. cvs kicking the habit, pulling cigarettes off of its shelves. and a new report condemning the catholic church for allowing priests to abuse children. ♪