>> this is al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york. >> we will never stop working to ensure that equality under the law is protected by the law. >> a big announcement - the justice department extends more rights to gay couples. >> aid teams attacked in syria. relief workers trying to help civilians are now under fire. >> and violent protests in turkey over a new internet law, letting the government block websites and track users.

>> who do you trust? >> a month after the chemical spill, making sure that the water in west virginia is safe. >> we begin with a major victory for gay rights. moments ago the attorney-general announced that federal privileges would be extended to gay couples. straight couples have taken them for granted, but they have been recognised to give full recognition. here is what is being proposed. gay couples will not have to testify against their spouse, they'll be allowed to file for joint bankruptcy, and gay inmates will be treated the same as heterosexuals. the couples must be legally married, but it applies to

states that do not recognise gay unions. eric holder made the announcement. or correspondent is standing by with more on this. >> well, he just had a second standing ovation. he stepped off the podium. lisp to some of the -- listen to some of the remarks he just made. >> i am proud to announce that the justice department is taking additional stepped to advance the fundamental truth and give new meaning to the wind sore decision. on monday i'll issue a policy memorandum that will instruct all justice department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition to the greatest extent possible under the law.

they are making sure and they are solidifying under the department of justice policy that same-sex couples will no longer be discriminated against. this is significant. it's on the hills of the u.s. supreme court in june saying that denying benefits was unconstitutional. clearly this is a receptive crowd. everyone was happy to hear the attorney-general's words, they were on their feet and are continuing with the program. >> considering the past year has been a big year for gay rights activists, does the shift in policy come as a surprise for many in the law room? >> it wasn't a surprise, but it was a joyous reception. ifs news that the department of -- it is new that is the department of justice is announcing that they are further solidifying policy, and the

obama administration is clear that they are taking a staps to make sure that -- stance to make sure that same sex couples are no longer discriminated against. this is a wave coming down from june. br the attorney-general spoke, they had a mon targe of words of president obama, attributed to the obama administration, with a lot of music. it's a celebration, there's news and they are gaping momentum. the torping talked -- attorney talked about utah, and game down on the side that they are in favour of overturning discrimination, regardless of what some states are doing. >> how will the changes impact gay people across the country? >> sax sex couples, they can have better benefits. they are able to share medicare.

that was in place. today, under the criminal system, you kapt be forced to testify against your spouse if you are a same-sex couple, enjoys the same rights, and visitation rights. it comes do to concrete day to day issues, civil and criminal court rooms and same-sex couples recognised by the government, like heterosexual governments. >> a big announce for human rights. >> activists in syria say more than a dozen were killed by government air strikes in aleppo, at least five bombs fell. violence and gun fire and shelling broke a ceasefire. the truth was to allow aid workers in the city. a convoy was attacked.

>> it took most of the days for the convoys to get into the old city of homs, only to come under fire as soon as they arrive. tens of civilians were injured. so were the members of the syrian red crescent team. a more tar shell landing near one of its vehicles. we had two trucks of aid, and one car and some other cars for the u.n. team and more tar shells started to fall near the place supposedly where we were to deliver the aid material. >> the syrian government says terrorists inside the city were responsible. opposition activists say it was the work are syrian regime loyalists. it's hard to confirm who was responsible, but the fragile cease fire was broken.

the truce will be in place from 6am to 6:00 pm for three days. throughout saturday it did not hold. >> parties should refrain from hindering humanitarian facts and should not put in jeopardy the humanitarian workers whose only aim is to protect the people inside. >> the long-awaited humanitarian mission is facing a challenge. it was opened it would be manageable after an agreement was brokered by nations after pressure on the government. 83 civilians were evacuated from homs, to receive humanitarian relief. over 200 civilians were inside. the pictures coming out of the

city show how difficult ks. >> meanwhile turkey's prime minister says the geneva ii peace talks on syria are unlikely to be successful and spoke to al jazeera in an exclusive interview. >> the steps that we're taking in geneva 1 talks were not anticipated by the geneva ii conference. that did not have a good start. it is ongoing, but it does not look like we'll get a good outcome. we see that it has taken a negative cores. >> perform recep tayyip erdogan is facing a corruption scandal. in istanbul police used tear gas and water canons against people protesting the laws. >> once again, istanbul is the

scene of riot clashes. what is at the center of this contenning here is the latest internet legislation, a law passed by turkey's parliament. essentially the protesters say the legislation curves freedom of expression and the parliament is trying to control the public through legislation. the government says it will not curve freedom of expression, and is done in order to ensure that the internet is not misused to ex-poets people's private lives or used as a form of - a platform for libellous accusations. the size was not large in

numbers. riot police disperse the groups, and small battles took place adjacent to the square. a sign that some parts of turkish society is not in favour the way the government is doing business. the prime minister seemed unfaced by the challenges. he enjoys large popularity across the political spectrum. >> moving to iran. a defence department official downplayed moves telling al jazeera there's not much to it. the ayatollah cam eachy said iran would overthrow washington's government ifhey

good. >> the americans say "we are friend of the iranian nation', they are lying. you can see it through the actions. they threaten iran and expect the government to reduing capabilities. if it's not funny or ridiculous, and they say "you must we dues your defense capabilities." no, with the help of god iran will increase strength every day. >> the sprooum leader spoke at an event. >> in west virginia many are afraid to drink the water a month after the chemical spill. hundred showed their anger. >> health officials say despite the odd smell of lik rigs in the drinking water, it does not rise to the level of being unsafe.

demonstrators are shipping anger away from the company that caused the spill and to the cap that managed it. >> hundreds marched from a church to the water company. last month they were furious at freedom industries, which caused the spill, shutting off access to water for 300,000 residents. today they are protesting the water company, accusing d of not providing enough compensation. after 14 schools were closed a couple of days ago because of smelly water, there's no confidence that the problem has been fixed. >> what you trust is the question. we have contradictory say understandings. i was told took a shower when it was safe to take a shower. >> they think the tide is turning for local politicians who supported businesses like

freedom industries. >> marches like this will hopefully show them that industry maybe will be trained. other industries want to be here and want to do a good job for our state. >> folks say the protests will continue. >> those demonstrators are mailing a list of demands to the water company in these envelopes including a piece of black liquorice. >> a not so subtle signal. still ahead - a royal trial, spain's princess christina in court. following the drug trail. how does heroin make its way into the u.s. we talk to two experts next.

>> death from heroin have doubled over the past decades in some parts of the united states. let's look at where it comes from and where it ends up. most of the world's heroin comes from afghanistan. only a small amount of that

makes it to the u.s. most of the ours comes from latin america. the u.s. drug enforcement administration says much of the heroin in the eastern part of the u.s. comes from columbia. mexico supplied much of the american west. the american city is baltimore, it's the heroin capital of the country, with an estimated 12,000 heroin addicts. they are trucked across the border, people use luggage with false bottoms or hire drug mules. >> mexico is a large supplier, but how did it become a huge business? >> poppy cultivation goes back to the 1900s when the chinese brought the drug with them. >> that was the beginning.

for decades this was small scale compared to opium and heroin production. cartels are operating here in mexico and be can to recruit experts from asia. they ramped up the smug lipping operations because they saw what a lucrative product they had in their hands. by 201250% of hoirp -- 2012, 50% of heroin produced was mexican produced. it wasn't just made here, it was snuggled to mexico. some police in the united states, some experts are mainly blaming large cartels from mexico, but there's evidence of small scale operators, family based organizations, turning

into black tar, taking it through family networks, over the border into the u.s. and taking to to places where it doesn't have a history of bean consumed. >> we speak about a representative from the drug policy alliance. and an author writing a book. thank you for joining us. >> sam, we heard what happened to philip seymour hoffman. when you look at heroin, compared with the other drugs in the united states, how big of a problem is heroin? >> i would say it's a small problem, but a growing one. in relation to other drugs right now, or marijuana, but it has been effect on people's lives that is enslaving. it is difficult to kick and i

think the numbers we have of opiate addicts include prescription pill addicts is outstripping the treatment capacity and infrastructure. together the two - that's hard to talk about just one. in my view it's an opiate epidemic. the numbers may be small in some relative sense, but the damage done is quite substantial, i think. >> the numbers are small but growing. the number of heroin users have almost doubled. what do you think is behind this? >> it's a hot of things. the crackdown mentality has been probably playing a role in encouraging people to transition to heroin. it's cheaper. widely available. sam made a fantastic point a second ago about the lack of treatment access and what we are

doing that is compounding the problem. the problem is real, but by not taking the right action the problem is worse. >> what sort of actions need to be taken? >> drug prevention doesn't start with the u.s. government, it starts with parents. they have to have fact-based conversations. we have to make some other drugs available. you hear about the overdose reversal drug. it's not widely available. some states are taking action, but the minor simply steps could go a long way to helping us out of this, nout just the urgent nod to increase treatment capacity. other states need to do certain

things. >> whether families take heroin, others have the view that it's an inner city drug. the reality is different. . >> i think what is most characterised the latest drug surge is that it's quiet. people don't talk about it at all. i was a crime reporter in the crack days. we wrote about the drive by shooting, the bloods on the cribs, the feuds that you have, the crack dealers that you have along the streets. this drug surge or epidemic has no public violence. >> why is that by the way. why does it not have public violence. i think in large part it originates with doctors who were describing these pills for a lot

of things they don't need to. there's not a lot of other options when it comes to treating pain. and families - when they had someone die. they grew up in the '70s. a drug overdose, an opiate overdose is a shameful thing. this is changing. it's interesting to watch families and parents form groups saying "we are the only ones that can do anything about this. let's do what we can. other than that there's not the public urgency because public violence is not there. >> what do you make of the fact that we have seen states like ver moment and main tacking the issue and declare an epidemic.

>> vermont and maine are examples of what states can be doing. >> shamlen is using federal fund and investing in better treatment, passing the 911 good samar tan laws, talking about mental health and doing a great job showing ippo vaghts and leadership. conversely you have states like maine where the health community and others are trying hard to get better access to save the lives of people that might overdoze on opiates, and an obstructionist governor struck in the nixon era approach. that doesn't work. we have 40 years of evidence of that. >> doesn't a crackdown work. you have to go after people that are breaking the law.

>> breaking the law by what - purchasing drugs. the thing we have to remember is we are talking about two different groups drug users. one is the majority who use drugs do in the overdose. they are nonviolence. largely they should be left alone. then there's another group that needed to offer treatment and help. we have a one size fits all. the problems are coming from incarceration when they shouldn't be in that position. >> you have written extensively about that. do you agree with that? >> we do. we have not tried a variety of options when it comes to the drug war. i'm not sure where i stand on drug legalizations because that

is what we are heading towards. i do thing we have a limited infrastructure for drug treatment in this country. made so because it's not been viewed as an essential core approach to this problem, and what we have now with opiates, them being enormously difficult to kick and requiring relapse after relapse. we have outstripped our treatment of potential for folks that are low income, if you are on opiates long enough everywhere is low income ucks because you sacrifice and use all your resources to by dope. this is part of the issue. >> thank you both for your time tonight. >> other news.

princess cristina of spain has testified in court. she denied allegations of corruption and money laundering. it's the first time a member of the spanish royal family appeared in court. >> no royal fan fair for the duchess as she approach the court on saturday. princess cristina appeared calm, almost cheerful as she entered the courthouse, greeting the press. >> on the other side of the building, there was little sim pathy for her plight. this is a scandal that fuelled anti-monarchy feeling. >> spaniards are living a comedy. we need food and jobs. we, as citizens, need to take responsibility because corruption is a simply tom of

society's failure to deal with this. >> the apprenticeship is suspected of -- princess cristina is suspected of tax fraud. personal expenses billed for the company have been discovered. her lawyer said she had been looking forward to this day to improve her innocence. >> the involvement of princess cristina in a high-profile corruption scandal has been an enormous blow for the monarchy. the royal household tried to maintain a difference between their active and the rest of the royal family, there's no doubt the damage has been done. it will take an enormous amount of effort to reverse that. >> translation: the public

doesn't like stealing funds, tax fraud. this is why this case left the public disenchanted with the royal family. >> this has left many angered in light of how the financial crisis affected the lives of other people. that members of the royal family were involved in such cases increases disillusionment with the royal family. >> there's more ahead - enclueding getting an edge there technology. >> we look at how american athletes are keeping up with the competition.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here is the top stories - a big step forward in marriage equality. attorney-general eric holder announced gay married couples

will be treated like straight couples in the court system. this includes filing for joint bankruptcy, visiting inmates. >> the truce in syria was meant o allow aid workers but the convoy was attacked. the syrian government and the opposition blamed each other. snow in west virginia , protests against a water company after a leak contaminating hundreds of thousands of people. some say the water still has a chemical spell. many are afraid to drink it. >> violence eased in bosnia. protesters demanded action. it is the worse seep sense the war began 18 years ago. >> the anger is growing, aimed

at politicians blamed for the economic crisis. . >> for the past 20, 25 years, we are suffering - we are not doing anything. just oh, my god, nobody is doing anything. >> u. is at a record high. the worst figures in the balkans. neighbouring countries made economic process, bosnia stagg nated. violence erupted, the targets were government buildings and factories that laid off thousands of workers. government archives in central sarajevo were destroyed. protesters were out on the streets. on saturday this time demonstrating peacefully. >> sarajevo has not seen such violence since the end of the

war. some have stood since the aust roe-hungarian empire. some pol it weres admit the -- politicians admit they have been let down. >> this is an outcry to basically bring the judgment over the politics that has produced the problems over the last 20 years. this is basically - this has a revolutionary konno kags in terms of really swaing that they are aware if they don't go out on street and do something physically that the politics will not do much for them. >> the government called some protesters high school gans. those that did not take part in the violence understand why it

happened. pressure is growing on ministers to take action to revive the economy. >> the director of a sarajevo-based think tank said there's no basis for dialogue between sit zps and pol terns. >> this is part of the reason and frustration that people didn't have a normal commucks with politicians. now what we are seeing is three regional costs forced to resign. we are entering into a known territory. no one knows who will take over the power in these renaling jobs as of -- rooejons as of monday. >> the protesters wants to reform the constitution and reform the european union and bring in much-needed dollars. >> now to the ukraine, where

people fed up with months of protests confronted some commentors -- demonstrators. it ended peacefully but highlights the impact that it is having on the country's economy. >> ukraine's national currency. that's about $50, has been fluctuating. last week it plummeted to its lowest. it's had a knock-on effect. petrol prices have gone up. the russians said that they will start offering $15 billion life line provided ukraine are able to pay back a $3 billion loan for gas. it's unclear whether kiev is considering its political state

able to do that right now. other offers of financial aid come from the united states or the e.u. they say that they are prepared to offer a stability financial package to help the country, but providing lawmakers here bring about an end to this ongoing stand off. the fear there is that this could start a bidding war between east and west over influence over ukraine's future. >> in the u.k. a program aimed at catching celebrity sex offenders is under criticism following a series of high-profile cases. >> the much of loved soap star bill roche left a british courtroom after a jury acquitted him of multiple charges of sexual assault dating from decades ago. there's a public debate about a series of cases. roche is the third not guilty verdict out of many cases that

the british police brought to court as a result of operation you tree. launched following allegations that jimmie saville assaulted hundreds of children. he was beloved by many and knighted by the clean. soeshiology professor wrote a book saying police investigating select groups is nothing short of a witch-hunt. >> policing is shifting in a new area where it's looking for crimes that have not been reported. it's looking for criminals that have not been detected. >> the cases which sparked this were reported for years. police and saville's employer never followed through with them. complicating matters is the

passage of time. as u.k. barrister points out, unclick america, britain has no statue of limitations on cooms saying sex offenders should face justice no matter how long they assaulted their victims. >> for many, it's hard to get to grips with allegations from years ago, thinking about where was i in 1974 is tough. the only way to explain it is if you were in a bed room being abused, you may remember more than whether you were going football or swimming. >> the bbc is paying out compensation over $6 million to victims who reportedly were victims of assaults. there's no evidence on high-profile stars for years.

>> jimmy saville abused children for years. he spurred police into action. the concern is how to balance actions for limb mate victims and those falsely accused. >> in one new york town a group of immigrants are fighting for housing rights. whether they succeed could impact others across the country. >> sips he came to the united states, this man called farm iping dale home. >> i lined the community. finding housing has been a problem. >> he settled in a low-income complex. in 2004 he and other tenants were told they had to leave. >> we were kicked out early. it was a small emergency to evacuate everywhere.

>> the professor took on the case for free. the case became more than that when it was targeted for redevelopment. >> they targeted it because of people living in the area. >> the building was sold and bulldozed to make way for the luxe apartments. the case was tape to supreme court -- was taken to the supreme court. >> we sued for compensation for the clients being evicted, and we sued to pores the village to replace 5 had units of housing that had been destroyed. they are looking after the people, looking after the irrigation systems.

if they don't want them in the community, but they want them doing the work. >> i never imagined in my second year i would be gin assignments. >> the case settled before court. housing would be replaced, but not necessarily here where they lived. the mayor helped to broker the settlement. >> forming dale will be a model for affordable housing. we believe 10-20% of the project should be affordable. for this man it means staying in the community where he worked and lived. authorities have finally tape us into account. they know they are people contributing to the community.

the day labourers are part of the life of this town. a town including affordable housing. thanks to the perseverance of these nine immigrants. >> firefighter are working to put out a massive fire. this is what burn rubber looks like. >> nearby businesses were closed. people were told to stay inside because of thick smoke. no one trs to vice-president hurt. >> a fire in the east, a lot of snow in the west. >> it's impressive. >> you can't recognise the city of portland oregon. it doesn't look the same. >> you are used to hearing about rain, trs all about snow and ice. we have a work in the valley.

it's mostly an ice glaze coming over the valley. driving is treacherous all along interstate 84 heading east ward to oregon. it is problems across the board they've been reported all day. now it's moving to western washington, seattle. >> it looks like everett washington, under an inch. south of the seattle there'll be awe kum lays of know. if you head east out of portland oregon, this is what interstate 85 is looking like. it's dangerous. the national weather in portland oregon says "stay alive", don't drive or travel tonight or tomorrow." the university of portland showed snow. a lot of areas looked like this.

most of the ice is cop fined to the north of the portland area. down to eugene overnight through the morning. 39 in seattle. it can snow pat 39. if you look at portland, no difference. 30 degrees. if the winds from the east and they are pulling the arctic air through the columbia river george, slamming into portland, keeping temperatures cold enough with temperatures coming through the top. the good news is we'll see things warm up as we get the sun in the afternoon. >> apparently athletics is not enough to win a gold medal. we have more on the technology behind the games. >> becoming an olympic athlete takes years, blood, sweat and tears. does an athlete need more than

that to win. we see how technology plays a role to give ath leets the edge - to win a gold medal. we have the inside scoop. in preparation of the goim, a u.s. team worked with engineers, scientists. did you u.s. have to do that? >> they did. the olympics is an arms race of teams working with different scientists and engineers. the place you see it is in the winter games , because they are relipt on equipment. ski jumpers are training with the wind tupel. how does it work, what does it do. >> they are in the air for a few seconds. you don't have mp practice. they can go in a wind tunnel and practice form and which parts of

their form creates the during. they found a wind tunnel and they retro fitted it. they built ski bindings and projects the drag data. they can practice what we want and take what they larment. >> they have a reputation of being chilled. the members are wearing a device to track g-force. what is this? >> it's made by kata fault sports. it is strapped to the boots when they do tripping runs in the half vibing. it has an accelerometer which measures g-forces, velocity in the middle of it. they cap figure out how to ayoust the form to make the tricks bigger. it's about going big.

catching the air. the next one is interesting. the u.s. bob sled team have a vehicle built by bmw. >> they do. they have not won since 1936. bmw were hired. they developed carbon finer, redistributed the weight making it master and importantly they made the steering system more responsive. when they are hurtling doing the hit, there's no way to accelerate tore debate, it's about the steering. >> is the u.s. the only team with a bob sled like this. >> the skeleton is a sport i love to watch. it's crazy, i watched and

thought i would die. they go head first. in sochi i understand that the ath leets use custom-made skeleton. they upped the sled. there's a coalition of companies that overhauled it. we have the skeleton saddle. the important part is the part that the athlete lays in. there's no steering system. they role on their bod yits to steer. this it plexible translating body movement into the terms she needs. >> a lot of people were gripping that and white knuckling. >> down here a tenth of a second cane make the difference between being a gold medallist or off the podium.

what's the difference with the ski suits? >> the u.s. team tamed up with spider yeahating a suit for the athlete's body. the zippers are in a place to mip mice -- minimise drag. it was placed in a wind tunnel so it could be as farce as it could be, so the athletes are as fast as they could be. >> and what is this? >> this is padding. winter olympics in particular - high speeds. there's a lot of injury. concessions are a problem. this is a technology you can put in a helmet. it's made of kevlar which is strong. really just helping absorb the

impact when they hit the ice. ryan miller wears in his hockey helmet, he has a padding inside his mask. there's a couple of snow boarders wearing it in their helmet. >> do the hockey players worry this. >> they cap put it in their helmets if they want to. some players do that. we have been hearing more about various sports like hockey has concussions. they'd be wise to do that. the technology can clave off a run dreadth of a second. but that could be the difference between a gold medal and not meddling. >> thank you for your time and insight. it was interesting. time will tell if the new technology will help the

athletes. at least it is thick. >> who thu. so sophisticated. coming up - more on the first medals handed out at the games. and what is old is new again. records are spinning again. it'spming a big -- it's becoming a big business.

>> this is a nostalgic week for beetles fans as we look back on 50 years of the british invasion ♪ i want to hold your hand >> they made their first appearance on the edsul van show

50 years ago tomorrow. a plaque was unveiled at the jfk airport to mark when they arrived. >> sales of the viple plummeted. records are making a comeback. jonathan martin has more from nashville. >> it's in this location >> it's the largest vinyl record plant in the u.s. united metal process has been making and distributing vine ill all over the world. 30 records push out one album every 30 seconds. the pros is a science and a skill as well as an art. >> cds all but killed the lp industry. viple sales turned a kourn. lp sales increased by 30%. the number of of albums is a

fraction. for what is behind the resurgence, audio files sound better on vinyl. >> a few with debate it's the best sound experience. >> there's a revival of the prooection of the object. from the cover to the sleeve, albums put art at the forefront. >> those that approach something tactile are the people that went back to vinyl. >> for grammy award-winning musician, focussing on lps is not knew. albums have been a key component. >> we have never stopped. this is not knew. >> what is now is that while sales are claiming, downloads are climbing.

>> 2013 digital sales fell. on demand straxing and radio and vinyl contributed it the decline. vinyl ill is hot, the albums moving fast the stores expanded. it's not just records flying off shelves, turntables are hot commodities. >> it's addictive. they are in here every week. most comes with a digital comment. once again vinyl has staying power to keep on spinning through generations to come. >> we should have kept the beatles records. that's our show for tonight. i'll be back at 11:00 pm with more news.

>> this is al jazeera america. i'm betts in new york with the headlines. a big step in marriage qualities for sam sex marriages. new policy changes were

announced, applying to gay couples who are legally married. >> i will issue a new policy memorandum instructing all justice department employees to give full and equal recognition to the great extent possible under the law. >> the change includes allowing same sex couples to decline testifying, apply for joint bankruptcy and granted the same right in prison as heterosexual inmates. >> syria's government and the opposition blamed each other for an attack on aid workers. >> government controls offer the internet. authorities in turkey can block web pages in hours.

critics say it's an attempt to style of the people. those are the headlines. back with more later. "america tonight" is next. you can find us online. have a good night. >> good evening. you're watching moot "america tonight." the weekend edition. it's a series of dotted linings, the extension to the keystone pipeline is something of a line in the sand.