on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. on al jazeera america welcome to al jazerra america, i am morgan radford. desperate efforts to relieve the em bottled city. oms. the u.s. attorney jenna nounses a major shift to support same-sex couples. if the think the government has been spying on you, wait until you hear what corporations already know about you. it was 50 years ago today that more than 70 million americans were introduced to the beatles. ♪ ♪

intense fighting continues no syria assayed workers struggle to reach people in the city of homs. organizations are trying to get food and medicine to the city. this is video of aid workers taking cover from the shelling. watch that as a humanitarian effort has been delayed by fighting between the syrian government and the rebel forces. meanwhile, bomb raids have killed athlete 11 people. al jazerra's stephanie decker has more from beirut. >> reporter: civilians are being evacuated out of the old city of homs but from what we understand it's creating tensions on the ground. part of the deal was that boys under the age of 15 and men over the age of 55 were allowed out including women and children. any men in between are considered of fighting age. we are hearing reports men between these ages are coming out. the syrian army has taken them

away. we don't know to an undisclosed location, the u.n. determined to continue with this operation we are also hearing reports from a different activist groups there have been incidents, reports of explosions and gunfire and some civilians have been killed and injured as they are awaiting to be evacuated. so certainly that all points to this being a very difficult operation to carry out the u.n. determined that they will execute it there in there we are armored vehicles escorting the civilians out and we have the syrian restless crescent waiting on the other side to provide much needed medical aid and food and water. >> peace talks between the two warring sides are set to resume in geneva tomorrow. turkey's prime minister says he is not optimistic the talks will lead to peace in in syria. he spoke exclusion i have to al jazerra. >> translator: the steps that we

are taking in the geneva one talks were not accepted by the regime in geneva a two. in my opinion the geneva two conference didn't have a good start. it is still ongoing, but it doesn't look like we will get a good outcome from it. we see that it is taken a negative course. >> so far turkey has taken in about 400,000 refugees from syria's civil war. thousands more have gone in to other countries including lebanon. meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in the country's capital protesting new internet laws, critics say the legislation will clamp down on web freedoms but protesters threw firecrackers and stones at police and they respondsed with water cannons. nearly 70,000 an this government protesters are gathered in ukraine capitol city. this weekend government supporters were near the beige indicates. neave barker met some of the demonstrators who were demanding that europe does more to end the standoff. >> reporter: in a square

plastered with anti-government slogans these pro tests are doing something different. with blank placards and coffered mouth they march through the city to the german embassy. they are demanding europe do more to end the bitter standoff. >> we are calling for people to pay attention on our cause and stop being blinds and death outta troughs at thises to, the oppressions, murders, tortures happening right before their eyes. >> reporter: on independent square demonstrators straight much-needed cheer with serve i goes of hot food. others who have been camped here for weeks while the way the time with chess. >> translator: there are always knights and pawns in this game. in this game we the people are the pawns but there are times when pawns become knights and this is what happens happening now. we are united because of our spirit and we are becoming more and more powerful. >> reporter: sundays have regularly drawn 10s of thousands

of demonstrators. it's a chance for opposition groups from different political parties to share ideas on what to do next. opposition protesters have described independence square as being like a state within a state. protected by ice field barricades. but as temperatures start to rise it's only a matter of time before these barricades start to melt leaving the square more fragile and vulnerable to police attacks, but over in parliament, there is no sign of any kind of political that you. the future of the country hangs on the formation i've new government. but so far no decision has been made. the question is, will that new government lean towards russia or our up. and will ukraines next prime minister be the people's choice or the president's. neave bark, he al jazerra, kiev. meanwhile, protesters in bosnia are outside a police station in air area oh, they are did he hasn'ting the release of those arrested during last week's violent demonstrations. protesters set fire to government buildings angry at high levels of unemployment and

their living conditions, al jazerra's tim friend reports from sarajevo. >> reporter: the protests and frustrations aimed at bosnia's leaders are unrelent lending. lending. the violence has ceased but the passion remains. >> go in the streets. you have to find you have to fight for your future because they don't fight for our future in i more. >> reporter: this country is in crisis. years oyears of pent up anger oa stagnate economy finally he erud in battles. the people are preparing for a peaceful demonstration but they know to achieve their aims they will have to keep up the pressure on politicians at a national and local level. two local government workers examine their offices burned out

during friday's rioting in sarajevo. they tell me they managed to save the building during the bosnian war in 1992, but now it's been wrecked by their own citizens. police say that of 44 people held, 10 remain in custody. civil rights groups claim police are leaking these photographs of seized guns and drugs in an attempt to discredit demonstrators. police deny the claim. unemployment has hit the young hardest here. an economist tells me this may be the moment when ethnically divided politicians finally see sense. >> with the limited anybody of resources what we would need in this very moment is to make savings in public sector and then to push them and to invest the amount of money in modernizing the education system which is a very weak link in preparing youth to the labor market.

>> reporter: attempts at genuine political progress may be the only way to prevent further violence, tim friend, al jazerra, sarajevo. a security guard in eastern russia has opened fire during a sunday church service, killing two people. victims of the attack on the far eastern island include a parishioners and a nun. six others were injured. iran, the international atomic energy agency wilin spect and their investigation has been stalled for years, but the agency believes iran has been secretly working on nuclear arms, this agreement is separate from the nuclear dear that iran made with six world powers late last year. a major beef recall after determine that go deceased animals weren't properly inspected 10.7 million pounds of meet is being called from rancho feeding corporation in northern california, that is a huge he is ca hangs from mid january just

this year when only 40,000 pounds of meat were recrawled. the recall is for male shipped to california, florida, illinois, and texas since january 2013. so far no one has been reported six. but speeding of six flu deaths are rising in louisiana. state health officials say they received reports of two children dieing from the flu. 53 confirmed influenza deaths in the current season including four children. the state health department says hundreds of people have died of the flu in louisiana since october and the flu season continues all the way through april. in a major milestone for game rights, the government plans to expand recognition of same-sex marriages in federal matters. al jazerra's courtney kealy has more. >> on monday i will i can i a new policy memorandum that will for the first time in history formally instruct all justice department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition to the

greatest extent possible under the law. [applause] >> reporter: attorney general eric holder received two standing ovations during his speech at a fundraiser for the human rights campaign. the prominent gay rights organization hailed his remarks as a victory calling holder a crusader for civil rights and comparing him to robert f. kennedy. >> this means that in every courthouse, in every proceeding, and in every place where a member of the department of justice stands on behalf of the united states, they will strive to insure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, the same protections, and the same rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law. >> reporter: the new policy will protect same-sex couples from being forced to testify against their spouses in federal courts. gay couples will also be able to file jointly for bankruptcy. and in federal prisons mayored

gays will have spousal privileges that straight couples already have. they must be legally married but holder says the justice department will apply the new rules nationwide, even when cases are being heard by federal courts in states that don't recognize game unions. the department of justice is solidifying it's a policy to end discrimination against same-sex couples. the shift in policy doesn't come as a surprise. it follows changes that motioned last year after the supreme court declared it was unconstitutional to deny federal benefits to same-sex couples and builds on the promise president obama made in last week's states of union address. courtney kealy, al jazerra, new york. >> the new changes would also make same-sex couples eligible for federal death benefits. more concern now about just how easily edward snowden managed to down low national

security secrets. he used common software that indexes data on the web to grab some documents which raises serious concerns about how the nsa protects its secrets, snowden fled the u.s. after he started leaking his downloaded documents and then was granted temporarily asylum in russia. but questions about what the government knows about you may actually pale in comparison to what private companies know. here the details that big businesses know may actually disturb you. >> reporter: the major u.s. retailer office max knew not only that mike's daughter was dead, but how they she died. >> it says mike say, daughter killed in car crash. or current business and this is my home. why would they have that kind of information? why would they need that? what purpose does it serve anybody to know that? and how much more information if they have that do they have on me or anyone else? how do they use it and what do they tuesday for? >> reporter: these are all questions that congress has been investigating. last month a senate committee

concluded that billions of dollars are being made each year by the data brokering industry. the selling of information about all of us taken from online and off line sources. moreover, that there is no comprehensive way for us to find out what that information is. where it came from. how accurate it is. who is buying it and what inferences are being made from it. of concern is vulnerability-based marketing. lists of those either documented or inferred to be vulnerable. who would be interested in such lists and why? rachel lobbies on behalf of data brokers to preserve self regulation. >> i think consumers are smarter than perhaps you give them credit for. i think consumers understand generally that we all live date driven lives today. information is constantly flowing in all sorts of different directions and what we are doing here is making sure that it's only flowing in

responsible directions for responsible uses. >> reporter: the federal trade commission's job is to rein in the data brokers and stop information from being used to discriminate against us. it's asked how that can be possible when there is no requirement for transparency about what is being sold and to whom. >> if we don't know how the data is being used it could be used for any purpose. so it could be used for purposes that try slate the law. >> reporter: we do not know whether the date is is only being used to market products to us that we might need. cell phone technology and mobile apps now provide an unprecedented level of individualized information about our movements and lives as to the vast stores of information held on our behalf by technology companies. but up to now, only the government's access to that information has been widely debated. and not b the very existence of private unregulated databases. up next, bad weather all across the globe from a deadly snowstorm in japan to

devastating flooding in south america. those stories plus the forecast coming up next on al jazerra america.

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>> on the turkey-syria border. >> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. athlete 40 people in bolivia are dead following torrential rain and heavy flooding. the government has declared a state of emergency, but aid has yet to reach the most severely affected areas. here is a report. >> reporter: the damage is clear. homes and livelihood ruined by flood waters for months bolivia has been struggle to go cope with heavy seasonal rains. flood victims have set up tents alongside the road to escape from rising flood waters. this is what teresa and her young family now call home. >> translator: we had to leave everything behind in the flood waters. we just couldn't get it out with all this rain. there is nowhere to go. we are living on the side of a

road. >> reporter: adding to the misery, people's lives are also under threat around 17,000 17,00 hectors of prime agricultural land has been flooding devastating poor farmers are. more than 100,000 cattle are also at risk of starvation because there is little dry feed left. >> translator: this area is at terrific and if in the next few days we don't receive help or are rescued and taken to higher ground all of these cattle will die. >> reporter: the government has declared a state of emergency across bolivia. but food and relief supplies have been slow to reach those who need it most. the outlook is grim. more heavy rains are expected to batter parts of the country for athlete another month. al jazerra. meanwhile, japan is struggling under mountains of snow. the heaviest snow in decades fell in tokyo which is more than 10-inches, seven people died in accidents that were snow related. more than 1,000 people injured.

many of them slipped on the ground or fell while shoveling. meteorologists say more snow is on the way. and & then there was record-breaking snow blanketing much the northwestern u.s., where drivers look at them pushing the truck, during the brunt of the winter storm in washington, oregon and northern california. slick and snowy conditions caused accidents all across the three straights. the snowfall has shattered records for the pacific northwest, meanwhile over in australia, there is another issue and our very sonia leila ahmed brings us more on that. >> meteorologist: thank you very much. this is video we have across portions of australia. you can see the kangaroo trying to get way. not only is human life at risk we have to think about the animals trying to make their way around. we have a brutal blaze, inferno here across melbourne, australia because high pressure is in control in the southern hemisphere. it's summertime right now. let's look at the map. very little cloud cover across

south eastern australia. high pressure in control. plenty of sunshine push to go the region with low relative humidity increasing the threat for wild fires exactly what they have been dealing with, but we have been hearing about this since portions of november. and these is going to continue to be an issue as we are not looking at any meaningful rainfall within the next couple of weeks, no pattern change, luckily for those of us in the southwestern portion of the united states, we did see a pattern change, we had high pressure in control here the last several weeks, it was the driest year on record last week, but finally meaningful rainfall. making its way in to the pacific north weighs across the sierra. yesterday a winter storm warning extending from portions of yosemite park down in to king's canyon, they ever received an a abundance of rainfall and quite a bit of snow falling across the areas 8,000 feet and above receiving anywhere from two to three feet of snow, the reservoirs up here in northern california when the snowpack melts it will fill up some of

the reservoir that have been empty and the water will make its way down to southern california that's very good news for folks there. we have a winter storm warning in effect, throughout the course of the day. again we are looking at anywhere from two to three feet of snow, meanwhile, very, very chilly in fargo this morning, right around minus 9, minneapolis minus 1. feeling like negative 19 in minneapolis, although it's so cold they'll see quite a bit of sunshine out there today, morgan back to you. >> thanks so much jelelah. fire departments all across the country are fighting now more than fires, they are battling the affordable care act, employees with 50 or more workers to provide health insurance to employees working more than 30 house a week, that's a big challenge when firefighters work long hours and department budgets are tight. jim reports. >> reporter: on a cold and snowy colorado afternoon, michael haney is trying to keep his driveway clear.

even when he's working had i second job, construct being websites. haney would rather be here. the 40-year-old is one of 12 part-time firefighters at fire rescue about an hour north of denver. >> if michael haney had his druthers ill be here all the time. >> reporter: for haney fire fighting is his dream job. he used to work 50 hours a week, but starting in 2013 the part timers had their hours cut to less than 29 hours a week if they worked more than that they would be classified as full-time under the affordable care act and the department would have to pay their health insurance. >> this is our apparatus bay. >> reporter: the chief says the department doesn't have the bum tote cover additional insurance costs on top of the $400,000 it already spends. >> and we would supply health insurance to all of our employees if we could. if we were asked to bring on another 12, for example, back that could cost us around

$776,000. >> reporter: charlotte is a benefits expert for the payroll company. >> how are these municipalities supposed to get the money to pay for it? the excess funds aren't in the budget it's not like they can find the money and have it. it's restricted. >> reporter: what has cost them is the traditional firefighter shift it's 24 hours straight. 80% of the 30 weekly hours needed to request of for insurance, counting hours is driving schedules craze. >> i this is a big challenge. in fact a daily challenge. it's not a monthly challenge it's every day. >> reporter: chief brady wore are iworriesthe schedules to af. we have to redoubt the service left or put off the purchase the fire engines, ambulances. >> my cash flow is cut in half. >> reporter: with his hours cut michael haney believes it will be a struggle to pay his bills.

>> i would rather be at the fire hours, i have said it before it's a rewarding job. it's a career that will change you. >> reporter: fire departments want congress to approve waivers for part-time employees before they have to change the level of service they provide. jim, al jazerra. windsor, colorado. and 50 years after beatle mania exploded in the united states, a return to the english port city where it all began. that's coming up next on al jazerra america. we have to redoubt the service left or put off the purchase the fire engines, ambulances. >> my cash flow is cut in half. >> reporter: with his hours cut michael haney believes it will be a struggle to pay his bills. >> i would rather be at the fire hours, i have said it before it's a rewarding job. it's a career that will change you. >> reporter: fire departments want congress to approve waivers for part-time employees before they have to change the level of service they provide. jim, al jazerra. windsor, colorado. and 50 years after beatle mania exploded in the united states, a return to the english port city where it all began. that's coming up next on al jazerra america.

good afternoon and welcome back to al jazerra america. a am morgan radford here on today's headlines. more attacks on convoys in homs and the u.n. says it won't be discouraged more than 600 people have been evacuated from the city today. protesters in the ukraine continue to marching against the government where thousands flock

kiev in opposition of the president. demonstrations began last november and don't seem to be losing any momentum. and the u.s. giving greater legal rights to same-sex couples. attorney general saying federal rights given to straight couples will be given to gay couples. whether or not their states recognize their unions. 50 years ago the beatle made their tv debut on the ed sullivan show. ♪ ♪ >> the band broke broadcast records with an estimated 73 million viewers. al jazerra's phil goes back to the place where it all began. >> reporter: it is from this northern england port city of liverpool where the legend that would become the beatles began. the mercy sound named after the river that runs through town, is characterized by multiple harmonies and lots of guitars. fewer than half a million people live here, but more number one

hits have come from performers from deliver pool than anywhere else in the world. 56 so far, according to the guinness book of records. billy kinsly from the band the mercy beats used to play the famous cavern club alongside the beatles. he says the merchant sailors and nearby american military bases imported the sounds that influenced them all. >> it was a combination of all these sounds that we had, all the bands in britain, plus all these -- well, the association with all these people from back and forth to america. bringing us all these great records that no one else in the country had. so that meant a great deal as well. >> reporter: but the seaport is all but dried up and liverpool is facing hard times. luckily, the beatles are a big industry here, a british government analysis shows that liverpool gets over $400 million a year from music tourism, from all around the world they come to see where it all began. >> this is the place where 15-yd

paul mccartney first met 17-year-old john lennon. >> reporter: for seven years jay johnson has been porudly showing his city and the beatles connection to his visi visitorst says without his city the world would never have known pits like pen elaine or strawberry fields. >> we have a saying here in laver pool that was it was little pool that made the beat examples not vice versa. >> reporter: there is little doubt the band changed this city profoundly. it's clear from the moment you step off the plane to which you check in to a hotel, this is beatles territory. they may have traveled far and wide, concurred america and changed the pop music landscape forever, but in this hearty northern england town they are firstly four local lads who made good. phil, al jazerra, liverpool. as always thanks so much for watching al jazerra america, i am morgan radford. "listening post" is coming up

next. remember for news up dates throughouted day you can head over to aljazerra.com. hello. you are at the "listening post." this week, it's a war on terror. you are either with us or against us. those are the marching orders. for the news media in egypt, the olympics go ahead underway in sochi one of the few critical outlets on russian television goes dark. it's just a magazine. the clinic has proven to be the tonic for journalism in chile.