♪ southern states caught completely off guard by a resent winter storm, not taking chances and declaring states of emergency ahead of another major system. rolling out the red carpet for the president of france and president obama holding a steak dinner at the white house. >> it's the not knowing and it's excruciating. >> reporter: they are moving out and not getting answers about tainting water and afraid

it could be effecting their health. the risks and rewards of investing your money in real estate through crowd funding websites. ♪ good morning and welcome to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy, another winter storm is sweeping across the country this morning. this one is taking aim at the southwest and the northeast. there are winter advisories from texas to boston. many states are also under power outage warnings. this storm is expected to produce thick ice in addition to snow over the next 24 hours and the southeast is hunkering down once more, four states, alabama, louisiana, mississippi and parts of georgia have already declared states of emergency. this after another rare winter storm just two weeks ago caught some of the southern states off guardi

guardian -- guard, we have more on the impact. >> they say it will not be repeated with clogged highways and children spending the night in their schools. >> we are certainly ahead of the game this time and that is important. we are trying to be ready and prepared and react as quickly as possible. >> reporter: from texas to north carolina freezing temperatures and significant snow and ice are expected to touchdown wednesday and this time no one is taking any chances. >> i got ice melt. i got a shovel. and i got fan. >> reporter: georgia's government declared a state of emergency in over 40 counties and schools are being closed. >> it is crazy. i went to school in maine and this is a little overreaction it teams like. >> reporter: not to the crews who have already taken to the roads, treating highways with everything at their disposal including salt, sand and gravel. truckers are being encouraged to avoid areas where travel could

be effected by icy roads. like in texas where ice already wreaked havoc in aboline sends agree driver in this wreck to the hospital, it's part of a storm that battered states along the pacific coast. california in the middle of a record-setting drought saw floods and mudslides that had trees rolling into cars, snow blanketed parts of seattle and portland where some drivers abandoned their cars and falling tree limbs weighed down by ice adding to the danger. and it's tree limbs and power lines still being cleared in pennsylvania where at least 12000 are still living in darkness since last week's storm. >> this has been the longest. this is outrageous. >> reporter: that same icy threat coming to the carolinas in georgia. >> we are going to be in a constant state of readiness over the 72-100 hours. >> reporter: and a storm that could be bigger than the two inches of snow that paralyzed

the city two weeks ago. thomas draydon, al jazeera. >> reporter: it's raining but as temperatures fall the situation is going to get worse. let's go straight to our metrologist nicole mitchell who is tracking this latest storm for us, nicole. >> yes, and it's raining in atlanta and on the northern cusp of this already we are seeing some areas that are snow and as temperatures drop that is when the precipitation will convert. across the south, widespread watches and warnings including a couple darker colors here from georgia into south carolina, ice storm warnings which really in a lot of ways is worse than a winter storm or snow because of the problems it causes. this is from yesterday. this is starting off as rain and the northern edge starting to convert. as the temperatures continue to drop, i would say even more into the day tomorrow there is one round of moisture now but we will have another round of moisture tomorrow and that was the temperature and dropping and it will be more of a situation

for us. so some heavy rain for parts of the deep south, on the northern edge of this system is snow. if you are in atlanta for example and northward on 75 you are more likely to see the snow out of this. this is how it progresses through the day. one round and we get the second round in with the colder temperatures and that is when we are even more concerned about the areas seeing the ice. so this is kind of a snapshot of tomorrow morning, maybe around 10:00 a.m. and you can see places like atlanta, the temperatures right below freezing and we can get the freezing rain out there and that is our big concern because we start to go over a quarter inch and treacherous on the road and a half an inch you get outages and could be widespread places seeing those amounts of ice and some places an inch or more of ice that brings down trees and power lines and remember last week in philadelphia hundreds of thousands without power, not out of the question we could see this in the south with the storm, stephanie. >> they just got their power

back and thank you. the president of france is in washington for a three-day state visit. the president joined president obama for a tour of thomas jefferson's house in virginia. tonight he will be the guest of honor at the white house at an official state dinner and he arrived without the first lady of france and he split with his long-time partner after they said he was having an affair with an actress and we are joined by lisa stark in washington and good morning and what else is on today's agenda? >> good morning, stephanie. the circumstance get underway later this morning with the official welcoming ceremony on the south lawn of the white house and down to business, the two presidents will meet in the oval office and joined by u.s. and french leaders, other parts of delegation will meet them as well and it's a joint press conference from the two presidents who will ask lots of questions and then they will have lunch today with vice president biden and secretary of

state kerry and tonight of course the topper, the big state dinner. >> reporter: a lot on the agenda and give us context, lisa, where do relations stand between u.s. and the ally france? >> stephanie, they are really at a high point. there has been a lot of cooperation between the two countries especially in the international arena, on syria, on iran, on what is going on in africa. so there has been a lot of cooperation and we are what long ways away from where we were ten years ago when france as you remember refused to join the u.s. invasion of iraq and on capitol hill they were renaming french fries freedom fries. there are some areas of contention. the french like many others in europe are not particularly happy over the nsa spying scandal and also believe it or not the french are very unhappy with google and other high-tech companies operating in france and feel they are trying to avoid high french taxes.

over all close relationship as you can see by the fact that he is being honored with a state dinner tonight. >> reporter: do you think the spying scandal will come up in the press conference in morning, lisa? >> it may welcome up. the president has been quoted as saying this should never have happened. but he also has said we are going to put it behind us and he is not making a huge stink over it like of course the germans are more upset than the french over the spying scandal but i can't believe it won't come up in the press conference. >> reporter: lisa live in washington and thank you lisa. state dinners at the white house are elaborate events and celebrate the relationship between allies and we look back at the long-standing tradition. ♪ for a country born of populus revolt this is fancy, the white house state visit and they can talk or teleconference any time face-to-face and a three-day throw back to more elegant

traditions wrapped in good manners and symbolism. anita mcbride had a hand in these for three generations. >> there is no substitute for world leaders getting together, face-to-face and building a personal relationship that technology just cannot replace. >> reporter: it's a ritual that endures. president grant was the first hosting the king of hawaii and jfk had the arrival ceremony and this had a drum core and the stage is planned from the speech to the menu and common denominators and formality and eloquence and fun all in the service of diplomacy and even a minor gaff can explode into a major incident. during the first term there was the gate crashing. >> i think the unfortunate one more than anything because it was such a concern and should be

to americans, the breach of security that occurred in november of 2009 with the dinner for india when the gate crashers or they made it through there. >> reporter: in 1991 queen elizabeth disappeared behind the microphones on what is known as the hat of state incident. >> they are careful about measuring the height of the person behind the podium and learned a lesson from that. that was one of the funnier moments. >> reporter: this time with the flapping flags, wagging tongues, fresh off the scandal french president will come stag after his public break up with long-time partner valorie. it's not the first time a french first couple split on the eve of a state visit. >> we had some indication through the summer that there were issues in their family life. and they were married at the time. but we weren't sure until almost about three weeks before the

dinner whether she was coming or not and that is when their divorce had been announced. >> reporter: all in all the white house state visit is a very public display of after next shun and good will afforded only to america's closest friends and i'm mike with al jazeera in washington. >> reporter: the state dinner will be held in a tent on the south lawn. guest also be treats to an elaborate four-course home grown meal. the first course will feature american caviar and eggs with the side of farm potato and a salad made from ingredients from the first lady's garden and steak with blue cheese and chalots and the desert is chocolate cake from hawaii served with tangerines and ice cream and the wine is from california, washington state and a performance by r and b singer

mary j blige. he will attend a fundraising dinner and the third out of state dinner since the bridge scandal and seeing if he original straited a tie up on one of the regions busiest bridges as pay back against a mayor and getting records to see if he took a helicopter ride during the massive gridlock and christie said he did not know about the closures until after they ended. a star has died, depression-era actress was a huge box office star in the 30s when she was a child and she began acting when she was three and by the age of six she made her way in a feature filmed and started in 40 movies including bright eyes and curly top and academy award for

outstanding personnality and sh left and became a u.s. diplomate for the u.n. and her family says she died in her home from natural causes and shirley temple was 85. they cannot get a straight answer about the water. >> you see it's safe but can you prove it to me and nobody can. >> reporter: one young family says the fear is forcing them to uproot their lives and leave the state. a chemical used in yoga mats and soles of shoes and people are changing the recipe and russians say they are not normally known for their hospitality and how the country is trying to put on a happy face to improve the olympic experience. >> shawn white is hoping to win another gold metal and that and

other olympic news coming up, in sport. ♪

congress takes a rare field trip

for a first-hand look at the water contamination crisis in west virginia. good morning and welcome back to al jazeera america i'm stephanie sy and we will have the story in a minute but first let's see what temperatures we will see across the nation today and metrologist nicole mitchell is back, nicole. >> we are interested in the temperatures but they are really a critical part of the story over the next couple days with the weather system we will see because it's the dividing line between rain, freezing rain and snow. now starting off this morning where we are drier but cold, minneapolis minus 8 and getting back to freezing over the next couple days. that is a warm up given what we have had and it's not above average. let's go to the south where let's put this in motion, a lot of the temperatures start to dip from the 40s into the 30s and right around that freezing so by tomorrow morning we could have 29 in atlanta and means rain today could refreeze and could contribute to freezing precipitation in the day tomorrow so we will watch that. otherwise the high for today is 25 in new york city. back to you. >> nicole thank you.

there are new revelations about the tanks involved in last month's chemical spill in west virginia. the head of the chemical safety board told members of congress monday that a prespill inspection revealed the tanks at freedom industries did not meet standards and one of several people who testified before a congressional meeting in the west virginia capitol charleston and they blasted freedom industries following the news. >> one entity that is not here today, is not here, the one empty seat we will have at the witness table, if there was room to put that empty seat, belongs to the person at the center of this, the one who totally blew it and gave bad information and every effort to respond to the spill is built, mr. chairman there is odor from freedom industries and it's not licorice. >> encouraged to use the water

but al jazeera's shows that public faith is low. >> i already spend most of my time worrying and planning and trying to making sure that we are creating a safe, warm, wonderful home for this baby. and not knowing, it's the not knowing. it's absolutely excruciating. >> reporter: sorry is not drinking water from the tap. not washing her hands at the sink. and not sure about bringing her first child into her charleston, west virginia home. >> you can say it's safe but can you prove it to me and seems like nobody can. everything has changed. we are going to have to move right after the baby is born because i can't, i wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything, any adverse effects would happen to him. >> reporter: one month after freedom industries spilled 10,000 gallons of chemicals in

the elk river contaminating the water supply for 300,000 people near their home sarah and her husband kirk are still scared of the water. >> so how many of these do you have in your house? >> right now we have 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and one up stairs. >> reporter: on the day of the spill january 9, 8 months pregnant sarah took a shower in the warning about no warning about what would happen. >> i had a rash on my chests and arms and never realizing at the time it was because of the chemical and then we went out to eat and we ate food with it and i drank probably two glasses of it until the restaurant just unexpectedly shut down. >> reporter: in mid january state and federal officials gave the all clear for residents to use the water saying the spilled coal processing chemicals known as mc hm had fallen below the threshold set by c.d.c. and water tests showed little and no

traces of confirmation but the c.d.c. came backup with an updated advisory days later recommending pregnant women like sarah drink bottled water. regardless of the mixed message sarah said she did not take chances. >> if it's not safe for pregnant women it's not safe for babies or infants and elderly and sick people, it's not safe for a huge portion of people. and that's just using basic common sense. >> reporter: although state and federal officials continue to tell people the water ban is lifted, a federal congressional hearing in west virginia monday morning revealed many of those same officials refused to call the water safe when questioned by congressional leaders like senator and former governor joe mansion. >> is the water safe? would you drink and use the water with your children and grandchildren? >> well, i consider that the toxicology that exists in the chemical is so little and so --

the chemical is so little that it's very hard to say. >> reporter: west virginia state health officer said she drinks the water but when congress women shelly moore asked whether she would call it safe she stopped short. >> it's in a way difficult thing to say because everybody has a different definition of safe. i believe the water based on the standards we have is usable for every purpose and that includes drinking, bathing and cooking. >> reporter: nobody at the hearing would use the word safe despite the fact people have been told you can drink the water, nobody would use the word. >> appropriate for use is and i think. >> it's a way of half explaining because nobody knows. we do not know if it's safe. >> straight ahead there. >> reporter: for sarah and kirk uncertainty is not an option when it comes to the birth of their new baby boy. >> three months working on this

room and you will be just moving right out. >> yeah, he might not ever get to sleep in his baby room. >> reporter: the couple spent three months getting his room ready and planned to live at their house for years. now, just days away from his birth they are looking for a new place to live, a new place to watch their son grow without fear. >> this is exactly where we wanted to be and this came along and just like pretty much bulldozed our dream. >> reporter: that was lori reporting, new state regulations are being introduced in an effort to prevent another chemical spill from happening. humanitarian organizations in sierra are planning for more civilian evacuations in the hard hit city of homs was extended by three days and 111 syrians left the city today according to nonprofit organizations operating there but the evacuations have not been without incident. several people killed by gun and

fire and they are getting the most vulnerable out, mainly women, children and elderly and the warring sides met in the same room today for negotiations in switzerland and both had previously refused to this and the u.n. chief negotiator brahimi was to have separate closed door meetings with them and james is in geneva now and james good morning and how did we get to the point? are leaders seeing this as a major breakthrough? >> no, i don't think we are seeing this as a major breakthrough. he was going to have separate meetings in the end, at the last-minute he called them in the same room, is that positive or negative news? it's not clear. we are not getting a lot of information from ambassador brahimi and decided not to have a news conference here on monday and clear both sides were trading accusations against each other and blaming each other for violence on the ground, blaming

each other that accompanied that from homs and it's not good and asked for the russia and u.s. to come here on friday for meetings to kick start the process which is in the second around but no breakthroughs, no key points on which they have agreed. >> reporter: meanwhile the u.n. security council james is still working on a humanitarian resolution on the crisis, al jazeera has seen the latest draft. what does it say? >> yeah, we have seen the latest draft copy of this resolution and what this resolution suggests, if it was to be passed, a very big if and i will come to that in a moment and name individuals blocking humanitarian access and it's drawn up by the western nations on the security council and u.s. and western allies and the arab group member jordan and so far

russia has seen the previous draft. it was invited to a meeting to see this draft and didn't even turn up. what i understand now is that the western nations are going to push this to formal consultation, that means that all security council members will have to go through the draft line by line and what they are hoping is that the russians then will give some ground. they are hoping that they might be able to come up with something the russians agree to given the sochi olympics is taking place it might be a good time. >> james is reporting from geneva, switzerland and thank you. news of the first openly gay nfl prospect is creating buzz on the league and john henry smith is here, good morning. >> strong opinions both for and against the announcements and reactions are pouring in about the announcement by nfl prospect michael sam he is gay. they have run it from the must

respect to cowboy quote there goes the nfl message. bullying victim jonathan martin tweeted hats off to you michael sam, that takes guts and washington tweeted i'm so tired of who gay and who not i could care less. the nfl issued this response, quote, we admire michael sam's honesty and courage. michael is a football player, any player with ability and determination can succeed in the nfl and look forward to welcoming and supporting michael sam in 2014. former nfl player wade davis who came out after his playing days says this message will help sam's transition into the league. >> i think it just reaffirms his true trust in what the nfl stands for. i think often times we imagine the nfl of being an homophobic place but it's something i have known for a very long time but

it's not. the players are used to being in places where players from different races and different classes and different religions and transcending the fears and saying they are my brothers and if you help a team win and be a stand-up guy who is not afraid to show courage and that is what michael sam has really don't -- done. >> reporter: he will do this at the combine that begins on the 22nd in indianapolis. this is the latest from the winter olympics in sochi the skiing made the debay and canada made off with the first gold metal and devon takes silver and qualifying is underway for the men's half pipe where superstar shaun white will attempt to be the first man to take three metals in a winter olympic event. in the women super combine

hoefl-riesch won and 4-10ths faster and the u.s. has the winner because of julia mancusobromancusob rshgs oshgs nsh mancusobr and getting the bronze and it's the fourth metal in her career and no other american woman has won more than two. and the america's best hope but the best was not good enough to metal and was 6th and god metalist of canada came in as the favorite and he did not disappoint and put together what he later called the finest run of his career and why he feels that way, the canadian won the silver as well. all hail the maple leaf in speed skating and canada hamlin takes the gold in 1500 meter short

track and jr finished out of the metal in fourth place and beat short track star victor to take the gold and come pees with russia after winning four metals in 2006 for south korea and that is your look at the morning sports. >> the canadians a strong start in the olympics and iran marks 35 years since the revolution that removes the shaw from power. al jazeera takes you inside the former u.s. embassy where 52 american diplomates were held hostage during the uprising. china and toiwan hold talks since 1949 and what the meeting could mean for the u.s. >> potential game changer and let the average person own real estate for the first time. >> reporter: you could own part of a skyscraper of strip mall with an investment of just a thousand bucks.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm stephanie sy. iran is marking the 35th anniversary of the revolution that drove the shaw from power. hundreds of thousands of iranians gathered in tehran for a rally. the president rouhani addressed the crowd and the first speech since being president last august and during remarks he looked back to the time before the revolution and took a few jabs at the united states. >> translator: the americans thought that the country of iran belongs to them. they interfered everywhere from cultural affairs and the running

of the state-run radio and tv, even on security issues. >> reporter: the 1979 revolution brought the iotola komani out of exile and the first supreme leader a role he held until his death. an iconic moments of the iran revolution came when protesters stormed the embassy in tehran and led to a long hostage situation and shattered diplomatic relations between the two countrys for decades and 35 years later al jazeera has been granted a rare compound where it all started and we go inside. >> stuck in time. the former u.s. embassy in tehran still stands, mostly unchanged since 1979. the same old equipment, curtains and green paint and old phones

and famous paper shredder when enemies were friends. although the building has not changed much, relations between the u.s. and iran are starting to. and he was a revolutionary and a student in 79 and now a leading voice for reform. >> translator: people don't believe in conflict and don't live in the past anymore. >> reporter: in november 1979 he was one of the men who took over the embassy and held 52 americans hostage. he says he was motivated by the belief that the u.s. was trying to sabotage the revolution and led the u.s. to cut diplomatic ties with iran. >> translator: i don't agree with those who say that occupying the american embassy is still an obstacle to renewed relations. at times there have been good conditions for friendship but beginning of the revolution we believe that iran had to leave the american influence and become independent.

>> reporter: it succeeded but came at a cost, animosity, wars and blood shed and painful sanctions and the u.s. and iran are facing the challenge of putting 35 years of hate behind them. >> translator: the relationship between iran and the u.s. is complicated. as long as the u.s. supports the israel regime and continues to interfere in the middle east and against islamic countries and continues sanctions against iran it's very difficult to say the relationship is a good one. >> reporter: last year a temporary nuclear deal, high-level meetings and phone call from the u.s. and the iran presidents broke 35 years of official silence. whatever comes of the softening in the relationship between the united states and iran some will never be convinced that these two enemies should put the past to rest. and one of the reasons is exactly what happened in this building, the old embassy, what it was and is and the two

different experiences it continues to represent. >> reporter: after the u.s. embassy in tehran fell the compound was used an as training center for iran's revolutionary guardian houses an islamic cultural center and museum sell vertebraing the buildings 1979 take over by students. the trial of three al jazeera journalists detained in egypt will begin on the 20st and charged to a terrorist organization and spreading false news and it has been 45 days since the crew was detained. and fahmy, and peter greste were taken on december 29 and among the accusations against them having ties to the muslim brotherhood which egypt recently declared a terrorist organization. and shami from the sister channel has been in custody since last july. al jazeera rejects all charges and continues to demand the

unconditional release of the staff. top leaders from china and taiwan are holding the first high-level talks in over 60 years and the island and mainland split in the civil war in the 40s and stagnating talks for decades and they are watching it from hong kong and good morning and what led to the shift in relations between the two governments? >> well, it looks like this has come out of the blue, these two sides haven't spoken to each other as you mentioned since 1949 when the communist chased the national list out of china and into taiwan where they formed their government and china maintained that taiwan is part of the chinese mainland and refused to recognize the taiwan government. this is the first time they have spoken or even seen each other which is why this is so significant and why the lead negotiator for taiwan said this

is a day for the records. a very important day in terms of relations between these two sides and it certainly moves relations between them up one notch. >> reporter: craig, what is on the table as far as discussions, what are the wider implications and does the u.s. in some ways benefit from this relationship? >> well, this is all about business and, in fact, what is on the table is trade relations agreement between the two sides. the business men of taiwan and china want to be able to set up businesses within each other's territory and they are the one whose have been working behind the scenes since 2008 to make this meeting happen when pro-china president gained power in taiwan. there is no mistaking about the trade that they want to engage in. in fact, taiwan has 116 billion dollars of trade surplus, one of the few countries in the world to have a surplus of that size

with china. what it means for the united states is that they will keep a close eye on this because if taiwan and china cozy up it will change the nature of the strategic relations and effect japan and south korea. so the u.s. will be keeping very close, will be monitoring this closely to see how it evens it in the future. >> reporter: thank you. recent criticism of an ingredient used to bake bread has american market and restaurant chains scrambling to remove it from recipes and erica joins us and this is an ingredient that is fda approved. >> reporter: it's used by commercial bakeries and found in bread we get at many of our grocery stores and even restaurant chains. take a look at this here. this is what we are talking about. big word. azo -- it's tough and a

mouthful. i can do this. there we go. again quite a mouthful and it is for a controversial chemical found in our food, supposedly it makes the bread look white and puffy and found in yoga mats and the soles of the shoes and they say it has no place in our food. >> reporter: wonder, sunbeam and bunny and they are reworking recipes by nixing a chemical ingredient and a major super market chain publix is joining the group and will discontinue all use of it by the end of the year. >> subway eat fresh. >> reporter: it kicked off with the subway sandwich chain under scrutiny when the blogger of food babe.com said it's used to increase elasticity from subway's dough to yoga mats. >> as soon as i heard the

announcement from michelle obama that she was endorsing subway for children i had to do something about this. >> reporter: calling for the chain to get rid of the chemical reached 80,000 signatures and it's in the process of removing the chemical from the dough vowing to convert the process in the coming weeks and from the chain to the rest of the country they are calling for fda to immediately ban the use of the chemical in food nationwide. >> billions and billions served, toxic chemicals. >> reporter: a senator making reference to mcdonouald's and burger king use it and the public center of interest called for an fda as a food attentive and europe and australia have already banned its use in food. and they are citing a possible link to asthma or cancer. >> it started with a blog and

thank you. and kraft is removing preservatives from the cheese is slices and will effect the slices of white and yellow cheese and replacing it with a natural mold inhibitor and the new product will be in the store in weeks and it comes as americans try to eat natural food. janet yellen makes comments and will face questions on the health of the labor market and the pace at which the central bank will continue to pull back on its bond purchases but it's not likely the fed will change course. her testimony will be released at 8:30 a.m. eastern. wall street is signalling a higher open ahead of the debay and we are up 16801 and s&p is below the key 1800 level, the

nasdaq is 4148. in asia markets ending the day higher on hong kong ended the advance up nearly 2%. japan was close for a public holiday and european stocks are on track for the fifth day of gain and barclay cutting costs after the fourth quarter and will shed 7,000 jobs in britain and some will get pink slips and others bonuses and they are setting aside more money for bonuses and the company said it needs to pay competitive bonuses to attack talent. an advocacy group is challenging the $13 billion settlement with the justice department and marcus is filing a lawsuit against the justice department to block the settlement saying it violates the constitution and it says the agreement should be reviewed by a judge and all

materials related to the settlement open for public review. people are increasingly turning to crowd funding websites like kick starter to raise money for projects and the security and exchange are considering letting investors to go to buy stake in private companies and real estate projects as al jazeera reports while the rewords could be great so are the risks. >> look at the office buildings, the average american cannot go out and buy one of these to add to their portfolio of real estate. >> reporter: owning them in manhattan has been out of reach for average americans and the major real estate holdings are controlled by wealthy individuals and institutions or private equity firms and banks but new real estate start ups has a radical shift. >> it could be a potential game changer and the average person owning real estate for the first time. >> reporter: 25 crowd funding

website have direct investment from mobile home parks to storage facilities and farmland and i-funding has crowd funded $8 million for $250 million condo development in lower manhattan. >> the private investment market is $310 billion and will not take anybody's money unless they invest usually minimum of $500,000 to $1 million. they can choose from a variety of projected with returns that go up with the amount of risk involved. a couple of caveats to keep in mind, investing is first come, first serve basis until funding is reached and depending on the project your money will be tied up from six months to a decade. >> my big question is what happens when i send the money in. will i ever see it back? >> reporter: he was nervous when he first invested $10,000 into this retail center in california three months ago but since he

has already seen income generated by rent payments he decided to invest in a second realty project in san antonio. >> you don't need to be a billionaire or millionaire what i can do today. >> and leonard who teaches courses to first time buyers on how to responsibly enter the real estate market warns that these crowd funding sites are a risky bet in an already treacherous industry. >> every time you write a check on a real estate deal, you have to realize you may never see a dime of your money again. >> reporter: he also says crowd funding sites could offer investing lower quality projects done with inexperienced developers and william says the perspective developers go background checks and potential properties are used with research and they say it's too early to tell how real estate crowd funding will fair in the long run but think there is potential to see how you see the

world around you. >> as more properties are crowd funded you may own the building you see or own a part of the lot that will be a tower some day. >> reporter: i'm with al jazeera. >> by law real estate investment trus have to pass on 90% of earnings as income so they are often a favorite of investors looking for dividends. an out pouring of support for michael sam who said he is gay and athletes and entertainers congratulated the lineman on social media and got a seal of approval from michelle obama and tweeted support for the university of missouri defensive lineman saying you're an inspiration to all of us and we couldn't be prouder of your courage both on-and-off the field and sam tweeted thank you for your kind words and humbled by your support. there are questions about how sam's revelation will change his world on-and-off the field and

he himself came out on the air several years ago as gay and joins us this morning and thanks for being with us. i think some people assume the nfl is homophobic and it was said on the sound bite earlier and sam must have had some confidence he could come out as gay and be accepted by the league. >> he played under a team where all of his teammates new last season he was gay and made it through the season and at the beginning of the season when he first told them during team building exercise in training camp he had the best season of his football career. for myself and as a talk show host i needed to be open and honest and success followed of when you are open and can be who you are and the thought of homop h, -- homophobia, this guy has a pretty good one year behind him of being ready to go. >> reporter: what do you think

he needs to prepare himself for if he makes it many the nfl? >> i think life has prepared him for anything that could come to this point. he lost a couple of his brothers, one who was shot dead, one who was missing and then later ruled dead, also something with one of his sisters and he had a rough upbringing and feels lucky to be alive and coming out in the nfl seems like small potatos. >> do you think there are some who will not draft him because of this? >> they will look forward to the opportunity to bring somebody in based on talent where it has nothing to do with his sexuality. that has nothing to do with sport. >> reporter: let's listen to what a former player said on al jazeera america's consider this last night. >> it's really disturbing to see, you know, men who are supposed to be in leadership positions, these are the people who are running teams, have this viewpoint because it really shows you that what they are

thinking about is their own problems, their own difficulties with dealing with a gay player and i'm reminded a lot of the richard sherman situation where the world thug was used as a code word for something much uglier and in in the word is distraction and he will be a distraction and distraction to the players and this and that and what they say with distraction is i don't want a gay player on my team but i know i can't say that so i'm going to makeup something that sounds a bit more plausible and we need to call them on it. >> reporter: couldn't an argument be made this will be a distraction at least initially for any team he is on? >> as opposed to a player who was abusive toward his spouse or a dui? it's a convenient argument and i agree with chris on this. it's a pretty offensive remark to hear somebody say you might be a distraction because of you happen to be wired a little bit differently. it all matters how everybody plays together on the field and

that is all that matters and look at acceptance and he is wearing a six shirt and ally and support on the world and olympics going on, it's a safe time for something like a michael sam or player to step out and be who they are. >> reporter: will he be drifted? >> he will be drafted but the only open player on week one next season. >> veteran sports journalists and thanks for joining us and sochi has high marks for the olympic hospitality and some russians actually took classes on how to welcome the world.

only on al jazeera america let's look at the weather today and metrologist nicole mitchell is back. >> a come things we have to

monitor and i want to mention the northwest getting areas of rain and snow and big developing system is round one already through the south and more develop so the south will stay active tomorrow with better chances for freezing precipitation and then all of this starts to move its way up the coastline so the mid-atlantic already by tomorrow and as we get into thursday snow into portions of the northeast. we will have details on this in a few minutes and back to you. >> thank you the olympics bring together people from all over the world but there is one thing that translates in any language is a smile. they are working on projecting a more friendly image during the games and putting stereotypes behind them. >> reporter: she is doing something that does not come natural to russians and being helpful, supposedly an alien concept here.

>> we have a special restaurant with russian food. [laughter] the best of the best. >> reporter: the student is one of hundreds of russian volunteers helping olympic visitors arriving at the airport. it makes her proud to show foreigners that russians aren't the grimed faced grouches they were expecting. >> and in russia to see how people are kind and very friendly and it's very good chance for us. >> reporter: stories of hospitality can be talked about by people who spend time here but it tends to only come with familiarity and smiling too much is often viewed with suspicion. russians have a saying. and what that means is laugher without reason is a sign of

stupidity. aware that sochi's service industry might need instruction on what visitors may expect and up to the games the russian olympic university put on hospitality courses for hotielers and something seems to be working. >> i heard numerous people saying hello and when i asked them how they are doing they did not give me a laundry list of complaints which i understand is what they would typically do so that has been good. >> the experience that i've had and the experiences that we have had are that they are just like folks in oklahoma, warm spirited, love their children, are caring and very friendly. >> reporter: the kind of enthusiasm demanded by the olympic games and western sponsors may not come entirely natural to russians but perhapses that a good thing and

i'm with al jazeera in sochi. >> reporter: tourism will grew until 2023. >> several southern states declaring states of emergency ahead of yet another winter storm. snow and ice expected to slow travel and knock down power from texas all the way to boston. french president meeting with president obama at the white house in just two hours. a state dinner to be held in his honor tonight and talks about ending syria war are underway again in geneva, delegates from both sides meeting this time in the same room. also in the next hour video showing american forces capturing a terror suspect and a cia operative will explain the video and what a mission like this involves and the head of aol under comments seen as insensitive and what this could mean for his future. >> i'm nicole mitchell and a storm is impacting the south and

spread up the east coast with a dangerous mix of freezing rain and snow and i'll have your forecast. >> reporter: we continue and we will be back in 2 1/2 minutes. thanks for watching. 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.

>> another winter wallop threatening much of the country. folks in the south are preparing for another triple threat have snow, ice and freezing temperatures, but this time preparing. >> rolling out the carpet for the president of france. president obama's political and social agenda for the visit. >> capturing the man accused of orchestrating the bombings of u.s. embassies in africa.

the new video that showcases the tactics used by forces in away trending them. >> this morning a look back at the life and movies that made shirley temple famous. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm libby casey. >> i'm del walters. another storm is sweeping the country, aiming at the southwest and northeast. it's expected to produce thick ice in addition to snow over the next 24 hours. >> the southern states are hunkering down again. alabama, louisiana, mississippi and parts of georgia have already declared states of emergency and this after a rare winter storm just two weeks ago caught them off guard. we have more on the potential impact. >> it's the scene that georgia's

governor is vowing will not be repeated, clogged highways, abandoned cars and children spending the night in their schools. >> i think we're certainly ahead of the game this time and that's important. we are trying to be ready and prepared and react as quickly as possible. >> from texas to north carolina, freezing temperatures and significant snow and ice are expected to touchdown wednesday, and this time, no one is taking any chances. >> i got ice melt, i got a shovel, and i got a fan. >> gorge's governor already declared a state of emergency in 40 counties and schools are being closed. >> it is crazy. i went to school in maine and this is a little over reaction, it seems like. >> not to the crew, treating highways with everything, including salt, sand and gravel. truckers are encouraged to avoid areas where travel could be affect by icy roads, like in

texas where ice already wreaked havoc in abilene, sending a driver in this wreck to the hospital. it's all part of a major storm that has battered statessology the pacific coast. california in the middle of a record-setting drought saw floods and mud slides that had trees rolling into cars. snow blanketed parts of seattle and portland where some drivers abandoned their cars and falling tree limbs weighed down by ice, added to the danger. it's tree limbs and power lines still being cleared in pennsylvania where at least 12,000 are still living in darkness since last week's storm. >> this has been the longest. this is outrageous. that same icy threat coming to the carolinas in georgia. >> we're going to be in a constantly state of readiness over the next 22-100 hours. >> a storm that could be bigger

than the one that paralyzed the city two weeks ago. >> for more, let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell. >> the hardest question is which day we're looking at. the south and east coast, it depends on day. we have a new system in the northwest, anywhere from texas to the carolinas, moisture, which in some cases is freezing rain and snow. that's going to be our trouble spot out here. we do have a little bit of freezing precipitation like columbus air force base and mississippi, we're watching for that. most of this is rain or snow. it's a pretty quick transition line. we're more concerned into the day tomorrow. a lot of this today will be rain, more of this tomorrow will be the winter precipitation, because the temperatures continue to drop. look at tomorrow, a bigger area that we could see some of that freezing precipitation and this could be some heavy areas of freezing rain. look at tomorrow morning and the

pinks, those are the areas we're concerned about with all of this. it's really a dividing line. one quarter inch starts to get very problematic on the roads. we have freezing rain advisories for parts of warnings georgia, understand south carolina, the rest of the area under different winter weather advisories. one quarter inch starts to get troublesome. a half inch is when things go downhill. not on this the roads, but things like we saw last week in philadelphia, tree lines come down, power lines come down because they can't take the weight of that precipitation. i would expect widespread power outages could be a big problem. >> the u.k. dealing with lots of rain. england is getting hit with its westest winter in 250 years, the thames causing massive flooding in england. the military has been helping thousands of residents evacuate. in london, there are no reports

of flooding, because the city is protected by a giant metal gate that can be closed during tical surges. >> the president of france is in washington for a three day visit. he arrived monday without his former first lady. he recently split with his long time partner after it was reported he was cheating on her with a long time actress. he was in virginia yesterday, tonight the guest of honor at an official state dinner. for more, we are joined by lisa starke in washington. good morning. what is on the agenda today? >> it's a busy day for both presidents, really. the french president will be welcomed in the white house with a ceremony. he and president obama will meet in the oaf value office. the two will hold a joint press conference and then he lunches with vice president biden and secretary of state john kerry. he will also then travel to

arlington national cemetery. he's going to award six veterans who fought in france during world war ii french medals. tonight, was, the big state dinner, the first in nearly two years at the white house. >> where do these diplomatic relationships stand between france and the u.s. >> the two have cooperated on issues involving syria, iran, the conflicts in africa. france is considered a key partner in counter intelligence and the two hope to talk about strengthening economic ties and working together on climate change. a few sticking points, of course, including the n.s.a. scandal, the spying done on leaders in europe and that is one of the sticking points, but overall, it's a very close relationship. that's witnessed by the fact that he is getting his very own state din tore night. >> two presidents are expected to hold their press conference

later today. do you expect the sticky issues like the n.s.a. to come up. >> i would expect they would. the french president was asked about the spying a short time ago by a french magazine. he said it was a practice that never should have exited, saying it has create add difficult moment. he insisted that there's no bitterness on the part of france and he is looking forward to this actually starting a discussion on how two countries can work even closer in intelligence gathering. >> thank you, lisa, appreciate it. lisa starke in washington, d.c. >> the obama administration changing its exit strategy for afghanistan, saying it will wait for the current president to leave office and then complete that bilateral security pact. the agreement will determine the role of u.s. troops in afghanistan after the end of this year. the u.s. has been frustrated with karzai. he insisted he will not sign any deal until washington meets certain demands. elections for his successor take place in april.

>> negotiations to end the conflict in the world's youngest country hit a road block. rebels in south so do not are boycotting meetings, accusing the officials of ignoring the terms of last month's ceasefire. those in favor of the former vice president and those in favor of the current president have clashed. more than half a million people in the country have been displaced. >> iran is marking the 35t 35th anniversary of the revolution at a drove the shaw from power. hundreds of thousands gathered today for a rally in tehran. the revolution brought the ayatollah out of power. the president addressed the crowd. it's his first major speech since the president last august. he describes it as a popular movement to opposed a dictatorship and u.s. intervention in iran. >> today marks three years in

protests that forced the former president to step down. hundreds of thousands of people taking total streets in 2011 during egypt's arab spring on this day in 2011. he surrendered his power to the nation's army. egypt has been in crisis ever since. mohamed morsi, the democratically elected president was removed from power just last year. >> the trial of three aljazeera journalists detained in egypt will between on the 20th. it's been 45 days since our crew was detained. the three were taken by egyptian authorities on december 29. among the accusations against them, having ties to the muslim brotherhood, which egypt recently declared a terrorist organization. another journalist from our sister channel has been in

custody since july. aljazeera continues to demand the unconditional release of our staff. >> a former navy sailor sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempted espionage, convicted of giving information about tracking trip to say people he believed to be russian spies. they were actually undercover f.b.i. agents. >> today, new jersey governor chris christie addresses a prestigious economic summit in chicago, the third out of state engagement since the bridge scandal broke. it is being investigated to see if he took a helicopter ride over the bridge during the gridlock. >> republicans meeting last night to discuss a bill that would raise the debt ceiling for a year. the house vote could come tomorrow. less clear whether house speaker john boehner has enough votes to

pass the bill. he said he would not allow a default. president obama is urging to pass that bill before a february 27 deadline. >> here are the headlines making news around the world today. the boston herald reports that lawyers for the boston marathon bomber are seeking a delay to the trial. federal prosecutors say he should be ready no later than may. >> governor jerry brown with more time to relieve prison population in california. >> a lot of questions about how exactly to do that. do you give shorter sentences, what do you do? >> and who's getting out. >> over in the u.k., a push to ban smoking in cars carrying children is now a reality. the times of london said parliament passed the measure monday. it could go into effect next

year. drivers caught smoking in the car with children could phase a fine. >> hard on kids, but good for the cars. >> the ceasefire in the city of homs extended by three days, humanitarian planning to crack wait more. 111 syrians leaving homes today boarding to groups on the ground. evacuations not without incident. several people have been killed by gun and mortar fire. aid workers have tried to get the most vulnerable out first, women, children and elderly. >> in geneva, warring sides meeting, something they refused to do before today. reporting from geneva on this latest development. >> no, i don't think we are seeing this as a major break through. he was going to have separate meetings. at the last minute web called them into the same room. it's not positive or negative news, it's not clear.

we are not getting a lot of information from the ambassador. he decided not to have a news conference here on monday. it's clear both sides were trading accusations, blaming each other for violence on the ground, blaming each other for the violence that accompanied that evacuation from homes. the atmosphere not particularly good. that's why they have asked for the u.s. and russian envoy to come here both on friday to have meetings with mr. brahimi, with no key points on what they've greed. what this resolution suggests fit were to be passed, it would name individuals who were blocking humanitarian access. this is a draft drown up by the western nations on the security council, the u.s. and its western allies and current arab group member, jordan.

so far, russia has seen the previous draft. it was invited to a meeting to see this draft and didn't even turn up. the western nations are going to push this to formal consultation, meaning all the security council members will have to go through this draft line by line. what they're hoping is that the russians then will give some ground. they're hoping that they might be ail to come up with a text that the russians will agree to, given that the sochi olympics is taking place, this might be a good time. >> james, thank you very much. >> when we come back, a closer look at the capture of a terror suspect. >> a former c.i.a. operative will break down video how the u.s. forces caught the man on trial over two u.s. embassy bombings. >> a.o.l. c.e.o. taking heat,

what he's doing about an employee. >> the concerns that all the olympic spending may not actually pay off in the long run.

>> doubling down on the olympics, that is today's big number, $51 billion. that's exactly how much money russia shelled out for the 2014 winter games. >> that was spent on new hotels and attractions solely for the sochi olympics. small crowds are apparent. travel experts say these olympics could see the lowest number of american tourists in decades. >> welcome back to aljazeera america. >> i'm del walters. in just a moment, we're going to be talking about that video that shows a terror mastermind. you see the van ride up and then get out, how he was captured by the c.i.a. >> first let's look at the temperatures across the country. nicole mitchell joins us.

>> sochi, i just checked the temperature, 54 degrees. that's going to be cities like atlanta and houston today for those winter olympics. as we head out, we've got cold air in the northern tier of the country, minneapolis at minus eight. through the south, putting this into motion, we start to drop in huntsville, right around that freezing mark, so there's going to be a line, rain, snow, freezing rain, because of that. it's going to be a big thing that we'll to have watch. into those highs today, atlanta cooler than sochi, 40 degrees and up the east coast, a lot of temperatures still into the 20's. we'll have more on where the moisture is in just a bit. >> the obama administration consider ago drone strike against another american citizen, the target believed to have links to al-qaeda and in pakistan. under the president's new drone strike policies, only the pentagon can kill an american suspected of terrorism, not the

c.i.a. the target's identity has not been released. drones have killed four u.s. citizens since 2009. >> there is new video of the u.s. capturing a man on the f.b.i.'s most wanted list, a suspect in the 1998 bombing of u.s. embassies in kenya and tanzania, we take a closer look at the operation. >> it all happens in seconds in the dark of a tripoli morning. the man is heading home a morning prayers. as his car pulls up outside his home, he's boxed in. he tries to escape but surrounded by men with guns. a third car blocks the road, the men pull him out of the car and throw him into the back of a van. the video was obtained by the washington post and provides a rare insight into u.s. covert operation. within minutes, he is on his way

to a base and a u.s. war ship. he is accused of participating in the bombings of the u.s. embassies in kenya and tanzania which killed more than 200 people. the operation to catch him was a joint operation with f.b.i., c.i.a. and the army's delta force. he has already appeared in a u.s. court and denied all charges. his lawyer insists he's innocent. alan fisher, aljazeera. >> joining us i go former c.i.a. operative lindsey moran. thanks for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> we look at this footage showing a car being boxed in, showing the capture and detention. it all happens so fast, give us a sense of what's involved in an

operation like this. >> it's interesting that it happened so fast, because i think that it actually failed to show actually how much preparation goes into even a very, very quick and precisely executed mission like this. for sure, this would have been rehearsed. it would have been planned months in advance. there might even have been a mock up of the naked and the house, and the delta guys who actually executed the mission would have practiced this, so that they knew what to expect, what to do in case anything went wrong, any contingency plans. you know, it's funny, this is what we imagine c.i.a. operatives do, but it's actually very different. the c.i.a. operatives and c.i.a. foreign agents are collecting the information and intelligence on the ground. then we coordinate closely with special forces, provide them that information and together, come up with the best plan to execute a mission like this. >> do you think local forces will be involved in something

like this? >> you know, in this case, it doesn't appear that local forces were involved, but we've certainly had it bite us in the rear before, when we've tried to execute these missions without at least the knowledge of the local security service or the local government, so my guess is that our guys were the best ones to do it, but that it wasn't done without at least knowledge of the local government and the local security forces. you can get into a lot of hot water when you don't at least tell the people around, tell the security forces on the ground what's going on, because you're basically committing an act in their country, military operation in their country. >> as you mentioned, preparation for all sorts of scenario. what happens if something does go wrong, if someone in the car has a gun, would we see a different scenario? >> i believe he did have a gun and didn't have time to reach

for his gun. again, this is something our special forces guys train for. inningly on the same day as that successful capture, there was also an operation in southern somalia where navy seals went in and tried to get the top leadership of al shabab, responsible for the kenya mall bombings. they with drew before there was any civilian or special forces casualties. things do go wrong and you have to be prepared to make the on the ground decision, are you going to withdraw, abort the mission. >> it's certainly not guns blazing, words to describe being precise. what sorts of work has to go into this sort of execution? >> well, this is -- there's painstaking preparation and it all beginnings with the collection of intelligence, and surveillance.

i mean, no doubt, al liby was surveilled for months. that might have been involved the help of libyan internal security, and we would have wanted to know his pattern of life, what his security vulnerabilities were, does i travel with a body guard, what type of weapons might he have with him. nobody is going to try a mission like this without having all that have advance knowledge. to me, the only down side of this particular mission is it was caught on tape. ideally, you don't want to leave evidence of what you've done, because that exposes our methods. i find this a really -- i love it when this happens, because i think it shows the perfect manager of c.i.a. intelligence collection and analysis and then an actual execution of a very high-risk mission. we're sending in our most highly trained guys, but they're very valuable to us and anything can go wrong, so no preparation can

ever be enough, as i said, there very well could have been a mock up of the naked, a mock up of the house. they certainly would have practiced this beforehand, as our special forces, as the navy seals did during the raid. >> janet yellen is expected to face questions about weaker than expected job growth and whether that will cause the fed to pull back on its economic stimulus program. >> you'd have to see it in the growth figures, you'd have to see it in man manufacturing and housing. it would have to be broad based for the fed to change direction. it's a large ship and they can't turn it too quickly. >> her testimony set to be released at 8:30 eastern time.

wall street, dow futures are up 50 points, starting the day at 15,801, the s&p standing just blow the key 1800 level and the nasdaq at 1,448. in asia, markets ending higher. >> barkley's flashing up to 12,000 jobs this year. while some employees are getting pink slips, others are getting heftier bonuses. they are setting aside more money for compensation, saying they need to pay competitive bonus to say attract the best talent. >> j.p. morgan chaises settlement with the justice democratic is being challenged, a lawsuit filed against the justice department to block the record settlement, claiming the

deal violates the constitution. the non-profit group said the agreement should be reviewed by a judge and that all materials related to the settlement open for review by the public. >> general motors new c.e.o. mary berra will be paid more than her predecessor. >> china and taiwan coming together for historic talks. >> what the two sides hope to accomplish sitting down for the first time in decades. >> the bad law that could derail the talks. >> a.o.l. c.e.o. made comments about an employee and her two children that set off a fire storm of criticism. >> the battle of the border between u.s. and mexico, putting

an institution of higher learning at good risk. >> we'll tell you about a top l.a. dodgers prospect playing for the love of the game and the love of a very special brother.

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.

>> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. >> i'm libby casey. protests around the world today, whether they will yield significant changes. >> a.o.l. c.e.o. in damage control mode after making comments about children. we'll show you whether he could be shown the door. >> top leaders holding their first high level talks in 60 years. the island and mainland split in the 1940's, stagnating talks for

decades. joining us is craig leeson. tell us why the sudden shift in relations between these two governments. >> well, it seems sudden, because these two sides have never met, let alone talked since 1949 when they formed their own government and china refused to acknowledge that government. so a very significant meeting not that only managed to agree to meet, but put discussions on the table about particularly trade relations. >> what are the wider implications of this? do you think there will be any benefits internationally for the u.s.? >> well, this is all about business, and particularly a trade services agreement between two countries. the two entities, china and taiwan business people want to

be able to do business in each other's back yard and china has allowed that, approved an accord that would law that, but that's been stuck in taiwan's legislature, because the majority of people in taiwan are still concerned about that what that means for their independence from chinese rule. what that means for the united states, of course, is given the taiwan relations act, which it has, it's if taiwan ever declared independence, china would invade taiwan. the u.s. is bound by law to protect taiwan from that happening and that act also gives the united states strategic reason to be in that part of the world, so if this relationship does improve, then, of course, that threat diminishes somewhat, but the united states would look at what effect that would have on its allies, because japan and south crew i can't and other allies would be concerned about what that means for them.

>> a man convicted of killing a border patrol agent in arizona has been sentenced to 30 years. that involved fast and furious, allowing criminals to buy weapons to the agents could trace them back to drug cartels in mexico. the agents lost track of more than 1,000 guns, two used in a shootout that killed a border patrol agent. >> border security remains one of the most contested issues in immigration reform witness but as congress debates adding more fences, some worry about how that will change the culture. we met with a dual citizen who opened a museum on the border trying to preserve its history. >> mexican chief of of the soldiers revolutionary, it was here. >> it's a history lesson across borders. alfredo figueroa is standing in

mexico. >> 20 days camping around and this month, 2,000 soldiers. >> while his audience stands inches away in the united states. >> so this is a pretty special place. >> yes, it's special. >> the international border here is just a line in the cement. it's the boundary figueroa must stand behind. the dual u.s.-mexican citizen runs the museum on the mexican side of the border and teaching history to americans over these wide open spaces is his favorite part of the job. >> say in five years there is as fence right here between us, what do you think of that? some people don't like it.

>> do you like it? >> no. >> i would love to take us right now into his my excuse me, which is 50 feet on the other side of this line, but six we can't cross here, we'll have to take a drive to an official port of entry. >> along the way, the border fence. figueroa says he hopes he'll never see this near his museum. finally, we're back steps from where we started. a walk through the door transports us to 1911, when the border was a community of free-flowing peoples and cultures. >> look at this, the american citizens and the rio grande and the other side, the soldiers, revolution. >> they just went back and forth freely. >> yes. >> a peek outside show how things have changed. >> have those fences always been

here? >> no. i baptized in the rio in 1985, no fence, no fence. >> according to the border patrol, security is still a real concern. in this general area, patrol members say there are five to 10 attempted illegal entries per day. >> if you look at the terrain around here, plenty of places for somebody to hide and come. >> without a fence, the border patrol uses cameras and agents. agents sometimes get roamed into a history lesson, too. >> you're watching this history change so much from what it was 100 years ago. does it make you miss the past? >> yeah. >> he understands the world he so admires can only be found in his books, but hopes the next chapter of his museum's history

doesn't include more fences. el paso, texas, aljazeera. >> there are roughly 7.4 illegal immigrants living in the u.s. >> a ban an gay marriage approved by voters, the attorney general says a recent court ruling means the ban is no longer sustainable, ruling citizens cannot be excluded from jury duty because of their sexual orientation. the nevada governor agrees. >> a sexual harassment lawsuit against san diego's former mayor settled for a quarter million dollars, money paid to the express secretary. he resigned shortly after the lawsuit was filed. the city agreed to represent him and pay that settlement. twenty women fused filner of inappropriate behavior when he was mayor. a runoff election will be held

today. >> an apology for a.o.l.'s c.e.o. he said the company would have to cut its 401k plan because two babies born with health problems were driving up costs. this woman said he was talking about her now 4-year-old daughter. she has received a personal apology. >> i really feel like he spoke to me, you know, as a person to another person, and not in his public role as a c.e.o. he spoke to me in a heartfelt way as a father of three kids, to a fellow parent. his apology was heartfelt and i appreciated it, and i do forgive him. >> armstrong later scaled back his comments, saying the company would keep the 401k plan in place after all. here to discuss the impact of the comments is an attorney specializing in labor and

employment law. thank you for being with us. give us a sense of the fallout when a c.e.o. makes a comment like this. >> it impact the culture and brand of a.o.l. when this executive will make a statement like this about the spouse of an employee, concerning a matter so sensitive as a child who's been seriously ill, a premature baby, it's not a good thing for the company overall, and it's not a good thing for the executive. it potentially violates the health insurance accountability and portability act, which quite frankly could expose him to potential fines and liability. it's not a good thing for everyone concerned and the apology i'm sure was welcomed, but a little too late. >> there's a measuring stick of stopple performance to measure how a c.e.o. and company is doing, is that the only way you can tell about a company's health? >> at the end of the day, the board of directors going to make a decision about what's best, and over the long term is how

the stock price does. things like this drag down the company. this executive in august were involved in a situation where pictures were taken as a negotiation that was going on and he fired the employee on the spot. now, quite frankly, that's not using common sense and eventually dogs down the brand. you don't want the story to be about the executive, you want it about the stock price. if he keeps making mistakes like this, it won't be long before a.o.l. looks at different options. >> he fired an employee in front of about a thousand people present. >> sure. >> how do you recover from bad publicity like this? >> that's another story. what he did now was a smart move, he took responsibility, apologized, he changed the policy that he originally was going to change rewarding the 401k and now it's a matter of damage control and let the story play out. worst things have happened in the world. he could survive this without a doubt, assume nothing other mishappens in the near future. >> let's talk about the changes

that he was proposing, now reversed to the retirement accounts, the employees were going to get a lump sum rather than regular contribution to say their paychecks so if you quit during the year or fired, you would lose out. you wouldn't be able to accrue as much money. was that part of the problem of what was going on here, this unpopular move he was making? >> clearly if it weren't for the mistake that he made in mentioning the distressed babies, he probably would have stayed with that policy. you leave in the middle of the year, you're out in terms of the contribution of the company, so this was a great thing for the employees in some respect, as sad as the situation was and as outrageous the comment was good for the employees, because he's reversed on that. >> a.o.l. posted its best earnings in 10 years last week. >> that's really the story in corporate america. we go quarter by quarter by

quarter. at the end of the day, if the company is doing well, it switched over from a web based port tall more to a media concern, that's going to be the bottom line. >> what does this say about how bosses talk about their employees health care plans and personal lives. >> well, you have to avoid this. when you're dealing with your employees, it's a business. you deal with your employees on that base alone. there is no reason in the world to be discussing any of these things, particularly medical matters as they pertain to employees. it's dangerous, it's outrageous, it does no good for anyone. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> an attorney who specializes in labor and enforcement law. >> john henry smith took your seat. he wants to talk about spring training and specifically a dodgers rookie. >> you might remember the outstanding dodgers rookie last season, yasiel puig had such

success, the dodgers considered bringing up another outfielder. jack peterson is the second best dodgers prospect and 36th best in baseball according to mlb.com. one of the things that drives peterson, is brotherly love. >> i'm pretty talented and i'm blessed that i have the abilities that, i mean, i can hopefully make the game fun to watch. >> jack peterson may not be a household name yet but may be a star tort dodgers, drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 draft. two years later, he was named the minor league player of the year. at the age of 21, peterson delivers in multiple facets of the game. >> steal a base or drive a ball or make a diving catch. i pride myself in having skills in all aspects of the game and work hard at refining those skills so i can do good for myself and help the team win.

>> he especially draws inspiration from his older brother who has down syndrome and is a constant positive influence in his life. >> he is always there to support is through the good and bad. he'll send a text, even if it's going good, he'll cheer you up a little bit. it's awesome to see somebody always so happy and in such a good mood for i mean someone in his situation. he doesn't feel bad for himself. he loves it. he's always smiling. i definitely wouldn't be the person i am or i don't think anyone in my family would without him, because of, i mean we're special to have him in our lives. >> that special bond isn't just helping jock, but his younger brother tiger drafted by the dodgers in 2013. champ was a big part of his baseball team, even giving the pregame motivational speeches.

>> play the game, see you all on the field today. >> they give back to champ, coaching him when he competed in the special olympics and traveling with him when he participates in the best buddies program. >> he's an ambassador for best buddies and has given speeches, so we're going to different events. he opens you to a whole 'nother world that we wouldn't experience without him. there's so many aspects that he brings to the table and how special that we are to have him. it's awesome. >> both tiger and jock head to dodgers camp. jock has a big league invite and a chance to earn a roster spot with a major league squad. ross shimabuku, aljazeera, los angeles. >> the dodgers and peterson are already hard at work at spring training. they'll go to australia to open the season against the diamondbacks in the month of march. >> thank you very much. >> hollywood and the world remembering an icon, shirley

black. >> shirley temple. >> black. [ laughter ] >> we'll have a look back at her iconic life, shirley temple black, as an actress and ambassador. >> another hollywood star, james dean, why his estate is suing a social media company. >> you're looking at a live shot of the olympic park in sochi, russia, where the clouds are rolling in as sun sets on the competition. >> only on al jazeera america.

>> oh my! >> welcome back oh aljazeera america. >> straight ahead, we'll look at the life of shirley temple black. >> we'll find out where it's going to rain and snow.

the athletes in sochi having a hard time with the games. >> we were looking before the commercial break at that shot of the clouds moving away. we had a little band of rain go through sochi today, yes, i said rain. they would love to see snow, but now that this is cleared out, really nothing behind that for at least a couple of days. we have been way too warm. temperatures this afternoon with the time difference, we made it up to 54. look at the next few days. in the 60's, people are going to the beaches and sun bathing president winter olympics, so the snow conditions have been described as mushy, causing problems and they will continue to do so for the athletes. you know who would love to donate snow to sochi? the midwest, northeast and south as well. we'll talk more coming up with the amounts in the south, but for the northeast, by thursday, another snowstorm.

back to you guys. >> activists upset about the n.s.a.'s surveillance program staging a global on line pro test today, calling it the day we fight back. more than 5,000 websites around the world taking part, participants asked to support the u.s.a. freedom act, amending the patriot act and endses the bulk collection of phone and emails records. >> if you build it, they will come. in china, they built 5,000 new movie theaters and the film world is taking note. >> this is what happens when word gets out that a hollywood star is in the area, but hollywood is so loft year, or it will be if china gets its way, because china is charging ahead this year. this is a festival full of eastern promise. there are three chinese movies in competition for the top prize alone, the golden bear. nine chinese films are in screening here.

this is a country and an industry that really means business. >> you know, it's when you look at the numbers you realize just how huge the chinese cinema industry is, especially compared to hollywood. you take a huge u.s. hit like zero dark 30 released in 2012 in 60 countries worldwide. that took $120 million, compare that to a chinese movie, like lost in thailand. in that one country alone, that movie took $100 million more. there is so much money to be made in chinese cinema, so many people seem to want a piece of the action, and big film festivals like this are not bad place to say start, which is why he is premiering his threater "the mid nate after." it took him years to make, because the processes, even though china may be changing, the sensors are still very

sensitive. >> they have using at least six months to sensor your script. >> the government. >> the government, because they have to tell you this part, cannot do that, this part, can you change something. this is a torture period. >> china's richest man is currently building the world's biggest movie complex in his country and trying to launch a festival he said will rival cannes. >> hollywood is interested in being in bed with china. we've seen that with the attempt to do more official co productions and the casting of chinese actors in hollywood movies. >> the world is watching china in eventual. china hopes the world will be watching its movies, too. >> the number of screens in

china squad rupeleed in three years, a reflection of how popular movie going is there. even with the growth, there are fewer movie screens in china than the united states. >> twitter in battle over another hollywood icon, james dean. they are asked to cut the fan made account @jamesdean. his image is still known worldwide. twitter said the account doesn't vital its user name policy. >> you've got to imagine he would have been tweeting. >> because he was young and cool. >> shirley temple black, the star who captain have id america, has died. she passed away late last night at her home in california. she was 85 years old. we have more on her life and career. ♪ on the good ship lollipop."

>> she was the biggest little thing to hit the motion picture screen. there was something about her energy and optimism, something about her golden curls, dimpled smile and golden eye that is helped people during the great depression forget their problems and become absorbed in hers. >> grandfather! i'll never see you again! >> shirley temple started dancing at two and acting at three. by the time she was five, she was stealing the show. ♪ i go where you go, anyplace will do." >> before filming a scene, her mother would tell her sparkle, shirley, sparkle and she did, dancing and singing her way through hit after hit. >> i don't care what you saw, there is a santa claus. >> and hit. >> animal crackers in my soup. >> she was award add special

miniature oscar for her outstanding contribution to the silver screen. >> thank you very much. mommy, can i go home now? >> for three straight years, she led the box office, a drink was named after her and children copied her curls. >> ♪ when i grow up, there's a lot i want to do ♪ >> she starred in a couple films when she grew up, but she would leave that marriage and her hollywood career, marrying a san francisco businessman and entering politics. under the first president bush, she served as ambassador to czechoslovakia. >> my thanks to the industry for helping me to have an enchanted and very busy childhood.

>> a childhood full of happy memories. >> i never had to work very hard, she once said. we all just seemed to play games. ♪ ♪ >> shirley temple was the biggest child star in hollywood history. she worked hard to earn that distinction when she was just six years old, making nine movies in a single year. >> at the end of our second hour, del has a look at what we're following this morning. >> several southern states declare states of emergency ahead of a winter storm, snow and ice expected to slow travel and knock out power. >> the french president meeting president obama in just two hours at the white house, a state dinner to be held in his honor tonight. >> talks about ending syria's civil war in geneva. >> janet yellen, the questions says she may face and answers

she may offer up. >> a storm impacting the south and spreading up the east coast. i'll have that full forecast. >> the aljazeera morning news continues. del is back with you in just two minutes. sam's revelation will change his world on-and-off the field and he himself came out on the air several years ago as gay and joins us this morning and thanks for being with us. i think some people assume the nfl is homophobic and it was said on the sound bite earlier and sam must have had some confidence he could come out as league.

>> he played under a team where all of his teammates new last season he was gay and made it through the season and at the beginning of the season when he first told them during team building exercise in training camp he had the best season of his football career. for myself and as a talk show host i needed to be open and honest and success followed of when you are open and can be who you are and the thought of homop h, -- homophobia, this guy has a pretty good one year behind him of being ready to go. >> reporter: what do you think he needs to prepare himself for if he makes it many the nfl? >> i think life has prepared him for anything that could come to this point. he lost a couple of his brothers, one who was shot dead, one who was missing and then later ruled dead, also something with one of his sisters and he had a rough upbringing and feels lucky to be alive and coming out

potatos. >> do you think there are some who will not draft him because of this? >> they will look forward to the >> another first for the first woman to lead the federal reserve, janet yellen making her debut today on capitol hill. >> we'll have 125 separate pieces of snow equipment. >> a state of emergency and the snowflakes haven't started. the south bracing for what is build as the worst ice storm in decades. >> kenneth bay is alive, but

says he is fading fast, a plea from north korea. >> as soon as i heard the announcement from michelle obama that she was endorsing subway for children, i knew i had to do something about this. >> a chemical and grocery store item, the push to get it out of your bread that you may have been eating for years. >> we begin with breaking news out of algeria. a military transport plane crashing in the eastern part of the country, at least 103 people dead. we will have more details as they become available. >> also this morning, janet yellen, the first woman to lead the federal reserve is making an appearance before congress this morning, her first visit to the

hill after the dismal jobs report. the point in timely average for 2013, 194,000 crabs, january following a second straight month of disappointing jobs growth. house republicans are upset with the fed policy, saying by lowering the borrowing cost witness the fed has helped the obama administration finance nearly $7 trillion in new debt since 2009. john is in washington. what do we expect to hear today? >> good morning, del, from your home city, where it is very sunny, but freezing cold this morning and history is in the making here as we get the first woman to become the chairman of the board of the federal reserve testifying before congress, janet yellen appearing before the house finances committee in a couple of hours. actually, she wants to be known as the chair, so the chair, who has broken this glass ceiling to

become one of the most powerful women in the world will take the chair at 10:00 this morning. we should have her written testimony by 8:30 this morning so we'll have a better idea then of exactly what she's going to say. >> do we expect that the fed will be reacting based on whatever she has to say today? >> you have to remember that the federal reserve is charged with two things. first of all, it has to manage the money supply and make sure it's doing everything it can to get as many americans back to work at possible. let's deal with unemployment. it's not very good, is it? even the best spin doctor in the world would have a tough time if he or she is honest with themselves trying to spin this economy. it's capable of putting on 200 to 300 jobs last month. we learned that the economy only put on 213,000, underperforming. it is missing millions. some have gone into education, some retired, others ducked

below the radar. the wall street journal journalist says this: >> we lost 8.5 million jobs during the recession, of which only about maybe 6 million or 7 million have been made up so far and that doesn't account for population growth. we're climbing out of such a deep hole, fed policy only reflects how dope a hole we're climbing out of. >> she will be grinned about the stimulus. it's rolled back to $75 billion. wale here will there be more rolling back or will she increase the stimulus. we'll see when the meeting gets underway. >> north korean prisoner james bay said his health is failing and urging u.s. officials to

speed his release, his expected public plea in less than a month. he said his body isn't holding up to the prison work and wants out soon. >> i think it is very difficult to continuously work here in the longer term, as i still have a lot of pain in my back and legs. therefore, if it is delayed again, i might likely have to get a long term treatment in a hospital. i hope that my issue gets tied up as soon as possible so i can return to the arms of my loving family. >> he has been held in north korea since november of 2012, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. >> iran's military has successfully test fired two missiles ahead of talks of surfing that countries nuclear program. state media reports that the as i say miles can reach as far as 1200 miles, far enough to attack israel and u.s. military bases in the region. iran is set to meet with six world powers, including the u.s. an february 18. they're working on a deal to

scale back the country's nuclear activities. >> iran is marking the 35t 35th anniversary of the revolution that drove the shaw from power. hundreds of thousands gathering today in tehran for a rally. the president addressing the crowd, his first major speech since becoming president last august. during his remarks, he looked back at the time before the revolution and took a few jabs at the u.s. >> the americans thought that the country of iran belongs to them. they interfeared everywhere, from cultural affairs in the running of the state-run radio and t.v., even on security issues. >> that 1979 revolution brought the ayatollah out of compile.

>> the president of france is beginning a three day visiting washington. he recently split with his long time partner after a french magazine reported that he was cheating on her with a younger actress. he joined president obama for a tour have thomas jefferson's house in virginia. tonight, he will be the white house guest of honor in an official state dinner. >> what else is on today's agenda, lisa? >> the french president will arrive in less than an hour, be greeted in a ceremony by the president and first lady. he'll have a private meeting with president obama in the oval office. later, two men will face journalists and hold a joint news conference. he will lunch today with the vice president and secretary of state and head over to arlington national cemetery this afternoon, where he will present a french medal, the region of honor medal to six american

troops from world war ii, who served in france during world war ii. then tonight, the big state dinner, 300 people, in a tent on the white house lawn, hopefully heated, it's cold out here. >> where do diplomatic relations stand? >> it's really a love affair between two countries, they are very close. there's been cooperation an syria, iran, mali and other conflict in africa. the two will talk about closer economic ties, they'll talk about working on climate change. of course, some sticking points including the n.s.a. spying scandal, but that's not expected to be a major problem between the two men and we can tell there's a close relationship by the fact that he's getting this very prestigious state din tore night. >> both men expect to hold a news conference later today. might we expect the issue of the n.s.a. to come up.

>> i wouldn't be surprised if it didn't come up. he was asked about it by "time magazine" in advance of the visit. he said that was a practice that should never existed, that it created a difficult moment in this relationship, but he also said there is no bitter feelings and this opens the door for france and the u.s. to talk about how to cooperate more completely on intelligence gathering. >> lisa, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> it is happening again, another winter storm sweeping the country this morning, this one aiming at the southwest and northeast. a lot of states are bracing for power outages because the storm is expected to produce thick ice. the south already reeling from that storm two weeks ago and getting ready. we have more on the potential impact. >> it's the seen that georgia's governor is vowing will not be repeated, clogged highways, abandoned cars and children spending the night in their schools. >> i think we're certainly ahead of the game this time and that's

important. we are trying to be ready and prepared and react as quickly as possible. >> from texas to north carolina, freezing temperatures and significant snow and ice are expected to touchdown wednesday, and this time, no one is taking any chances. >> i got ice melt, i got a shovel and sand. >> georgia's governor declared a state of emergency in over 40 counties and schools are being closed. >> it is crazy. i went to school in maine and this isology over reaction, it seems. >> not to the crews who are treating highways with everything at their disposal, including salt, sand and gravel. truckers are encouraged to avoid travel areas with ice rye roads. in texas, ice wreaked havoc in abilene, send ago driver in this wreck to the hospital. it's all part of a major storm

that has already battered states along the pacific coast. california in the middle of a record-setting drought saw floods and mud slides that had trees rolling into cars, snow blanketed seattle and portland, where some drivers abandoned cars and falling tree limbs weighed down by ice adding to the danger. tree limbs and power lines still being cleared in pennsylvania where 12,000 are still living in darkness since last week's storm. >> this has been the longest. this is outrageous. >> that same icy threat coming to the carolinas and georgia. >> we're in a constant state of readiness and will be for the next 72-100 hours. >> a view for the storm that could be bigger than two-inches of snow that paraliesed the city two weeks ago. aljazeera. >> we turn to nicole mitchell who has been tracking that latest storm situation. good morning. >> good morning. just as a gauge of how serious

this is, i was supposed to be leaving tomorrow on military reserve duty flying on the southeast. i have canceled and rescheduled my own trip, that's really what a big impact this is going to have that i know this is going to be a mess. to the south, a lot of this is rain. we shift to snow, tennesseeing some of that. you might see the round go through and go that really wasn't that bad and a lot of this today will be rain. then we have another band coming through and with colder air, so you see that, especially tonight into tomorrow, that's when we ever even greater chances for some of that freezing precipitation. some places will get it today, but especially tomorrow, so kind of time capturing this tomorrow, you can see georgia into south carolina especially back to texas, this will be areas of heavy, freezing rain. not only does it coat the

roadways and you can see how many areas impacted with warnings and advisories, but a half inch, the roads become miserable, a quarter inch, a half inch, you start seeing the power lines got so weighted by that freezing precipitation, as do the trees, that's what you start to see the power outages. last week in philadelphia, hundreds of thousands without power. we could have significant problems like this for the south. then by tomorrow spreading into the mid atlantic and the day after thursday as this gets off the coastline, possibly a nor'easter and snow for the northeast. this is pretty wide-ranging. del. >> nicole, thank you very much. that winter weather is creating another major problem, this time it is potholes, as aljazeera reports, drivers should be ready to pony up, because the repairs will be costly. >> professional driver eddie devain should be taking passengers around new york, instead, he's at this auto rare shop, because he has hit so many

potholes. >> i'm looking at the front end damage. that could be anything between shocks, struts, and it could really run between like four or $500, easily. >> mike, the owner of silver star said eddie is lucky. he is seeing more cars than ever this year because of pothole damage and it's costing a fortune. >> you see broken springs, struts, ball giants, stabilizer links and rims and tires blown. it's worse this year. average, about 1,000, 1500 in rare bill, something like that. >> we're talking about $5 billion in repairs to automobiles that have been damaged by potholes. this year, that total could run as high as $8 billion to $9 billion and perhaps double the standard figure, because of

the huge number of potholes. >> in addition to car damage, drivers like sidney murray said this year's driving conditions are costing them money. >> because of the traffic situation, the pothole situation, we just can't make it, it's just impossible for to you get to your job. >> safe roadways are the responsibility of federal, state and local governments. analysts say all will have to work together to build roadways to sustain growing traffic and uncertain weather, but point out it's up to cities to really step up to the plate, because they're the ones that are actually going to have to fix these potholes. >> as for drivers, experts recommend avoid swerving. it can cause a loss of vehicle control. slow down. carefully avoid sharp impact with hot holes. roll through them instead of braking rapidly and inflate tires properly to avoid the risk of we'll damage.

>> keep your eyes on the road. >> and your tires object the smoothest roads you can find. aljazeera, new york. >> one of the reasons potholes are so bad this year is because of the number of storms, the frequent cooling and heating is too much for many streets and highway to say bear. >> chris christie is in chicago today for a fundraising dinner, the third out of state visit for christie following the bridge scandal. investigators are trying to determine whether he took a helicopter ride during this. christie said he didn't know about the lane closures on the bridge until after they had ended. >> a college student breaking down barriers. >> i'm undocumented that i'm latino and gay but at the end of the day, i am a human being. >> the chemical found in yoga

mats, rubber soles, you've probably been eating it for years. the new push to get it out of your bread. >> the vending machine that sells crack pipes. no joke. it's an attempt to stop the spread of infectious disease. ♪ what is this place?

where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. straight ahead, we're going to talk about the push to take a chemical addative out of your bread. first, we turn to nicole mitchell. >> i'm going to start with the midwest where we have minus 11 in minneapolis. these temperatures will warm to freezing, still cool for this time of year, but after negatives will feel balmy in comparison. >> houston at 35, atlanta 38. theseare important. as we put this into motion, we see more of them dip around that freezing mark with another round of moisture coming in. that's going to set the stage for the freezing rain and ice storm event that we're watching closely today into tomorrow. otherwise, high temperatures in

the southwest have rebounded now that the rain has shifted farther to the north, los angeles today is at 76 degrees. we'll talk more about the snow and rain coming up in a bit. >> an election for a college student body president getting nationwide attention, one of the top contenders is latino, gay and an undocumented immigrant. he said these elections are giving him an opportunity to break stereo types. >> some students are curious what it means to be undocumented. i enjoy those conversations. it gives me the opportunity to change the conversation about what it means to be undocumented, gives me this platform to show others that i'm actually just like them. >> he has been a strong advocate for in state tuition rates for undocumented documents. >> a five-day-old baby disappeared from her home last week in wisconsin. she was found outside a gas

station the next day in west branch, iowa. the 911 call show her mother's desperation when she woke up and found her baby missing. [ sobbing ] >> her sister? >> yes. >> kristin smith is accused of taking the child and now faces federal kidnapping charges. >> the trial of those three aljazeera journalists set to begin february 20 in egypt, charged with having links to a terrorist organization and spreading false news. it has been 45 days since our crew was detained. the three all taken by egyptian authorities december 29. among the accusations against them, having ties to the muslim brotherhood, which egypt recently declared to be a terrorist organization. another journalist from our

sister channel has been held since last july. aljazeera rejects all of the charges and continues to demand their unconditional release. >> growing criticism of a chemical used to bake bread has supermarket and restaurant chains scrambling to remove it from recipes. just to make sure we're clear, this has been approved by the f.d.a. >> that's exactly right, widely used within commercial bakeries. you can find this chemical in many breads that you buy at grocery stores and restaurant chains. let's give you a look at the chemical we are talking about here. it's quite a how theful. supposedly it help makes the

bread look whiter. >> they mix a chemical ingredient and now a major supermarket chain publix intends to discontinue all use of the chemical by the end of the year. >> subway, eat fresh. >> the controversy kicked off last week with the subway sandwich chain coming under scrutiny when a blogger said the chemical ingredient is used to increase elasticity in everything. >> when i heard mitchell obama saying she was endorsing subway for children, i had to do something. >> the call to remove the chemical has subway saying it will remove it. one u.s. lawmaker is calling for the f.d.a. to immediately ban

the chemical use in food nationwide. >> billions and billions served toxic chemicals. >> the senator making reference to mcdonald's there, along with burger king and chic chick fills it in their recipes. it is called for a ban as a food atative. europe and australia already had a ban in place, citing a possible link to asthma and cancer. >> the world health organization weighing in. >> they say studies show a possible link when you use this chemical in food to allergies, even respiratory illnesses. >> has mcdonald's had anything to say? >> not speaking too much. on their web side they do say that the use of the chemical in rubber products, like yoga mats and the soles of our shoes should not be confused with the

food grade of this particular ingredient, however continuing to use the chemical. >> but their talking. >> wall street looking to open higher ahead of janet yellen's testimony today, dow futures up 56 points. in asia, markets ending the day higher. nikkei was closed because of a public holiday. european on track for gains. sprint posting profits after adding more users. >> tobacco products will not be

sold in c.v.s. stores. >> slashing jobs to cut costs after reporting losses. others will be getting bonuses. it is setting aside more money for bonuses, saying it needs to pay competitive bonus to say attract the top talent. >> in a drug attempt center in canada debuting the world's first crack machine holds 200 pipes, each costing 20 5 cents. they say giving addicts access to clean drugs can help stop hepatitis and h.i.v. >> as her i can't's government and opposition coming face-to-face in geneva today, but are the talks making progress in ending the blood shed? >> what did the defendant say? >> i hate that thug music. >> this argument over loud music leads a white man to shoot a

black teen. inside the emotional stand your ground case drawing comparisons to trayvon martin. >> the leaders of the fed getting ready for her debut on capitol hill. >> how shaun white did on his return to olympic action. field and sam tweeted thank you for your kind words and humbled by your support. there are questions about how sam's revelation will change his world on-and-off the field and he himself came out on the air several years ago as gay and joins us this morning and thanks for being with us. i think some people assume the nfl is homophobic and it was said on the sound bite earlier

and sam must have had some confidence he could come out as league. >> he played under a team where all of his teammates new last season he was gay and made it through the season and at the beginning of the season when he first told them during team building exercise in training camp he had the best season of his football career. for myself and as a talk show host i needed to be open and honest and success followed of when you are open and can be who you are and the thought of homop h, -- homophobia, this guy has a pretty good one year behind him of being ready to go. >> reporter: what do you think he needs to prepare himself for if he makes it many the nfl? >> i think life has prepared him for anything that could come to this point. he lost a couple of his brothers, one who was shot dead, one who was missing and then later ruled dead, also something

with one of his sisters and he had a rough upbringing and feels lucky to be alive and coming out potatos. >> do you think there are some who will not draft him because of this? >> they will look forward to the >> welcome back to aljazeera america. the u.n.'s chief negotiator saying the second round of talks on syria aren't going well. they did meet in the same room today for negotiations in switzerland. the talks are at a standstill because the opposition reverses to discuss the issue of terrorism. humanitarian organizations now planning for civilian

evacuations, aceasefire extended three days. the watch in beirut from aljazeera. >> we just heard the city of homs, there are five areas where civilians want to get out. this is a very, very old part, tiny cobblestone areas difficult to get into. between 500 and 800 civilians still want to get out. >> 400 civilians evacuated and some reports say a thousand have left since the ceasefire began. where are all these evacuees going? >> they are being taken to an

area close by, people also have families they're going to. there are an issue of men fighting under this agreement, any men not allowed out, some are being questioned, 111 have been released. we don't know where they'll be going and another 200 are being held for questions for processing just to make sure, of course, that they're not fighters. the government has been besieging the old city for over a year. that's certainly something they want to check on. the u.n. is keep ago close eye on things. >> we have seen reports of violence concerning getting reef gees out. what are they doing to make sure that their passage is safe? >> this is the challenge. the u.n. has said this is a major challenge they have faced and it's not going to deter them. this ceasefire is going to

extend. there's investigates that the u.n. and the syrian red crescent and aid groups that are part of this operation can do. they're very much at the hands of those with weapons, many different groups, many different opinions, so they are trying really to get the best way in, perhaps the route they believe could be safer, but as we've seen, even if a ceasefire is agreed and this was agreed under negotiation by the u.n., not everyone adheres to it. some people around happy about aid going in. they believe it's going to end in the hands of the rebels. it's a very, very complicated picture on the ground, but certainly u.n. saying these are small steps, baby steps. they said this in a press conference early this morning. they hope this will lead to giant steps. it's not the city of homs, it's many places across syria. >> joining us live, steph thee, thank you very much. >> a white florida man faces life in prison for killing a

black teenage other over loud music. he was shot and killed outside a convenience store in 2012. we look at how florida's controversial stand your ground allow is front and center. >> what i should have done is slip the car in reverse, but a shotgun come up, whatever, it was fight or flight. >> that's 47-year-old michael dunn telling police what happened the night he shot and kill add teenage boy. he is charged with first degree murder and three counts of attempted murder in the november 2012 shooting sparked by an argument over loud music. dunn and his fiancee stopped as a gas station in jacksonville, where 17-year-old jordan davis and three friends were parked in an s.u.v. >> what did the defendant say? >> i hate that thug music. >> his fiancee appeared in court saturday, and testified that

while she was inside the station's convenience store, an argument began in the parking lot. after dunn told davis and his friends to turn down hear music, authorities say the argument escalated and shots were fired. >> i heard pop-pop-pop. >> she gave a tearful act of what happened next. >> oh, my god, somedays shooting out of their car. >> after hearing more gunshots, she went to the car and dunn told her to get in. >> after you got back in the passenger side of the car, did you see a firearm at that point in time. >> yes, michael was putting it into the glove box. >> the prosecution maintains dunn fired at the parked s.u.v. with his nine-millimeter handgun, killing davis. >> michael david dunn pointed a semiautomatic pistol at four unarmed kids from a distance much closer than you and i and

then drove off. he didn't call the police. he went to his hotel with his girlfriend, and he called a pizza delivery man and ordered pizza. he took his little dog for a walk outside the hotel, turned on a movie and made himself a big tall rum and coke and not long after, an emergency doctor at the hospital pronounced jordan davis dead. that defendant put his head up on his hotel pillow and went to sleep. >> i shot four times. >> dunn who has pleaded not guilty admits shooting davis but claims it was self defense, because he feared for his life and thought davis had a gun. >> you're going to hear bang-bang-bang, bang-bang o.

bang-bang and after mr. davis was getting out of the car, tried to kill or hurt with a deadly weapon michael dunn. right behind mr. dunn's car, mr. dunn puts his gun out the window with his door open and as he drives away, doesn't want fire back, because now they've got a perfect shot at the back of mr. dunn's head, and he puts two bullets low into the car and as you can see, the bullets go up. you'll hear bang-bang-bang, quick, no long pause. >> with the white defendant and a black victim, the trial has generated national attention because of the parallels with the trayvon martin case. martin, a black 17-year-old was shot and killed by george zimmerman who is white, in early 2012 during a dispute in

sanford, florida. zimmerman was acquitted. following the verdict, president barack obama surprised many by commenting from the white house on the case that captivated the country. >> when trayvon martin was first shot, i said that this could have been my son. another way have saying that is trayvon martin could have been me 35 years ago. >> today, it was another father who took the stand to talk about the loss of his son. police say no weapon was found in davis' vehicle. >> at any point that night, did you see anybody take a weapon of any kind out of that car? >>ness. >> but the defense argues the teens had time to dispose of a weapon and that dunn had the right to defend himself under florida's controversial stand your ground law. >> if this was a premeditated designed murder, a premeditated

designed attempt murder, when mr. dunn fled, he knew he murdered someone with the in tent and maliciousness to convict someone of that charge, he goes home, he doesn't go to an airport. >> the jury is sequestered, the trial expected to last another week. if convicted, dunn faces life in prison. >> america tonight's sarah hoes that in states without stand your ground laws, whites are 9% more likely to get away with shooting a black, but with those stand your ground laws in place, that jump to say 17%. later this morning, new fed chair janet yellen set to testify before congress, it will be her first time. a short while ago, her prepared remarks were released. we have been scanning the copy for headlines. i think you found a couple,

based on that yellow highlight pen. >> scanning them right here at the desk with you. basically, what i'm taking away and i have not read the whole thing, let me emphasize that, but what we see here is she emphasized that late last year, we saw pickup in the economy, but really what everybody wants to know is what is her outlook for the u.s. economy and what's going to happen with the fed stimulus program. a little background, as you know for most of last year, the fed was buying bonds at the rate of $85 billion a month, they started to scale back in december, continue to go scale back, it's about 65 billion right now. everyone wants to know is the fed going to pause that, stay the course, is there going to be indication that they will ramp up. based on this that has just come out, what we're seeing is basically, she's saying that they anticipate that economic activity, employment will expand at a moderate pace this year and next. that means that the expect is as for the recovery to continue

albeit at the slow pace -- >> people are panicking at 113,000, 118,000 jobs. it sounds like she is saying that's the why it's going to be for a while. >> this were high expectations at the end of last year that the economic recovery had started to get some fire, some fuel underneath it, of course we've had two disappointing months of job creation and slowdown in sufficient manufacturing in january. also, you have to take a look at emerging markets, as the federal reserve scaled back its bond purchases for the simple reason that a lot of investors who were invested overseas in foreign markets figure they can make better and safer returns here in the united states. another thing i want to point out with this report, with reward to say the fed's stimulus, the comments do say that if income and jobs growth

and unemployment, you want a little bit of inflation in the economy but not too much, the committee will likely reduce the pace of asset purchases and further measured steps. if the expectation comes in, they'll stay the course but leaves the door open and says these purchases are not on a preset course. >> the fed began that stimulus program when banks were collapsing and when we had all three big three automakers coming to washington hat in hand saying we need money. even though it is moderate growth, slow growth, what you hear her saying is we've come a long way. >> it's moderate growth, slow but growth going in the right direction. there have been critics of the fed said stimulus policy. it has not had equal benefits throughout the economy. it really has -- >> wall street's benefited.

>> exactly. fueled asset prices and stocks. investors have south higher returns in things like stocks, so led to a big run up in the stock market and house prices, it's primarily houses at the higher end that benefited. that is one criticism. >> among many. thank you for being with us this morning. when we come back, find ago job is tough, even harder when you are unemployed. we talk to an expert on business communication. he'll join us live to break down getting back into the workforce. >> finding employment is especially difficult for america's vets. they're getting much needed help. we'll take you inside a non-profit group that does so. the mission continues.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. straight ahead we'll talk about mike sell sam, the college athlete that announced he is gay. first, we'll turn to nicole mitchell. >> we have two big snow storms, one through the south that we've mentioned a lot. another one is into the northwest, with that, heavy rain, mountain snow and high enough winds that we have blizzard watches and warnings in parts of montana for winds with gusts of over 60 miles an hour driving that snow around. heading to the south, one band comes through, another cold enough air that into tomorrow could be significant ice storm. it pulls off the coast, impacts the mid atlantic into tomorrow and develops into a nor'easter we'll have to catch. >> in sports and sochi, he is

back, the red head that has all of us wanting to take to a snowboard, but some can't. >> i have bad knees. i'll leave to it shaun white. he famously bowed out of slopestyle competition. fellow snowboarders have been critical of his move but if qualifying day is mid indication, it looked as if he knows what he is doing, despite conditions on the halfpipe course that white has been very critical of along with the other snowboarders. the medal round starts at 12:30 eastern time. >> women's slopestyle skiing has made its olympic debut. how we will posted a score of 92.40. an american takes the silver. >> you may have noticed the less than winter like temperatures in sochi.

the head of the sochi olympics has noticed too, but doesn't sound worried, saying there's no need to bring in stored snow. organizers are ready to haul in snow if necessary. today, temperatures reached 52 degrees along the coast and 41 degrees in the mountains. >> there's no cooling off the canadian witness, they lead the way with eight medals in sochi, four gold. the netherlands are second with seven medals. united states is fifth with five. both of the two american gold medals have come in slopestyle events. >> reactions have been pouring in from nfl players about the announcement by nfl prospect michael sam that he is gay. they've run the gamut from curt morrison's quote much respect message to excowboy patrick creighton's quote there knows the nfl message. hats off to you, mike sell sam, that takes guts. meanwhile, i'm so fired of

hearing who gay and who not, i could care less. gay marriage advocate and expunter chris kluwe has this reaction. >> i know people will still be talking about it during the draft, combine and o.t.s.'s, but once we get through the season, hopefully it's played out enough to where michael can focus on football. it let's teams know that michael is gay, he is a football player and deal with it. this is something that the nfl is going to have to learn to live with, because there's going to be more and more people like michael and it's something that you shouldn't discriminate against someone based on their sexuality just like you shouldn't on their religion or skin color. >> to auto racing. the petty family doesn't think much of danica patrick's skills. eight months after kyle called her a marketing machine and not a race car driver, his legendary dad driver richard petty said the only way patrick will win a sprint cup event is if everybody

else stayed home. petty had more to say: petty said according to the website: patrick only had one top 10 finish in 41, that was in the 500 when she had the pole position. >> that ain't bad. with a tight job market getting tighter, getting back into the workforce is tough and knowing how to get back in can be tougher. an expert in communications training is also the author of the essentials of business etiquette, how to greet, eat and tweet your way to success, and she joins us from philadelphia

this morning. good morning, barbara. >> good morning, it's nice to be with you. >> the employment market is slowly ramping up. you say there are some important things that people need to know about. first you say they need to be proactive and volunteer. you say that you'll stand out from the pack and regain your confidence. >> that's absolutely true. you do need to stand out, but you also want to quickly become part of the team. you want to help people, you want to volunteer, you want to get involved, and you need to remember that first impressions count. dress appropriately. the workplace attire may have changed since when you were there. pay attention to your verbal and non-verbal communication. look people in the eye. make sure you get rid of any fill words, um, ok, ok, ok. >> never show you're insecurities or fears. >> never show them. you may feel them inside, but you don't want to show them on the outside. it's back to first impressions and how you present yourself in

the workplace. if you don't look nervous, people won't think you are nervous. again, what you're feeling inside, that's your business. >> you also point out you should engage your new colleagues. you are starting a new chapter. a lot of people have been with one company for decades and all of a sudden wind up in a new job, the people are younger. it's tough. >> it is tough. you don't want to keep repeating. well, in my old company, we did this. you're in a new company. create relationships with young people. greet them, make shall talk. talk their language. if they're involved in social media, you get involved in social media, also. >> now, you say that after you've been fired or laid off, it's important for somebody getting back to work to overcome their fears, pat yourself on the back. you say remember, you got the job, climbed out of the situation and that is a good thing. >> retrain your thinking. this is a positive thing, you are working. what would you say to a friend

in a similar position? you'd probably say really, good, positive things. say those things to yourself also. you don't have to, when you enter a new place, you don't have to just do what everyone says you need to do. you can have a different opinion. it's just how you word it. instead of saying no, that's wrong. you would say something like well i see this differently because... so you can be yourself, you just want to certive when you are. >> i like this tip, learn the ropes, give yourself time to adjust, after all, that old i.b.m. selectric is gone. they have a computer. >> right, they have a computer and social media. give yourself time. you can't be three months into a job until you're three months into a job. you can't be six months in. it does take time to learn it. be humble, you know, learn from the seasoned employees, new

employees and when appropriate, offer your own opinion. >> this one may be tough, you say don't abteacher's pet, but a lot of people believe they lost their last job because they were outspoken, they were aggressive, but you say saying yes without backbone does not earn you respect. >> i say don't be aggressive, you can be assertive, voice different opinions, it's just how you do it. you don't tell people you're wrong. that's aggressive. you say i have a different opinion, i see it differently and then explain why. you've got a voice, you can use it. >> and then you tell them you're wrong. >> then you tell them. well, there's way to say word things. i encourage people, i call it to be poll light and powerful. if you're just poll light in this society, you can get walked on. if you're just powerful, it can be aggressive. >> thank you very much for being with us this morning. she is an expert in business communications training and

joined us from philadelphia this morning. >> veterans who leave the military still want to serve. the program called the mission continues matches former soldiers with organization that is need help. we have the latest installment of our ongoing series, veterans' voices. >> you're looking at competitions available, you'll see something called coverage. >> navy veteran gerald howe is sharing tips for a screen writing contest. he already has his heart set on a story. >> the work that i'm trying to get to write to is a novel based on an army psychologist's experience in abu ghraib. >> the military is still a passion. so are half series. the student found an outlet for

both, interviewing with other veterans at the military museum and library. how is serving a six month fellowship called the mission continues matching vets with non-profits? for how, the program helps him fulfill his need to serve. >> we got into the military for all sorts of reasons, but one thing we all have in common is we took an oath. >> the fellowship is tied to his military experience, other vets are serving fellow ships at the boys and girls club of america. >> the 7-year-old program is partly aimed at helping vets reconnect with their communities. >> fellows had told us that the program not only impacts their professional lives, it also impacts their lives at home, so

half of them report having better connection witness their family. >> the fellowship is giving howe hands-on experience shooting and hedits videos and he thinks hels him give better interviews. >> it helps me connect at a level some somebody who hasn't served wouldn't understand. >> he said through his work in video, he is helping preserve american history. >> that's it for this hour of aljazeera america. i'm del walters. we leave you with the pomp and circumstance of washington as the french president is arriving.

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us. plus making genocidal killers face their crimes by reliving them in an as or-nominated film. and the high price of fashion. how models are abused by their industry. hello, i am antonio mora, welcome to "consider this." here is more on what's ahead. ♪ ♪ i am a game man. and i am happy to be one. >> courageous young man. >> he's a good football player. >> everythinse