>> hello there, and welcome to the al jazeera news hour. these are the top stories. a welcome sight as aid is again allowed to get to the besieged syrian city of homs. >> i have the top stories from europe, including large parts of the u.k. still underwater. and after claims of cyber spying by the u.s. europe moves

to reduce america's control over the internet. >> and also coming up the race is on with the big thing in gaming is withdrawn because it is too addictive. so the united nations has reviewed supplied aid to civilians trapped in the besieged syrian city of homs. people in the city have been desperate for supplies more than a year now, but it's happening against the backdrop of more fighting in the country. we have the latest. >> more u.n. convoys carrying aid arrive in the old city of homs where many have been trapped for more than a year. hundreds of people were able to leave out of the government and rebels agreed to a cease-fire on friday. but many are worried that those

who left have been detained by security forces. the u.n. humanitarian operation in homs is in the warring factions. the reality on the ground is quite different. a child being treated at a field hospital, government jets have targeted different areas of the city. here people are looking for survivors under the rubble. in aleppo dozens have been killed in these areas controlled by the rebels. here no one believes peace is possible or has trust in the talks under way in geneva. it's just another cycle of violence. rebel groups on the offensive. these are the suicide-bombers,

one of the most organized and well equipped rebel groups. >> president's bashar is happy to see rebels fighting each other. i'm about to teach him a lesson. we'll attack the building of defense. >> he's getting ready. he knows he won't babb back from his mission but tells the cameraman that he can't wait to die. >> you have to come here. >> fires fire rockets at a village that they say is home to pro government militias. this is the moment that the two tracks backed with explosives blow up check points. a war that shows no signs of letting up despite efforts to give diplomacy a chance. al jazeera.

>> well, matthew hole b holing s director of the world food program. >> we have we have four trailer loads of food, and medical relief which is also desperately needed. >> the number of people you've been able to get out, more people, we gather? >> that's right. around 217 people came out today. over the last week we're now close to 1400 people evacuated from the old city of homs. >> the people evacuated today, were they mostly women and children, or were they men as

well? >> yes, women, children, elderly, but also a lot of men are coming out and have been coming out during the last three evacuations. >> are most men still subject to the screening program? we know the syrian authority had taken some of these men away, and we didn't know what happened to them. >> nobody has been taken away, i can tell you that much. we're standing right now having just come from the front line with our coach load of people in the center where they go through the status mobilization process. people are brought here with their families. it is not a security facility, it's a shelter that is run by a local charity, which is supported by u.n. agencies, and

we're present here at all times, and obviously there are different processes going on, and questioning people who come out, but when they need to they're referred to a judicial process. we were present when 111 men were released from the facility, and that process will continue as the day goes by, and we'll be here to monitor it. >> can you also describe for us, for our viewers, the desperate living conditions that you found people in homs living in, what were they doing for food? where were they sheltering? >> i mean, the old city of homs. there is not a single building that stands erect. everything has been effected. people are living in basements, they're living in tunnels, they're moving through these

buildings eking out an existence that is almost unbelievable. people are living on grasses, weeds, and i heard from people they have put out snares to catch cats. they've been looting and living off a spoonful of wheat a day and a spoon fill of oil. people are coming out bags of bones. there is no extra weight on anybody. it has been a desperate time for all of them. >> and your hopes over the next few days to get aid in and more people out? >> we've actually--we put in assistance now for in total 2,500 people, which was the agreed amount with both the opposition leaders of homs and

the government. we are done for this month. we are in discussions with the opposition and with the government for them to decide to prolong the cease-fire as they wish. the cease-fire is not an u.n.-brokennerred cease-fire but it's agreed to by the authorities, the opposition and the government authorities. >> that's matthew hollingworth joining us live from the besieged city of homs, thank you for your time. people have been killed in a north nigerian town. hundreds attacked the town for hours. many homes were burned and some people say soldiers stationed there fled after the gunmen arrived. african union troops have uncovered a mass grave in the central african republic.

a soldier was on patrol in bangui when he discovered the site. u.n. chief ban ki-moon said the area could be split because of the sectarian violence. the u.n. said the humanitarian situation in south sudan is at a level three, the highest level, putting it in the same category as syria. >> reporter: what we're trying to do here is to save lives and alleviate suffering, but at the same time to prevent the situation from unfolding, and to an ever greater emergency. and what i do fear most is that if we cannot keep possession, if we're unable to reach people in need you'll have even more displacement. at the moment we've got 900,000 people in this country on the move. >> to libya now where the

defense minister says its government has stopped an attempted coup. we have more from the capitol of tripoli. >> reporter: the defense ministry here in libya reported that an attempted coup has been prevented at the head of the conference. ordering the chief of staff of the army to arrest a group of military commanders who had been meeting at that time. by the time the army arrived there those leaders were all gone. that's an illustration of how vulnerable this post revolutionary government is here in tripoli, and that's simply the latest incident in a series of incidents here in the city. first of all we have had an attack on a television station overnight, attacked by men with rocket-propelled grenades who reportedly ordered everyone out of the building first. this was the latest in a wave of attacks against journalists. three journalists had been kidnapped on their way to the

southern city, one was kidnapped here in tripoli and has since been released. there was an attack on our own al jazeera arabic crew a week ago. all this happening in a country where the prime minister himself was kidnapped for a short time back in november. an illustration of how vulnerable this government is, and how these militant groups are feeling betrayed by a media that seemed to laud them as heroes during the revolution and now sees them as part of the problem. >> the middle east is the most dangerous place for journalists to work with syria the most dangerous. the report puts egypt at an at-risk country. three of al jazeera's journalists are facing trial there. journalists are at risk for mass surveillance programs in the united states and britain. live now at al jazeera,

we're joined with more from new york, kristin, what more did the committee have to say about al jazeera's staff? >> reporter: well, they talked a lot about egypt, and the fact that this country is at the top of the list for countries at risk of flipping behind and suppressed freedoms. they say there is an increasin increasingly tense situation for journalists in egypt that they are--there is a climate of fear and intimidation. six journalists were killed i in 2013. and dozens have been held without charge including our three journalistsings peter greste, mohamed fahmy and berad month homicide. and they're faced with a charge as an attempt to criminalize

egypcriminalizejournalism work,a demands their unconditional release. >> this report really highlighted the risk as it sees it to journalist of mass surveillance. >> reporter: yes, it's interesting. you know, the internet is considered to be opening up journalism across borders and boundaries with more free-flowing information. the down side comes from these mass surveillance programs that have been revealed in the united states and the united kingdom where governments are tracking phone calls and e-mails of citizens and journalists, and the concern is that if the government can hold on to this information for long periods of time and store it, they have the ability to go back and trace who journalists have been talking with, the content of their e-mails and so on, and the concern this will have a

chilling affect on whistle blowers and anonymous sources if they choose to talk to journalists. >> now what was supposed to be a peaceful march in south africa turned into everything but. we have reports on escalating tensions ahead of the election. and the economical impact of ukraine's crisis. and a share of the gold, how two olympic skiers could not be separated at the top of the podium. we have the reports for you in sports. >> but first north and south korean officials sat down for their most significant talks in years to try to improve badly strained relations.

the discussions had no set agenda but were expected to discuss cross-border family reunions. south african police fired stun grenades at supporters of the party who attacked an opposition party in johannesburg. they have been marching against high unemployment. from johannesburg is our report. >> reporter: the democratic alliance party wanted this to be a peaceful march. but hundreds of angry supporters carrying sticks and rocks wanted a confrontation. they through petrol bombs at police, who later released stun grenades. then the chase began as the democratic alliance retreated anc supporters followed. the anc supporters at the end of the street have been trying to

get closer to the da march, but so far the police have been able to outmaneuver them by blocking off some of the streets, and the police are armed. >> a face-to-face confrontation was avoided but the da's message was lost. it wanted to draw attention to high unemployment ahead of this year's election. >> the anc cannot be trusted to lead a democracy. the anc will not respect anybody else's rights to gather and march peacefully. >> reporter: it's in this backdrop that there will be the state of the nation speech. the party spokesman said the da should stay away from anc headquarters. >> how can you march to my own house. what arrogance is that. we can't tell them what must be

in their manifesto, we can't because we respect them. we ask from the da to respect us, too. >> the anc is so popular that it's assured of victory at the next election but violent protests are a sign of discontent as the party prepares to defend its political dominance. they have a low tolerance of owe posing views. >> in bolivia heavy rain has forced workers to suspend their search for victims of a mudslide. half the village of an area was simply it would swallow up, and torrential rains will continue for the rest of the month. communities in england are bracing themselves for more severe weather news. we have more from barbara in our european news center. >> reporter: that's right, felicity. the highest possible alert has been issued for the country's

northwest. meanwhile large parts of the south including the thames valley are already underwater after weeks of heavy rain and more rain is forecast for the coming days. prime minister david cameron has canceled the a meeting to deal h the crisis. his government has been criticized for not doing more to help thousand was residents in need. we have reports. >> reporter: the only way to get a real sense of the scale of this flooding is to film it from above. all along this stretch of river west of london great expanses of muddy brown water seeping out of the swollen river. affluencer fluent suburbs, historic towns, villages, all inundated. individual streets and neighborhoods cut off and surrounded by water, but this couple a small boat is the only way to get around. >> obviously from this vantage

point is the only way to get around. and the thing that strikes you is the number of homes and neighborhoods that have been completely inundated and how long will it take for people to recover, and the sheer cost of that clean up operation. >> reporter: at some point it's hard to see where the river ends and the flooding begins. here a golf course is almost completely submerged. next door the local waterworks has suffered the same fate. this road is one of the main arteries into london with floodwaters on either side. these three horses eating what's left of their grass, are now completely marooned in their field. >> even some distance away the areas affected by the flooding it's easy to see how saturated the land is. we see so much surface water evidence of how high the water

table has become after months of incessant rain. >> even if it stopped raining tomorrow it would take months for the ground water to seep away. but more rain is coming, almost a month's worth is expected in the next few days. the situation along the river thames and elsewhere will only get worse before it gets better. al jazeera, above the river thames. >> diplomatic efforts to end ukraine's political crisis is continuing. meeting with president viktor yanukovych or wednesday and met opposition leaders earlier in the week. anti-government protests in kiev are now in their third month. the ongoing instability is beginning to take a toll on the economy and the ukrain ukrainian currency. we have these reports. >> reporter: beyond the protesters' barricades a major economic crisis is looming. the national currency has fallen

to its lowest value against the dollar in 18 years. officials are blaming weeks of mass protest but pushing up the price for imports. here the ukrainians are starting to notice the first price hikes. just in the month of january the cost of petrol has gone up by 3%. car sellers are reviewing the price of vehicles, and the worry is with other goods and services will become more expensive, too. >> i don't expect anything good to come out of this situation. i hope things will return to normal. >> what can we do about this? nothing. we just have to buy pricier petrol, that's all. >> reporter: the protests have not helped the economy, neither have they are they the main reason for the crisis. economists say the greatest harm is caused by years of poor economic planning. >> ukraine tried, tried to cooperate both in international

institutions and with russia. but last year the situation changed critically. ukraine is under high political and economical pressure of russia. >> reporter: ukraine's growing financial dependency on russia has not been popular with global investors. construction declined by 15%. strict state controls and high levels of corruption are also being blamed. the e.u. hopes a new package of financial incentives will encourage the ukraine to look west as well as east for support. at this neighborhood market locally grown food prices remain constant. but on the global market confidence in the national currency is failing. ukraine's central bank said that it is manageable, but without change ukraine's problems are

set to multiply. al jazeera, kiev. >> we'll have more from london a little later. let's go back to felicity in doha. >> barbara, thank you so much for that. a scholar is angered and disappointed that all of her copies on hinduism are to be destroyed in india. a group of hindu activists say that the book contains heresies and factual inaccuracies. >> reporter: the book itself has been sold out of most book shelves or has been pulled from the shelves because of controversial nature. in it the haw thorough gives hen

view of hinduism. in india it's not just a civil problem but a criminal offense. on wednesday an agreement was reached with penguin books where the publisher has agreed to destroy and pulp all remaining copies of the book here in india. that lit up social media sites saying what does this mean for freedom of speech in india, and some authors are worried that this might put pressure on other publishers to pull controversial books from the shelves. even though the book will be destroyed physically, with online versions of the book being shared on social media sites like facebook and twitter. >> and india's financial capitol has a new airport, planes began arrival in mumbai's terminal two

as early as wednesday morning, but many are claiming the government did not keep its promises. >> reporter: bright, shiny and open for business. security is tight across the complex that covers 800 hecters and cost $2 billion. a meeting with the 1200 slum dwellers were forced to move to make way for the new airport. the people who live in these flats told me they were promised they would be relocated 3 kilometers from their home. they are now 10 kilometers away. many have bee lost work becausey had moved so far away. >> my child's school is still near the airport site. it is so hard to get there. she has to get up very early to make it on time. she's not settled in her new home. >> government authorities were

unable for comment but for now promises to build schools, hospitals and shops that have not been kept. still construction continues for housing for more people to be relocated. their compensation is that they will be given the deed to their apartments after ten years as long as they stay put. >> it's difficult for the city of 60 million to provide room for all. but the government's policies, they're trying to accommodate them in some way because they have now realized it is the squatter settlement population that is actually running the city. >> reporter: while the focus may be on the brand new terriblenal it may soon be diverted to those who live close by. the third runway may mean these people here will be forced to removed. al jazeera, mumbai. >> still to come on this al jazeera news hour, the race

for medals is heating up in sochi, and so, too, the temperature. we'll find out how the balmy weather is affecting competition. >> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america

>> al jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> its the most exciting thing to happen to american journalism in decades. >> we believe in digging deep. >> its unbiased, fact-based, in-depth journalism. >> you give them the facts, dispense with the fluff and get straight to the point. >> i'm on the ground every day finding stories that matter to you. >> in new orleans... >> seattle bureau... >> washington... >> detroit... >> chicago... >> nashville... >> los angeles... >> san francisco... >> al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> hello again, welcome back. the reminder of our top stories on anger. the u.s. is describing a desperate situation in the syrian city of homs. food has been allowed inside the city that has been under government siege, and women and children hav and men with been allowed to leave since wednesday. it is giveit has been given thel three category. >> homes and businesses in the u.k. has been underwater for more than a month. a pakistani court has given the government another week to give the whereabouts of a missing anti-drone activist.

his family said he was taken from his home in islamabad wednesday, and those involved were wearing police uniforms, but the police deny being involved. >> he is nowhere to be found. his brother-in-law and cousin, he told us what happened on february 95 5th. >> there were 20 people, some were in applies uniforms, some had masks on. they broken the door lock and took the guns out and started shouting. then they took him away. >> he was considered the face of the anti-drone campaign in pakistan. in 2009 an u.s. drone strike killed his son along with five other members of his family and friends. since then the university graduate turned campaigner dedicated all his efforts to bring an end to u.s. drone attacks in pakistan.

his lawyers think he was picked up by pakistan intelligence agencies. a high court has given him until february 20th to produce him. his family insists if he has done anything wrong he must be tried in a court of law. >> god forbid if pakistani agents have done it, this is not the right way to do things. if we have done anything in mistake, we will appear. i'm a government servant myself and entire family is educated. >> many say his abduction is a setback for those who are trying to fight their case through non-violent means. >> he lost his son and his brother, and roar than seek revenge he has gone to the courts, as is citizen right for justice, for answers, and the fact that his voice has been

silenced at this crucial time when he was about to speak to the parliament on this issue is tragic, and it's tragic for zone victims and for pakistan and our judicial process. >> reporter: he was to met officials from the u.k. and dutch parliament. his family is deeply concerned over his disappearance. >> yesterday, when i took the police officers with me, his children ran away and locked the door. when these kids grow up, what although "l" thewill they do fo. >> all he can do is hope for his safe return. al jazeera. islamabad. >> the member of parliament for the dutch socialist party, and was due to immediate with kareem along with other lawmakers. he thinks pakistan is involved

in his disappearance. >> obviously he has been taken away by people in uniform and plain clothes people. we expect there is some involvement of pakistan. we know in the past activists often the service was involved. >> his family is blaming government authorities but you have to ask why would the government want to silence him when the pakistani government has always been very vocal in its condemnation of u.s. drone strikes in pakistan? >> if we're exact about the position of the pakistani government we must realize that they have always said that they oppose drone attacks, but at the same time the americans claim that there is consensus about the use of drones in pakistan.

mr. han was also involved in a case against the pakistani government, therefore there might an relationship between the position of drones and that the claims that pakistan was involved in the attacks where he lost a brother and a son. >> what were those talks due to be about? >> the dutch parliament is supposed to have a hearing next monday on the use of armed drones in conflict situations pakistan international law issues are related. mr. han hakhan could act as a ws on it daily lives and in

communities. >> let's go back to barbara to our europe piano news center. >> reporter: well, felicity tensions were tested when it was revealed that the nsa had been surveilling european leaders and citizens. european officials are considering their officials response to that scandal, but they also call for reform in the way that the internet is governed. one of the key measures they're propose something globalizing the so-called icam system that oversees the introduction of new internet addresses. and it's run by organizations and contract with the u.s. government. let's speak to the internet society, a non-profit organization which works to maintain the openness of the internet. he joins us live from brussels, thank you so much for joining us here on al jazeera. first explain to us what it is and why it gives u.s. influence

over the internet? >> well, thank you, first, for these questions. those are two different conversation. icam is about the domain name and addresses. yes, there have been many calls to internationalize an internate clear about that. we all support this move to internationalization of icam. >> do you think what the e.u. is proposing is the right way to go about it? >> indeed, they ar there have by strong messages from the european europe for the clean move for this model. that is a clear and positive move towards what we call inter government. i believe everybody has in mind

such a model should apply, and there has been progress in this way. >> i suppose the question is you're talking about internet control dilution, is there a risk if it moves away from the u.s. i'm thinking of russia and china where there is control of the internet. >> european commission doesn't advocate for multi lateral process when it's about inter governance. we believe that it is not the right solution. the internet is so important that it should be run meaning that many stake holders are in play in this role being businesses, society, and

government on equal footing, so they're not supporting the vision of an inter governance. there may be blocks and veto by some governments. they just agree that we should proceed. >> sir, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> italy's prime minister has been fighting to stay in power as his position is threatened by the leader of his own party. they will decide whether the party would continue to support him. he has been heavily criticized for failing to lift the economy out of its worst slump since world war ii. without its sport, the government would collapse. a documentary headed by the

hollywood director alfred hitchcock has resurfaced and premiered at the berlin film festival. it's one of several films looking at life under nazi germany. >> soon the fire will die. the smoke and ashes will drift away and grass will cover the place. >> it is nearly 70 years now since world war ii ended but images like these still very raw, memories captured on film. this was the concentration camp filmed as nazi's control over europe came to an end. it is not completed by alfred hitchcock before it disappeared into the archives. now it's being restored and tweaked and premiering at the berlin a new take on what was a

propaganda film with clear intent. >> this was going to be a film to de-nazification. to make sure any lingering support for the nazis was undermined, and to make german people aware of their share of the atrocities. >> reporter: nazi germany was a big unofficial theme from monument men" with george clooney to others. the horrors of the holocaust. germany has long moved on and transform. this is an entirely different country, and yet those memories, that history will never be

forgotten here. and should never, either, insists holocaust experts. >> to keep the history alive and the interest alive, it's important. >> reporter: the documentary helped with that education. others like this one explore the life of heinrich him letter, it's till very strong. >> that's it for me and the rest of the team in london. let's go back to felicity in doha. >> thank you very much, indeed. sport is up next. the indian premiere league has offered a million reasons

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm ale del walters in new york. the international football bei e coming face to face that it could have it's first openly gay player this fall. >> reporter: when shawn smith swam for rutgers university he never doubted his ability to finish a meet or break a person record. but as a gay man he kept his identity sub merge. >> i would live as a gay man when i was by myself as a secret or with my boyfriend very

secretive, and then try to be a swimmer and police all the other identities so there was no crossover. >> due during his senior year his secret surfaced. >> i was dating a guy on the team, and he was eventually tired of having to keep up with all of my lies, and was slowly telling more and more people. >> the fear of being treated differently disrupted his last year on the team. he graduated from rutgers becoming a swim coach at the university, but the internal battle was still present and halfway through his first year he stepped away. >> i quit specifically because i needed to kind of catch up on allowing this other identity to mature. >> reporter: today smith knows who he is, but he hasn't forthen the journey. members of the lgbt community estimate less than 5% of college

athletes are out and one in four are pressured to be silent. >> the biggest sacrifice that athletes have to make now is deciding to postpone being their whole selves until they're done with their career. there is so much pressure to conform. >> the experience to help other college athletes to cope with their identities. >> i knew there were other people like me, but i didn't know how to find them. it's just really hard to choose a role model when there is none out there seeing that reflects you. >> reporter: and now there is missouri defensive lineman michael sam who announced sunday he's gay potentially to be the first openly gay layer to be drafted by the nfl. al jazeera. >> as many as six million americans can't vote because they've been convicted an of felony. now attorney general erik holder said he wants to change all that. he said preventing convicts from

oh voting after their release makes it harder for them to stay in society. reports have shown that if convicts are allowed to vote, they--upset about laws that limited fishing to their reservation. >> this is where the game wardens come down on all of us, fishing right here. >> reporter: billy and hank back at the river, the scene of the crime of many crimes. >> we're fighting battles right and left all the time. >> reporter: adams helped produce this documentary of the fish wars of the 60's and 70's as frank and others continued fishing outside of their tiny reservation claiming treaty

rights that dated to the 1850's. >> i'm eight miles from the reservation. they said you have to fish on the reservation. you took our reservation. >> reporter: frank figures he was arrested 50 times. when the men were in jail the women pulled in the salmon nets and got hauled off, too. >> this is where the defense was being made, and it needed to be made. >> reporter: in september of 1968 frank adams and hundreds more brought the fish wars out of the woods and into the open and made the state capitol a very public battlefield. >> they policed us with state parole, county sheriff city of olympia, i was 40 feet away from the water on the bullhorn and i was arrested for illegal fishi fishing. >> reporter: all those civil and criminal violations are still on the protesters' records even after the federal government

sued the state and vindication for the tribes. now a bill in the washington state legislature could wipe those records clean. >> we're talking about ancient history, 40 years ago. the courts waited on this, and we were wrong and everybody knows we were wrong. >> reporter: the bill will affect 80 people. so far there has not been public opposition from the state or local prosecutors. while it is largely symbolic, the bill is a start says frank and adams, who also say those many and battles so long ago were worth it. >> we would do it again. we had to. >> reporter: half a century on the fight continues. al jazeera, washington. >> we're following breaking news here in al jazeera america. there is a verdict in former new orleans mayor ray nagin, we're still waiting for that verdict to be announced. he's facing 21 charges and accused of accepting $500,000 worth of bribes. once we find out the verdict we'll bring that verdict to you live.

meanwhile we're also tracking weather that is making it's way up the eastern seaboard. the southeast being hit hard. >> meteorologist: yes, and it will work up the mid atlanta coast. the ice is the big problem. ice storm warnings and winter snow and ice. the storm developing across the southeast pulling in gulf moisture, atlantic moisture and warm air, that is on top of cold air. these temperatures are down below freezing, atlanta, charlotte, 34, and we're warming up above freezing. right in the middle, that's where you get the problem. that snow melts, and then it falls into this very cold air. so here is the area of concern right through here. you're getting that sleet and freezing rain, the storms spinning up here over the southeast pulling in a lot of this moisture, ending here along the mississippi and pushing east. it will work its way east, redevelop off the coast, and then move north. that will take a while.

the next few hours still getting that cold air held in place, and the warm air on top of it. so a lot of icing happening right through here. central georgia, south carolina and north carolina right here. cold enough for all snow. a few inches of snow in western north carolina. you saw that heavy rain mixing are that heavy sleet and snow. we're getting that in georgia and south carolina by 10:00. another few hours we'll have this storm working its way across the southeast. by midnight tonight it's off the coast and developing and then it will work its way north. then we're talking about a big storm from the mid-atlantic up through the new england states. that's by 11:00 tomorrow morning. it's all clear between now and tonight. but then it's up the coast. here's what we can expect temperatures are down below freezing here. and this is all icing. this is that rain falling into that cold air so about a half inch of ice expected or more enough to bring down tree limbs

and power outages. you're getting 6 to 8 inches of snow. more snow expected in the northeast. we'll look at that with the complete national forecast. >> thank you very much. wall street taking a bit of a breather from its recent gains. stocks are mixed. the dow is down 18 points and a negative finish that would snap the chips four day winning streak. company said average pay being offered is 30% ohioer than most retail stores and say they afternoon benefits, bonuses and stocks. hope depo gearing up for spring by adding new jobs. the retailer adding 80,000 workers and said spring is it's busiest season. tom brokaw has cancer. he was diagnosed in august with cancer that effects the blood cells and blood marrow. he remains optimistic about his

future. the veteran newsman said he'll continue to work for nbc while being treated. he turned 7 ha 74 just last wee. a firestorm of controversy by saying benefits at aol would be cut. now in the process he disclosed some private medical information and he has sense apologized, but his comments are raising the question how much should your employer know about your medical history? >> reporter: we had two aoler that is had distressed babies that were born and we made $1 million each. this remark evoked scathing response from one of the mothers involved and has employees asking how much of my private medical information is my employer allowed to see? >> there is a very thin veil between what an employer knows about its employees' health, and the employee's right to medical

private. >> under the hippa companies that administer health claims can see your information, but there are limits. only a handful of trained staff such as hr are allowed to see your details and must keep a fire wall from people like your boss from seeing your personal information. if information is shared outside of the fire wall, data that could identify individual employees, it must be deleted. companies are not supposed to use your personal medical information for job related purposes such as firing you. but if you're determined to keep your personal health information private you better have deep box. >> where we can demand that the healthcare provider not send any information about us on to the health planner or the insurer or the employer, but the trick is you have to pay in full at the

time of treatment. >> reporter: patricia, al jazeera, new york. >> neither rain nor snow nor sleet is supposed to stop the mail, but what about your morning paper. one paper boy in iowa let's little slow him down. he has one heck of a work ethic. >> the oldest paperboy in america said he's still doing what he knows best. working. >> keep working. i was born where there was eight of us kids, the depression, we didn't know anything but work. >> at 95 despite colon cancer and more recently a broken arm, that seems to be working for frank wheeler. he starts his day at 5:00 a.m. no alarm clock required. >> i haven't had an alarm clock in all my time. >> he was born in the days after world war i, started his own

construction business in 1936 when his so1936one that his son. i was a sailor in the second world war. he moved on to delivering newspapers, some of them to friends at the local retirement home. many are younger than he is. >> oh, thank you, frank, how are you? >> good. >> looking pretty good. >> he still walk waltzes and exercises. he doesn't smoke or drink, not even coffee, and he still tries to set an example for his son, now 60 himself. >> you see that in families, if someone sets a good example for you, you're going to follow that same example. that's what we tried to instill in our children. >> neither of them has much patience with the younger generation. >> it is different.

they expect the check to come without having to work for it. that's my opinion. >> we used to have college students or high school who would want to come and do a job. but too many any more if it doesn't have a seat or motor on it, they don't want to do it. >> are you ever going to stop working? >> i don't know. >> i figure when the mortician comes to pick him up, that will probably be the time that he stops working. >> by the time the sunrises here in montezuma frank wheeler's workday is done. with improvements in healthcare and diet stories like his are more and more common. the key he said is to get up the next morning and do it all over again. al jazeera, montezuma, iowa. >> and we have an update for you now in the case of former new orleans mayor ray nagin has been found guilty in his corruption trial in new orleans. nagin facing 21 federal charges

including bribery and corruption. the details are straight ahead in our next half hour.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we're following for you. president obama set to sign an executive order raising the minimum wage for federal contract workers even as the senate now voting on increasing the debt ceiling. and slipping and sliding in the south, another winter storm blowing in from texas to the carolinas. and the verdict is in in the trial of former new orleans mayor ray nagin.