>> a nasty dose of winter brings the south to a stand still. now the powerful storm is bringing snow and misery to the north-east. >> there's no option. this is the only option we have - taking to the streets because we have no media or press. >> an anti-government protest ends with blood shed in the streets. a student march in venezuela became a deadly riot.

>> an emotional battle over allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children. >> it was enough to make a classic car lover cry. a sink hole does serious damage at a museum. >> good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. another round of snow and ice paralyzes the south, causing gridlock and power outages in the region. in north carolina, freezing rain and snow snarled traffic across the state. drivers were stuck on roads for hours after ignoring pleas by government officials to stay home. now the storm is making its way north. these are live pictures of washington d.c., government offices shut down for the days. we have reports in atlanta, washington d.c. and philadelphia. robert ray has details on the

latest storm gripping the region. >> southern discomfort as another powerful snow and ice storm socks states from tennessee to the carolinas. many eyes were here on atlanta, to see if the city could avoid the same mistakes during the last storm that brought scenes like these. a different picture on wednesday. a virtual ghost town as most people stayed home. >> from all indications i observed and reports from over the state georgeons headed the warning and a staying home, off the roadways. >> there was no escaping the ice that bruised the peach state. heavy snow and thick ice brought a tree down into a house, where a grandmother slept in this bed when the roof collapsed. her grandson says she's lucky to be alive. >> she was covered with ipp sulation and sheet rock -- insulation and sheet rock.

>> across georgia crews were out in force, working to restore power. >> getting the lights op. >> we have the fire going, that's it, candles, no phone service either. >> north carolina apparently did not learn any lessons from atlanta. many residents ignored warnings to stay off the roads, leading to gridlock between charlotte and rowley. a familiar scene with grid locks, drivers abandoning cars. white out conditions causing misery in the skies, thousands of flights cancelled as the storm snakes up the north-east. north carolina is not out of the woods just yet. the governor has a blunt messagism. >> don't put your stupid hat on at this point in time. protect yourself, family and neighbours. >> robert ray joins us on the phone from georgia, 30 miles

norte of lapt -- north of atlanta. how are you experiencing the weather. you are in the thick of it. >> good morning again from a perilous situation. over the past two weeks this area has gotten slammed with winter weather that none of us are used to. i can tell you now the roads this morning are perilous. i tried to get out of my particular neighbourhood. unfortunately my car slid down a very steep embank. could not get out. our satellite truck is off the side of interstate. he is stuck. we won't be live in the next half hour, but it is slow moving around here. the roads are covered with a sheet of ice as about one to two inches of snow were expected again this morning here. it's been a very rough situation. most people are hunkering down

still. there are 340,000 people without power this morning as of 5am in the state of georgia. an unbelievable amount. the numbers tipped up hugely with the ice storm. basically covering the trees and the loins and many trees have fawn. there are massive trees that have snapped. in this part of the country, i can tell you that happened to my property. a 70 foot pine tree collapsed. many casualties in the area, a lot of people going through in this morning. schools closed. businesses not in operation, and definitely the 6 million plus in the metro area still probably not going to do a lot today until the thaw begins at some point later this afternoon. this is not normal for this part of the country to get this, and

it's an extraordinary event. >> robert ray reporting to us from outside atlanta. we are glad you are safe. states of emergency are in effect for virginia and maryland. and government employees - they get another snow day. what is that like by the national mall where you are? >> good morning, snow, snow everywhere. it's a beautiful site if you don't have to be out in it. there are snow ploughs out trying to clear the streets. folks working on the side walks. the snow is falling 2-3 inches an hour. as they get things clear, it piles up again. the airports in the area - flights cancelled all morning, advising people to check with their airline. bus services have been cancelled. people should stay home. the federal government is closed, so are many governments

around the area. the best thing you can do is not leave your house. the one little bit of good news is we go not have widespread power outages, but the power companies are standing by in case. >> if the wind picks up, it will be an issue. the storm shut down much of the city and surrounding areas, not just the government offices. the federal government is closed. all the county governments are closed, school districts, bus services suspended, amtrak reduced its schedule dramatically. the government, the schools, everyone is saying don't come out. they are giving people a reason to stay home. don't come out, there's no place to go. we have seen treacherous roads. as the snow turns to sleet, which it's starting to do, it will get more dangerous out

here. >> keep tracking that. the snow is falling in philadelphia as well. the city is under a state of emergency. that is where erica pitzi is. this has been a pretty bad winter specifically for filly. >> yes, absolutely. talking to folks since we had mild winters, they say man, we keep getting pounded. they are talking 45 inches of snow, double the normal accumulation for this year at this point in the year. if this snow storm dumps another six inches, the mayor says it will be the fourth storm to do that. this year alone, and that is certainly a record. of course, you have government offices that are going to be closed, schools that will be closed. we have the philadelphia museum of art. this is not a hill.

these are the steps that rocky trained on in the famous movie. you have the rocky steps and some local phil delifians taking advantage of the snow covered steps that is a local woman going up to sled down it. they are taking a few passes and having quite a time. >> it looks like fun, it's serious. the wind is gusting where you are. the city has been slammed by snow, are they prepared to handle the news storm? >> absolutely. obviously, you know, they had a few goes at this. this winter already, so they are prepared. the mayor says they have got state and city and federal help. they are talking about 700 workers, 400 pieces of equipment. the sand trucks, plougs and we have seen them all night long. looking over here, it's

gorgeous, like lisa stark said in d.c. the pretty fluffy snow is wonderful, but, yet, he is will be treacherous conditions. they are trying to prepare for that, i talked to a woman who was driving a salt spreader in the coffee shop a couple of hours ago. she said, "man, i was on my third pass, and i had to take a break because we are going all night long", as the nor-easter goes throughout the day they are thinking it will be a marathon ooen clean-up. >> erica pitzi reporting from philadelphia. the path of this storm is making it hard to predict snow accumulation. let's bring in meteorologist nicole mitchell to explain why the forecast is a little tricky. >> we try to be as precise as possible so people now what to expect. as we condition, we'll see the system as it moves along. it's hugging the coastline. we are now getting this cleared from the south-east. until temperatures warm, the ice

will stay in place, and reports of over an inch, bringing down the trees and the powerlines, here is where the system is. to the north of this is the onshore flow adding to the moisture and picking up the winds. in parts of the midadlantic winds gusting 20-30 mps. gusty -- 20-30 miles per hour. because this is right along the coast line with the little bit of an onshore flow and the water is warmer, that's where we get a corridor of air that could translate this into a little rain or sleet. the forecast is easier interior, because it's snow. how warm he gets and how much is sleet and snow which impacts the snow accumulation. a lot of our bigger cities like philadelphia and new york - you can see the snow stop for a while, switch to sleet and more snow in the overnight periods.

then behind this there's a frontal system through the midwest. not as much moisture, but a bit more snow and rain as we get from friday into saturday. how are the totals looking. the interior of the forecast is easier, and there could be isolated spots in a corridor of new york to maine. that is not out of the question for coastal cities, because of the rain snow factor, anywhere from six to 12 inches. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. stay with jazz al jazeera america, we'll have coverage of this severe storm. >> dozens of prisoners considered dangerous by the u.s. have been set free in afghanistan. 65 men were released from a detention center north of the capital kaboom. the u.s. says scam -- kabul. the u.s. says some were social for the deaths of civilians and coalition troops.

the administration of hamid karzai said that there was not enough evidence to hold them. there were 70 prisoners at the detention center. >> in a statement the u.s. embassy in kabul said: >> two american soldiers have been killed in afghanistan. officials say they were shot by men in afghan army uniforms, and was the first insider attack this year. there were 10 incidents last year killing 10 members. four soldiers were wounded in the attack. >> there is deadlock over what course of action to take on syria. warring sides are making little progress. international allies are threatening to derail u.n. sanctions or actions. syria's opposition presented a detailed peace plan in geneva,

making no mention of removing bashar al-assad from power, which was a major demand. russia related a draft humanitarian resolution, presenting its own, claiming the u.n. version was against the assad government. the u.n. says no evacuations are taking place in homs, but the aid mission is not over. 1,000 civilians have been able to leave the city after a temporary ceasefire was put in place. as james bays reports there's pressure on leaders in geneva to come to an agreement. >> peace talks continue, and they continue to stall. there is possibly a link with what you see on the ground, which is an intensification of the conflict and the fact that nothing is going on here. the syrian observatory for human rights is one group. it's hard to estimate these things. it estimates that more than

4,900] people died since the talk, the first session in january. an intensification of the violence by both sides. possibly they are trying to strengthen their position on the ground while their talks take placement deadlock of the talks, and they had to call in the russians and the americans to kick start the process. a russian mediator has been here 24 hours. an american counterpart, wendy sherwin arrived. they'll sit in a couple of hours time, with lakhdar brahimi, the man chairing the talks to restart the process. at the moment it's stalled and going nowhere. >> diplomatic editor james bays in geneva. >> egypt's military chief is in moscow on his first trip abroad. abdul fatah al-sisi is in russia, hoping to buy $2 million worth of weapons. the deal funded by saudi arabia, and the united arab emyr its is

believed to be a move away interest u.s. aid. he'll meet with vladimir putin today. >> a blockbuster merger is in the works. comcast says it plans to acquire time warner cable. the $25 billion deal will merge the two biggest cable companies in the u.s. comcast plans to make the official announcement today. comcast has about 22 million sub scribers, time warner 12 million, last year comcast acquired n.b.c. universal for $17 billion. >> protests turn deadly in venezuela. why thousands took to the streets of carr abbingize. a sink hole swallows rare cars at the national corvette museum. the environmental and manmade problems that cause these collapses. >> i'm john henry smith, the end of a yankee era is in sight.

we'll have more on the announcement of a retirement. >> and a live look at the bronx, new york city, where the snow is falling and it is 30 degrees.

>> thousands of drivers in north carolina were stranded for hours because of super slick roads. good morning, welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> one of those motorists shares his nightmare in a minute. first a look at what temperatures we'll see across the nation. meteorologist nicole mitchell is back. >> we have a couple of places where temperatures are critical because of the recent snow system. as this has gone through the south and moving up to the mid-atlantic, in its wake textures through the south, around the freezing mark. it is important because we need to get above freezing as we head up the coastline, temperatures below freezing. most of it is snow.

temperatures get slightly above over the course of the day. that's when that could mix in with a little sleet and revert to snow as temperatures drop a little. a bit of critical forecast. it is in the 40s for places like atlanta with a lair of ice. some -- layer of ice, some melting down today. watch for refreezing. temperatures in the midwest well below zero, it doesn't sound warm. believe it or not. 35-45 for the midwest. they are mild temperatures. back to you. >> like atlanta, two weeks ago, the latest storm brought parts of north carolina to a standstill. snow and ice turning roads into parking lots. thousands were stopped, and one of them was mr jos op. joining us from north carolina. thank you for getting up early and speaking to us. we understand you were on the

road for five hours last night. can you describe your commute home. >> it's generally a short commute. left work at 2:30, trying to get home before it got too rough. it seemed like everybody was trying to leave the greater winson area and gridlocked the bulk of the area. it was insane. the state was doing everything it could to keep the roads clear. it was coming down so fast. everyone was moving in one direction and it took about 5.5 hours to get home. >> sounds like a lot of people left work at the same time. there were a lot of warnings about the road conditions. i'm curious why you were out there at all, and did you have warning. >> there was some warn, but the snowfall - it was not expected, the brunt of it, at the time that the major city of people left work. it came down so fast and early.

most people anticipated for a start around 4:30, 5 o'clock, and there was not much they could do. they tried to salt the roads and scrape them. due to the traffic, there was gridlock. >> would you go out on the roads or are you planning to stay home? >> there's no way possible. we had a total of about 10.5 inches of snow, from 12:30 on, currently it's icing and sleeting. >> that is extremely unusual for that part of the country. craig jessop join us us via skype. we are glad you are home warm and safe sir. thank you for being with us. >> three have been killed in riots in venezuela. anti-government protesters clashed with armed forkers of nicolas maduro in caracas. there seems to be no end in sight to the political crisis. >> death on the streets. venezuela opposition voiced

anger. a policemen was among the casualty. pro and opposition supporters among the dead. the protests were meant to be peaceful. thousands showed their anger at the government of president nicolas maduro. those involved un happy with the high murder rate. a year after the death of hugo chavez, they want change. >> we have no options. we are taking to the streets because we have no media or press. >> we are calling for the freedom of the students in prison. let's go to the streets. >> the protests are led by hard-line opposition leaders, such as leo palledo lopez, a former mayor. there are splits in the opposition, with some keen to sit and talk with the government. >> there's a determination of a country that wants change. everyone wants to see an end to the political crisis.

>> the government organised a march to coincide with that of the opposition. the opposition was trying to push him out of office. chavez lost the presidency for 36 hours in a coup started by similar mass protests. >> we tame to denounce a currents of nazi fascism driving the country into violence and chaos. the youth in the streets will not allow this to happen. here we want peace. >> the protests reached a crescendo of the months of anger. >> they want an end to crime and inflation. it's difficult to see how they'll achieve the aims. >> frustrated protesters say there's a shortage of basic necessities in venezuela, including food and med stin. the 2014 baseball each will be

the lastiun for a new york yankee legend. it is sure do be a derek jeter farewell tour. >> all good things must come to an end. but it's moving. >> you look truly sad. >> for nearly 20 years, he's been the toast of new york. a name that raised millions for charity, the star that dated movie stars and the player that came through when the yankees needed hip. wednesday derek jeter announced that the 2014 baseball season, his 20th, will be his last. it's not that his skills failed him as late as much as his body. a broken ankle forced him out of the 2012 post season and was the biggest factor keeping him out but all but 17 games in 2013. before that all derek jeter did was collect 3300 hits did win five world series titles.

reporter has covered derek jeter, and says baseball is not like i had to see the likesful derek jeter again. >> this is the fourth yankees career player to retire. berpy williams, derek did a full 20 years with the yankees, with the defction from yankees to seattle, and albert puhol zrk becoming an icon, he went to anaheim. it's going to be a while before we see someone put together two decades with the same uniform on. >> before becoming derek jeter's manager, he was derek jeter's team-mate and had this to say:

>> now to the olympics where the men's hockey competition is under way. team usa opens against slovakia. hockey is one of three olympic sports in which austya has never medaled. that looks alive and well. fip land throatled austria. new york islanders forward michael grab ner scored three in defeat. >> new york rangers goalie enrique lund quist and sweden, striking first. eric finds the back of the net. sweden up 3-0 in the third, in the mood for more. >> sweden up 4-0. sweden wins 4-2. >> great story in the women's

halve paying, caitlin was the last to make the team. the family sold every cow on the rarch to get her in position. she beat kelly clark and hannah teter for the halve pike gold medal. she called her gold medal winning run the best run of her life. >> i bet it was. >> to men's speed skating, a bad day for shauny davis, failed to win a third straight gold medal, he failed to medal at all. the american was the overwhiming favourite but finished off the pace in i think. he said he simply didn't have the speed. >> and this morning josh christiansen wins olympic gold in a u.s. sweep in slopestyle. >> lot of surprises coming out of the games. >> exciting. >> the series of winter storms sweeping the country are taking a toll on the economy.

why the federal reserve can't say how much it is scosting consumers and businesses. >> secretary of state consider john kerry is in sole following rare talks between north and south korea. we'll focus on a country considering a controversial law that proponents say will allow terminally ill children to die with dignity.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. southern states are dealing with a crippling storm, being blamed for at least 10 deaths. a north carolina -- in north carolina, roads are littered with cars that are stuck. new york, philadelphia and boston could see double dim it snow accumulation. let's brings back robert ray in the thick of it in georgia, 30

miles south of atlanta. georgia's preparations may have paid off. >> you are right. they did. the guys were prepared. most of the interstates are fairly clear, as clear as you can be for the amount of precipitation that has occurred. but the problem is that the side roads, and the hilly roads - this is the police department. pulling up to us to see if we were okay. the satellite truck is stuck here. a nice police officer arrived if we needed a to you. we talked. i want to ask him a quick questioning. amazingly you guys have not had anyway car recs since monday throughout this whole thing. >> correct, no accidents. >> as far as the roads go, i live here, i had a problem getting out of my neighbourhood because of the ice, but overall you guys have done a good job. >> the public work services have been working throughout the

night and on the state highway, the department of transportation have done that. >> thank you. i appreciate you stopping to help us. come around with the cameras. here is the main issue, power outages overnight. 340,000 in the state of georgia, if you could come up and take a look at this. this is the issue. the iced over trees here, pine trees and okay trees, you name it, coming down on the powerlines, and that's the big problem. so we are going to try to get out of here, get the satellite truck out of the situation that you can see over here. it's a sheet of ice on the road, it's hard to traverse. we'll report throughout the day. hopefully we'll show you a bit more. >> appreciate that, robert ray live for us outside of atlanta georgia. thank you. >> the winter storms are costing

americans more than time spent shovelling or spent this track. the financial impact will linger. >> winter weather has taken a toll on the nation, with travel disruption, closed stores and offices. the rough weather is costing consumers and businesses. although economists can't say how much. >> charles, of the federal reserve says winter weather continues to be disruptive, and that is making it difficult to assess underlying economic trend. he suspects it may be a couple of months before we have a better read on the economy. >> some trends are already apparent. in the areas hit worst, outdoor construction, and the jobs that come with it are frozen. airlines forced to cancel flights are counting the cost of lost ticket revenues. automobile dealers say sluggish

sales were caused by the weather. analysts predict substantial increases in the cost of heating. >> in the midwest, where temperatures boost the use of propane, the federal energy administration estimates the cost of fuel is 39% higher than a year ago. propane prices are edging higher in the north-east by 14%. across the nation, natural gas users are also feeling the pinch, with prices 4% higher than last year. >> retailers blame the weather for sluggish sales. heavy snowfall and roads are not conducive to shopping. >> a former chief economist from the new york department of labour predicts the whether will do no long-term harm. there are problems, but i don't mean to minimise them. if we look at total economic growth, a storm, for example, causes areas to spend more on

snow removal and ice removal. there's increased spending. for those taking a hit now, that means waiting out the storms, and hoping things heat up in the months ahead. >> one expense many states would be happy to pay for - shipments of road salts. new jersey, pennsylvania, and ohio among the states experiencing salt shortages. in the u.k. the big problem is rain. they are expecting two storms. flooding forced hundreds of evacuations. jennifer glasse is live. good morning. meteorologist say there'll be a little break. i can see it's not raining now. what about the next two forecasted storms? . >> well, good morning. as you join me on the banks of the thames, this is why the storms are worrying. the thames is flowing past in

staines. that is rare, it's not normally tidal. this is all the water from upriver. you can see it's higher than it would normally be. i'll take you here to give you a little sense this is, you know, what people are going. this is the flood barriers. that would normally be a walkway, about five feet. the water is higher than it would normally be, and so any type of rain is a concern here because it means - it takes about 24-36 hours to move down here. as i said the river is still here. this gives you a sense of the volume of the water flowing through. any further rain, which we are expecting in the next 2-3 days is a concern here. one of the other problems has been we had terrible weather overnight. hurricane force winds up to 100 miles per hour, bringing down powerlines not only in the south, but in the north, and that has caused a lot of problems as well.

the u.k. reeling from terrible weather that's gone on for weeks and is likely to go on longer. >> more than 100 miles per hour, almost unheard of. the government came under fire this week for not doing enough to help. the prime minister is pledging to supply more money, what is the latest on that front? >> that's right. prime minister's question time when the prime minister goes to parliamentment he was roundly criticised for not preventing this and not doing enough to help. he says he'll agrees aid. money is -- increase aid. money is no object. there's emergency services, army people along the thames, filling sandbags, helping to evacuate people and make sure they are safe. now we are seeing emergency services. this has gone on for four weeks.

people say things are happening, but it took a long time for the government to get out and help the thousands affected. >> jennifer glasse, live in staines on the bank of the river thames. thank you. >> secretary of state john kerry is in seoul, south korea. it's the first leg of a trip including stops in china, indonesia and the united arab emirate. he has been meeting south korea's president. security and nuclear issues involving north korea is topping the agenda. >> the highest level talks between north and south korea in several years are taking place under a veil of secrecy, it is ahead of planned reunions of families parted during the kore korean war. north korea plans to cancel it if exercises between the u.s. and south korea take place.

talks will continue, but no time line has been offered. >> we'll break down the development with jim walsh. a research associate with the security studies program at the massachusetts institute of technology. good morning. good to have you here. not a lot came out about why the talks happened or the substance of them. what is your take on why the north may have reached out to south korea. >> it is a bit of a surprise. we were talking about bad weather in britain and the east coast. along the north korean, seen border there's a thaw. they are the highest level talks. there was breaking news that they had spoken yesterday, they met three times during the day, and the north koreans came back and said, "let's meet tomorrow. they'll meet on friday. part of it is - and we never know when it comes to north korea. part of it is the new leader having consolidated his position after executing his uncle is

moving on a peace offensive with south korea. the top priority is to delay, if not cancel, delay the military exercises which the north finds threatening, and to get economic relations between the two countries. >> i imagine it's unlikely that the u.s. will cancel the exercises with south korea. how does the u.s. factor in. the north cancelled a trip by a u.s. envoy to discuss the detention of american missionary. the north is threatening to cancel the unions between south and north korean families, if the military exercises are cancel, and the nuclear issue does not seem to be on the tables. >> i think you put your finger on an important issue, that is nuclear is not discussed between north korea and south korea. they are taking the position that they'll talk about nuclear

weapons issues with the united states. they'll talk about a separate basket of inter-korean relations. the more that north korea is talking, the less it will fire off long-range missiles. one of the things they are communicating is if you go forward with the exercise, there has been rumours in the past month that they are ready to have a nuclear test. i think it's good that there is a communication. we know so little about north korea. more communication the better. there is an issue about taking nuclear off the table in the discussions with south korea. that will work up until a point. and i am sure the president, madam park, will talk to the secretary of state john kerry, because the u.s. will say, "it's great you guys are cooperating. we can't have progress and ignore the nuclear issue", they'll have to plans it. >> seems like the u.s. accurate

any and secretary of state john kerry's mission to china is for them to leverage its alliance with north korea in the nuclear issue, that's been the strategy sips the 6-party talks, is that working? >> i think it can help at the margins. if we put bets that somehow china will solve the problem, it's unrealistic. china will be loathe to pressure an ally on its border. and, secondly, you know, the chinese and the north koreans don't like each other. it's a marriage of convenience, a forced marriage, not that both parties are deeply in love with one another. does china have leverage, yes, it does. it's not like the north koreans trust the chinese. it can be useful but will not solve the problem. >> jim walsh research associate with mit. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> belgium's parliament is set to vote on a controversial law

allowing asked suicide for firminally ill children. it has a death with dignity law for patients over 18. it has few critics if belgium. >> a small, but vocal minority has been fighting a losing battle against the plans to extend youthan asia\to children. they say belgium is leaping over a moral minefield. among the protesters, a father who paid a harrowing price for standing by his convictions. he still has pictures on his mobile phone of the son he watched die from a brain tumor. tristan loved to play the piano, and the sound of waves on the sea shore. the cancer took away his item sight and his ability to walk. then it took his life. he was eight years old. he was brought out of hospital to die at home with his family.

his father's last words, "tristan, it's time to go.". >> translation: i would never tolerate a doctor coming to ask if we yanted euthanasia for our child, i would never have accept. if parents are asking do you want to live or die? what questions pass a child's mind, will it please my parents if i die. it is good for them? >> 80% of the population here support the bill. a child's request for euthanasia will have to be approved by a medical fam and the child's parents. the child must understand what euthanasia means. mps describe it as the ultimate gesture of humanity. those opposed say it's insanity. the university hospital in brussels is a leading center in

childhood cancer. it's here one of the first cases may be carried out. patient have to be 18 before they can ask to die. >> as a doctor you prefer no one arriving you these questions. if it's legal, it's give to carry out. general minors in institutions or hospitals all the time with other minors that have the same condition, and they have seen several minors with their condition die in a horrifying way, they get scared and ask you, "don't let me go this way." >> to be or not to be. is that a question that can be asked of a child? it seems it will be in belgium. >> arthur kaplan is a professor of bioethics at a university.

he joins us to discuss this topic. what do you make of this move in belgium? >> belgium is on the frontier, out on the envelope with this policy. they have been, in a way, the world leader, if you will in thinking about the right to assisted suicide. extending it to children is a step that i think will be normsly controversial. >> the legislation has conditions, tight conditions. it says that the child must be in a hopeless medical situation of: >> these are cases where the child is certain to die. who can determine that? >> that is a great point. medicine, while good at determining who is likely to die is not perfect. it has to be a criticism made here. people will say the caps of a mistake, you can't tolerate the policy. the other criticism is to say,

"sure, we don't want children to suf, no one should suffer." we should give them pain medicines, why take the next step to euthanasia, kapt you be a -- can'ts you be aggressive in pain control. >> some say palliative care is sophisticated where it is a grey area, and a child can be made comfortable at the end of life. >> sadly we don't have enough palliative care, so that is a challenge. i'm not sure that this is the alternative. belgium has sophisticated medicine. everyone is covered. they are not worried you are trying to get rid of someone because it costs too much money. that's a place where there's so much trust. i am not sure you could do it in other counties, people would worry cost is what drives in. >> yauthan asia is illegal in

this country. the other argument is parents face this decision. this unimaginable decision will put decisional stress on parents of terminally ill children who must already be stressed. >> stressed beyond belief. if you set up a condition where you make it permissible, will parents feel they better do it, that they shouldn't allow suffering number of a strange way opening the door brings pressure on parents to say "i better use it" when maybe they or the child would want to continue with other measures. >> arthur kaplan professor of bioeth lakes at new york university. >> breaking news, in the business world. comcast is buying time warner for $45 million.

>> it will describe 33 million subscribesers, ending an 8-month take over battle. the merger is likely to face scrutiny. shares jumped nearly 12% before the market open. comcast stock is up 2%. >> wall street is signalling selling at the open. dow is down 82 points. blue chips snapped a winning streak. the dow starts the day, the s&p standing at 1819. in asia, markets ended the day in the red. the nikkei ended the decline. european markets lower. we'll find out if the harsh winter weather kept retail sales on size. the commerce department is set to release the data. economists forecasting sales will slip one-tenth of a

percent. spending will cast back. >> the weather hasn't impacted. it will carry over into the february/march sales. purchasers put off in january hopefully will be shifted into the later months in the future. >> consumer spending drives 70% of economic active ci. the winter -- activity. the winter storm postponed janet yellen's second day of testimony. the senate banking committee will re schedule. no new date has been set. >> it's enough to make a corvette lover cringe. a disaster at a museum dedicated to the cars. we look at the science behind sink holes.

welcome back to al jazeera america. that's a live look at colombus circle in new york city, the snow is falling here. let's get a look at where else the snow and rain may fall across the country. meteorologist nicole mitchell is here. >> the big lair is the one on the -- player is the one on the east coast, impacting the south and moving up the east coast. the full breakdown in a couple of minutes and the impressive snow totals. look at this, another frontal system through the midwest and another area behind that into the north-west. what we have going through the midwest, it will cool temperatures into tomorrow. it brings lighter snow, not as much moisture, 1-3 inches. this will eventually impact the east coast. after the break from system one, we'll watch this and it stays wet in the north-west with areas of rain and snow. >> if you love classic cars you may want to look away from the screen before we show you what a

sink hole did to rare sports cars at the national corvette museum in kentucky. this security video tells the tale, the soing hole swallowed up eight rare and pricey core vets, measuring 40 feet wide, 20 feet deep. the museum does not own all the cars. two of the vehicles were on loan from general motors. ouch. >> it's tempting to think of the earth as being solid ground. it's not. much of the surface is made up of cast landscapes, places where a layer of rock or other material has been washed away forming caves. in kentucky half of the state sits on limestone. the acid eats away at the rock, allowing condue its to form.

ex-ly the hol -- eventually the hollow services can't hold the wait and that's when a sink hole forms and disaster strikes. human intervention creates sink holes. as we build and dig we can create sink holes by accident. when underground plumbing or sewer systems burst, that can wash away the dirt. >> it was the case in a 2012 incident in which the paving gave way beneath a girl walking down the streetment mining can create sink holes, as was the case in louisville, with this collapse. mining at an underground salt cavern seems to have been the culprit. this sink hole grew to cover 24 acres and 750 feet deep. >> we expect a reliability from

the earth. for the grouped to be solid, it has to be that way deeper into the earth than we realise. >> that was technology correspondent jacob ward. warping signs include interior cracks and joins, windows and doors. winds and doors becoming hard to close and deep cracks in driveways or walkways. >> del walters joins us with a look at the stories for the next hour. >> the deadly storm working up the east coast, hitting 22 states with snow, ice and rain. >> during negotiations and geneva, opposition calls offering up a plan to end the bloody still war that doesn't include removing bashar al-assad. >> comcast buying time warner cable. the deal merges the two largest cable companies in america. >> an american embassy employees arrested in egypt, held for three weeks without charge. we look at how the incident is straining relations between the

u.s. and egypt. >> i'm meteorologist nicole mitchell, the potent winter storm is hitting the east coast. i'll have more on that. >> al jazeera continues, del walters and libby casey will have more for you in 2.5 minutes.

>> winter bringing the south to a standstill. the powerful storm is sending snow and misery now to the northeast. >> two cable giants coming together in a $45 billion deal, what comcast and time warner's merger means for its more than 30 million customers. >> an employee for the u.s. embassy in egypt is now in military custody, adding to the strained relationship between the countries. >> a bit of a quiet place to

live, not too much traffic. >> quiet and hometown to olympic heroes, the small minnesota community known for turning out medal winners. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm libby casey. >> i'm del walters. it happened again, another round of snow and ice paralyzing the south, traffic, gridlock and 11 deaths across the region. for the second time in two weeks, atlanta hit with a mix of freezing rain and snow. residents avoiding the gridlock this time around because the streets and highways were mostly empty. >> the storm is taking aim up north. government offices are closed in

washington, d.c., in the northeast the region braces for the brunt of the storm. a mix of sleet and rain is expected. >> we have storm coverage up and down the coast. we are standingly biffin philadelphia after a week of storms there caused massive power outages. we are in washington, d.c., but we begin with robert ray where thousands of people are once again without power this morning. good morning, robert. >> good morning, del. snow coming down here in metro atlanta for about the next three hours. which it wasn't occurring, as the 6 million plus people here also would agree, but 340,000 people are without lights here in the state of georgia this morning. that brings the total to about half a million since yesterday. power companies actually right now, you can see a convoy of power trucks heading out here in georgia to hit homes that are down because of the big pine

trees that have taken all the ice. also, the police department here nice enough to stop as we got stuck on the icy roads this morning. my camera can come with me a little bit here. you can see our satellite truck over here, trying to make a turnaround here got stuck on the ice. it doesn't look perhaps that bad on camera, but the issue is this. underneath all the snow is a layer of ice and sleet from yesterday. this is all very, very packed in, it's ice as hard as possible. they are trying to treat the roads, but it's difficult when sandwiches of precipitation that have been occurring for the past 24 hours or so. check this out. this is a look back at what has happened here over the past day. here it is. >> southern discomfort, as another powerful snow and ice storm so could states from tennessee to the carolinas.

many eyes were here on atlanta to see if the city could avoid the same mistakes it made during the last storm that brought scenes like these, a pitch different picture wednesday, a virtual ghost town as most people stayed home. >> from all indications that i have observed and from reports i'm receiving from all over the state, georgians have heeded the warning and staying home off the roadways. >> there was no escaping the ice that bruised the peach state. heavy snowfall and thick ice brought a tree down into a house where a grandmother was sleeping in this bed when the roof collapsed. her grandson said she's lucky to be alive. >> she was just covered with insulation and sheet rock. >> across georgia, crews were out in force, working to restore power to the thousands without electricity. >> just getting the lights back on. >> we've got a fire going, that's basically it right now,

candles, no phone confidence, either. >> north carolina apparently did not learn any lessons from atlanta. many residents there ignored warnings to stay off the roads, leading to gridlock between charlotte and raleigh. a familiar scene with clogged highways, skid outs and drivers abandoning cars. back ups extending for miles. near white outs causing miseries in the sky, as well. thousands of flights canceled. today as the storm snakes up the northeast, but north carolina isn't out of the woods just yet and the governor has a blunt message. >> don't put your stupid hat on at this point in time. protect yourself, protect your family, protect your neighbors. >> del, you know, i got to give credit to the governor and mayor here. two weeks ago, this was an absolute disaster with gridlock and cars and buses on the sides of the roads, kids having to sleep in schools. these guys really stepped it up.

the counties surrounding metro atlanta really stepped it up. people have worked together very hard over the past couple of days. we're still going through it. you can see the snow coming down. it looks like atlanta and georgia likely will never have what happened a couple of weeks ago ever occur again and residents of this state clearly listening to their officials and the national weather service. heck of a situation, unprecedented, del as you guys are about to get it, as well. >> robert ray joining us from atlanta. what a difference a week makes there. >> absolutely and we're watching the storm move through, already states of emergency are in effect or virginia and maryland. in the capitol, government employees are getting a snow day. lisa is in washington. what's it like by the national mall? >> it's a snow day really for just about everyone today. it's starting to sleet, the snow's mixed with sleet now. you can see behind me they are work to go clear the sidewalks.

they're also working to clear the roads a little bit. this road where i'm standing was plowed about an hour ago. you can see the snow is still stuck on it a little bit. if you walk over, you get a sense of much deeper snow where they haven't plowed. cars are getting stuck in snow banks like this, people are urged to be very careful. the airports in the area of reagan national, both runways are shut down entirely. dull less and baltimore airport, the runways are open but it doesn't really matter, because the flights have pretty much been canceled there. not everyone is immediating the advice to stay home. take a look at some video we shot earlier this morning. there was actually someone out jogging this morning in the snow. i guess they just had to get out and get their morning exercise. the advice for most everyone is to stay indoors. luckily, people are able to stay warm and stay with lights right now. all of the power companies in this area reporting minimal power outage it is if any.

that is the really good news here. >> people in d.c. not type a. at all, lisa stabbing, so if the city is shut down, what happens next, what's the situation? >> well, the airports are hoping some flights may resume this afternoon. >> bus service has been shut down, amtrak reduced its service, the bottom line is if you don't have to be outside, don't go outside. >> lisa starke reporting from washington, part of our team out there despite the snow. >> this storm living up to its billing, the snow falling in philly, the city of brotherly love under a state of emergency this morning. that is where we find erika. this city has been slammed by snow and ice over the last

couple of weeks. were they prepared to handle this lateliest storm? >> well, good morning, del. you've got public schools, government offices and the courts all closed today and hopefully that will keep some people off the streets, but the city street department working overtime. 700 workers are using 400 pieces of equipment to combat this storm. you can see this car coming along here, and you've got a plow, so many different plows. they are not going too fast. the salt and sand spreaders have been coming by every half hour. within the past hour, the precipitation went from snow to this, where you can hear the snow hitting my glove here and i can feel it on my face. it is starting to turn into some more freezing wet snow here.

really the idea here from officials is stay off these roads. you might as well stay home. >> this has been a pretty bad winter for philly. are you standing at a rather iconic location? >> i am. i am absolutely. let's talk about this. you've got about 45 inches of snow that has fallen on this area, which is double the normal precipitation and accumulation that this area has, you know, normally see this is time this year, but yes, i am definitely in front of the philadelphia museum of art. it may look like a mountain of snow, but those are the famous rocky step that is rocky trained on in the movie. let's show you some philadelphians taking at advantage of that. we saw some die hard people coming out to have fun in the snow taking their sled, walking right up those stairs and sledding down. they did about five or six

passes and they were screaming like little kids but were adults that had the day off today. might as well take advantage of it and use this winter wonderland for something good. >> libby said she has a dollar if you climb to the top and do that rocky pose. >> all right, all right, you got it. it's on. i'll do it. later. i'll tell you all about it. [ laughter ] >> erika, thank you very much. >> i should have given her my snow shoes. i've got a great pair. it's a mess out there. of course, power outages a big concern, as well. this storm is expected to shift back to a mixed bag of wintery weather. let's bring in nicole mitchell. >> you can hear that a little bit in what erika was starting to say there, switching from the fluffy snow to stuff that felt harder. it's converting into sleet because of the temperature that is we're going to have as this moves across the coastline. you can see from the south now hitting the mid atlantic.

d.c., there are parts around town getting close to a foot of snow and some isolated totals. as this moves along, you can see off the coastline definitely rain. a little bit along the coastline, also some rain but a nice corridor, nice not in terms of how much you're enjoying it, but a sizeable corridor of no freezing precipitation, rain and sleet. you get interior and it's just straight snow. part of the reason for that is as this hugs the coastline, the winds on the northern side coming off the ocean, that's a little bit of warmth from the water, and so that's getting those temperatures just high enough that places that were snow are going to convert during the day time period to possibly rain, but more likely freezing snow or sleet and then as you get on the cold side of this, converting back to snow. it's not that the precipitation ends, it just changes form. i want to mention into the friday, this is late friday into saturday, another system that's now in the midwest could impact the region fortunately with

lighter amounts. these amounts are going to be impressive. the coastline is hard tore predict, a lot of our big cities, six to 12-inches depending on how much sleet moves in, but interior, places over a foot to maine. >> a reminder to stay with aljazeera america all day. we will have continuing coverage of this severe winter storm joanne american tasked with collecting syria's chemical weapons, italy is its next stop. that ship has been fitted with two machines fitted to neutralize toxic chemicals including mustard gas and chemicals for nerve gas. so far, only 11% of those chemicals have been removed from syria. >> there's deadlock over what course of action to take on syria. warring sides are holding talks

in geneva but making little progress. international allies of the assad regime are threatening to derail u.n. actions. a detailed peace plan was presented in geneva. it made no mention of removing president assad from power which had been a major demand. russia rejected a draft resolution on aid to syria, saying it has its own version, claiming the u.n. is against the assad government. there are no evacuations taking place today in homs, but the aid mission is not over. 1,000 civilians have left the city after a temporary ceasefire was put in place last week. as aljazeera's james base reports, there is increasing pressure on leaders in geneva to come to an agreement. >> on the ground is an intensification of the conflict.

the syrian observe atory for how many rights is one group and it's very hard to estimate these things, but it estimates that more than 4,900 people have died since the talks started here the first session in the middle of january. an actual intensification of the violence by both sides are on the ground. quite possibly, they are trying to strengthen their position on the ground while these talks take place, deadlock at these talks and they've had to call in the russians and americans to try to kickstart this process. a russian mediator has been here 24 hours, the american counterpart wendy sherman arrived in the last few minutes. they will sit down in a couple hours time with the chair of these talks to try to restart this process, because at the moment, it's stalled and going nowhere. >> james bays in geneva, switzerland. >> high level talks between north and south korea taking place, the talks coming ahead of

planned reunions for families separated since the korean war. north korea threatening to cancel those reunions if joint military drills with the u.s. take place this month. there is no time line for the next round of talks. >> secretary of state john kerry is in soul, south korea this morning. the u.s. is also trying to defuse tension between south korea and japan. >> enrollment in healthcare.gov is now 75% of its target. it saw a coverage of sign ups in january. millions signed up through healthcare.gov, a quarter coming from young people age 18-34, bringing the total number of sign ups to just blow

3.3 million people, but that is still far short of the 4.4 million sign ups the government wanted at this point. >> now for a check of the headlines, making news around the world. while the robo cop may become a reality, the miami herald reports a group of florida international university students showed off a prototype robot for law enforcement officials. >> i was going to say this is actually fascinating, because it's a cyber link and it really does exactly what you see in the movies,al beit a little more jerky. >> exactly. you can control the robot. this can be used by law enforcement or military officials. one of the guys working on this project is himself disabled. he lost an arm in a motorcycle accident and said this can help me relate to how people live their lives. >> the detroit news saying the newly elected mayor is taking a hands on approach to his way of good morning. he actually goes out, meets and greets the people, rides sometimes along with the dump trucks, the garbage trucks. they say he gave up that

security detail, which really was symbolic in a city that is so hard hit and strapped for cash. >> detroit news reports he saw a bunch of people standing by the bus stop in the freezing cold, so he went ahead and hired a new bus director, trying to take action. >> in britain, london's telegraph shows commuters are unhappy and experiencing high anxiety. >> always tough in the other land across the pond to tell you the truth. >> well, i don't know, del, commutes are certainly hard today with all of the weather going on, but you know, that's why we have our aljazeera team out reporting and giving us the weather forecast. >> it's pretty nasty out there. there's a major merger taking place in the cable industry, a big merger between two top competitors. >> how a deal between comcast and time warner cable will affect customers. >> the price of oil climbing way back to $100 a barrel. how that could hit you soon in

your wallet. >> our big number of the day, it is a doozy, more than $17 trillion. why that figure is not good for the u.s.

>> the day's big number is $172,115,581,770,606,800 and we ran out of dollars and cents. that is the new debt ceiling. >> this latest debt ceiling suspension will last through march of 2015 and marks the fifth time the nation's borrowing limit has been raised since 2011. >> in august that have year, the nation's borrowing limit was $14.2 trillion. it jumped $5 billion a month to $15.2 trillion. >> it ballooned $1.2 trillion to 15.4 and settled at

$16.7 trillion. it was a clean bill. a lot of drama as they decided to do that. they wanted to do it before the storm. >> they had some change left over. , to aljazeera america. $45 billion, that's no small number, but that's how much comcast is paying for time warner. >> welcome back to aljazeera america. let's get a look at what temperatures we can expect across the day. meteorologist nicole mitchell is here. thank you, nicole. >> someone is thanking me. a meteorologist is not a good word today. as we get up and down the east coast, these temperatures are critical, 35 washington, d.c., what difference does that couple of degrees make? with the moisture coming in, d.c. now snow and ice pellets. new york is more just straight snow because it's at 30 degrees. under that freezing mark. philadelphia right on the freezing mark is getting a

combination of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain, all being reported in the same location right now. that's how critical that temperature change is at that you get interior where temperatures are in the 20's and teens, it's straight snow. otherwise this morning, atlanta and other places in the south under that deep freeze. it is still going to warm up a little today, but plenty of ice to melt off. back to you guys. >> it is official, comcast is buying time warner cable for $45 billion. both companies announcing that deal this morning. the nation's top cable providers swooped in with the offer, knocking off an earlier bid by charter communications for $30.8 billion. comcast has close to 22 million subscribers, time warner has more than 12 million subscribers. ali velshi joins us by phone now. good morning. >> good morning, to you, del. >> how big is this deal?

>> well, listen, comcast was already the biggest, and this will make it by far the biggest cable provider, the biggest provider of any paid t.v. services in the united states. in fact, may make it the biggest cable company outside of china. after that, you've got direct t.v. and dish. time warner would be rounding up the four, leaving cox and charter. there's a real consolidation in the offerrance of media companies. comcast is looking like what the larger time warner company used to look like before it spun off time warner cable with cnn, hbo and the cable company. comcast finished its acquisition of nbc last year. they are becoming a juggernaut in the industry. >> comcast on top, 22 million stub scribers, satellite t.v. companies both have 20 million and 14 million respectively.

time warner up next with 12 million subscribers and then there are knows smaller companies, verizon, cox, at&t and are we about to basically have to pay more for our subscriptions or ever little or no say. >> consumer rights groups have already commented. they think this is disastrous and the term communication commission should stop it. they say it will result in higher rates. here's the thing, del, rates for cable and internet and phone have been going up since jesus walked the earth, so i'm not quite sure whether it's consolidation or just that rates go up. here are the other changes. i'll leave that to the experts. comcast is much more any screen friendly than time warner. time warner is old fashioned, built for to you watch what you watch on t.v. when you have a comcast account, you can watch it on any device

as lock as you can sign in. it's got a better dvr and on demand system. however, comcast custom canners, you get triple play with phone, t.v. and internet have a tap on brad band consumption. heavy users will feel an issue there. of course, this affects choice, because smaller channels will either face -- could face cuts in the rates they get paid by the cable companies from the full emerged company or may have to pay to get on. the customer might let stuff as a result of a merged company, because some cable providers, some channels won't compete in the same way. >> thank you for joining us this morning and no, he never sleeps. >> we'll find out if the harsh winter weather kept retail sales on ice in january. the commerce department will release the data in an hour.

economists predict a slip of 1%. one analyst said auto sales are set to take a hit. >> no one wants to go to the dealership, buy a new car, et cetera outside. people again, just focused on the bills that will be more expensive in terms of heat so don't make discretionary purchases. >> consumer spending drives 70% of economic activity. >> wall street look to open lower, dow futures down 56 points, blue chip snapping that winning streak yesterday, the te asian markets ending in the red. european markets are lower after six straight days of gains. oppenheimer municipal bond division warning for risks with exposure to port row rico's

debts. some have funds invested on the island. all three major credit rating firms downgraded puerto rico's bonds to junk status over the past two weeks. >> oil prices back up to the $100 mark after dipping as low as $85 a barrel last year. we explain why you may be paying more at the pump. >> united states oil production is racing toward volumes not seen since the 1970s, yet the price of benchmark u.s. crude is creeping up and that could spell pain for consumers. one factor at play, cold weather driving up demand for heating oil, but frigid temperatures around the only thing squeezing supplies. >> oil in storage down about four percentage points from a year ago, and we're seeing a big jump in exports, so all of these factors together are really driving the price upward. >> the opening of the southern half of the key stone pipeline last month is drawing down the

glut of oil in the middle of the country, sending it down to the gulf coast where it can be refind and exported to other countries. >> oil is a global commodity, regardless of where it's produced. u.s. consumers have to compete for u.s. oil and refined products like gasoline with consumers from our countries. >> the u.s. exported 4 million-barrels of oil per day in refind products, twice as high as the level in 2009. >> venezuela is a major oil producer, but it's crumbling energy infrastructure can't keep pace with regional demand, leaving u.s. refinery to say pick up the slack. with toughing refining standards kicking in in the spring and europe exporting less oil to the northeast united states, u.s. oil inventories may look slim as the key summer driving season approaches. >> all are conspiring to likely cause the gasoline market to be very tight in the united states

this summer. i strongly expect prices will exceed $4 a gallon at some point at the pump this year. aljazeera new york. >> u.s. oil rose to a high after reports showed inventories in oklahoma, when supplies drop you can expect to pay more for what is left. >> the u.s. finding itself caught up in egypt's turmoil, an employee working on behalf of the u.s. government under arrest. >> looking to stop the tech drain, the french president using his trip to the u.s. to get french entrepreneurs to say come back home. >> a minnesota community where hockey is a pathway to the olympics. >> i'll tell you how an unlikely american claimed teen u.s.a.'s wednesday only gold medal.

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>> an egyptian employee of the u.s. embassy in cairo has been in custody. >> at least three people have been killed in riots in venezuela. anti-government protestors clashed with armed supporters of the president in a demonstration

about the lack of basic commodities. >> russia and egypt shaking hands, the two countries working together to create closer military ties. in a rare visit to moscow, vladimir putin said he will sport his candidacy. >> this is a symbolic visit by egypt to moscow. it is their first visit overseas and the choice of country, coming here to moscow emphasizes the fact egypt is moving away from its previous close alliance with the united states and looking for new partners essentially. the united states has decided to suspend around $1.5 billion of annual military aid to egypt.

the hope was that that would influence the egyptian leadership perhaps moderate its actions against protestors. in actual, what it's done is create a vacuum and allowed russia to very willingly step in and forge closer ties with the egyptian leadership and the egyptian leadership it appears are only too glad to take the hand russia is extending to it. the russian foreign minister went to cairo back in november. this visit is the return engagement. what they have been talking about is closer ties on a military level, going into the meeting, he said this is a new start to the development of military and technological cooperation. we hope to speed up this cooperation. coming out of the meeting, there

was no confirmation of the previous reports about a $2 billion military deal, which have been reported quite extensively and from well-sourced newspapers in egyptian, as well. no confirmation of it, but in a couple of ours from now, he will be meeting president putin so there is skill scope for an official announcement relating to a confirmed military deal to be made later today. >> the u.s. embassy in cairo said egypt is hold one of its employees without charges, arrested late last month. he is an egyptian citizen and held without charges. the state democratic says he worked as a liaison to the muslim brotherhood. >> the united states has not designated the muslim brotherhood as a terrorist organization. we have been clear that we will work with all sides and parties to help move an inclusive process forward.

we've repeatedly publicly and privately called on the interim government to move forward in an inclusive manner. >> professor at the middle east institutes columbia university joins us. before we get to what's going on with the u.s. embassy worker, let's get your reflection on the visit to russia to meet with president putin. >> first and foremost, he is in russia to discuss a problem which both share, that is the jihadist in syria and iraq today. this is a very interesting and serious problem for both of these individuals to discuss and arrange some sort of coordination to deal with this problem. the other rein is to send a signal to the u.s. that he is

sovereign enough to develop ties, diplomatic tie to say the russians at this point. there's been talk of the egyptians changing their sources of military equipment and systems. that isn't likely to take place. the egyptian military is essentially using american military systems and for them to switch to a russian system would take a tremendous amount of money which they don't have and a fair number of years to integrate this russian system into their tactics. so i suspect that the main reason that he is in moscow is to discuss the jihadist issue. >> as we look at how the u.s. relates to egypt, let's talk about this embassy worker detained for communicating with the muslim brotherhood, what type of precedent does his arrested set? >> first of all, the his

official position was to act as contact to the muslim brotherhood when morsi was president. he is an egyptian citizen so that the government is free to arrest him for whatever they wish to charge him with. i think the meaning behind this arrest is to send a signal to the diplomatic community, not just the americans, but the entire diplomatic community in egypt to essentially keep away from the muslim brotherhood and other islamist movements. the best way to deal with the arrest would be behind the scenes, quietly try and get him released and address the issues that are of concern to the egyptian government as far as his connections to the muslim brotherhood. >> does the u.s. have leverage in the situation? >> i think they do, mostly through chuck hagel's pentagon and the connections that the american military has to the egyptian military. that is still an important

connection between the u.s. and egypt, so they can play that behind the scenes. >> we see coming before this arrest the arrest of the our aljazeera colleagues. is the government trying to send a message and who is it targeted to? >> like all author tarian governments, which is what the egyptian government has become since the removal of morsi this past august, they wish to control the outlets, media outlets in the country and the kind of information they disseminate. as far as egypt is concerned, it's a very serious problem because they want to put an end on the media issues, so the unfortunately journalists are essentially the collective conscious of society and if they arrest two journalists who happen to represent your organization is an unfortunate

development, but there have been other journalists arrested and even correspondents of european outlets that have actually left the country before they got in trouble, notably one of the dutch reporters i'm told, before she could be arrested. this is a development that's likely to be repeated in the future to send signals to the media whether domestic or international media to essentially focus on the issues that the government wants them to focus on. >> thank you so much for talking with us. professor at the middle east institute, columbia university. >> dozens of prisoners now set free in afghanistan, 65 men released north of kabul. the u.s. embass saying some of them were responsible for the deaths of civilian and coalition troops, as aljazeera explains, the karzai administration said there had not enough evidence to hold them. >> the attorney general ordered the release of these detainees

several weeks ago when the afghan government took over the administration of the prison. the attorney general said there is no evidence to detain them further. the americans say they requested a review of each case but were never seriously considered. the americans say many of these men were found with explosive residue on their hands, data put them at the scene of crimes of road side bombings and these men being released are responsible for killing or wounding 32 coalition personnel and 23 afghan personnel. it complicates already strained releases between the u.s. and afghan governments. the afghan president is yet to sign a security pact with the obama administration. that pact must be signed to allow u.s. troop to say continue a presence here in afghanistan beyond the draw down of nato forces at the end of 2014.

afghan's cabinet and parliament want him to sign but he has refused to do so. >> that is reporting from afghanistan. [ gunfire ] >> dozens of prisoners considered dangerous by the u.s. have been set free in afghanistan. >> news there of u.s. soldiers being killed, the first insider attack in the country this year, an attack from someone wearing an afghan uniform. this is something that happened last year, but the first time of 2014. four american soldiers were also wounded in this most recent attack. >> in the united states right now, the archdiocese of milwaukee will set aside

$4 million for victims of clergy abuse. if approved, it would be the smallest per payment per victim payment amounting to $32,000 for each of the 125 victims. the church filing for bankruptcy three years ago. it is one of 11 diocese nationwide to go under over the past decade. >> a guilty verdict for ray nagan. he was the public face of new orleans when the city was hit by hurricanhurricane katrina. he will appeal. sentencing is set for june. >> a man has been executed in florida for murder ago 9-year-old boy two decades ago. the state used a controversial drug cocktail to execute juan carlos chavez, convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing jimmy rice back in 1995. right before the execution, chavez's attorney requested a

stay, claiming that the set active to be used was ineffective and would vital his client's rights. florida's supreme court rejected that plea. the state has already executed four men with the same drug cocktail. >> a trial date has been set for the man suspected of orchestrating the boston marathon bombings. 20-year-old dzhokar tsarnaev will stand trial. he faces more than 30 federal charges for the twin bombings in april last year. three people were killed, 260 injured in those attacks. >> the white house has issued a new cyber security framework. it's designed to help the government and private industry protest protect their computer networks. it was developed over the last year with some input from private cross. all part that have rollout the department of homeland security establishing a voluntary plan to help connect companies and

government agencies with new federal cyber security programs. >> the president of france got out of washington before the snow hit. he's in california's silicon valley, home to one of the largest french populations outside of paris. as aljazeera's lisa bernard reports, many of them are looking for business opportunities. >> carlos diaz left paris for san francisco, when he started his high tech companies which helps viewers interact with their t.v.s. >> when you decide to start a company in france and you say that your friends or family, everybody look at you like you're crazy. >> he and about 400 other french entrepreneurs set up shop in the bay area. >> nobody in france really wants to change the world. >> the french president is the first french president in 30 years to come take a look at innovation and technology in the

san francisco bay area. >> on the itinerary, a reception at san francisco city hall, then a visit to silicon valley, where he'll see what is attracting french entrepreneur to say come here and learn how to build a tech presence in france. >> he has planned to meet with the founder of tesa and facebook and google. he wants the french government to make it easier for businesses to expand and thrive. there are other issues. u.s. tech cross are routinely under the microscope of european regulators and the proposed 75% tax on the rich could be a further deterrent. >> he is able to embrace innovation and show the world that he cares. >> the executive director of the french american chamber of commerce says it's still not

easy for french citizen to say set up shop in silicon valley. >> you need to come with funds, with some sort of money, because starting a business or opening a business here is extremely expensive. >> the president is trying to make it more attractive to create companies in france and has plan to say build a tech hub outside of paris. >> in general, they see internet and the digital space as a threat, because it changes stuff. we see that as an opportunity here. >> his visit is important, but time will tell if this leads to creating policies that will make france a place for entrepreneurs to thrive. aljazeera, san francisco. >> more than 300 french companies have offices in california. >> have you been following the olympics? >> of course i have. as a winter woman, i love the winter olympics. >> it's up and down for the u.s. unless you happen to be a fan of the halfpipe.

here's john henry smith. >> tremendous story from the halfpipe. the last snowboarder to make the u.s. team, her family sold every cow on their ranch just to get her to that point. wednesday, kaitlyn farring to know because america's only gold medal winner of the day. she flipped, twisted and turned her way to the gold. >> just to get the gold, i am speechless, because i can't believe that happened, but i was riding well and having so much fun. >> teammate kelly clark took the bronze. she actually won the event back in the 2002 salt lake city games. >> in men's 1,000-meter speed skating, seany davis fell short of becoming the first american male to win gold in three consecutive olympics, finishing in eighth place. disappointment in alpine skiing. despite medaling in the combined, mancuso finished eighth in the downhill.

women's hockey, team u.s.a. and team canada faced off in a preliminary round. canada won 3-2. these two teams are favorite to say meet again in the gold medal game. >> all of russia is celebrating its return to dominance in pairs figure skating. the pair earned the gold with a stunning performance. their teammates won silver. >> this morning, josh christianson wins olympic gold inmen's slopestyle skiing, their teammates winning silver and bronze. it's the first 2003 since 2002. men's ice hockey is underway. the game is scoreless in the first period. >> did he throw her 15 feet in the air? >> he threw her about -- i didn't measure it, but it looked to be about 15 feet, give or

take. >> what's so amazing is not the physicality, but the article industry, it's like dancing. >> no, the physicality. he just threw her up in the air to tell you the truth. >> one community is offering up a golden roster of ice hockey player through the years. >> it's a small town looking to continue their winning streak at sochi.

>> good morning, welcome back. up next, hockey town u.s.a. where olympic dreams often become a reality. >> first let's get caught up on the storm affecting millions with nicole mitchell. >> definitely causing problems. still wrapping around snow into

georgia and spreading up the east coast. i'll have more on totals and who's going to get what in a couple minutes. we have a couple areas as well. this one system moving through the midwest brings colder air with the front, snow one to three inches that eventually friday night into saturday will make its way to the mid atlantic and east coast again. we clear the major system and still get more behind that. you're going to feel like it's never going to end. in the pacific northwest, more moisture the next days with system after system, leading to minor areas of flooding, all the new rain and snow melt. we'll have more on the big trouble maker in just a few minutes. >> it's day six of the 2014 olympic winter games and one of the hottest tickets in sochi is for men's ice hockey. aljazeera takes you to a small town in minnesota six miles from the canada border. it boasts more than its fair share of olympic stars. >> they call this hockey town

u.s.a. since 1956, it produced eight olympic hockey stars, seven medalists. as you soon learn from banners and signs all over town, two of them are in sochi right now. that's a big thing for a town with fewer than 2,000 people. >> everyone talks about t.j. and g.g. and look where they are now, what they're doing, the mole community is very proud of them and what they've done. >> hockey is everything here. people have loved a game that's not nearly as popular in their country as baseball for basketball. longer winter's a proud tradition and a relatively isolated position all play their part. >> it's a quiet place to live, not too much traffic and just that's all there was to do. >> plenty of excitement at the local arena with high school bands firing up the crowd for a

junior tournament. the high school girls are defend ago five year winning streak tonight. the coach said it helps to live in a hockey mad town. >> you have the backing, the coaching, you have the available ice time and you have the tradition. is it possible? can you believe in it? i think it has the right environment. >> henry would agree, he won silver with team u.s.a. in japan in 1972. during that opening ceremony, he got a message from his hometown half a world away. >> i remember getting a tell gram from everybody in the world. it was six feet long and all the names of the people that, you know, that i knew from the small town. talk about having a lump in your throat. >> in an age of email, skype and social media, it's a lot easy tore support players who are far away, and that's what the people of hockey town will be doing for

the next few weeks. >> two towns, two teams naturally enough divided loyalties at the arena tonight, but not when team u.s.a. takes to the ice in sochi. that's when every player, men and women is a hometown hero. >> no u.s. men's hockey team has won an olympic gold without a player from the city. >> we continue to track that deadly winter storm working its way up the east coast hitting 22 states with snow ice and rain. >> during negotiations in geneva, offering up a plan to end syria's civil war, one that doesn't include getting rid of president bashar al assad. >> america's two largest cable companies could be merging, comcast expected to announce a $45 billion deal today to buy time warner. >> the potent winter storm is already hitting the east coast

and for many place the problems are just starting. i'll have that national forecast. >> the aljazeera america morning news continues in two minutes.

>> 100 million people, 22 states, all of them dealing with yet another major winter storm. snow, ice, freezing rain causing multiple problems from the deep south to new england. >> if you're asked if you want to live or die, what kind of question crosses the child's mind? >> lawmakers in belgium set to pass a law allowing assisted suicide for term nationally ill

children. >> it causes bad things, it makes it even more embarrassing for india. >> films in bollywood screened outside of india. those movies not allowed to be seen at home. >> pricey corvettes swallowed up in a museum, falling victim to a sinkhole. >> good morning, welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. millions of americans know winter is anywhere but over. a deadly storm system stretching up and down the east coast, georgia thick ice knocking down trees on to homes, power lines snapping leaving thousands in the dark. atlanta better prepared for the storm. in the carolinas, thousands of

drivers stuck on highways fail to heed warnings to stay home. in washington, d.c., government offices closed for the a second straight day, the nation's capitol expecting up to six-inches of snow saying that has already fallen. in new york, it may be a foot or more on the ground before it is all over friday morning. we have reporters to get the latest. first we turn to nicole mitchell who has been working round the clock, 24 hours a day tracking this latest storm. >> it's been a brutal storm, already making it through the south, now up the east coast. we have wrap around, moisture wrapping behind the system. you can see that even bringing a tail of snow still into northern parts of georgia. you've already got the ice and now the snow this morning. you're thinking boy, this could end anytime.

there are numerous areas that got an inch of snow where we had all the trees and power lines down. it will take us a while to recover. durham, north carolina, a quarter inch, so widespread problems. as i said, it is moving up the coast. on the northern side of this, you're getting an onshore flow. the water is just a little warmer, so that gives you a little warm nudge along the coastline. that's why interior where it's just the cold air, it's definitely snow and heavy snow at that in some cases, really coming down. once you get to near the coastline, there's this area mixing in of rain and more freezing precipitation, so we've had ice pellets mix into that d.c. forecast, philadelphia already. we'll see that in new york city before too long as all of this progresses. snow totals are a little more difficult to predict, because it depends on just how much that have is the sleet versus the

snow. all across the region, even as this clears out, a lot of places, coastline six to 12 inches, interior a lot of places that are a foot or more. back to you. >> one storm a year is pretty unusual in the south, but getting hit by two in a row is practically unheard of. robert, this winter may be trying everyone's patience. >> good morning, del, snow still here in georgia. you can see it coming down pretty heavily here. a lot of people calling this atlanicartica. we have more snow than sochi. we should consider the olympics here if this holds up. in the state of georgia and entire south, it has been walloped by the big system. >> southern discomfort as

another powerful storm so could states from the tennessee to the carolinas. many eyes were here on atlanta to see if the city could avoid the same mistakes it made during the last storm that brought scenes like this these, a much different picture on wednesday. a virtual ghost town as most people stayed home. >> from all indications, that i have observed and from reports i'm receiving from all over the state, the people of georgia heeded the warning and they're staying home off the roadways. >> there was no escaping the ice that bruised the peach state. heavy snow and ice brought oh tree down into a house where a grandmother was sleeping in this bed when the roof collapsed. her grandson says she's lucky to be alive. >> she was just covered with insulation and sheet rock. >> across georgia, crews were out in force working to restore power to the thousands without electricity. >> just getting the lights back

on. >> we've got a fire going, that's basically it right now, candles, no phone service either. >> north carolina apparently did not learn any lessons from atlanta, many residents there ignored warnings to stay off the roads, leading to gridlock between charlotte and raleigh. divers abandoning cars, backups for miles. near whiteout conditions are causing miseries in the skies, as well. thousands of flights canceled as the storm snakes up the northeast within but north carolina isn't out of the woods just yet and the governor has a blunt message. >> don't put your stupid hat on at this point in time. protect yourself, your family, your neighbors. >> you can see most of the roads are still covered with ice, but they've done a pretty good job. they're creating like strips of roadways, so emergency vehicles can get through.

they're still urging the residents 6 million plus of the area to not be on the roads today. it's just not that safe. >> and we have just lost our signal with atlanta. you can see the situation down there not nice. that storm then moved up the east coast. states of emergency have been declared just about everywhere. in washington, d.c., government offices closed today. lisa, it's nasty out there on the national mall. >> it is indeed. take a look, it's a beautiful sight. you've got to admit, if you don't have to be out in it, it's turned to a bit of sleet now and the snow is not coming down as much as it had earlier. that's good news for the traps portation agencies in this area. they are able to do a little better trying to clear the roads, because the snow is not falling so heavily. they had thousands of pieces of equipment out. the federal government is

closed, all the governments in this area closed. one office is open, fema are in the office, up and running. they have their command center up, of course, monitoring the storm. we also found some hearty souls out jogging this morning. one guy out jogging in his shorts. you can jog, but in your shorts? it is cold out here. people are urged to stay inside. there is a snow emergency declared for maryland, washington, d.c. and virginia. they're start to go clear roads, but really, if you don't have to be outside, the idea is to stay inside and the good news is if you are inside, you probably have power, unlike in georgia, virginia and maryland, d.c. right now, very few power outages, the utilities keeping fingers crossed it stays that way but are prepared in case it doesn't. >> 5 million people outside of the district itself, so what is the situation with the

surrounding area? >> well, the surrounding areas are locked down and shut down, as well. in fact west of the district, there's own more snow. they're talking about 18 inches in the blue ridge mountains. all the school districts in the area are closed down, amtrak is on reduced service, the buses have been stopped. they are running the metro trains, believe it or not even though they are pretty empty, because they say that's the best way to keep the tracks cleared. for the most part, they urge people to stay home and they've got everything shut down, so there's no reason to go out unless you want to build a snowman or do a little sledding. >> or maybe jog. thanks a lot. that's lisa stark reporting from washington. >> the snow is falling in philadelphia, the city under a state of emergency this morning. that's where we find erika. this has been a bad winter for philly. >> absolutely. in fact, it's record-breaking. we just found out that the snow

fall from this snowstorm has just broken a 130-year-old record of a single winter having the most snowstormseses to dump more than six inches in each individual storm, so far since the snow has been fouling here, there's been nine-inches and it's still going. you heard from meteorologist nick mitch that the fluffy snow is turning to ice pellets. it has certainly changed. now the nice fluffy snow is turning into really hard, wet slush that actually hurts when it hits your face. let's talk about preparations. this city has been trying to get ready for this. they've had a little bit of practice. one of their biggest concerns are the roads, slushy, nasty, icy. they have had so many workers, 700 workers, 400 pieces of equipment, really trying to get

out there and combat this storm. in the end, they really want a lot of people to stay home, so public schools are closed, government offices and the courts. i'll tell you this, del, there are some people that are trying to have a little bit of fun with this. check this out. we are at the iconic philadelphia museum of art. i know that it looks like a mountain, but that is actually those iconic steps that rocky ran up and trained on in the movie. you've got sledders coming out now and they're just getting right into it. in the last hour, you and libby bet me a buck and you owe me one, because i walked those steps and went to the top to get my dollar to show you i can get up there, although i was definitely out of breath. take a look at this guy, he's coming down right now. [ laughter ] >> well done.

well done. so there you go, it was a good one. i asked him does it hurt, though, because those are steps up there. he said no, it's packed down with the snow. this wet, icy stuff is packing it down more so protects his belly sliding down. >> i'm holding up the dollar that i owe you. i'm going to leave it with the floor crew. they'll hold it for you, i'm sure until you get back. >> i'm coming for it, del, my dollar. >> joining us live. stay with aljazeera america throughout the day for the very latest on this winter storm. we will continue tracking this one all the way up to new england. >> in the u.k., the problem there is rain, severe flooding forcing hundreds of evacuations and they are expecting two more very serious storms. jennifer glass is live right now on the banks of the swollen

river thames and meteorologists say you might get somewhat of a break today. >> yeah, the skies have parted a little bit, although there's still clouds. we've had rain showers here. this actually is the thames river right now, it actually is behind those buildings, but it's swollen its banks, moved here. you can see what's happening to the houses all up and down this street and actually for two miles up this road, they've done what they can to keep the water out, but many people haven't been able to. there is garbage floating everywhere. a very serious situation and a lot of concern, because we expect more rain in the next couple days, may be, many inches of rain. that's going to affect here, seen if it doesn't happen here, because all of the water flows down the thames and ends up here. it takes two or three days for it to happen. the water's been going down the last day or so but in a couple

days expect it to come up again. >> the government came under fire for not doing enough, the prime minister now pledging more money. what exactly is the situation with that? >> well, the army has been called out. we've been seeing them helping an awful lot. there's not a lot you can do here now until the water goes down and that can take weeks, maybe months. the emergency services have been around going door to door in all of these homes, but the damage is press substantial. it's in the billions of dollars now, really in lost trade, lost revenue, and a lot of these homes don't have insurance, and that's going to be a big problem. you can see the kind of damage these homes are getting. this car stuck, can't go anywhere, this house flooded. it will take months even after the waters go down. the government has promised no number is too high, but

thousands of families here and across england need help and will need help for the months to come. it may be may until all the floodwaters recede. >> jennifer, thank you very much. >> secretary of state john kerry is in south korea this morning, the first leg of a trip including stops in china and the unit emirates. he has been meeting with south korea's president and foreign minister. security issues top the agenda, kerry emerging with a strong message for the north. >> the united states will not accept north korea as a nuclear armed state. we will not accept talks for the sake of talks and the d.p.r.k. must show that it will negotiate and live up to its commitments rewarding denuclearization. >> he dismisses demands to cancel that upcoming joint u.s. and south koreaian exercise.

he says it should not delay talks. >> warring side in geneva making little progress and the detailed plan in geneva makes no mention of removing assad from power, which had been a major demand. russia rejecting a draft resolution on aid to syria, claiming the u.n. version was against the assad regime. the u.n. saying there are no evacuations taking place in homs today, but the aid mission is for from over. 1,000 civilians have evacuated last week. james bays reports on the pressure in geneva. >> peace talks continue and they continue to stall. i think there is quite possibly

a link with what you're seeing on the ground, away intensification of the conflict and fact that nothing's going on here, the syrian observe atory for human rights, which is one group and it's very hard to estimate these things estimates that more than 4,900 people have died since the talks started here. the first session in the middle of january. an actual intensification of the violence by both sides on the ground, quite possibly, they are trying to strengthen their position on the ground while these talks take place. deadlock at these talks and they've now had to call in the russians and americans to try to kickstart this pros. a russian mediator has been here 24 hours. the american counterpart arrived in the last few minutes. they will sit down in a couple hours time with the man chairing these talks to try and restart this process, because at the moment, it's stalled and going nowhere. >> that is aljazeera's diplomatic he had door james

bays in geneva. it was announced that the humanitarian ceasefire in homs will be extended for three more days. >> a blockbuster deal involving the nation's two largest cable company, what the comcast-final warner merger would mean for customers. >> one countries emotional battle over allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children. >> we'll have more coverage of the storm including the very latest. this is new york where up to a foot of snow is expected.

>> good morning, welcome back to aljazeera america. we will tell you about a country looking at a law giving terminally ill children the right to die. first let's get caught up on the storm moving up the east coast. >> it's an interesting storm because of the temperatures around freezing, you get images like reagan national airport where we had snow with ice

pellets. now we're back to straight snow, blowing snow, 20-30 miles per hour is the, i gusts we've been seeing. wouldn't be surprised if it converts back to freezing precipitation because of that temperature around the freezing mark. let's look at other temperatures. i just mentioned d.c. philadelphia an hour ago, we had a combination of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain, now it's freezing rain and rain. for new york so far, it's been straight snow but these temperatures are going to cause problems with snow accumulations during the day because the precipitation is changing until you get interior. del. >> dozens of prisoners considered dangerous by the u.s. have been set free in afghanistan. 65 men being released from a detention center in the city of kabul. the u.s. embass saying some of those were responsible for the deaths of civilians and coalition troops but president karzai's administration saying there's not enough evidence to

keep them. hundreds of prisoners have been freed since handed over to afghan authorities. there are still 70 prisoners there. >> two american soldiers have been killed in afghanistan, shot by men in afghan army uniforms. it was the first so-called insider attack in that country this year. last year, 10 international security forces were killed. four soldiers were wounded in today's attack. >> the bill that raises the debt ceiling on its way to the president despite pushback from tea party members. republicans in the senate were able to push it through. a clean verse of the bill passed the house. the president is expected to sign it into law. >> in business news, time warner cable, comcast bidding for it. the combined company will have 30 million subscribers making it the largest cable system in the

u.s. the deal won't reduce competition for consumers, but that merger is likely to face scrutiny. >> we're going to find out if the harsh winter weather is keeping retail sales on ice in january. the data to be released later this morning. one analyst said spending should improve over the next couple months. >> the weather has an impact short term wise, but really should not hopefully carry over into the february-march sales. purchases that were put off in january hopefully will be shifted into the later months in the future. >> consumer spending driving about 70% of all economic activity. >> wall street looking to open lower ahead that have retail sales data, dow futures down at this hour. blue chips snapping their rally yesterday.

in asia, market ending in the red. european stocks are lower after six straight days of gains there. >> foreclosure filings falling 18% in january, reality track said that is the 40t 40th consecutive month of declines from the previous year. phoenix and detroit seeing the biggest drops, florida, nevada, maryland have gone high rates of foreclosures. >> voters in a small nebraska town approving a law banning undocumented immigrants from renting homes. landlords and renters first have to apply for special permits and verify immigration status. as paul bean be reports, that rule has divided the town. >> fremont, nebraska is the sort of agricultural town you see all over the american midwest. this is a conservative community with a couple of commercial strips and a sleepy downtown. as voters went to the polls, emotions were running high.

jennifer bixby voted to throw out the 2010 law. >> it pitted friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor, just today you drive down the street, you'll see a vote no sign next to a vote yes sign. >> this has nothing to do with racism, the frustration here is with one word, the word illegal. >> supporters of the new housing law say undocumented immigrants are driving up the cost of education, health care and law enforcement in freemont, although city leaders dispute that claim. what is clear is that the number of latinos in fremont soared in recent years from less than 200 in 1990 to more than 3,000 in 2010. they are mostly here for jobs in meat packing plants like this one and that, some say, is the real source of the debate here in freemont. >> some like reverend scott

jensen say latino make an easy target for a host of ills such as poverty. >> are latinos a scapegoat? the issue of racism. you can feel it, you know. ♪ ♪ >> a preschool aid and aspiring mariucci singer said they are not welcome. >> a lot of people are scared that we're taking over. >> the fears of people who wanted to overturn the law were realized, as their effort was soundly defeated, nearly 60% of fremont voted to uphold it.

>> they say they are considering start ago recall effort against the city council. on the other side, the critics say the town is going to learn the hard way just how bad this is going to be for the town as businesses and families start to look elsewhere. we talked to someone from the american civil liberties union. they are going to be watching implementation of this law closely to make sure it does not vital federal fair housing rules. >> that's paul beban reporting. census figure showing 1100 non-citizens living in the town. >> nasty nor'easter on the move. nicole mitchell up next with her forecast. >> why this weather could causes to you actually have a stroke. >> my father was my perpetrator. i was sexually violated by him and then beaten by him. >> from victim to organizer, one

woman organizing to stop violence against women. >> derek jeter has said it's time to step away. we look back at his amazing career. al jazeera america. we open up your world. >> here on america tonight, an opportunity for all of america to be heard. >> our shows explore the issues that shape our lives. >> new questions are raised about the american intervention. >> from unexpected viewpoints to live changing innovations, dollars and cents to powerful storytelling. >> we are at a tipping point in america's history! >> al jazeera america. there's more to it.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. these are our top stories. thousands without power in georgia after the storm of snow and ice. in atlanta, staying off the roads this time, after a similar storm two weeks ago paralyzed the city. >> north carolina, freezing rain and snow causing massive traffic jams. traffic bumper to bumper from charlotte to raleigh even though officials urged people to stay off the roads. >> government employees in the nation's capitol off today. heavy snow blanketed shutting down offices, schools and mass transit with six inches

expected. some say that is already on the ground. tracy pots outside capitol hill. how is the city dealing with the snow? >> the streets in this area are being cleared, but people are still being urged to stay at home. big, thick, wet flakes have been coming down here all night, five inches of snow with two to four more coming this morning. >> i'm excited for it, actually. i don't think i'll be able to run tomorrow. >> if you didn't get out before the storm, good luck finding supplies now. >> sold out shovels, salt, sand is all we've got right now. >> the washington area is on the front end of the storm, it's more snow than some residents in north carolina have seen in a lifetime. a church roof collapsed. >> boom, straight down. >> in charlotte, snow brought traffic to a standstill. for some, it was fast tore walk.

>> we've been here for like an hour and a half. >> the governor warned residents. >> don't put your stupid hat on at this point in time. protect yourself, protect your family, protect your neighbors. >> by evening, snow turned to sleet and rain, but the damage was already done across the south. 700,000 were without power. atlanta fared better, people stayed home. now the northeast prepares for round two. >> because live now, we've got that sleet and rain coming down here now. first we had the snow this morning, now that wintery mix. we expect more snow this evening. in fact, del, just a few minutes ago, i got an update from one of the outlying areas, one of the suburban counties telling people to expect between 12 and 16 inches of snow. >> that's a lot of bread flying off the shelves. tracy, thank you very much. >> the cold weather can be hazardous to your health in more than one way.

it can make you more susceptible to strokes. we think about heart attacks from shoveling. we don't usually anticipate that a snowstorm can cause us to have a stroke. why? >> therear number of reasons why that can be the case. it's important to recognize that a stroke is actually similar to a heart attack. you can think about it like a brain attack. the same as i sayology that cause heart attacks when it gets cold can cause strokes. what's happening is when we get cold, our body clamps down the outer vessels which can increase the blood pressure. that can cause a stroke. >> our pumps faster, increasing blood pressure which can cause strokes. >> there's a correlation between our body temperature rising and our risk of strokes increasing. >> what the research has shown is that the ambient temperature, the temperature around us decreases, the risk of stroke actually increases.

it is not necessarily because our bodies are changing temperatures, but it's what our bodies are doing to mitigate the change in temperature, the outside temperature is trying to do to our bodies, right? as it gets colder, our bodies need to do more work to stay warmer. when that happens, the compensation mechanism such that the heart beats harder and the vessels champ down can increase the risk of stroke. >> in summer they say it and i want the heat, it's the humidity, but it's the same thing. >> the research showed that humidity was an important factor. the blood clots, and high humidity, we sweat more and the blood cells in the blood that cause the clotting, there are more of them, which can increase clotting and strokes. >> why are we just now hearing about this? people have been out there shoveling their walks. they know if you start to feel

strain, if you're out of breath, if you feel too cold, take it easy, because you may have a heart attack. why are we just now hearing about strokes? >> two points, the first strokes don't necessarily come on in the way heart attacks do. we don't necessarily feel them, we don't feel the strain. they normally present with loss of sensation or a loss of function in the hands or face or legs. it's not as easy to tell that the stroke is going to happen. the other important point to remember here is that it's not that all of us are at high risk for stroke. if we go outside for young, healthy people and engage in physical activity, it's not that the cold is going dew cause us strokes, it's more people who have had previous cardiovascular deceased, hypertension, high cholesterol and who smoke, we should be more worried about. it's possible that the change in temperature might be enough to change them over and increase the risk of stroke with people

with high base line risk. >> i don't have to shovel the walk today. >> that's a great excuse. >> thanks for being with us. he is from columbia university. >> thanks for having me. >> >> belgium has a controversial law set to be voted on for assisted suicide for terminally ill children. it seems to are few critics. >> the amazing here in belgium, there's been no controversy about this let melation because a large majority of the country support what's going on here. the legislators will be voting on the bill behind me in the lower chamber of parliament here in brussels and it's expected to pass easily. i've been looking at some of the emotional and complex issues behind this decision.

>> a small vocal minority has been fighting a losing battle to extend euthanasia to children. they say belgium is leaping over a cliff. we found a father who has paid a harrowing price for standing by his convictions. he still has pictures on his phone of the son he watched dying from a brain tumor. >> tristan loved playing the piano, the sound of weavers on the sea shore, but the cancer took away his eyesight, it took away his ability to walk and then it took his life. he was just eight years old. he was brought out of hospital to die at home with his family. his father's last words to him, it's time to go. >> i would never have tolerate add doctor coming to ask if we wanted euthanasia for our child. i would have never accepted it.

if parents come and ask if you want to live or die, what kind of question crosses the child's mind, will it please my parents if i die, will it be for their good or mine? >> no, sir no doubt the lower house of parliament will pass the legislation. polls reveal 80% of the population here support it. >> a child's request for euthanasia will have to be approved by a medical team and the chimed's parents. the child must also understand first what euthanasia means. supporting legislation describe it as the ultimate gesture of humanity. hose opposed say it's insanity. >> the university hospital in brussels is one of the world's leading centers for treating child cancer. it's here the first case of euthanasia may be carried out on a child. under present law, patients have to be 18 to ask to die. >> you prefer nobody asks this

question, because even if it's legal, it's still difficult to carry out. certainly my interest is with other minors who have the same condition and they've seen others with their minors die in a horrifying way get scared. they ask you doctor, don't let me go this way. >> to be or not to be, is that a question that can be asked of a child? it seems it will be in belgium. >> the legislation will actually be signed into the statute books when the king of belgium has delivered the actual bill in april. that's just before they have general elections here. it will remain, i think pretty controversial topic for the religious leaders here. it will divide some of the community, because exactly how can you ever tell exactly what's in the child's mind?

how can you ask a person with so little experience of life to choose death? i think that question will hold legislators here long after the bill has been passed. >> live from brussels, belgium, thank you very much. >> and underground gas line explosion forced evacuations early this morning. that is about 100 miles south of louisville. flames could be seen for miles. two people are being treated for burns. that destroyed two homes, and barns. it left a crater 60 feet deep. >> a yankee legend about to turn up his cleats. >> it is a profound thing to have derek jeter leave the game. for nearly 20 years, he's been the toast of new york, raised millionses of dollars for charity. the star ho dated movie stars and always came through when the

yankees needed him most. derek jeter announced on his facebook page that the 2014 baseball season, his 20t 20th season would be his last. as is often the case when a great player steps away, it's not his skills has have failed him, it's his body. a broken ankle forced him out of the 2012 postseason and kept him out for all but 17 games in 2013. before all of that, all jeter did was collect over 3300 base hits and win five world series tights. reporter jack o'connell has covered jeter from the beginning and says in one respect, baseball isn't likely to see the likes of him again. >> this is the fourth yankees player, career yankees player to retire in the last six seasons. bernie williams, george posada, mar representative last year. derek did a full 20 years with the yankees and with the recent defects of robinson cano, albert

pujols inned up going to anaheim. i think it's going to be quite a while before we see somebody put together two decades with the same uniform on. >> before becoming his manager, joe gerardi was his teammate. he had this to say about the captain: >> the yankees have had so many great players. where does he stack up? >> babe ruth is the greatest yankee, lou gehrig, mickey

mantel and joe dimaggio, he is the fifth. he leads all of baseball in postseason base hits, that certainly could elevate him on that list a tad. >> hall of fame certainty. >> he is he will go bible in 2020 and i don't think there's a sports writer, a voter alive who's not going to cast a vote. never say never, crazier things happen, but i can't see anyone not making him a unanimous first ballot hall of famer. interesting to note, not only is he a sure hall of famer, he's also sure to have his jersey number retired by the yankees. that would mean the only number not retired from one to 10 would be number six and they've said that the yankees are going to retire joe torre's number six soon. no one through 10 for the yankees. >> there is as growing movement

valentine's day to call attention to a global issue. millions of people coming together just to dance all in an effort to stop violence against women. we caught up with the organizer who hopes her very personal message continues to spread. >> the 1 billion rising. >> 1 billion rising campaign. >> all around the world on friday, women and men will be rising at various sites of injustice, whether they're courthouses where women need laws to be passed or cases to be heard or schools where women really want boys to be brought up differently and have a different vision of manhood, and masculinity so that we don't get to violence. >> what drives you to do this? this is now a more than full time occupation. what is your motivation? >> i think it's simple. i want to end violence against women and girls. as a survivor of norm mouse violence, i grew up in a very

violent house, my father was my perpetrator, both i was sexually violated by him and beaten by him and thrown against walls and had my nose punched and you know on a regular basis. i know what violence does. i know the consequences of violence. i see what women go through and how long it takes to recover from one incident of violence. it's a life. i just imagine what the world would be like if women were free and safe and we weren't always living under the siege of violence. we're so used to the siege. we're so used to our cage we don't even know we're in it. we can't walk where we want to walk, we can't wear what we want to wear, we can't do what we want to do. we just have accepted the boundaries of this cage of violence. i imagine a day where women wake up in the morning and put on

whatever they want to or don't and don't worry that someone attacks them or grabs them or harasses them or puts them down or bullies them on the internet or incest, comes into their bedroom uninvited or jumps on them when they had a few drinks. what would our world be like? >> if all the 1 billion rising events held last year, which one surprised you the most? >> the ones that moved me the most were where women risked their lives. there's a wonderful organizer in somalia and we had an african summit last year. in the middle, she stood up and said i'm going to do a rising in mogadishu. we knew what she would face. last year they rose up. before that, there has been case where a woman pressed charges against a government official for rape and the woman had been arrested. after the rising, he was

prosecuted. >> and she was released. >> yes, we're seeing how this energy of rising, this energy of dancing, it's electric, and it's contagious and it's begin to go create a kind of world energy that is giving people enormous courage, creativity, and it's allows them to press forward in ways they haven't been able to press forward because they have the whole world at their back. it legitimizes them, protects them and energizes them. one of the things we're seeing is for example, women who have been traumatized and raped often don't feel safe in public space. we don't. i cannot tell you how many women wrote in to say just dancing in public space changed them, that they could be in their body in public space, feel safe, they could feel in community, and that began to change so much of their lives where they came back into their bodies. we know trauma removes us from our bodies. it becomes the landscape of

pain. what dancing does and what a movement of dancing does is allows women to come back into their bodies which then allows us to begin to envision, allows us to begin to imagine an allows us to connect with everything and everyone around us, which is where our strength comes from. >> and so they dance. that was sheila mcvickar. >> india is famous for bollywood, but some films being made in the country can't be screened. why they won't allow it to happen. >> priceless corvettes swallowed up by a sinkhole when the floor of a museum caves in. >> this is new york, the snow is falling hard, about a foot of snow expected in new york when all is said or done, perhaps more.

your forecast in just a few minutes. >> is libya unraveling? >> there's coffin after coffin being carried into the cemetery. >> fault lines libya: state of insecurity only on al jazeera america on al jazeera america

>> it looks pretty, but that is a costly picture you are seeing of the nation's capitol, the government closed for the day. that will cost you the taxpayer lots of money. this latest bought of winter weather deadly, 13 deaths blamed, the weather being the cause. welcome back to aljazeera america. let's find out where it is going to be snowing and where it is going to be snowing where you live. for that, we turn to nicole mitchell. >> we are looking at d.c. this morning, a mix of snow, converting to sleet and ice pellets, back to snow. here's the big system. i want to get to the other two quickly. still more rain and snow for the

northwest, watch for that. another system in the midwest that will drop temperatures has had less snow with it, one to three-inches moving through the midwest but this is going to hit the east coast friday and saturday. there's only going to be a brief break. fortunately that one's not a lot of snow, unlike this one, getting moisture from the atlantic. as it does this on the north side of the storm system, really heavy snow totals, also warming things up just enough along the coastline. we've had freezing precipitation mixed in, temperatures right around freezing at the coast. interior, they're in the teens and 20s. because that have, the snow totals are a little hard to forecast. there's that next system i was mentioning on the back end of this friday so saturday. we're going to see a corridor where along the coastline still possible six to 12 inches, but if you have sleet mixed in, new york could see later into today, that reduces your snow total,

but you're still getting the wintery precipitation. entiror easily places a seen more especially a quarter from new york to main. some places could go to a foot to a half, high winds blowing that snow. >> a giant of the comedy world died, sid caesar was 91. his brand of comedy was funny. he starred in your show of shows, launching the careers of a lot of legends, mel brooks, woody allen, neil simon. >> film makers in india are censored, some directors forced to make changes to their movies to have them shown. many are in germany so their films can be shown without changes at the berlin film festival. >> bollywood is the public face of indian movies. a thousand of these films are

made every year. for those directors whoing further, there may be problems ahead. one in particular, senatorship. real uproar in india not necessarily with fans, but with those who decide whether a film can be released. as far from bollywood can be, this goes into big issues, rape and homosexuality and in places derogatory about gandhi. you can't see it in india. the director had to make huge unwelcome changes. >> the first time, we get outright denial, not certifiable. we appeal that. >> films like this form a huge part of the identity.

you have the big red carpet, the stars who come to town to show their movies. away from all of this, you have these smaller, independent films that show controversial issues, real life that you won't see, things that the sensors don't want you to see. here, they really do, which is why critics point out that film festivals are an important tool for those who can't or aren't allowed to have their voices heard. >> the few screens that have been held have been sold out. i know people with tickets couldn't get in. it's a very good sign there will be a lot of interest in a film like that and that message should reach india. you can't ban things because they can be shown abroad and it makes it even more embarrassing for india. >> he looks at indias uncomfortable side. it is a film that makes the authorities feel less than comfortable, said its director. >> it is a clear case of

political free speech control by the state. >> india may be changing, but movies like this may be harder to come by for sometime yet. aljazeera at the berlin film festival. >> we leave you with some images that are not for the feint of heart involving rare corvette the. this happened at kentucky's national corvette museum, a giant sinkhole swallows up cars, all caught on security cameras, eight of them falling into the hole. the good news is no one was inside the museum at the time. the bad news is, no one was inside the museum at the time to get them out. that's it for this hour of aljazeera america. thanks for watching. back in two minutes.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. these are the stories we're following at this hour. a deadly storm up and down the east coast, in georgia ice and snow leaving people in the dark. this is the nation's capitol

where government offices are closed. in new york, we could see a foot or more of snow before friday morning. >> secretary of state john kerry in south korea, meeting with the president and foreign minister talking about security issues and nuclear issues involving north korea, the first leg of a trip including stops in china, indonesia and unit emirates. >> dozens of prisoners set free from a detention center in afghanistan. some of them were responsible for the deaths of civilians and coalition troops, but president has mid karzai said there is not enough evidence to continue holding them. >> comcast buying time warner cable making it the largest cable company in the u.s. because they don't serve overlapping markets, it will not

diminish service for consumers. another nasty storm and weather related power outages. why can't our infra structure handle these storms. new questions over the effectiveness of mammograms cause major concerns. plus our major failures in life not such a bad thing? why did a college professor decide to live in a dumpster for a year? hello, i am antonio morrow. welcome to "consider this." here is more on what's ahead. snow and ice storm gaining strength.