al jazeera america. >> parts of britain inundated with flood waters. >> and some prisoners in afghanistan have been released, and that brings choice words from the afghan president himself.

>> the start of spring just five weeks away, but mother nature remaining each and every one of us that this season is far from over. nearly a foot of snow is on the ground in some places and it is still falling. the storm is coating roads across the deep south with ice. that storm also being claimed nationwide for 12 deaths. all government offices are closed. they are even taking a snow day at the white house. president obama had a number of events on his schedule, and all of those events have been canceled. robert ray is in atlanta, georgia. lisa stark is in the nation's capitol. but we begin in pennsylvania,

erika pitzi in downtown philadelphia, and tell us how bad it is where you are. >> at this point right now, dell there is a little bit of a low. we went from light and fluffy snow to heavy snow to freezing rain, and right now we have a little bit of wind and a little bit of rain right now. and this is going to help some of these street workers clear these roads. we're already hearing about accidents. an ambulance turned over at a nearby highway. they have really hunkered down trying to get these roads together and trying to keep as many people home as possible. they canceled schools, go offices, and the courts are also closed today. if you have to travel, it is going to be tough. amtrak has many cancellations,

at the airports, really taking a huge hit, nationwide, 5,000 flights canceled just today, and on top of that 4,000 flights canceled yesterday, and that's really going to have a ripple effect across the nation, because even if you are in sunny california on the west coast, if you are headed east, it's quite possible your plain could be grounded. certainly we have been talking about this hard-hitting winter. here they are used to snow, but not like this. this city just set a record today. they set a record for the single-most storms in a single winter that have delivered 6 inches of snow or more. that is breaking a 130-year-old record. but i will say this. we are here in front of the museum of art. on a little bit of a lighter note, some people taking advantage of this.

this is the famous rocky steps in the movie, and you can see some people taking advantage of those snow packed steps to have a little fun. >> we can see from your lens that that snow is switching to rain in philadelphia. in washington all government offices are closed today. and lisa washington is getting slammed as well. >> indeed. right now we're getting a welcome break, but washingtonians, woke up today to find anywhere from, oh, six or more inches to a foot to two feet, so they got quite a wallop. folks still being urged to stay at home. janet yellen was supposed to testify today, that was

canceled. al gore was supposed to talk to the democratic issues conference, he is not making that trip. at arlington cemetery, we are told it is closed to visitors, but any funerals will go on as plans. and the airports here were hit by a foot of snow, they are trying to clear the runways, but all of the flights have been canceled. we did see some very hearty souls out today. we have seen a lot of joggers believe it or not. including a couple of folks out wearing just shorts. the good news very few power outages. >> lisa, i'm glad it was not you or i out jogging this morning. lisa thank you very much. the south is still reeling from this storm. this time it was north carolina that got caught off guard.

robert ray is in atlanta. and has atlanta learned anything from that debacle of two weeks ago. >> completely they have? what is interesting is if the debacle had not occurred two weeks ago, the traffic gridlock, the government not listening to the national weather service, people leaving the city all at the same time, perhaps yesterday when this massive storm occurred here in atlanta, maybe it would have been worse. perhaps there would have been a disaster, perhaps people would have went out on the roads and there would have been accidents and injuries, but that's not the case here. except as you see behind me, this historic home from 1911 here that was purchased just a few months ago by someone who wanted to gut it and make it's in again, the ice, snow, and wind collapsed the entire back

of this old house here in midtown atlanta. but here is the deal, power is still out for thousands of folks around the state of georgia, but the temperatures are rising and the thaw is beginning. my cameraman can take a look over here. you can see the water starting to run down the streets. water down the pole and the ice here. they are staying don't go on the streets yet, we don't want anybody to get injured. so good things i think came out of the debacle two weeks ago. >> robert ray, from atlanta, thank you very much. and as you have been seeing the storm is making it tough for everyone to get around. more than 5600 flighting being canceled today. that was on top of the 4,000 flights that were canceled

yesterday. that backlog having a ripple effect on travel. flights are being canceled in places like southern california. they haven't gotten any snow. dave warren here now. and the concern is, it's not over. >> no, not at all, even though we have a little lull right now. that's typical of a big storm like this, you get dry air coming in, and that's a little break from the precipitation. here comes this dry air being pulled into the storm. see how the precip just ends. and that moisture continuing to push into new england, but it's this little break that we'll see over the next few hours, that's the dry air coming in. a little moisture coming in off of the coast, that's wind creating coastal flooding even though it has changed to rape along the coast in new jersey and up through england. still bands of heavy snow moving

north, that snow wrapping around as it pulls cold air in from the west. and this area of snow here that will be the concern this evening. additional snow amounts are happening because the storm will continue to track up to the northeast. this is the computer forecast showing that dry air pushing north. but the moisture wrapping around, changing back to snow, and accumulating, an additional 3 to 6 inches here overnight tonight. the snow will wrap around, and could be a little heavier if you get caught in a heavy band here. and this will continue up the coast, so it's not over yet. da dave warren thank you very much. in england. 80,000 people lost their houses,

and one man is reported dead. jennifer glass is on the banks of the thames. and meteorologists saying they might see a break today. >> you catch me in a moment of rare sunshine here after weeks of rain here? great britain. the people in stains, you can see many have been flooded out of their homes. they have taken today as an opportunity to get some of their belongings out. in houses like this, some people have stayed on the second floor as long as they have electricity. a lot of the roads here, and in villages and towns all across britain they are seeing scenes like this. we're expecting more rain to start here tomorrow and three new waves of rain are coming over the next few days.

so while the water has gone down here for now, they are expecting off it rains it will come up again as it slows down the thames. the thames just a few hundred yards that way down the street. >> and the government now under fire for not doing enough, but the prime minister is pledging he will do more in the way of money. >> reporter: he is. he is promising all the aid. he says that money is not an object at this point. he says this should never happen again. that was his very, very forceful line here. all sorts of towns and villages across the country, wealthy homes, poor homes have been effected here. the army has been called in. the police are leading a concerted effort and around the country to try to help the people, but it's going to take a long time before this damage can be dealt with.

it will be months before this house is livable again. many people have -- if they haven't been able to go to relatives have been sent to other places, but it's still a very, very wide-spread situation, a difficult situation with more rain on the way, you know, it's not over yet. >> jennifer glass thank you very much. 65 men have been released from a detention center in afghanistan. the united states says many are dangerous. but hamid karzai says their release shouldn't be a concern to the u.s. afghanistan says there wasn't enough evidence to hold them. hundreds of prisoners have been freed since theist handed the jail over to afghan authorities, only 70 prisoners remain. un mediator is meeting with

the syrian government representative and the rebel representative again today. all sides are now calling for more humanitarian aid. what proposal includes aid into countries like lebanon. stephanie decker reports from a refugee camp. >> reporter: these people have arrived today. they crossed in cars. this is all they have left. they have put their belongings and come across here to lebanon. this is a camp that is expanding on a weekly basis. you can seement some tents over here. we're going to show you how people live here. but the story we'll being told is people are exhausted, they are desperate, and they want to go home. and we spoke to an elderly lady who says her husband was killed last year, and she doesn't know

where three of her sons are. let's show you what it is like to live here. this family has just arrived. if you can just see -- it's a basic, basic tent. they have been given this handout, mattresses, blankets, a furnace, it is winter. it gets incredibly cold. it is an incredibly difficult situation, and people are telling us more and more people are crossing especially as the government has launched a campaign, and aid agencies are telling us nay are expecting more and more people to come. us vessel is in spain on its way to italy. the cape ray docking in this spain to refuel. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, says the ship will take tons of

weapons to be taken to sea to be disposed of. one issue being today is war games with south korea and north korea. today kerry saying humanitarian issues should not be linked to those war exercises. in in florida jurors continue to deliberate the case of a white man who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager. he said he feared for his life when he shot into a car full of

fossil fuels. [ technical difficulties ] rob reynolds reports. >> reporter: scientists say it's a major step towards the holy grail of clean energy. nuclear fusion. in a laboratory, scientists at the lab produced more energy out of fusion than was contained in the fuel used to create the reaction. unlike nuclear fission, fusion produces energy by forcing particles together. fusion is the power that fuels the sun and stars. it does not create any explosion, leaves behind no radioactive waste, and produces

no greenhouse gases. the lawrence livermore experience deployed 142 powerful lasers that focus energy in billionth of a second long pulses. scientists did not reach the break through point they call fission. researchers say they have a long way to go before they reach that goal. rob reynolds, al jazeera, los angeles. ♪ wall street turning higher after spending most of the morning in the red. and now up right now 21 points, erasing its earlier losses. the commerce department reporting that retail sales fell .4 of a percent last month.

consumers scaling back on things like cars and clothing. comcast is buying time-warner cable for $45 billion, the two companies will have about 30 million subscribers making it the largest cable system in the us. that deal ending, an eight-month takeover battle. deal is likely to face questions from congress. this winter mother nature has been taking a costly toll on the economy. mary snow has our report. >> reporter: paralyzed cities, power loss to hundreds of thousands of homes, thousands of flights canceled, and that's just the southeast in the second major storm there in two weeks. severe weather pummelling much of the u.s. this winter is costing the country billions. it's why this economist is keeping a close eye on the

weather. >> certainly it could take a good chunk out of growth in the first quarter, upwards of a percentage point or so depending on how persistent it is. >> reporter: it is estimated that 30 million flyers had either delayed or canceled flights in january. costing them $2.5 billion in lost productivity and extra expenses. consumer spending is also being pinched. everything from sales of cars to clothe were hurt. it's not only severe weather keeping people out of stores, economists also are looking to see the effect of higher heating bills. >> maybe that is taking a bite out of your leisure activities or things you did for entertainment or free time, which is really what makes the economy go. >> reporter: specific industries are under strain. ice is freezing over the great lakes at a level not seen in

decades, and a trade group reports a major impact on business the last two months, and then there is the drought in california, hurting crops and increasing food prices. the hope is that some of the weather-related losses can be recovered. march will be see. >> if it's a very mild, dry month, then all of this pent up housing activity would get started in april and may and suddenly gets pulled forward in march and you get a massive surge. >> reporter: but for now the for cast is murky. we will stay on top of all of these storms throughout the afternoon. india, famous for bollywood, but some films can't be seen in that

country. that's forcing people to take their show on the road. and it is an absolute mess outside between the ice, snow, and wind. we're back with your national forecast straight ahead.

welcome back al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines at this hour. jury records -- jurors in

florida still deliberating in the jordan dunn case. in the u.s., you know it, that major winter storm turning up the east coast. the national weather service saying snow and ice storms are all up the coast. if you plan on flying call ahead, and if you plan on traveling, take a peak outside. >> yeah. we're getting a little break from i-95 up through new york and eventually through new england. this comes in off of the ocean and that will create wrap around snow, and this will come back through over the next few hours,

really overnight tonight. as the storm moves out, the snow will return. we're getting a little lull now. that's the dry air coming in. more snow is expected, though. the wind pretty strong along the coast, so even though there's rain, there's coastal flooding along the coast. heavy bands came through in morning. they come back through overnight tonight between about 10:00 tonight and 8:00 tomorrow morning. temperatures will be dropping, maybe a lingering snow shower, as another disturbance comes through. just a brief shot of snow on saturday. there is close to a foot in many cities along i-95. this will move through overnight tonight and be on the ground by

tomorrow morning. temperatures have gone above freezing in new york, so we're seeing the change over, but sleet and freezing rain still a problem. this area, reduced visibilities, blizzard conditions expected, a few warnings in effect. and the temperatures feels like 20 to 25 below. so that is the cold air that we'll be feeling here along the east coast over this weekend. del? >> dave warren thank you very much. filmmakers in india are being censored, forcing them to take their show on the road. now many are in germany just so their shows can be shown without being changed. >> reporter: bollywood is the public face of indian movies, but for those directors who go a

little or a lot further than this, there may be problems ahead. one in particular, censorship. this filmmaker has caused real uproar in india. not necessarily with fans, but with those who decide if a film can even be released. this film covers some of the big social issues rape and homosexu homosexuality for example. sometimes we get outright denial. they say our film is not even satisfiable. we appeal that, and that [ inaudible ] 56 changes to the film. cuts, and blurs, and [ inaudible ] and everything. >> reporter: films like this form a huge part of the identity. you have the big obligatory red

carpet, and the stars, and these smaller independent films that show controversial issues, things that the censors don't want you to see, but here they really do. which is why critics point out why film festivals are so important. >> they have been sold out. i know people with tickets couldn't get in. so it is a very good sign that there is a lot of interest in a film like that. you can't just ban things because it can be shown abroad and it makes it even more embarrassing for india. >> reporter: this is a film that indeed makes the authorities feel less than comfortable says it's director. >> it is clear case of political free speech controlled by the

state. >> reporter: india may be changing, but movies like this may still be harder to come by for sometime yet. thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next, and check us out 24 hours a day at aljazeera.com. ♪ in many places in america, once you are convicted of a felony, you can't vote. now the attorney general of the united states is calling that unnecessary and unjust, and calling for the vote to be restored to nearly 6 million americans. that's the inside story. ♪ >>lo