legitimate voter rights are being stopped. >> thanks, roger. i have got to go. thanks for joining us for this education of "inside story." i'm ray suarez. welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. the major winter storm landing on the eastern seaboard, shutting down power, flights, and schools for thousands of americans. time-warner and comcast announcing they will join forces. a cointreau -- controversial euthanasia law that could be

extended to terminally ill children. the start of spring just five weeks away, but mother nature remaining each and every one of us that winter still has a long way to go. the storm system now creeping up the eastern seaboard. almost a foot of snow is on the ground in some places, and the snow is still falling. all government offices in and around washington, d.c. are closed. they are even taking a snow day at the white house. president obama had a number of events on his schedule, but they have all been canceled today. al jazeera continues to follow the storm as it makes its way up the east coast. lisa spark is in washington, erika pitzi is in philadelphia, where it all began, and that's where we began, and has the snow started to fall again? >> reporter: not quite yet, del,

we are still in a little bit of a lull. it was really coming down earlier this morning, now we just have the rain, and the wind. although this rain does help the workers kind of catch up to clean the streets here. if you take a look, you can see how earlier today, well, it was snow covered streets, and now it's just wet and slushy and nasty, but this is their biggest concerns, the roads. they want people off of them, which is why you're seeing a lot of people taking advantage of the steps at the philadelphia museum of art, sledding down the steps here, because a lot of kids are off of school. public schools closed, government offices closed, as well as the courts. if you do have to travel, it is going to be tough. the trains along the amtrak lines, going north and south, a lot are canceled, and at the airports, really taking a huge hit.

5,000 flight cancellations nationwide on top of 4,000 flights canceled yesterday. that really makes a mess for the country, even if you are out west this could effect you if you are heading east at all, flights certainly grounded. but here in philadelphia, this is really an historic winter we're talking about. it is the first winter where they have had four snow storms that have hit them with 6 inches of snow each time. so this is really record-breaking. this record was set 130 years ago. so this is certainly a big deal. in the end they are concerned about people on the roads, and really just stay inside is what officials are saying at this point, del. >> erika pitzi, thank you very much. and we can tell by the water on the lens the snow has started to turn to rain. in washington all government

offices in and around the city are closed. that is where we find lisa stark. >> reporter: del there is a snow emergency that remains in effect for washington, d.c., maryland, and virginia. we're also having a brief lull. the side streets are still very treacherous. hospitals have even put out a call for anyone with a 4 wheel drive to help them get their essential personnel to the hospitals. the white house events canceled today. federal reserve chair janet yellen was expected on capitol hill, that is not happening. vice president biden was supposed to go to the eastern shore, and he is not doing that. arlington cemetery will continue with whatever funerals are scheduled today. the airports in this area struggling to get back into business. the baltimore airport, a big hub

for southwest, we are told their runways are open now, but of course, most flights have been canceled. and if you can see down by my feet this is really turn going a wet slush. the concern is as the temperature drops this could freeze. that is really going to make the roads hazardous, so the advice still is stay inside. this is not over yet, and in fact, there is some speculation about what will happen with the federal government tomorrow. will it still be closed? we don't know yet, but a lot of folks getting the day off today. >> and because you are in the nation's capitol, we have to be politically correct, that you can make a snow woman as well. but how are the people in the suburbs fair >> reporter: there are only a

few power outages, that's the good news. power companies have hundreds of crews standing by in case it gets worse. but i have talked to a number f people in the suburbs who say there is a foot of snow or more on the roads. >> and lisa you have been in town long enough to remember when washington, d.c. suffered the same fate as atlanta and now north carolina, but they seem to have gotten the message a couple of decades ago. >> reporter: if there can be a good type of snow storm this was it, del. because folks got home last night, it didn't really start until 7:00, 8:00, they went to bed, they woke up and found this winter wonderland, and things were closed well in advance. those who were on the road found it very tough earlier going today. we are expecting another wallop

of snow later this afternoon. >> lisa thank you very much. only in washington do they have blue snowmen and red snowmen. >> and they are divided right in the middle. >> that's right. >> it looks like the storm over the last 24 hours, moving up the coast. now we're getting this lull. this dry air being pulled into the storm here. you can see it breaking up, the precip here. still bands of very heavy snow up through new england, here is this lull, though. that's the dry air coming into the storm. the second part of the storm, the backside of this is the cold air that wraps around the lull, as it continues to move up the coast. if you have changed over to sleet or rain, that cold air comes a changes it back over to snow, and it accumulates on top of the slush and the temperatures will be dropping.

so certainly watch for that. this is picked up and tracked by this forecast here. the sleet and rain changing back to snow. washington, d.c. through baltimore, by 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, heavy bands of snow, and then through new york and off of the coast of new england by 10:00, 11:00 tomorrow. you can see that dry air being pulled in , and it has changed over, but the wind continues to gust out of the northeast, that's creating coastal flooding. these bands of heavy snow will continue to push to the north, and we're talking about this area of snow that comes around. that could be an additional 3 to 6 inches of snow. and then we have to look out for a little accumulating snow coming through the area saturday morning. an additional 3 to 6 inches of snow could be what you wake up

to tomorrow morn temperatures are above the freezing mark but that will be dropping. afghanistan saying it has released 65 prisoners despite protests from the united states. the karzai government says the release is no concern of the u.s. jane ferguson has more. >> reporter: the karzai government has insisted for weeks, it will release dozens of prisoners despite u.s. objections, and they weren't bluffing. >> translator: we could not find any evidence to prove that these 65 people are criminals. there was no reason to keep them in the prison. >> reporter: the background base was set up and run by the u.s. military, but handed over to the

afghan government last year. hamid karzai has called it a tall ban-making factory. nonetheless, 65 prisoners were set free on thursday morning. >> translator: they have been taken out of the prison, they were holding their clothes in their hands. they received cash and instructions and then they all went home. >> reporter: the u.s. says the men are all dangerous taliban fighters. >> these individuals are dangerous. they pose threats to safety and security of the afghan people and the afghan state, which is what i would say, there is information linking each of them to terror-related crimes, including the use of explosive devices, which are the largest killer of afghan civilians. >> reporter: but none of them were tried in court. a review board set up by president karzai looked at their

cases and said there was no enough evidence to hold them to. this is the latest spat between the u.s. and president karzai who refuses to sign a security pact allowing the u.s. military to stay in the country after 2014. relations continue to stumble from one argument to another. jane ferguson, al jazeera. a u.s. vessel that will help destroy syria's chemical weapons is in spain at this hour on its way to italy. docking in spain to refuel. the ship will collect about 560 metric tons of syria's chemical weapons before taking them to international waters to be disposed of. dead lock today at those syrian peace talks. negotiators all trying to rescue the talks. >> reporter: peace talks continue, and they continue to stall. i think there is quite possibly

a link with what you are seeing on the ground, which is an intense indication of the conflict, and the fact that nothing is going on here. the syrian observatory for human rights estimates that more than 4,900 people have died since the talks started here in the first session in the middle of january. an intensification of the violence on the ground. they have now had to call in the russians and the americans to try to kick start this process. they will sit down in a couple of hour's time with the man chairing these talks to try to restart this process, because at the moment it's stalled and going nowhere.

russian president saying he supports a presidential bid by egyptian army chief sisi. they are meeting to discuss a $2 billion arms deal. egypt has been on the hunt for a backup military aid offer after the u.s. suspended its assistance to that country. the decision to end a life. the controversy in one european country over euthanasia for children.

welcome back, in florida jurors continue to deliberate the case of a white man who shot an unarmed black teenager. michael dunn said he feared for his life when he shot a car full of teenagers, following an

argument over loud music that just escalated. ♪ wall street is in positive territory right now. the dow is up 11 points. stocks getting a boost from strong earnings reports from good year, and a deal by netflix. and the hookup in the cable industry. comcast buying time-warner for $45 billion. david shuster joining us now with all of the details. >> yeah, del, comcast is our nation's biggest cable provider, and scooped in in with an all-stock offer that ended an earlier bid by charter communications. comcast is valued at moore than $144 billion, with close to 22 million subscribers, and part of the value comes from the fact that it also owns nbc. time-warner cable is valued at over $37 billion, with more than

12 billion subscribers. it is just a cable provider, . but together time-warner cable and comcast have more than 33 million customers, and because of its size the merger is expected to face tough review. comcast on top with nearly 22 million subscribers. direct tv and dish network have 20 million and 14 million subscribers. time-warner cable is next with 12 million subscribers. and then is verizon, cox, at&t, and charter, each with more than 4 million subscribers. brian roberts pointed out that his company and time-warner cable serve different parts of the country. >> we don't have any zip codes where we do business in the same zip codes in the country.

so if we look at the competition, this allows us to compete better. >> while speaking of competition, the key question is what will this possible merger do to consumer prices? and analysts are not sure. the new larger company would have more power to keep content providers like espn from charging higher prices for their programs, however, it could raise monthly subscription fees, but these are all questions that will be looked at by the sec. >> we're going to have to keep an eye on our cable bills. >> right. >> david shuster thank you very much. belgium's parliament is set to vote on a controversial law that would allow assisted

suicide for children. >> reporter: this bill, i must tell you first, del is about to be passed the very final speeches are going on behind me, the very final speeches, we expect the result in the next 20 minutes or so, and it is expected to pass, but this has raised many controversies here, and the issues behind the legislation have been very complex and indeed emotional as i found out. >> reporter: a small but vocal minority has been fighting a losing battle against the plans to extend euthanasia to children. they say belgium is leaping over a moral cliff. we found a father who has paid harrowing price. he still has pictures on his

mobile phone of the son he watched die from a brain tumor. the cancer took away his aye site, 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, tristan it's time to go. >> translator: i would never have tolerated a doctorment coming to ask if we wanted euthanasia for a child. 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? would it be for their good or mine? >> reporter: there's no doubt the lower house of parliament will pass the legislation. polls reveal nearly 80% of the population here support it. a child's request for euthanasia will have to be approved by a

medical team and the child's parents. a child must first understand what it is means, and describe it as the ultimate gesture of humanity. those opposed say it is insanity. the university hospital is one of the world's leading centers for treating childhood cancer. it is here the first case of euthanasia may be carried out. parents have to be 18 before they can ask to die. >> as a doctor you prefer that nobody will ever ask you this question, because even -- even if it is legal, it is still difficult to carry out. certainly 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, and they get scared. >> reporter: to be or not to be,

is that a question that can ever be asked of a child? it seems it will be in belgium. the legislation will be finally signed into the statute books around april by the king of belgium, and then we'll have to see exactly how the country reacts to it. about 11 or 12 cases of children are expected to put forward for euthanasia. but i am now hearing that the chamber representatives here has actually passed the legislation, so belgium has become the first country to have euthanasia with no age limit. >> david thank you very much. tough story to watch. india is famous for bollywood, it's film industry, but there are some films there that can't be seen in that country. we'll tell you why censors just won't allow it.

and a south korean company announcing flexible batteries. the details when we come back. i must begin my journey,

which will cause me to miss the end of the game. the x1 entertainment operating system lets your watch live tv anywhere. can i watch it in butterfly valley? sure. can i watch it in glimmering lake? yep. here, too. what about the dark castle? you call that defense?! come on! [ female announcer ] watch live tv anywhere. the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are your headlines. the winter storm system working its way up the east coast. more than 6,000 flights have been canceled today. yesterday 4,000 were canceled. those cancellations are starting to effect travel in places where there is no snow. russia and the west at odds again about syria. russia saying his country submitting two peace resolutions to the united states, one of those proposals calling for condemning terrorism. afghanistan has released 65 prisoners despite objections from the united states. and the u.s. is working to decrease its dependence on

fossil fuels. and now there's a source of clean energy on the horizon. rob reynolds reports. >> reporter: scientists say it's a major step towards the holy grail of clean energy. nuclear fusion. in a laboratory experiment reported in the journal, nature, stein -- scientists produced more energy out of fusion than used in the fuel used to create the reaction. unlike nuclear fission, fusion produces energy by forcing atomic particles together rather than splitting them apart. fusion is the power that generates the sun and stars. fusion's fuel source is hydrogen the most plentiful element in

the universe. the experiment deploys 192 powerful lasers that focus enormous amounts of energy in billionth of a second pulses. researchers say they have a long way to go before they reach their end goal. rob reynolds al jazeera, los angeles. filmmakers in india are being censored, and they where a lot of them are now in germany. >> reporter: bolly wood is the public face of indian movies a thousand of these films are made every year, but for those direct twhors go a little or a lot further than this, there may be problems ahead, one in particular, censorship. this man has caused real uproar

in india, not necessarily with fans, but with those who decide whether a film can even be released. this film explores rape and homosexuality among other issues, and is derogatory about gandhi. >> the first time we get outright denial. they say our film is not even satisfiable, we appealed that. and then they required 56 changes to the film. >> reporter: films like this form a huge part of the film festival's popularity. away from all of this, you have these smaller independent films that show real life that you

don't often get to see. but here they really do want to see them. which is why critics point out that film festivals are such an important tool for those who are not allowed to have their voices heard. >> i know people who have tickets and couldn't get in. so it's a very good sign that there has been a lot of interest in a film like that. >> reporter: the film takes a look at india's uncome forable side and makes the authorities feel uncomfortable, says it's director. >> it is clear case of political free speech control by the state. >> reporter: india may be changing, but movies like this may still be harder toment come by for some time yet. sometimes it's not enough to have power, you have to be

flexible as well, researchers in south korea say they have produced the world's first foldable battery. thanks for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters. "the stream" is next. you're in the stream. is the boycott strange u.s. israeli relates or just making headlines? >> our digital producer wajahat ali is here. whenever we barely touch israel and