bomb. police say the victim's son-in-law planted the package. richard parker has been charged with murder and is being held on a 1 million bond. >> those are the headlines. "america tonight" is next. you can get the latest news at aljazeera.com. bracing for more. the slow steady march of this blast of winter. knob wants two storms back to back. >> also tonight, the other extreme. tough choices and why all of us will feel the pain. you look up and go, gosh, couldn't someone make it rain.

>> and a view beyond, images from 25 years in afghanistan, and incite, from the man behind them. >> . >> and throughout the coming hours pressing further up the east coast, in all, well over 100 million people crossed 22 states from texas all the way up to maine, another vicious blast of winter they are facing. here in the nation's capitol we with are seeing the next stop of the deadly storm that covered the deep south before marching north, wreaking half vock and spawning controversy. >> we have extended the declaration of emergency

through sunday evening. >> the storm is still not over, mother nature is still right here. with very dramatic weather swings. >> no rest for the weather weary. with 150 million people still facing down the brutal and still developing storm. miserable enough. parts of north georgia, in north carolina, raleigh durham saw up to six-inches of snow, and treacherous ice too. philadelphia, nearly nine, new york city eight. so far. heavy snow came overnight to the nation's capitol nearly a foot of snow in the city, shut down the federal government, to the north is west outside the belt way, more than 15isms. 19 states are under watches or advisories as much more snow and rain,

is on the way. at least 12 deaths are blamed on the weather, most traffic related. seven traffic froze in place in north carolina, where drivers abandoned their cars and on the slick, refrozen black ice, hazardous roads remain littered with fresh wrecks. >> continue to stay smart, and off the roads in areas where you know the conditions continue to be bad. or may etch get worth of rain. >> that warning as the heaviest snow accumulations are expected overnight, and into friday. can, i 95 corridor, drawing a direct line with the storm track, and even where the storm has stopped falling in the south, branches coated with heavy ice, are snapping right off earlier today it was coming down like every minute there was one fall being. and it was like gunfire. >> tim packet on power lines. as three-quarters of a

million holes are now without power. in georgia, south carolina, north carolina, and alabama. more scatters in the mid atlantic region, and already the snow has brought cripples commutes and closed businesses and schools and ended the honeymoon for new york city's new mayor. who kept the schools open even as others shut their doors. but that snowball fight quickly became a twitter battle with nbc's al roker who tweeted why are schools all around new york city closed? it is going to take some kids or kids getting hurt before this goof ball policy gets changed. the mayor's come back, it's a different thing to run a city than to give weather on tv. >> the massive storm is bringing problem and opportunity for ordinary

people. mesh tonight correspondent has the tail of two paths in the storm. nobody wants two storms back to back, but, you know, when mother nature deals you just have to deal as well. >> i don't know and his dad joe are getting their best to deal. outside philadelphia. they are among 150 million people pounded by this snowfall. boom, boom, the power is out, no more. and then we have a cold night. >> not only did the family lose power in their home, their chinese restaurant had to close. >> i remember going with

my dad to the restaurant, and moving all the food around. but just as they reopened another storm shut their door as second time. today we are totally out. because of all the snow that has accumulated on the roads and the parking lot, we aren't able to be open for business, and we decided to remain closed because we figures a lot of customers wouldn't be able to make out of their homes either. >> washington, d.c., driver warren fudge is fairing a little better with the help of cab fair. okay, whats going on, man? >> not much. >> he says he needs two

jobs to help him pay the rent. >> that's why people also hire him from a cell phone app, it allows him to transport people in his own vehicle like a taxi. >> religion vagues, taxes and everything. and it's not like we work for owner, we are a partner with uber. so it is just like being self-employed. >> fudge takes advantage of days like this, when the roads are tricky, and the construction site is closed. his personal suv helps him make ends meet. >> you know, as far as winter time construction work, we go through periods where we with don't work as much. as we would in the summertime, and there's not much work available and with bills and rent being really high out

there, it's just -- you need two jobs to make it. >> like anconal, we paid for our ride as he navigated the streets and explained how he makes the best of such miserable conditions. >> feels pretty bad. but i have seen worse, and it's been much worse. as far as the plows they have done a good job. >> by midday we were the 9th customer, and he hoped to make an extra $200 by the end of the day. he said the bad weather is an advantage, because most part time drivers aren't willing to brave the roads. >> on a day like this, it is a good day, because there's nobody on the road. so -- there's more demand. everybody wants to go somewhere. >> i had a couple of people that needed to go to work and had no way to get there, and they showed me some appreciation, that one

guy wanted to tip me, but he went and got me a cup of coffee. coffee, soy appreciate that. that was a highlight of the day. as homes and businesses picture as that story is, there is a reason most are staying off the road, and that is because it is dangerous. aside from the traffic accidents there was a body here in washington, d.c. found underneath all that snow. and then in new york city, there's also a woman that was killed by a private snowplow. he was taking a risk, it was good that his day ended up happy, but it is dangerous out there. >> +sao now we look to what is next from our roof top, we get a look at the weather ahead from al jazeera, meteorologist up in new york, kevin? >> it's good to see that somebody else is outside for a change, yes, we are

seeing a lot happening right now for washington, d.c. you have gone through rain and sleet, and now the snow is beginning. what is happening to you. here is washington, d.c., you can see the green came through, the pink, and now we are looking at snow. but the good news if you look down here, there's georgia, the carolinas, of course they were hit pretty hard. this storm has continued to move up here, and new york is in a little bit of a break, because will be seeing almost the same kind of time line. they had a break, now they will see rain coming in, and then when this wraps around that means we will see it changing over. a lot of places saw very impressive snow totals. in millford, these numbers especially down

here will be -- that's where the storm system is making it's way up the seaboard. you can see what we have over the next 12 hours. washington, it will be much earlier than that, we will see you at probably 3:00 in the morning. new york three to eight, but washington probably only about one to two more inches for you. >> all right, kevin, thank you very much. i can assure you we are already experiencing quite a bit of the weather. on the historic flooding in europe, the worst flooding in over 60 years and it shows no sign of stopping. west of london, pressure on the river keeps growing, this winter is the u.k.'s wet nest 250 years. al jazeera reports, from what was until very recently, a river bank, but is now the river. well, this is the town of

spain's because the river is just a couple of blocks that way, but essentially because it has been rising this is the new bank of the the tems river, for a couple of blocks you have houses that have been flooded. this river runs for two smiles up this road. and essentially, a small stream back there has flooded other blocks as well. it is a very serious situation here, hundreds of people have been evacuated, hundreds of people have left their homes. some have tried to stay if they have a second floor. as long as they have electricity, they say they will say, they aa very very small pump is keeping the power station going. and the houses still do have power, when people lose power that's when they lose heat, and feel like they have to leave their homes. even though it has gone down a couple of inches.

they have taken the opportunity to get inside their homes and get what losings they have out. they have gone into check to see what is still there, what is safe, some people won't be able to go in, their homes still have water and this is not over yet. we are expecting more rain, and over the weekend here. and a lot of the water has been ending up here. in people have been relocated. many people are hoping to wait it all out until it goes away, but it has a long way to go yet. >> from one ex-people to the other, later in the program, digging deep to tackle another sort of weather emergency. >> you dig down deep

enough, right there, that's dry. right there. >> that's bone dry, just a couple of inches. >> california's deep drought, why it has led to tough choices for averagers and how it will impact your life and some surprising ways. and ahead after this break. deadly divisions unleashed in libya, with civilians in the crosshairs. why a manage to save it has backfired. a fault lines investigation next. >> fault lines, hard hitting... >> they're blocking the door... >> ground breaking... >> we have to get out of here. >> truth seeking... al jazeera america's breakthrough instigative

documentary series. over a year after the bengazi attacks, chaos in the streets... unspeakable horrors... >> this is a crime against humanity >> is libya unraveling? >> there's coffin after coffin being carried into the cemetery. >> fault lines libya: state of insecurity only on al jazeera america

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>> now a snapshot of headlines. comcast buying time warner cable for $45.2 million. comcast is the number one pay tv provid provider. it could face a hurdle. >> 400 activists have died in aleppo. shedding more bloodshed than peace after a second shot of negotiations between the government and the opposition. the united states, and russia stalemate. >> the sun is shining brightly at the sochi olympic games. the western hemisphere is experiencing a bitter blast. olympic athletes were competing

in temperatures of mid 6 0s. men's alpine skiing was changed to an earlier time because of the weather. >> north carolina expected to see rain showers this weekend. it will not be enough to help the drought situation. it could rain for the rest of the year and it still will not be enough. pictures from above show how severe the situation is. snow-covered peaks, what a difference one year can make. president obama travels there on friday to see the effects of the drought. "america tonight"'s correspondent reports that there's one group of farmers that have been hit particularly hard. >> for frank, the most devastating drought means hard choices.

his grandfather started the ranch. he is calling a family meeting to decide whether to sell most or all of the herd that provided generations. >> we'll go through the cow herd. we have about 20 picked out. we'll cut 40 to 60 in the next month and a half. in two weeks things will change. it will rain, grass will grow. >> never in frank's lifetime and never in recorded history has calve seen so little water over a 12-month period. >> you have not seen water up here for several here. >> about 7 inches on average. 15 inches below formal and the triest since california began to keep records. not enough to water cattle. >> that creek now - you call it a creek, and used to be a higher. >> higher, and

running right now. >> this is what frank wants to avoid. many of his fellow ranches made hard choices. at this weekly cattle auction, they came from all over the state. one by one the trucks filled the parking lot. normally this time of year 200 head of cattle would be up for sale. on this day more than 1,000 hit the auction. janet burbank brought three truckloads, because she could not afford to raise them. her sense of loss overwhelming. >> one of the cows suck her ear out the trailer side. i saw the ear number and ear, i bawled my head off.

>> for some ranchers things are so dire, they selling off calves. animals so young that they are barely weaned off mother's milk, a sure sign of desperation. >> there's a little black one here. they are tiny, who knows if they'll survive. they may go to nebraska, south dakota, feedlots. and the whether will be different. they are going young, but no one has a choice. we have to get rid of them. we can't afford to keep them. >> harry sold 68, and is holding on to a dozen more, hoping to wait out the drought to hang on in the business where he spent his entire working life. >> didn't feel good. 52 years, and we took off some of the tail enders that are not doing what this - not doing good anyhow. i want to hold out until the middle

of march and then we'll have to make a decision. >> bob wood told us he trimmed his heard. he started with 70, now has 50. >> i farm 200 acres of hay. it hasn't come out of the ground and i sold half my heard and used the money to buy hay and now we're getting to the point by the end of february, if we don't get decent rains and the grass grows, we'll more. >> in this business one rancher's misfortune is another's opportunity. an internet camera allowed cattle men from around the country to place their bids. nearly all the cattle here are headed out of state. >> the viewer sees what is coming into the ring, as if they were here. when i entered the price, i tracked it.

it goes to 86, i go to 87. they see it. they can tap in and make a bid. >> jim warren, the auctioneer and owner says the drought has driven hundreds of ranchers to the brink, forcing them to leave the business or start again. >> the sad part is a lot of people put a lot of effort, energy and time to produce a high-quality product. when they sell the cows, they have to start over. >> the light rain falling is welcome here. it's not likely to make a dent in california's drought. this hay field shows why. normally the hay here would be about 18 inches high. and today it's barely an inch. >> so frank's 500 acre crop, survive. >> if you dig deep enough, it's dry. right there. >> bone dry a couple of inches beneath the surface.

>> exactly. you see the tips burnt. one is lack of water, and two, we had frost three ago. >> since frank has to hay to feed his cattle he has to buy it from far away farms. some californian ranchers are oregon. >> this is the reserve. i have 150 acres. i have to buy it, i'm buying another >> how far away does it come? >> 900 miles. >> given the scars supply, the cost of that hay has skyrocketed. >> we don't try to buy much hay, but around here you are probably looking at, right now, probably a load. >> the drought forced so many californian ranchers to shrink or sell their herds, that the meat-packing plant is closing.

by april 13, '00 people here will lose their -- 1300 people will lose their jobs. >> a lot of folks we know personally. they are neighbours. my next-door neighbour to the west of me works for national beef and the sole provider of his family, with a couple of kid. that's a family that will impacted. >> the job losses from the meat plant add to the pain of the country that has the highest unemployment. one of the state's leading banks predicts it will cost the state 40,000 jobs. most in agriculture. >> the ripple is clear to see. at the 101 livestock supply down the road, chris avery fears the sell-off of california cattle will decimate her business.

>> this time of year, they are getting back seats. they are doctoring the calves, getting back seats and using ear tags. i sell those, they sell them, and then i sell fly spray, wormers and fly tags. if they sell the cows, they will not buy that stuff. it makes a dent in my business. in california, they declared a drought emergency. ranchers can qualify for low-interest loans. most farmers do not want to be deeper in debt. he want the government to think bigger, much bigger. >> you look at the clouds and go "couldn't you make it rain?", you can do everything else. we can go to the moon and mars, and spend billions of dollars, you know, trying to save a fish down the creek letting water out of a trillion dollar dam, but we

want make it rain. >> for now he's gambling against nature. holding off on selling his cattle. time is running out. soon he and his family will have no choice but to leave the business that supported them for three generations. >> it's a little hard for us to imagine it in the east where we are feeling the weather at this hour. the drought situation out west is expected to impact the nation. we are joined by climatologists from the national drought center at the university of nebraska, lincoln. talk to us about this. in chris's report we talked about california. this is a drought that goes behind california. it does, we are still under a drought that we trace back to 2010/2011. we had a big drought -- >> how much of the country? >> 60%

>> 60% you say. >> 60% of the west is in drought right now. 95% of california. >> 95. so we are talking about states. this spread is across all kinds of states - idaho, so many places, and that means so many different kind of livestock and crops as well. >> well, yes. when you think about the agricultural impact with fruits and vegetables, but in california, a large dairy-producing state, in addition to the ranching industry, the price of hay - have you to go a long ways away and the ranching industry and you have to go a long way that is better off to send your hay because they have been in drought recently too so a lot of domino's will fall. >> reporter: the reach of this started to spread out very quickly. >> yeah, you know, we have seen the same issues and the same problems particularly with the ranching community and selling

off of herds they invested, generations of time and building and the same in the west and that is different because they have a dry season and wet season and we need it to be in the form of snow and the warm temperatures have caused what rain we have gotten to be as rain and that is not well to last us long in the summer. >> reporter: we are going to see this in food prices across the country and we may see it in other areas, for example i understand that the spread of certain diseases is exacerbated by drought. >> absolutely. health concerns and issues, when you start losing quantity of water you have quality issues and in the water and you can have more concern about what is a virus and respiratory illnesses go way up with asthma and other cases with that dust that is blown and disturbed and put in the atmosphere. >> and we see it in arenas

beyond agriculture. how do you transport, for example, how do you ship products if there is drought? >> right, as you mentioned, not only transportation but due to electro power electricity if it continues the path we are on. we are coming out of december-february is the wettest time of the year and we will have a miracle weeks but we are running out of weeks for the drought. >> reporter: the weather we are experiencing with flooding and that sort of thing is having big impacts on the economy but truly drought does have a big and long lasting effect on the economy and expensive impact as well. >> droughts are on average the biggest cause of economic loss in the united states and globally every year because it has a large spatial foot print compared to tornados and floods

and tornados and droughts can cover millions of square miles and in addition duration and can last months or years and other hazards are not typically going to last but a few minutes to a few days and that is a big difference between droughts and other hazards. >> reporter: from the drought mitigation center and thanks very much for being with us. >> thanks for having me on the show. >> reporter: when we return, inside afghanistan, behind the lens, chronicling 25 years of war and peace in a troubled land. ♪ >> no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life.

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al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news. while you were asleep news was happening. >> here are the stories we're following. >> find out what happened and what to expect. >> international outrage. >> a day of political posturing. >> every morning from 5 to 9 am al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any

other american news channel. >> tell us exactly what is behind this story. >> from more sources around the world. >> the situation has intensified here at the border. >> start every morning, every day 5am to 9 eastern. >> with al jazeera america. and afghanistan set free 65 militants from prison fearing reciprocity and karzi said to maintain distance from the decisions, since september 11, 2001 the countries are unfamiliar to many americans but for photo journalists afghanistan was a natural inclination and his intimate collection of photographs and now a book entitled afghanistan a distant war and detailed recollections are a summary of a long and often difficult history. >> reporter: when i got to

afghanistan in 88 they already killed a million people, that is a lot of violence to throw down on people in less than ten years. they had also caused the movement of six million people estimated. >> the new bureau for time magazine became open for photographer in 1987. the region had all the ingredients that a journalist and photographer without want in their territory and they were under marshall law and civil war started in shrelanka and afghanistan had the soviet army for ten years and a volatile region and the insurge was about to kickoff and it's the news value of a region like that and out of your mind not to go. >> in the early days the fighters, civilians took a liking to the camera and their

only exposure had been through government controlled media and the government stations would rarely go out and meet people and there was a strict party line and well scripted and people did not believe it and did not understand the cycle of taking a picture and seeing it printed. they would never see the final copy. this person shot in 1990 is still alive today and he is known as the don of afghanistan. he is essentially the first person to start looking for funding for global gihad outside of afghanistan and also the recipient of a great amount of money from the cia and he also befriended bin laden. >> it shows a newspaper sold the

street by a newspaper hawker and a very industrous boy and probably not literate and you see a person behind him that has bought the paper is also reading the paper outside to the paper around him who are also unable to read the paper. a lot of homeless kids and families that are split and children that go hungry and are left to forge for themselves or sent out by parents to find wood for heat, for cooking, to beg, to look for scrap. this picture is a family fleeing in 1993, in a neighborhood because of inter factional fighting between the groups as the civil war had taken over the country and what i found interesting here is this is a bicycle, a tea cup, a chicken

and pretty much that is all they could get out, fleeing for their lives. i didn't have a problem with a camera until the taliban came in and photographs were not permitted especially women. the trips in afghanistan had unexpected moments. that is the nature of region and the nature of the country and nature of the story. it's a country without law. the people right now are very hopeful. they have reached a certain amount of employment economic, social improvement, schools have opened but at the same time corruption is rife, crime is up, kidnapping still goes on at a low level. there is no real solid sense of security. i'm not numb to it, no, i'm still quite sensitive to what happens to the people and the

surroundings in every situation. i tried to keep a balance as much as possible. it's a story i started long ago and i feel the narrative is strong enough for me and my curiosity remains, i'm curious on where the country is going. >> reporter: robert nickelsburg, ahead in our final thoughts this hour cinema and censorship why are film makers from india hitting the film circuit internationally and we will travel to germany next. award winning films telling stories... >> she doesn't wanna come as someone who was manipulative. >> revealing secrets... >> information became our most powerful weapon... >> taking chances... >> everyone that was involved in the clandestant movement, had a code name. >> each week, a new eye opening experience. >> now they're going to go to jail... >> al jazeera america presents... remarkable documentaries

and finally from us tonight the film makers fight against sensorship and directors in india say they are forced to modify movies to get them to be played in the theatres and now they are flocking to germany and we explain why from the berlin film festival. >> this is the base of indian movies and thousands are made a year but directors who go a little or a lot further there may be problems ahead. one in particular, censorship. and he has caused uproar in india and not necessarily with fans but with those who decide whether a film can even be released, as far away from bolywood it explains issues, rape and homosexuality among them and in places it's

derogatory about gandhi and you can see it full at the berlin alley but to show it there they made huge, unwelcome changes. >> denial of certification and they say it's not satisfiable. and they have 56 changes to the film like 30 cuts and blurs and everything. >> reporter: films like this have a huge part of the identity and you have the big red carpet and you have hollywood stars who come to town to show movies and away from this you have smaller, independent films that show reef lyle issues that you won't get to see and what they don't want you to see. here at the berlin army they really do. critics upon out that film festivals are an important tool for those who cannot and are not allowed to have their voices

heard. >> the screens that have been held up there, they have been sold out. i know people with tickets couldn't get in and it's a good sign there is a lot of interest in a film like that and that message should reach india and it could be shown abroad and makes it more embarrassing for ionia. >> reporter: and he takes a look at ionia's uncomfortable side and it is a film that indeed makes the authorities feel less than comfortable says its director. >> it is clear case of the political free speech control by the state. >> reporter: india may be changing but movies like this may still be harder to come by for sometime yet. phil with al jazeera at the berlin film festival. >> and that's it for us here on america tonight, please remember if you would like to comment on stories you have seen tonight log on to al jazeera.com/america tonight and join us on twitter

or facebook page and good night and we will have more america tonight coming up, tomorrow. ♪

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