>> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm del walters, and these are the stories we're following for you. the aftermath now of the storm. dozens of cars and trucks, all in a big pileup in pennsylvania. president obama traveling to california, trying to get a firsthand look at that devastating drought. >> a 13-year-old boy, the size of an eight-year-old. and he has not eaten meat for two years or more. >> as the syria peace talks stagnate, aid workers are helping civilians on the ground.

the big chill in the eastern u.s. now giving away to the giant meltdown, and more show is on the way. hundreds of people coping with out power, and flight delays and cancellations. it's going to be some time before things are back to normal. jennifer has been tracking the storm's aftermath, and it's going to be quite some time. >> the aftermath of the storm is just starting to come into focus. half a million people still without power. mostly in georgia and the carolinas and in connecticut, a state of emergency has been declared there as they try to

keep the roads clear. 5 to 100 cars closed down part of the pennsylvania turnpike, and when it comes to air travel, air travel not feeling the impact of this storm. 1600 flights today have been canceled. and that's on top of the 6400 flights canceled yesterday. and since december, a little more than 5% of flights have been canceled all. the concern today is with the sun out, the temperatures are a little warmer, and the snow is starting to melt. and there's a concern that if enough of the snow melts, it could turn into black ice, making for a very dangerous commute tonight. by del, people are taking it in stride. and earlier today, we saw a man cross-country skiing in the park behind me. >> jennifer, one of the other nightmares has been the slush, and this storm left behind icy slush, and how bad is it today?

>> well, today what we have been seeing, when we started the day, it was snowing and then the sun came out and we saw the new snow is that accumulated on top of all of the snow yesterday, so we're talking 9 and a half inches. so a lot fell on top of the snow that fell in the night and early morning, and now it's starting to melt. and people are trying to nav date the sidewalks as they step into this soupy mess of snow that's turning to slush, and the concern is that that will eventually turn to ice. >> jennifer live in new york city, and we turn to dave warren. the last thing that people want to hear is this is not the end, but this is not the end. >> it's nothing like what we saw yesterday with the new storm we're tracking. as little snow as possible. right now, we want to get rid of the snow that's on the ground. and it came through last night and this morning.

and it's below freezing tonight. the sun goes down, and in the meantime, hopefully, we have a chance for the snow to melt and drain, and unclog all of those drains with snow and slush on top of it. there's the storm, it has moved out and the cold air is coming in behind it. and thanks to the sunshine, we see the melting today. here's what the next problem will be. intensify, we'll start to see south of philadelphia and baltimore and washington d.c. it will not intensify like the past storm did until it's off the coast. but here's snow coming down saturday morning and afternoon and beginning to clear out saturday night. the accumulation is just a few inks but that's on top of what's already down. so expecting more snow this weekend. but that's a lib of a pattern

change. >> president obama is headed to california later today. he's expected to offer millions in federal aid to the drought stricken state. california is one of the largest farm states in the country. he spoke this morning to talk to house democrats, and he talked about everything from immigration to obamacare. >> there are very specific ways that we can move the country forward, breaking down into categories. number one, good jobs, and paying good wages, and number two, making sure that folks are trained to fill those good jobs, and number three, to make sure that our kids have the best education in the world. and number four, making sure that hard work pays off. >> in the uk, the royals are lending a helping hand to flood victims, princes william and harry. and they are working with emergency crews, handing out

sandbags before another storm rolls in over the weekend. the nonstop rain is causing the thames to flow and drive hundreds of people from their homes. speaking out against the keystone pipeline. it would carry crude from canada's oil stands to the gulf. and some are worried that it could pollute the land that they call home. more from the black hills of south dakota. >> on the dakota sioux. >> we make offerings to the be sacred water >> so the lakota, it's sacred medicine. the project begins in the canadian tar sands, running

1100 miles from montana to if ebb neb. it would skirt seven native nations. >> it would be approximately four miles from the lake. >> that's too close for 60-year-old steve vance, who lives on the reservation. if the pipeline ruptures, it could pollute the river and the quack fir, which are in the of aquaphor. >> if the pipe breaks, which i know it will, it will leave chemicals. >> for the lakota. it's not just a battle over water, but over land. the tribe said that it violates 19 century treaties that it new negotiated with the u.s. government, treaties that they abolished but the tribes say

that they're still valid. the pipeline through those territories could unearth sacred american artifacts. transcanada has met with the tribe and said that it has protections in place to preserve both the environment and cultural sites. transcanada has a deep level of cultural awareness, and it encourages the cultures, and strives to have respect with tribal groups. >> 830,000 barrels a day. >> but at this meeting, tribe members prepared for a fight, some physically threatening to block the pipeline construction. >> they're going to have to run over us and put us in jail to put down their pipeline. >> a threat that the lakota hope they won't have to carry out. diane esteerbrook.

>> the deadline coming as the u.n. extends the evacuation of families from homes. more on the progress in the war-torn country. >> republicans of the old city of homs continue to be evacuated, sick and frail and hungry. more than 1500 have left. and the operation, according to the governor, has been extended for three days. >> the situation for the people living in the old cities is absolutely dire. i met with a 13-year-old boy, the size of an 8-year-old, and he hasn't eaten meat for two years or more. >> they hope that it will pave the way for more cooperation between syria's warring parties. the government remains on the offensive. aleppo, the largest city on the lebanese border. a surge in violence, leading to a surge in refugees, calling to

open the border crossing between iraq and syria. the u.n.'s humanitarian chief said that the security council needs to do nowhere. >> it's painstakingly slow. we haven't been able to deliver enough, and many areas remain beyond our reach. >> the council is working on a resolution to improve humanitarian access. dueling drafts. one by russia. >> given the gravity of the situation on the ground, better no resolution than a bad resolution. we're not interested in a resolution for resolution's sake. as we intensify our discussions, we have to find tects that maximizes the likelihood of resolutions on the ground. >> with more than 9 mill people in need of some form of

assistance and peace talks at a stalemate, there's a growing sense of urgency. they met with the special envoy to try to break the impasse. >> it's a very complicated subject. always fighting, as far as the united nations is concerned, we will certainly not leave one stone unturned if there's the possibility to move forward. >> now it she's that the desire to help the sieged and displaced may be the only way forward. aljazeera, the united nations. >> now we want to return to that developing story on the pennsylvania turnpike. it's right before the turnpike hits philadelphia.

joining us by phone, mimi, do we know what caused the ice? >> no, at this time, at this time, the state police are still conducting an investigation onto the reasons for the accident. it did begin with a tractor-trailer. and then we have multiple vehicles involved after the initial incident. >> do we know internship whether there have been any fatalities, and if so, how many, and how many injuries? >> that has not been told to me from the operations center. >> mimi, this stretch of the turnpike, it sort of weaves in and out of the mountains, and in the altitude, you can run into dry and wet pavement. and in the case where the snowdrifts, it can change from moment to moment, correct? >> we aren't really in a mountainous region. we're pretty flat in the east

here between harrisburg and the delaware river branch, which takes you into new jersey. so as far as the weather, it's pretty consistent as you come through this area. >> so at this point, we don't know whether the weather that we have been experiencing up and down the eastern seaboard had anything to do with this crash? >> no, we had -- it's not that that was the issue at this time. i'm going to have to wait until the pennsylvania state police issue a report as to the cause of the accident. >> let me ask you this: did you have travel advisories up on the turnpike? >> yes, up until 6 a.m. this morning, we had reduced our speeds to 45 miles per hour on the pennsylvania turnpike, but because of the changing situation, i mean, i'm looking out my with window now onto the turnpike, it's completely clear, and it's not even wet. >> when did this crash happen? what was the exact time?

>> approximately 8:30 this morning. >> so 8:30 this morning, 40 cars and trucks involved. is that correct? >> i do not have a count, i knw there are multiple vehicles involved. >> and you say this is closer to the delaware-new jersey line? >> yes, it is. it's by the bridge, it's a very heavily traveled area of the turnpike. yes. >> that's mimi doyle from pennsylvania, and thank you for all of the input. coming up next on aljazeera america, we're taking you to arizona, looking at the annual standout event where veterans can get any type of help they need. and anti-frackers protesting in northwest ireland, afraid that the water supply for millions could be polluted.

>> it is now day three in the case of michael coming up, accused of killing jordan davis over loud rap music. it the juries have to decide whether to convict him of first-degree first. he said that he feared for his life speech. >> coming together, the a to z stand down has government and community organizations in the same place. they're offering help. and what is this event all about? >> reporter: well, del, this is the largest standdown in the country. 1500 veterans expected out here today. and this is a one-stop shop for the veterans who are homeless or the most at risk. if they come through the doors here, they can get what they need. and if you follow me over here.

they can get benefits, drivers licenses if they need one, and they have beds here, so if they're homeless, they can get rest. this is an event they have annually, but they're marking a special milestone this year, because the city of phoenix is the first in the country to end chronic homelessness among veterans. they have done it with partnerships from the federal government and the city and non-profit groups. they have all come together to get all 222 chronic homeless veterans off of the street. they call it housing first. and that means getting the veterans into permanent housing first before they're treated for substance abuse or mental illness. this is a program that they launched several years ago, but all of the organizations tell me as of today, they have every one of those 222 veterans placed in

permanent housing. >> we have reached a critical milestone, and we have a lot of work ahead. we need to continue to have the political will and the collaboration to not only address homelessness, but all veteran homelessness. >> and organizers say that this is the key. they have found this program that works, and they want to make sure that's phone number just the chronically homeless veterans housed but all homeless veterans, and here in this state, they have others. >> akiko, are there other cities doing this? >> we know there are other cities, like salt lake city and philadelphia, who have adopted the same kind of program and ended veteran homelessness as well. and they are using the model to do the same, and they say its proof that this program does

work. >> akiko fujita, thank you very much. >> the stock market making headway, it's up now. a leading gage was changed from february to the end of january, and the federal reserve saying manufacturing output in january had its largest drop since may of 2009. and severe weather curtailed production in many parts of the country. >> . >> we may know the output involving that labor. in chattanooga, tennessee, wrapping up three days of voting on whether to end the auto

workers union. some say that unionization will be bad for business. opposition in the uk, controversial proposals over fracking. in northern ireland, politicians will support similar votes across the country. more from northern ireland on growing concerns about what fracking could do to the environment. >> in northwestern ireland, the farthest reach in the united kingdom. remote? but why not frack for gas? after all, there's shale in those hills. but there are people here, and they rely on the land for farming and tourism and water and air for life. when the g8 had a meeting here last year, all of the security people who feared anti-globalization protests, the anti-frackers are still mad now. >> it's going to ruin

everything, and it's irreversible, which is a huge worry for humans here. if it goes wrong, there's nothing you can do. >> so something here that has not been tried before in the uk, asking the people in a referendum if they want fracking or not. >> it's very port that we are informed about it. we reach a conclusion, and if that conclusion is the people don't want it, then i would expect that everybody could respect that. >> academics are looking at public opinion, increasingly concerned it. environmental groups are blocking roads and taking legal action against it, and the referendum could be taken around the country. >> we're trying to circumvet. it's something to look at. >> but there's another fault line in the story, which is every bit as complicated and controversial.

this river is the border between northern ireland and the uk and the republic of ireland to the south. and many of them cross borders, so what if fracking in one country ends up polluting a different one? a few kilometers downstream is the irish town, and a proposed fracking site. it's ireland's longest river. and the government wants to use it for drinking water, so polluting it would affect millions of people. >> this taking place in northern ireland, we believe can't go ahead because of the issue, and it has not been addressed by the authorities in northern ireland and our country, and we haven't been represented. >> if it would carry on if the majority of the people voted against it, and we asked what would happen if fracking polluted not one, but two

country's water? they said they have been granted a government license and look forward to begin testing this year. aljazeera on the uk-irish border. >> coming up on aljazeera, a wedding for the ages. this one taking place in the philippines.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. i'm del walters. and these are your headlines at this hour. weather may have been a factor

in this massive pileup in the pennsylvania turnpike. at 8 a.m. this morning, dozens of vehicles were involved. and the exact number is not known. no word yet of any fatalities. president obama headed to californiaed it. and he's expected to announce millions of dollars in federal aid to help with california's devastating drought. it's day three in the case of michael done, charged with killing 17-year-old jordan davis if a dispute over loud rap music. he's charged with first-degree murder, and he's claiming self defense. >> i'm meteorologist, dave warning, and here are the images coming in from the storm, snow and ice, clearing out today. the skies are clear and the temperatures above freezing. we are getting meting here, and streamers of snow coming in from

the northwest, just a light coating of snow over western pen opinion. the storm is gone. temperatures climbing above 40 in washington d.c., but enjoy it now because we have more on the radar. this is over the southern plains in the midwest. snow to rain, and not a big storm, but it will intensify. the last storm brought in cold air, and they have intensified to the east, to give a major storm like we just had. but there will be snow coming in, and it's intensifying, giving more snow saturday morning to areas that had quite a bit. washington d.c. to new england. and more snow here. little to too much. but there's significant snowfall over eastern canada, and that is by sunday morning. now, this storm track takes it off the coast. and that's the east coast. we have a welcome sight sight, and moisture, not too much. but flooding problems as the next storm comes in.

snow in the higher elevations, and this will push south. we need the moisture on the west coast, and we're seeing a pattern change. these storms are tracking over the areas that need the moisture with flooding problems out west this weekend. cold air coming into the northern plains, single-digit temperatures now, 16 in chicago, and the cold air will push east. here's the snow expected saturday. so here's the heaviest snow. well to the north. from washington up to philadelphia and new york, and it gets more the farther north and east you go. so this will be saturday. continuing throughout the day. and then the temperatures are cold on sunday. highs only into the 20s. del? >> finally, a mass wedding on the eve of valentine's day. more than 100 coups in the philippines changing i dos. the grooms wearing red shirts, and the brides in white dresses.

the event symbolizes that every day is valentine's day. thank you for watching aljazeer america. i'm del walters in new york, happy valentine's day. "inside story" is next. >> the number one and two cable providers are merging to create a new giant. if you are watching this over cable, is this bad news, good news or yet to be determined. that's the "inside story." hello, i'm