need from eac each other. >> and on that note thanks to our guests for a ones of discussion. discussion. until in this time we'll see you online. >> good evening everyone, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. the drought, record dry spell in california as the president visits the region. more money, more votes. if influence of big dollars and the billionaire says, the more money you invest, the more votes you should get. bullying in football. abusive behavior by players on the miami dolphins.

and the gift of guns. one police department's valentine's day suggestion, a firearm for that special someone. there have been plenty of headlines about the winter that just won't stop. rain has been falling in some parts of california and that is big news but it's not nearly enough rain to help desperate farmers teelg -- dealing with extreme drought. they're not the only ones struggling. we begin with melissa chan in california's central valley. >> the worst drought in her memory has her worried. >> it grabs you from down deep. and you're making me cry! but when you see the soil and you touch it and you know that

it may not be here for your next generation of family, that's -- that's big. >> reporter: she says she had hoped to plant pistachio trees this winter but without water, she will abandon that notion. many afternoons assessing the effect of the drought. >> and it will be dry like this -- >> all year. >> -- all year. >> she takes us to stoneland farms. they left land fallow, because they don't have enough water. >> when we're not spending enough money on growing the crop because we don't have enough water, everybody down the line is affected. >> lier unemployment in an already depressed region. >> i need water, we don't have water, they don't have jobs. so the water is so important to

keep it, the people work in the fields, working. because there's no water, there's no jobs. >> reporter: to properly understand the drought's impact it's important to know that the central valley has had very dry conditions for a few years now so the drought has turned an already bad situation worse. we met dan short as he unloaded food at a distribution center. his organization expects to give away an extra 10,000 pounds of food this year. california, one of the bread baskets of the world is unable to feed itself. >> it's heartbreaking. and i'm feeding the guys who actually grow the food, you know. >> reporter: according to the california form water coalition, the coalition could lose $2.2 billion because of the drought. some farmers will go breakup bankrupt. >> what will i do, what will i become?

>> the people tell us, farming is not a job. it doesn't end at 5:00. it's not a small business that folds. it's a lifestyle, a culture. iif it disappears, you're left with nothing. melissa chan, central valley, california. >> kevin corriveau has more. >> i want to take you to folsom lake and show you before and after pictures. this is a reservoir, this is before the drought. this is after the drought. 76 feet below drought level. let me show you another picture. you can see how low they are. the climate prediction center has said that they really think over the next three months this area to southern california and central california is still going to be well below the average in the next three months. so unfortunately, we're not going to be seeing much of a break. we are picking up some rain

basically from central california to the north. this is not going to really make much of a difference or dent in the drought. unfortunately for oregon we are looking at flooding going along the coastal region. that is going to continue all weekend long. but for california relatively dry all weekend. john. >> all right, kevin, thank you very much. president obama is in central california right now. he has been meeting with farmers from the fresno area. let's listen in. >> except people did agree that we can't keep on doing business as usual. that's what people did understand. that there has to be a sense of urgency about this. and issues like the federal government helping states to build infrastructure, to adapt and ensure economic development, and that families and workers are able to prosper, there's nothing new about that. we just saw a photograph of president kennedy, and current

governor brown's dad, building some of the aquifers that have been so important to the economy of this state for decades. >> that's president obama out in fresno, california talking about the drought. white house correspondent mike viqueria standing by with more on the president's trip. mike. >> reporter: well, john, the president started his day in fresno, california, meadly went on a tour -- immediately went on a tour conducted a round table with farmers and their representatives and went to an individual's house, where he saw a fallow field that had not been planted because of the drought. he comes john with a lot of proposals and a lot more, in terms of what he wants congress to do to build infrastructure, a touchy issue in california, in the midst of this historic drought and that is the allocation of historic resources, $100 million in

livestock assistance, $15 million in conservation assistance, oklahoma and texas is also suffering drought, and he's proposing $1 billion in the issue of climate change, climate resistance fund, that's going to have to go through congress and the white house has been tying the drought in with global warming and the president's agenda on climate change. >> he's going for a meeting in palm springs is that right? >> that's right. he's going to do it this evening. it's just after 5:00 in california. he's going to sunnylands, to meet with king abdalla, the situation in syria and the hundreds of thousands of people who have evacuated syria and living as refugees in jordan. the president plans to stay on in california for the three day

weekend for rest and relaxation. >> all right mike viqueria thank you very much. >> heavier ice falling trees pulled down power lines across the united states. some have heat and electricity back but many in southern states like south carolina and georgia may spend part of the weekend in the dark. the relentless winter setting records. this week's storm led to the highest number of flights cancelled in 14 years. since december 1st more than 75,000 domestic flights have been cancelled. that's the most since the department of transportation started keeping records. and traffic is finally moving after a mess on the pennsylvania turnpike just outside of philadelphia. a series of extents involving more than 100 cars and trucks backed up rush hour traffic for miles. took the crews all morning to

reopen westbound lanes. money talks, there's too much money in politics but not everyone agrees. randall pinkston is here. randall. >> john, it's a radical idea, tying the vote to the amount of taxes you pay. multimillionaire tom perkins. tom perkins has spent most of his adult life building a fortune. not quite a billionaire but close. now in his 80s he's unabashedly wealthy. these americans are being vilified. >> frustrations have been building up for a long time about what i see is the demonization of the rich. >> he made a controversial comparison, like thing occupy wall street demonstrators, to

the wealthiest 10% of the nation, to the crystalnacht. of the nazi era. >> a mad fiendish dictator used incredible political skills to focus hatred on that 1% and used it as a stepping-stone to power. and i saw a parallel between our 1% here in america, and that 1%. >> he quickly apologized. >> it was a terrible word to have chosen. >> but now, another controversial comment. perkins said the right to vote should be tied to how much you pay in taxes. >> if you pay a million dollars in taxes you should get a million votes. how's that? >> perkins says he was trying to be outrageous but he has his supporters who are defending his staunch opposition to higher

taxes and redistribution of wealth. >> i have sympathy with that perspective, you are having voting to take way from people and legal theft through the ballot system and that's not the way it should be in this country. >> perkins critics say there is another perspective, one shared by many americans. >> we've seen a recovery from the lows of 2008 recession. on the other hand, we haven't seen wages really increase for average middle class and lower to middle class americans. and i think that's really at the heart of a lot of the economic disputes here. >> perkins says he was once a member of the 99% and he is aware of people who struggle. but he's more concerned that criticism of a minority, even the wealthiest minority, is dangerous, john. >> but even if you link votes to taxes or taxes to the number of votes, isn't that illegal?

>> right. there's the 24th amendment it prohibits any payment by a government of funds to pay taxes. i mean the poll tax was outlawed for that very reason. >> randall pinkston, thank you. randaldave leventhal, give r opinion. >> representation by the wealthy is patently ridiculous. there's not going to be a situation where democracy as we know it, elections as we know it is rolled back to the age of white land owners having the greater ability to vote in this country. but at the same time, you are talking about people who are powerful, business leaders, who have a lot of wealth, who say we are getting piled on. we have worked hard, done a lot for the country, created jobs,

why finger us and call us the enemy? why point out the fact that we are this 1% and vilify us in a way they don't feel is fair. >> and the argument might be that because they're in the 1% they can afford to contribute and influence the government when it makes regulations about their business that are beneficial to them. >> if you just took a hold hard look at the numbers, the statistics on lobbying in this country alone says nothing about campaign contributions and fund raisers, lobbying alone, all the rich companies, they have a presence here in wrashedz that just -- washington, d.c. that just absolutely trumps everyone else in the country, even labor unions and many of the others in this country. many who are lobbying at capitol hill are former members of congress, former government officials so when you are talking about stacking the deck it definitely is stacked in favor of wealthy corporations and individuals, are it may be a

good or bad thing but it is what it is. >> can you talk for a moment about over the last ten years the significance and the increase in fundraising for members of congress? >> absolutely. john, you talk to members of congress, and i've talked to many of them, who say we don't like fundraising, we have to do it because we know if we don't our opponents will go ahead and beat us at that game. if you are a members of congress during election season which frankly is extending more and more from weeks to months to almost the entire election cycle, they'll spend hours a day dialing for dollars, if you go to washington, d.c. to some of the main restaurants around capitol hill, they'll have fund raisers stacked up for fund raisers, not just a couple of months before elections but a year or two out from elections in many cases. >> one quick question, do you think the voters feel a lot of

sympathy for the 1%? >> not necessarily. if you look at the 99% if you want to break it down that way, most people who are middle america, middle class working people certainly poor people have very little sympathy for those who, in the case of mr. perkins are building one of the largest yachts in the entire world that costs $150 million and they're trying to put food on the table. there is inquit whe inequity whs to income, regardless how successful they have been and how many jobs they have created they're not going to get a whole lot of love from those who are struggling just to live their lives. >> dave thank you. >> you too john. >> until today most banks did not want to touch the money. paul beban is live in denver, colorado. one of the first to legalize marijuana. the government issued some new

guidelines about banks and marijuana sellers. tell us what happened. >> well, good evening john. that's correct. there are some new guidelines. let me tell you where i am, in lodel wellness, a marijuana wellness shop, you can see their grow room, and on the other side is a line of customers who are coming in for recreational and medical marijuana. the department of justice and division of treasury called the financial crimes enforcement network, which many were hoping would be a green light for banks to start doing business with organizations like lodo, that was not the case. the reception from the marijuana industry was very responsive, here is what a trade industry said earlier. >> up until this point these businesses have been forced to operate in almost an entirely cash-only environment. that's not just for sales. that's also paying their employees. paying their taxes.

paying their licensing fees and utility bills. all of these things have had to be done in stacks of cash in the past. >> so you can hear john, they're very enthusiastic thinking this is going to om the door for banks to start doing business with shops like this but the banking industry took a look at these new guidelines and said not so fast. here is what the head of the colorado banking industry told me this morning. >> we started today at the 5 yard line with 95 yards yet to go. the department of justice and treasury wanted to move the ball quite a ways but we are still at the five yard line. we have only gone a tiny distance for banks to feel comfortable providing this service. >> what the banks want to do is hear from the federal reserve and fdic. donnell, what is your reaction to the news today?

>> cautiously optimistic that we are going the right direction but obviously, there are hoops and hurdles that need to be addressed. from our perspective it is not safe to have this kind of money on hand and we sure would like to be able to write a check as is customary most businesses. >> you have been even paying your taxes in cash, is that right? >> yes, in cash. >> all cash. >> and it's been a real issue for us. but the security we have and where we are keeping the money is kind of an industry secret for us and we're trying to just as i say deal with the circumstances we were dealt. >> like you said, cautiously optimistic, a little ways to go. thanks very much. >> appreciate it. >> cawrksly opt-- cautiously optimistic but not a green light as many in the industry were hoping. >> a warning on sugary drinks.

and a disturbing problem, bullying on the miami dolphins football team. and going above and beyond to save the dogs in sochi.

>> if every casino o can of soda list of sugar in it, would it stop you from buying soda? people need to know the facts. richelle carey is here with that. richelle. >> warnings on the front of soda and juice drinks that have added sugar. the first proposal of its kind in the country. the labels would warn, follow me

here: drinking beverages with added sugar contributes to obesity diabetes and tooth decay. democratic state senator bill monning, introduced this elimination. coca-cola pepsi and the dr. pepper snapple group said, it is misleading to say that soft drink consumption is uniquely the cause of weight gain. 27% and 55% in children and with numbers that show blacks and latinos are suffering from diabetes more than others it's no surprise that minority health advocates are backing this bill. this is not the first attempt to limit sugary drinks.

former new york city mayor michael bloomberg wanted to ban the sale of large size drinks at stadiums, that ban was overturned. we'll have to see how far it is. >> thank you richelle. harold goldstein, the executive director of the sponsor of this legislation. why do you think this bill is important? >> there is now overwhelming scientific evidence that soda and other sugary drinks are a central and unique contributor to the obesity epidemic, to preventible diabetes and to tooth decay. one soda has 16 teaspoons of sugar. imagine eating 16 teaspoons of

sugar. it turns out that all of this sugar is the leading source, the sugar in soda and other sugary drinks, the leading source of sugar in the american diet and the leading contributor to the obesity epidemic. >> shouldn't individuals make that decision on their own? >> john that is exactly what this piece of legislation is about. giving consumers the information that they need, and they get to make every decision for themselves, absolutely. that's the american way. that's what freedom is all about. >> high salt content can raise blood pressure. how far do you go with this is my question? do we warn on every food item that is in the store? >> no. absolutely not. i think what we do is, when the scientific evidence reaches a threshold, that's when we need to warn consumers. i think most people don't know that the uniquely harmful

effects of liquid sugar, the clinical scientific studies, gold standard of research shows that if you drink two sodas a day for two weeks your cholesterol and triglyceride levels go up 20%. drink that for six months and the amount of fat in your liver more than doubles. and it's that fatty liver disease that leads directly to preventible diabetes. >> don't candy bars have the same impact? >> i think that's what people don't know yet. it's that liquid sugar is uniquely harmful. we human beings were designed to school two beverages, mother's milk and water. we didn't evolve to drink liquid sugar. it's absorbed into the blood system in 30 minutes and that spike in blood sugar levels overwhelms the pancreas and then

almost immediately gets converted into fat in the liver and that's what causes preventible diabetes. . >> in new york when mayor bloomberg took the action he did with sugary soft drinks, people said you are butting your nose into the likes of -- lives of new yorkers. >> i think we're going to hear something completely different. in new york what they were doing was banning certain products. sb 1,000 in california is entirely about education. even the beverage industry has said that the solution to the obesity epidemic is about education. that's exactly what this birl does it provides consumers -- bill does, it provides consumers -- >> what does the warning say? >> it says exactly what's in your setup piece. drinking these kind of drinks

contributes to diabetes and tooth decay. you drop a tooth into a glass of soda, and it dissolves away, same thing if your teet are still in your mouth. >> how big would that warning be? >> almost the same size as the warning on tobacco. that's what this is labeled after. there's a lot of evidence that shows that when you put warning labels on tobacco, people read it and get to make the choice themselves. >> harold goldstein out in sacramento, we'll be watching this with you. thanks very much. >> thanks john. >> stuck in a syrian city, hundreds of individuals still unable to leave the battled city of homs. and a billion dollar earth scorching suspect. and why cupid's aish row cut

enough fire power on valentine's day.

>> and welcome back to al jazeera america. ai'm john siegenthaler in new york. it's a busy friday night and lots to tell you about this half hour. evacuations on hold. nobody is allowed to leave the syrian city of homs right now. we'll get an eyewitness account of someone who was just there. big business. a big solar plant is opening in california, not everybody is happy about it. the kindness of strangers, what they're doing to help stray dogs in sochi. richelle. >> let's head out to california where president obama spent part of the day discussing the historic drought. president met farmers from the fresno area, one of the hardest hit area. the president is announcing a 100,000 livestock assistance,

and will meet to discuss the middle east and florida. allowing banks to do business with legal marijuana sellers. banks have been avoiding the pot industry, the use of marijuana is still illegal under federal law. and airlines are reporting a record number of flight cancellations. weeks of rough winter weather across much of the country that led to the highest number of flights cancelled in more than 20 years. 14,000 flights were cancelled this week alone. since december more than 75,000 domestic flights have been cancelled. and john, many airlines have been cutting their unprofitable flights so that means passengers that end up on those cancelled flights end up waiting days and days and days to get rebooked on another flight. >> a lot of unhappy passengers. >> yes. >> reports say syria is not

making much progress in destroying its chemical weapons. at this point the country will miss its mid year deadline to destroy all of its chemical weapons. the war continues. hundreds were killed in the town of darra, a bomb blew up in a mosque as worshipers were leaving evening prayer. evacuations have been stopped in the city of homs, a cease fire between president assad' forces and rentals in homs have allowed 1400 people to leave the rebel held city. several hundred more civilians are apparently still trapped inside. we spokes to our syrian contributor rasha, we obscure her identity for her own protection. she's just back from the city of homs, again asking her what that city looks like now.

>> all the other places -- [ audiodistortion ] >> audio distortion ] imagination so it is really devastated. >> let me go back to the evacuation. so the regime is trying to determine whether or not some of these male evacuees are enemy combatants or whether they are just potentially male evacuees.

how do they make that determination? >> all of the evacuees when they come out of the city are separated into two categories, women and children on one side of the evacuation center and then all males between the ages of 15 and 54 on the other side. at these processing centers, they spend two, maybe three days being processed, a lot of the men have actually been released from there. maybe 70% of the men who were sent there have been released. but the big question remains: that you know, okay, now they're being released because the u.n. and the media and the entire world is watching. but it's very easy to put those -- the names of those men at checkpoints. and basically, detain them, the first chance that the government gets. each and every one of them will be brought in for further questioning, and by further questioning, of course, in

syria, unfortunately, these days that means interrogation, torture as thousands of people you know disappear. >> you went to homs. what did you see? >> a lot of the civilians that came out of the old city, i mean, the youngest was a five-year-old -- i'm sorry, a five day old boy, baby boy that had just been born the week before. a lot of the women and children and the elderly who came out looked haggard. some of them had tarnish on their faces. they looked dazed. they weren't walking straight. they weren't walking quickly. they seemed quuferred. they were -- confused. they were offered a meal right away and the children which ar are -- were immunized immediatelily. the military aged men looked healthier and more robust than the civilians. >> rasha, good to have you on

the program again, take care. thank you. >> now to the world's largest thermal plant. 45 miles southeast of las vegas. it has more than 175,000 mirrors, each the size of a garage door. it generates the amount of energy to power the city of pasadena, california. joining us to discuss this is shia meda, welcome, it's good to see you. >> thank you. >> how is this power plant different? >> well, it's very different from the sort of mainstream dominant it will. the ivan pat project, instead of turning sun energy into electricity, this huge field is

concentrating the raise o rays e sun, to boilers, getting heated to superheated steam, running steam turbines, producing electricity just like a coal plant or nuclear plant would. this design is called a power tower technology, has never been commercialized before. this is the largest solar terminal plant in the world and this is easily the largest power tower base in the world. >> is it more efficient than traditional solar power? >> well, that really comes down to how you define efficiency. in terms of how much of the sun's electricity can be converted into energy, it tends to be higher. but then, a lot of the discussion on efficiency ultimately comes down to cost, right? and that's part of the discussion around the ivan par project. there is no question, this is

quite a bit larger technology, come down by a factor of a half over the last five years. ivan pi is more than double that cost now. >> not everybody thinks this is a good idea. what are the critics saying? >> well first of all there's the environmental problems that this plant has. and there's a piece in the wall street journal recently talking about how the heat that's generated around these towers has been killing birds which could lead to the death of some endangered species, that's clearly a technology they'll have to develop a solution for. the solar thermal has been eroding over the last few years because of the increasing competitiveness and the cheemer cost of the main -- cheaper cost of the mainstream solar panel technology. does it make sense for this technology given how cheap the dominant solar power technology

you install on roofs today is. unlike panel based technology, this is not modular. you can't build a small plant and see if it works. building on a large scale is all that makes sense. comes all risk of construction financing and environment. >> let me try to compare things then. if you put a traditional solar power project that was the same size as all those mirrors that were headed for the tower, would it produce the same amount of electricity or not? >> it would produce a little bit less electricity on average but the cost of of that electricity would be much lower today. the one advantage, though, that the ivan par plant and solar technology has is that you can store that heat. and therefore you can store the energy and use it not exactly the time it's produced. whereas for panel based

technology those options don't exist for electricity and adding a battery is much more expensive. on the cost basis, the amount of money for the ivan par project is about two and a half times more than the panel technology can give you today. >> thank you for your insight. >> thank you. >> let's go to washington, d.c. joie chen standing by to tell us what's coming up on "america tonight." >> good evening john. love is in the air, even at sochi where the winter olympians have been warming up to tinder the, the one at the moment. that's why we're on the dating circuit on the worldwide web. unlock the secrets. take notice of some of the red flags. then we'll turn to a real life

pro, a man who puts a price on finding love. he claims he knows when chemistry can fool the heart. >> the chemistry sweeps the bad stuff under the rug. and online dating is not the cause of this. this is people, people inmemorial have acted this way, the romeo and juliet story. >> on "america tonight," we'll see you then john. >> joie chen, thank you joie. bullying in the nfl. an investigation uncovered a surprising story. jessica taff. >> the scandal that involved jonathan martin and richie incognito who both play for the miami dolphins. three starters on the offensive linemen, all instigators in the bullying, we also learned that

martin wasn't the only target. another player and assistant trainer were excessively harassed. seems vindicated from the report and plans to resume his football career. another story from incognito's camp. report replete with errors? will still claims that martin was never bullied by richie incognito or anyone from the miami dolphins. >> chris, let's first get your initial reaction to this 144-page report. >> well, it was incredibly voluminous, and so much stuff to absorb. but you know to me the two take-aways were the report found jonathan martin was harassed and he was harassed by three players, richie incognito, john

perry and john consee. ang unnamed player a who was described as a young offensive lineman and an assistant trainer and report said that some players on the scene thought that another offensive lineman nate garner got teased worse than jonathan martin. three people, four people really among jonathan martin, player a, the assistant trainer and nate garner. and the report said jonathan martin went to his offensive line coach jim turner back in may of 2013 and told him he was depressed and had suicidal thoughts. the dolphins head coach talked to jonathan martin and jonathan martin's parents, they sent him to a psychiatrist who put him on

an antidepressant. seems like may of 2013 and october of 2013 when jonathan martin left the team the coaches didn't pay too close attention owhat was going on. >> you made a great point with coach turner. one thing that jumped out with me, that 144 page report, offensive line coach actually reached out to martin after this whole story came out, told him to publicly support incognito, he's been beat up for days, put an end to this, be a man, essentially come out and help the team mate out. what are your thoughts now on how this looks really for the dolphins organization and how do you think they would respond to coach turner now after this? >> it doesn't look good. i'm not sure that jim turner is able to keep his job after this. this is something that you know it started with the players. the report said richie incognito was the ring leader and they

thought that poundsee and turner just went along. once jim turner became aware, the report also said jonathan martin never told anyone specifically he was being harassed by these players because jonathan martin thought he would be regard he as a snitch. but jim turner the knew that jonathan martin had suicidal thoughts. joe philbin, the head coach knew that. they should have asked him how he was doing periodically. this is not just a torn hamstring or an injured knee. this is somebody's life you're talking about. so the culpability goes up to the head coach i think to some extent. much of it lies to the players and their immature player to jonathan martin. >> thank you so much again chris perkins for the dolphins beat

writer from the sun-sentinel. thank you so much. a lot of people dropping the ball and so many things, so many layers into this story. >> i suppose we're going to hear from other folks as this goes on. all right jessica thank you very much. it is one of the most controversial stories coming out of the winter olympic games in sochi, russia. what authorities there are doing about the city's stray dogs. rory challens reports. >> people here know that mart margareta and her daughter are dog lovers. so it was her that they called. >> when we found her she was in terrible condition. she had blood poisoning. her leg was amputated under and

she lived. >> they after as -- they look after as many of sochi's stray dogs as they can. >> we would like the city to have an animal shelter like all other civilized cities, but before now, they would be killed instead. >> using a catcher to capture and exterminate strays. humane international wants foreigners to adopt sochi's street dogs. gus ken woirt might be one of them. he is trying to take home some puppies with him. a new shelter in the region is currently being expanded. but so far, only the cull has made a serious dent in the number of trays on the -- trayss

on the streets of sochi. there used to be many more of that but most of them are now dead. >> mother and daughter urge sochi's authorities to come up with more humane solutions like sterilization program. but while there are still strays on the streets, the two women will keep going out every day, to look after them. rory challens, al jazeera sochi. a powerful volcanic eruption, forced 200,000 to flee. mt. kalud sent ash into the air, indonesia's disaster agency says trummors are still being -- tremors are still being felt. just ahead, guns and roses.

and the winner of the 57th annual press photo competition, will introduce you to this man who took this picture.

>> it has been a miserable week for many of you. i want to give you a weekend forecast as we go. saturday and sunday, the storm system that was here across the northeast is finally pulling out. we'll see a little bit of snow into new york, boston and philly, dumping one to two

inches of snow on saturday. one of the coldest days that we see over the next five, but take a look at this, tuesday, wednesday across much of the northeast and new york you're going to see 44, going up to about 48°. well here across the northern plains we do have one wave pushing through, one that will cause the snow across the northeast. little bit of light snow going across chicago on saturday as well as monday. temperatures begin to rise tuesday at 39 and wednesday, a mostly cloudy day at about 44°. and if you want to find its someplace to go that's quite warm get out of the cold and the snow i would suggest phoenix on saturday at about 85°. as we take a look at what's happening on sunday, texas doesn't look too bad, san antonio at about 78. that is a look at your national weather. your news is coming up right after this.

>> in california, a major blow of supporters of gun control.

issuing gun permits, a federal appeals decision struck down that decision. it says it violates the second amended. it's expected to go all the way to the supreme court for a final ruling. suggested that guns will be a good valentine's day gift. randall trutling reports. >> valentine's day gift from her husband of 37 years. >> he travels a lot, wants to have one for protection. >> a ruger .9 millimeter. ,epartment, recently took to facebook to emphasize the safety of a firearm. >> most of them have been positive remarks. >> and a nearby technical firearms in katy, text.

men have been giving firearms as gifts. >> it's a good gift to go. >> pink and purple are the colors of choice for women customers looking for a new gun but you won't find any of this store. with valentine's day here, they're all sold out. thomas harney, didn't surprise his girlfriend with a firearm of her own. >> she wouldn't be happy about that. >> of course we asked. >> a pink gun, that would be cool. >> tanya waxler certainly likes what she's leaving here with. >> i decided which i'd be comfortable with and purchased it. >> emphasizing safety first, a gun should not be in the hands of someone who has not fired on a gun range yet.

brandon trutling, katy, texas. it is friday, our weekly look at the arts. the world press photo of the year awards. each year, the contest celebrates the best in photo journalism. tie footyphoon hyan, leaving millions homeless. demonstrators on the street of the capital of bangui, demanding the resignation of the interim president. the photo of the year, african migrants holding their mobile phones to the sky to get a better signals. we spoke to john stanmeyer.

>> so-called catching the signal in neighboring somalia as a means to communicate to their loved ones back home. and a new sort of quite -- and i knew sort of quite immediately the magnitude of what was taking place, our collective humanity's migration out of africa. i've been in that situation countless times trying to reconnect with my family back home. it's an image that's really all of us. the work i'm doing now is not so much front line combat photography anymore, i've seen it year after year decade after decade and i haven't seen much of it change. my focus is issues that lead to conflict, before we get to that weakened state of humanity. >> quite a significant photograph. he enjoys the work of his fellow

photo journalists. a multimillion dollar stradivarius is stolen. back in the hands of the man making his living playing it. how the instrument actually plays. plus the art of legos, taking a toy and turning it into an exhibit. those stories and a lot more, tonight 11:00 eastern, 8:00 pacific. we have our photo that catches our eye, freeze frame coming from ukraine. a picture of an antigovernment protestor, celebrating valentine's day. as demonstrators getting ready to rally, at kiev's independence square. richelle will have the headlines after this.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are tonight's top stories. the president is in california right now, he spent the day focusing on the state's drought. the white house announced a plan to help including $100 million

for livestock assistance. shortly the president will speak with the king of jordan to discuss political and economic cooperation. after this week's dangerous storm wreaked havoc on these, hundreds of thousands of people, snow ice and trees tore down power lines across a number of states. others have heat and electricity back, mostly those in southern states continue to wait. and traffic is finally moving outside philadelphia after several pileups on the pennsylvania turnpike backed up traffic for miles. series of crashes involving multiple tractor trailers and dozens of cars. federal government is giving go ahead for banks to do business with marijuana sellers. avoiding the industry because of fear of prosecution. and inside syria dozens were killed in the southern city of

darra as worshipers were leaving friday prayers. tarra is where the protest first began in february of 2011. "america tonight" with joie chen is up next, you can always check out our website at aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight": did he have to stand his ground? the florida gunman accused of killing an unarmed teenager awaits a jury's decision. also tonight. he plowed into the back of me which pushed me right into the bmw. >> the digout begins, after the wait for another round of winter. and on this valentine's day, expert advice nor the online foe dating game. a word of