>> good afternoon to you, and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford live from new york city. talks and bloodshed in syria have not of in success, but they're not over yet. and we go to the women on the front line. a close vote in tennessee with the aut auto workers rejece

union. another day of syrian peace talks end in a stalemate. lakhdar brahimi apologized to the people of syria, putting the blame solely on the government. >> reporter: after chairing a second round of talks that have achieved nothing, immediate rater lakhdar brahimi addressed the syrian people. >> i'm very sorry and i apologize to the syrian people, their hopes were very, very high that something would happen hee and the talks gave even more hopes. >> reporter: there were arguments over the agenda of the talks. he made a proposal and he made it clear which side had objected. >> unfortunately the government had refused, which raises the

suspicion of the opposition that, in fact, the government doesn't want to discuss at all. >> reporter: within minutes both sides came to brief the media even though everyone had heard dr. brahimi say it was the syrian government that didn't accept his order of the agenda items, the syrian government representative had a different interpretation. why do you not accept his order for the discussions that he has proposed? >> the other side gave their own interpretation, but having said that there is no need to finalize the first item. there is no need to fully finalize the first item. we'll biff it one draw for the discussion and then we move onto the next item. >> why do you accept his proposal? he is the chairman? why don't you accept his proposal? >> hold your horses. we said that we cannot move from

one item, from one item to item two or item three or item four without truly considering this item. >> the opposition believes the government is deliberately stalling so it can intensify it's attacks. >> that as we speak here searching for a solution the regime has chosen to bombard cities and killing civilians. >> it started with the international meeting of world leaders. since then there have been two sessions, 14 days of talks, also since then according to one monitoring group 5,500 syrians have died. james bays, al jazeera, united nations. >> failure of these negotiations comes with a major price to the syrian people. the cease-fire in the old city of homs is winding down and the governor of the area is now

asking for an extension to help those trapped by the fighting. >> this could be anywhere. a local football match on a dusty playground, but this is a shelter in homs. a syrian city desperately clinging to a fragile cease-fire. until a few days ago these people lived in in the old city under siege. since these new incidents started we need the fireplace to cock. we never went out of the house. we never knew what was going on out there. husband women were not able to go out. >> reporter: i lost my house two weeks ago. i have heard no news of him. we were together, then he went out. from that movement i have not heard from him at all. >> they allowed them and 14 others to leave. the governor wants to see the

cease-fire extended as more people are trying to get out including hundreds of young men. there were real concerns for their safety. >> yesterday 70 young men left the camp to go back to their homeland, and they can live wherever they wish. according to the instructions of the president and by has sponsorship and according to the government's plan we're working on stilling things for all the young men who w who is still wi. >> if they manage to leave, they, too, will become displac displaced. many go to neighboring lebanon. many set up new lives. from homs, a city more than 2,000 years olds to a new home. this one a debt city. from holms, al jazeera.

>> strong ally of the united states jordan has taken in more than half a million refugees since the war began. president obama and king abullah discussed the need for a traps significancenal government in syria. >> we'll continue to strategize on how we can change inside the country so we can have syria that is respectful of all grou group{^l" ^}. >> if we don't find a solution, we'll have a spill loafer. >> in venezuela demonstrators set fire in the streets of

caracas. police used tear gas and water canons to disperse the calendar, but three people were killed in an anti-government march. just this morning the police began to set some of them free. every in ukraine the protester r below was kidnapped and severely beaten last month believes his captors were russian. lately they've been adding unlikely recruit. we have reports from kiev on the women's group. >> 20-year-old yulia has come to join the revolution. the protesters main command center all new recruits are vetted. yulia is ukrainian who lives in london with her parents, an unlikely member of the women's brigade. >> when i saw how they burn the

buses, and how police were attacking them. >> what are you prepared to do? >> everything. even to death. >> yulia is among 700 women eager to play a more active role in protest. that means they are ready to fight. but before allowed to police the barricades, yulia and others received basics training from these somewhat young recruits being trained in a whole series different tactics, how to avoid arrest, what to do in a riot situation, and if there are any more clashes they hope not to be

iin a backseat role. >> they just want to protect their freedom and their lives. but the bigger danger is that all of this will end in nothing. >> young women are undergoing a radical transfer imaginatio tra, >> it's the 49th day of detention for al jazeera staff in egypt. the three have been imprisoned since december 29th. auto workers in tennessee are saying no to organized labor. it's been two years in the making, and both pro- and anti

anti-labor have been working. in the end 712 voted against the united auto workers in the plant, and 626 voted for it. >> reporter: after three days of secret battling and employees at volkswagen chattanooga plant say no to union representation. >> my heart is just pounding with exceeding joy. we're thankful that it turned out the way it did. >> volkswagen has invested a billion dollars in the chattanooga plant, which began building passat three years ago. they were lure there for the state and union incentives. many view it as a set back. >> the problem is if the uaw has

a need for hour money. they don't care about these guys. they really don't. >> the campaign was seen as a chance to expand to foreign plants in the house. that brought more outside interestings than the plant itself. volkswagen remain neutral throughout even allowing the auto workers union into the plant during the process. >> between the two institutions, volkswagen and the uaw i know of not one instance of aggression or animosity coming out of this process. >> the uaw adding while outreached by--outraged by politicians and outside special

interest groups interfering with the basic legal rights, we're proud that workers were brave and stood up against the union. >> michael dunne is accused of killing unarmed black taken troy davis after the two argued over the volume of the teen's music in his car. the two were parked at a convenience store when dunne fired into the suv. dunne is not invoking stand your ground but he is claiming self defense. canada and the u.s. are looking at ways to improve railways, but as oil and gas production in both countries soar, residence are concerned about explosive cargo in their community. >> reporter: never has so much oil gushed out of north america. from the shale of north dakota and here at the alberta tar

sands crude is being extracted. there is a problem. getting the oil to market can be dangerous. this fireball over north dakota last year was from derailed oil tangors, and in québec 47 died when a fuel train exploded in the center of town. it calls for tighter safety rules and for those living beside the rail lines more transparency of what is being cared. >> it's a small town. if a similar incident were to happen in toronto, one doesn't want to imagine the casualties that would result. >> the government is tightening regulations and will continue to do so as it receives input from official inquiries. in late january both canada's transport regulators and the national transportation safety board in the u.s. released similar recommendations, moving

hazardous goods only along the safest routes and planning for disasters. >> it is an integrated transportation economy. these cars and locomotives do cross the boarders. there has to be a solution that will work in both the u.s. and canada. >> under intense pressure not least from an oil industry that must move its product governments in washington and ottawa said they'll move this year to make rail lines even safer. pipelinepipelines remain stallee approval process. to sum the events in the past year calling to question our entire dependence on oil and the need to move to greener, safer sources of energy. we need much stronger rules on moving oil, and we need to start making those investments and getting off of oil. we need to do that for climate

change reasons, but it willry dues the risks that we've seen that are inevitable on . al jazeera, toronto. >> still ahead, questions about toxic emissions from gas plants down from louisiana. plus a deadly volcanic eruption. that story coming up next on al jazeera america. >> i make mistakes everyday, i don't try to count them... >> about his music.... >> the artist should say what's on people's minds. >> his cause... dominion over the animals does not mean abuse... >> and his future... >> i wanna make movies and tv shows that reflect the new america. >> russell simmons up close

and personal... talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera

>> we have to move out of here right now >> i think we have a problem... >> we have to get out of here... >> they're telling that they they don't wanna show what's really going on... >> mr. drumfield, i'd like to speak to you for a minute... >> this is where columbia's war continues... >> ...still occupied... >> police have arrived... you see the blast scars from a bomb that went off... >> a powerful volcanic eruption in indonesia has left people dead and thousands displaced. the eruption shroud large parts of jakarta, the country's most densely populated city.

it sent ash and rocks into the atmosphere causing airports in the area to be shut down and the blast to be heard up to 125 miles away. several environmental groups said a loophole in federal regulations in oil and gas is now allowing americans to be exposed to toxic chemicals in the air. now there is a report that is required to know what is seeping in the air. >> russell anselmo was a former engineer enjoying his retirement back working in his backyard. sand, shape, contour. >> but he's concerned about the neighborhood. he lives in an industrial occu corridor in louisiana. >> all the plants are this way. >> right, that way. >> not very far. >> not really, no. it's pretty close. >> most u.s. industries have to

report toxic emissions over 10,000-pound to the environmental agencies toxic report inventory so the public knows what chemicals are being released in the air. >> if people don't know what is being released in the air they can't assess their own risk for their health. >> none is looking at it, nobody is monitoring it. they could release 20,000 pounds and say they released 13,000, who knows. facilities in colorado, louisiana, pennsylvania, north dakota, texas and wyoming had toxic releases surpassing 10,000 pounds in one year. >> reporter: the study calls the current rules arbitrary and confusing. facilities are required to report toxic releases so people

who lives nearby know exactly what is going in their air. but for gas and oil facilities, it's a mystery. >> i think they've been escaping that loophole erroneous for many years. >> reporter: oil and gas facilities are expanding almost everywhere. while they did not return our calls or comments, they said they would be supporting lower emissions. >> they should do it automatically. i don't see why they opportunity. >> all that russell anselmo can do is whittle wood and wait. >> heavy flooding in peru are peruvian authorities have declared a state of emergency. the flooding has destroyed 46 homes and 15 buildings. then in neighboring bolivia

no relief for flooding communities. 42 people are dead, and some 54,000 families have been affected by the severe weather. and the rain may have stopped, but the rivers are still rising in the u.k. much of the southern great britain is now underwater, and the flooding followed weeks of the record setting rains. in some places the water won't crest until monday, and in the meantime there is still more rain in the forecast to come. then right here at home snow is melting across the southern utah, but it will be a while before the power outages degray. it left more homes an businesses without less tracety whatsoever, and utility companies are warning people tha in rural ares that it could take two weeks to get power back on. we now have more on that.

>> meteorologist: we already have 500 flight cancellations across the country, morgan, that's all because of the weather. we're looking at another system tracking in out of canada pushing its way through the midwest towards indianapolis. that's a weaker system. right before that yesterday this very system that is making it's way across the mid-atlantic on to the northeast dumped a couple of inches of snow and it are create blizzards. we have cold air in this storm and it's intensifying as it tracks over the atlantic water. 37 degrees in philadelphia and 37 in our nation's capitol. it is all rain in philly and d.c. but as we watch that system track into boston and portland the temperatures are below the freezing mark, so we expect to see that mixed in with a little bit of snow and sleet. be careful out there on i-95

north of baltimore, washington area. the dry air making it's way across p.a. but it's not over just yet. we're diagnose to see more snow storms tonight into tomorrow. as we track towards boston we could see anywhere from 16 inches of snow. to the north we're talking about 12 to 15 inches of snow. if you're suffering from the fatigue, unfortunately we have another system pushing through. that's the system i was suggesting where we'll be looking for quite a bit of snow. out west aerial flooding, for those traveling, be careful. >> china is th one of the worlds

biggest polluters, the secretary of state is now in indonesia where climate change will also top his agenda there. out with the snake and in with the horse. celebrating the chinese new year coming up next on al jazeera america. i must begin my journey,

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only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before. >> good afternoon to you and welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford, and here are today's headlines. the syrian government and opposition left the geneva ii peace talks pretty frustrated as both sides refused to compromise. now a third round of negotiations is expected soon. and workers at a volkswagen plant in tennessee voted against joining the united auto workers which would have been the first foreign auto manufacturer in the south to unionize. a jury entered it's fourth day of deliberation of michael

dunne who shot and killed over loud music. preparations for a spectacular nighttime parade are finally being completed. al jazeera easily is a bernard's more. >> in chinatown preparations for a happy new year. >> it's like thanksgiving for chinese. all the family members get together and have a feast. >> good buy to the year of the snake. dave thomas and his team are making the floats that will welcome the year of the horse. >> this year we carved more horses than you could get on a prairie right now. >> reporter: his east-west float company will build 21 floats this year sponsors pay anywhere

from $30,000 to more than $100,000 to get one of thomas' floats in the famous san francisco chinese new year parade. >> how long did it take? >> this is ten day's worth of work, and i usually start with the emotions. i start the emotions and then i build a float that elicits that mission. >> the parade dates back to the gold rush days in the 1860s and now is the largest cultural event in north america. as artists prepare for the year of the horse, so are those who interpret the chinese astrological signs. were dictions of fire and wood are significant this year. >> whenever fire shows up it's going to pick up the stock market. >> financial prosperity is a common goal as the new year approaches.

traditional red envelopes are for sell. they're stuffed with money and passed along. they expect a robust economy in the year of the horse. it's time to take chances. >> those who have projects going on, you have the energy of the horse, you have the fire for all the confidence to support you. >> winnie believes the symboli symbolism. she clutches the red sign for the new year. >> this is for the new year. and this is for the year of the horse. >> ing said the year of the horse will be marked by innovation and conflict, but she said the overriding theme fo for 2014 is optimism. lisa bernard, al jazeera, francisco. >> from alien abductions to crop circles the 23rd annual uso

conference that features panels of researchers, filmmakers and academics and the out of this world event runs through sunday. thanks so much for watching al jazeera america. i'm morgan radford. and "fault line" is up next. >> nogales, arizona. a bus has arrived filled with people being deported from the united states. >> right now we're headed to san juan bosco, a shelter here in nogales where the mexican immigration authorities have picked the people who were just deported, they take them there so they have a place to stay on their first night back in mexico. >> many thought 2013 would be the year when congress finally