big. >> yes. >> that's scary, j.r. [ laughs ] >> watch out. >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. breaking news, a federal judge in texas strikes down the state's marriage ban. and a bill in georgia that would allow discrimination against gays. and investigation into credit suisse that reads like a spy novel. and rush prepares its troops on the border of ukraine.

>> and we begin with breaking news from texas where gay rights activists have scored another victory. a short time ago a federal judge struck down the state's gay marriage ban. this follows similar decisions by federal judges in utah, oklahoma and virginia. mark snyder joins us from dallas. the judge found the ban unconstitutional, but is letting it stand. why is that? >> well, it's pending another ruling later this year and another appeals court. yes, they say they're complying with the u.s. constitution and not trying to defy the people of texas. the rule something in response to a challenge by two gay couples of texas' banning gay marriage. we just got a response from one of the couples, and they say, quote, we're extremely happy,

happy beyond words with judge garcia's decision having been together 17 years. we look forward to the day we can get married, and when all gay texans enjoy equal rights to marry as well. we also got a statement from texas' governor rick perry who said: and then in 2005, 67% of texans voted to put that on the state constitution. that a marriage is between a man and a woman. >> so where do we stand now is we have a ruling from this judge that the ban is unconstitutional but stands for now until there is another court decision on the ruling. do we have any idea of how long

this will take to work its way through additional courts? >> at the same time that this is going on, there was another federal law enforcement filed in austin. there there is a lot of withoutt maneuvering happening now. >> this is an interesting decision coming from texas. as you know texas is a conservative state. it's referred to as a red state. >> yeah, you heard from governor perry, and from all the republican lawmakers are going to be fighting this as much as they can. a lot of folks in the state are happy with this ruling. >> mark, appreciate it.

thank you. the news in texas comes on the same day that georgia is considering inacting a law that would let business owners deny services t based on religious grounds. but opponents say it's real purpose is to discriminate against gays and lesbians. a hearing upon this issue was scheduled for today but canceled. do we know why? >> yes, it was scheduled for this morning, but we're not quite sure. perhaps it's the uproar in arizona. maybe the guys who put this together maybe there is too much pressure on them. this is called the preservation

of religious freedom act. that's what they're calling it. they claim it's not to discriminate but to have religious freedom for their beliefs. basically they want to allow any individual or for-profit couple who believe that homosexuality is a sin to openly say that they can deny people employment or ban them were restaurant and hotels, tony. >> so robert, i'm curious to know where the state is in this legislative basis. has there been a debate on this legislation? >> they brought it to the house. part of what was happening in that hearing, that was going to occur.

leave it or not there are six members of the house that put together this bill, and it is swept between runs and democrats. sometimes there is not a whole lot of difference between republicans and democrats here in the state of georgia. i found that quite interesting. >> you know there are a couple of big deal corporations based there in atlanta. we're talking about delta airlines and coca-cola. delta has already weighed in on this particular piece of legislation. >> if we can put up the graphic i'll read it here.

we join the business community in urging statement officials in reject these proposal. big words out of a major couple based in atlanta. they don't want to see this go through. we're talking about arizona and similar law here in georgia. turns out this just in, actually. the hispanic national bar association is withdrawing their annual convention of 2015 regardless of the outcome here. they feel like it's not the right lace for them the fact that it's even being considered. >> you just plucked an item from my run down. robert ray from atlanta, appreciate it. thank you. [ chuckling ] >> arizona governor jan brewer is meeting with porters and opponents of a bill that would allow business owners to cite their business beliefs in

refusing to serve gays and lesbians. secretary of state john kerry joining in to call on people saying if it becomes law the supreme court will surely strike it down. we have a reporter with the arizona hubble newspaper. those commenting on the legislation, it's not law yet, see it as discriminatory. i want to see how arizona got to this piece of legislation. tell me how this is tied to, and maybe differs from arizona's freedom of religion laws. >> that is an interesting question, how did arizona get to this moment? i wish we could speak to that,

but where would we begin. the freedom of religion law passed in 1999 and existed at the federal lovel level in 1993. we inserted a line in this newest incarnation of the bill that talks specifically about a belief being sincerely held. that's where people are getting hung up and feeling like everybody feels that their beliefs are sincerely held. that is language added to this bill, and some say it clarifies. >> say the governor signs this piece of legislation into law, and businesses turn away gays and lesbians lead to go discrimination lawsuits. would it be up to a judge to determine the sincerity of a business ow owner's religious

convictions? >> reporter: in arizona the state does not prohibit gay or lesbian. in three of our largest cities they are. in that case the city would have to bring case against the individual business owner. so a person, i, couldn't bring a lawsuit against the business owner no matter if jan brewer passed this law or not. because we don't have a precedent like the one in new mexico. now that said, in other instan instances when they have taken to without, judges believed the defendant said i hold this belief, and then the judge said okay, you do. a religious person could testify on behalf of this person and say this is part of our faith tradition. but even if they said no, that's not part of our faith tradition, that is still not an excuse for not believing the beliefs of the

religious person. >> i think i got you on that one. >> it's kind of all over the map. >> you interviewed local leaders of different faiths, right, on this piece of legislation. what have you been hearing? well, the truth is however arizona comes across in media, the religious organizations overwhelmingly in this state have come out against it. almost every major denomination has either issued an official statement or has leaders of that denomination has come out and said this is not something that our people believe in. that includes episcopalians, and you heard from an imam who would not back this up and several organizations of judaism did not agree with this. but there was a statement of support but it did not go into great detail about why they are

for it. but just said that marriage is under attack. >> let me ask you a question and it may not be easy to answer quickly, but i need you to. as you read the tea leaves of this, is the governor likely to sign this into law or is she likely to veto this? >> well, i'm not an arizona native but i've lived here for several years. one thing that trumps all other is business, development, and we are in an expansion-based economy. it would be hard for me to believe that governor brewer would sign a bill that would get in the way of people coming here to spend their money, build their homes and enjoy the other things that the state has to

offer. >> gotcha. great to talk to you. and yes? >> thank you. >> a pleasure, thank you, megan. >> i was just going to say it's not so much about this marriage in this case-- >> we're flat out of time. yes, testimony resumed today in the trial in detroit aimed at overturning michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. a lesbian couple wants to get married and adopt each other's children. well, a stanford university socialist testified that research clearly shows that children raised by same-sex marriages have no disadvantage compared to other children. a senate panel had tough questions for credit suisse. investigation shows that it helped 20,000 americans hide assets from the u.s. treasury. they so far only learned of the

identity of 238 account holders. credit suisse agreed to pay fines for violating u.s. securities laws. mike viqueira is live on capitol hill for us with more on today's testimony. how much money are we talking about here? >> it's interesting. if you look at the senate investigative committee. you might think that certain suisse bankers have nothing on james bond, but according to the u.s. panel they conspired to hide billions of dollars from american tax collectors. it's the stuff of countless spy novels but senators say it it's all too real. $12 billion hidden away in suisse bank accounts, none of it taxed.

top creditors of credit suisse accused of helping u.s. customers evade taxes in hidden accounts and overseas shell companies. brady doingen was contrite. >> credit suisse management team regrets deeply despite the industry leading measures we put in place we had suisse bank private bankers who appear to have violated u.s. law. >> doingen blamed a small group, and whoever is to blame, their methods were cloak and dagger. bank statements were slipped into a copy of "sports illustrated" and handed to a client. and in in an airport where clients never had to leave airport ground. after each transaction account statements were immediately shredded. it was all done without filing

any u.s. tax. >> the jigs is up. >> senators want client names, but creditors say they're squeezed between u.s. and suisse law. >> you think you're going to be convicted in a suisse court. is the suisse government going to prosecute you if you comply with our laws and turn over those names? that's your fear? >> yes. >> so you have double jeopardy i had. >> where would you like to spend time? >> it's a tough decision. >> senators were left frustrated urging the justice department to do more to find and prosecute tax cheats and demand credit suisse operate above board. >> how many culpable officers and executives had been held accountable and fired. >> we basically determined to shut this business down. over the course of the first two years we reduce the size of the

business by 80%. >> how many employees were faulted. >> most of those people were fired the vast bulk of them left the business as we hut it dow s. >> this has active investigations not just into credit suisse but 13 other banks. how much in tax revenue has the u.s. treasury lost? officials can't say because they don't know the tax brackets these folks were in and how much individual had hid no one these suisse banks. >> capitol hill for us, mike, thank you very much. simplifying the tax code friday dave camp. but it doesn't have much support from other house republicans. our political contributor michael shure joins us. your in los angeles. >> i am in los angeles with the beautiful observatory over my shoulder. >> good to see you.

let's start here. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell has said no to tax reform this year. why is congress camp coming forward with this plan now? >> well, tony, there are a couple of reasons. he's the chairman of ways and means committee, the most powerful committee in congress, the probations commi committee. very powerful. he'll be stepping down as chairman after this term. this is his last hurrah, something he has been putting a axe to for a while, trying to get this across the board tax reform. we have not had it since 1986. he said other countries have done it. it's time that we have, too. >> in addition to lowering rates my understanding, i haven't seen it, some very popular tax breaks are on the table here. we're talking about the mortgage interest and a host of others here. i'm just sort of curious in

issuing this plan has the congressman given plenty of fodder to democrats in this election year? >> he has, and that's part of the problem with getting anything done in this congress. they're going to go after the small, non-sexy, non-explosive items that happen in congress, and some would say none of it is very exciting. there are things that would make democrats happy here. there is a 25% tax bracket, and then on top of that there is a sur tax. the sur tax would go to people making more than $450,000. oh those sorts of things do not make republicans happy and democrats jump at it i think there is a tax on big wall street tax as well. >> yes, indeed there is. they'll be taxed under the camp plan. there are things in here that would not make republicans happy. what they would like to do, the

republicans, is to be able to say we reformed the tax code because that plays well for everyone. >> and given that there is nothing on immigration and now tax reform. are we watching, witnessing complete paralysis in washington? >> that would really be a change, wouldn't it? you know, yes, we are it's an election year again. it doesn't matter if it's an election year any more because things don't get done in congress. they have big issues before them from immigration, and the expedited trade agreement approval that they could give congress and the president. those sorts of things are not going to happen. minimum wage increase not going to happen. so what happens the republicans are saying, listen, we want to go back. we want to campaign, but we don't want to do anything dangerous. they're looking at small things. if they get task reform they'll do corporate task reform because it does play well and it wouldn't hurt their big donors in big ways.

>> michael sore in los angeles. >> the military has disqualified nearly 600 soldiers from serving as sexual assault counselors, recruits, for infractions ranging from sexual assault to child abuse. the pentagon spent eight months combing through the records of 20,000 soldiers in those various position. still ahead on al jazeera america. months after a massive security breach target reveals its losses. and general motors issues an apology just as it doubles a recall of several of its models.

>> okay on wall street today stocks, chalk up small gains here. the dow rising 18 points.

the s&p was an up fractionally. you don't say that every day. west virginia senator joe mansion is calling on. federal regulators to regulate bitcoin calling it disruptive to the economy and says it could hurt hard working americans. prosecutors are investigating the collapse of a bitcoin exchange in tokyo. target faced wall street for the first time since that massive data breach. the costs were deep for losing all of that information on customers but some are saying that target is not suffering the most in all of this. jonathan betz is here with more. >> reporter: huge data breach, when credit card numbers are stolen many ask who pays for it? today target revealed its cost. it's bill for the breach itself spent $61 million fixing that mess. but insurance covered a big chunk of that. so the retailer really spent

$17 million on that breach. the bigger blow to target was the p.r. fall out, the theft scared off customers and it's profit fell by half, but customers are coming back. now the credit cards themselves and banks argued they're the ones really suffering. they replaced the stolen money and replaced their cards. banks spent 203 million on average each cor card cost $10. they say the store is responsible for the breaches, so she should be the ones paying for it. >> let's pick this up, and erik is with "the financial times," a

24-hour news service. fast, ft. good to see you again. >> good to be here again. >> the stock soared today as target out of the woods here? >> it's not out of the woods, but it's some good news for investors. they were really expecting terrible results today. some analysts calling for sales to decline by 5%. and they were off in the 2% range. which is heartening to investors who were expecting an exodus. >> i'm wondering, are these businesses getting better? are they businesses like target any better today at protecting our data than in december when this happened? or are we still vulnerable? >> from the research reports we read, they haven't made any progress there. >> we're still vulnerable as customers. >> still very vulnerable. there were another six retailers impacted by similar attacks that have not been named yet. this is widespread in the

industry, and target said they're going to invest many millions of dollars to combat that. >> can we turn to another retailer here? jjc penneys is releasing it's fourth quarter earnings. can jc penneys turn this around? we know there is a turn-around plan in place, big retailer. a legacy retailer. can it turn down it's struggles. >> their numbers advised investors. >> you saw them, good. >> they said, they grew and they're expecting them to grow into the end of the year, actually, which contrasts to other retailers who are having difficulties. sales declined a little bit, they're blaming it on the weather, but overall it was a surprise that the stock was up. >> erik, appreciate it. erik is with the financial times 24-hour news service fast ft. good to see you, erik. still to come, russia ushers its

troops along the border of ukraine. plus stunning images of a refugee camp in the heart of syria.

>> and welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. breaking news from texas. a federal judge has struck down the state's gay marriage ban, however, he immediately allowed a state court to review the law. this follows the actions by utah, oklahoma and virginia. and in georgia considering a ban that would allow business owners to deny services based on religious grounds much like

arizona. arizona's governor jan brewer will decide to sign or veto the bill there. a new investigation that showed credit suisse helps americans avoid millions of dollars in taxes. only the identities of 238 are known. secretary of state john kerry said the united states plans to give loans and maybe even more assistance. today they proposed to have a prominent figure in those protests serve as prime minister. jennifer glass is in crimea southern ukraine where pro-return protesters have also taken to the streets. i saw tense scenes earlier today.

>> many people here believe they belong as part of russia. >> reporter: some people were not happy to see our camera. because we're foreign. they think we won't tell the truth. the flags here are russian, not ukrainian. and blames the west for what is happening in kiev. >> no, i'm not happy. it was ignited from outside. and i'm sure that europe and america supported the revoluti revolution. >> reporter: a russian naval base since the 1,800th century, and it still is, home to russia's black sea fleet. another sailor said allegiances here are clear. >> 90% of people here are russian. we have russian traditions.

it's all russian here. >> reporter: that's why they say what is happening in kiev such a problem. >> people here are angry about the fact that ukrainian is made the official language and makes them feel left out as everyone here speaks russian. >> reporter: they'll stand their ground to be able to keep their ways. crimea was always a part of russia. then in soviet times they gave it away. there was no treaty. but now there is. the russians have agreed to keep their fleet here until 2042 unless the new government tries to renegotiate. there are new barricades on the city. they are on the watch for any outsiders. but in an horace drive away they clash with supporters of the government. 20 people have been injured so far in a dispute in whether

crimea should stay ukrainian or return to russia. and those people are concerned about what is happening. >> what kind of help does the country need right now? >> a lot of money, tony. a lot of, a lot of money now the only reason they could do a budget this year is they got a $15 billion promise avalon in december from russia. that of course is on hold right now give what's going on. russia very unhappy in kiev and what officials in kiev are trying to do right now is put an interim government in place.

unless they have a prime minister, unless they have a government they can't negotiate with anyone. they can't even talk with the international monetary fund, and they're very close to defaulting. ukraine needs international help. they're trying to get officials in place, a government in place so they can bridge this gap and make it very quick and make sure that they don't default. so they can pay their people next week. >> jennifer glass is with us from southern ukraine. secretary of state john kerry also says it would be a grave mistake for russia to embark on any kind of military intervention in ukraine. earlier today russian president vladimir putin ordered an urgent drill to test the readiness of forces in russia including the boarders of ukraine. >> we know that vladimir putin had a meeting with his security council on tuesday, in which ukraine was certainly discussed. we know on wednesday two of

russia's four military districts were put on high alert. there is nothing that links this alert with what is going on in ukraine. the military analysts we've been speaking to here said this kind of military alert is not uncommon. it's been done six times since february of last year. it's something that the defense minister likes doing to put the military through its paces and basically exposes any flaws in the system and allows the ministry to become more efficient. at least, that's the thinking behind it. having said there is no connection between this military alert and what's going on in ukraine, i think the russian government would be well aware that reminding it's rivals and it's neighbors of russian

military might at a time when russian military influence has just taken a big dent in central europe certainly won't hurt russian interests at all. >> traumatic new pictures from a refugee camp in syria. this is in a makeshift camp of tents in the middle of a war zone made up mostly of bombed out buildings. roxana has been looking into this for us. >> reporter: the story i'm about to tell you is a story of hardship. this photo shows hordes of people tired, hungry and gaunt. they're ready to get food from u.n. which started delivering food last month. it's dangerous work. the camp is caught in a cross fire between syrian government and opposition forces. you can see some of the shelled

out homes. one refugee told the u.n. that hell in this camp would be better. we boiled spices in water and drank and ate the grass until it was gone. >> reporter: we have reports of women dieing in childbirth. widespread report of children with malnutrition, and people in the 21st century reduced to eating animal feed. >> to get an idea where these refugees are stuck get a look at this map. palestinians started coming here in 1968 and then syria's war broke out. armed opposition groups came into the area a year ago.

the u.n. doesn't know how many other place places are as bad yarmuk but cannot reach all the camps because of fighting. >> here's the point i want to make. there has been a debate--well, not much of a debate. it's clear now that heavy machinery has been used by the assad regime. you look at those buildings. they have fallen because of missile strikes. you can talk about what it can do, but those pictures seem to indicate in addition to the desperation there that is a city hit by the regime's military. >> they feel trapped there. they've basically been under siege for months and they've unable to come and go. and because they're palestinians

they don't have a country to go back to. thank you. >> the auto watchdog will investigate whether general motors took too long to report problems in its cars that killed 13 people. the president of gm apologizing for not doing enough to investigate the problem. that recall over a faulty ignition switch in six models before 2007 has been expanded to 1.6 million vehicles. the issue could cost the company millions of dollars. bisi onile-ere is in detroit with the very latest for us, bisi. >> reporter: tony, amid criticism general motors has sent out a rare apology. now general motors submitted a report to the government recently and the automaker has

admitted publicly that they should have acted faster. according to one report it was back in 2004 when general motors realized that there may have been some issues with their ignitions. now here is a list of vehicles recalled. they include 2003-2007 is a turn ion and the 2006-2007 chevrolets hhrs. and 2006-2007 pontiac solstices. and 2007 is a turn sky models and the 2005-2007 chevrolet cobalt and pursuit which were recalled earlier this month. as of now we know of one last that involves a woman out of georgia who was driving one of these recalled cars. her family sued general motors and they reached a settlement back last fall. i did have an opportunity to talk to an auto analyst about this recall and the impact it

could have on the auto maker. >> recalls in this one in particular it's very serious business. they acknowledged that and acknowledged that maybe things were not done the right way back when this initially was an iss issue, when these vehicles were first tested. i think that's a step forward. as as a company they say gm, we're standing behind what we've done and we'll fix it. >> reporter: right now it's unclear if general motors will receive penalties or fines from the government. those who have these vehicles, they are being notified and they're told that they do have one of these vehicles. all they have to do is take it to a dealership and have that ignition replaced. >> bisi onile-ere for news detroit. when hurricane katrina hit nine years ago it exposed a weak infrastructure the levies failed

and flood waters destroyed the city. now the newly built levy system is already showing some cracks. >> you have a beautiful wife there. >> reporter: this restaurant is known for its seafood. >> this is nice shrimp right out of the gulf of mexico. >> reporter: while the gulf gives, it also takes away. it took owner scott craig five years to reopen after the storm surge flood the place out. >> i didn't have the finances. i had to basically go out and work, rebuild, and put all the money i made working, back into this. >> reporter: because new orleans exist between two to 20 feet below sea level. the army corp of engineers which admitted to designing faulty levies pre-katrina.

>> when a storm or hurricane comes up from the gulf of mexico, it could potentially come right through here. >> reporter: and right here there is already a problem. a near one mile stretch of levy built last year has already sunk up to six inches more than expected. >> one thing with southeast louisiana, we're continually subsiding. there are different layers of organics, and it's very challenging to build on. >> reporter: while six inches may not seem like much, most new orleans residents know that it is. to get an idea of the shifting landscape in this city all you have to do is take a ride. on the surface streets it's usually a bumpy ride. >> what is the guarantee? how do people know that this is making it safe. >> there is no guarantee in anything.

against hurricane isaac the system as a whole was complete. >> when you ask me about the levy system i don't think we have are a whole lot of faith. a lot of us don't because i'm petrified of losing this again. >> right now the army corp is repairing the sinking levies, but then it will turn them over to the state with a maintenance tag of $35 million. >> we'll get a good baseline on it, and we'll address it. >> reporter: scott craig is grateful for the protection but worries nonetheless. >> at least the state of louisiana has a stake in it. it's not another part of the country controlling of what goes on in our state. the state of louisiana is well aware of what could happen if theseevies fail again. the greatest city in this state

probably won't come back. >> reporter: he and others hope that the engineering promises hold. >> the united kingdom, two men have been sentenced to life in prison for hacking a british soldier to death in broad daylight last year. the two muslim converts from sentenced after being pulled out of court for starting a fight with security. the case made international headlines because of this video taken immediately after 25-year-old afghan war veteran lee rigby was killed. in the vatican, the pope denying rumors he was forced out of office. he wrote to a website saying he resigned out of his own free will. when benedict stepped down, he became the first pope to do so in 600 years. a newspaper wrote that he was forced to resign because of scandals during his papacy.

chinese cement and thermal power plants are blamed for the thick smog covering the north. >> reporter: in this city they can finally see the sun. after nearly a week of smog they've been suffering like the rest of northern china from hazardous pollution levels. but being home for much of the country's iron and steel production, they had thick air. >> the government should do something as a priority. >> reporter: in nearby beijing people have been living under a twilight world under polluted skies. you can see and smell the pollution and touch it. this is the car we've been traveling around. it was last washed three days ago and this is what has built

up on the roof since then. a thin layer of airborne particles. the people of beijing and surrounding provinces have been breathing this for a week. >> reporter: widespread discontent even anger as the perceived inaction by the government to tackle the problem has been largely limited to social media. people have used imaginative twists of well-known beijing landmarks to show their displeasure. this business sprang up by trapping a filter to a fan. at $30 u.s. a piece, they can't keep up with them. >> there isn't a conversation in beijing where it doesn't come up. >> reporter: this smog emergency may be over but the winter isn't, and people in beijing won't be putting away the air

filters just yet. >> big trouble for a mancienne outside of john kerry's home in massachusetts. maria is here with that and other stories making headlines. i'm done now. it's yours. >> reporter: in boston, massachusetts, a man seen taking pictures out of the home of secretary of state john kerry last year was arrested on six counts of six counts of child pornography. he pled not guilty to the charges. a russian native he was first arrested last july outside of kerry's home. the police later found sexually explicit images of children on the suspect's computer. in a new york court kerry kennedy took the stand. she said she thought she was taking thyroid medication not sleeping pills before she got behind the wheel in 2012. the daughter o of kennedy was in

trial. a statute to you of the marilyn monroe will showcase the work of johnson who designed the piece. a farewell party will take place on march 27th in palm springs, and then it heads no new jersey in airplane. april. >> lung cancer kills thousands of americans every year, but we'll take an in-depth look at why it effects african-americans most of all. and another round of rain and snow in the east, people hoping it goes away, while the west is desperate to lift a long drought emergency.

>> randall pinkston is here. >> tony, part of the problem is attitude. researchers at boston's institute found that many african-americans don't see how their behavior such as smoking

connects to cancer. >> overhere we have the ct scan. >> reporter: 60-year-old barry nelson smoked cigarettes for 60 years. after he quit he was diagnosed with lung cancer. >> i sold my home. i moved into a smaller dwelling. i prepared for the end of my life. >> i was shocked and surprised to learn that african-american men had a higher rate of lung cancer but the community was not aware of it. >> reporter: dr. christopher lathan is researching the reasons for the insidious impact on african-americans. >> they say, if i go to the doctor, they'll tell me something is wrong. maybe if i concentrate on something else it will go away.

>> reporter: the rifle rate for african-american men, just under 11% and there are several reasons for the gap. >> there are some issues with trusting medical establishment. >> and african-americans often ignore symptoms so they're diagnosed later often after the disease has spread. >> once you admit to the cancer then there is nothing to do, which we know it is not true. >> the people here don't feel they have access to it? >> even though we're very close people who are here don't feel that hospital necessarily is a place that welcomes us. >> for nearly two years dr. lathan and his colleagues have been working on a new approach for treating lung cancer among african-americans. twice a month cancer specialists come here to the whittier street

health center to build relationships with the community and to treat patients in need. >> i think that it's important for expertise that we bring from the cancer center. the community is bringing to us that link to take care of all people. so the zip code does not determine the type of care you get. >> so far they have diagnosed twice as many lung cancers as before, hopefully giving more lung cancer patients here a chance to join barry nelson. >> this mass has become smaller. >> and found the best medical care he could find. >> this is a pilot project. dr. lathan is hoping to run a fulfull scale experiment to save more lives. >> thank you. winter has returned to the midwest and the east coast in northeastern indiana rivers are flooded. and in california rain finally. meteorologist dave warren is here with more on the nation

weighs weather. >> meteorologist: we're looking at a nice change out west where we are seeing rain. much of the state is in a severe or exceptional drought here, and we're seeing the rain come in on the radar. something we haven't seen in a while. this rain and storm is coming right over california. there is know in the mountains. we need that snow to pile up between now and april force when it will melt and go into a lot of reservoirs. one storm coming in today. another larger storm will be moving off the coast where we need it to be on friday. here is heavy rain on the valley, deep snow in the mountains. that's for today's storms and friday's storm. this is how it looks out west. another shot of arctic air coming in from the plains. that care will move to the mid-atlantic and northeast, and that's the snow that came down this morning. the cold air is back.

>> it is back, yeah it is. whew, thank you. a look at today's top stories when we return. this is al jazeera america.

>> hello, i'm ray suarez. hugo chavez revolution had leveraged venezuela's enormous oil wealth by selling oil cheaply