"talk to al jazeera." we appreciate it? >> my pleasure. thank you. hi, i am richelle carey. coming up at the top of the >> welcome to al jazeera america. we'll look at today's top stories. more than 100 people dead in an attack on a mosque in nigeria. officials say they believe it is boko haram's latest all the. pope francis makes a stop in turkey and depose the cries made on isil fighters. and protests turn to the streets in ferguson and around the country. and black friday, it's not as big as it used to be. the numbers behind the shift.

>> in northern nigeria an explosive attack on a mosque today killing more than 100 people and injuring many more. that death toll has been increases throughout the day, and police say that two car bombs went off outside as people were arriving for friday's prayers. it happened in nigeria's second biggest city. no one is claiming responsibility for the attack, but it is wildly assumed to be the work of boko haram. >> we've been talking to a lot of people on the ground. witnesses and they're describing a scene of absolute pandemonium after the explosion. they tell that's people were running in every direction. bodies were scattered scenarios the area. there was a stampede as people flee the scene. that cost a lot of fatalities.

particularly among little children. mr. are reports of gunfire, but it is not known the source that have gunfire. there is a momentary outbreak of anger, youth taking to the streets, and accusing the government of failing to stop boko haram. all of this comes just one week after the traditional ruler of this specific city urged people to defend themselves. and they were referring to boko haram, and clearly making a swipe against the government and it's inability to contain the violence. >> boko haram is a group of armed fighters founded in 2002 to oppose western education. since then they have killed thousands of people mostly in north eastern nigeria. most believe that boko haram funds itself through kidnapping ran some and other illegal

activities. boko haram has responsible for kidnapping around 219 nigerian school girls. many of those girls are still missing. the taliban missed on many of their attacks. a spokesman said that violence is in response to agreement to allow foreign troops to remain in the country and train afghan forces. protesters are marching through the streets of new york city right now. they are a protesting the grand jury decision not to indict officer darren brown. of course in ferguson, month m demonstrations have become a daily occurrence. diane estherbrook plot far from measure gus son. protesters shut down a pretty popular mall in st. louis today. what is the latest.

>> yes, it happened a few hours ago. it was the galleria mall in st. louis. actually the mall did not shut down. it remains open, but some of the businesses brought their gates down and closed temperatur temporarily. some laid down on the ground. they did not stay for all that long. the police came in and shooed them out. all is back to normal at the gallery mall in st. louis. >> businesses in the area are starting to rebuild. when will they start to reopen? >> that's hard to say. some of these stores may never reopen. many business owners are angry because they say the state did not do enough to protect them from rioters.

>> juanita stands over the republic tha you'll be that was once they are clothing store. she compares the destruction of her business by riotser like a bad dream. morris' boutique was destroyed in the violence after a grand jury decided not to indict a white police officer in the shooting and killing of an unarmed black teen. rioters destroyed about 60 businesses. >> i called the governor's office on tuesday. personally i have not heard from the governor. >> some business owners are frustrated, too. a tire shot wrote angry that

maximummel guard did not protect the businesses. drivers gawk at the destruction: banks and the chamber of customers could provide zero zero-business loans to help businesses to get back up on their feet. but state senator demands that the state do more. >> we have to come up with some kind of loan forgiveness or incentive to want to have folks want to keep their businesses here and want to stay here. >> juanita morris is trying to be patient. she said she will rebuild. >> there is nothing wrong with falling. the problem is when you don't get up. >> and morris is trying to be patient, she's urging other businesses to do the same. she said it's going to take a while for everybody to bounce back. she's optimistic that the state will come through with grant money or maybe the federal government would come through with some sort of grant money

that these businesses would not have to pay back. >> diane estherbrook in delwood, missouri. holiday shopping frenzy has certainly started. tens of millions of americans did some shopping as retailers opened their doors early this year. millions are out pounding the pavement on black friday. >> this is one the biggest days for shopping. but the black friday shopping may be changing. many retailers were opened on thanksgiving, and online sales continue. up 14% from a year ago. now retailers are sensing consumers might be more confident. they're hoping to catch in. >> at macy's stores there were

no lines to open on friday. that's because the store opened at 6:00 p.m. on thanksgiving, and it never closed. by macy's count there were 15,000 people waiting to get in. for tyler singleton, it's never too early to get a deal. >> i went at 12:00 in the morning to walmart to get a tv. i was outside for a while. >> and he was hardly alone. >> walmart said that it had 22 million people visit stores oh, and it was not all trouble free. at this walmart in houston police had to break up a scuffle among shoppers over flat screen t.v.'s. but for the most part people just wanted to shop. from california to wisconsin to texas. more and more retailers opened on thanksgiving for what is being called gray thursday. >> where we come out early, we probably saved $500. >> after a sluggish year stores are counting on deals to lure

customers to buy. >> there are so many optio options for consumers. we have to make sure that we're very aggressive. have the right product, quality product, and the price consumers are willing to pay. >> here at macy's one of the things fueling optimism is the fact that gas prices are at an all year low. retailers are hoping that some of that cash will come their way. and these shoppers are looking to make the money they do plan to spend as favre as possible. >> we're looking to stretch the christmas budget by double. some x-box one games, scooters. >> and in what could be a good sign, they expect a 4.1% gain in holiday sales over last year. if that does happen it would be the strongest shopping season in

three years. >> mary snow for us. thank you. on the most anticipated shopping day of the year. workers are staging a work action at walmart. since 2007 workers are used black friday to protest wages and working conditions. they say they've seen some improvements after protests in the last two years. walmart is the nation's largest private employer with 1.4 million workers. we have more now from washington. >> the demonstrators converged on walmart stores across the country, including this one just a few blocks from the u.s. capitol. with gross products of $130 billion this year walmart has been a ripe target to pass living wage laws across the u.s. and workers complain even working full time they need government subsidies to make

ends meet. >> for a year i have not made over $25,000. so it can be--i'm still relying on government assistance. >> i'm personally behind on my rent even though i work 40 hours a week. i can't get my car fixed. i wait for shut off notices from the utilities before i can pay them. >> walmart said that behind these demonstrations is a campaign behind one union to organize the workers and in several states stores have restricted the protest and even ordered union members not to step foot in the store. the company has responded with a high-profile public relations campaign of their own exploiting workers stuck in dead-end jobs. >> i was a part-time cashier attending college. it's been me the opportunity over the last 17 years to grow from hourly ranks to senior management. >> while the protesters march

outside the company provided a few workers inside to help give the news media it's side of the story. >> i make a pretty booed livin good living wage. i started off as an unloader and i've become a supervisor and i've had two raises since then. >> at most only a few hundred of wal-marts 1.4 million employees were expected to stay away from work as part of this year's protest. those that did said that they fear that the company will retaliate by telling them not to bother coming back. >> in austria the police raided muslim homes and mosques looking for people recruiting fighters to join isil. they arrested 13 people. 500 police officers took part in the raids. this comes after a two-year investigation. this was the largest raid in austria since world war ii. so far 150 citizens have gone to the middle east to join

extremist fighters. pope francis is in turkey. his main objective during his three-day visit is building ties while supporting christian minorities in the region. we have more now from istanbul. >> reporter: pope francis was welcomed in ankar by president erdogan at the start of what is perhaps one of the most delicate missions of his papacy. the head of the catholic church has flown into a region wrestling the rise of armed groups while acknowledging that military force is justified to stop the advance of groups like isil, the pope said that there is also a need for more dialogue between christians and muslims. >> the fundamentalism and irrational fears need to countered by solidarity of all believers. >> his host, turkish president,

spoke out of what hey sees is rising phobias. >> it's saddening, racism, discrimination and hatred towards those who are different and islam ma phobi phobia is on the rise. >> turkey hosts more than 1.5 million syrian refugees and said that the international community has a moral obligation to help turkey take care of these refugees. on saturday the pope moves here to istanbul to tackle another tough issue, the near thousand-year split between catholicism and orthodoxy. he'll be meeting his own friend, the east orthodox patriot bartholomew 1st. there is hope that both those men will continue to bring these two branches of christianity closer to go. bernard smith, al jazeera,

istanbul. >> the fight against isil has left thousands of iraqis caught in the cross fire. we spoke with one man who survived the battle but lost his father and home in the process. >> reporter: ahmed does not know whether to start to where build hirebuild his house. wherever he looks there is devastation. most people fled, but ahmed stayed. isil used his house to launch attacks. >> my house was destroyed by isil. so i managed to escape to the nearby farms and hid there. they were heavy clashes between isil and army forces and many houses were destroyed, and people were killed in the process fire. we have nothing left for us to salvage. only terrible memories and shattered hopes. witwe are afraid to rebuild again because isil in iraq is

not over yet. >> his father was in a wheelchair and was caught in the cross fire. he's buried near here. as isil pushed them back, they used the houses to push back the iraqi army as they took for cover. >> isil destroyed it for the sake of destruction and killed many people in the process, including my father. have a look again. you'll only see destruction and burned down houses. >> the iraqi army has not offered ahmed or anyone else in this town compensation, and he has no idea if he'll get any help to rebuild. ahmed has nowhere together, and survival will be tough. the iraqi government sees the operation as a success, but for ahmed that success is bittersweet. the damage caused by the fighting is immense. no one in authority is looking to rebuild yet, many across iraq

with no choice but to live like this. al jazeera, baghdad. >> police in egypt broke up anti-government protests after friday's prayers. two civilians died in the clashes along with three officers. security forces had arrested more than 100 people ahead of the planned demonstrations, and they were the first to unilaterally protest call by the hard liners the solafy front. two soldiers were shot dead in cairo and a naval officer died in alexandria. more than four months after the malaysian flight was shot down over ukraine, today the final remains of the victims are being returned to the netherlands. two-thirds of the nearly 300 people on the flight from dutch. crews completed the operation to clear all the wreckage on sunday. russia and ukraine have blamed each other for the disaster. russia's recent behavior is the big story on real money tonight.

ali velshi is spending the hour investigating the new cold war traveling from europe to the arctic circle. that's coming up at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. we told you the estimates. 10s of millions of americans are shocked on thanksgiving day. that's above the question of boom or bust of the actual black friday. we break down the numbers next. just a few weeks into his definite sub suspension, ray rice has won his right to play in the nfl again. only on al jazeera america

>> well, former baltimore ravens running back ray rice won his appeal from an indefinite suspension from the nfl. he was shown in a surveillance video of him beating his then

fiancé, yikes. he was initially suspended for two games. but now he has been reinstated, and he can sign with any team. here to talk about thi this is michael yves. this was an arbitration process. >> yes. >> and a judge was hearing this? >> yes. >> what mr. they saying. >> he had been misled by both janay and ray rice. they said it's not true. after hearing both sides of the argument the judge said that the commissioner wases not misled, that ray rice and his wife told them exactly the same story prior to the video coming you had. >> and that the league was wrong

for imposing another suspension . >> it was double jeopardy. that's why it was on the side of ray rice in this particular incident. >> he's cleared to play with any team. >> yes. >> he has lost a considerable chunk of change. >> yes, he has. >> the players union and ray rice will have to go after that money. in a separate process. they said that the nfl gave him a suspension that was not valid, and that he should be able to get that money back. the ravens can release you any time they want for any reason. so if he was simply released, and he doesn't deserve any more money based on the collective bargaining. but if he can prove that he was released because of the suspension he may have a case. >> he can sign now? >> he can. now this very important point.

he could have signed with any team even while suspended after the ravens released him. he just couldn't play. but a team would not sign him if he could not play. that would not make sense there are four weeks, five weeks until the next up coming game. i think the opportunity is slim to none unless you're a team on the border of trying to get into the playoffs, and you think it's worth the risk. maybe. >> thank you. appreciate it. shoppers were out early. malls were filled even though some retailers were open on thanksgiving and even overnight. overnight an estimated 140 million people are expected to shop in stores on or line this weekend. black friday is starting to

become less important, however, as retailers jump start their deals and more sales are available online. earlier i spoke with a director of consumer research at reuters. and i asked her which retail stores were some of the big winners, and particularly on black friday. >> what we saw is that people going out for home furnishes. wwe saw them go to decorateing, lowes, home depot. bed bath beyond. they all did well this year. >> black friday, what is the strategy. what i see is a front loading of the christmas holiday season. we started yesterday after dinner. >> and everybody showed up with the family. so we're seeing earlier and

earlier deals. as early as even monday. >> with door busters. >> yes, walmart said they had 22 million people coming through the doors. however, when analysts look at that number they're not impressed. they are seeing the same numbers as the past few years. but they're impressed with the online stores. they're offering more promotions online and that's helping. >> here's what i mean when i say there is front loading of holiday shopping season here. so you start essentially 6:00 p.m. on wednesday right after thanksgiving dinner. and then you roll right into black friday, right? >> yes. >> after cyber monday how do you keep people going to the stores?

the car traffic, the foot traffic, to the malls through december? >> well, you have to keep it interesting and also have the right merchandise. one retailer who ac mandari excels at this is macy's. they give certain amounts, certain merchandise are going to be on sale at a specific amount of time. and they switch this as the month goes by as we approach christmas. whereas other retailers tend to give everything away during the black friday. >> oh, yes, correct me if i'm wrong here, if i'm misremembering this. last year there was this whole issue of we're missing a paycheck, the holiday shopping cycle, is that working its way out. >> yes, this year the paychecks came in. >> what happened last year? >> last year the paychecks came a week before this week, when you have to pay all your bills. this time they came in perfect timing for all the deals of

black friday. that entices the shoppers. they have money in the bank. all these deals going on, why not go shopping. >> what is the new jersey sense of what this holiday season could be. how good could it be? >> it could be really good. retailers are fearful because they saw mall traffic slow down in the third quarter. but analysts are more optimistic. when we look at earningings, we seings we see more. >> thank you. >> lawmakers concerned some tech

companies are trying to monopo monopolize the market. >> and pope francis' visit to turkey. and coming up next. part shall, part community college.

>> pope francis is on a three day visit to turkey right now. it marks the four time that the pope has traveled to the muslim country. they are urging on an inter faith dialogue calling for condemn of isil. let's take a deeper dive with this with patrick, the chair of

theology university in fordham. good to see. >> you thank you. >> let me pick up with this point here. this idea of this trip being a statement, a big statement from the pope about isil. and it really isn't that, is it? >> well certainly it's true that even in the pope's first address today when he was in turkey he condemned if a natism and fundamentalism. the official purpose of this trip goes back to 18 months ago when the post was first elected, and th it happens when isil, extremism, conflict, is in the news. i think its natural that the pope is addressing that. >> what do you see as the real significance of this trip. >> one thing that a lot of people in the west don't think

about, there are 300 million christians, greek orthodox, russian orthodox. they have their own leader, and he has had good relations with the vatican, and i think the pope is trying to figure out along with the patriarch to come together. >> it's interfaith. >> it's both intrafaith and inter faith. >> what do you see as the pope's submission. we've seen him on a couple of occasions doing this type of outreach. what do you think is the goal of the pope, and how do you judge his success. >> there are these exceptionally

moving i thinks of him and bartholomew praying side by side at the too many of jesus. it dose goes back to 1 1054, there is a lot of unfinished business between the christians. we saw him addressing the european parliament in straussberg, and i think the the pope sees it is there is religious fundamentalism on one side and secular fund edgism o fundamentalism on the other side. that's a hard task for any triplet alone three days in turkey. >> pat, you're back with the morning show. >> yes. >> patrick, professor at fordham university. thank you. >> thank you.

>> president obama has ordered a review of policies when citizens are taken hostage. united states will not contribute to the $45 million a year that isil earns from hostage ransoms, but there is a loophole to the strategy. >> reporter: the u.s. has said flatly it will never pay ransom to secure the release of american hostages in the hands of isil fighters, but it did trade five afghan taliban prisoners for bowe bergdahl. families of hostages are watching as the u.s. grapples with the best way to respond. >> before isil fighters beheaded james foley he watched one by one other captives were freed after it appeared that ransoms were paid for their release. two other american captives met the same fate. american law bars its government

in paying ransom. it bars its citizens from paying ransoms, too. >> the united states has set a hear heartrending decision to refuse to pay ransom for american hostages. >> according to the u.n. security council's counter terrorism committee, $120 million in ransom was paid to terrorist groups between 2004 and 2012. republican representative duncan hunt has accused the pentagon's joint special operations command of leaving a botched effort t to pay a ransom to gain the freedom of bowe bergdahl. hunter in a letter to outgoing defense secretary chuck hagel

said that payments were made to an afghan intermediary who disappeared with the money and failed to negotiate bergdahl's release. an allegation that the pentagon denies. >> we said this before. there was no ransom offered. there was no ransom paid. >> but kirby acknowledged there is a gray area in u.s. policy. the pentagon or c.i.a. will pay for sources for the whereabouts and conditions of u.s. captives. >> on occasion to obtain information sometimes in the field there are--there are such exchanges. that's a fact. >> in britain the government is seeking to stop british insurance companies from r reembursting families of hostages. >> i'm delighted that it's being

revisited. all i would ask is that families be invited to the discussion. >> diane foley said that while her son was being held she faced a bureaucracy where no one was accountable. >> there as period to be no one who could share information for us or advocate for jim's situation. so it was a very lonely experience. >> the white house said that the review will focus on how the u.s. government manages itself in hostage situations and how the many agencies involved communicate with the families of the victims. many of whom say they feel abandoned by their government and left with agonizingly few options. >> jamie mcintyre reporting. yesterday on our series of family planning around the world we looked at sterilization in india. our special comes after 14 people died in a mass indian sterilization procedure. today we look at where contraceptive devices will be

available to women for just $1. >> sayana press is empowering women. the new contraceptive has a smaller needle, and the drug is administered by squeezing the plastic bottle. >> my doctor told me i had to wait three years before i could get pregnant again. i need this. i take one injection every three months. >> the needle can't be reused so there is no risk of infection. but there is a reason why she does not want to use her real name or show her face. some women don't want their husbands to know that they're using contraceptives. when they leave the house they don't tell their men that they're going to the clinic. they say it just causes problems at home. shoccurburkina faso remains a

very conservative society. >> there are some men who believe that if women take contraceptives they'll sleep around and become per miss could youous. but it's just ignorance. when we talk to them some husbands change their end. >> it is slightly more expensive than a pill, but it's still less than $1. it's still convenient. it last it's for three months. if you miss one bill, you still could get pregnant. school is out for today. many want to go to college and get good careers. something that many women in ranch don't have a chance to do. >> if a woman has a lot of children like five or six, it's a burden on the family. she has to today at home to take care of them. that sometimes means she can't have a career of her blown that's why sayana is discrete and cheap. giving women the power to decide

how many children and when to have them. >> we take a look at gaza and why is there are families are traditionally and intentionally large. and there are other stories making headlines across the u.s. richelle carey is with us. >> in austin, texas a man is dead after police say he open fired on the mrs. headquarters. he shot off 10 100 rounds. it's unknown whether the suspect died from the gunshot of a nearby police officer. >> the suspect was getting ready to put the horses away when the attack on the police headquarters occurred. as he held two horses with one hand, he discharged one round at least one round with a single-handed shot. that would be a heck of a shot. >> the police say they'll wait

to see if the suspect died from a self-inflicted wound. he had started a fire at the mexican consolate, but it was minor. he may have been motivated by the immigration policies. in rhode island a man has died. four workers from stuck under a 100-pound slab of concrete. three were able to get out. one man was taken to the hospital where he died. a man returned from sierra leone. he had called 911 with symptoms of diarrhea. the evidence strongly suggests that the man is not infected with the ebola virus. two boys were caught in a snow bank. they're nine and ten years old.

they were building a snow fort when a plow drove by them and buried them. they were stuck under four feet of snow, so they were not able to get home. the families were worried and called the police. at 2:00 in the morning an officer found the boys. >> he located a shovel halfway buried in the snow bank. he decided to start digging and saw the boot of one of the children. >> at that point they were so cold they could not move their limbs. they spent part of thanksgiving in the hospital. i say part because now they're home. >> the parents have a lot to be thankful for. >> absolutely. >> appreciate it. thank you. for most high school students there is nothing more exciting than graduation day. but in oregon some students are willing to put a hold on that occasion by doing a little extra work. how about an extra school year known as grade 13. 31 adam schauffler explains.

>> how determined are you to not be part of the dropout percentage? >> oh, you have no idea. >> take a walk on campus and talk class schedules for sick tore i can't garcia. >> history 101, history 201. >> and you get to know a busy, ambitious young woman. >> how far do you want to go in terms of your situation gym. >> right now a masters in education. >> she is a hybrid student, a 13th grade center high school. also a full-ride freshman at community college. >> we do not give them their diploma. they do not graduate. >> and the state picks up the tab. >> well, yes. >> black well-has seen firs first-year completion rates soar up to 50% for those who go straight into college. is that optional extra year an admission of failure? >> shouldn't we be handle this

in a k through 12 context? isn't that enough? >> i don't think so. not in this day and age. >> any student good or bad can apply as long as they meet graduation requirements, and nearly half of the senior class is now in the 13th grade this semester. money is a big motivator. right now in oregon just a handful of the state's 197 school districts offers this program. which raises some big questions. what happens if every kid in the state wants to avail themselves of the benefits of grade 13? it's essentially a free year of college paid for by the state. some colleges will give the students credit for all or part of that year potentially reducing the time and cost of a bachelor's or associates degree. but not even the oregon department of education can tell us how many students are 13th graders. they don't track that data. national k through 12 organizations say they don't know of any other states making the same offer.

we asked education columnist tim nesbitt what would happen if oregon's big school districts would join in? >> well, this breaks the bank. >> but nesbitt said that this is a model that should be explored. >> this is disruptive, stand forces you to look outside of the box. should we find ways to fund something like this? >> victoria, the first in her family to ever take a college class, couldn't be happier with the funding. same with a forest thomas. >> we're not a lost hope. they want to you succeed. >> i have a class that is almost four hours long. >> four hours long? >> yes. >> welcome to college. >> i know. >> coming up on al jazeera america. britain's prime minister wants to impose tough immigration rules that some in the u.k. see as a slap in the face.

>> british prime minister david cameron is taking a tough stance on immigration. today he announce that migrants from europe will have to leave britain if they don't find a job within six months. this comes as calls to curb immigration in the country has grown. >> reporter: it's unusual for a restaurant outside of london to get rave reviews, but this one has. it was started by is he bashan. four years ago. >> i have many friends who have businesses. big businesses. i have lots of friends who do not stay at home and wait for the money which comes. >> never mind all that.

now eastern europeans are a target. in places like birmingham where the police station shut for lack of public money and instead became a migrant registration center. it was this constituency that the prime minister sought to address. e.u. migrants should have a job offer before they come here. u.k. tax payers will not support them if they don't. and once they're in work they won't get benefits or social housing from britain unless they've been here for at least four years. so the new rules for migrants would mean deportation within six months if you couldn't find work. no benefits for four years even if you could. britain's place in europe is at stake. it's radical stuff. just a few years ago the so-called polish plumber was praised all over england for its hard work ethic. any economist would tell thought total financial cost of migrants to the state is a tiny

proportion of the total deficit in this country. but it doesn't matter. the anti-europe brigade is on the march, and there will be a lot more of this talk between now and national elections next may. obviously it's all meant to keep migrants were coming but this advice worker does not think it will. >> i think these new proposals are going to bring more poverty between migrants. they're going to--they're going to face evictions. so homelessness is going to lead to more crime, child poverty. >> would it stop people from coming to britain? >> i don't think it would. i think people will keep on coming searching for better life. >> britain and poland in particular have much history, all of it friendly. these proposals may work at home, but many eastern europeans will see them as a national insult.

lawrence lee, al jazeera. >> nasa is marking a major milestone marking the 50th anniversary of the mariner fac 4 face craft launch. we have a sneak speak of a galaxy far, far away today. [ "star wars" theme music ] >> disney released the trailer for "star wars." and fans eagle for see the clip crashed the site. it features the millennium

falcon and a sith lord. they're a breakfast stable, but there is a battle brewing over cholesterol free eggs. >> coming up on real money, the new cold war. the collapse of relakeses between russia and the west is effecting economies and businesses. and we'll examine whether russia's relations with russi the u.s. and europe will ever return to usual.

primetime news. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> stories that impact the world, affect the nation and touch your life. >> i'm back. i'm not going anywhere this time. >> only on al jazeera america. >> a california company has created an alternative to eggs for omelets to mayonnaise. now it has led to a lawsuit over

the word "mayo." >> hampton creek, a san francisco start up, is trying to replace eggs i in a number of household products. they hope to replace animal proteins in our diets and swamp in plant-based proteins instead. but now unilever, hellman's, is drawing suit over the word "mayo." >> as answer chef can tell through is nothing quite like the good egg. >> a good egg is fresh, and it has a rich-colored yoke, and it tastes like almost like chicken. if you really think about it. >> i worked in france for a couple of years, and i made thousands of omelets.

as does any cook who trains in france, you make thousands of omelets. soft on the outside, not crispy, not brown. custardy on the inside. >> i don't see the need to replace an egg with anything but an egg. >> with 7 billion people and counting, the demand forking is is endless that a company called hampton creek backed by bill gates, among other investors, said that it can make a plant-based alternative that tastes as good, does away with the difficulties of raising eggs, and costs less. >> we have 1.8 trillion eggs laid every year around the world, and 99% of the 1.8 trillion eggs come from places that aren't too good. they are ate not the best for the environment, where you have animals packed body to body, they consume resources. we think, like the horse and buggy, we can do better, and it's not fit for a growing world.

>> harp on it creek is the first. looking for plants to replace eggs in all sorts of foods from baked goods to mayonnaise. the first product from the company is a product called "just mayo." >> it has a full arc of mayo. >> it's that plant. it has to emulsify and give you a feel, color, texture. you feel the complexity of what a chicken egg would do in mayonnaise. >> what would the market do for mayonnaise. >> just mayonnaise, $11.2 billion. >> the chemistry of eggs makes them useful to emulsifying ingredients. baking them pasty light and binding things together. the company has yellow peas and sorgum which can replicate those behaviors. >> the part we're working on is identifying that plant that can scramble up.

we have a candidate. we found one. when you put it in the pan it actually scrambled. >> the company offered to let us taste this mythical scrambled plant, so we let our chef try it. straight out of the pan with sulfurized salt on it, it wasn't bad. >> it really tastes like egg. there is a little bit of a bitter or sour note to the thing itself, but with the salt, it's starting to taste eggy. >> a planet-based egg substitute may not sound at tieing to some people, but if the company can perfect it and it costs less than a dozen cage-free eggs, maybe there is room on the table after all. you can see why unilever feels threatened. it willable available to 32,000 stores and it's already carried by walmart and other major retailers. and it's scrambled egg

alternative is on track, and it will have a cookie dough and egg-free pasta coming out. these are categories that are deeply embedded in our pallets and economy, so replacing them is no small feat. in terms of taste, the chemistry seems to be winning the day. >> the christmas tree cost is higher this year. tree prices could vary depending on shipping, rental space and growers face a slump in demand in recent years and the number harvested fell from 20.8 million trees in 2002 to 17.3 million in 2012. david richards setting a record of setting up 1.2 million

bulbs, 75-mile worth of lighting. and another record for most christmas lights on a residential property. that's all of our time. i'm tony harris. "real money with ali velshi" is next on al jazeera america. >> america stands on the brink of a new cold war with russia. i adjourned ti journeyed to the, on deposits of oil and natural gas, i'll give you the firsthand look at how acialgh arctic melts fueled, new economy and an icon who hasn't ever taken his eye off russia. i'm ali velshi and this is "real money."