>> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> this is al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey, in new york. here are the top stories. washington transfers six prisoners from the guantanamo bay detention center to uruguay. syria says israeli war planes bombed government-held areas near damascus an innovative new way to fight the possible radicalization of muslim youth nearly a million people have been driven from their homes as

a result of a powerful typhoon still battling the philippines. tonight six detainees from guantanamo bay are in hospital in uruguay, transferred by the u.s. government as being held for 12 years without charge. this is the largest group of detainees to be transferred out of the military detention center in cuba. and the first to go to south america. among them four sir yarnings a tunisian -- syrians, a tunisian and a palestinian. a lawyer is speaking out. he represents a man whose hunger strike at guantanamo sparked a protractored legal battle -- protracted legal battle over force-feeding. she criticized how officials treated him.

>> we tried to send him juices so he would be safe. the defense department said "no, we can't have them." these are the people who force-feed people and say we are not trying to punish people, we are trying to preserve their health and life. and here we are trying to help him come safely off the protest, and they won't let him have even a juice. >> the six men were held since 2002 as suspected al qaeda affiliates and have been cleared for release since 2009. the u.s. government could not find a country that would accept them. we explain why uruguay's president agreed. >> this is very much a personal campaign from the outgoing president of uruguay. he, himself, was a prisoner for 13 years upped the dictator -- under the dictatorship that governed uruguay. he says they have a moral obligation to take in people from other countries who suffered.

he called the case of six low-level detainees from guantanamo an atrocious kidnapping. uruguay took in refugees from the syrian conflict. they have been provided with housing, schooling and job opportunities. they were warmly welcomed by the uruguayan people a couple of months ago. it's not quite so simple with the detainees. there's far from universal acceptance, initial plans to accept them earlier in the year were shelved because uruguay was in the midst of an election campaign. the president said he would speak on the issue as soon as the campaign was over. voters voted last week. a new president takes over in march. in the meantime, he is keen to accept this first batch of prisoners, six syrians, a palestinian and a tunisian will be given the same deal as the syrian refugees - housing, jobs and education, learning spanish and that kind of thing.

it's by no means cut and tried. dried. still opposition to their arrival. >> joining us is an al jazeera national security contributors joining us. we appreciate your time. why the heck did they accept the men. they have not been charged and have been cleared for release for quite some time. why so difficult to find places that would take them? >> we don't take them. since 2011 congress banned any of these detainees from being transferred to u.s. soil, so that leaves a feeling that even though we say they are clear for transfer, they must still be dangerous. obviously there's a feeling in the rest of the world na if the united states thinks the guys are too dangerous to bring them on to its soil, why should we accept them. >> if they are dangerous, why no charges. they are not dangerous, that's the reality. >> when guantanamo was open, they said it would be the worst

of the worst. 780 people were brought to guantanamo in the early 2000 said. 500 of them were released under the bush administration. clearly a lot of the people over there were not the worst of the worse. they were innocent people picked up in the course of a conflict. now there are 142 people remaining at guantanamo. many have been cleared for release through a stringent process that the obama administration conducted, but they don't have any place to send these guys. >> do you feel like the process will be sped up now that uruguay has stepped up. might other countries step up. >> several countries have stepped up. 50 countries or so have taken detainees from guantanamo. and in august of 2013, president obama said he'd work hard to speed up the process. i think he's sincere and is trying to do that. at the end of the day there'll be some people in guantanamo who

he is not going to be able to charge because they were tortured, and he's not going to want to release because he thinks they are dangerous. at the end of the day, at this point it seems there'll be a small population remaining in guantanamo. let's talk about the pressure on president obama to clear out guantanamo. because of the promises that he made. he has to do this, does he not? >> well, in 2009 when he took office he said one of his first acts was that he would close guantanamo within the year. >> obviously that didn't happen. >> that didn't happen. in the early days, i think, he did try, perhaps he didn't invest as much political capital in the issue as he should have, and by 2011 the issue seemed to turn a little bit, and congress imposed restrictions on what he could and couldn't do. for the detainees, when the u.s. transfers someone, they have to

give congress notice. 30 days before the transfer takes place, the secretary of defence has to certify that the person doesn't pose a danger. and transfers to the yates are banned. >> what -- united states are totally banned. >> what is the leg as i of guantanamo going to -- legacy of guantanamo going to be? >> a terrible legacy. it was an attempt by the united states to operate outside the rule of law, outside our own institutions courts and prisons. not only is it a stain on our reputation, it served as a recruiting tool for people that wanted to oppose us and has been terribly ineffective. the military commissions set up in guantanamo since 2002, 12 years now, have convicted eight men. in the same period of time several courts conducted 500 terrorism trials. that gives you an idea of what it will be like. thank you. since november 13th, prisoners

sense november 13th prisoners have been transferred from guantanamo, part of a push by president obama to close the brich. thomas drayton has more on the president's initiative. >> in order to effect the appropriate disposition of individuals detained by the department of defense at gaum your, and promptly to close the detection facility at guantanamo... >> reporter: the new president issued an edict immediately after taking office. meant to begin the process of closing down the guantanamo bay detention camp. more than five years later it remains open. although president obama signed an order in january 2009 to suspend military tribunal proceedings at guantanamo, he was blocked by congress. >> american justice is what people believe separates the united states from other countries. >> later that year in a 90 to 60

i don't the senate passed an amendment to an act of 2009, barring the funds needed for release or transfer of guantanamo bay prisoners. the military prison, which was operational in january of 2002 was established to hold and integrate what the bush administration called dangerous prisoners. it termed enemy combatants. >> reporter: are any of the 90 people al qaeda members? >> i would doubt it. >> reporter: since 2002 the detention center housed 779 men, including 15 minors in what are called high value detainees, such ass 9/11 mastermind khalid sheikh mohammed, transferred from a black site. nine detainees died in custody, according to human rights watch. six suspected to have committed suicide. many have gone on hunger strike. many alleged torture and subpar living continues. >> amnesty international said

the united states detention facilities at guantanamo bay cuba are emblem attic of the grosses human rights abuses perpetrated by the u.s. government in the name of fighting terrorism. roughly 600 detainees have been released over the years. many without being charged. >> thomas drayton reporting there. we are learning about the u.s. special forces raid in yemen. the attempt to rescue american terrorists involved drone strikes and a fire fight with militants. by the time 40 special forces reached luke somers and another hostage, pierre corky, they had been shot. a 10-year-old boy and a woman also were killed. president obama defends his decision. they are not blaming the deaths of pierre corky. they had negotiated corky's release, he would have been

delivered today. u.s. officials were not aware that corky was being held with luke somers. the u.s. is responding to the detention of a reporter in iran. according to u.s. officials jason ressian is held on unspecified charges and has been denied an attorney. secretary of state john kerry issued a statement saying: . >> iran is confirming it launched air strikes on i.s.i.l. factories in iraq at the request of the iraq government. iraq is relying on its neighbour in the fight against i.s.i.l. >> reporter: these iraqis walking to kabula faced attack every year in post-war iraq. this will be the first commemoration since i.s.i.l. gained strength and seized large parts of the country. the ceremony marking the 40th day of mourning for the killing

14 centuries ago, central to shi'ite identities. the iraq yoi government is doing everything it can to protect those making the journey. >> translation: there is a couple of military defloilts protect the pilgrims from attack. i saw the district commander officers and soldiers deployed along the road leading to kabula. >> iraqi government forces have been backed by shia militias. many tied to iran. they have launched air strikes in iraq. after initial denials the iranian government acknowledged that it launched the attacks at the request of the iraqi government. it's so sensitive the iraqi ministry of defense continues to deny iranian air involvement. >> if they are supporting this, there are beneficial effect. iran has clear security interests on the borders, protection of the borders and people. i.s.i.l. is not a threat to the

people of iraq or syria, but the people of iran as well. i would not be surprised if there are images and if there is involvement in the air the way there is clear involved of the iranian republican guard on the ground. >> reporter: in diyala province, where fears fighting has taken place, some officials believe iran and pro-iranian, iraqi forces are using the battle as an excuse to move out others. >> translation: we fear the change of diyala demographically. we met security and government but no steps have taken place. >> reporter: iraqi officials say when people are ordered from their homes, it's because security forces need time to clear the area of explosives.

iraqi officials made clear that with weakened security force, they couldn't take on i.s.i.l. or secure baghdad without them, it left the iraqi government treading a fine line between relying on iran for help, and maintaining independence. syria is blaming israel for two air strikes in damascus on sunday. for its part israel is saying nothing about the operation. nick schifrin is in jerusalem with more. >> analysts believe the air strikes, if, indeed, carried out by israel targeted missiles being delivered to hezbollah. as always, israeli officials refuse to confirm or deny that, and that silence is a kind of face-saving allowing the syrian government not to respond militarily. according to activists in syria, 10 air strikes hit a warehouse outside of damascus, and

multiple air strikes hit military defense and air command centers, as well as two strikes outside the airport. these are not the first strikes believed to be launched by israel into syria. on january 4th, 2013, jets targeted a convoy travelling to lebanon, believed to be delivering weapons to hezbollah. later that month syrian state tv said a scientific research center was destroyed by israel. in may jets attacked those attacking a shipment from iran. in november a syrian airbase was struck by israeli jets, believed to destroy russian-made missiles. it never confirmed any of those, allowing the syrian government, even though it promises to respond, to stay quite militarily. the strikes seem to be different from previous strikes. the scope seems to be larger,

and they seem to target more syrian military institutions than ever before. >> nick schifrin reporting there. >> defense secretary chuck hagel arrived in kuwait, greeted by several military leaders when he arrived this afternoon. it followed a survive visit to afghanistan. in afghanistan hagel met with troops a day after announcing 11,000 troops will stay in the country next year. nearly 1,000 more than previously planned. recent attacks by the taliban underscored the importance of a continued u.s. preps. -- u.s. presence. >> we don't want to see the tremendous progress that has been accomplished through so much of the afghan people, our involvement, the sacrifices of the united states and partners have made with blood, we don't want that to role back downhill.

>> it was likely hagel's last to afghanistan. he announced he would be stepping down. ash son carter has -- ashton carter has been named to succeed him today is 17 years sense the attack on pearl harbour. the attack on japanese forces on the american fleet threw america into world war ii. 2400 men's were killed, wounding 1200. thousands of people attended the ceremony, including four survivors of that attack coming up on al jazeera america - protests continue over the deaths of michael brown and eric garner at the hands of police. it turned violent in california and the latest on the deadly storm pounding the philippines, forcing a million people from their home.

>> an unimaginable story of betrayal. >> they lived this incredible life. it just never occurred to me that they were living on the dime of the clients. >> greed... >> bernie was stealing every nickel but he wasn't trading anything. >> ... and entitlement. >> you took my grandchildren's future away from them.

[ chanting ] protests continue nationwide over the police kill inns of michael brown and -- killings of michael brown and eric garner. it started peacefully, it turned violent. protesters threw rocks and smashed windows. two officers reported injuries. in chicago, several churches launched protests. members of 100 churches marched in response to the michael brown and eric garner grand jury decisions. dismondors shut down the streets, and a pastor saying it was important to spread the message. in an interview that will air, president obama spoke about what is happening and how to address race relations nationwide. >> when you are dealing with something as deeply rooted as racism or bias in any society,

you have to have vigilance, but you have to recognise that it will take time and you just have to be steady. >> earlier i spoke with an attorney with the neighbourhood defenders service of harlem and she said the grand jury system in america is not doing what it was created to do. >> what people don't understand is that the grand jury system is constitutional. it was in place years before the foundation of our country even, and it was originally meant to protect people from capricious will of the government, to be a check at the beginning of the prosecutorial process when someone is charged. unfortunately, over the years, and in states like new york where we use it, it developed into effectively a rubber-stamp for the prosecutor's will. instead of being an open and fair process assistant with the

adversarial system, it's a secret process in which the posterior controls every piece of evidence that is shown. they control the witnesses called, they instruct the grand jurors on the law and don't have to do anything they don't want to do. they don't have to bring in exculpatory evidence, follow the rules of evidence. what occurs is that the prosecutor then dictates in a one-sided form at what the grurors will hear -- grand jurors will hear and tells them the law to apply to the facts tailed for them. they ask for a decision, but the decision made by the grand jury is controlled by the prosecutor. >> attorney alice there. north korea's government says it did not attack sony's computer system but are glad it happened. last week a cyber attack hit

sony pictures. which is producing a film in relation to a cyber attack again-kim jong un. the film will be released christmas day. the attack against sony was well deserved says north korea. >> translation: the hack attack towards the u.s. film producer sony pictures is the acts of a sympathiser. thus the misfortune that sony pictures experienced can only be seen as a just punishment for evil doings. >> she called it a righteous act. some cyber security experts say there's similarities between this attack and others blamed on north korea, but cannot definitively say who is it it. we'll economic cyber attacks in "the week ahead", later in the next couple of hours. in the philippines a powerful typhoon knocked out power and sent nearly a million people into shelters. at least 3 million have died.

still reeling from the super typhoon 13 months ago. scott heidler reports from legg as by. >> this is edison napping next to the radio, the family's connection to the outside world, and news of typhoon hagupit. he and his mother are here with 1,000 other people, huddled in the hallways. mostly women and children came from the provincial capital >> three families came to this shelter. we evacuate for every typhoon, because or house might be blown away. two days before landfall thousands were directed to shelters like this. >> with the typhoon like this, the government says it's about preparation. something he knows well. because of that, he's confident that his province will have zero casualties.

>> we have been prepared for this for the past 20 years. this process achieved zero cash in 18 of the 20 years, and every year we have typhoons. we made it a religion. >> the government is worried about the economic impact. mainly because of strong winds of the slow moving storm. they are not as strong, these winds will stay longer, ripping down electricity lines, destroying property. this bakery was the some store open. to the owner it was a risk worth taking. >> translation: we are afraid of the tycoon, but we have to finish. we heard reports that it would be as bad as haiyan, so we put rocks on the roof. >> no one will know the damage to the community caused by typhoon hagupit until the sun

rises on monday morning. rebecca stevenson joins us with more on the typhoon. it is quite a mess. >> it is. it's moving so slow. if it would speed up a bit it would help things out. we'd get the rain out sooner. because of the slow move, we have it moving just to the south-east of manila as we get into tomorrow night. that's how long it will hover in the vicinity. right now the wind speaks are estimated by satellites at 75 miles per hour. it could potentially hold that streption through the next -- strength through the next 24 hours, but slowly will take a turn to ho chi minh city. rain fall totals in two days - well over a foot in some spots, and the areas, 16.5 inches in

some of the southern islands, that will total up to 20 inches of rainfall. elsewhere winds are gusty. >> this was from tack la ban which was hit so hard. that was in november 7th. here we have the rain fall totals that we are expecting to come down in the next 24 hours. you can see 3-6 inches in the same spots totalling 10 inches. it continues to be that category 1 equivalent to a hurricane in the u.s. >> so much overlap for people trying to recover from before. >> the orion spacecraft has successfully been recovered from the pacific ocean. the u.s. u.s. "anchorage" pulled the remains on to its debt. n.a.s.a. will examine the orion so see how well the systems

performed in the flight. the spacecraft orbited the air twice before splashing into the pacific. coming up. a vigil held for a mother murdered shopping in a mall in the it yex rates -- united arab emirates important issues in upcoming elections. we talk about that ahead.

welcome back to al jazeera america here is a look at your top stories - six detainees from guantanamo bay are getting care in a hospital in uruguay, transferred by the u.s. government after being held for 12 years. without being charged syria is blaming israel for two air strikes carried out around damascus on sunday. syrian military and hezbollah were targeted in the strikes. israel is refusing to comment. deputy secretary chuck hagel arrived in kuwait, greeted by several military leaders when he arrived. it followed a surprise visit to

afghanistan. more now on our top story, the detainees released from guantanamo bay. daniel schweimler is on the ground. he tells us how the men are settling in, and how the people of uruguay are reacting to their president. >> the six former detainees from guantanamo arrived in the capital in the early hours of the morning, to be met by nobody, really. some officials from the uruguayan government, lawyers in many cases are here to see the transition, to what is really a new life for the six men, four syrians, tunisian and a palestinian. five were taken to the military hospital. another one who has been on hunger strict for some of the last few weeks protesting about his treatment in guantanamo. he was taken to a different hospital, said to be in a

weakened state and i said a while ago to his lawyer that he is very, very weak, but delighted to be here in uruguay. all he wants to do is talk to his family. the constant question being asked is what about the future. all say what future, their lives have been destroyed. the government is doing everything they can to try to rebuild the battered lives. they are provided with lessons, medical care. they will be given housing, when they are ready to do that. it's a huge relief about being out of guantanamo after 12 years, in many case, of held in the base. they are waiting to hear what happens to the other 67 or so who have been allowed to go, still looking for countries where they might be able to be housed. the uruguayan government is hoping to have provided an example of what can be done in

latin america, and possibly the rest of the world in taking the detainees from guantanamo a woman accused of stabbing an american teacher last week acted alone. blair ryan, the teacher, was remembered by friends at a candle light vigil. she was killed in a shopping mall in abu dhabi. expats say despite the attack they feel safe in the region. >> when it happens, before they knew anything about the cause or why, i still didn't feel like someone was out to get me or necessarily americans. anything can happen anywhere, any city in the world. >> sadly it's believed she was targeted because she was a teacher. >> the government is trying out

a new way to keep muslim youths from being radicalized. they have established a hot line, but are trying other tactics causing anger in the community. >> reporter: this is the front line of the austrian government so-called war on terror. it's where parents, teachers and members call in youth lured into illegal activities. targetted at 14 people recruiting young to fight. >> that's religious extremism and the government thought it would be a good source of conflict. among a host of missions it's

plans to over all it. the draft law received external funding for illegal activities. >> translation: the islam law is the basis for an austrian or european framework. >> reporter: the most controversial part of the draft seeks a translation of the koran to be published in german. critics say austria is trying to create its own version of islam. >> you may be able, at the end of the day, to say this koranic verse is against the values of european enlightenment or the austrian constitution. we want you muslims to say that's not - we don't believe in this verse or that verse. >> this is one of two centers in austria that looks like a mosque

the the rest are prayer rooms. the government conditions with a plan. muslims are preparing themselves for more restrictions. modernization fears are rife within the community. they say they are profiled constantly. >> it hurts. i grew up here. i never hurt anyone. now we are judged and pigeonholed. people forget we are old people, and we have to get along. i'm proud of austria. it hurts when you hear we are not integrated. we pay taxes and go skiing. many believe the old war is a poddel in europe, and march to integrate muslims into austrian society and would rather the government didn't change it. >> italy remains a top destination for refugees and migrants. they are busy rescuing those

abroad. foundering in the mediterranean. they are responding to a distress call from a boat that sailed from turkey with 500 migrants, in addition to 600 people rescued over the course of the last few days. one ship saved nearly 200 refugees on a boat from libya. officials say more than 150,000 migrants risked their lives trying to cross the mediterranean into italy. migrants died when they cap sized off the coast. many are from ethiopia. it's the latest fatal accident involving african refugees. more than 3,000 migrant deaths at sea have been reported this year. nigerian police responded to a massive gaol break. more than 200 prisoners were able to escape. police say gunmen broke in and freed the men. this is the third-largest prison break in two months in nigeria.

israel is preparing to dissolve the knesset and set the stage for elections next year. the government will face major issues including talks and the potential for progress and issues of concern to the u.s. as well. >> israel needs a government capable of making tough decisions. i hope to receive a broad and new mandate from the people to form a strong and statement government that will be up to the task of leading the jewish states in these tumultuous and fateful times. >> we look forward to working closely with the new government, whatever its composition, whenever it is formed. and we will not involve ourselves in any way in the middle of the choice for the people of israel. >> here to talk about the israeli elections for herets daily paper. we appreciate you joining us.

binyamin netanyahu fired finance minister and others, resulting in the fall of the government. why? >> that's a big question. no one nose the answer. people -- no one knows the answer. people say binyamin netanyahu doesn't know himself. there's reports that he's trying to reverse the progress. given we are talking about the israeli process, i wouldn't count the dissolvement of the knesset until it's done. the fact is that he is having problems with centerist coalition partners. mainly the finance minister, their personal trust broke down and binyamin netanyahu looked at the polls thinking this was a good idea to go to elections, a bigger knesset majority. since he culled the elections, the public atmosphere changed. now he's concerned whether this was a wise move or something that would bring about the end

of his tenure as prime minister. >> how strong of a candidate is he. >> he is strong in the sense that the right wing which he's the leader of is supposed to get stronger. on the centerist part of that right wing. there are people that do not want to be a prime minister and could hook up to the center left. in which case he finds himself with an overall majority, without the ability why to put anything together in the knesset. someone from the center left would be elected. >> what are political ideologies that are divisive now. >> in israel, it's hard to tell. we'll have five or six medium sized parties. we will not have two major parties, but we have two major blocks and generally speaking one is right win, which does not trust the palestinians. and will not support a peace process and will support new

settlements. the others, a center left party, which is more amenable to a peace process, and the issues of religion and state. the people on the left are more secular. the people on the right are more religious. it's not a done deal. the religious parties are angry with binyamin netanyahu for not including them and they may want to exact revenge. it's complicated. >> extremely complicated. secretary of state john kerry says we'll stay out of this, be hands off. and you wrote an article in which you say president obama should be hands off for the next 100 days. why so, how realistic is that? >> the main reason is that president obama is not popular in israel. the u.s. is popular. president obama is not. on the assumption that president obama - it's a safe assumption, that he would rather have someone else elected rather than binyamin netanyahu, anything that he would do intervene or

tough ep u.s. poll -- toughen u.s. policy and show approval could backfire and create a popular support for binyamin netanyahu. what i was saying is if the president obama administration wants to intervene, it should do nothing. then it would not be helping binyamin netanyahu. >> okay. >> this was extremely complicated but you whittled it down. i am sure we'll call on you again. thank you very much coming up on al jazeera america how officials in bangladesh are trying to make the clothing industry safer for workers. plus rebecca... >> up to an inch of snow in minnesota. central southern wisconsin - an icy mix with slippery roads. coming up, i show you how large storms will impact both coasts this week.

officials in bangladesh are holding a summit with the hopes

of making the textile industry safer for workers. the meeting comes two years after disasters at two different factories that killed dozens, and injured hundreds. we spoke with a survivor in bangladesh. >> two years ago this man was trapped in this building hen it was on fire. straight to escape she jumped through the fourth floor. doctors told her she broke two ribs. her problems did not end there. >> translation: the doctor said my windpipe was damaged, saying it was turning black. he told my husbands i needed treatment. we couldn't pay for what he recommended >> reporter: she received $1,000 in compensation, it was used up paying for doctor's visits. doctors cannot figure out what is wrong with her, saying she has to go to the medical

college, a public hospital in the capital. it's not simple for her to get the treatment she needs, it's a 3 hour journey from her home to the hospital. the bus ride costs $3. she can barely afford the trip itself. >> at the hospital, a surprise, and it's not good. instead of two broken rirks she has five -- ribs, she has five. untreated for years while groups waited before paying compensation. >> translation: why can't they be made to take responsibility. these workers are poor. >> the broken bones don't explain what is wrong with the voice and throat. one suggested it may be cancer.

>> the day the doctor said i became ill i tossed and turned all night. i couldn't sleep. i was scared. since then it's been hard for me to comment. >> already stretched to her financial limits, she is not sure whether she'll be able to afford to do much about it. activists gather to raise awareness of global warming, coming in the middle of a climate conference in lima. delegates are working on a deal. peru is the last stop br meeting next year. the backdrop is a city witnessing the impact of global warming at an alarming rate.

>> for centuries across the peruvian andes people relied on the water from the mountain. here at the bustling center, the markets are full of produce. there's a problem. the mountains water source slowly is disappearing. the rivers still run fast for now, but the glaciers that freeze them are melting away. >> it was one of the most popular places for tourism in peru. >> this is a glaisologist and remembers the glassier in its heyday, when people skied here. >> it was one only glacier until the houses. >> reporter: stretched all the way done? >> yes. >> reporter: we walk where once ice hundreds of meters deep lay. now the glassier has re-seeded all the way -- to the face of the mountain. >> we are losing time.

the glacier going to the water will see. >> it's a stunning site full of danger. new lagoons, increasing the threat of mudslides and flooding disasters. did i say the glassier is melting at an incredible rate. it could be gone altogether in 30-40 years. across peru, all the nation's glaciers are disappearing at increasing rates, creating problems for those relying on this as a water source. >> reporter: down the mountain crops are ripening. this farmer runs an organic form. things are changing. >> translation: we have seen clangs in the last -- climate change in the last four years, there are cold winds from the mountains, plants have less resistance due to climate change. >> nicholas is working with the

changes. he's built a reservoir to manage the water supply when the river runs low. farmers started adapting to the effects of climate change. the future here and across the world, it seems, is a looming uncertainty we'll check in with rebecca for the more on the weather. >> it's a variable pattern, nicer for us in the north-east where the rain finally shut off, and we had so many records broken. we had some record rain for j.f.k. airport. laguardia. those records were set in 1996. it was central park, in needed 0.4 of an inch of rain to break a record set in 1884. that was on old record. now we are looking at snow, rain in the mid west, around the great lakes. in minnesota, a storm system

that will bring slippery conditions to wisconsin, as we get through the night. otherwise the north-east - what a cool down behind the rain. cold air, breezy, winds pulled in the cooler air allowing temperatures to drop. some places 10 degrees colder than it was. that will continue, the storm system over the great lakes moving out of the picture. what we are really watching is a coastal storm that is developing. we are concerned because this will bring a lot of rain fall and there's a problem with flooding along the coast as we get from delaware, new york and massachusetts. we'll be watching this. we'll have the image of the slippery roads before it is cold enough for heavy snow up into the areas right along the canadian border. the handiest areas is between

montreal and we'll see the mountains, high elevations, get your hardest hit. snow in the amount of inches and to a foot. elsewhere around the world the cities are 3-6 inches in places. be prepared for a slippery coastal storm on tuesday. that's the problem. cross the u.s. for the day on tuesday - one for the east, one to the west. this one to the west that will hit on tuesday is bringing so much rain fall and the snow levels are high enough in the mountains we are expecting river flooding in parts of western washington, and then we get into thursday, and it's a different story, the powerful storm with the rain fall goes into california. we had problems with california getting flooding and mudslides and all kinds of problems. yes, we need the rain. we have a drought. we could use it. not so much so fast. we'll see about a foot of rain as we get through the week

ahead. you can see the train of storms and it's going to be focus in towards the west and the rain totals will be impressive for north california as we get into the end of the week. >> we'll keep an eye on it so good news for drivers. gas prices are in a free fall. they dropped $0.12 over the past couple of weeks, averaging $2.72 per gallon of regular, that is $0.56 lower than this time last year, and the lowest price in four years. in some parts of the country that sell below $2. analysts say prices could drop a few more sent barring a spike in oil prices. when bernie madoff's 50 million upon si scheme -- ponzi scheme was found out he

was not alone. but hits secretary in a report no al jazeera america details how little she now about the scam and how she is trying to make things right. >> we are not one of the big guys that lost all that money, we lost our life savings. >> we have loft everything, i have lost everything, and you have lost everything. >> people have killed themselves, they have lost their health. >> $50 billion. >> $50 billion gone, vanished. there's allegations that this long-running business was a giant ponzi scheme. >> banks all over the world put money with bernard madoff, and he seemed like a good guys, but he wasn't. >> when it came out that he screwed over ellie wizel, a nobel laureate who survived the hollow caused, and this man had stolen all of this man's money. >> this man has stolen the life

of the hard work of so many people, people who are immigrants, jews, christians, hind hindus. it's across the board. >> my name is eleanor, for the last 25 years, i was bernie madoff's secretary. >> i discovered there was more to the man and the crime than i could have imagined, playing out 15 feet from my desk. >> the mark offer the arrest, phones were going crazy, and the fax machines, one woman called in, she didn't know how she was going to pay the bills. she didn't know what to do, there's just so many people, and they left feeling victimize the and asurnamed especially the older people. they wanted to know what to do,

you tried to do what you could. pretty much it was not much. >> why did you do it? anything to say to your victims? >> i was going to do something about it. i didn't know what. i was going to do everything i could to help the authorities. >> i knew that i was a person that worked for him. i knew that in my files there had to be stuff that would be helpful. >> eleanor is the ultimate pot of gold. she's honest, she knows all the players. she can basically teach you as an investigator the landscape of this business. they would create a phoney spreadsheet on the old ibm axe s 400, and create a phoney portfolio on the spreadsheet, and each month, you know, it would show a gain, and mail them out to investors every month. >> white collar crime destroys lives. and it can happen to any one of

us. in god we trust airs on al jazeera america at 9:00pm eastern, 6:00p.m. pacific. we'll be right

a difference? >> why are we sending them teachers with 5 weeks of training? top artists from hollywood and broadway are in washington d.c. for the center honours ceremony. it honours performers that influence american culture, tom hanks, lily tomlin, stink, al green and ballerina patricia mcbride are the nominees. big money for a good cause. the largest white truffle sold for more than $60,000 at a new york auction. it weighs more than four pounds and the auction says a delicacy was brought from a wine and food lover, and will go to meals on wheels and the children's glaucoma foundation.

that is awesome. i'm richelle carey in new york. "america tonight" is next. have a great night and do keep it here. on "america tonight", shocking evidence that american veterans that risked all were sickened as they served their country. >> a lot say it's our nation's agent orange. >> sheila macvicar takes a look at illnesses facing iraq and afghanistan, and the fiery pit that may have poisoned them also tonight... [ chants ] ..the search for answers.