al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas at us... emmy award winning investigative series... fault lines no refuge: children at the border only on al jazeera america >> this is al jazeera america, i'm richelle carey, in new york with a look at the top stories. two new york city police officers gunned down as they sit in their patrol car. we have the latest on their investigation. cuba's leader has a blunt message for washington - don't expect the end of communism. and the new relationship with the island nation - what it means for the u.s. and abroad

four men held without charge at the guantanamo bay detention center have been released and returned to afghanistan. we begin with a story developing. two new york city police officers were shot and killed in what some described as an execution style murder. the police commissioner called it an assassination. the officers were in their patrol car in brooklyn, eating, a gunman walked up and opened. he is oiled as ismail brindley. after the shooting he ran into a subway station and shot himself in the head. he was pronounced dead at the scene. >> according to witness statements the suspect has been identified as 28-year-old ismail brinsley walked up to the police

car. he took a shooting stance on the passenger side and fired the weapon, his weapon, several times through the front passenger window, striking both officers in the head. the officers never had the opportunity to draw their weapons. they may never have actually seen their assailant, their murderer. approximately 5:45 this morning and baltimore, maryland, a female, believed to be brinsley's former girlfriend was shot and seriously wounded at her residents. information was received from the victim's mother that brynsly was posting on the victim's instagram account. he may have had associations with the east flashpoint area of brooklyn. 2:45 this afternoon baltimore authorities sent a fax to the

n.y.p.d. and other agencies. tragically, this was essentially at the same time as our officers were being ambushed and murdered by brynsly. >> officers were shot execution style, particularly despicable actinsley. >> officers were shot execution style, particularly despicable act which goes at the heart of our society and democracy. when a police officer is murdered it tears at the heart of our society. >> reaction from brooklyn has been outrage, many calling it senseless. >> it's unacceptable behaviour to go and shoot anyone, police officers in their car having a meal. >> do we live in god's city. it doesn't happen like this. this is a difficult time for

n.y.p.d. it's been since 2011 since losing a police officer in the line of duty. the information is coming in. in a press conference, mayor bill de blasio and police chief were measured. let's go through what we know. it apparently went back to baltimore. what do we know? >> he shot and killed his girlfriend. that was mentioned and what the police commissioner bill bratton said is when the phil baltisberger p.d. put out the -- baltimore p.d. put out the flyer, a wanted poster, it happened almost simultaneously. they were killed so quickly they were unable to draw guns. they were in a vehicle in a car outside a public housing market, a place they sit to patrol the

area and the man came up and shot them both, hitting them both in the head. >> which is why they are using words like assassination and execution, and you have to be deliberate to use the words. let's talk about how police tracked him to new york. the young woman, the mother said if you look at the instagram posting, it made mentions of new york. social media will be an ongoing investigation. >> something was mentioned on twitter. he may have taken over her account. we know in a chilling testimony, that the police commissioner gave us explicit detail of how this went down. we'll hear more about that. >> let's dip into the press conference.

. >> at this early stage we don't see a linkage to terrorism or a radical group. that's what the investigation hopes to determine, if this person had access to social media accounts we have not encountered that yet, as of four hours ago. >> thank you everybody. >> when something this horrific happens in new york, the question of terrorism comes up. if i'm not mistaken, i believe the commissioner was asked that question more than once. >> he used strong language, assassinations, murder. there's nothing murky about that. they are not looking into terrorism attack. they did not use that word. it was more of an assassination,

cold-blooded murder of two of n.y.p.d.'s finers. >> and social media will be part of the investigation. tell us the officer's names, whose families have been changed. >> we don't know their ages, they are young. wen jen lu and his partner. seated in the front of of their vehicle. >> the beginning of a lengthy investigation. the person responsible killed himself, they are not able to question him. there'll be a lengthy investigation to figure out what led to this and two families - three, let's not forget the woman shot in baltimore changed more ever. stay on this, we'll check in shortly. also in miami protesters in the streets of little havana to voice opposition to president obama's new policy to cuba.

it was a small process as raul castro directed his national assembly in cuba. praising president obama for the communist shift and warning change will not come easily. >> translation: our people must understand that the announced changes will require a long and hard fight requiring the participation of international community and american society. >> the cuban leader welcomed the new embrace, promising to defend the country's ideology. this report from havana. >> this was a highly anticipated speech by the cuban president. it's the second time we heard from him since the announcement on wednesday. he said that while this will be a relationship between two equals, cuba and the united states he said that any change

here in cuba would happen on cuba's terms, and nobody else's. that was indicating that he planned to keep the respect of the people, and the decision making of how cuba decides to carry on diplomatic, economic changes in the future. he really was reaching out and saying - looking for respect. it was a speech for an international audience. throwing a little bit of cold water on the rapid change speculation on the island. it will take time. we can't pretend that by improving ties in the united states that it will shaken what cubans have fought for centuries. >> the president brought up the

issue of coupan american -- cuban american community in the united states. especially those primarily in florida. saying they may try to sabotage the process going forward. clearly there's certainly a lot of - no love loss between that group and a lot of cuban leadership here. there'll be a lot of opposition in u.n. congress. here is what raul castro had to say about that today. >> translation: we do not ignore the criticisms that president obama had to endure by forces opposed to the normalization of relations to cuba, including legislators of cuban origin. on the streets and over cuba i can tell you that there is still a lot of anticipation of what this change really is going to mean. after a few days now people on

the streets are thinking about where does this actually go from here. i think raul castro's address to the nation was mostly meant to remind cubans that this very much is a country where change comes slowly, nevertheless, there is an air of optimism and excitement that is building about how this new relationship between the u.s. and cuba can have benefits for many cuban people on the ground in this island nation. cuban american politicians in miami say the restoring of relations in koubee is an -- cuba is an outright mistake. >> the starving of the nation is the blame of the castro brothers. >> i'm tired of this administration sitting at the table with our worse enemies, apologising for the kates.

>> cuban americans are divided. a poll published showed 60% of cuban americans oppose removing cuban from the state terrorism list. 50% - 1.8 million americans stay tuned we'll have more on the shift in diplomacy between the u.s. and cuba in the deeper look segment in a few minutes four detainees have been released from guantanamo bay detention center. the four men were returned to their home country of afghanistan. they were held at guantanamo over a decade over their alleged ties. the lawyers argue the claims could not be substantiated. they are expected to be reunited with their families in the future. a tunisian man who spent 13 years locked up was released and told al jazeera he never doubted that he would be released eventually.

>> i have learnt a lot from my experience in guantanamo. i was vouched by lies much everyone was lying from lawyers to integrators to guards. we became hard wired not to believe anyone. i no longer believe anything unless i see it. i did not believe i would be coming here until i landed and left the plane. i expected they changed their mind at any point when i was on board. as a muslim i have deep faith in god. that is why i'm not worried about the future. i served 13 years in guantanamo - for better and for worse. according to the human rights group reprieve, the u.s. acknowledged holding 779 people at the camp to date. there are 132 detainees left at guantanamo bay. that's the lowest number since the prison opened in 2002. 63 of them are cleared for release. u.s. authorities say they can't send them home because of security concerns or the home

countries are unwilling to take them back. 52 countries accepted guantanamo detainees, 10 were transferred to unnamed locations. i spoke to ltcol barry winn guard and i asked what is next for the others released. >> once the men return home, they'll be released forth with to their families, and not have to serve additional time in gaol. it's important to point out that abdo ghani, my client, as cleared for release since 2009. the unfortunate thing is that even being cleared. he had to languish in guantanamo bay, an additional four years. his mother died during that time, unfortunately. we welcome what the president obama duration has done, but we hope it would be sped up in a way that more me can do the same as ab du ghani did. >> it's a long amount of time and a lot changes over the

course of 10 years. families are different. it's the first return of prisoners to a war-torn country like afghanistan since 2009. why the change now? >> as the united states winds down hostilities, and afghanistan - the just ifghts for holding the men in guantanamo bay seems to be waning. the sfat us in which they were held seems to terminate after the cessation of hostilities. american soldiers return home. i think that is one big part, and i think another is that we have established that allegations against our client was wrong in many ways, and the united states agreed with us, acknowledging that they couldn't proceed in a courtroom in the united states. >> ltcol barry win guard there. coming up, the shift in u.s. relations drawing prays and criticism from u.s. americans. a deeper look at that next.

>> things are starting tomorrow. the beginning of winter, we have storms moving in, dumping a lot of snow in a few places right when a lot of people will be travelling. details in the forecast coming up.

welcome back. tonight we take a look at america's new relationship with kooub a. the ties between cuba and the rest of the world is normal. it's a shift in foreign policy. it will ease the trade in the embargo in havana. polls show cuban americans show the president's plan. andy gallagher has more on the divide. [ singing ] >> reporter: in the cuban

neighbourhood,business as usual, eighth street is a popular destination for the world's tourists. eric otiero moved to miami when he was three years old. his sister and grandparents remain on the island. they sent four times as much money. they are concerned with bigger issues. what else - do they speak freely, do they have their culture, their own life. you can't say what you think, what you aspire to or own your own home, unless you have an american family. nothing will happen. across town in the heavily cuban neighbourhood, it's the subject of the debate. the man that owns the cafe says his customers have opposing views that he sees old friends

fall out. >> people have been eating breakfast and lunch together side by side, it felt a little heated and anyone that talks to each other by the time breakfast or lunch was over. >> amongst the younger generation, changes were viewed differently. campaign groups fought for closer ties and claimed the majority of cuban americans welcomed a new approach. >> by and large the changes, the changes in our policy, so that we increase the flow of contacts and resources to the cuban people is favourable. >> normalizing relations with cuba was never going to be an easy transition, especially the older generation. the demographic changes led to new opinions, and an acceptance that change may be worth a chance. >> this is the biggest shift in u.s. policy towards cuba in half a sentry.

it's a deeply divisive issue. many don't want to accept change, others are waiting and hoping to see what the future might bring. >> to discuss this further, let's bring in the professor of black and latino studies, and eric, professor of history, director at the center for national studies. i thank both of you. professor, starting with you, you are with me. why now? >> why now? >> if president obama had his way, he would have done this a while ago. in 2009, alan gross was arrested in havana, and spent the last five years in prison, and that was an obstacle between the two governments. now, we had an election that the democrats lost handily, and i think obama doesn't have anything to lose, he's thinking about his legacy. finally in his speech, it's the

right thing to do and there has been a lot of things happening in cuba for the last five years, economic changes have been happening on the island. and this is a way to encourage those, capitalize on them, reaching out to people, entrepreneu entrepreneurs. >> we'll talk about the economics of it. professor, do you agree with some of those reasons? >> yes. i think that this is a surrender of the cuban government to new political economic facts, and i think the most important thing is the - one of the many things that's occurring as a result of a drop in the price of oil. venezuela was giving cuba oil at

low prices which they were reselling. cubans saw the writing on the wall. venezuela's economy is a mess, there's no way they could support cuba, and the cubans decided to cut their losses and make the deal with the united states. that's really the way i see it. >> do you think this weekend is the cuban government. senator marco rubio says it is a myth that it will help cubans, it will be manipulated by the regime to maintain their power. >> of course it will be manipulated by the cuban regime to maintain power. that's what they want. i don't think they'll necessarily accomplish that. none of us know the future. one thing we know is the past, and embargo has not worked. why not try something else. in terms of through theling the cuban economy, it already - you know, in a sense, that was already tried and didn't work out when the u.s.s. r failed in

1981 and cuba went through a special period. the regime did not crumble at that point. it gave them reason to repress even more, so i don't see that that - that keeping the embargo up was really something that would be positive for the cuban people. >> we want to talk about the cuban people, the cuban americans, they are leaning more towards not approving this. there's cubans. who is actually going to benefit from this. will it be the cuban people, or will it be big business? >> right. first i would say that i think the cuban american community leaps slightly the other day. the recent polls of last year. >> you'll flip. >> now that obama has done it, maybe people - i don't know, i think they are split. >> it's a generational split. if i can get in there.

>> absolutely. there's a generational split. they were pointing out the splits in miami. there's now cuban american groups that think that the way to change cuba is through principled engagement because, as eric said, the isolationist approach, and as president obama said in his speech, it has not worked. >> in cuba, how will it effect the cuban people? >> i think the government we saw was doing a cheer-leading thing like we won, and castro saying "hey, we are not changing our system", but we'll have a respectful relationship. we have to keep our eye on the ball, the cuban people, and that was the justification that president obama used. how will the kooub scrn people -- cuban people be affected. in a number of ways. imagine when at&t gets the ability from the u.s. government to offer data plans. other companies can sell

cellphones to cubans. the onus is on the cuban government to say "we'll work with you and expand broadband", or it'll have to carry the burden of being the obstacle against its own people. another is entrepreneurial shop. i published a book. there's 150,000 to half a million of entrepreneurs in cuba. many need imports, they need to fund their businesses, need investment. if you have a bed and breakfast you need mattresses and food. it could come from the united states, and empower those people. >> if you can get in here for a moment, basically that the professor things business will be flocking to cuba. do you agree. do you think some businesses will be hesitant? >> well, this is - businesses

will be he's it tant as long as cuba is designated a sponsor of terrorism. that creates many financial, you know paperwork requirements and things like that. until that is lifted, which is something president obama promised to look at. nothing will change. >> it's a lengthy process to normalize relationships - this relationship with cuba, it's a process. >> right. absolutely. and i think you are right there. we can talk about what will happen. we don't know. and it's a process and i think it's a process that both the united states and certainly cuba, and the cuban government will try to manage very, very carefully to get the maximum advantage each party. hopefully in the end that will go down to the benefit of the cuban people. the one thing that i think is important to point out as well is that the cuban government has

been able to get away with economic mismanagement with all kinds of things, saying it's the fault of the embargo. they don't have that excuse. as a result, also, you will see, you know, there'll have to be much more accountability by the cuban government for their economic mistakes in particular, and that will become more evident. in that way, l the cuban -- also, the cuban government is gambling big. the united states really has nothing to lose. that is something to think about when you - you know, when you think about the bottom line. >> you said, in fact, that the electoral balance will change in the u.s. can you expand on that a little bit. >> yes. in fact, cuban americans in miami for a long time held the stranglehold.

they asserted if you don't support the embargo, and the diplomatic cut off of cuba, we'll make sure that your opponent gets the votes of florida. miami is an important part of florida, and cuban americans are sprinkled throughout the state as well. that's off the table. coupan americans don't have the same electoral or political cloud as before. that's a reason one reason with senator marco rubio is complaining, because he's losing and the people he's asserted with are going lose 80% of the power wielded up to now inst politics, that is something that is important to take into account for presidential politics. that is, i think, used to be a very important consideration. it's not any more now. and i think that's really important as well. obviously it's been trending

towards younger cuban americans as we talked about not wanting to maintain the embargo. that's going away. it's clearly off the table, and suddenly the whole electoral ball game. is different. i think that's really exciting. >> thank you both. obviously when this development came up, let's be honest. top of mind for some americans was the tourism aspect of it, right. tourism - cuba has been a major havana that is, hub. in part because the cuban capital is less than 300 miles from miami. from more of what the policy could mean for tourism, let's look at courtney kealy's report. >> reporter: the announcement doesn't suddenly lift the ban on u.s. tourism, but it gives hope to airlines, hotel chains and cruise companies that the tourism business could be booming. >> there's no question that this

is a multibillion opportunity that many companies like smart tours and others are going to benefit from. >> despite the ban, 124,000 americans were authorised to travel to cuba last year. travel arrangements must comply with the rules of the u.s. treasury's office of foreign assets control, and america's credit and debit cards cannot be used. american airlines ran tours. operating 20 weekend flights from miami and tampa to cuban cities. jetblue started to ply charters, and has three weekly flights. airlines would need a bilateral agreement between u.s. and cuba to open up more flights. north korea and cubaar the only two countries in the world where coca-cola is not sold. they will not be investing soon. it's not necessary for it to

become a playground, just a gambling hub. i think it can offer a lot more. there's a lot of culture here. it doesn't have to be just what it was. i think there's a lot more to cuba for americans to see. american tourists in havana welcomed the reestablished of diplomatic ties. the one change for licence travellers, they'll be able to return to the u.s. with $400 in cuban goods. it will include bringing cigars legally to the u.s. >> we can bridge them back, have it on the government course, number it with my friends. looking forward to the day, and hopefully it's around the corner. >> the u.s. will re-establish an embassy in havana, and cuba will open an embassy in washington professor, cuba and tourism. how do you really see this playing out.

there's a lot of great information in courtney's report making it seem like it may be gratued. how is it playing out. >> cuba opened up to tourism after basically banning it. around 1990. it's been growing steadily since then. cuba says it has to figure out a way to survive. and they started to court foreign companies, and have gradually built up the infrastructure. one angle that i think is interesting is that recently the government over the last two years started to allow and promote and include this the contract private bed and breakfasts and restaurants. these are kind of a home-based restaurant that people have. they include them in tourist packages.

stopping. when we talk about tourism going to cuba, one thing that is interesting to look at is how it benefits small microentrepreneurs. trying to make a buck. trying to get autonomy. build the business, live a better life. there's a trickle effect. in the past, in the united states, when they had a lot of control over this, and the people go and have to be on rigid tours. they don't have - even though the idea is having people to people contact, they don't have a lot of real contact. like the cuban government wants to choreograph everything for foreigners, the u.s. government wanted to do that. this letting or opening the gates and letting americans go there and learn for themselves will be positive economically, socially. >> let's pick up on that point. and a woman interviewed in courtney's story talked about

this, that there was more to cuba than what the average american realised. could this be an opportunity for americans to learn more about the culture? >> yes. i definitely think so. i think there is a marvellous opportunity available here. there's some dark sides of cuba and cuban tourism. there's a lot of prostitution and things like that. so - but it is probably one of the most crime-free tourist areas in the world right now, and in that sense, i think that's really good. i suspect that eventually it might take tourism away from the state of florida, because, you know, you go a little further south. it's warmer, you don't get the cold spells you get in miami, it's warm in havana. it doesn't matter what time of year. that may change the - you know, the economic complexion of tourism in the united states. >> the discussion will continue

in weeks and months and years to comes as we figure out the effects. >> thank you both. >> a pleasure. >> thank you coming up, with oil prices plummeting, we take an indepth look at the geopolitics. that's tomorrow night at 8:30 eastern, 5:30 pacific in the sunday segment "the week ahead". the u.s.'s new policy for undocumented immigrants keep members from one new jersey family from being deported.

recapping the top story, two new york city police officers shot and killed in what the mayor called execution style murders, the mayor of new york city. bill de blasio - the officers were sitting in their patrol car in broouk line eating when a gunman walked up and opened fire. the suspect was ismaaiyl brinsley. after the shooting he ran into the subway station and shot

himself in the head. he's a suspect in the shooting of his girlfriend, which happened in phil baltisberger this mornings. morning. >> he took a shooting stance on the passenger side, firing the weapon several times through the front passenger window striking both officers in the head. officers wenjian liu and officer rafael ramos never had the opportunity to draw their weapons, they may never actually a seen their assailant, murderer. >> officers were shot execution style, particularly despicable act which goes at the very heart of our society and our democracy when a police officer is murdered. it tears at the foundation of our society. >> and just a few minutes ago u.s. attorney general eric holder released a statement about the killing of these police officers, and made reference to the deaths of ashraf ghani and michael brown. this is how it reads in part:

reverend al sharpton released a statement saying: we'll continue to follow the developments north korea strongly denies responsibility for the cyber attack on sony. friday, president obama said the federal bureau of investigation's evidence points to pyongyang. in a statement released north korea offered to go up and investigate unfounded rumours spread by the united states. dominik renamo is an entertainment attorney. this is an interesting situation in that the studio decided to

pull the release. it's interesting because when they announced they were not going to exhibit, they said they had no plans for distribution. when the president made no comment, the response of sony was we are exploring alternative distribution channels. i think we are backchanneling. it's a collective failure to stand up to a regime making an unprecedented threat op u.s. soil. the damage inflicted in terms of a cyber attack is not press dented in our history. koreans allegedly launched a similar attack on south korea. and the fingerprints are similar in that it was broadcasters and banks, but unlike the typical cyber police, they have wiped out information on the server. there's damage, information lost, sensitive scripts out

there, salaries released. >> he said a dictator has essentially dictated what americans will watch americans travelling abroad are urged to be extra cautious. u.s. citizens should be mindful that terrorist groups can pose threats in venues, suggesting that attacks occur in hotels, shopping ors, places of worship and schools. checking in with rebecca stevenson of let's talk about travel. >> it's going to get interesting and dangerous in some spots as we get into the holiday. this is the first of the winter season. the official start is storm. we have a series of storms headed in. today's storm. that is the atmospheric river. it's a big huge plume of moisture near the jet stream, travelling from the west to the

east. and, boy, is it bringing down a lot of rain fall. that's where we are hit the hardest. the rivers bring 10-20 times the amount of water that flows into the mississippi river. that is increasing amounts. we are talking up to 10 inches much rainfall over the course of 24 hours for the organ cascades and will see probably up to 5-8 inches for the washington cascades. portland - this town of portland oregon protected by the coast range, looking at the cascades. they have an inch of rain. this storm hit this morning. we have powerful winds out there too. all the rain in the saturated area - there has been a problem with landslides and mudslides, because it tends to be wert, especially west of the cascades. we have had two that blocked parts of highway 101. that's the travel concern.

it will be winter storm weather. the snow coming down heavily with a custody wind. now we get to wednesday and thursday, we have a storm system. as it spins, tracking into the coast. it doesn't hit the coast. when it moves over the great lakes, you'll get so windy, we'll have bands of snow that we could see reach a food by wednesday and thursday when we total the snow up. particular areas of the snow bandis your typical spats. parts of western michigan, into parts of lake erie. easy for me to say. the window will be blowing, and it will feel gold. the graphics look cold, brutal. >> thank you. >> it's warm where the president is, he and his family and two dogs landed in hawaii, to begin the annual holiday vacation. a tropical visit to the

president's childhood home is a tradition to the obama family. and are expected to stay in hawaii through new year's. public events are scheduled. islanders have a few opportunities to spot the first family during the stay coming up on al jazeera america - e-cigarettes marketed as a safer alternative to lighting up. many say it offers a sense of security, sparking a new generation of users. details next.

president obama's new immigration plan brings hope to families living in the united states illegally for years. some face the fear of being separated from loved ones. we two to jersey where we met a family struggling to unite in america. >> reporter: birthdays, weddings, vacations, memories that this couple shared with their children through photos. for more than a decade there

were no photos of all five together. franklin came to the u.s. in 2002. sandra followed. this was the last photo of her taken with her sons. the decision to bring the boys who lived with their grandparents to the u.s. illegally was a difficult one. >> it's a country full of crime. where my oldest son who is 15 had people looking at him to be a good body guard or gang member. it was a decision whether to leave my sons there, have them live in danger or risk their lives for two weeks and be with us here. >> reporter: the couple sold many possessions to raise the $12,000 to pay a smuggler to help them. emanual was 10 when he made his way from mexico to texas. >> translation: they told us we had to memorise a password because they worked with the narcos. if we didn't tell them the numbers, they'd kill us. we wrote it on our hands, arms.

>> reporter: he and the other three children were caught at the border and detained and released to a social worker who brought them to new jersey. it was the first time emanuel had met his father. 8-year-old melissa is the family's only u.s. citizen. >> translation: when i saw my parents i didn't cry. i came with anger, when you my sister hugged me, i hit her. i feel bad, i had the anger. >> reporter: now the family is fighting to stay together. this fall agent came to a door with deportation orders against one. >> reporter: one of the agents wanted to handcuff me. the other saw my daughter crying saying "mummy, don't go." the other agent told her to hand cuff me outside. >> reporter: she was finger printed and released. under the executive action taken by president obama, the couple believes she's no long are a

deportation priority. they are not sure that her son, who came off the january 10th cut-off will be lucky. they are worried that president obama's action does not go far enough. to raise their children here is their dream. >> for the first time we are making plans, we are excited. for so many years we waited for outline of us to be here. >> waiting to be here is still an uphill battle. >> u.s. automobile recall surpassed 60 million, according to an analysis of data by the highway safety administration. that's almost double the previous record. the job largely follows a rush to prevent deaths from g.m. ignition switches and airbags. numbers are expected to rise. >> they are shaping up to be one

of the worst in years. the flu is widespread in 14 states, the midwest and south are the hardest hit. public and private schools are starting christmas break early because as many as 30% of students and staff have been out sick. in illinois, and ohio, some schools are shut down to disinfect. more than half of the flu cases have been caused by a mutated strain in the virus, which the vaccine can't prevent. it's worth getting a flu shot because it will offer protection against strains that will be more prevalent in the coming weeks. >> the worst of the season is not expected until late january or february. >> e-cigarettes is on the rise, especially among teenagers, according to a study, they have surpassed traditional smoking among teens. as bisi onile-ere reports it is sparking a debate about public

health. >> victoria randolph picked up her first cigarette at the age of 16. the teenager today prefers puffing on this. rand of is smoking an electronic cigarette. >> they have instagram and facebook pages and youtube channels teaching you how to build them. it's a whole - you know, it's a culture. >> it's a battery powered nicotine infused vaporiser growing in popularity among teenagers. before the e-cigarette, randolph says she was smoking a packet of cigarettes a day. do you feel different? >> i feel healthier. i don't have the cough or hacking that i had when smoking cigarettes. >> reporter: teen tobacco use was down, a report released by the institutes of health found e-cigarette use among teens surpassed the use of traditional

cigarettes. more than 40,000 students across the country were surveyed. 17% of high school seniors report using ejets -- e-cigarettes in the past month. parents should be alarmed, says this doctor. >> we don't know much about the cigarettes. we do not know the extent to which they can act as a gateway draw for kids to transition into tobacco, cigarettes or other drugs such as cocaine or marijuana. >> e-cigarettes are not regulated bit the food and drug administration, and it's unclear if there's short or long-term health effects. the uncertainty ignited nation-wide debates. with flavours lick chocolate and bubble gum, there's concerns it

is marketed towards children. 10 states do not have laws from children. michigan is one of them. state law makers here are looking to ban sales to minors. randolph is ready to kick the habit. >> i was using it to quit. i still am. >> e-cigarettes are estimated to be a $2 billion industry. clouded in controversy. the f.d.a. is expected to ban sales. nothing has been finalised still ahead on al jazeera america - what is old is new again. >> phil lavelle in london. we are days away from christmas, there's an industry set to do well. can you guess what it is? find out shortly.

move over ipad and xbox.

a trend in giving is from modern electronics to old-fashioned entertainment. phil lavelle on the booming business of board games. >> reporter: talking about coming full circle, the board game is back. the fun, friction of a christmas tradition. it appeared under threat. you can't shoot the numbers. sales are up 40% year on year. board games were once staple presents but lost their way thanks to electronic alternatives. it is the electronics that appear to be helping. fact is video games are the big sellers, there's no getting away from that. lots of old titles have been brought to the big screen. they have graduated to smaller screens - tablets and smart phones. very portable. it is these that are importantly bringing the curious, nostalgic and a new breed of gamer back to the board. >> they had to fill up the shelves at this shop, where it's

the busiest week of the year, and all kind of people are coming in. years ago it was people who were hobby games players. now we are trying families and having people come in, asking questions about games, maybe trying some out. >> on the other side of london, how about this - a bore game bar. coffee with cluedo, beer, from a to z. 1980s, to 1770s. there are hundreds of games to play. the place is packed. the boss thinks it's a winner. a lot of games are twisting how they work, or taking kind of inspiration from video gaming and other board games, and creating board games that are much more complicated and deep. and where you do things you wouldn't have considered part of a board game 20 years ago. >> some times it's the simple ideas that endure. lesley invented jenga, and it

has been driving people crazy for 30 years, this is a woman that knows how to build a game. it's a simple concept. a social gathering where there's a lot of laughter and fun, and jenga provides a focus for it. they say the old ones are the best. so to end this a little game of our own. can you guess which are the most popular board games of all time. we won't leave you guessing. here are the apps. in third, scrabble. second, monopoly, and in the lead one of the oldest, some say the best, the king of them all. this needs no introduction santa took a dive for a good cause today, right there behind me, wearing scuba gear, going down in the florida kees, a

fundraiser for chin's charities -- children's charities. thank you for joining us. i'm richelle carey. i'll be back with another news later. "consider this" is next. keep it here. . >> the nightmare hostage stand off in australia raises questions about the threat of lone wolf attacks. the world reacts to the pakistani taliban massacre of 130 schoolchildren and a religion persecuted by i.s.i.l. we hear from a woman whose emotional plea for help gained worldwide attention. i'm antonio mora, welcome to "consider this". those stories and more