astronomers, but even to a casual observer it's pretty mind-blowing. >> hi, everyone. this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. >> two officers murdered in new york. a new debate over the murder of two police officers washington and pyongyang trade threats. water and power - anger in drought-ravaged california, as millions of gallons of water go to fracking and joe cocker.

the songs, the soul, and the one of a kind voice of a rock'n'roll legend. ♪ lend me your ears ♪ i'll sing you a song we begin with a call for unity in a divided new york city. it comes days after two police officers were ambushed in their patrol car. officials say it was an assassination. the murder follows a wave of protests around the city and around the country over police killings of unarmed black many. emotions are raw, there's anger and grief. police, politicians and the people need to work together. jonathan betz is here with more. >> new york's mayor repeated the plea today. there's concerns it could trigger copy cat attacks, anger at the killer and new york's

leaders. >> reporter: in new york vigils for the fallen officers. as the city's mayor called for protests to be called off. >> i'm asking everyone across the spectrum to put aside protests, demonstrations until the funerals are passed let's focus on the families. there have been protests, triggering the murder of two new york city police officers. >> there's blood on many hands tonight. those that in cited violence on the street, under the guise of protests. >> new york police unions blames mayor bill de blasio, accusing him of being sympathetic to protesters and not police. officers turned his back after

he visited victim's families. >> i think he's forgotten. >> president obama has been criticized. >> there has been four months of propaganda, starting with the president, that everywhere should hate police. >> police departments are on edge. pittsburgh is doubling officers on patrol, among other measures. >> traffic stops, calls of a suspicious nature. we are asking officers to wait for backup before responding to some calls. >> ismaaiyl brinsley, investigators say, worked alone and was troubled when he ambushed and killed rafael ramos and wenjian liu. he had a long criminal history, and may have been driven by recent events in new york and ferguson. posting on instagram: lion loop and referring to eric garner, and michael brown. the mayor visited the slain officer's families, and urged calm for a city that recently

has seen a lot of pain. >> our first obligation is to respect the families in mourning. first obligation is to stand by them in every way we can new york city police commissioner downplayed the rift saying the anger is not justified. but not since the '70s has he seen this tension between the police and city hall. >> a former deputy new york police department inspector joins us now. it's good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> what do you think of the pictures that show new york police officers turning their back on the mayor of the city? >> i think it was disrespectful to the mayor of the city of new york. when you have two police officers assassinated, the city needs to come together. we don't need to have a separation between the police and the mayor's office. everywhere needs to come

together. this is a rare occasion. it's not only rare when a cop - when two cops die together. it's only been about six times history that this happened. rafferty, parker and some others. we can name those police officers. so we need to come together in a time of mourning right now. >> the unions suggest that the protests incited violence, is that right. >> absolutely not true. we had how many protests for about 30 days. two police officers had minor injuries. was assaulted by a punch to the face. the process has been very - you know, good. no problem with the protest. the suggestion is that it creates - have created a situation in which some people look at police officers as

people they hate. >> i don't think - well, in new york city i don't think we needed to protest or them to do that, to stop questioning and frisk, and broken window theory. there has been a lot of descension between, you know, the community and police for quite some time. >> what should the mayor do. how can he turn this around. clearly it is - there appears to be a big division. >> well, the mayor is the leader of the city of new york and the new york police department ultimately. all city agencies. he needs to stand on higher ground, no matter what the p v.a.'s statements that they are making. obviously not respectful to him. he needs to bring the city together, the history of new york city whenever a cop has been murdered, the mayor has to bring the city together. >> were you satisfied with what the mayor said today?

>> pretty much. >> what else could he have said. >> there's not much more he can say. we need healing, and the protesters, the protests, i believe they should now, like they are honoring mike brown, they should honour the two heroes that were assassinated by sitting back and letting the families bury their family members. >> i don't want to take this too far, but the suggestion from the union seems to be that there's a link between what the protesters did, and the killing of the two police officers, because he mentioned in facebook that eric garner, the death of eric garner, and - so is there a link. >> the chief stood on national tv and said he hasn't made a link. that this gentleman who murdered the cops haven't been at a protest. i think he just took the

opportunity. he was wanted for shooting someone already. he knew he would be captured. >> been arrested 18 times. >> yes, and he had nothing else to lose. he came to new york to do this sick crime. i don't believe that the protesters had anything to do with it. it's been a peaceful protest in new york city. >> is there a way to build the trust back? >> there's a way to build it back, and that is the p v.a. president shutting his mouth, stop making inflammatory comments like it wasn't a chokehold, if you can talk, you can breathe. we are at war. who are we at war with. who is the new york city department at war with. i don't know. they can't be at war with someone who is dead. when you make the inflammatory comments, you have people thinking are you at war with the citizens of the new york city. and they need a meeting probably form with the pvea. >> the union. >> the union. and talk about the situation.

>> have you seen anything like this in your time with the police department? >> the last time i saw something like this, i believe it was 1993, when rudy giuliani stood on the steps of the city hall with the p v.a. union, he was called the m word, colling him a coon, all kinds of crazy stuff. that's the last time i seen something like this, the rhetoric we see towards the mayor. it's something i haven't seen in a lock time. -- a long time. >> there was a suggestion that it was divided on republican lines. do you believe that? >> of course. we are missing the big pictures. there's two cops that were assassinated. politics need to be put to the side. we need to embrace the wenjian liu and rafael ramos family. this is what new york is all about. there's no funeral like the line of duty death of a firearm or

police officer. that's what the conversation should be right now, and the only thing i agree with pat lynch, after we bury them, then you go back to normal. right now we need healing in the city and embrace the families of the two members. >> good to see you. >> tonight the justice department and president obama condemn the killing of police officers. >> john, there was condemnation from the president and the attorney-general, and also today we heard from the deputy attorney-general james cole. he called the killings of these police officers heinous and cowardly acts. the discussion about police practices, use of force, profiling - he said that discussion needs to continue, and he says that is not in support with the men and women in uniform. >> we supported police officers and law enforcement personnel

from the time i have gotten here, from years and years and decades in the past. we need to make sure that we have conversations about how policing can be done effectively, how we have community policing going forward, but we need to protect our law enforce. personnel. >> justice also into the investigations of the death of michael brown in ferguson, missouri, and eric garner. and also another case will be looked at, dante hamilton in milwaukee. protesters were on the treats in milwaukee, after -- streets in milwaukee, after it was determined that the officer this shot hamilton 14 times would not be prosecuted, that he acted in defense. the civil justice section of the police department opened investigations into 20, finding that the cleveland police

democrat had a pattern of using excessive force. the president appointed a task force to look into ways to build public trust between the community and the police department. that task force expected to report back to the white house in march. >> thank you, lisa stark to north korea, websites online after being shut down for hours. it's not clear if the outages were retribution for the cyber attacks. the fbi linked north korea to the hacking last book of the the obama said it will respond. >> we do urge north korea to exercise restraint. to refrain from further action. we are considering a range of options in response. we are not going to discuss, you know, publicly operational details about the possible response options or comment on reports in any way, except to say as we implement responses some will be seen, some not.

>> north korea is threatening strikes against the white house, pentagon, u.s. mainland if the u.s. retaliates against the hacking or releases the movie "the interview", pyongyang says it has clear evidence that the white house was helping with the plot of the killing of kim jong un for the movie. >> a so-called hacker, someone who aspired to break into a computer system. welcome. >> thank you. >> do you think that the united states lashed back and shut down korea's internet. >> anything is possible. there's air, lands, sea, space and cyber space. they have a military for signers space.

-- cyber space. >> the u.s. could launch a cyber war. >> yes. cyber specialists were responsible. >> without us knowing about it. >> of course. why would they let us know. >> in the old days you knew if you dropped a bomb in korea or another country, that that landed. but you don't know who commits these attacks. as sony found out. >> absolutely right. and we don't know if the attack came from north korea either. >> all right. >> so the story is amazing. >> so you believe it came from north korea. >> no, i don't. >> why not. >> not for a minute. >> let's say, the fbi - everyone thinks it came from north korea. you say... >> if you sign up for my class on hacking, on day one we learn how to cover your tracks. the way to do it is to break into another low security computer.

>> you teach people to hack? >> i do. i used to teach security professionals how to protect themselves. >> that's what you used to do. we have same types of concerns. absolutely. we have us flying infrastructure. >> the guardians of peace claim responsibility for the cyber attack. do you think that's credible? >> no. it sounds like we are seeking attention. obviously we are light on fact, and high on speculation. >> let me play this out. we are saying that maybe north korea didn't do this. and that it's possible north korea didn't do it, and north korea is responding to the united states claiming they did it, and somebody starting a conflict, not that the united states and north korea get along, but someone could have started a serious conflict

between the two countries, is that right. >> throughout history there's a lot of cases of false black. something happens, you instigate it to retaliate. >> good to see you, thank you top vatican officials gathered for the popes annual christmas message, but instead of the typical holiday cheer, they were repry mapped by the boss. paul beban is here with that. >> this is a speech to the catholic church's central administrative body. pope francis used the sayinocca to fire off a stinging rebub, leave a lump -- rebuke, leave a lump of coal in the christmas stocking. >> reporter: hundreds of senior priests, cardinals, priests, bishops, gathering to hear from the pope. they heard in this would be anything but a happy occasion as pope francis launched into a long list of their failures and short comings, saying top church

officials are sick with greed and self-love. >> translation: this comes usually from the pathology of power, from the complex of the chosen, from narcissism for those that look obsessively at their own imaging and don't see the image of god imprinted on the face of others, especially the weakest and needy. >> with footnotes and biblical references pope francis noted 16, including spiritual alzhiemer's. >> the illness of the mental and spiritual. those that lose the sense of serenity and hide behind their papers, becoming machines of bureaucracy. >> reporter: it was a blistering message, one for the ages from a groundbreaking pope. the first jesuit and latin american. since his election last year francis refused the trappings of

his office, living in simply quarters. he accorded 400 sleeping bags begin out to homeless people in rome. >> this year's holiday speech is not the first time pope francis criticized those in the church. by calling for truce, days before christmas, he made it clear that overhauling the powerful and scandal plagued ministry will be a priority. >> the pope tried to finish on a somewhat upbeat note before wishing everywhere a merry christmas, he asked for them to be more joyful, saying a dose of humour could do them good. >> in the vatican, a breach of security at st. peters basilica. sunday an italian businessman evaded the guards, climbed on

top of the basilica, protesting laws that prevent him from rebuilding a restaurant that burnt down. this is his fifth protest and he intends to stay until christmas day next - californian residents forced to deal with water restrictions because of the doubt. but not fracking companies. >> plus... >> ♪ what would you do if i sang out of tune ..from wood took to the wonder years, i look at joe cocker's impact on the music business. ♪ lend me your ears ♪ i'll sing you a song ♪ i'll try not to sing out of tune ♪ us

across america the fight over fracking is growing, it's in california, where the debate is getting the most attention.

it's involving water, something the state is in need of. jennifer london reports. >> fracking has been happening in california for decades. as residents struggle through the worst drought on record, many are asking if big oil is getting a free pass to use gallons of water to frack, while they are asked to conserve. >> they are destroying our hand, water. and using up our water. >> home owner geneva morgan is fed up. >> the reason, morgan and others are living in the neighbourhood, facing fines if they violate water restrictions. the oil company is free to use millions of gallons of water for fracking. >> they use a bit of drinking water to do the works when we have no water in our reserves. >> the oil and gas industry is

secretive to seeing the fracking process - it is almost impossible. we know fracking one well takes anywhere from 100,000 gallons to a billion gallons of water. >> in 2013, 2014 approximately 1600 wells were fracked. according to the division in gas and geothermal sources known as dogger, the state agency in charge. >> is dogger regulating and monitoring how much water is used? >> water rights in the state of california and that is not regulated by the state. >> shouldn't the regulatory agency regulate and have oversight over that. we have the legislative authority to take a look at that. >> i think it's absolutely ipp

excusable that the state allows the practice to continue. >> this man is with a nonprofit working to ban non-profits. water is a scarce commodity. many communities are struggling to find ways to keep the faucets going, keep the farms irrigated, and in these times we can't afford to be wasting it on such a dangerous practice like fracking. >> do you think it's okay to use so much water in a time of drought when everywhere else is asked to preserve. >> you need to tell them how much water they can use. >> then you are not regulating. >> in 2013, 2014 regulatory session, bills were proposed. eight called for a moratorium or ban. one was passed. it goes into effect in 2015. it increased, it will not limit the amount of water, oil.

even as californians struggle to survive the worst drought on record. >> who is looking out for us. it's just us. we have to get, like, boots on the ground. we have to start as citizens, and stand up for our rights and say it's enough already. >> home owners have few options. conservation is a must. unless sacramento passes new legislation limiting the amount of water and i will that can be used, the industry will not have to curtail how much water it uses. home owners and environmentalists r demanding an outright ban throughout the state of california, supporters saying a ban would hurt the economy jennifer london, thank you. tomorrow - the impact of fracking on california's almond industry today is the first day of winter and the midwest is feeling it, the chill. looking into that area creating

dangerous travel conditions. meteorologist kevin corriveau is here with that. >> take a look at how big this particular storm is that we are talking about, from the rocky mountains towards the east coast. it is here in the central plains that i want to talk about. we are watching the area of circulation. as we have gone in at the beginning in chicago. 98 million people are expected to do holiday travel, starting today, going through wednesday and it will get stronger. what is happening to this boundary associated with it. we expect to see thunder storms as well. you can see maybe from parts of gormia to louisiana. as we go to christmas eve to the

high river valley to new england. major airports for atlanta. as we go towards chicago. big travel day, big problems there. >> thank you. next, striking a balance in a city divided by grief. new york city's mayor calls for calm after two police officers are murdered. safety campaign for flying your personal drones.

>> it looks nothing like him... >> pan am flight 103 explodes december 21st, 1988 was the right man convicted? >> so many people, at such a high level, had the stake in al-megrahi's guilt >> the most definitive look at this shocking crime >> the major difficulty for the prosecution that there was no evidence >> al jazeera america presents lockerbie part two: case closed this is al jazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler, coming up, a college student accused. prices mite drop. why millions of people still may be hard pressed to heat their homes this winter.

>> and remembering the life and legendary - of legendry musician. two new york police officers murdered over the weekends. the question now - did criticism from government officials encourage the attack. tom ackerman has more. >> reporter: at a makeshift memorial hundreds paid their respects to the two officers shot while sitting in their patrol cars on saturday. the killer who posted social media threats to avenge the deaths of michael brown and eric garner. those two unarmed men killed by police in missouri and new york are symbols of injustice for protesters across the u.s.

new york mayor bill de blasio have aroused the anger of the police force. members accusing him of impairing safety. by stoking hostility against them. bill de blasio said the grief should be the focus for everyone. >> how do we support them. any organization planning events or gathering about politics and protests - that can be for another day. >> racial tensions have grown, spiked by social media's attention to alleged police brutality. this is something that should bring us together. the president obama administration rejected accusations that their effectiveness had not been undercut.

>> we need to make sure we have conversations about how policing can be done effectively. we need to, at the same time, protect our law enforcement personnel. >> more protests were planned in milwaukee, after prosecutors decided not to seek charges against police officers accused of shooting another black gentleman to death. the latest tensions overshadow the fact that the u.s. has seen a sharp decline in police fatalities committed by criminals over the past decade. glen e martin is a criminal justice and founder. back in the studio. welcome. so you herd them say postpone the process. what do you say?

>> at a time when we have seen the tragic loss of police officers out there on the streets to protect the right of people out there. exercising democracy, promoting justice and peace, it's the time we need to be out there pushing for what we have been fighting for. which is people to engage by police without being brutalized. >> what would it hurt to postpone a couple of days. sensitivity at the police level is high. >> there's a correlation between 60,000 marching peacefully and the tragic death of two police officers. to respond to the mayor and commissioner that people should hold off on marching, that buys into that rhetoric. >> if there's no connection between the murders and the protest, there's a connection between the protests and the way

some police officers feel protests have betrayed them. some suggest, and not just the union, that they've been portrayed in a negative light. when it's not all the police officers. >> grand it's nout all the police officers. i argue that former mayor goouly arny and others stoke the flames of fear, creating the rhetoric that is not true. people are out there peacefully protesting, and tragic as the killings are, people have the right to exercise democracy. this is a significant issue that people have been pushing forward. >> on the day there's a funeral. they'll be out there protesting. >> they have the right to do so. to suggest they shouldn't be out there. >> do you suggest they get out there. >> to suggest they don't have the right to exercise democracy.

>> i didn't say that. do you think they should be out there? >> i think they have the right to be out there. >> that's different to suggest that they get out there and protest. >> this is a democracy. they have the right to get out there. >> you suggest that this won't hurt your movement. that this - this conflict won't hurt the movement that has been created after the shooting of black americans. >> i think what is happening now will strengthen the movement. people like giuliani, a person with prestige and power, speaking about the lives of two officers is important. did he mention the life of the young woman of colour, isn't that indicative of what the movement is about. that we are trying to understand all lives are valuable. >> he has been talking about this for weeks and weeks. he's been complaining about the

protests, and people do not understand the work that police officers do. protecting law-abiding citizens. >> i have a brother that is a u.s. marshall. i understand how difficult it is, and how difficult it is to be a perp -- person of colour had this country. it's a righteous movement. it is heinous, this should not be condoned by anyone, and you have to listen to the rhetoric, none is condoning the killing of police officers, but folks have a rite to exercise democracy. that's what the police officers were doing, protecting the rights of people to be marching. >> this detracts attention from the movement. i think it brings more attention. >> the right attention. the question is whether we let the folks get in the way of messaging. >> like mayor gooley arn yip. -- giuliani. >> yes, who is looking for incident people to stand on top

of a bull horn. give me a break. this is what he does for a living. >> i just want to go back to the police officer's point of view. you make a good point. you know how these police - the law enforcement officers feel and how difficult it is. at the same time, do you think that the movement painted police officers with a broad brush? >> i don't think the movement is about anti-police. i think the movement is about pro-justice, pro peace. anyone that suggests it's about anti-press is wrong. i mean, can you find a couple of people within a march of 50,000 people that are chanting "we don't like the police." yes. you find it in any most. you can't control the message of 50,000 people. the majority of people in that most are peaceful. we see it over and over - not just in new york, but across the country. the movement has momentum, i don't think it is going away soon. >> good to see you drugs used during executions

took focus. arizona decided to change its cocktail of drugs, after a july execution took two hours. the state will use a combination similar in other states, including oklahoma. and in oklahoma, a judge ruled that the lethal injection protocol is constitutional. as a result four death row inmates are on schedule to be executed next year the man accused of raping a fellow columbian university student is breaking his silence. his alleged victim said that she was sexually assaulted in her dorm room two years ago and vows to carry a mattress on her back until the man is brought to justice. it caught national attention. the man is talking saying he is innocent, and that the university found him not responsible and that he is being bullied. he insists:

attorney and legal analyst reeva martin joins us from los angeles. before delving into this case, how difficult is it for the university to adjudicate this case? >> it can be difficult because university personal are not trained law enforcement personnel. rape is a crime. oftentimes when students believe they have been raped, they file a complaint. there's a parallel complaint filed with the police, the distribute attorneys. universities don't have all the resources, the abbing u me, the skills to investigate a rape, which is a crime, the way that law enforcement do. this can be challenging. >> haven't many universities tape -- taken a closer look.

>> absolutely, public pressure is tremendous. we have seen everything from the president of the united states getting involved saying that universities have not done enough in the past to protect women or train staff to be more equipped to deal with the complaints. we have seen the pendulum shift and universities put resources, invest time and skill into determining what happens in these very, very difficult cases. you know, what is happening in a lot of cases is you have two individuals, you don't have third party witnesses or anyone there to really, you know, corroborate the statements of either of parties, so it becomes a credibility matter. >> the accused said he was bullied. and the accuser agrees. where does her right to free speech begin or end.

>> absolutely. she has the right to protest, talk about the sault that happened to her. likewise so does he. the problem that we are here is that the university is sanctioning or supporting, you know, the movement, the activity, the protest by the woman who says she was raped, and the accused feels as if she's getting unfair treatment. i think the university is in a quandary. if they are supporting, you know, this young woman, and not giving equal time and resources to the man who has been clearedly their own system. they have a problem. >> how do universities deal with this. you have the criminal justice system is not involved. both students are speaking out loudly about each other. these are situations that could crop up on campus now for some time, it would seam to me.

>> i think we'll see more and more of these cases. particularly with social media, with the attention that's brought nationally to the issue of rape on campus. we'll see the victims and those accused speaking out. what we know about the young woman is she's carrying a mattress around as a symbol of this rape, trying to raise awareness of what she believes is the poor policies, the failed policy of the university in adjudicating her claim. what is interesting about this case is that she has not pursued a criminal case against the young man that she says raped her. she has the ability to do so. we see that with rape victims, not wanting to retell their story or be involved with the criminal justice system. i think the university has to deal with the issue of the young man who says he's being maligned, he's boning slandered by this young woman, even though

he's cleared by the system. >> good to see you areva martin. thank you "rolling stone" is calling on columbia university journalism school for help and enlisted the top-rated school to investigate its story of the rape at the virginia campus. it caught international attention last month, when it detailed a rape and an administration looking the other way. it was discredited when it was accused of getting wrong dates and facts. columbia journalism school will go through all the files to peace together what they think went wrong. >> the dow jones is niching towards the 18,000 mark. >> the dough closed with record highs. the s&p finish over 2 twoz. -- 2,000. markets are building. gas prices have fallen for 88

straight days. some are getting relief at the pump, others are paying more to heat their home. "real money"s correspondent explains. >> reporter: this woman is one of millions of americans who heat their home with natural gas. half of all u.s. households do. >> i used use oil, but i switched to gas. >> reporter: she was drawn to gas because it was cheaper than oil. heating bills for most americans will drop by as much as 800, because nadya is in new england, her savings may not be as high? >> the reason, distribution. not enough gas can get to the area. >> squiggly blue lines show the pipe lines coming into the north-east. most in pennsylvania, and delaware. by the time you get to the states opening up new england. there's a thinning. it's blamed for price spikes in heating and electricity.

>> the highest bill, as far as i can remember, was $285. >> the u.s. energy administration says households in the north-east will likely pay more for national gas. prices are expected to rise 7% over last year as more people turn up the heat. >> adding to the shortage, increased demand from the region's power plan. it turns out they need natural gas as much as nadia, and a single plant can consume massive amounts of natural gas. to understand the impact power plants have on the demands tore natural gas, consider this - in 2000, 40% of the region's electricity was produced using coal or oil. today that figure is less than 7%. natural gas by contrast is used to generated half of all the i don't remember consumed.

>> this organization administers vast electricity markets of the billions of dollars of marijuana is bought and sold. it's like a stock exchange for electricity. i we have natural gas generation, correlated to the price of the fuel. electricity follows the highs and lows of natural gas. >> that means people that heat their homes are experiencing higher prices because of a lack of pipeline capacity. switching to gas was supposed to offer big savings, but market forces are tightening wallets all over new england. >> thank god i have a job. i try to do my best to keep up. >> storms could hit new england this week. temperatures in the north-east warmer than normal. meteorologist kevin corriveau has pore. -- more. >> for much of the north-east temperatures will be above average. if you expect a white christmas you'll see rain from many locations. let's look at what we expect to

see. rain activity comes into the area. temperatures tomorrow, in new york it will be about 51 degrees, that is 10 degrees higher than average and that will affect most of the area in the situation here. >> on tuesday, it will be rab all the way up to the canadian border. mostly heavy towards the south. we'll see delays with all the added volume in the air traffic. that will continue as we go here towards wednesday. we'll start to get a break. rain showers by mid afternoon. starting to calm down, but still for boston, portland, may, you will see a bit of activity. it will be a problem. by the time we get to thursday, rain ended. we'll see snow across the great lakes into northern new england. for new york, it will be rainy all the way through wednesday. take a look at thursday. 58 degrees. that's about 17 degrees above average, and partly cloudily.

staying warm across the top of the board there's a safety campaign aimed at openers of the private drones. the f.a.a. and private groups attempted up after drones were flying too close to airplanes and large crowds. videos were made, including flying under 400 feet, keeping drones in an operator's line of site and not within 5 miles of an airport. >> there is huge potential, and i would hate for the industry to be set back because of an accident that happens as a result of someone operating irresponsibly within the system. >> the faa says it's committed to creating legislation to regulate drones, but that could take as long as two years. next - the princess and her tax fraud trial. a member of the royal family will be heading to court. changes coming to cuba and many in the generation can't wait.

ja the u.s. and cuba made history when they re-established relations, leaving many celebrating, hoping the new deal could bring about opportunities for change on a side street in central havana, kids being kids, not a worry in the world. watching on the sidelines, this

3-year-old and his friend -- 13-year-old and his friend waiting to play. at their tender age, they have a view on what changes could come to their countries for the promise of better relations with the states. >> without the blockade we won't have to bring everything from china. maybe school lunches will be better. >> reporter: most do not have the internet at home. this boy hopes it will change so he can do what others take for granted. >> i think it will be better. we'll somewhere the power to communicate with people that are abroad by internet. to connect with them and send emails to my father, who has been living in the u.s. >> cuba is a country where the big and important decisions have been made by a small group of leaders. the castro brothers shaped cuba

into what it is today. >> cuban children. they have no historical context of where the country has been, and they could gain the most in the long term. especially if the blockade is lifted. either way, they'll be the first generation that could grow up in a new cuba. >> that is if they decide to stay. look everywhere around havana, and you'll see science of maracana in unusual places. but for kids it's not a political statement, just a fashion trend at the moment. it's more symbolic than ever a decision to leave or stay. >> for sure, i want to live in the united states, it's better for my future. >> i want to visit the u.s. i want to continue to live in cuba. >> as the sup sets on the famous -- sun sets on the famous city boardwalk kids gather to catch the rays, the youngest knowing full well that the

country entered unchartered waters. a member of spain's royal family is heading from the palace to the court hour, prince cess kristina has been ordered to stand file for tax fraud. >> reporter: she wished the camera crews sa good morning. for spain's princess kristina it was the opposite. the copying's sister has been indicted by a judge to face trial. she could be gaoled if facted of tax fraud. this is her codefendant, sheen in happier days, the princess and her husband, a former olympic medallist. he's accused of embezzling $8 million of public money for a not for profit and family business. he was due to go on trial. his wife specting a fine. now they face charges and she'll be the first member of the royal family to appear in court since

the monarchy was restored 40 years ago. >> we have to remember that one is incident until proven guilty. justice will resolve this. what we ask for is that she gets a fair trial and the law is respected. >> the presiding judge seen here this year adamant that the royal family is seen to be fully accountable before the people of spain. these are people unhappy with the royals. the image of the king was suffering. span yards suffering with a bleak economy and high unemployment were outraged when he appeared on a luxury safari. coupled with an investigation into kristina's husband, his popularity plummeted. by the end of 2013 many wanted him to ab dick aid. which he did.

the princess and her husband denied wrongdoing and seek to have the investigation dismissed. that will not happen. this princess will have her day in court and cameras and spain will be watching. >> fries covered in mail are not just favourite snacks. the belgium prime minister pelted with the food. the women that threw them part of an organization protesting government spending. when the stupt was over, he -- stunt was over, he seemed to be smiling. the picture of the day is next. plus... ♪ unchain my heart ♪ baby let me go ... joe cocker had 19 hits on the billboard charts, we look at his legacy.

sinker joe cocker died of lung cancer. he was 70.

he leaves behind leagues of fans and a legacy that begins on a summer day in 1969 ♪ what would you do if i sang out of tune ♪ >> reporter: taking a beatles classic and making it his own ♪ i get by with a little help from my friends ♪ >> reporter: that's what he did in "with a little help from my friends", it catapulted the 25-year-old british singer to fame. [ singing ] >> reporter: a pipe fitter who began singing in pubs. he became a rock star overnight. and one steeped in american blues. his voice was unmistakable. as scratchy as sandpaper, with a tenderness turning this song into his biggest hit

♪ you are so beautiful ♪ to me >> reporter: with cocker's success came excess and addiction. "i was living on a liquid diet", he told a reporter. "i would drink from 11 in the morning and be wasted by the evening." his struggle with drugs and alcohol took its toll in the 1970s. by the next decades he was on the road to recovery and recharged with a duet that would earn the academy award. cocker recorded dozens of albums, it's his live performances that may be most remembered by his fans and fellow musicians, like ringo star. good buy and god bless tweeted ringo star

one last image before be leave. a spectacular shot of the sun taken by the new star telescope. that's our programme. thank you for watching. faultlines is next. >> the first stop for many child migrants to the united states is this border patrol facility in mcallen, texas. >> "good afternoon, welcome to the rio grande valley processing center..." >> it opened this summer in response to an influx of unaccompanied minors from mexico and central america. >> do you think this is an immigration issue or a refugee issue? do you think some of them will be granted political asylum? >> we're not talking about criminals. these are innocent children, fleeing desperate