together we all pay the price. in order for all americans to prosper. the sabinos and the williams and the bowlinss, we need to prosper too. that's our show for today. >> protestors took to the streets in a st. louis suburb christmas eve, a second emotional night after a police officer shoots and armed black teen. >> a new ebola scare, the lab mixup that has the c.d.c. monitoring a technician that may have been exposed to the virus. >> sony makes a you turn on the most talked about movie in the world. not only can you watch it, you can stream it. >> christmas at the vatican, pope francis celebrates the

holiday by calling for everyone to remember those suffering around the world. >> a tense but lawful night in berkeley, missouri one day after a police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old who apparently pointed a gun at him. good morning, merry christmas and welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> merry christmas to you and to all. i'm john henry smith in for del walters. >> after a shooting of a young armed black man by a police officer, distrust between the community and police was apparent overnight. dozens gathered at the gas station where the 18-year-old was shot by an officer. >> now the mayor of berkeley says this is not comparable to the michael brown or eric garner cases. the police say martin pull add gun on the officer and that he had a criminal history. we have more on the investigation. >> another deadly altercation between the police and a black

teenager, the 18-year-old was shot dead near ferguson where michael brown was shot in august. protestors were quick to gather at the scene. police say an officer approached martin and his companion, then this happened. >> the individual that is going to have the firearm, he backed away to the east just for a few steps, turned back around, the officer started engaging him in conversation again, and then the individual produce add pistol with his arm straight out pointed at the officer from kind of across the hood of the police car. at that point, the officer produced his service weapon and fired what we think at this point is three shots. >> surveillance video released by the police displays the incident from a distance. the officer has been issued a body camera but was not using it. since august, americans from coast-to-coast have protested

against what they say is excessive use of force by police officers and what they say is a lack of accountability. young black men are killed at a rate 21 times of that of young white men by police. the mayor of new york has tried to curtail protests after the killing of two policeman by a gunman. that didn't stop demonstrators from returning to the site. one said the message of police reform shouldn't be eclipsed by the actions of a deranged man. >> it is necessary not to let that action because the face of this whole series of events, because it's still young black men that are taking a beating and getting shot and in fact, cops of relatively safe. >> the swift reaction by authorities releasing surveillance footage and holding press conferences suggestion they have developed a public relations strategy following

blunders in august. it is not clear if official accounts of the actions will be believed. >> the mayor of berkeley said the city will conduct its own investigation. an initial review cased the officer opened fire only after a gun was pointed at him. coming up, we'll speak with patricia bynes, an activist and ask her why this protest hasn't been at violent as the protests after the shooting in ferguson. >> a technician may have been exposed with ebola, working in an atlanta lab when a mix up happened. live specimens made it into the lab without proper protections. the lab was supposed to handle a deact vaulted version of the virus. the rehe searcher will be monitored for the next 21 days for infection. >> sierra leone on lockdown to

keep ebola from spreading there, enforced for the next four days with one key exception, christians will be free gather at churches to celebrate christmas. more than 7500 people have died of the outbreak. most of the more recent infections have been in sierra leone. >> the latest twist in the sony picture film "the interview," the unconventional release. it will roll in hundreds of movie theaters, but it's also on line. >> want to go kill kim jong-un? >> the bizarre circumstances surrounding the release have convinced sony to make the film available on line. people condition rental the interview on you tube, gaggle play, microsoft x box video for $6. sony said while we couldn't have predicted the road the movie traveled to get to this moment,

i'm proud our fight was not nor nothing. cyber criminals did not silence us. going the asked to make "the interview" veil on line a week ago. the security implications were very much at the front of our minds. after discussing the issues, sony and gaggle agreed we could not allow a handful of people to determine the limits of free speech in another country, however silly the content might be. the move marks sony's latest changes of mind. last week it said it would cancel the release after an on line threat of attacks at theaters showing it. whaaat? >> that decision prompted broad criticism that sony was too scared to stand up for free speech. it back tracked, saying it would release the movie in 300 independent theaters. >> i want to see the movie just because i think we shouldn't back down to terrorist threats.

>> ticket of screenings have been selling fast, but how much of the investment can be recouped for sony remains to be seen. >> google and microsoft are working with the f.b.i. to make sure they don't get hacked by the same groups that hacked sony. the f.b.i. has blamed passenger yang for the hacking. president obama became the critic in chief when sony first decided not to release the film. when asked about sony's change of heart, here's what the president said: >> i'm glad it's being released. merry christmas, everybody. >> offering approval, but not saying whether he plans to catch the movie. >> a pilot is in his second day of isil captivity this morning, flying as part of the u.s. led coalition when his f16 went down

wednesday near an isil stronghold. isil insists it shot the plane down. jordan says its determined to secure the pilots release. >> this is the jordanian pilot captured by isil fighters. his plane came down outside the syrian city of raqqa. the king of jordan is getting regular updates. >> the government will take every necessary step needed in order to secure his coming back to his home and his family. >> the jordanian f16's form a part of the u.s. led coalition targeting isil. this is the first jet to crash in isil-held territory. the u.s. military said evidence shows isil didn't shoot down the jet. central command issued this statement:

>> one military expert says there are former officers in isil capable of using this technology. >> they have experience and handle such weapon nicely and they need some skill to down an airplane that they've got. but as jordan's government has so said, that held the isil responsible for the safety and the life of the pilot. >> this latest incident will have major implications for the u.s. led air campaign. his relatives must now wait for news on the fate of this young

pilot. >> many in jordan are shaken by the pilot's capture. there's already a big social media campaign underway to secure his release. >> a corruption investigation is rocking israel this morning. dozens of current and former government officials have been arrested, accused of fraud, bribery and loin slandering. most of connected to the party of prime minister liner man, expected to challenge bennett in march in elections. >> the bashar al assad regime is accused of targets residents. 100,000 people are trapped with forces targeting one neighborhood still under rebel control. we have more. >> government snipers surround this district, moving in and out of the area is restrict. residents are harassed and sometimes arbitrarily detained

when trying to do so. it has bam prison for its residents. the government wants the fighters inside to lay down arms but the opposition wants guarantees. >> the government wants defectors to hand themselves in. i'm an army defector and there are others like me. what guarantees do we have that they won't kill us like they did to some fighters in homs that surrounded? >> it is called reconciliation deals, but the rebels say they have to surrender because the districts were besieged for months. this is the last one in rebel hands and government attacks have intensified there since ceasefire talks collapsed in october. many civilians have been killed in the densely populated neighborhoods. some 100,000 people, many of them who fled from our conflict zones in the city live here and they are growing increasingly desperate. >> the government blockade and intensive shelling have had

advance convinces, we understand that the people and not the fighters are now engaged in u.n.-mediated negotiations with the authorities. the government says it wants to make a deal, but it has to involve restoring state sovereignty in the neighborhoods. >> supplies have entered since the government imposed to partial blockade late last year, but since november, it was tightened preventing aid p.m. the government is accused of using starvation a weapon of war, a tactic that has worked in the past and may again work here. >> more than 3 million people have fled syria and 6.5 million others displaced since fighting back there in 2011. >> pope francis this morning delivering his christmas message where thousands of pilgrims gathered. the pontiff has been speaking about conflicts around the globe. >> christmas eve, he told iraqi

refugees to persevere. this is his second christmas at pope. >> there is bad weather from coast-to-coast and it's already causing delays at airports across the country. >> let's go straight to nicole mitchell. merry christmas. >> back to you guys. the good news were airport delays yesterday, this morning we're not seeing anything. there's much fewer people traveling and weather has cleared in big hubs. as we continue, this is a look at storm damage for yesterday, where north kore north carolinae two reports of tornadoes one with winds at 150 miles per hour. this has been a potent system and it has crawled northward. the southeast clearing nicely and heavy rain -- it continues to clear out. still getting the rain, you'll have improving conditions. this is really a heavy rain, though, so you can see all the areas that we ever in the

extreme northeast and parts of new england that are still under flood watches and a couple of isolated flood warnings this morning, because of that heavy rain. not as many people traveling and not as many people, it's critical if you don't get where you're going, like people trying to get to work sometimes. we won't have as many people stuck in this. we still have a corridor of heavy rain along the coastline and into new england. that is cleared out. what is left behind is a really lovely next couple of days. not only does the sun come back out, which is nice to see, but the temperatures stay mild up and down the coastline, all those temperatures in the 50's. in some cases, that's easily 15 degrees above average, so that is nice. however, the next system in the with evident, not quite as cooperative. i'll have more on that coming up. >> former president george h.w. bush spent another night at a houston hospital. the spokesman said the 90-year-old is still doing great but stayed in the hospital overnight for an observation.

the former president was admitted wednesday after complaining of shortness of breath. two years ago, mr. bush spent nearly two months in the hospital suffering from bronchitis and infection. >> the mayor of berkeley, missouri is calling for calm after police shot to and killed a teenager with a gun at a gas station. >> the mayor said this incident is different than the michael brown shooting in ferguson. we'll talk with patricia bynes, a local member of the democratic national committee after the break. >> the families of missing students in mexico plan another antigovernment protest demanding answers. >> prices at the pump hitting the lowest numbers since 2008. why saudi arabia may be intentionally driving down the price of oil to put the squeeze on american production. >> $12,500,000 is the big number of the day. >> why it's costing the state of missouri a lot of money to handle protests near st. louis.

>> today's big number is $12.5 million. >> that's how much the state of missouri said it cost to provide security in protests in and around ferguson. this is a picture of protests after michael brown was shot last august. >> it's cost seven pointed $1 billion to keep the national guard on tut. >> that includes salaries, meals, fuel and supplies. the state highway patrol has run up $5.3 million in expenses. >> inbergly, missouri, the neighbor is speaking out about the shooting of an armed 18-year-old. the circumstances surrounding antonio he martin's death are very different to what happened to michael brown in ferguson. >> if you look at the video, it indicated that the black teenager initiated this effort, and i do not agree with every incident when it comes to police

and african-americans is always initiated by the police. therefore, all the ferguson, i maybe concur with them and garner in new york, i might agree with them, but this incident is separate and distinct from any other. after you review the evidence, you conclude that the police responded appropriately. >> your police department will conduct a parallel investigation with. will your investigation be independent? will you interview the same witnesses and in some cases different witnesses? what is a parallel investigation even mean? >> a parallel means that we will be independent and separately and all the evidence in coming to a conclusion. >> we're joined via skype by patricia bynes, a member of the democratic national committee

joining us from savannah, georgia. obviously ferguson and berkeley are less than five miles apart and feet hour white officer shooting a black man to death. some say they are independent incidents, da you agree? >> i agree. they are very different incidents that happened. there are cameras at different angles that show the young man involved that was shot christmas eve. it seemed that he has pulled something. his motion is he pulled something up and out at the officer. you can see the reaction of the people around running, and i mean, you cannot quite tell that it's a gun, but whatever he pulls out makes people run and you certainly get the reaction of the police officer, the police officer also backs up and

is moving away from the guy and he only fired three shots, so it's not like this was an array, a barrage of gunfire where it's very clear that he was trying to kill the young man, just three shots and you see that one was the fatal wound. >> so given all of that, committee woman, are you satisfied with maybe what the protestors and what the officers have learned from the example of ferguson in this case? do you feel people have acted in appropriation to the incident here in berkeley? >> i believe what has been learned especially on the part of the st. louis county police department who is overseeing the investigation is just because you say something happened doesn't mean people are going to take what you say. initially, they just reds one video angle and it's still not very clear what is in the young man's hands.

i believe the officer came on a shoplifting call, so we don't know quite what i lifted out of his pocket. it could have been a receipt, it could have been a cell phone, but what mayor hopkins had said is that they're going to bring in experts to look at the footage and make it very clear what came out of his hands. >> i understand you're familiar with mayor hoskins, also understand you have some familiarity with the town of berkeley. the mayor said its officers are more sensitive to race since the town and police force are mostly african-american as he is of course. does mistrust there exist? >> it does, but not at the same level as it does in ferguson or with st. louis county police. i do believe that's why you have an officer that didn't shootout, you know, eight, six bullets. three shots seems he just wanted to get the young man off of him,

away from him. there was not a shot to the head, which certainly would have been fatal, so i think that this is a different -- much different circumstance. >> you made a point of the fact that the officers shot only three times. does this rely juxtapose against other shootings where officers have shot multiple times, sometimes in the double digits? is this in some way a proof perhaps that they don't need to shoot that much, in your eyes? >> absolutely. it doesn't take 10 shots, 11 shots, i think that's how many that it was with mike brown, to put some distance in between you and someone else. when you're shooting that much, you are clearly trying to kill someone. while you still might be doing the exact same thing with three shots, there's a huge difference between three shots and a double digit amount of bullets being

sprayed into a gun. >> thank you so much. happy holidays. >> thank you, you, too, merry christmas. >> officials in louisiana are search forego a motive after a deadly shooting at a shopping mall. it happened across the mississippi river from new orleans. the mall was packed with last minute shoppers. sheriff's officials say a man approached and opened fire. witnesses heard three shots and then the gunman tried to run a were. >> there was a foot pursuit where an individual saw the perpetrator, and began to chase and notified officers in a foot chase ensued and they were able to catch the perpetrator several blocks from here. >> the suspect has not yet been charged. the victim may have been specifically targeted. >> a somber christmas in mexico as the families of 43 missing

students mark their first holiday without their children. tomorrow marks three months since the group was taken by police after a protest. families are hoping to enter the new year with answers. >> it's the kind of message no parent wants to give. mothers and fathers reflecting on their first christmas without their children. in a country where family comes first, the holiday message is a grim reminder of how families continue to suffer. in september, 43 students were abducted by police in southwestern mexico. the police handed them over to a

local drug gang. they haven't been seen since. months of protests followed and while the government claims gaining members incinerated the students, their parents refuse to give up hope. >> throughout the country, mexicans continue to make vigils in memory of the students and to demand justice. september 26, hundreds will meet with the parents here before marching down mexico city's main avenue, forcing the authorities yet again to hear their voices. >> it's this kind of stubborn insistence that makes this case unique, forcing a spotlight on the countries disappeared could be a catalyst for change. >> i sometimes think that it has in a way provided us with a very tragic window of opportunity to share the pain with the parents but while sharing the pain, also to realize that this is something the whole country is

going through. >> just hours before midnight on christmas eve, some of the parents arrive at the home of the mexican president, another symbolic act to show their solidarity and break the silence. >> we will not rest until they find them. today, christmas doesn't exist, because of somebody important missing in each family, so we can't say happy christmas, because there is no happiness in our hearts. it's the opposite. there is so much pain between all of us. >> parents determined that their children will not be forgotten. al jazeera, mexico city. >> more than 70 other people have been arrested in connection with the disappearances. >> a jordanian pilot held captive by isil after his plane goes down in syria. >> isil claims it shot the plain down. the u.s. government said that's not true. we'll speak about these divergent accounts.

>> marking thee years since the deadly christmas day attack on a catholic church, how many are remembering the anniversary while still living in fear of boko haram in nigeria. >> one university in china has banned the holiday. that's one of the stories caught in our global net.

>> you will be looking live in just a moment at bethlehem in the west bank a understand a busy manger square. 2:30 in the afternoon there christmas day. people are celebrating the christmas holiday. good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. some people in hong kong hit the jackpot when money started falling off an armored truck. we'll tell you what officials are doing to try to get the money back. >> in our next hour, the u.s. postal service doing its part to make the christmas holiday special for every child. >> if you want to see "the

interview," now is your chance. the controversial movie is streaming on line and showing today at more than 300 theaters nationwide. it had been pulled last week amid threats from hackers. now the f.b.i. is working with microsoft and google to make sure they don't get hacked for streaming the film. >> people overnight in berkeley, missouri gather after a police officer shot a man with a gun. antonio martin pointed his weapon at the officers at a gas station. people were arrested during the demonstration. >> apilot taking part in the u.s. led coalition against isil is in his second day of captivity. his jet went down and isil members captured him. isil claims it shot down the plane. the pentagon said there is clear evidence that is not what brought down the plane. joining us to discuss the fate of the pilot is jim walsh, a

research associate joining us. describe jordan's role in the coalition. up until now, we've assumed that most of the sorties have been flown by u.s. fighter pilots. >> i think you're absolutely right about that. you'll remember going back to month or two months ago, we had this big fanfare of airstrikes against isil where we had a number of different countries participating. since then, those countries have faded to the background. it's really the u.s. that's been carrying out most of the airstrikes. in this ways, this pilot's very unlucky given the small number of flights jordan has been flying, for them to lose a plane is unfortunate, but should remind americans that even with great american technology, planes can malfunction or be shot down. when we put airmen and women in the air in iraq and syria this

is what may take place. >> there are signs that isil is using this as propaganda on social media. this is not a western hostage, it's a jordanian. will he be treated differently? >> i don't think so. isil has murdered scores of muslims, including sunni muslims. i'm afraid this fellow may be face ago very differ future. it may be that jordan will pay a ransom if isil prefers a ransom. they may execute the soldier to send a signal, look, this is what happened when you get involved in these things and to the populations of the other arab countries supporting the coalition.

>> i want to get into that point a little bit more. have a listen to what jordan spokesman said yesterday: >> we said right from the beginning that this is going to be a continuous and long war are, and we think that we have a duty to defend our country and our region from this wave of terrorism. >> you mentioned the domestic audience that the jordanian government faces. does this strength then or weaken jordan's resolve when it comes to the fight against isil. >> we'll to have wait and see. my guess is it would likely weaken it as increase that result. there could be an argument that what you'll have is a rally around the flag effect, that taking this person hostage and if they were to kill him, killing this soldier would make people support the jordanian government and be angry at isil. i think it's probably more likely that jordanians will ask themselves why are we involved in this to begin with.

you could make a good case that isil is terrible and a threat to jordan. it's a harder case to those to make to domestic populations in the middle east why they should be fight ago war for the u.s. >> that is the other theory, if isil decides to kill this pilot in the. way we have seen that group kill western journalists, they must realize it could backfire, right? >> it could. i don't think they really care either way. in other words, they're willing to take the chance. it might strengthen that resolve, but i think they're going to calculate that it may weaken the resolve. in any case, my guess is they're willing to take that chance. i hope i'm wrong about this, i hope he's returned but it seems unlikely that they're going to spare a pilot who was flying a combat mission against them. they've beheaded journalists and aid workers and people doing no one any harm let alone a soldier carrying out a mission against

them. i think the prospects are not good. >> jim walsh, thank you so much for your time on this holiday. >> this morning, gas prices are at their lowest levels since 2008, the national average $2.35 a gallon. prices are being driven lower by falling oil prices. a barrel of crude is now worth less than half what it was worth in june. one country losing money now may gain in the long term. >> driving down prices to defend market share, a saudi arabia strategy aimed squarely at american shale workers says the baker institutes. >> the saudis would like to see what happens in north america and in the shale plays in the u.s. and canada when you ever an environment of low prices. are these guys able to swelt it out and tougher it out or does production fall off. >> as the world's largest oil

exporter and swing producer, saudi arabia can sway prices by reigning in production or tapping spare capacity to put more crude on the market. the kingdom's historic pricing power is under threat by american shale oil producers who have been flooding the market at a time when global demand is easing. >> thanks to shale, the united states is poised to usurp saudi arabia's crown as the world's largest oil producer, but the kingdom still has a crucial edge in the battle to control global oil markets. namely, its ability to extract crude far more cheaply than its sale rivals. >> the cost of finding and extracting oil roughly $31 in the united states versus $17 in the middle east. with u.s. benchmark crude falling 48% since june, american sale producer that is spraining up in an era of high prices are feeling the squeeze. >> i think the saudis would like

to show these folks that prices can go up, but also come down and the mentality can change drastically. >> although global benchmark oil is trading below what the saudis need to meet their budget commitments next year, their cash reserves give them plenty of cushion to draw a line in the shale. >> while opec is predicting prices will start to rise again next year, the u.s. energy department just announced wednesday crude inventories are rising. that news drove prices down even further. >> back here in the u.s., it's been snowing for days in the west and there's no end in sight. it is perfect conditions for avalanches. >> is all that snow dangerous? >> in an avalanche it certainly is and obviously the ice on the road causes problems. there's a whole subsection of meteorology that is where it

comes down, and also the wind patterns might build up. we have high winds associated with this system and did have an avalanche in utah yesterday. it was triggered by the injured person doing back country skiing in a place that was in taker. you have to not do that, if there's a concern, keep yourself safe. this is a condition that has moved along. the higher elevations getting a foot or more, lower six inches. that's a broad brush, but those are the averages on this big system. i'm not sure why that didn't pop up. the whole area is covered under different advisories. you can see the core moving into california now. this is on the move, also dropping temperatures pretty significantly as it moves along. some of this will come in the midwest today, some are getting a white christmas out of it, but it makes the going slow. >> when it comes to the holy land, one thing everyone cab agree on, there is no shortage

of historic sites, but one in particular has peeked interest. it may be the only church jesus has approached. >> nick shiver visits a spot along the sea of gal lee where some believe christian worship began. >> if you dig in the right place, you might find jesus' footsteps just below the surface. when they first dug here, they planned to unearth a new hotel site, instead finding what could be the world's first search. >> i could be part of something of history. >> people come from all over the world to work here, bible country, where jesus is said to have inspired his first followers, where he is said to have healed the sick, or may have even walked on the water. on the shores of the sea of gal lee, they discovered where jesus might have first approached. >> jesus comes precisely to this place, this community and it's

one community, and they're not divided into different communities. actually, it's not even divided from the jewish people. what does it tell us 20 centuries later? that we have so much in common. >> for years, father kelly didn't know the significance of the site. >> we're walking on a first century street. >> at first, they were pleased to discover a first century marketplace for the local fisherman. >> fish was sold at the markets in rome. >> they were shocked to discover ritual baaths, the best kept in israel, but just a few feet away a few inches away, they found this design. >> it's an unending pattern that the significance of eternal life. >> these mosaics. >> for us, they're special, first century. >> the fact of having mosaic in the first century synagog was unheard of until this discovery. >> then these benches for the faithful. >> you could imagine him sitting here in the center of this step or by this bill larr.

why not? >> and then. >> wow, that's amazing. >> this was here for 2000 years, nobody new about it. this is the first found in the country here, this is contemporary to pompeii. >> they realize this is one of the oldest 16 goings, on one stone, the oldest menorah discovered. >> on the sides of the stone, that's the teacher, the rabbi opening up his scroll and rolling out the spools here. >> that rabbi that father kelly is talking about? >> there is a group of people following rabbi jesus. obviously you could say this is the beginning. >> the beginning, where every road and every step is historic. >> jesus walked inside this world, jesus come here, meet the people here in the synagog, in the market. >> palestinian archeologist may be muslim but feels jesus's

presence as much as anyone. >> this changes history. clear clear city from the first century. >> the coins he used, they reveal when the synagog was built a.d.29. >> our culture pits us against each other. paragraph tones allow is to find this place 2000 years later. >> it's a code for open arms to more religions, to be more open. >> i am muslim. the city, it's jewish, and is the foundation for the christian. together, we make the future. >> in a time of so much conflict and division, we need it today. we need it to encourage us to look for that greater commonnalty that we share and that which divides us. >> a place where different faiths were united as the

faithful in this temple, this church. nick schiffron, aljazeera america. >> the location is said to be the birth sight of mary magdalene, one of the closest followers of jesus. >> a big payday for people in hong kong, this video shows people scooping up money that spilled out of a van. all told, they took about $2 million. officials are asking the public to feel the spirit of christmas and return the bills, because that's called stealing. >> party time in hong kong, look at that. >> let's look at other stories caught in our global net. >> a university in northwestern china has taken on the role of the grinch. it wants to ban christmas. the south china morning post said school officials believe its a kihsch western holiday.

>> is there a mandarin word for kihsch? >> i don't know if there is. christianity within mainland china is very much state-controlled and so clearly that speak to say that. >> some made shoes not to celebrate the holiday, but in iraq, christians are fearful of celebrating after the advance of isil. "the new york times" said there was an stimed 1.5 million christian living in the country when the u.s. led coalition invaded in 2003, today, 400,000 are on the run from isil. it's again quite an argument for religious freedom. >> christians have received a lot of persian accusation in that part of the world this year. >> game-maker cards against humanity is distributing pieces

of an island. >> this island off the coast of maine, their calling it hawaii two. you don't have to go to that are to go to hawaii, just go up to maine, you can bring your grass skirt, a little chilly, you might want a parka, too. >> this is a company known for being politically incorrect. >> irrefer rent, exactly. i understand the kids love them. >> ending fighting during world war i, soccer may have brought sides together if only for a short while. >> scientists making major strides in stem cell research, creating human special out of skin cells, that's one of today's discoveries.

>> time now for one of today's discoveries. researchers in england ever created artificial human sperm and stem cells from human. >> it raises the potential for infertile couples to have children. researchers say they can get to the bottom of intertilt and how to treat it and plead to breakthroughs for conditions in genetic mutations. >> in nigeria, it has been eight months since boko haram kidnapped 270 schools girls. they have targeted bus stations and places of worship. >> the family is preparing for christmas, but there is a lot of sadness and apprehension here.

four of their children died in a bomb attack on a catholic church in christmas day three years ago. >> i have a hard time especially when i see my children's friends. it affected my faith, too, because i ask god many questions. i ask my children that went to church with me, this didn't happen to me. >> she survived because she missed the morning mass the bomber targeted that day. she admits it's hard getting by without her four sisters. >> we always come together, live together, face challenges together and embrace the good

moments together. it's just wonderful. i had a good time with them. >> the children among victims of the 2011 attack buried here in the compound the catholic church, a reminder of tragedy that befell the community. rebecca is a victim. she misses her daughter. for the first time, her family will be marking christmas without 17-year-old sarah, one of the 219 kidnapped girls still held by the extremist group boko haram, since april. >> it's very painful, but there's little that we can do about our situation. my heart breaks when i see my other children. they all miss their sister. >> the family struggles through the pain and there is little joy around here this christmas.

thousands of others are displaced by boko haram's web of violence, many of them in camps for displaced persons. until the security situations in the country improves, they could be there for a long time. >> he spent the day at a college church this morning and joins us. good morning to you. it hasn't been very long, a year since a christmas day attack at that very church. how are people coping? >> actually, it's been three years since that attack, and we went to the morning mass this morning. the mood is somber, people still feeling the pains of the attack three years ago. there is that feeling of fear. you notice that definitely. the church was almost half empty, and people were there, coming in trickles, wondering. i spoke to a few people after the morning mass and they told

me their fears about the security situation. they admitted that yes, a lot of people who worship at the church have left, some not coming to church for fear of getting affected again and that's the mood across many areas that have fallen under boko haram attacks of recent. >> we are also hearing that there is a travel ban in some parts of nigeria today. jo certainly, even the church with he went to today, we had to pass through several check points. at some point, we were told to get down, despite showing our journalist accreditation cards to get ourselves and our vehicles. they did that and we have to pass through different processes of security checks before we reach the church. even at the church, there has been some form of security check-in before you get in. this is the situation across many states, especially in the north of the country. in born know state, people were

told not to use vehicles, even donkeys were not allowed in certain areas. areas around worship centers like church have been off-limit for vehicles and crowds, actually. >> thank you. >> it's ban century since fighters paused during world war i for a fabled christmas truce. german and allied troops crossed the front lines to mark the poll day. the game we call soccer and they call football may have been part of it. >> the horror of death has been commemorated, but it's the outbreak of peace and good will in 1914 christmas day that stood out. a ceasefire in the game of trenches and a game of football between troops in no man's land.

it's probably the only time in any conflict, any time in the history of the world that you had two conflicting armies lay down their arms and be friends. it was such a unique and extraordinary moment, reenactments have taken place across europe, including the battle grounds in europe. the british and german armies reunited in football again. >> we have many days to commemorate this year, 100 years of world war i, 75 years since the beginning of the world war ii. this is the greatest event i have experienced. >> during a lull in fighting, as young people do all over the world when they are in close proximity and a ball is

available, sport took place. >> the power of the story of a christmas truce has been utilized by advertisers in the u.k., such as supermarket chains. their moving film has been well received by some of the british public. others question the integrity of companies attaching themselves to such a poignant event. describes this as one football march between enemy troops appears to be a mixture of fable. letters from servicemen describe some football having taken place, but only a small part of an extraordinary truce. >> the main things that took part were soldiers coming out, swapping food, badges, buttons, and alsburying the dead from those attacks. that was a major part of i have the, and then repairing the french lines. >> the need of people to say thanks to those who served their

country was captured when hundreds of thousands of people brought poppies for a memorial in london. it provided people showing understanding and empathy to those gone but not forgotten. new generations do want to believe and celebrate this incredible day in 1914, which provided brief respite, hope and humanity for those who suffered on the battle fields. >> that truce continued until december 27 in this places, but afterwards, the war raged on for another four years. >> sony, home depot and hollywood all had information stolen, why some say 2015 could be worse. >> buried treasure in the hills of appalachia, where ginseng is

good as gold. not all those digging are doing so legally. >> we leave you with a live look at bethlehem, it's three ok in the afternoon there. >> these people have decided that today they will be arrested >> i know that i'm being surveilled >> people are not getting the care that they need >> this is a crime against humanity >> hands up! >> don't shoot! >> hands up! >> don't shoot! >> what do we want? justice! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> they are running towards base... >>...explosions going off we're not quite sure... >> fault lines al jazeera america's emmy winning, investigative, documentary, series...

>> al jazeera america presents >> somebody's telling lies... >> 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 >> unrest in the streets of a st. louis suburb as the calm of the christmas holiday is broken by protests, citizens protesting following the shooting death of a teen in berkeley, missouri. >> now showing, sony's controversial film "the interview" in theaters and in the comfort of your own home. >> the pope giving words of encouragement for those terrorized by isil.

>> recovering from one of the worst natural disasters, the stunning transformation indonesia has undergone in the wake of the tsunami. >> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm john henry smith. >> the mayor of berkeley, missouri is calling for calm after the fatal police shooting of an 18-year-old. antonio martin was shot after police say he pulled a gun on an officer. >> his death has sparked two nights of protest at the gas station where he was killed, just a few miles from ferguson and drawing comparisons to the death of michael brown five months ago. the top elected leader in berkeley said the situation is not the same. >> berkeley's mayor says there is a difference between what happened on tuesday and what happened in nearby ferguson last august. >> what i saw in this incident, it's not what people portray. this is not a policeman in the

city of berkeley half cocked going out and as we say, you know, black lives matter. this was not the case. this is -- you couldn't even compare this with ferguson or the gardner are case in new york. >> he was addressing the death of antonio martin, an 18-year-old african-american man fatally shot by a white police officer employee not everyone agrees with him. >> another man is dead at the hands of -- >> i understand that, and up sound very intelligent, and let me say this. truly, you don't believe that every person or every black that's killed is because of a white policeman. do you believe that? every time? >> police released video from surveillance camerales outside the store. video from one camera shows martin and another teen walking away from the store and toward

where the officer stopped them. in the left-hand corner of the video, you can see the officer talking with the two young men, then shots are fired and one teen runs away. from a different containing gel, we see the shooting, then the officer falling back. the officer eventually moves away from the area. police say they recovered this nine-millimeter gun from the scene. >> when you have somebody pointing a gun at a police officer, there's not a lot of time and i think the officer responded with what he thought was commensurate force at the time. >> martin's mother says what she heard from her son's girlfriend differs from what police are saying. >> she told me that they was walking to the -- they was walking to the store, they was walking somewhere. the police, i guess he he started to run and the police started shooting him. >> hundreds gathered after martin was shot and killed. tensions rose.

then the situation turned violent. police say two officers were hurt and four people arrested and charged with assault. tony harris, al jazeera. >> protestors were out again last night in berkeley, missouri. a candlelight vigil was held for antonio martin. at one point, a group of 70 demonstrators stopped traffic on the interstate before heading to the gas station where martin was shot. >> in the wake of the killings of the new york city police officers, officials here are cracking down on threats against police. four people have been arrested, accused of advocating violence or making false reports about others threatening attacks. police are beefing up security outside two police precincts in brooklyn. >> this morning, a c.d.c. researcher is under observation after potentially being exposed to ebola. officials say someone accidentally brought a live sample of the virus into the lab. the lab typically works with

deactivated experience means. the researcher will be monitored for signs of infection for the next 21 days. >> officials in sierra leone have put parts of the country on lockdown hoping to stop the spread of the virus there. it will be enforced for four days. >> the exception is that christians will be allowed to gather to celebrate christmas, victoria has more. >> crowds head to christmas markets in the capitol, freetown. all around, are reminders that the ebola virus remains a threat. in the north of country, seems like these are impossible. the government declared a five day lockdown. even here where such restrictions aren't in place, christmas celebrations are muted. >> we are not enjoying this festival. we're just trying to work hard for our children so they will have something to eat or a day. we can't enjoy ourselves when we are suffering like this. >> the government announced more travel restrictions and a ban on public parties over christmas

and new year. in neighboring liberia, more than 3,000 people have been killed in ebola where the number of new infections in the country is going down. people struggle to find much to celebrate. >> no, no, not celebrate, because of the ebola. i told my family i am not going out. i stay home and watch movies all day. >> the ebola virus in sierra leone is still spreading in some places, but experts say restrictions on movement as well as the in flux of foreign medics and money will soon show results. al jazeera. >> sierra leone recently overtook liberia as the country with the large effort number of ebola infections. the outbreak has killed more than 7500 people, almost all of

them are in west africa. >> back in this country, the latest chapter in an ongoing hacking batting plays out today in hundreds of movie theaters nationwide, the controversial movie "the interview," it's being released. >> i've heard about it, i actually watched it last night. sony pulled it following threats of attack, but you don't have to go to the multi-plex to watch. i didn't. it's available on line. >> you want to go kill kim jong-un? >> totally. >> a surprise chris approximate mass gift from sony pictures, the interview now available for streaming on you tube movies, google play and x box. >> i'm glad they've seen a light and coming back to see the movie. >> the movie about a plot to assassinate kim jong-un is at the center of the sony hacking scandal. the anonymous threats against theaters showing the film led to

the cancellation, a move widely criticized, even by the president. >> i think they made a mistake. >> now, sony says it's proud to have stood up for free speech. yesterday, president obama when asked if he planned to see the film said this: >> i'm glad it's being released. >> tickets are selling fast as fans line up to see it. >> i am here because i wanted to support filmmakers who were being censored by a foreign body, because i don't believe that anybody should have the right to sensor a work, whether it's say tirical or not. >> even with some moviegoers giving the film a miss. >> this is not a film i would have come to see. >> most agree viewers deserve the freedom to make a choice. >> you tube may stand to gain the most over "the interview." the site is now trying to establish itself as a serious pay per view streaming service. a lot of folks probably

downloaded this movie yesterday from that site. >> very quickly, thumbs up, thumbs down. >> i'm going to do it a sideways thumb. i'm glad i haded freedom to watch it. >> to pakistan where the prime minister is taking new m in the aftermath of a horrific school attack. military courts will soon be trying terror suspects, the move part of a new national plan to tackle terrorism in the country. the prime minister is also reinstated the death penalty. the government calls the tack which left more than 140 people dead mostly children a game-changer. >> in israel, dozens of current and former government officials arrested, accused of fraud, bribery and money laundering. most of connected to the party of the foreign minister. lieberman is expected to challenge prime minister benjamin netanyahu during elections in marsh. >> the head of u.s. central happened said the u.s. will

attempt to rescue a down the fighter pilot. >> there is increasing pressure on jordan to secure his release. >> this is the jordanian pilot captured by isil fighters. his plane was brought down outside the syrian city of raqqa. jordanian officials called him a symbol of hero. >> and sacrifice. >> the government will take every necessary step needed in order to secure his coming back to his home and his family. >> the u.n. urges the group to treat the pilots humanely. >> the secretary general calls on his captors to release the pilot in accordance with humanitarian law. the secretary general is following the situation very closely in the continued armed conflict in syria and deeply concerned with the continued use of violence across the country.

>> there are reports it was an f16 plane. isil fighters have shot down syrian and iraqi aircraft in the past, this is the first coalition plane to come down in isil territory. it's thought the group that anti aircraft weapons, portable and easy to hide, so targeting them in airstrikes is a difficult task. one military expert said there are former iraqi officers in isil capable of using this technology. >> the iraqi officers are well experienced and handle such weapon nicely and they need some skill to down an airplane in that regard. as jordan's government source said that held the isil responsible for the safety and the life of the pilot. >> this latest incident could ever major implications for the u.s.-led air campaign. they carried out hundreds of airstrikes since their operation started in september. they'll need a quickly

understand the exhibits of isil as it becomes a bigger threat in the skies above iraq and syria. >> his father made direct appeal for mercy. his relatives wait for news on the fate of this young pilot. al jazeera. >> the pentagon says it has spent more than $1 billion fighting isil since airstrikes began. >> efforts to reach a deal with iran on its nuclear program are underway. a lasting agreement could be within reach. iran and six world powers have been in a deadlock since the beginning of the year. a preliminary deal goes into effect in a month. that plan will see iran reduce its uranium enrichment for the lifting of economic sanctions. >> former about the george h.w. bush spent the night at the hospital. he is still doing great but stayed in the hospital overnight

for observation. the former president was admitted wednesday after shortness of breath. two years ago, he spent nearly two months in the hospital suffering from bronchitis and an infection. >> parts of the western u.s. are waking up to a white christmas, but the gift of snow ushering in colder temperatures. >> let's bring in nicole mitchell for our national forecast. >> i'm a northerner. >> you're used to it. >> i think there's nothing more lovely especially if you don't have anywhere to go than to just sit in and watch the snowfall out the window. hopefully you don't have to travel through it. this broad system is pulling a little more into the midsection of the country, it has been leaving snow in its wake, so if you are dreaming of the white christmas, this, the rookies and starting to be in the plains more has really been the place to be. we have hazards out through the area, but pretty much widespread winter weather advisories because of this.

places like colorado today, easily over a foot of snow, lower elevations, six inches, on the fringes, less than that. we had an injury in utah because of an of a large. that was a back country skier that set that off. be careful on ski trips. temperatures with this have been dropping. spokane already now 11 degrees cooler than yesterday, and temperatures ahead of this are a little warm, but they'll cool quickly. we're looking at places like denver, near 40 today, could be in the teens tomorrow. then the snow is on the move, as i said, so moving more into the plains as we get through the rest of the day, bringing a few more places, that chance for a white christmas. a lot of people got delayed yesterday, today the hubs are a little bit more cooperative. >> nicole mitchell brought in waffles for the entire morning staff. thanks for are that are and thanks for the forecast.

>> thousands gathering in st. peter's square this morning for pope francis's christmas address for those displaced by isil's reign of terror. >> coming back from the world's biggest natural disaster, the tsunami wiping some communities right off the map. >> a horse walked into a restaurant. >> i've told that one before. >> this time, not a joke. >> he's walking in a bar. >> he is.

>> it is time now for the videos captured by our citizen journalists. residents are cleaning up following heavy flooding, a drone showing damage. the country in malaysia is in its monsoon season. >> this is video of an unmanned helicopter taking part in exercises, taking off and landing off a ship in the coast of virginia. >> the staff of one restaurant

in ireland getting a shock, a horse comes in through the front door. before falling, the horse was not hurt, employees able to guide it back outside, as customers sat back and watched the whole dog and pony show ok. >> my question was is the horse ok. >> he is fine, although he he might be tipsy this morning. >> a message of hope and peace for the middle east this morning from the pope in his traditional christmas day address. he denounced the persian accusation of religious minorities and denounced the plight of refugees. he told them they are close to his heart. >> many flocked to bethlehem to celebrate christmas in the traditional birth place of jesus. >> recent troubles in the west bank have made for a subdued holiday this year. >> christmas has always been his

favorite holiday, but in recent years, celebrations have been quieter than usual. apart from his daughter, all of his children and grandchildren now live abroad. >> my son lives in the united states, my other son is in canada. my daughter lives in due pie. d. >> after construction of the separation wall, not only have his children moved, but many other palestinian christians have, too. >> people are leaving, and you can't stop it. you can't argue about it. we are trying to tell the world over, especially to all christian churches, you need to support christians in the holy land. you need to provide for them, you need to give them the possibility of continued living in dignity. >> before the creation of israel in 1948, christians made up

nearly 20% of the arab population in historic palestinian. today, with on going emigration, they make up just 2% of palestinians living in occupied territories. >> every year, thousands of christians come here to bethlehem to celebrate the birth of christ, but with increasing numbers of palestinian christians moving abroad, that has many religious leaders concerned. >> a senior official at the heaven of the nativity tells me if the situation doesn't change, the birth place of christ will eventually lose its palestinian congregation. >> it is the responsibility of the church to keep christians living in the holy land. imagine bethlehem without christians, all this church would be is a museum. without the presence of the local community, the church has no meaning. the local community gives it the meaning. without them, all it is is stones. >> christmas festive if is will

be subdued after the 50 day war in gaza that claimed more than 2,000 lives, continued unrest in jerusalem and death of a palestinian minister after an altercation with israeli soldiers, church officials decided to sale back cell brace, but that hasn't stopped people from praying for a better future, al jazeera in the occupied west bank. >> strehl will hold elections to choose a new government in march. >> indonesia marks 10 years since the tsunami. a special service was held to pray for the victims. 230,000 people across 14 countries were killed when the tsunami struck. >> the epicenter was the indonesian province with several

hundred thousand people died. >> the wounds are still fresh. we returned to the province that was once the scene of absolute devastation. >> 10 years later and hard to tell it ever happened, one of the world's most deadliest disasters. 130,000 houses were rebuilt, 3,700 kilometers of roads. >> it is back to life 10 years after disaster struck, now vibrant as ever before. while people picked up their lives, to many, it still feels like yesterday. that moment, december 26, the waves hit. >> the last thing my child screamed was mommy and i held her at tight as possible. i went down with her for more than one hour. the only sounds i could here

under water were the sounds of banging. >> i meet her again 10 years later. not only did she lose her baby, most of her family died. two days after the tsunami, she showed me the body of her dad's sister. >> sitting here, i can clearly see the face of my sister lying here. the tsunami was long ago, but feels to me like it has just happened. the girl was nine years old when her parents were killed and 270 of her school mates died. she wrote a poem back then. children have lost their mothers and fathers. weave a new generation, as a

city of peace and welfare, my lovely lovely town. >> now, the 19-year-old says her words have come true, while she remembers her parents at a mass grave with 15,000 bodies, she said she wants to look to the future. >> in these last 10 years, if i compare the situation before and now, there are many changes, now it is very beautiful. although we have lost so much, we have resurrected. >> studying english, she wants to become a t.v. presenter. she moved to a town further from the sea with her husband and daughter. she now works as a nurse. >> i always wonder why i'm still

alive when my baby sister died next to me. this question haunts me. i think there muscles be a reason for this. maybe i have been given a chance to become a better person. >> new lives have started, but the dark images of the past will stay with them forever. a stark reminder as this boat, pushed by the waves, five kilometers inland. by preserving it as a museum, he wants to show the world that even the worst disaster can be overcome. >> it was the hardest-hit by the tsunami, thousands killed in sri lanka, india and thailand. >> it's been wet here, the storm that brought weather and rain to the east coast is still making its presence felt. nicole mitchell has more. >> there are places that are already clearing out pretty nicely. as we enter the south, you can see that, just a couple of bands of showers. early in the frame, you saw that

severe weather going through. we had a couple of reports again. this is a time of year we aren't as likely to see the severe weather and tornado reports yesterday, one in north carolina was an ef1, winds causing damage. clearly out for the south, more of this then through the day moved into the northeast, and this is starting to clear out, as well. you can see spotty moisture behind that. all of this is enough rain that we still have the flood concerns into extreme parts of new england. more flood concerns than snow concerns. this would have been messy for the holiday travel had this system been colder and all of this snow. as this clears out, clearer skies behind all of that and that means the next couple of days, not only warm, but sunny for a lot of the region. i personally wouldn't ever minded a little snow, but it would have made a mess for the holiday travel. >> good point. nicole mitchell, thank you. >> a new year marking the end of the combat mission in

afghanistan. as troops pull out, we'll look at challenges for afghan forces battling the tag ban and other groups for control of the country. >> the f.d.a. taking the first step to guys donating blood. some say the procedure is still discriminatory. we have a take on whether the move goes far enough. >> spreading the christmas spirit, how the postal service and citizens across the country are stepping up to play santa.

>> welcome back to aljazeera america. ahead, the attack on sony pictures, just the latest incident of cyber criminals stealing sensitive data in 2014. we'll break down what some dub the year of the hack. >> there is herbal goal in the hills of kentucky, harvesting

jen sing. >> six people were arrested during demonstrations in missouri. >> a c.d.c. researcher is under observation after being exposed to ebola. officials say someone accidentally brought a live sample of the virus into the lab. the researcher will be monitored for signs of infection. >> a second day of isil captivity for a pilot taking part in u.s. led airstrikes over syria. his fighter jet went down near raqqa. isil captured him, claiming it shot down his plane. the pentagon said there is clear evidence that the group did not bring down the plane. >> president obama is using his weekly address to thank the troops for their service. alongside the first lady, he said we all owe a lot to the men and women serving overseas to protect americans here at home.

>> we're able to gather with family and friends because our troops are willing to hug theirs goodbye and serve. after a long day, we can come home because they're willing to leave their families and deploy. >> the president singled out american forces returning from afghanistan. the combat mission concludes there. he said our longest war will come to a responsible end. >> with the u.s. withdrawal, the afghan military is taking on new responsibilities. that includes going off the al-qaeda without the help of western allies. >> from a mountain top base, a message is being sent to taliban and al-qaeda. taliban fighters in the valley below keep the soldiers confined to the roads and their bases. they control the countryside. >> there are al-qaeda training centers about 20-25 kilometers

away from us. that's too far for to us launch operations, because we don't have access to any air support. we don't have proper artillery. >> they used to get that support from nato troops, but that mission is ending and only a small support force remains in the country, but not here. the soldiers say al-qaeda reestablished because they know the afghan army can't reach them. >> if we had artillery and air force, fighter planes, tanking or other guns, we would destroy them. >> even the top nato commander admits al-qaeda is here after 13 years of war. >> there continues to be a small al-qaeda presence in afghanistan. there's also other insurgent groups that continue to facilitate al-qaeda and so i think we still have a mission to continue. >> but that mission will be left to afghan forces. it won't be easy. one reason is al-qaeda fighters have intermarried with afghans,

bringing them local loyalty. >> of course they support them. if someone from the village is married to them and they have grandchildren on the al-qaeda bases, of course they support them. >> for now, afghan forces monitor al-qaeda bases and control as much of this terrain as possible, but it's an uphill battle now that they're on their own. al jazeera, kabul. >> while the combat mission will soon be over for u.s. forces in afghanistan, some 10,000 troops will still be there into next year. they'll help train afghan forces and conduct anti terror missions. >> the f.d.a. is moving toward lifting a ban on accepting blood from gay male donors. after a proposal revealed tuesday, the agency said it will let gay an bi-sexual men give blood if they have not had sex

in eight months. >> a marriage and family therapist and h.i.v. prevention educator joins us, damon, we'll start with this. you were on our show here about two weeks ago and in that time, the d.d.a. moved to make this announcement. are you surprised? >> i am surprised it moved so fast, but in my opinion, it's not moving fast enough in terms of where we need to be. >> all right, well, let's say this, the f.d.a.'s plans, you've heard it. will it really encourage more blood donations from the community or is lifting the ban here, is it lifting in name only? >> it's lifting in name only. it does little to increase the blood supply. think of it like this. i'm a gay man. if i want to give blood according to these regulations, today's christmas, i have to wait until christmas day next year and not have any certainly in the entire year in order to be qualified to give blood. if i'm straight, i could ever sex with 100 women and this

whole year without condoms and it doesn't matter. as long as i'm not paying them, as long as i think they have not had sex with a gay or bi-sexual man, i am qualified to give blood. that's discrimination. >> you think there is a double standard. >> there is a double standard and it's hurtful and makes no sense medically based on the ability to screen the blood. >> you had an experience of going into a clinic and being denied. >> in november of 1991, i went to a college campus clinic to give blood. i didn't know that the standards from the 1980's were still in place then. i was h.i.v. negative, always used condoms and denied the ability to give blood, plus they took my name, social security number and said do not try to give blood again. it's 2014, i'm still h.i.v. negative, still healthy. i could have given blood about 150 times in the last 20 flee years, but have been denied because of who i am.

>> we'll play a little devil's advocate. we can say that on christmas morning, but certainly, you look at statistics and c.d.c. says that really, there's, oh, you have your chance of getting infected of a blood transfusion is one in 1.5 million, yet the f.d.a. said this ban is necessary to keep the supply clean. are you worried if there were no restrictions that the blood industry would be tainted? >> if we didn't have the scientific testing procedures in place since 1999, the test used an owl blood in this country, it has a window period of about nine to 10 days. anyone trying to give blood who is positive, this will show up in a screening. i think a more equal way is for anyone at risk for h.i.v. in the last 14 days refrain from giving blood instead of restricting it

to gay men. >> plunging crude oil prices are helping americans to save not just on gas prices at the pump, but also on home heating oil, down about 20% this year. the forecast for savings, not so bright in new england. we explore why the cost are staying warm is rising there. >> one of millions of americans who heat their homes with natural gas, almost half of u.s. households do. >> i used to heat with oil and made the switch two years ago to gas. >> she was drown to natural gas, because it's generally cheaper. while newly released data show heating bills for most americans will drop by $800 this winter, because she lives in new england, her savings may not be as high. the reason? distribution. not enough gas can get to the

area. >> the blue lines show the pipelines. most are in pennsylvania and delaware. by the time you get to the six states that make up new england, there's a dramatic thinning. that lack of capacity is blamed for price spikes in heating and electricity. >> the highest bill last winter was 200 ate $5. >> the u.s. energy administration said this year, households in the northeast will likely pay more for natural gas than the national average. prices are expected to rise nearly 7% over last year as more people turn up the heat. adding to the shortage, increased demand from the region's power plants. it turns out they need natural gas as much as nadia and a single power plant can consume amounts of natural gas. 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 generate nearly half of all the energy consumed in the six state region. >> an george is an executive in new england. the organization administers the region's vast electricity market, billions of dollars of energy are bought and sold here every year. it's like a stock exchange for electricity. >> because we have so much natural gas generation, it's really core latelied to the price of the fuel, so electricity follows the highs and lows of natural gas. >> that means people who heat homes with electricity 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. >> i try to do my best to keep up. >> al jazeera. >> now the average statewide price for heating oil in maine

dropped to its low effort level since 2008, meek savings of some $600 per home. >> there's a boom in the bluegrass state, thanks to ginseng. >> the herb is helping to revitalize the region's economy. >> on the mountains, the autumn gold rush has begun. chris mills and his family have been digging up ginseng for nearly half a century, waiting years and dodging copper head snakes in serve of what some call the most lucrative legal plant on earth. >> it stays in the ground longer than most people realize. sometimes you can sew seeds and they stay in the ground 10 or 12 years before they come up. >> it is valid as a natural medicine, stimulant, diabetes

treatment, aphrodisiac and cure for sexual dysfunction. there is a market for cheaper ginseng but consumers pay more for the wild variety. >> motor of the market goes to china. they prefer that wild root, because it has real deep rings on there, it's grown slower. they feel like it's gotten more energy, more information from other artists. >> this bought from local pickers for $500 to $700 a pound and sold to consumers for far more, this plant is too young to pick. you pick it at this stage, it won't reseed. that's what some poachers do. one like this, a digger could get $40 like this but could be worth thousands by the time it reaches korea. >> coal miners who's shaft shut

down and poachers, several states now limit the season to prevent overharvesting. >> all this isis ginseng done prior to season, and sold illegally. >> during two weeks in september in west virginia alone, natural resource officers confiscated 190 pounds of illegal ginseng worth about $180,000, grown in one of the few climates on earth that can sustain it. >> god's gift. the town around here is poor, but if you just work at it and keep trying, it will come up. >> poor but proud, many are happy to get by on gifts from the soil. >> kentucky is one of 19 states in the united states where ginseng is grown, other states are maryland and west virginia.

>> good stuff, good for stamina. >> makes good tea. >> hacking made headlines this year. >> from sony, to the release of intimate celebrity photos, millions were affected. we have more on whether the trend will be bigger in 2015. >> the postal service playing the role of santa, the more than with unhundred-year-old tradition helping make christmas special for a lot of kids. >> it's time now for our big quote, plenty of you opening high tech gifts. long ago, one writer offered this warning: >> who that said? we'll tell you, coming up next.

>> who said: >> our big quote is from writer and philosopherral douse luxury. >> many can expect new technology under the tree. it has gotten smaller and faster. >> we look at the forces that drove technology forward in 2014. >> those of you who drive message to, but driving is chaos. the sheer amount of data coming at you, the lane markers, and the street signs, the signals and the other vehicles and the rain on the windshield is an unimaginable amount of data. it was assumed only our brains could handle that and process it. in cars and in all other parts of our lives, algorithms are

taking over, computers become as good or better than humans processing that kind of data. >> the machines are beginning to do things they could never do before. by the end of last year, a u.s. government competition for emergency robots had spawned machines that could navigate rubble and use human tools, and manufacturing robots are able to do things never done before. machines are given entirely new abilities. this korean robot can run 46 kilometers or 28 miles per hour and leap objects nearly a third its height without breaking stride. researchers independently created software to analyze photographs and write better, more accurate captions than humans can. that's a major first. the algorithms that can do this spatial reasoning and spatial recognition are getting simpler and lighter, making it possible

to put them into smaller and smaller machines. drones which weaver seen explode in popularity can use g.p.s. signals to hover in place and find their way back to their pilot. projects are underway to make simple, cheap drones that can and a half gate on their own. this awareness is making its way into household objects, using light sensors to the web makes them jen credibly helpful. it became clear this that the u.s. is using this to spy on us. location awareness and motion sensors, is it something you should let into your life? >> the heat is turned on and off. the company said it will use the information to improve services. if this came with an n.s.a. logo, you would probably drown it in the bathtub. >> google's self driving car technology is still in-house,

because no automakers has been the modest technology, but in october, tesla unveiled a new model that can come pick you up without anyone inside. for the moment, human beings are still in charge, but the question after this year is just when exactly the software will take over everything from deciding what you eat to which way you drive to work in the morning. jacob ward, al jazeera, san francisco. >> in a related topic, 2014 was also the year of the hack massive data breaches hit from the places we shop to the celebrities we stalk, and details of some 56 million credit card accounts stolen from home depot. a number of celebrities saw private nude photos on the internet and hackers hit sony pictures leading to ginseng being pulled from theaters.

let's deem with the hacking. from a tech point of view, why do we see massive hacks? is it a case of hackers outsmarting the programmers that do security software? >> it's double-edged, the media talks about it, the bigger the hack, the more we're going to talk about it and that's the hacker's dream, stand back and get bragging rights and say i did that, i was responsible for that. on the flip side, we're dealing with this we sort of head down, horse blinders up without really stopping to say what is it exactly that we are doing here. where are these emails going? where is my credit card information stored? who you secure is that information when i go shopping? >> it does make me wonder whether this fear now, i think that some of us do feel about putting pictures and emailing anything or even banking on line, whether that fear has been

legitimized by the hack we saw in this major hollywood studio. >> that should be a wake up call to corporations and studio, which is the more information we store in the cloud, it's a data center somewhere, but we don't system and ask our email provider how secure is your data center. we don't say how secure is your data center holding my credit card information. now we do actually need to start asking those questions. in the new year, we're going to see companies come forward and say our data centers are secure a understand here's the step we take to secure your information. >> was the hack on sony the big wakeup call? it was the first time president obama used the term "natural security" when it came to the attack. >> it wasn't the biggest hack.

the home depot has goes were worse for the consumer, with people's credit card information and personal information that could be used to do identity fraud. the sony one was such a bigger thing, it happened to a bigger company, we saw private emails and it truly became an issue of national security. >> it was blamed on a sovereign country, north korea. looking ahead, magazines predict that there will be more hacks. is that because hackers feel emboldened? >> absolutely. i think 2015, things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. i think they have to, because we need our legislators and our population to start demanding better protection, better laws, and better ways of keeping data safe. >> some of us are going to start using those banking pass books.

>> using cash. >> workers at the postal service delivered more than 28 million pieces of mail on monday alone. that broke a record. the post office isn't just getting your stuff from point a to b., it's also helping many americans do very good deeds. >> christmas in manhattan, and only a few blocks, we elaborately decorated store windows, a quiet christmas tradition takes place. new york central post office, zip code 10001 is also home to operation santa. now in its 102nd year nationwide with 20 cities participating, volunteers sort through thousands of letters to santa, identifying the ones from the poorest zip codes. each letter is assigned a number and letters made available to anyone to read them, shop for presents, wrap them and mail them to some of the city's

neediest children. >> i'm a huge fan of christmas and i thought it was really neat that you could respond to these letters and help little kids. >> many come back year after year. >> i sometimes still hear about a parent who died or someone lost their job before christmas and they can't provide for their kid, which is hard. i never had to deal with that. i always had a great christmas. you want to try to do what you can to help these kids have a great christmas. >> here, they receive between 300 to 500,000 letters a year addressed to santa, but only 10% get answered. >> pete has worked at the post office for over 40 years and has been chief elf since 1995. while there are many requests for x boxes and lap to say, there are still many asking santa simply for food, warm blankets or winter clothes. >> a child will write, mom doesn't have a winter coat, not

asking for anything for themselves. they send their bills and ask us to pay them with their account information. >> he says he's seen the needy grow in recent years. >> there's no doubt that the need that tremendously gone up, and it goes with the economy. you can pretty much seep it from the way, the tone of the letters, how the state of the economy is. >> figures indicate that one in five american children currently live in poverty. in some cities, that rate is over 30%. >> still considerably higher than before the recession started, that's true of urban child poverty and with national child poverty. >> the sting of going without can be particularly painful during the holidays. >> we've got the pier pressure and consumer culture, and you know, it is what it is, and i think it is -- it is a source of

disappointment for persons. >> the true spirit of christmas lives on. >> do you still believe in santa claus? >> i do. there's a magic at work with santa claus. it is a force. >> al jazeera. >> postal branches in 20 cities took part this year, including new york, chicago and san francisco. >> let's get another quick check of the forecast with nicole mitchell. >> two systems we've been monitoring the last few days, the one in the east coast moving out, clearer skies after that, stillle mild weather, which is the reason most of this was a rainstorm versus a snowstorm, so sunshine starting the woke off. this is a true snowstorm. between yesterday and today, we had 25% snow cover, now 35%. you can see how widespread the winter storm warnings are. higher elevations could get a foot of snow.

the temperatures, pretty mild in the east coast, stay mild, the warm, the reds, look at that next trough dig in. denver tomorrow temperatures drop 20 degrees. today at 39, but look at these temperatures, cooling in the west by tomorrow, denver possibly at 19. there's a real big division in the country, as we start tomorrow and the weekend with who's getting what temperatures and where you're getting the snow. >> ok. nicole mitchell, thank you. >> coming up in two minutes from doha, word of attacks on an army base in somalia, officials blaming al shabab. >> that's it for us here. >> we'll see you right back here tomorrow at 7:00 and we leave you with our images of the day, christmas celebrations, of course, from around the world. >> from the beaches of australia, to calendar cult da, christians gather to pray and mark the birth of jesus christ. >> have a merry christmas. we'll see you again tomorrow.

>> al jazeera america presents >> somebody's telling lies... >> 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

primetime news. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> stories that impact the world, affect the nation and touch your life. >> i'm back. i'm not going anywhere this time.

>> only on al jazeera america. >> dozens of officials arrested in israel over alleged corruption, including several members of the foreign minister's lieberman's party. >> you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead: >> to the terrorists, let me give you the verdict of our nation. your days are numbered. >> new plans to fight the taliban, pakistan said it's time for fanneds to pay the price. >> the father of the jordanian pilot captured asks his cap