hello, everybody, this is al jazeera america. i'm david shuster in new york. john siegenthaler is off. tonight expanded search. indonesia is now asking the united states for help in finding the missing air asia jet, as hopes fade for the relatives of the 162 passengers and crew. the u.s. military coalition formally ends its combat mission in afghanistan. tanking oil, this was the 95th consecutive day of dropping

oil prices. it's great news for u.s. consumers, and increasingly bad news for a few u.s. states. and fight for freedom, today marks 365 days behind bars for three of our al jazeera journalists in egypt who were jailed and remain in prison in egypt for doing their jobs. ♪ we begin with the grim expectations now for air asia flight, it has been two days since the jet disappeared, and so far there has been no sightings of the wreckage. the uss sampson is on its ways to help in the search mission. indonesia has been leading the mission since the airbus a-320

vanished sunday morning? east asia it is tuesday morning and the daylight recovery effort is underway for a third day. the search area in the joba sea has always been expanded. >> reporter: another day of anxious waiting for the relatives of the people on the missing airlines. andrea's sister-in-law was on the plane. she and friends were headed to singapore to celebrate the new year. >> we hope that [ inaudible ] and the team will found the plane immediately. >> reporter: but nothing has been found. no evidence pointing to what happened to the plane, nor where it might be. just after first light, more aircraft and more ships were sent to a nearly 200-kilometer

stretch of the joba sea. it's a bigger search area than sunday's. australia has joined in the operation headed by indonesia. >> translator: if the target is on land it's easier than if it's an underwater location but our evaluation of the coordinates we received received -- suggests it is underwater. >> reporter: officials are looking at the profiles of the passengers and studying the x rays taken of the lug gai and the cargo. they are also going to be looking at the maintenance records of this plane, while they review air asia's operations. later in the day, indonesia's vice president appeared at the airport. he says they are doing all that they can to find the missing

plane. >> many experiences like malaysia [ inaudible ] air france in the atlantic in a few months. we hope as fast as possible. >> reporter: also an airport official said a surveillance plane spotted something in the sea. but as learned from the search earlier in the year repeated reports of object sightings never lead to the missing aircraft. search for the air asia plane has put a renewed focus on tracking technology. libby casey has more. >> reporter: in an age when gps can track your car's location, the acting head of the national transportation safety board admits aviation tracking seems

outdated. >> when a flight cannot be located, an incredulous public asks how can they lose an entire airplane. introducing new technology on an aircraft that has to track thousands of aircraft requires forethought and caution. >> reporter: in october the ntsb gathered together aviation experts to brain storm better ways to track planes. it was a first such conference in 15 years. among the proposals, upgraded satellite tracking of planes in the air. imprinting of plane's location on any messages sent from the cockpit. extending the cockpit voice recording to 20 hours, increasing the battery life of the black box pinger and treatment all of the black box

data during the flight so it's valuable information doesn't go down with the plane. >> there's no reason we can't have streaming data from these aircraft, and it shows a complete lack of what it takes to do an underwater search. the difference between knowing whether the plane was airborne for one minute or two minutes is the difference of searching for a week or month and a half. >> it's the planes that disappear over wade areas of ocean that pose the biggest problem. it took two years to find the black box on an air france flight that crashed in the atlantic in 2009, a painfully long search that experts say could be avoided with improvements in technology. aviation analyst jay rolens joins us now from florida.

what do you make of all of the latest news. what jumps out at you in this search so far? >> well for me it's a combination of the conditions that set this up which is the weather, a situation where the pilot attempted to climb higher and a regime that means that the aircraft would be more vulnerable to turbulence and engine outages. so that first part seems to be similar in the sense that it disappeared off of the radar scope and everyone compares it to the original malaysian disappearance, but it also has some possibilities that it could be similar to the situation that

occurred at san francisco a year and a half or so ago, where they were required to fly off of the autopilot system and the crew turned out to be not as adept as hand-flying the aircraft. so there are a number of things we just don't know about this flight. >> the san francisco flight involved a landing. this is a takeoff, and a lot of americans may be confused when they hear this is only a two-hour flight. the aircraft disappears after an hour. if you are sitting there on takeoff and you realize there is major bad weather who's decision is it whether or not to take off? >> it's the captain ultimately. he is in a position up close and personal to make the best decision. the airline will defer -- will not cancel the flight but leave

it to the captain's judgment. >> given that it's the captain's judgment that is crucial here anything to some of these reports that air asia has had some difficulty recruiting pilots, and essentially getting them the proper training because of high turnover could that have been an overarching factor in terms of getting to the experience of those in the cockpit? >> it may. this captain had about 6100 hours with air asia and also we had hours before that. he was well experienced. so -- and he also was once a military pilot, so i don't think it's a problem with his basic skills, but possibly you can get into a rut where you are playing -- you are continuing to fly using the autopilot system and you get a little bit rusty. we don't really know. we need a little bit more information. however, there was a screen shot

from the radar scopes that suggested that the aircraft might have been slow as it climbed and as that would be a dangerous situation. >> because if you are so slow you might stall, if you are too fast you might damage the aircraft in some fashion. is there anything specifically about this aircraft that makes it more difficult in similar situations? >> no, i have not heard any such thing. it has been a reliable aircraft to this point. it's not that different from 737 in terms of its size and capability, and they are used all around the world, many u.s. carries, fly that aircraft and there haven't been any reports that it is particularly difficult to fly under any circumstance that it would be for a 737. >> captain jay, thank you so

much. we appreciate you coming on today. the death toll from a ferry fire. >> reporter: the last of the passengers was air lifted from the crippled ferry on monday afternoon, almost 36 hours after the fire first took hold. italian and greek helicopters worked a shuttle system. the passengers were taken to safety on nearby vessels. there is now some confusion over the total number of people rescued, and it appeared to be lower than on the ship's manifest of 468. >> translator: the fact is that among the people rescued there are some names not on the

manifest. at this point we need to review entirely all of those who embarked on this trip and this is giving us some difficulty. >> reporter: earlier on monday 49 passengers were transfer the italian port. a number needed medical treatment, but most of them including some children were transferred later to continue their onward journeys. some described chaotic scenes on board. >> nobody to tell us what to do. i had to look for myself to find the life jackets. i had to put it on my kids by myself. it was a panic. it was crazy. >> we had to jump into a boat. and then we were about three hours in the sea, because it was very, very unbelievely wavily. we did two, three attempts to try to get up on the boat and

we had to go up a rope ladder. >> the italian navy and the coast guard say given the intensity, the appalling weather conditions and the fact that people had to send so long on the upper decks waiting to be rescues, it's a surprise more people weren't injured. despite that the italian authorities have started a criminal investigation, and specialist teams are continuing to search the lower decks in case other bodies are there. a number of passengers arrived in greece and if are still at sea waiting to brought ashore. the ferry itself will be towed to an italian port so a proper investigation can start. the pentagon says the u.s. military has carried out an air strike in somali targeting a

senior leader of the al-shabab rebel group. al-shabab is trying to overthrow the somali government and replace it with one based strictly on islamic law. they -- in afghanistan today fierce fighting in the southern part of the country left four dead. the violence broke out just 24 hours after the united states and nato concluded their official combat mission. jamie macintyre has the latest from the white house. >> reporter: as merge's longest war is drawing to a close, the obama administration is pinning its hopes on afghan security forces. 13 years after the september 11th attacks, most u.s. troops

now leaving afghanistan will never return. president obama who pledged to end the wars says the original mission of denying terrorists save haven has been accomplished. >> because of the extrordanaire service of the men and women in the american armed forces afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. >> reporter: but the taliban responded with a statement declaring victory. labeling it a clear indication of their defeat and disappointment. as nato was wrapping up its mission, the taliban were significantly ramping up their attacks. the pentagon argues though that unlike in iraq u.s.-trained afghan troops have not cut and run. >> those attacks have had no effect. and the security force and police reacted bravely and quickly to each of the attacks. they have not had a strategic

impact on the transition that is going on. >> reporter: but they have reestablished influence in areas previously cleared. namely in a opium-rich region. taking back those gains will now have to be done with less help from nato. the weekend handover ceremony marked a shift to a new much smaller mission, dubbed resolute support. so after 13 years, hundreds of billions of dollars and more than 2200 american lives lost it's not so much that the u.s. won in afghanistan, but rather that it is done with afghanistan. and some of those troops staying behind will have an unspecified

counter terrorism mission, which means while the war may if i recally be over, the fighting will continue. david? >> jamie macintyre reporting from the white house up next the historic low in gas prices. and cash crop the highs and lows of marijuana sales in colorado one year after legalization.

the price of a barrel of crude oil fell to under $54 a barrel today. that is welcome news for driver as prices at the pump take a drive. but not everybody is celebrating. >> yeah, not everyone is happy

about this david, but this is another notable day. in two states for the first time prices entered welcome territory. >> reporter: it's the gift that keeps giving. >> it's always christmas when prices are like that. >> reporter: and drivers can't seem to get enough. >> a substantial amount that i'm saving, so i'm excited. >> reporter: gas prices keep falling. even a tax on libya's already struggling oil industry have barely slowed the slide. in june gas in the u.s. was approaching $4 a gallon and since it has been nose diving and still falling. now the national average is $2.29 a gallon. missouri and oklahoma lead the nation in cheap gas. average prices there, under $2 a gallon. as for why? analysts say drivers are

profitting from a price war. saudi arabia is trying to undermine the u.s. shale oil production at the same time it is undermining iran and russia due to the violence in the middle east. slower growth in china is also cutting costs. meanwhile gas consumption is at itself lowest in four decades. yet the drop is also straining some americans. low gas prices could lead to layoffs and budget cuts in big energy states. >> the state of louisiana every drop in price is actually a 10 or up to $12 million drop in the budget. so of course this has a negative impact on the state of louisiana. >> reporter: how much further they will drop is the question.

analysts doubt they will get below $2 a gallon. but who knows. the declining price of oil has had a huge impact on the russian ruble. that is bad news for russia's economy and for one chinese town across the russian border. florence loui reports. >> reporter: this is supposed to be one of the busiest shopping streets in town. it has been quiet since the ruble collapsed. this man has been selling fur coats for years. he doesn't remember business ever being this bad. >> translator: during the good times i could sell 20 to 30 coats, but i haven't sold anything lately. >> reporter: the northern chinese city near the russian border is a popular destination, because the goods here are cheaper than in russia. the shop signs have not just

chinese characters but russian script. it's one of the few towns in china where people can pay in rubles. shopkeepers say they still accept the currency but they don't take any chances, converting it to local money immediately. on the other side of town there's little activity at this warehouse. this man who runs an import export trading company, says several russian companies have canceled their contracts. >> translator: i'm not too worried because china's economy will be better next year. the russian government is also taking steps to stabilize the ruble. >> reporter: for others who depend mostly on russian purchasing power, a weak ruble means tougher times ahead.

u.n. home maine could become the next state to legalize marijuana. one bill would set a limit to determine when someone is driving under the influence. medical marijuana is legal in 23 states and the district of columbia. only four states washington oregon, alaska and colorado allow the sale of marijuana for recreational use. colorado became the first state to legalize sales one year ago. we take a closer look at the highs and lows of colorado's first year of legal pot. [ cheers ] >> reporter: january 1st, 2014, 8:00 am green wednesday in denver colorado. thousands of people stood for hours in freezing temperatures to celebrate a moment many compared to the end of prohibition. >> i have been waiting 42 years

for this day. >> reporter: fast forward and things look very different in this parking lot. that's because marijuana supply exceeded the demand. in colorado marijuana is as easy to buy as a beer. places like denver's antique row are being squeezed out. >> it raises the property values of people's houses around here. and the neighbors are very glad we're here. >> reporter: legal weed has created 10,000 jobs here and brought in $60 million. and a good portion of that money is coming from a new kind of tourism. a recent denver post poll reveals most of the kra coloradoans who voted for it are happy with their decision. >> it's hard to believe that it

won't trickle down to kids. >> reporter: this man teaches at the university of denver which is adding a class called representing the marijuana clie marijuana -- client. >> there weren't huge terrible headlines, there weren't sort of the real catastrophes that people warned about. >> reporter: another obstacle? what to do with all of that money coming in. >> reporter: so this is the safe. >> this is the safe. >> reporter: banks do not want to touch marijuana cash because to the federal government which regulates the banks, it is still as illegal as heroin.

2014 ended with a legal challenge, nebraska and oklahoma are suing colorado in the u.s. supreme court arguing that state-legalized marijuana is spilling across their boards muddying federal laws. >> it is a step back. and it may be one of the things that gives us some clarity. >> reporter: the world is watching colorado's victories and stumbles as the marijuana evolution rolls on. in november voters in three other states gave the green light to recreational weed. former president george h.w. bush remains in a houston hospital tonight. the 90-year-old was admitted last week after experiencing shortage of breath. a family spokesperson says there is a chance he could be released

soon. up next, migrants trying to get into the united states are now finding it increasingly difficult to cross the border. plus the devastating floods in southeast asia and the heavy rains are far from over. ♪

this is al jazeera america. i'm david shuster in new york. just ahead . . . >> border control, the year in immigration, the confrontation -- >> protecting these borders! >> reporter: the crisis the steps towards reform and the families still searching for answer on both sides of the border. asia floods dozens of people have been killed and nearly 200,000 have been forced to flee their homes, as more rain is now in the for cast. and today three al jazeera journalists are marking 365 days behind bars. we'll look at their ongoing

fight for freedom, and the support from around the world. ♪ president obama who was vacationing in hawaii says he is spending part of his break reflecting on 2014 and thinking ahead to the key issues in the new year. he just granted an interview and spoke about the g.o.p. majority in congress healthcare and the highly contention debate over his actions on immigration reform. >> if your view is that immigrants are either fundamentally bad to the country, or that we actually have the option of deporting 11 million immigrants regardless of the disruptions, regardless of the costs, and that that is who we are as americans, i reject that. on the other hand i think that there are a lot of republicans, who recognize we have to show

realism, practicality and insist on accountability from those who are here illegally, and the best way to do that is to provide a path to get legal. >> the crisis on the border along with the inaction by congress forced the president's hand. this year thousands of migrants poured into the united states, many unaccompanied children. jennifer london has more. >> reporter: a desperate crossing. an angry protest. and a summer on the u.s./mexico border that put immigration back in the headlines. before protesters blocked bus loads of migrant children from arriving at a california border patrol facility more than 500 miles to the southeast, a surge in unaccompanied minors crossing the border had begun.

>> we had children all over the place, sleeping on the floor. >> reporter: as politicians and immigration officials squabbled over how to handle the crisis in california, jim gilcrest surveyed his options from a former outpost. in 2004 he called up modern day minute men, hundreds of men and women flocked to the border to keep watch. sometimes they were armed. in june he told me he was considering relaunching the project. announcing a new d-day. >> 535 members of the u.s. house or the u.s. senate who for whatever reason have recklessly disregarded and ignored enforcing the law and protecting these borders!

>> reporter: the new immigration crisis didn't just remind america of its poorest southern border, it exposed the backlog of cases waiting to be heard in court. like this 17 from guatemala. he asked us not to use his last name or show his face. he faces deportation after crossing into the u.s. illegally, still he is one step ahead. he has an attorney and hope. >> translator: i pray to god that everything goes well because i do want to stay in this country. >> reporter: when he and thousands of other migrant children are given a court date this is where they will have to appear. we wanted you to have a chance to see inside. no bigger than a large office. immigration court is rather intimate. this is where the judge sits you have a translator, you have an attorney for the government

and where is where the child will appear. for the fortunate few like jose, they will have an attorney with them. most be alone. represented or not, it can take years for a case to wind its way through the court system. which is also why we saw the rebirth of the sanctuary move. how long are you prepared to stay in this church? >> i have no idea. i have no other options. >> reporter: francisco ended up living in the church for 94 days before immigration officials decided to drop his case. his stories and others living in sanctuary, highlight the desperate measures undocumented immigrations have been willing to take as they waited for washington. but after nearly six years in office, the president took

executive action to jump start reform. >> workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law? >> reporter: republicans in congress vowed to fight the action but they like rights activists got a win. while 5 million migrants will get deferred action on deportation, the plan also places more enforcement resources on the border. a surprise move that shifted the debate from the southwest to capitol hill. a number of children crossing the border is down 40% from this time last year but there are still strong demand to escape violence and poverty by coming to the united states. heidi zhou castro spoke with families stuck in a holding point in texas. >> reporter: just over the

border is the new purgatory for these families. this is because the increased border security on the u.s. side has been tremendously successful in keeping these migrants out, however, as you said their desperation to escape violence and poverty in their home countries remains strong. this is the river alberto sells his six-year-old daughter as they stand on the mexican bank of the rio grand. what do you see over there? that's the united states he tells her. why don't we cross right now she asks. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the two are staying at a shelter for migrants just across the river from. last summer most of the migrants

here were from central america. while they are still the majority of migrants arrested at the border on this day, most people at the shelter are mexicans. the pair have been here for ten days journeying from mexico city where he washed cars. we were homeless he says. we couldn't pay rent. the 59-year-old single father took to the road and headed north. on one hand he would like to cross, he says. he wants his daughter to study in the u.s. and learn english. on the other hand he is scared. he doesn't want to put his daughter in danger. and he doesn't have the money to hire a human smuggler. so he is conflicted and waits. the shelter's atmosphere is different from when we were here in the summer. this used to be a launching point for young migrants.

now it's a dead end for older men and young women who's hope can take them no further than this place. this 20-year-old didn't want us to use her real name or show her face. she was 16 when she crossed into texas and worked as a live-in nanny for four years. then immigration officers raided the restaurant where she worked a second job. she was deported five months before president obama announced he would give parents of residents temporary permission to stay. i hope there's still a way even though i'm in mexico she says. i have my son. i just want him to have a chance. so like romero she'll wait longing for a land that's steps away, but still unreachable. it's unreachable, not only because of the risk of being caught, but more so because of the danger the journey would

involve. these families would have to contract a human smuggler. >> heidi zhou castro reporting from dallas. thank you. coming up tomorrow we will take you to texas and the fierce debate over whether illegal crossings have really dropped. and if so what is behind it. gmail has been down for many years in china since friday. other google services have been blocked in china since june. anti-cent forship advocates say china's great firewall is to blame. >> reporter: i think it's important to point out that gmail was already blocked in china. getting in to the main page and signing in has already been a problem. so the latest develop has to do with the work around many people in china have done to access their gmail account.

what china has done is effectively closed the major loophole for gmail users in china now. and we have to put this into the greater context of what has been happening on the internet. we saw this with the sony film the interview, and now we see this latest move by china. and yeah we know that china has gone after google in the last few years. the greater problem might be it's getting impossible to anticipate which services will be blocked in that country. can you imagine as a foreign business person trying to decide what to use when you don't know when a system is going to be inaccessible. there's no announcement no warnings, or if it is going to be permanent. across southeast asia days

of heavy rain have left dozens of people dead. our correspondent is in sri lanka with more. >> reporter: this is agricultural heartland of sri lanka, but not a crop in sight. that's because thousands of hectors of harmland have been flattened by some of the worst floods seen in these parts. >> translator: i got into a lot of debt taking loans to plant this field, but i don't know how i will pay it back. there's not enough time to replant for this season and i can't borrow money again. >> reporter: it's the same for others here. al jazeera filmed several farmers surveying the damage to their crop. the secretary of one farmer's organization says over 400 acres

belonging to members were completely wiped out. >> translator: this is our livelihood. we can't do anything else. now with this crop destroyed we have to wait for the next season. >> reporter: heavy rains caused many rivers to burst over. patty fields usually look like this. lush green stocks which would grow into golden sheets of patty. but the torrential rains have turned thousands of hectors into wastelands like this. >> translator: even in terms of vegetable, everything has been destroyed. that's one of the reasons prices have risen a lot. but the people who live here and rely on farming have been hit hard. >> reporter: but the water was good news for some. these birds making a go for the

fish. in addition to all of the problems caused by the floods farmers must also watch their backs for crocodiles which have been displayed by the floods. >> kevin corriveau has more on the storms. >> very heavy rain showers continue in southeast asia. you can see any malaysia how tef i have the rains are, for thailand we are looking at dryer conditions. this tropical storm is going to end -- enter into the sea, and that could enhance much of the rain fall. across the united states the biggest problem is going to be

the very, very cold temperatures across much of the north. billings at minus 10 degrees, very very low wind chills as well, not warming up into the normal temperatures that we would see for this time of year. this time of year these temperatures should be about 20 to 25 degrees. and still much of the same conditions plaguing us across the north here. even denver your low on wednesday morning is going to be about minus 14 and atlanta at 24. >> kevin thank you. up next exactly one year behind bars for crimes they did not commit. and today there was global solidarity for three al jazeera journalists jailed in egypt.

♪ one year ago today, three al jazeera journalists were imprisoned in egypt, tonight they are still behind bars.

peter greste mohammed fahmy, and baher mohamed were charged with spreading false news and aiding the ott lawed muslim brotherhood. calls for their release have come from all over the world. >> we continue to express our deep concerns correctly to the government of egypt about the detained journalists. we are watching the trial closely. there is an appeal hearing that is -- is scheduled to happen shortly. we believe all journalists should be able to do their jobs free from intimidation or any fear of retribution, and we continue to urge the egyptian government to respect the freedom of press, and uphold the rule of law, which is crucial to egypt's long-term stability. >> andrew simmons has more. >> reporter: al jazeera's doha news center marking an anniversary the staff here find

hard to absorb. it's now one year since a phone call reporting the arrest of three of the network's journ aileses in cairo. then 12 months behind bars just for doing their job. vigils were held in news rooms across the world against the arrest of peter greste mohammed fahmy, and baher mohamed. baher wife expressed her desperation. >> translator: my life is wrecked, and so are the lives of our children. the head of our family has been in prison for a year for no justification or crime. >> reporter: peter greste's parent has spent christmas day in egypt, getting an hour and a half to visit their son. >> he is truly amazing the way he has been able to draw upon his reserves of resilience and strength and in fact inspire us all to carry on because as

we all know this has been a very very long struggle. >> reporter: it's been a year that has seen protests spread around the world, the hashtag free aj staff went viral. world leaders including the u.s. president add their voices. >> we have been clear both publicly and privately that they should be released. >> reporter: al jazeera has maintained its public campaign. >> al jazeera is a media institution, we work in so many different places and we should be taken as a professional media institution, not as a part of political or idealogical or any other arrange. >> reporter: the egyptian president insists it's an appeal

for the court. but president sisi has suggested he would have preferred to have the journalists deported. perhaps a sign he was aware of the damage this case was doing to egypt's reputation. but as 2014 comes to an end, al jazeera's team remains in jail having committed no crimes. andrew simmons, al jazeera. one al jazeera reporter was released in june after being held without charges for ten months. he described the conditions of his captivity. >> it's like a once in a lifetime experience because you get to be totally denied from your basic human rights. you don't get to see your relatives except one in a week and in my colleague's case it is just once every two weeks. there's no medical care no free time for them to, you know go

around or do whatever they could think about, and the conditions in which any prisoner in egypt, are miserable, the conditions the way the cells look like you know the -- the hygiene, everything related to normal human conditions basic human rights, they have been deprived of. also the u.s. ambassador to the united states tweeted: and al jazeera reporter verdicts remain unjustifiable: we're joined by a fellow at harvard's kennedy school of government. at the time the journalists were arrested the government of qatar funds this network. welcome to the show.

to what extent did the relationship between qatar and egypt affect these arrests. >> well the qatar government and the government under sisi has been running a campaign to basically shutdown opposition views, cut down pluralism, they wanted to shut down everything that has to do with the muslim brotherhood. qatar seemed to be supporting muslim brotherhood so therefore there's an indirect connection. >> a year ago why was qatar supporting the muslim brotherhood? >> qatar and turkey were the two major powers in the region, or countries in the region that were seen to be supporting the muslim brotherhoods, and tunisia

and other places and they assumed that the brothers were going to do well and win and be involved in running governments for many years, and they wanted to be close to those powers. they took a gamble and it didn't pay off in the end in egypt, because of egyptian presidency of morsi was overthrown by a combination of popular demonstrations and the armed forces. but that's the assumption that they support their ideology. >> to what extent because al-sisi in egypt not see any difference between the government of qatar and an organization like al jazeera media networks that qatar funds? >> the government of egypt -- it is worse now than it used to be. but historically they are

autocratic, they don't believe in freedom of speech they control the media as much -- >> they don't believe in freedom of the press to qatar either. >> right. and they see that the press is an easy target. foreign press especially. but also egyptian press. there are probably 15 or 20 egyptians that are in jail now on various charges. so the assumption is you need to silence opposition voices and that will keep everything quiet. and in fact the exact opposite happens. when you silence people you build up tension and it exploded. >> how long can egypt continue on this path given all of the attention and criticism that it continueings to get over it? >> it can probably do this for quite a while as long as it gets something like $15 billion a year from the gulf countries who

are supporting it. it gets a lot of criticism from its own people the region and the world. it's a bit of a laughing stock right now, the egyptian government's treatment of the press. it's a tragic thing for us to see. they can probably sustain this for a while. they have become laughing stocks. they are not taken seriously. but they don't particularly care, as long as they are getting foreign military support from the u.s. and other arab governments. this degrades the entire government system, the media, the executive, the presidency they all degrade, corrode, and then they come crumbling down. >> thanks for coming in. >> my pleasure. join us at the top of the hour for our special report

journalism is not a crime. it's a look across the globe as we mark one year since our colleagues were imprisoned in egypt. ♪

>> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> we were talking to a young lady saying she just wanted her voice to get out there. >> by the thousands, they're sending their

government a message. >> ahead of 'em is a humanitarian crisis where tens of thousands of people are without food, water, shelter. >> a special one hour look at global attacks on free press. coming up next. on al jazeera america. another image of our al jazeera colleagues jailed in egypt for one year. this image is from our al jazeera news room. i'm david shuster, up next an

al jazeera special report journalism is not a crime. and we leave you with the empire state building decked out in its holiday colors. thanks for watching, everybody. ♪ >> when lives hang in the balance. journalists are there. but right now journalism is under attack. tonight we're taking an in depth look at the assaults on press freedoms worldwide. our special report: journalism is not a crime. >> good evening everyone, i'm john siegenthaler in new york. this has been a year of unrest around the world. from the middle east to west africa to ferguson missouri.