>> a solemn return to indonesia for the victims of airasia flight 8501. weather slows the recovery process. a public memorial set to again this hour for the lives lost. >> being detained 12 years in guantanamo without charges, they are released.

>> an activist could wind up in jail in russia hours after given a suspended sentence. >> new year's celebrations underway in parts of the world where 2015 has already begun. good morning, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> i'm del walters. there has been a breakthrough in the search for airasia flight 8501 indonesia officials saying sonar appears to show the plane at the bottom of the java sea. that development comes a day after the first signs of debris were spotted. seven more bodies have been recovered from the water. four men and three women. today's search is hampered by stormy weather and high seas. >> we'll have a report from indonesia in a moment, but first we have the latest on the investigation. officials appear to be making progress and quickly. >> i think so. of course bad weather played a part in bringing this air craft down and now is hampering the

search, but it is huge that the sonar has found the bulk of the wreckage. three days after the airasia flight 8501 vanished from radar and a day after the discovery of bodies and debris, today's news puts officials one big step closer to figuring out why that plane came down. >> sonar spotted wreckage from flight 8501 on the bottom of the java sea according to rescue officials. it's unclear if the air asia plane is in one piece or broken up. this morning search and rescue teams transported two bodies from borneo to an indonesia air base. an honor guard carries the two caskets, indicating the first two victims. they will be driven to a police hospital where family members will try to identify them. the air asia plane took off on sunday morning heading to singapore and after reporting bad weather disappeared from radar.

onboard the airbus, 162 souls including 17 children. families of passengers watched in horror as bodies and debris were shown on live television. overwhelmed, some fainted and had to be carried out on stretchers. the c.e.o. of air asia tony fernandez apologized to the devastated families. >> it's a horrible, horrible experience. >> indonesian officials say strong winds and heavy rain hampered today's search efforts. >> the weather now is bad over there. it would not be possible for divers to go into the water. >> several countries are assisting, including the u.s. >> we have u.s.s. fort worth in singapore, outfitted with side scan sonar. that is a fairly 50 indicated

technology that allows us to map the ocean floor. >> a blue suitcase, oxygen tank and deflated raft are all debris he discovered, all clues for investigators. >> once you have the debris, you look at it all. fire stands out explosion stands out was it ripped apart or was something else going on here. >> officials are collecting d.n.a. and data from next of kin to help speed the process of identifying bodies retrieved from the wreckage. >> scott is in indonesia at the airport where that plane took off. scott, tell us about this vigil that's about to take place where you are. >> yes stephanie. it's going to be in the city center. this vigil was announced through wednesday. they are going to be new year's eve celebrations, but those have

been canceled. the governor who met the first two bodies soon after they game back to the airport announced it this evening. they are focused on switching from what would be a celebration to a vigil. >> such a sad start to the new year for those folks. what's the latest, are they expecting similar conditions tomorrow? >> one thing i'd just like to clarify, we're talking about a sonar reading that is believed to be. we need to emphasize that, believed to be the aircraft. tony fernandez the c.e.o. came out and said that they do see something on sonar but it

hasn't been 100% verified yet. this is they've searched, where the bodies were found where the majority of the debris have been found. they haven't verify that had that sonar reading isn't the aircraft. it could be, but they need to verify that and the c.e.o. wants to verify that. we had a little bit of a window todd on wednesday where they are able to get out there on the sector five, above the sector where they found the debris and bodies. they are able to get out there a little more and transfer the bodies over here. we are expecting the lee maining five bodies that have been retrieved. we had two come in earlier a couple of hours ago. those are the only bodies that they've been able to retrieve from the java sea. >> it is where the bodies will go to be identified.

how are officials preparing for that? can you talk about more about the identification process and how long that may take? >> sure. the first step actually happened just moments after it was announced and shown on national television that they found bodies that they found debris. with the family members who are here for those days wait forego any kind of information immediately there were d.n.a. samples taken from the family members here. today, the crisis center in this building is being shut down slowly, families moved to a hotel near the police hospital where the identification process is going to happen. that's where all the bodies are going to end up. that's how, you know, just the beginning of this pros, it's going to take quite some time.

not to be too gruesome about it, it depends on the condition of the bodies. we have seen some appear to be intact. we only have seven bodies out of 162, so it's going to be a long process. they believe that sonar signature is the aircraft. they haven't gone down there to access it yet if it is in fact the aircraft and then retrieve those bodies that will be trapped in there or find the bodies that may have watched along shore. it will be a long process stephanie. >> coming up at 7:20, we're going to speak with a former ntsb member as they try to figure out what happened to this plane. >> five guantanamo bay prisoners are free this morning sent to kazakhstan, two from tunisia three from yemen. none has ever been charged and all were cleared for release

years ago. libby casey is live in washington. what do we know about the deal with kazakhstan and will these men be able to go back to their home countries. >> the obama administration said essentially, these men are free, but no details have been given about security arrangements or what exactly will happen next. these men from tunisia and yemen were recommended for release by the president's security team five years ago and a panel said they should be allowed to be removed from guantanamo bay but not sent to their home countries. no explanation given for that, although tunisia has been a place of concern because of persecution and yemen because of extremist he will minutes, as well as just what that is when people return to that home country. there have been concerns voiced by some in the community that men could return to pakistan or even go to afghanistan and there

are no details as to what exactly would prevent them from doing so. >> nearly 30 prisoners released this year. any idea what 2015 looks like for the rest of the prisoners still held there? >> 28 prisoners released in this past year, according to the obama administration. it's part of a long time pledge by president obama to guantanamo bay. it hasn't gone as smoothly as expected. uruguay promised to take some prisoners. it had to happen on the current president's watch. there are elements that have helped some of the prisoners find relocation areas.

127 are left, some considered too dangerous at this point to move but there are 60 who are on the docket to be released, so watch to see what happens to them in 2015. >> still pushback on whether or not they can be tried here in the united states. libby, thank you very much. >> the president of gambia said a coup against him has failed and promised stern justice for those responsible. he was visiting france when he said an exarmy commander tried to take over his government. he took power in 1994 in a coup of his own. >> police in edmonton, canada call it the worst mass killing there since 1956. >> a gunman leaves eight people dead before killing himself. we have more details. >> good morning to you. police say it was a horrific scene where a quiet cul-de-sac became the he center of a

shooting rampage. it's being dubbed an extreme case of domestic violence that took the lives of two children. >> nine people dead, three crime scenes, one suspect. that according to edmonton police in canada, who say one man us responsible for the worst mass murder in that city in more than a half century. >> the series of events were not random acts, but rather appear to be planned deliberate and targeted. >> police say the suspect first unleashed his rampage at this home where he shot and killed a woman. just over 90 minutes later police visited this residence to check on the welfare of a man later identified as the shooter. because no one answered the door police never entered the house. they left only to return four hours later to discovery a horrific scene. >> once access was gained, officers confirmed that there were seven deceased individuals within the residence. >> among the carnage, two

children, a a boy and girl under the age of 10. the manhunt for the shooter earned tuesday morning at this restaurant, it's entrance badly damaged, the suspect found dead of an apparently suicide. police are releasing few details, but say the victim is well known to him. he had a criminal record dating back to 1987, including an arrest in 2012 for sexual assault. the most likely cause of the shooting rampage. >> there is strong evidence that these events are the tragic result of family and domestic violence. >> violence on this scale is a rare site in edmonton, the provincial capitol of alberta with it's 878,000 people had only seven homicides last year. >> it is a tragic day. our thoughts go to the community as we all come to terms with the senseless mass murder of eight people. >> 2014 is removing to be a record year of violence in

alberta. a college student went on a stabbing rampage killing five of his peers. >> palestinian leaders plan an emergency meeting today after the u.n. security council rejected a draft resolution on palestinian statedhood. it received eight yes votes, one shy of the nine necessary to advance. the u.s. and australia voted no. the resolution set a one year deadline for peace and for israeli forces to withdraw from palestinian territories by 2017. we are live in ramallah. what has been the palestinian response and what other options are they considering now? >> the palestinian response is obviously one of great disappointment. we understand that they believe they have the nine votes needed for this resolution to pass the u.n. security council. turns out in the end they didn't. the fact of the matter is that

the palestinian president abbas saying the fight for independence will continue, but at the same time that this was meant to show the israelis that they are on the wrong side of history and that other countries are supporting the palestinian cause. you only have to look at european parliaments which have recognized the palestinian state, but again what the palestinians will do next is a bit less clear. we expect to be hearing again from the palestinian president in the coming hours but one would imagine that the next stop for this push to internationalize this issue is going to the international criminal court. >> john kerr spent so much of this year trying to get two sides together and that failed. what was the u.s. reasons for not supporting this resolution?

>> it's really interesting that you mention john kerry. we he know that behind the scene, mr. kerry was working extraordinarily hard to assure that the palestinians did not get the nine votes that they needed. he succeeded although the nigerian government promised the palestinians that they would support this resolution, they ultimately did not because of the pressure put on them by the united states. now the reason for that is that the u.s. did not want to be in a position where it had to use its veto. the u.s. is one of the few countries on the u.n. security council, one of the permanent members of the security council which can veto the resolutions. the reason the u.s. did not want to do this is because it's currently involved in airstrikes against isil targets in syria and iraq, a lot of u.s. allies are of course middle eastern countries and the u.s. did not want to anger them by using that

veto and the americans did not have to use that. while they are certainly pleased in washington that they didn't have to, there's a lot of disappointment here in the occupied palestinian territories. >> nigeria abstained. gag back to the question of why the u.s. did not support the resolution, was it because of security concerns? what was it? here you have the palestinians trying to seek a political solution which the u.s. wants and yet they are not onboard with this resolution. >> that's right. we only have to listen to the statement put out -- read out by the u.s.'s ambassador to the united nation, stephanie powers said that this resolution was in her words one-sided that it didn't look at the other side of this and that is why the u.s. didn't support this resolution. it really does put the u.s.'s involvement in this conflict under a spotlight. many questions are being raised

about whether or not the u.s. will ever support the palestinian's cause to effectively have their own state. >> >> thank you. >> no progress in that meeting between new york city's mayor and the five unions representing the police force the two sides meeting for an unprecedented two hour summit. the wrist has been widening since the shooting death of two officers, the police believing the mayor's comments made the police force less safe. >> this news eave at times square, the ball drops bringing in 2015. security is top of mind. thousands of nypd officers will be deployed to times square. bomb sniffing dogs are going to be on hand. police are keeping an eye on anti police demonstrations.

>> happy new year new zealand the first celebration to welcome in 2015, fireworks light the sky over the sky tower. australia is next, sydney will bring in 2015 at top of our next hour. >> happy new year. >> rough weather could disrupt news eave plans in the u.s. >> it's going to be very, very, very cold. >> some place have canceled their news celebration but very quickly for australia anywhere down the coast, it is going to be beautiful. there is no weather, it's going to be clear skies across the area. let's talk about where new year's is going to be canceled. up towards lubbock, we have seen major road problems with 100 car accidents on the road tuesday evening because of the slick weather there.

austin, texas canceled its new year's celebration because we have winter advisories in effect. you can see the cold temperatures coming into play right now. we are looking at winter storm warnings for most of central texas, that is going to stay in effect most of the night. tomorrow going through the later part of the day, we are going to be seeing rain as well as in this area, we are going to be sighing icy areas too. >> that corvette accident in texas is just wrong. >> former ntsb board member joins us live with what investigators should be looking for with the recovery of airasia flight 8501. >> jim harbaugh leaves the nfl to return to his alma mater the

university of michigan and he'll make $5 million a year. critics are asking how a football coach becomes one of the highest paid employees in the country. >> 7,100,000 is our big number of the day. >> how americans are signing up for health care under the affordable care act. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

>> a pair of federal reports finds 6.5 million people ever signed up on the federally run exchanges, 633,000 through state marketplaces. the numbers could go higher when more states report in next month. >> stopped on a way to an opposition rally in moscow, hours early he and his brother were convicted of embezzlement. >> on the coldest night of the year beneath the kremlin walls supporters of alexei gathered to

raise their voices in protest at the suspended prison sentence handed out to the political activist and the jail of his brother, sentenced to three and a half years in a labor camp. this was an unauthorized gathering and police were there by the hundreds. dozens were taken away. from the crowd the chant was freedom. >> we came here to support the brothers, because the government is being unfair to them. >> i came here not just because of them, but all our political prisoners and our unjust political system. >> he was found guilty with his brother on charges of embezzlement. he was given a suspended sentence of three and a half years to remain under house arrest until his appeal is heard later in the year. supporters claim the trial is another attempt by the kremlin

to curb dissent in russia. many of those at the rally had come hoping to see him twitter was filled with messages of him on a train heading to the kremlin square. >> breaking the conditions of his house arrest and coming here was always going to be a huge risk but it was himself at the court who asked the people to come here in protest and he was determined to join them. he never made it to the square. >> the authorities allowed the rally to last exactly two hours before the riot police formed ranks and slowly drove the crowd out of the square. they followed them to the nearest metro stations. >> other protests took place with crowds far less than expected especially here at the kremlin. >> activists say 40 political prisoners are currently jailed in russia, many detained just

for protesting against president putin. >> indonesian officials say a sonar image appears to show the wreckage of airasia flight 8501 at the bottom of the java sea. they haven't confirmed that. searchers are unclear if the wreckage is in one piece. they have found bodies from the crash, include ago flight attendant. heavy wind and rain, as well as big waves hampering efforts in the search. an independent air safety consultant and former member of the ntsb joins us this morning. good morning. thank you for your time. as we start to see different pieces of the aircraft recover which can offer the greatest clues as to what happened? >> well, you never know where you're going to find the clues but every piece of wreckage will be examined to see if it has any clues whatsoever, that includes looking at the remains of the victims, the bodies, to see if

there are any clues embedded around the bodies, as well. >> that's one of the things we do know this morning that the bodies that have been recovered are intact, that they are fully clothed. what clues would that provide investigators? >> well, the fact that they're fully clothed indicates that they will stay with with the airplane, most likely stayed with the airplane all the way down to the impact with the ocean, because oftentimes we see that people ejected from the airplanes inflate their clothes actually leave them, so that is one clue in itself. the suit cases that we saw undamaged, show they stayed intact through the plane going into the ocean. >> we talk about the black boxes and their importance.

how many days would you expect it to take to locate them and will weather hamper that effort? >> you need to get down there to get them. the weather is going to hamper the ability for the divers to get down. if in fact what we heard earlier with the sonar indicates that the airplane may be pretty much intact, then we can expect to find the botches located in the tail of the airplane and they'll be recovered on probably relatively quickly. what's not said is how the airplane is resting on the bottom and can we get access to them without tearing the airplane apart. it's good news that we think we have it. >> they're located in the tail of the airplane is what you said? >> yes. >> if they get the black boxes and it tells them everything they he need as far as how this happened, how this plane went down, will they need to continue to recover wreckage? >> in the u.s., we would recover

the wreckage. sometimes there is no need. given where the location in the relatively shallow water in the u.s., we would not want that wreckage down there because people would scuba dive on it over time and cause greater problems, so we would printing up as much of the airplane as we could in the united states, but that call is going to be made by the indonesia government and they will decide what to do. >> thank you for your expertise this morning. >> still ahead families risking their lives to cross the border, uncertain of their faith. >> we go to mcallen texas where undocumented immigrants are getting a temporary reprieve. >> a tragic accident at a wal-mart. a curious 2-year-old shooting and killing his own mother with a gun she had in her injuries harvard law school accused of not following the law is were you ever the stories caught in our global net. >> you can check out our special three part series on child

brides on our website. the latest edition visits mozambique.

>> taking a live look at times square here, where they are getting ready for the big new year's eve party. usually around this time, folks stuart line up along those barricades, but it is freezing this morning. >> u.s. airstrikes kill the leader of al shabab. why they are back in the cross hairs of the pentagon. >> eyewitness testimony in criminal cases some police forces are are adopting new policies to make it more reliable. >> in our next hour, perhaps it wasn't north korea after all. some believe the sony hack was an inside job. >> search across in indonesia may have found the wreckage of airasia flight 8501, officials saying sonar detected debris from the plane at the bottom of the sea but that is preliminary. a seventh body has been

recovered from that sight. today's effort is hampered by big waves heavier wind and lots of rain. >> five more guantanamo bay prisoners have been released, sent to kazakhstan. they were held for 12 years. no charges were ever filed. >> happy new year, new zealand 2015 arrived there just about an hour ago. here in new york, the city is ready for more than a million to pack times square, watching the crystal ball drop under the watchful eye. nypd. thousands of officers will be on guard to prevent trouble. >> the start of 2015 marks the end of u.s. and nate toes com bad mission in afghanistan. after 13 years and nearly a trillion dollars spent are afghans better off? we he look at the past, present and future of the battle there. >> in 2007, the province was filled with taliban fighters. nato had already been in the

country six years. the fledgling afghan national army joint patrols. nato troops walked a fine lining a country full of strangers. >> they could be enemy but at the same time reassure the locals we are not there to hurt them or harm them. >> another part of the nato mission was to get rid of opium poppy crops. 13 years and spending seven and a half billion dollars later the poppy crop is now bigger than ever and the opium business employs more afghans than the security forces. training the military and police became a major focus for nato in 2010. forces are struggling against a resurgent taliban. >> this has been a costly war on all sides nearly 3500 nato forces have been killed. the united nations have kept track since 2008, but since then, more than 9,600 afghan

civilians have died. for afghan forces, this has been the worst war yet about 13 policeman and soldiers die every day. >> one big killer are i.e.d.'s. the nato withdrawal makes it harder for afghans to defend against them. >> we do not have enough equipment to get rid of the i.e.d.'s or equipment to give us early warning, but still, we are doing better, but suicide attacks is the biggest weapon used against us. >> this week, nato marks a formal end to its combat mission, but the fight isn't over. the afghans bear the brunt of the fighting. a doctor said not only do the security forces need more training many of the police are heroin users. >> most of addicted, as we can

see in hospital. more than 50% of police are addicted. how can web secure in the future? >> this year, the taliban has taken large parts of the countryside across having a and al-qaeda is reestablishing training camps in the east. nato's combat role may be ending but it's initial mission is far from accomplished. >> 13,000 international troops remain in afghanistan to train afghan fighters and hunt the taliban. the taliban is viewing the withdrawal as a victory. the group released a statement saying the u.s. led force has rolled up its flag without having achieved anything substantial. >> a u.s. air strike reportedly killing a top leader of al shabab. somali officials say the group's intelligence chief is dead. he was killed in an attack near the town where the rebel group affiliated with al-qaeda has a base of operations.

mike lyons is a retired army major, this man how important is he and what did the timing of this attack have to do with the surrender last week by a former group leader? >> i think that arrest was more important in that this guy was the new leader of al shabab from an intelligence perspective. a young leader just getting into the job gets taken out. probably not a big loss but shows the capability of the united states what it gets the intelligence that they get they're going to act on it. >> the mall attack shows the rest of the world that the united states and its allies don't forget, they're going to go after these people no matter what. >> especially when they can. you've got ethiopia involved, the african military helping somalia. somalia is a struggling country

the relationship with the united states going on two years. it is moving the right direction. it's a model for how we'd like to fight terrorism across the globe. >> the group's leader was killed are those two attacks related? >> i think you're going to see these continue to tip down and as we get more information on the key leaders. the united states has the responsibility ever taking out the head of these organizations let the mogadishu military, the african military union go after the troops. i think you'll see al shabab defeated quickly even 2015. >> why go after al shabab now when isil seems to be the major u.s. threat? >> this is because we can but it will create the kind of environment inside somalia we want. we don't want it to become another failed nation state. the taliban like al shabab in

afghanistan, they are focusing on mogadishu. >> we have been at this on a lot of fronts. progress is being made or progress is not being made? are we at a stalemate when it comes to this war on terror? >> you have to think about where we are in terms of isis and what they did in 2014 and however they went. really the airstrikes contain them now but the question us whether or not that's going to continue. 2015 is going to be a pivotal year with regard to beating them back first inside rack and what do we do inside syria is going to be a long term problem to solve. >> happy new year. >> thanks for having me on, happy new year. >> a south korean activist plans to send copies of "the interview" over the border, dropping d.v.d.'s and u.s. flash

drivers using balloons. the air drop would start in late january. the u.s. based foundation is providing the media. >> president obama executive actions gave families hope, but many are left with concerns over what is to come. part two of our series "on the border." >> it's the same scene repeated twice daily since the peak of the cries a homeland security bus pulls into the public terminal in mcallen texas and officers step aside and a stream of families, mostly single mothers with children pours out. as the migrants line up to buy bus tickets to join family already in the country, they are orderly, nervous and most of all exhausted. some have been on the road for more than 20 days. >> how was your trip here?

>> very, very tiring. >> six families are from guatemala, another six from honduras, nine from el salvador. i asked them why major journey now when there's so much security on the border. they said one thing has not changed, too little opportunities, too much violence in their home countries. >> living in massachusetts for two decades working as a cashier before returning to guatemala to bring back his son. >> he was a newborn when i left there with my sister. >> the two journeyed 15 days and swam across the rio grande before they were detained. but they are at a church shelter blocks from the station. for years they had seen each other only in pictures and videos. >> he he has to study to be a good person and good man. >> he couldn't do that in

guatemala. >> no, it's difficult no jobs, no money. >> she heard president obama's decision to no longer deport parents of u.s. citizens. she has two daughters born in the u.s. >> we are waiting for this many years. not only me, a lot of people waiting for this, a lot of immigrants. >> is that what made you decide to come now? >> yes. >> what had been lost on valdez and many other migrants here is that recent border crossers will not qualify for the deferred deportations. >> i don't want to come back over there. i have my whole family here. >> she is allowed to join them, she will meet a recently born grandchild and her son will meet his sisters. a decision will be made for how long the family reunion will last. >> just north of mcallen texas is brooks county, ground zero for the in flux of undocumented

migrants into texas. tonight, we go back to see what's changed since the border patrol arrived there. >> new questions about children and guns after a toddler shot and killed his own mother tuesday at a wal-mart in idaho. the 2-year-old reached into his mother's purse pulled out her handgun, it fired she died. >> once we got on scene we found that female, late 20's was deceased inside the store looking at the video from the store and interviewing witnesses that we've got so far the shooting appears to be accidental. >> the mother did ever a concealed weapons permit for that gun. she was shop, all four of her children when it happened. >> more than 2.4 million duties are incarcerated in u.s. prisons. many were convicted due to unreliable eyewitness testimony. >> there is now you a new effort underway to address the problem and the system. >> dennis mayer is a happenry

married father of two but the time he spent in prison for rapes he didn't commit is never far from his mind, nor is the realization of the victims picking him. >> how could they miss identify me? the first victim said i didn't have a mustache, the second said i did. even i can't grow a mustache overnight, but they still went on with the case. >> he is one of 321 convicted men exonerated thanks to d.n.a. evidence scientific proof that witness memories are forgotten and distorted. jennifer was sure the man she sent top prison for her rape did the crime only to learn too

late that d.n.a. showed it was committed by someone else. >> i can remember thinking to myself if that's wrong if he raped me and it wasn't ronald cotten, then maybe everything i thought was true is not true. >> police forces across the u.s. recognized the fallibility of witness identification and are adopting changes to deal with it. >> the police chief in norwood massachusetts trains officers in avoiding influencing witnesses even unconsciously. >> i'm going to leave the room and the officer is going to show you the photographs. >> the policeman doesn't know what the suspect looks like. >> it allows us to testify we couldn't have sent an inadvertent cue because the officer showing the photographs had no idea which photo was the suspect. >> the national academy of sciences recommends that witnesses be immediately asked

how confident they are in their choice. >> it's important that we take it at the point of identification and not wait. the further we wait, the greater chance for influence. >> only 10 u.s. states require such safeguards. as more adopt them, the better the odds of preventing injustices like the won thomas lived through. >> the innocence project estimates between 2% and 5% of all inmates in the u.s. have been wrongly convicted. that is more than 20,000 people. >> let's look at some of the other stories caught in our global net. harvard law school accused of breaking the law. department of education report finds the school mishandled complaints of sexual harassment. boston.com said harvard law took more than a year to resolve one student's complaint and didn't allow that student to take part in the appeals process. the department of education has been looking at a lot of

universities. >> how little addressing the problem, as well. >> california over turning a ban on plastic bags that was supposed to take place in july. there are enough signatures for the referendum to be put on the ballot. they can still sell those plastic bags, about a billion dollars worth of business. they point out that the bags are recycled and why are they being banned. others say they are clogging up -- >> interesting. here's a story of a debit card purchase didn't make one christmas so merry. dean baker was charged over $92,000 for four rolls of wrapping paper. that's made out of gold, i'm thinking. he discovered it when his card starting being declined at restaurants. i'm wondering how he had such a big credit line. >> he couldn't pay for his

dinner and other things. he had to tell people i spent it out an wrapping paper. >> jim harbaugh moving from the nfl to the university of michigan. >> his multi-million dollars contract makes him one of the highest paid coaches as a public university. we'll speak about what some are calling an arms race in college football. >> a family pet maybe just what the doctor ordered for children with autism. that is one of today's big discoveries.

>> the stream, >> your digital community >> you pick the hot topics and express your thoughts the stream it's your chance to join the conversation only on al jazeera america

real reporting that brings you the world. >> this is a pretty dangerous trip. >> security in beirut is tight. >> more reporters. >> they don't have the resources to take the fight to al shabaab. >> more bureaus, more stories. >> this is where the typhoon came ashore. giving you a real global

perspective like no other can. >> al jazeera, nairobi. >> on the turkey-syria border. >> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> honoring those lost on airasia flight 8501 indonesia raisepays respect to the passengers. >> more than a decade at guantanamo bay without being charged, where prisoners are heading next as part of a resettlement. >> new york mayor sitting down with police leaders but efforts to repair a broken relationship appear to be a bust. >> people bringing in the new

year. this is sud knee, australia the historic harbor there. here at home, we will have a blast of arctic air welcoming in 2015. good morning, welcome to al jazeera america, happy new year, i'm del walters. >> i'm stephanie sy. a public vigil is taking place in indonesia where search crews recovered some of the victims in the crash of airasia flight 8501. >> four bodies are men, three women. it is nighttime there now today's search ended. after heavy rain and winds efforts were hampered to find the jet. >> officials pin hopes on a sonar image they believe may show the wreckage at the bottom of the java sea. it's unclear he if the debris is from the plane. first, john joins us. officials dealing with positive and negative news this morning. >> that's right. part of the problem is they are 12 hours ahead of us, so everything we report in this program is happening at nighttime for them.

the good news is the potential discovery of wreckage on the floor of the java sea. if it is from the plane and it looks like it is but we can't say for certain it could lead to the recovery of the block boxes. the weather is hampering day four of the search. >> this morning the bodies of the first victims of airasia flight 8501 arrived. the numbers one and two marked on the caskets indicating the first two bodies taken by heries that to a local hospital. search crews using sonar detected what they believe is the wreckage of airasia flight 8501 on the bottom of the java sea. it's not clear if the plane is intact or broken into pieces. meanwhile, shipping containers are being turned into makeshift morgues, dashing the hopes of grieving families. today, relatives the downed air asia plane gathered to pray at

the crisis center at the airport. this has been a grueling experience for the families. the air asia plane took off sunday morning head to go singapore. after reporting bat weather it disappeared from radar. onboard, 162 souls including 17 children. the search effort has been hampered today because of high tides and heavier rain. >> the weather unfortunately is not looking good for the next two or three days, and that is slowing us down, but they did in form me he that the ships are looking to operate 24 hours which is very encouraging and they're moving the assets to the two spots which they think the aircraft could be. >> several cross are assisting in the search, including two american ships the destroying u.s.s. sampson and u.s.s. fort worth. this is debris discovered, a blue suitcase and oxygen tank

and a deflated raft, all crews for investigators. >> once you have the debris, you look at it all. fire stands out explosion stands out. was it ripped apart or is something going on here. >> u.s. officials are preparing to send a maritime patrol aircraft in, which could also help with the vital search, so with little bits of aircraft on the ocean floor. >> let's go live to indonesia. how are officials propping for what's coming next? >> what's coming next is most like will you overnight we'll see five more bodies come here. we'll see the initial two as john mention said, five more expected here. they're being flown over from borneo, the closest land mass so where these bodies have been discovered, as well as the

debris and suspected plane at the bottom of the sea. they are being flown here by air force aircraft, then transferred to the police hospital. this is where the makeshift morgues being set up, this is where the investigation of exactly the identities of the bodies they find starts. we know that the family members who were based here, who were at the crisis center here for the last four days some of them have given d.n.a. samples to help expedite that process. the crisis center is being shifted closer to the hospital because that is where the bodies are going and that's where the focus of the situation is headed now. it's going to be more emotional once bodies come in. >> on the subject of those emotions this vigil are the victims' families attending that vigil today? >> we're not sure. it was kind of mentioned announced, i should say later in the day once these first bodies came in, the governor was out there for that small ceremony

when they arrived. it was around that time we found there would be a vigil tonight. the city had new year's eve plans, celebrations that obviously were not appropriate so turned it into a vigil. if the family members are going to go down there it's hard to say. 77 people were from this community that were on the aircraft. there will be people who knew them or had relationships with the family members of the victims. it's going to be a very, very heartfelt night here. >> coming up, we're going to talk to the former ntsb investigator about what exactly will happen to figure out what happened to airasia flight 8501. >> five grant prisoners have been set free. the men are now in kazakhstan. they are from yemen and tunisia and have been held 12 years all

five captured in pakistan. none has ever been charged and all were cleared for release years ago. libby casey live in washington. good morning. will these men have to stay in kazakhstan or will they be allowed to return to their home countries. >> it's unclear at this point. there's been no word of a security deal from the obama administration, but the administration says they are basically free men. now, the president's national security advisors and team cleared these men five years ago for release and it's taken this long to get to today. part of the arrangement and the recommendation was they not be sent directly to their home countries. in the past, tunisia, there have been concerns about sending men back there because of persecution and yemen the concern that there is general unrest and a military presence. it may be a concern with the countries themselves rather than the individuals.

there's not any sense of how these men would be prevented from going to pakistan, where they were originally detained, since we don't have insight into that security arrangement. the obama administration point person on guantanamo recently pointed out that 90% have the detainees who were released were never accused of doing anything wrong if he was place. >> in some cases, we could be talking about innocent men who are now branded as criminals and no one seems to want they will. why has releasing prisoners proven to be so difficult? >> a lot of it's boiled down domestic politics here, pushback from democrats and republicans over what to do with guantanamo bay. the president wants to see the prisoners dealt with before he leaves office. in the obama administration

itself, there has been wrangling. the special envoy resigned just this month after 18 months on the job. many americans aren't familiar with him but he was key to trying to get detainees sent home to their countries or sent someplace like kazakhstan. there's been pushback between the defense department and white house over how quickly to get the detainees out of guantanamo. >> the u.n. involvement in off began ends at midnight. thousands will stay and help the forces in afghanistan in charge of security now. we were there 13 years spent nearly a trillion dollars. people will wonder was it worth it. you have been on the ground there for years. was it?

>> was it all worth it? it depends who you ask. there's been tremendous progress. you see the lights behind me. 13 years ago in kabul there were only less than a million people here, certainly not this kind of electricity, not the high buildings you see behind me. women weren't allowed in the streets, now they're in school across the country. you have a new afghan security force, 350,000 of them taking care of security, but that being said security is far from certain here, the fighting is still going on. >> that being said, can the afghan security force handle what we are seeing as a resurgent taliban? >> they have been in charge all year, although they have had a lot of put that toe support intelligence, air force support logistical support.

most of that is gone now, 13,000 nato forces and 5,000 american forces remain and it will been a terrible battle. they are losing about 13 soldiers and policeman a day punishing numbers that everyone here feels really are just not sustainable. i was in the south last week in hellman's province. usually by winter, the fighting has died down, but the fighting rages on. the taliban control many parts of the countryside. if that's an indication of how things are going here, the afghans poised for a difficult 2015 ahead. they know that it's going to be very, very challenging. >> it has been called the grave yard of empires, united states, great britain russia, the taliban saying there is going to be no end to fighting until foreign troops are gone. they're not buying the transition. >> they're not actually.

we spoke to the taliban spokesman, and he said basically a change of name means nothing to him until all of the westerners have left afghan soil, the fight will continue. we he heard from other taliban just in the last day or so saying it's not just about fortune ears it's about a regime fighting for an islamic state. while nato's combat mission ends signalinging the end to america's longest war the fighting is not over yet. >> have you seen a difference in the way that you're treated in afghanistan? >> the people are wonderful and generous. you see the progress they have made. many are concerned about the

uncertainty, not only security, but political, as well, and they hope very much that the gains they've made over the last 13 years won't be reversed. >> jennifer glass live in kabul thank you very much. >> police in edmonton, canada are calling it hoe risk, a mass shooting leaving six duties, two children and the gunman dead. it respond three locations ending with the shooter taking his life inside a restaurant. >> there has been some suggestion that this is gang or drug-related. there is no evidence of this, but rather strong evidence that these events are the tragic result of family and domestic violence. >> the shooting spree is the worst mass murder in that city since 1956, when a canadian politician killed five members of his family, an employee and then himself. >> the impasse between the new york city mayor deblasio and the

police continues. >> union leaders and some members of the police force are saying that bill deblasio created a sort of anti cop environment as they call it about how he reacted to the recent protests in the city. this summit with the mayor police commissioner and five police commissioners was supposed to change the tone. it lasted two hours but made little progress. >> there was no resolve. >> nothing's changed according to the head of the police union after an unprecedented summit set up to slow down the growing divide. it comes weeks after the same union leader, patrick lynch lashed out against mayor deblasio, the night two police officers were shot to death by a mentally ill man announcing the

killing of the officers in retaliation of the eric garner killing. >> blood on the hands starts in city hall in the office of the mayor. >> the mayor walked through the hospital to see if the slain officers would pull through that night, some officers turned their backs to him. that started a trend at the funeral over the weekend with officers turning away from the screen showing the mayor's speech. while the mayor did not speak to the media after this meeting the press secretary issued a statement saying that it focused on building a productive dialogue and identifying ways to move forward together. the mayor and police commissioner remained committed to keeping crime in new york city at historically low levels, supporting the behavior men and women in uniform who protect us every day and finding ways to bring the police and community closer together. >> there were discussions about the safety issues that our members face. >> while no one offered

specifics of upcoming changes the take away from the unions was this. >> is that action speak louder than words and time will tell. >> in the time since the murders of those two police officers, overall arrests in the city have plummeted 66%. some say it's an inadvertent slow down due to units doubling up, others call it a purposeful protest by officers feeling betrayed by the mayor. >> you ever the police commissioner standing by the mayor. >> absolutely. he was in this emergency meeting yesterday, saying you can see the true support of a mayor by how much money he's given to the nypd millions beyond the allotted police budget there. the unions are also negotiating contracts for their members so there could be some likely politics going on. >> that could be what we're really talks about here. thank you. >> rescue crews pulled drivers

from cars in california, the area getting a foot of snow. most weren't ready for it. snow cats had to be used to reach vehicles. people were taken to a nearby church, then transferred to hospitals. everyone is said to be ok. >> let's talk about the weather now. places that are cold that aren't supposed to be. >> that's right. well most of the southwest is dealing with a lot of that cold air. unfortunately, california has just got a shot of not only the cold air but the snow here as this little system has been pushing through. right here are the mountains. as you can see that is where the snow was. it is now gone. you can see on this video, what they were dealing with here across much of that desert area. we didn't get a huge amount for some areas but in the higher elevations, we did get that foot of snow. we're also up here in nevada, waiting for the snow to fall in las vegas. when i last look, it hasn't yet

begun. the snow is coming down, evaporating, as the atmosphere gets moist with that snow, it will start to fall to the ground. in las vegas we only expect a half inch to an inch of snow, maybe more towards those northern suburbs. towards wednesday today as we go towards the rest of the day we are looking at icing conditions for much of texas which is going to be extremely dangerous. >> the show girls will be wearing mukluks. >> no comment. >> search crews believe they have spotted airasia flight 8501 the search will soon turn into an investigation of what went wrong. a former ntsb investigators joins us to talk about what may have happened to this plane. >> saying no to a resolution for palestinian stayedhood. why the u.s. says it could not back the plan. >> mother nature showing off its

strength giving this truck a new parking spot. that and other videos captured by our citizen journalists.

>> firefighters in libya getting the upper hand on an oil depot blaze. crews celebrating the hard-fought battle. fires were set this week between warring factions. >> a fire at a carpet factory sending a pillar of thick black smoke into the air. >> san jose, california, strong winds blasting the area. there is no one driving that car. it knocked down trees and power lines and moved this parked truck, which clearly did not have an emergency brake on. >> tell that to the insurance company. >> a sonar image could show the wreckage of airasia flight 8501. it is at the bottom of the jar have a sea. still unclear if that is in one piece or broken up. search teams have found a seventh body believed to be from the plane. bat weather hampering most of today's search efforts.

former ntsbjector joins us. thanks for being back with us this morning. air asia founded in 1993, relatively new. do they have the tools and expertise to investigate this crash? >> the airline will not be running the investigation. the government will. the question i hope they will address is do they have a safety culture in that particular organization. old, established airlines have safety departments, they have developed a safety culture. we'll have to wait and see and hopefully the indonesian government and investigators will come up with the answer to your question. >> this is a growing airline. it has state-of-the-art planes, but what about the pilots and the experience? do they have state-of-the-art pilots and experience. >> we know in the case of the accident aircraft and air crew, the captain was extremely very

experienced with 20,000 hours and 6,000 hours in that type of aircraft, flying in that region, that tells me a lot. this guy should have known about the weather situation. he knew how to fly the airbus 320. the first officer was a french national with a lesser amount of time a couple thousand hours in the aircraft, but still that's fairly experienced. for this particular accident air crew it looks like they should have had the requisite experience. the question is did they have the best training, and we'll have to have the answer on that one. >> that being said and we should point out that at this point in time, all of this is just speculation. that being said, how do you handle the issue of human error if that's what it is, when there is so much at stake? >> well, human error is responsible for roughly 80% of the accidents. i'm an aviation psychologist as you probably know, and what with he do is look at things like selection. you talked about that a second

ago, training, and things can affect human performance life stress was this guy going through a divorce i'm not saying he was. they will likely turn to a group that has a group studying these things. >> bodies have been recovered fully intact and the plane appears to be intact. does that mean there was definitely not a mechanical problem that we're talking about here? is that why there's such a focus on the pilot? >> stephanie, i don't think i mentioned human error. i alluded to it, but nobody knows. everything's on the table. it doesn't exclude the aircraft.

we just don't know. with he know about the air france accident in 2009 where the aircraft was a culprit. in that case, the pilots misinterpreted what the aircraft is doing. everything is on the table mechanical problems, human error, weather obviously is going to be one of the major focuses and they will look at things like terrorism or criminal acts, but everything is on the table. i don't mean to suggest that they were going to focus just on human error. >> nor did you. we thank you for being with us. the wreckage of the plane may have been found. >> let's go to kevin now with a look at the weather conditions as the search crews continue to face them. >> thunderstorms in the region begin to die down, because they don't have the heating of the day. in the morning it's a little bit better, but as the day progresses and you get that heating of the day is when these

thunderstorms develop. here we see just right there where did you see java, notice these thunderstorms popping up right there and dissipating. this is the search area that we are talking about. what's happening i go these thunderstorms are coming in from the east going towards the west and that will continue over the next couple of days. we're going to be watching this again. water temperatures 86 degrees, that's providing fuel for those thunderstorms. across the philippines air asia had another incident yesterday. we had a tropical cyclone that just went through and because of weather, it skidded off the runway. all the people were safe, but that same cyclone was responsible for 36 detectives in terms of flooding and mudslides across the region. this area is definitely not getting any break. of course we have the flooding in malaysia, too. >> palestinian leaders are planning their next steps after a draft resolution on palestinian statehood was

vetoed. >> it did gain support from u.s. allies. >> just eight votes not enough for the palestinians to claim majority support in the security council. the resolution would have set a 2017 deadline for an end to israeli occupation. australia and the united states, as expected, voted against. >> regrettably, instead of vig voice to the aspirations of both palestinians and israelis, this text addresses the concerns of only one side. it is deeply imbalanced and contains elements not conducive to both parties including deadlines that take no account of israeli's legitimate security concerns. >> five countries abstained including the united kingdom which criticized the lack of negotiations on the text, but expressed support for much of the resolution's content.

france said it was time for the security council to do more. >> after more than 25 years of negotiations the international community must share the weight of these negotiations and bear its share of the political and historical responsibility. >> the palestinian ambassador said the council was failing his people. >> considering the unsustainable and precarious situation that now prevails and the need to act responsibly on behalf of our people to address their needs and national aspiration, the palestinian leadership must now consider its next steps. >> there are questions about the timing of the vote, the jordanians helped write the resolution and wanted more time to cult the security council. the vote went ahead at the palestinians insistence. >> options are limited with israeli's ally, the united states on the security council. they never really expected the resolution to pass, but had

hoped for nine votes and a symbolic victory. they didn't even get that. al jazeera, the united nations. >> an earlier palestinian draft called for jerusalem to be the shared capital of israeli and a palestinian state. this version reverted for a harder line, calling for east jerusalem to become the palestinian capitol. >> search crews hampered in the search for airasia flight 8501, but did they recover more bodies and debris in sonar? we'll have an update from indonesia. >> an idaho woman dead after her 2-year-old shoots her in the middle of a wal-mart. we have the details on how the child was able to get his hands on a loaded gun. >> another twist for a former airline executive who melted down over that bag of nuts. why south korean authorities ever now taken her into custody.

>> you're taking a live look at times square in new york city, they're putting on the final touches for the new year's eve celebration. if you're planning on heading down with a million of your friends, dress warmly. it is going to be around freezing tonight. >> new allegations about the sony hacking attack. some say it might have been an inside job. >> the big apple small businesses being forced out as a result of the city's economic recovery. the rye conic culture disappearing along with them. >> a mass shooting in canada have left the gunman dead, ending with his suicide in a restaurant. >> five more are guantanamo bay prisoners have been released, the men sent to kazakhstan. all were captured in pakistan and held for 12 years for

alleged al-qaeda ties. none has ever been charged. >> search crews in indonesia say a sonar image may show the wreckage of airasia flight 8501, seen at the bottom of the sea. it's not clear if that debris is from the plane. a seventh body was recovered from the water today. the rescue effort hampered in part by big waivers strong wind and rain. we are at the airport in indonesia where the grim task of retrieving bodies is being coordinated. >> it's expect by the end of wednesday night, all the bodies will be retrieved and arrive back here. the crisis center here at the airport is being transferred over to near the police hospital where this painstaking identification process will take place over the days and weeks possibly months to come. as far as the search for debris, that has been on going but not as quickly as they would like, the officials, because of weather. there's been strong winds heavy rainfall, as well as high waves. they haven't been able to do as

much as they wanted to. scores of divers have been at the ready to go down and try to retrieve more bodies and debris. that hasn't been able to happen because of high waivers. that is going to be on going. this community was particularly hard hit by this tragedy. people on the aircraft were from here. they are holding a vigil in the down down area of what was supposed to be a new year's eve celebration. there is believed to be a sonar signature of the good chunk of the aircraft. a lot of stages need to be gone through before they can actually get to that fuselage and retrieve body that is might be down there and then start to unravel this mystery. they need to find the flight data recorders. a long day ahead but now answers have been made and also

some of the bodies have started to come back here. >> malaysia, australia thailand and the u.s. are assisting in the search. the u.s. is sending aid to the area. >> two sailors died on tuesday trying to move a fire ravaged ferry. on tuesday another body found onboard. officials say the death toll could rise as some passengers were not listed on the manifest. >> 17 dead after a gas explosion at an auto parts factory in china. the blast which also heard 20 happened when the facilities walls and ceilings were destroyed in the blast damaging other plants nearby. >> more legal troubles for the executive that threw a tantrum over macadamia nuts on a flight. she has been taken into custody. >> it's becoming a familiar with

unwelcome ordeal, another round of public reckoning for her blistering reaction to a bag of nuts wrongly served in a first class cabin. the president shouted at the cabin crew, ordered the plane back to new york and had the man thrown off. she stands accused of breaking aviation safety and workplace laws and more generally of abusing her powerful, high status position. it stems from the fact that it started with abargument over a bag of nuts and also because what all of this says about the nature of hierarchy and inquality in society. >> she is a third generation of one of the powerful families, the elite of the elite. >> this is just one incident that actually grabbed some of the public's attention but i

hear almost every month similar incidents that happens within the corporation that does not actually end up in this kind of big incident. >> it heights the continuing problem of cozy relations between regulators and big business. eight months after the ferry disaster, which was supposed to have triggered reform, monday, the transport addry admitted some officials tried to hamper the initial investigation in favor of korean air. she awaits trial for sentences that could yield her a prison sentence. >> her father who happens to be the chairman of korean air making his own apology for her actions. he called his daughter foolish and blamed himself for not raising herbert. >> admit to go giving a speech to a white supremacist group in

2002 boehner issued a statement saying: >> the k.k.k. losing a legal fight to hand out leaflets in the streets of a small missouri town. a federal appeals panel saying the clan can be required to stay on the sidewalk. the town argued it was unsafer to allow people to hand out literature to drivers. >> police in suburban philadelphia shot and killed a man who they believe planned to target officers. they tried to serve and arrest warrant. he tried to flee in his car. five officers fired on him. he recently posted he was going to kill police and f.b.i. agents. >> a young mother shot to death with her own gun at wal-mart.

>> the one who accidentally pull would the trigger was her 2-year-old son. with every details. how did this happen? >> this just appears to have happened because a moment of inattention combined with a curious and tragically resourceful toddler. the washington post is reporting that the 29-year-old regularly carried a licensed handgun. she carried it with a purse designed to hold a firearm. she was shopping at an idaho wal-mart with her children. her child reached into his mother's purse entered the gun department striking her in the head. she died on the scene. >> this is a pretty tragic incident right now that we're dealing with. when you have small children, young people, holiday season, that kind of stuff it's not a pleasant experience right now. >> all the precautionary

measures weren't taken to ensure the safety of that weapon. >> veronica's husband takes issue with any suggestion that his wife was negligent tell the washington post: i goes on to say this wasn't just some purse she had thrown her gun into. she graduated valedictorian of her high school class and earned a chemistry degree drop the university of idaho. police say it's not uncommon for people in idaho to carry guns in public places. idaho is an open carry state. >> a new warning from the c.d.c. over the flu. the agency says the illness has become an epidemic. 15 children have died from complications so far. the hard effort-hit states are in the southwest and midwest. though there are outbreaks all over the country.

experts say the flu shot is not a good match for the strain that's been catching this season. they still do recommend getting the show the to protect yourself and others. >> businesses work to go overturn california's plastic bag ban say they have enough signatures to force the matter to a vote. the group collected more than 800,000 names on a petition. the ban was supposed to be phased in beginning july. if those signatures are checked out, a vote is going to be held in november of 2016. >> this past year has been tough for california. it is still suffering its worst drought in a century. >> we have been reporting on is extensively. she goes back to one of the hardest-hit areas where ranchers worry the lack of water will wreck their herds. >> we met him after a state of emergency was declared as the drought deepened and uncertainty lay ahead for the state's ranchers and farmers. little rain meant scant grazing grounds for the cattle. >> how did you do this year? did you survivor the drought?

>> we survived, you know, it was a tough year. we had to sell a pretty good number of our cow herd, but we made it through. we did have some, you know, rains after we met in february. we're still going. >> he sold one third of his breeding cattle. he said his ranch broke even, but it will take years for him to build the herd back up. >> palm's ranch and many other ranches across the state saw rising costs in 2014, with the drought, pasture land saw little grass and the cost of hay skyrocketed. >> that sent him and other ranchers to places like this one. max's auction yard. we visited here back in february. he he had a busy year, with

cattle prices high, many ranchers decided to cut their losses and sell early. >> with limited rain, prices like that really saved the day. >> across california, ranchers and farmers have welcomed december storms. they say the wet weather bought everyone time, one extra year of production. >> so far, things are going well, but it will have to keep going very well, very reliably through marsh for us to be in better shape. even if we get a normal year of precipitation this year, we'll still have quite a lot of deficit that we're carrying over from the previous thee years. >> california's reservoir levels are low with many he below 50%

capacity. ranchers and farmers won't rest easy until they're confident of their long term water supply. >> we're not out of the woods but we're on our way out of the woods. i'm very optimistic, i mean with the weather we've had so far. i think it's a, you know, very good start. >> indeed, on paul's ranch our survey of this winter's greener pastures suggests a brighter 2015. >> nasa estimates california's water supply is 11 trillion gallons below where it should be and scientists say while snow pack is recovering, it's not enough to replenish the water tables. >> pictures are coming in live from the coast of italy where the final passengers from the greek ferry have now arrived onshore. hundreds of people had to be rescued from the ship when it caught fire, 11 died. two of the people trying to bring that ferry to shore were

killed, two of the safety workers. investigators now looking into whether some of those passengers were not on the manifest. they say the numbers aren't adding up. >> that's the problem. they say there were stowaways an board the ferry possibly migrants onboard. we have seen pictures of children rescued so a lot of questions remain. those are live pictures of some of the evacuees that survived the accident getting off the coast of italy. >> could the hacking of sony pictures of been an inside job? >> that's the claim being made by one security firm. a tech analyst weighs in on how credible that claim may be. >> the economic boom of the big apple taking ability out of its heritage its history. >> it is time for our big quote and advice as we look to wrap up 2014 with 15 hours left. >> one of the countries founding fathers offering these words:

>> the man with that enlightening outlook, next. everywhere. >> school loans... morgages... inflation... taking it's toll... >> we live paycheck to paycheck... >> now in a continuing series, join ali velshi as we follow families, just like yours, as they try to get by... >> we're all struggling financially... >> america's middle class: rebuilding the dream only on al jazeera america!

who said this: >> our big quote is from benjamin franklin offering advice for how to get a solid start to the new year. >> 2015 could bring more trouble with north korea over the film "the interview." a man is going to drop 100,000d.v.d.'s and flash drivers to north korea later next month. >> at least one cyber security firm thinks north korea wasn't behind the hacking at sony pictures.

the firm said it has narrowed down its list of suspects to a group of six people, including at least one sewn ewe veteran with the technical know-how to carry out an attack like this. the company's findings contradict the f.b.i. which says north korea was behind the hack. good morning. tell us about force how credible are they? how credible are they? >> look at how often the government has been wrong about issues of national security involving our country. they are a security firm. we don't know what they know he that the f.b.i. doesn't know, the f.b.i. being very tight-lipped about why they say it's north korea and what information led them to that conclusion. >> that's true. we don't know what access this cyber security firm has. we also don't know what access

the f.b.i. has but we do know that this is a wide-ranging attack on sony systems and just logically thinking, i'm no cyber security expert, that could mean it's an inside job. >> it is the most plausible outcome. when i heard it, i thought that makes perfect sense. if you have an ax to grind with your employer and want to show your boss as being the whatever you think they are what better way to prove that than hacking their systems? this is a problem most large companies face, is that when you let someone go, do they still ever access to every other network drive network service he email things like that. you are leaving a back door open leaving through the front door, but leaving the kitchen door open. >> these seem like two vastly different things, a sovereign nation north korea which the f.b.i. maintains was behind this hack versus somebody inside. is there no way for people to trace where the hack came from? >> this is what's great, there

is a way to trace where the hack came from and that is why we need to see that information. if the f.b.i. wants a back up its claims, all they need to do is present their data. the one thing we know about on line security and just the world of cyberspace, it's all traceable, all logged, all somewhere on a server. if there was somebody inside who wanted to do this, it wouldn't be out of the question for them to reach out to other hackers reach out to the hacking community, say look, here's my password, here's the code key here's what i know about the security take that information and do with it what you wish. >> does it really come down at this point who has the better cyber sleuths? again, the f.b.i., backed by the federal government on this private cyber security firm. >> i'm going to have to go to the private cyber security firm. we've seen time and again that the private industry in this realm into a better job. we don't have a lot of -- though we have the n.s.a., which can

apparently watch and listen to every single thing we do. >> right. >> our government hasn't always proven themselves to be further in line for figuring out things. >> the n.s.a., the reason we know that is because of edward snowden yahoo was a private contractor, didn't leave the back door open, he just took all of it home with him. >> if it turns out this is true, the ramifications are very big. >> very large. >> brett larson, tech analyst and host of tech bytes, thank you. happy new year. >> $50 billion according to zillow northern new jersey the top areas in the u.s., americans shelling out more this year for rent than 2013. while some businesses are flash

iring, others are going bust, forcing some long time new yorkers to leave. >> i'm going to have chicken noodle soup. >> martha preliminary to know is fighting a tougher battle for a beloved institution. the cafe edison, which for 34 years has been serving up eastern european jewish cuisine to the theater crowd. >> it is a critical part of the broadway community's history. it's a meeting place and a gathering spot for everyone from broadway stars and actors to musicians to producers to writers. half of our crew is over there right now having their dinner break. >> one block from the theater where she is starring, martha preliminary to know sat down with us for one of her favorite meals between performances. >> there are very few places

left in this area that really feel like something that the broadway community uses or shares. >> the cafe edison's menu may now be a part of broadway history, a casualty of luxury development that swept the city. >> we're being chased out the owner of the hotel he wants to convert the space to a white table cloth restaurant with a named chef. he said he doesn't want cafe edison here anymore. >> for weeks the broadway community rallied to safe the cafe posting video on social media, recruiting local politicians to the cause hoping to stop a unique icon from vanishing. >> if you want cafe edison to stay in this magical place. >> a recent survey found 82 new york restaurants closed in 2014, twice as many as the previous year. the culprit sky-high rent

increases. another survey looking at new york city businesses that closed find the city lost 7,000 years of history in just a dozen years. it's a sign of a city transforming at break neck speed, wiping out local establishments that helped form its character. >> we should be able to figure out how we can reserve these cultural institutions in the city of new york. >> ron spent decades teaching. >> we learned how to preserve buildings. we've got to learn to preserve culture. we have to fine tune the types of programs and incentives to keep places like edison alive. >> new yorkers come to expect this kind of thing. we know that change is always around the corner. nothing lasts forever we know this here very, very well. >> it comes down to how you define the wealth of the city, by the rents it commands or the

rich diversity of it's people and places. al jazeera, new york. >> cafe edison officially closing its doors just before christmas. it's last day, there was a long line to get inside for one last meal. >> another one bites the dust. >> let's get a check of new york eve celebrations. >> it's cold out there. some places not so great towards texas, where in austin, they all right canceled the celebration for this evening all that moisture coming up from parts of mexico he. towardsvasion, it's snowing that's going to be a problem there. these two cities not looking bad, new york clear with the wind chill it's going to feel like 16 or 17 degrees by midnight. in atlanta 33 degrees, they'll also have a wind chill. new orleans colder than average here and san francisco at 45 degrees. of course as we start the new york tomorrow, we're looking at

temperatures colder than average here across much of the south but up here to the north where temperatures are in the single and actually somewhere in the minus dugouts, things are warming up in new york. we are going to start to warm up for the new year. >> some celebrations being canceled. >> coming up from dough he has a deadly bomb blast hits a city in yemen. >> tomorrow morning we keep a close eye on the search for airasia flight 8501. there are no details about the efforts to find the wreckage as indonesia now is beginning to honor the memory of the victims. >> that's it for us here in new york. >> we leave you with a look at our images of the day and a look back at 2014 for president obama. >> the white house releasing these photos of the year through meetings with world leaders to lighter moments. >> ever a happy new year. we'll see you back they're in 2015 starting at 7:00 a.m.

>> the stream, >> your digital community >> you pick the hot topics and express your thoughts the stream it's your chance to join the conversation only on al jazeera america

more than 30 houthis killed in a suicide attack in the yemeni city of ibb. ♪ you are watching al jazeera, i'm david faster also coming up in the next 30 minutes. palestinians deciding what to do next after the u.n. rejects their push to end israeli occupation. the bodies of at least seven airasia victims are recovered. after 13 years of war and thousands of deaths a new