one why group think often leads to unusual results. at twitter @ajconsiderthis and you can tweet me @amoratv. we'll see you next time. next time. rod rod good evening, everyone. this is al jazeera america. i'm paul beban, john seigenthaler has the night off paris attacks - a branch of al qaeda claims responsibility as its rival, i.s.i.l. praises the killers nigeria nightmare - boko haram's rein of brutality, why it's stepping up attacks now denoted - a major shake-up at the highests levels of the secret service. and small world - did

vaccination fears cause a measle outbreak at disney theme parks? and we begin with the latest developments in france where police have arrested more than 50 people in the last week. it's being called a crackdown on hate speech. the arrests include a controversial muslim french comedian, du donay who condemned terrorism righting - i feel like charlie coulibaly - a reference to the man that led the attacks in a kosher deli an al qaeda group in yemen today claimed responsibility for the attacks on "charlie hebdo" but responsibility for the attack that followed may reach

beyond al qaeda. >> reporter: the details emerging about the violence of terrorists last week are painting a complex picture. brutal attacks inspired by rival groups. the first last wednesday. 12 were killed at the offices of "charlie hebdo", a satirical french newspaper. police identified the gunman as brothers said kouachi and cherif kouachi. they had known ties to al qaeda's branch in yemen. reports say one of the brothers had weapons training there. thursday a day after the "charlie hebdo" attack a female behaviour was shot dead at the scope of a traffic accident. french police identified her killer as amedy coulibaly, and amedy coulibaly took 17 hostage at a kosher grocery store on friday. he killed four hostages before police shot him dead. the kouachi brothers died in the

standoff with police on friday. >> before the attack amedy coulibaly made this video, saying he coordinated and pledged allegiance to i.s.i.l. amedy coulibaly said he was motivated by france's role in the war against i.s.i.l. >> the two brothers coordinated their actions and were in touch with their spirit and claimed he was sponsored or dedicated his actions to the islamic state. they are rivals. historically speaking i.s.i.l. and al qaeda are anything but cohorts, they are fighting in syria. al qaeda criticized or called the group un-islamic. at the same time al qaeda praised i.s.i.l. for military victories in iraq. a day after the shooting i.s.i.l. released an audio recording calling the attackers

heroic jihadists. if the paris attackers claimed allegiance to rival groups it doesn't mean this were under direct orders from either one of them. william is the executive director of a national consortium against terrorism and he joins us tonight. what do we know about the relationship, if there is any, between the rival groups - i.s.i.l. and al qaeda? >> at the level of organizational leadership the two are competing for power and influence in a global jihadist community. they are certainly rivals it doesn't necessarily trickle down to the foot shoulder perhaps that's what we are seeing going gown in paris. >> on the global pr level they are rivals and rivals for

territory in syria, but you are saying on the operational level, on the ground people with these sympathies may be willing to work together. >> when you talk about individuals operating a continent away from their parent organizations or the organizations that they say they are acting on behalf of on the ground you want to collaborate why the group to give you a legal capacity. while your organizational leaders may be competing, you see a close cousin and someone you are willing to collaborate with in order to get things done. >> fellow travellers so to speak. we have seen the stunning rise of i.s.i.l. in iraq and syria taking territory and stealing the spotlight so to speak. is this attack in paris maybe their attempt to regain the place at the top of the pyramid, so to speak? >> it may be.

it's important to understand that an organization like al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is always seeking to assert itself and gain head lines, to be top of the food chain. this is an organization that filled the void that al qaeda central left vacant. is it due only to the rise of i.s.i.s., it's part and parcel of what a terrorist organization seeking media attention. it's what they do. >> the attack in paris was not the spectacular attacks that came to be associated with al qaeda, it was a soft target a small target, but it had a high media impact. is this the kind of think we may see more of going forward? >> it certainly is possible because terrorist organizations tend to try to reinforce or repeat their successes. it's important to understand

terrorism is meant to tear at the fabric of society. in this case by going after the bastion, the iconic bastion of free speech defaming the prophet muhammad it's a great target to generate debate in media coverage. they may learn from that. instead of an embassy, it's a newspaper that will get you the greatest headlines. >> a soft target but one with a big payoff. >> thank you for your insights. >> thank you for having me. >> the leader of boko haram is praising last week's attacks in paris. we are learning about a massacre the group allegedly carried out in boga nigeria. >> reporter: it is described as boko haram's worst attack yet. 2,000 victims, according to amnesty international. many women, children and elderly, people that cannot outrun fighters armed with

automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades. more than 20,000 fled many escaping with only what they could carry. >> the attack took place in the north-east in and around the town of boga. these satellite images released by amnesty international show before and after pictures of boga. the red indicates areas of vegetation. the second picture almost all that vegetation gone. burnt in the attack. reports say people who sought shelter in homes were burnt alive. others fled into the lake to escape. the rampage left bodies everywhere. one witness reported the whole down smelt of decomposing corpses. >> we condemn the attacks in the strongest term. boko haram is a huge threat remains a huge threat. all you have do is look at what happened over the last week to know that. >> the attacks coming as the country perhaps for general elections.

nigerians heading to the polls to select a new president for the next five years. boko haram carves out a campaign to have an islamic state in west africa. it was blamed last year for two attacks by suicide female bombers killing 44 people. the government is calling for support to fight boko haram. >> the united states china offers to support. most of those supports are in terms of the tablelands. we need to go beyond that. that is why the government is counting the military from across the globe. >> critics accuse the government of playing politics. the area affected by violence is the main strong holds. not so according to the spokesman. >> it's not after the election.

what happens - peace, stability. people to go ahead through their things. in an atmosphere that is conducive. >> reporter: despite the violence u.s. officials say it must not distract nigeria from carrying out credible and peaceful elections back closer to home an ohio man is facing charges he planned an i.s.i.l. inspired attack on the u.s. capital. 20-year-old christopher lee cornell plotted to kill lawmakers with pipe bombs and planned to gun down anyone fleeing the explosions. the federal bureau of investigation started to watch cornell after posing a series of tweets supporting violent jihad. >> in washington a shake-up at the secret service. four of their officials is being removed, a fifth retiring. mike viqueira has more from the white house.

>> the fallout continues after a series of missteps and improvements on the part of the -- embarrassments on the part of the secret service in relation to the agency the first family and here at the white house and abroad. four senior directors who oversee the core mission of protection of the first family and the president and investigations have been asked to either resign retire or find positions within the department that oversees the secret session, the department of homeland security. the acting director. secret service, joe clancy releasing a statement announcing the moves saying in part: so the move now comes after these gaffs - chiefly omore

gonzalez the man that jumped the white house fence, making it across the lawn into the white house, only to be captured or detained in the east room 10 minutes after the first family left the white house. there was the profit it use scandal -- prostitution scandal involving agents at an international conference. shots fired at the white house striking the south lawn dismissed by the secret service as a car backfiring only to be discovered by maintenance workers at the white house seeing bullet holes around the window casing on the south side. all upsetting. reportedly to the first family and first lady resulting in shake-ups and independent review referred to by joe clancy the acte director. heads are rolling. there should be more moves to come. specifically security recommendations like raising the fence, installing a higher fence

around the north side of the white house to replace the temporary measures that have been taken to protect the building and its occupants. >> mike viqueira at the white house. >> the republican controlled house making the first move to try to roll back president obama's immigration pledge. the house voted to block the president's initiatives saying the executive action was an unconstitutional obvious reach. it faces an uphill battle in the senate general motors made headlines after unveiling a plug-in vehicle and announcing record sales in 2014. the largest automaker is touting a positive financial outlook for the coming year but there may be bumps in the road. bisi onile-ere has more from detroit. >> the chairman of an automotive news publication held a qanda session with chairman mary

barra, not necessarily a grilling, but she was asked about the massive recall and the automakers accountability. >> i think when you go back and look at the time frame. >> speaking before the automotive world congress mary barra ex-suppressed optimism but couldn't avoid addressing the past failures. >> a unique series of mistakes happened that caused this. and we have dealt with it. >> reporter: last year the automaker came under fire for waiting a decade to order a massive recall to faulty ignition switches linked to 40 deaths and dozens of injuries. the investigation found a pattern of incompetence and neglect in hand lick the defect. m.g.m. is the focus of other investigations including a federal probe. >> i said if i could go back and turn back the clock, i would.

>> pitting the new g.m. against the old, barra speaks of a company dedicated to putting safety first. for victims and families it's too little too late. >> we now know that g.m. employees knew about the dangerous and deadly defects and did nothing. >> a stark contrast to the automaker's bright lights and new reveals at the international auto show. do you think you deserve to be paid more? >> absolutely. >> reporter: as part of a 2-tier wam system she was hired at a ford plant in 2009, earning around $14 an hour. workers hired before 2006 tier 1 workers, such assist her father -- such as her father made nearly double. they have not received a pay increase since the union agreed to a pay increase.

it helped the top three to earn billions. she is among thousands wanting equal pay for equal work and says a strike is the penalty. >> a lot of -- is the possibility. >> a lot of us live pay check to pay check. it's hard there's a lot of frustration within the workforce. it's difficult. >> reporter: despite barra's positive outlook with the investigations and possibility of labour trouble, g.m. may have a tough year ahead. >> in a few weeks g.m. will stop accepting claims for ignition switch victim's compensation fund. the death toll linked to that defect stood at 45. settlements could reach more than 600 million bisi onile-ere in detroit. thank you. detroit is almost well-known for urban blight sadly, as it is for automaking. now it's ramping up efforts to

tear down the abandoned buildings. the city is finding it difficult to keep pace. john hendren has that from detroit. >> reporter: in the motor city rebirth comes at the end of a backhoe. with its bankruptcy now over urban planners say detroit is a world leader in blight. >> detroit's blight problem arguably is the most severe condition of deterioration that any major american city has ever faced. ever. history. >> half the city's population left over the past 60 years. today detroit is home in 60,000, abandoned, delab dated homes. many are tear downs. detroit is demolishing 250 a week residents are noticing. >> there are improvements. you see that it is looking up.

you still have abandoned buildings. streets full of abandoned vacant lots that have not been renewed. >> reporter: the city landbank deals with landlords with a harshness matched by frigid winters. >> if it's vacant and you are not doing anything about it we'll sue you. we may take you to court and take the property. >> reporter: blight is a symptom of the city to expanding suburbs that has never stopped. the divide between mostly black city and white suburbs can be seen at the boundary. on the detroit side abandoned buildings. on the detroit side - prosperous shots and restaurants. gross point park erected barriers keeping high

neighbouring property on this side blight and property on that side. there are models for success. portland oregon reversed a decline using a regional decline, discouraging suburbs and offering incentives to build in the city. detroit's state of michigan does not seem industry. >> if the building industry builds more suburbs and housing - detroit is toast. >> the motor city is in a raise against time an effort to destroy blight faster than it can regeneral a horrible scene in west texas as a prison bus collided with a moving freight train, killing 10. the bus skidded off an icy overpass and slammed into a train in odessa. eight inmates and two corrections officers were killed. five injured this hour - oklahoma is moving ahead with a planned execution tomorrow night. death row inmates are fighting

back. braving bitter cold - millions of syrian refugees with nowhere to live dealing with freezing temperatures and heavy snow. at our nation's financial future. >> then john seigenthaler breaks down the issues. >> we need to know what's going on in our backyard. >> plus, objective analysis and live reports from across the nation and reaction from around the world. the state of the union address. special coverage begins tuesday, 7:00 eastern. right here on al jazeera america.

mortaren shall rain in south-east africa in mozambique 25 children swept away. in malawi 48 dead and tens of thousands homeless. heavy rain to last 2-3 more weeks. >> cold is creating deadly conditions for millions of refugees displaced by syria's civil war. the u.n. is calling for a huge influx of international aid. >> reporter: it's freezing cold in aleppo.

this person is trying to keep warm. without wood and fuel he can't. he has no choice but to use what he find. >> reporter: we >> translation: we have no money, we are forced to break our furniture for heating. >> reporter: aleppo used to be a city for business. it's buried under rubble and covered by snow. most of the neighbourhoods have no electricity. diesel and gas costs have increased threefold. if it's available, people can't afford it. a few clinics look after the sick. they do not have enough supplies to help them recover. winter is killing people. >> tonight, as a result of the harsh cold this is an indirect cause of death. the direct cause was respiratory and cardiac arrest. >> reporter: tents are not much of a shelter.

dozens have died from the cold. the u.n. says it's getting worse. >> the hospital in aleppo says there's an increase in respiratory and infectious diseases among children due to weather conditions. >> freezing conditions and blizzards swept across the middle east. it hit refugees living in jordan and turkey. in lebanon nine syrian refugees died. the weather has improved but the united nations says people living in camps are suffering. >> in the syrian countryside around homs there is not enough bread to go around. >> activists blame the government for preventing truckloads of wheat from leaving the bakeries leaving hundreds of thousands without bread. >> it's been six days without wheat. beam are grinding barley, corn and animal feed and pasta - anything - to make bread.

>> reporter: bitter winds sweep through the winds of aleppo. it's cold and squalid andlikely months of winter and war left to endure meteorologist kevin corriveau is here now. what is the outlook for the weather in this hard-hit part of the world. >> there has been a break in the weather pattern. we have another system off the mediterranean. let me show you what you can expect to see. the clouds that are moving over here from west to east - we talk about syria at the eastern end of the mediterranean - a lot of refugee camps are on the turkish border as well as to the lebanese border. i want to show you what the low area of pressure will do. slowly making its way through. unfortunately we have more of a cut off system here. so system after system is going to be turning in this area. as we go into the next couple

of days it will be a combination of rain in the lower elevations and snow in the higher elevations. we expect to see 3-4 inches of rain but it will be snow and colder temperatures to the north. a little less between 4 and 6. the break we have now will end. we'll see more snow coming into play and, paul the temperatures overnight will go down to about 20 degrees, it 15 degrees, and during the day times we see about 35 38. not much of a change unfortunately. back to you. >> thank you. coming up, russia's new rules for driving. how they could impact short people gamblers and possibly transgender people. we explain. plus lower gas prices may be good for driver's wallets, but are taking a toll on workers in the oil industry.

welcome back to al jazeera america i'm paul beban - coming

up an al qaeda affiliate claims responsibility for the paris attacks then death row drugs. a group of inmates hope the u.s. supreme court will spare their lives. a growing trend against vaccinations. why it could be to blame for a rise in measles cases. . >> and now to france and the dozens of arrests as part of a crackdown resulting from the recent attacks. police took more than 50 people into custody for hate season and anti-semitism and glorifying terrorism. it led to almost immediate conviction and sentencing for several. the yemen branch of al qaeda is taking responsibility for the attacks. a video posted say orders came

from anwar al-awlaki. motivation through the prophet. >> and the first edition of "charlie hebdo", it has flown off the shelves, sheila macvicar picks up that part of the story. >> reporter: it was barely light, and parisians were on the streets. this is the usual reaction paris newsagents get when they open shops. >> i have never seen so many people in front of my stand. >> reporter: one reason - "charlie hebdo" was back. with a million copies on the street - 20 times more than a print run, in big demand. a week ago gunmen taking responsibility in the name of al qaeda in arabian peninsula attacked the office killing some best-known cartoonists. the survivors were determined to

make this print deadline. bringing a global audience to a publication that for years had a phoney readership - all in france. >> honestly i never read "charlie hebdo". but we should since the events for the memory. >> translation: it's a tribute to those that do this job, and making it the means of expression and freedom of sport. >> reporter: "charlie hebdo" is provocative and offensive. this reid cools the catholic president, and others. it is to some deliberately blass femous. the cover which we will not show depicts a weakening prophet muhammad under the headline "all is forgiven." in many neighbourhoods the magazine sold out within a few minutes. more promised tomorrow.

there was swift condemnation from the muslim world, and in some parts of paris where people fear a backlash sadness and anger. >> it's a country of freedom convictions. i will express myself. i'm against what charlie said. he offended the profit. he is very very sacred. you can mock my father mother children. insulting the prophet is not good. >> paris is under guard across the country and in germany and italy too. security has been increased. it was "charlie hebdo"s decision to republish danish cartoons of the prophet in 2011 that made it an office. emphasised by a video release by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. >> a.q.a.p. chose the leaders, laid out the operation and

assigned a commander. >> reporter: al qaeda proclaiming that it is responsibility and has the ability still to reach into the west now to iran and the ongoing war on journalists. a "the washington post" reporter held since the summer reportedly has been indicted. iran has not said what the charges are. officials state that he'll probably stand trial in the revolutionary court. the indictment comes as u.s. secretary of state is meeting with iran's foreign minister ahead of the talks on the country's nuclear programme. back in this country four death mates in oklahoma are asking the supreme court to outlaw execution drugs. one inmate is supposed to be put to death tomorrow. the in mates are looking to over turn a lower court warning approving the use of a drug used

in a botched execution. "america tonight"s michael brewer reports. >> -- chris brewery reports. >> reporter: it was in this chamber that clayton lockett was gasping in his restraints witnesses say he clenched his shaw and writhed on the gurney. it resulted in 23 minutes and officials closed the blinds so no one watching the procedure saw him take final breaths. investigative reporter katy fretland witnessed the execution. >> something unusual happened. he began to struggle. he was moving groaned, he was attempting to speak. the only thing i could hear him say was "man." lockett's execution was oklahoma's first. using a cocktail involving the sedative med assay lamb.

some states are trying new drugs because of a shortage of drugs. in many cases because european countries and officials protested the use of their drugs in prison. the death penalty information center says med asa lamb was associated in drastic consequences in three executions. including lockett, joseph wood and dennis maguire. he took more than 20 minutes to die. >> this gets to a basic philosophical question about what is happening. we are in an era and last year was part of it where we are trying drugs that have never been used before in executions or combinations or dosages. they are doing that on human being. >> the fiasco generated such worldwide outrage the department of corrections overhauled its

procedure. a state investigation uncovered poor training improper quit and a lack of planning leading up to lockett's botched execution. the execution team failed delivering the lethal injection drugs, or monitoring the i.v. drip. it had no plan when thinks went wrong. >> investigative journalist will be back in oklahoma to cover the execution tomorrow. she may not be allowed to see it. oklahoma cut the number of media witnesses from 12 to 5. the public deserved to have full information about the government's power to take a human life and it represents a serious government power, and the public deserves to have the oversight. the same oversight as other parts of the criminal justice system. >> other states are scrambling to prevent botched executions. last week ohio banned the use of

med asso lamb as part of its lethal cocktail after the execution of dennis maguire. like oklahoma they are determined to keep up the grim work behind the prison walls, fuelling the debate over what exactly constitution cruel and unusual punishment. >> 9,000 potential jurors are being summoned in the trial of james homes. in 2012 holmes opened fire in a packed movie theatre in aurora colorado and killed 12. he's pleaded not guilty. his trial delayed six times. today the judge said it's time to begin. jonathan betz is here with the details. >> he did say that. jury selection begins on tuesday. a judge ruling attorneys had enough time to prepare, marking the beginning of a long and difficult chapter for hundreds of survivors and victims

relatives. >> after years of delays... >> when a perp does something like that -- person does something like that he no longer has humanity. >> colorado is bracing for the trial. >> i still thought it was fireworks. >> steven bartz narrowly survived the shooting in 2012. days after he described james holmes' rampage. >> when he stopped i thought he was reloading and would walk up and down the theatre. >> holmes killed 12, injuring 70 gathered for a midnight screening of "batman - the dark knight rises ". 2.5 years layered jury selection will occur. homes was charged with 24 counts of first degree murder and 116 counts the attempted murder. the 27-year-old faces the death

penalty. it's unclear what sparked the shooting. his lawyers say he's not guilty by reason of insanity. his parents wrote: >> the da and victims disagree. >> for them justice means the death penalty. there's an amount of vengeance. people want him to pay for what he did. they don't believe the citizens of in county that life in prison will give them justice. a wide net has been cast. 9,000 summonses have been mailed out. possibly the most in u.s. history. >> for a trial that will take months and probably cost millions. something that holmes defender was to avoid. insisting he would accept life in prison. after a crime this scarred a town and a nation. prosecutors say it's the people

who should decide holmes' fate. >> there's no way to understand this because there's no understanding it. wed at least like to know what happened. >> joourie selections -- jury selections will start next week the emotional trial could last eight months. >> thank you. >> prices at the gas market are continuing to get cheeper by the day. triple a says the national average fell for the past 111 days. the national average is 2.10, the lowest in six years. there's a city is it remains above $3. it's in honolulu hawaii. while the global collapse in oil prices is good news for drivers, it could be trouble for workers in the oil industry. that is true in southern louisiana, where so many people make their living in the oil

business. robert ray reports from baton rouge. >> reporter: like thousands of people in louisiana's cagen country, troy depends on the oil industry. >> 90% of people are in the oil business. . >> reporter: without the oil business employing you guys local economies would shatter. >> south louisiana will be hard struck. >> reporter: this man worked on offshore oil rigs in the gulf of mexico for 18 years. >> a lot of folks are concerned. mostly working for less reputable companies. there's a drilling country leading to 300 people the month before last. >> one of the last times that the price of oil made a dramatic plunge was in the 1980s. the state of louisiana at that point received about 45% of its revenue from the oil and gas

industries. today it's a mine ute number 15%. but still has a big impact. >> on the campus of the louisiana university economist jim richardson says while things are different today low prices could be here to stay and are costing hundreds of millions. >> if it goes down to $20, we lose $240 million. if it goes down by $30, we lose 360 million. >> many economists expect the oil industry to start reacting. even when working life is tough here in the bayou. oil field wives like susan spend weeks as single parents while the husbands work the rigs. >> we have to hold down the front, be the mum and the dad. if the husband is out of work we are scared.

we are scared. >> reporter: coy is leaving for the gulf of mexico this week 21 days away from his wife and kids. >> do you feel confident that this is blip on the radar with the prices and do you think that your industry will be okay? >> i believe we'll be fine. i believe it's a lot of political business and starting with saudi arabia when they get their point to the countries they are trying to hurt i believe they'll close the valve and get the prices back up. >> until that happens life will be uncertain for tibido and thousands of other workers here the measles outbreaklinged to disney parks in california is growing, health officials say an unvaccinated woman who visited disneyland and flue from california to seattle agreed the illness on two different

airlines. >> reporter: doctors say there's 32 reported cases in four states all linked to visits in destiny parks from december 15th to the 20th. because of a decline in childhood vaccinations the numbers could go higher. health officials had declared measles eliminated. as vaccinations declined there's a steady increase in cases with a leap last year - nearly 650 report. that is triple the number of 2013. >> dr wendy sue swanson is a clinical professor at the university of washington. great to have you with us. >> thank you. nice to be here. >> so how concerned are you about the measles outbreak. we should be concerned because of the trend. we are not going in the right direction. as you reported back in 2000 we thought we were done with

measles in the united states. not only have we had outbreaks over the last decade but we are seeing a surge. we have more and more pockets of unvaccinated people when foreign travellers come back with measles. 27 outbreaks last year and we have over 30 patients on our hands in this calendar year from the disneyland outbreak. >> how contagious is measles, and in disneyland - is it the perfect petri dish for something like this to happen? >> unfortunately, it is. when you think about disneyland it's a place full of children and germs. what makes measles so concerning is that it is so highly infectious. you can walk into a room after someone has been in the rool two hours before you come in with measles. if you are not vaccinated 9 out of 10 times you'll get the

infection. destiny lpd - think about it -- disneyland - think about it. you are in lines, walking past many people sitting on rides. on the hand-held seats and railings the virus stays alive in the droplets for up to two hours. disneyland didn't do anything wrong, but we have unpopulated people in the nation that are at risk and spreading it to others i want to talk about an issue i don't think we can talk about too much. and that is people choosing not to vaccinate children because of concerns over the autism vaccine - links to autism from other vaccines. talk about this. i heard it said that basically vaccinations are victims of their own stunning success. >> that's right. you say it well. they are.

we should feel good and confident in this country that we are not going to have so much trouble. think about how many tens of thousands were exposed to the unvaccinated measles, and didn't get it. 90% of u.s. parents immunize their families children up to date following the american academy of paediatrics. it 10% don't. there are schools in seattle where 50% of kids in some classrooms may not be up to date. with a highly infectious virus, communities having more and more pockets and unvaccinated kids and groups that's when we worry. 2014 with 644 cases, it's a big wake-up call and something for us to continue efforts to respect families who are worried about safety continue to talk about the institute of medicine's report that said we look at 1,000 studies and came out on the side that vaccine is

more beneficial and trust families to talk with peed rirns and fam -- paediatricians and family doctors to make great decisions. if your children are vaccinated 99.9% of us are protected for a lifetime. >> dr wendy sue, thank you. it's simple - get the shots. >> yes, thanks so much a scare aboard the international space station early today. turned out to be a false alarm, not before the american side was evacuated over fears of an ammonia leak. six u.s. astronauts moved to the russian section. tests suggest a computer failure may be to blame. coming up, new rules of road in russia. they are supposed to make driving safer, some say they are discriminatory. an historic feat completed. scaling a 3,000 foot wall with hands feet and a safety rope.

o a former employee of sax 5th avenue filed a discrimination suit. the transgender worker claims bosses and colleagues harassed her. the store responded by the group saying transgender people are protected under the civil rights

act. sax insists it's a strong l.g.b.t. advocate. transgender citizens in russia say they are upped attack. a law bars people with gender disability orders among others from getting behind the wheel. peter sharp explains. >> maria is a 35-year-old moscow lawyer and human activist. she was born a man, but underwent surgery to become a woman. the government is now enforcing a wave of puree tannical and ultra traditional values saying she found herself in the front line. >> when i read about the law i didn't think it would affect me. 3 or 4 days later i understood it may. people are afraid. there are certain stereotypes. people don't want to the fight for their right because it will make the government take out anger on us. >> for good reason the gay community found itself under growing threat.

rallies have been broken up violently, protesters arrested and antigay legislation introduced. >> the russian government appeared to claim back saying having psychological disorders was not necessarily a precondition for disqualification. human rights watch says the law is badly framed and has nothing to do with safe driving. >> you see certain categories that appear to be - well that appear to have nothing to do with road safety what whoever. say gamblers for example - what does gambling have to do with road safety or foyerist -- foyerist - what does it have to do with road safety? nothing. they were probably included by mistakes. >> many muscovites were unaware of the law. there was agreement if it was

enforced civil liberties would be ipp fringed. >> of course sexual minorities and transgender people should be able to drive. they have the same rights that should not be ipp fringed. >> translation: this is completely ridiculous. the psychological and other categories listed have no effect. >> reporter: the ban challenges people shorter than 4 foot 9 - step in the back. you'll be joined by compulsive gamblers schizophrenia foyers exhibitionists and amputees. part of the russian government solution to safer driving. our picture of the day is next. plus president obama wants everywhere to have high speed internet access. how his plan is working in one tennessee city.

>> call amy smith at work >> when we're behind the wheel >> basically we just don't multi-task as well as we think... >> are we focused on what's ahead? >> what could those misses mean? >> distracted driving... the new road hazard >> i'm driving like a maniac >> you're distracted... >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie... what can you tell me about my future? >> can effect and surprise us... >> don't try this at home >> techknow... where technology meets humanity... only on al jazeera america

>> today cedar falls - let's talk about how to give more communities access to cheaper broadband so they can succeed in the digital economy president obama announced plans today to make it easier to connect to the internet business. 19 states have laws preventing cities from operating their open internet systems, leaving the door open to verizon and comcast. the president wants the federal communication commission to change the state regulations and cedar falls offers some of the fastest services. tennessee is one of the states and the idea is working. jonathan martin has more from chattanooga. >> reporter: with an app illation mountain back drop chattanooga prided itself on its signic river front.

and now with a fast internet service. >> it's 100 times faster than the national average. >> it's so much easier to do everything. >> chattanooga's fibre optic network transfers data 40 times faster than new york and on par with hong kong which has the fastest in the world. >> we have branded our community as the gig city the first city to have a gig. >> chattanooga, the first gig city. >> it started more than four years ago when epd, the city-owned utility country looked to upgrade the power distribution center to improve the power grid but with $330 million in bonds and grants it created a fibre optic network. now customers have access to the internet. about 4,000 residential customers are signed up.

chattanooga reports in the last three years 30 companies moved here because of the gig, creating 100,000 jobs. >> this man runs an incubator for start-ups, and the gig is a reason for expanding in chattanooga. >> you realise how much you are saving. okay, i have an hour of my life back or four hours. >> reporter: the difference is easy to see with video files. we uploaded a 6-hour movie in 4 minutes. it'd take 45 minutes on most broadband. >> it's all done waiting on youtube to process it. >> a few other american cities have fibre optic networks. >> and google added privately added fibre networks in three cities. >> if you look at the united states and the rest of the world when it comes to internet activity, we are behind. we are 10 years, you know a lot

more cities will have it if not more. >> chattanooga sees itself on having a head start on the rest of the country. leaders are focussed on pushing beyond the basics using new ways to take advantage of the new pace of networking in california - two tired but happy mountain climbers made history. [ cheering ] friends and family bet kevin and tommy at the top. it's the 3,000 foot granite cliff in yosemite national park. it took 18 days to climb the wall. that is considered the most difficult free climb in the world. they use their hands and feet to make is it. we want to give you a sign of how big it is.

it's 3 times as high as the empire state building. twice as high as the tower and from the valley flour to the top, taller than the tallest building in the world: thanks. goodnight. >> on "america tonight." robbed on the job. workers in this country losing millions of dollars in wages each year. and many don't even know what the law says they deserve. >> a lot of times people think sweatshops as garment, third world countries. we're saying right here in the united states all kinds of workers are being sweated. and one aspect of being sweated is being robbed of your wages. >> "america tonight's" christof putzel investigates wage theft from the workers who need the