pass hi, everyone. this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler taking shelter - flights into major cities at a stand still. >> it's dangerous to be out there now. it's only going to become more dangerous. the gathering blizzard threatening tens of millions. out of the skies - lockdown. a small drone raising big questions about security at the white house kobane retaken - an embattled syrian town i.s.i.l. on the run - where

the u.s.-led fight is and isn't working and last ditch, out of fuel - 250 miles from land, how one pilot lived to tell about it. and we begin with live pictures of the normally bustling times square in new york. looks like a ghost town. one of many cities in the north-east feeling the impact of the major snow storm. and this from longbeach long island almost white-out conditions along the boardwalk. a blizzard from new jersey all the way to maine. at the heart of the storm that is hitting the region right now. a state of emergency along the coast - cars trucks trains shut down. nearly 60 million people told to stay inside until the worst is over. one area that could be hit hard is coastal connecticut.

paul beban is in new haven along the coast. >> good evening, you were talking about the normally bustling times square looking like a ghost town. we are right on the edge in the heart of yale university in new haven that would normally be bustling bustling, is indeed a ghost down. rain is coming down harder. the forecasters had this one exactly right, picking up as the night moves on and across a swath of the eastern seaboard from philadelphia to boston emergency officials people get home stay home ride this out and don't come out until it's over. >> reporter: in new haven union station the departure screen tells the story - trains delayed, cancelled. others rushing home. >> i left work early because everything is shutting down. >> reporter: they hope to beat this a colossal vision expected

to paralyze the city down the north-east affecting 35 million people. >> it will become heavy by midnight. snow of 4 inches per hour and winds 60 miles per hour along the coast. >> reporter: connecticut is expected to be hit with up to 30 inches of know. 100,000 left without power. a stage of emergency went into in effect hours ago. it's similar from philadelphia to boston, which could see 30 inches of snow. >> you should not be driving. new york city mayor bill de blasio had the same advice. >> i keep saying to everywhere - take precautions. be careful. >> reporter: new yorkers are heeding that warning, squeezing into commuter trains heading to long island leaving the station looking deserted. 2 feet of snow may fall on new

york before it's over forcing the city to close schools for the 11th time since 1938. for the first time the subway is being shut down because of snow. >> it's about to start in earnest, and when it does it will come fast and hard. people have to be very very careful. >> we are just on the edge of the yale campus here in count new haven. what would normally be a busy street is completely deserted as the snow picks up. evening classes cancelled tonight, and tomorrow cancelled classes. if you haven't got out and stocked up. it's too late. throughout connecticut, massachusetts, and what they are saying is those travel bans will not be listed until they gave notice. they are indefinite. the storm will pick up steam

overnight, through tomorrow and will we'll have to wait to get back out on the roads. >> thank you very much. back here in new york a travel ban just took in effect in the city of new york. roads shut down. the subways, the bridges shut down. meteorologist kevin corriveau is out in the storm with more. >> that's right. we are on fourth street and the street is completely emtip. -- empty. the only thing we see is service vehicles going by. if you look all the way down there's the empire state building, there's no vehicles on the street except a few stray ones. i want to show you the radar. let's take a look at what is happening. for new york city we are looking on the edge of the heaviest snow. they are picking up significantly.

temperatures 27 degrees, but it feels like 15. if you look to the west into long island that's where some of the heavy snow is falling now. totals there - 6-8 inches of snow have fallen. let's look at what is happening up to parts of new england, especially into connecticut, rhode island as well as into massachusetts. because the storm is off the coast. this is the area that's going to see the bankrupt of the snow for the next 12-14 hours. and, of course talking about totals between 20-36 inches. with winds of up to 15 miles per hour. we are looking at that problem there - not only snow, but power outages there. >> the storm is getting started. we'll continue the coverage of the storm throughout the hour including a report from long island new york, where the areas

are hit hard by hurricane sandy are waiting for snow and flooding from this storm. we have other news to tell you about. a drone strike in yemen since the government left power. yemeni officials say suspected al qaeda members were killed. a branch of al qaeda claimed responsibility for the recent devastation devastation. the pentagon says it will continue to train yemeni forces to battle the group an investigation in washington. a lockdown at the white house after a 2-foot wide drone landed on the grounds. lisa stark has the details. >> john it was about 3:00 in the morning when an officer heard and saw the drone skimming at a low altitude. we have a picture of what it looks like. it's about 2 feet in diameter and crashed behind the white house in the south-east corner of the property. the secret service said they

sounded an alert and locked down the property and began to search for that device into the morning. the president and the first lady were not here. spokesman josh ernst was asked about the incident. >> there is a device that has been recovered by the secret service at the white house. early indications is that it does not pose a threat to anyone at the white house. >> the person flying the zone called the secret service, saying that he was flies it recreationally and lost control. the secret service are continuing their investigation. this is not open air space, there are a lot of restrictions in this air space since 9/11. and an association that wants to promote unmanned aerial systems issued a statement, brian winn saying:

it was last week that the house held a hearing on drones and got a demonstration - one flew around the hearing room. they are pushing the f.a.a. to get going on overdue regulations that would permit the commercial use of drones. there was a continued call for that today as the secret service is trying to figure out how to prevent this from happening again thank you, lisa james is a retirement ate for the federal bureau of investigation. james, it's illegal - how did it happen? >> well you know we have a lot of folks out there that have interest in these drones, and

sure enough they are starting to fly it around or running into conflict with buildings, air space, airports you name it. >> we would think that the white house is protected from things like this. how do we know that the white house is protected. we had all these other instances as well, where we thought no one could get on to the grounds or in the front door and now the drone got through. >> they have got their problems, for sure with the recent incidents involving people climbing over fences and what have you. they understand there's a problem. they changed the executives. they fired the director and so i think you can look for changes. right now, with respect to this incident i think the one curious factor that they have to resolve is that the - the individual flying the drone was doing so at about 3 o'clock in the morning. and so they'll have to corroborate his story, and try to find out if what he was doing

or saying was true and if not, i don't doubt they won't execute a search warrant on the residence. >> i don't know about security technology and i suppose you can't answer this question but how do you stop a drone from doing this. >> as one executive was talking about today, introducing electronics putting out a jamming radar, if you will. that's probably the only thing they can do. >> do you think this raises bigger questions about drones not just in the white house, but all across the country? >> sure it adds to them. we have the white house now, we incidents of drones around stadiums airports close calls with planes landing.

this will require congress to take a hard look at the drone and it being used commercially and issue regulations. >> i can walk down the street here and there's a store that sells drones at various prices - big and small. they are available all over the country and on the internet. is the cat out of the bag already? >> it is out of the bag, and everywhere would like to use them because it's a great technology. a lot of media asked for permission from the f.a.a. to see if they can use them. there's a lot of interest but there can be a lot of trouble if not used correctly. thank you so much. >> thank you a lot, john tonight i.s.i.l. all but kicked out of kobane. it has been one of the most visible and symbolic locations in the fight against i.s.i.l.

it's been a prime for u.s. air strikes. nick schifrin reports. [ explosion ] >> reporter: for four months kobane was the u.s.'s coalition target. 1,000 air strikes, more bombs struck on kobane than any other area. as the u.s. made it a priority so z i.s.i.l., i.s.i.l. tanks pummelled kobane. it looked line the city might fall. the kurdish peshmerga held on. with the help of u.s. air strikes, they have turned kobane into one the only major victories against i.s.i.l. >> okay there's some fighting in the distance. this is kobane. >> reporter: we visited the turkish side of the border. through turkish military bip okay u lars we watched -- binoculars we watched. and there were small puffs in

the distance. what is the threat from kobane? . >> translation: we took measures to prevent threats crossing the border. >> reporter: the turkish military is based here. but others is an accident of geography. it's not strategic. u.s. official felt pressure to save it because of the media. dozens of cameras filled kobane from the safety of turkey. where they were not able to go safely the war in syria is not able to go well. the syrian air force dropped the same bombs the u.s. dropped in a month. many are terrified canster bombing destroying neighbourhoods. a city of 2 million is no more than a few hundred thousands.

aleppo fighters are busy holding their ground. they say aleppo is more important than kobane accusing the u.s. of hitting the wrong target. the u.s. may have won a battle it's not clear if it is winning the war now to greece - it's new prime minister was sworn in to office today. his party claimed victory in sunday's elections after campaigning against years of drastic government budget cuts. now comes the hard part - keeping its promises. barnaby phillips is there with more. >> reporter: he chose do be sworn in without a priest from the greek orthodox church. a break with tradition showing how alexis tsipras is leading a social revolution as well as political. he's 40, the youngest prime minister in recent times, he's the fifth greek prime minister.

earlier mr alexis tsipras invited the independent greeks to form a government with syriza a small right wing party. they don't have much in common except a determination to relevant austerity policies imposed on greece. it's a new political landscape, the old guard swept away a time of expectation, but fear of what comes next. the new greek coalition government should have a stable majority in parliament. the more difficult negotiations for mr alexis tsipras lays ahead when he meets other european governments, the european central bank and the i.m.f. for greece's private sector it could be construed as bad news. but they said the chamber of commerce could reach an

amicable. >> the greeks have struggled to become members of the eurozone and the european commission. and the efforts that they have undertaken to be members of this club. >> reporter: syriza believes it has reset the course of european politics and greece will lead the way in rolling back the orthodoxy of austerity. it wants a large part of debt 320 euro forgiven. countries that leant greece money say it must stand by its commitments. >> syriza has to meet agreement with the eurozone partners. they are taking diametrically opposed conditions at the moment. they are demanding debt release, economic stimulus lowering of fiscal targets and the eurozone is staying no.

there'll have to be compromise at least in the short term. >> reporter: a compromise is in everyone said interest. there's not much time to play with. syriza says greece has the funds to survive until the summer. experts believe greece will need to borrow more money before then coming up violent protests in egypt. what sparks a deadly confrontation between demonstrators and police. more than a decade of in-stop war. why the defense is catching up with the american military. tonight - an update on the blizzard - picture of new york.

you're looking at madison square gardens in and around this city. a virtual ghost town. the roads closed cars off the street. and even on a monday night. it would be busy at this time of night. not together. everybody is off the road. first we turn to ukraine, where their five month ceasefire lays in ruins, pro-russian rebels are

laying laying ground to a new offensive. 35 were killed this weekend. kiev declared a state of emergency in two regions. u.s. and european union are threatenings sanctions. russia denies playing a role in that conflict a russian spy ring has been stopped in new york. one member is being held without bail. they was accused of gathering information about financial companies. >> three many are named in a criminal complaint. two are thought to have left the country, flying out immediately. but buruakov did not have diplomatic immunity and is accused of using his position as a banker in manhattan, a russian bank as a cover. not very sophisticated. when asked to compile a report on the impact of u.s. sanctions on russian banks, all he did was

google the words sanctions, russia consequence, and used that to file the reports. the three men have been under surveillance since 2012, and the federal bureau of investigation says they were bugging an office in manhattan. the russians thought it was secure. they documented various conversations. interestingly one where buruakov's handlers lamented the fact that their lives were not like a james bond movie. he faces five years maximum 10 years for not declaring himself as an agent of a foreign government. this is one of several incidents in which russia and the u.s. accused each other of spying seconds of former egyptian president hosni mubarak are out of prison. they were released on bail. they had been convicted along with their father of embezzlement. all three were overturned earlier. former president hosni mubarak is confined to a military

hospital. protests in cairo turned deadly. egypt's interior minister denied police were the ones under fire. a young mother was killed whose time moments were captured on camera. roxana saberi reports. >> reporter: this video shows a protest with members of an opposition party. they are chanting bread, freedom and social justice, a slogan of the 2011 uprising. moments later, she is on the ground. and two gunmen in black appear. a series of graphic photos shows what happens next. a man runs to help her, embraces her, picks her up and carries her away. she died soon after. members of her party say police shot her with bird shot or shotgun pellets. activists also blame the police. >> as hasn't been proven until

now is that the killers are the security forces. therefore they should look for the killer and the person who took the decision to kill the protesters. all those responsible must be tried. >> reporter: the interior minister accuses members of the out lawed muslim brotherhood of shooting at protesters. >> occupying some of the rooftops and they began to prepare shots, bird shots or gunshots. >> reporter: the government declared the muslim brotherhood a terrorist group in 2013 after president mohamed mursi was ousted. the government as been using the group to justify violence against peaceful protesters. and activists say it is a sign of discontent. two people who came to the streets four years ago calling for change. >> there has been a dialling back of political and civil

lilent erties that existed. >> certainly not the kind of egypt that people hope for when they took to the streets to call for something better. >> reporter: it has been 393 days since three al jazeera journalists were detained put in prison in egypt. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were falsely convicted of aiding the muslim brotherhood, and spreading false news. peter greste and mohamed fadel fahmy were sentenced to 7 years, baher mohamed a 10 year sentence. al jazeera rejects their charges and demands their release. >> we want to turn to the blizzard that is going on in the north-east. and the toll that it is taking on the region. high winds, flooding concerns about power outages, and this storm a pounding in an area hit a few years ago by hurricane

sandy. nicole mitchell was on long beach on the south shore of new york's island where they are expecting to get hit hard. what is the latest? >> well as you mentioned, this is a multi-faceted snow historic snow that we were talking about, could be thunder snow. the wind cold temperatures and the water rise that we are expecting. some are here like long beach, were basically at surface level with the o. if you get a little interior j.f.k. not far away. 10 feet elevation. i was looking at a buoy off the coastline, closer to the storm already waves at 10.5 feet enough to wash up the shore line if that water gets this close. that's a concern. we are talking to residents who have been moving their cars because of the situation, and we'll see a high tide overnight combining with the high winds,

and the winds will ratchet up overnight because as the storm intensifies, the pressure drops. it's a category 1 hurricane, whipping up the winds and pushing up the water and the waves. combining with high tides. that adds to this area and it will be worse as you gets towards massachusetts. the core of the storm getting intensity. they are saying they could be calmed with all the water rushing in. >> back to you. >> we have been looking at the radar images showing the bans coming through. i noticed your shot was pretty much like white-out conditions. are you feeling the bands of snow coming through? >> you know what is interesting is most of the snow has been here since this afternoon, has been light. but the winds have gone from the

20 mile per hour to 40 miles per hour wind gust range. even with the light snow that is the concern, when the snow gets going, with the wind picking up that it will cause damage in many areas. >> thank you, we'll continue to watch the storm throughout the hour. still ahead - paying release. president obama travels to saudi arabia to -- paying respects. >> president obama travels to saudi arabia to pay respect to the dead copying you are locking at long island and connecticut, and new york city tonight. person... i don't think i could be without it >> now, this trailblazer is opening the door for others >> i wanna give back to ballet what it's done for me... >> every sunday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks

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>> aljazeera america presents a break through television event borderland... >> are you tellin' me it's ok to just open the border, and let em' all run in? >> the teams live through the hardships that forced mira, omar and claudette into the desert. >> running away is not the answer... >> is a chance at a better life worth leaving loved ones behind? >> did omar get a chance to tell you goodbye before he left? >> which side of the fence are you on? >> sometimes immigration is the only alternative people have. borderland only on al jazeera america welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler and you are looking at live pictures of new york city where the streets are almost completely empty. we are told that only emergency vehicles are allowed out on the roads. everywhere else has been told to stay home park their cars

including the taxis. subways are shut down indefinitely. roads are shut down. flights, trains at a stand still at this hour. many other cities are closed down as well. the brunt of the storm is just beginning to hit the north-east in connecticut. a ban is in effect. officials warn upwards of 100,000 co lose power there. paul beban is in new haven tonight. paul? >> well it could be a long night ahead. the predictions are for the storm to get worse and worse as the night goes on. that's the case in new haven. we are not long from long island or i-95, which is completely empty at this hour. we are hear in new haven, a few blocks from the center of yale. these streets would be packed with students on a night like tonight. classes cancelled this evening

and tomorrow as well. and those travel bans as you mentioned, indefinite. there's no word as yet. one car going. one every few minutes or so not much as all. travel bans indefinite into the morning. elected officials all the way from new jersey and maine warning to stay off the lines. governor baker had a news conference. let's hear what he had to say. >> when you wake up in the morning it is going to look like a blizzard here in the commonwealth of mass. pretty much anywhere where you are. as we said starting at midnight and well into tomorrow in the commonwealth, unless you have to it's not a good idea to travel anywhere. >> and, john, logan air force in boston all flights are cancelled. the airport open but no one going anywhere. watching flood warnings in massachusetts, residents along

the coast, urged to evacuate. nothing manned at this hour as the storm picks up through the night and into tomorrow. we'll keep an eye on that. >> thank you. along with the snow the storm is bringing powerful wins and that could lead to flooding not just in massachusetts, but up and down the coast, including long beach new york which is where john terrett is. looks like the wind has picked up a little bit. what is the latest now? >> yes. and, you know the wind is the thing that will make all the difference to new yorkers in this storm. they are used to powerful storms coming through. we are told this is the biggest history, and it has picked up. look at the pictures we filmed this evening. you'll get an idea of how windy it is by looking at how the snow whips around the pictures. we are looking at the area of long beach on long island. we are on the shore.

you see ploughs doing their business. it's windy, while you look at the pictures let me tell you that the airport, planes are not here there are thousands of cancellations, all the rail lines stopped running and won't be back until thursday. and look at this - this is the long island expressway a major artery - closed because of the storm. and the pictures you have now from 2 years ago when it was last closed. in other words - this is a major weather event that new yorkers are having to deal with. >> so you are in a town badly damaged by hurricane sandy. obviously that from the back of the memory of everyone there tonight, i assume. >> it really is. we are at a hotel on the boardwalk, which was badly damaged from sandy. earlier tonight we were at a hospital which is still half

closed. you can see the big red x where the emergency workers told people never to go in again, over two years ago, and it's still there. this whole area badly flooded. the bay met the ocean. earlier this evening, we talked to a local restaurant owner - gino said of long beach. she remembers only too well how there were 12 foot of water all around her business when sandy blew through here. when it went down after about three weeks, they served everybody in the area free pizza, and it made her very happy. take a look. >> they were exited you know having a free slice or pie for the family. it was exciting for us giving out - making people smile. it was good for us. we had a line out the store, to maybe maybe 5 minutes away. it was cool pretty criesy.

>> crazy. >> katherine yannett is praying that the storm will not bring the same damage they saw over two years ago. signs are good. remember new york is being told that this is the biggest nor-easter-turned blizzard. we'll have to wait and see. >> thank you john terrett our meteorologist kevin corriveau is standing by to talk more about the storm. this has been a huge build-up over the last 24 hours. is this storm going to deliver? >> it's definitely going to deliver. what we are seeing now is over the last six hours it's beginning to intensify and really gain a lot of momentum here. let me show you on the satellite. here is the circulation to the north, where we are seeing the heavy snow across new york and parts of new jersey. the temperatures are going to

come down. new york is at 26 degrees. it's colder than that across the region and the reason is we are talking about wind gusts, 23 miles per hour and 28 miles per hour in boston we expect them up through the night. when you factor in the windchill, let's put it into motion. we'll see the temperatures feel like they are going down all night long. by tomorrow morning new york will feel like minus 10 degrees. it will come up but not much as we go through the rest of the day. the biggest areas hit are in parts of connecticut and massachusetts as well as up. that is where we expect to see 24 to possibly 36 inches of snow in the next couple of address. new york tomorrow will be the big day. as we go towards wednesday, we don't expect the temperatures to

get above freezing. the snow on the ground is going to stay on the ground and that is going to cause a big problem. here in boston we are looking at the same particular scenario. we'll get snow towards friday but the temperatures will drop through the rest of the weekend. tomorrow we'll see lots of people without power in southern new england. back to you. >> we'll continue to follow. we'll follow this storm overnight. looking at the empty streets of new york city. subway shut down most inside. they wait for the brunt of the storm. >> president obama is spending a time night in india, spending the day with the indian leader. they announced a $4 billion investment bill and talked immigration and defense. they reached an understanding over allowing u.s. companies to build plants in india tomorrow the president

travels to saudi arabia and pays his respects to the saudi arabia royal family. king abdullah was laid to rest friday in riyadh. the president will meet with the king's successor, king salman president obama was photocopying to send the vice president, but the white house decided to cut short the president's trip to india, go to saudi arabia a measure of that country's economic and strategic importance. >> reporter: saudi arabia met a string of dignitaries there to pay respects. president obama set to join them cutting short a visit to india, marked by a ceremony and growing alliance. he'll fly to reard where the mood is -- riyadh where the mood is sombre. >> this is an opportunity for the president to pay respects

for the king abdullah. he worked closely, and also the new leader of saudi arabia and his team. >> reporter: in a measure of the ties between the two countries, it will be the second high profile in less than a year. on the table, the fight against i.s.i.l. in which saudi arabia war planes fly on the side of the soviet-ledcoalition. the situation in yemen, where rebels supported by iran have seized control. saudi arabia remains the world's largest exporter of crude oil and kept up production even in the face of plummeting world prices helping to keep the gallon low. for its part the u.s. military helps to protect the saudi oil industry and shipping leaps.

u.s. officials see a smooth transition. >> i think you saw the king send a signal that he is committed to condin continuity continuity. >> reporter: once the president and michelle obama pay respects to the late king abdullah there's a dipper with the new king defense secretary chuck hagel has a warping for the military saying more than a decade of war could drive out some of the best. >> secretary hagel is surprised how often young soldiers tell them they plan to leave the military. the stress on recruits is draining and dangerous. >> after 15 years of war. the top men at the pentagon is admitting the u.s. armed forces are showing strain. >> we have to pay attention,

we'll have to pay more attention to it. >> in an interview with mpr. outgoing defense secretary chuck hagel is worried about the toll of war, especially on an all-volunteer force. >> what that means is you go back into combat tours, the same people. four, five, six combat tours - six people. strain stress consequences of that are showing up. >> the war in afghanistan lasted longer that any other for america. u.s. military advisors are now in iraq to help the fight against i.s.i.l. 20% of soldiers returning from iraq or afghanistan had p.t.s.d. meaning the wounds of war have yet to heel for many veterans and the families that share their pain. al jazeera visited the hughes. jonah, an army veteran survived 10 bomb blasts. his body recovered. his mind never did.

>> my mind wonders. i go off and do things. before i know it a few days have passed. >> so he could take a shower and he will literally think it's the morning. >> reporter: he worries about pushing out good soldiers and threatening the future. >> it is the most important asset. it can have all the capabilities, but if you don't have the quality of people you don't have much. >> ashton carter has yet to be confirmed. u.s. forces are expected to remain in afghanistan until at least the end of 2016. >> we'll hear more about this one. thank you retired cuban leader fidel castro breaks his silence over restoring diplomatic relations between cua and the united states -- cuba and the united states. he spoke and said he doesn't

trust washington policies differences in the nations should be resolved and added: protests erupted with demonstrators angry at the disappears of 43 students. it is thought they were killed by a drug cartel. >> reporter: they accused the government of lying and killing the students. with each passing day, the skepticism and suspicion dean over the government story of how 43 students disappeared four months ago in the state of guerrero. once student's remains have been identified. driving the suspicion, inconsistencies in the evidence

and reports that the police might have been involved while the army looked the other way. reports the government denied. >> we see the fact nothing is clear. the government is scracting itself. >> many believing that police are involved is unbelievable. this is taking police where military has been linked to thousands of cases of human rights abuses. it's not just left the protests. this dump is where the government says the students were killed and burnt. a leading citizens says it's science fiction. >> translation: it can't be true it would require tonnes of materials for a fire. also the site is too small and remains you expect were not to

be found. >> reporter: others are searching for the truth, like these people looking for students in mass graves. among them family members, a sign of desperation with the government storey. protests continue for a truth, a truth that may never fully come to light n.a.t.o. is investigating a plane crash at a base in spain. thick black smoke was seen rising from the site. officials say the greek f-16 was taking part in training exercises when it lost power. 10 were killed including two greek pilots and french military personnel. 21 others were injured as well. quick thinking by a pilot off the coast of maui may have saved his life. when his plane was in trouble, he did the only thing possible -

ditching into the water, and it was caught on camera. >> stranded in the sky, 250 miles from land and running out of fuel. a pilot signals for help. he has no choice but to tich in the o. his small plane has a built-in parachute. >> nose down and back to the level altitude. and it descended from 5,000 feet. approximately 1700 per minute. the plane was shown coasting into the pacific for a soft splash landing. earlier he had headed to hawaii now he is drifting on an ice raft. luck is with him. a passing cruise ship spots him. >> a cruise ship came up deployed their small boat. >> reporter: after 37 minutes in the ocean he is picked up.

the coast guard ace the pilot is safe -- says the pilot is safe in good continue still ahead - medical marijuana and kids. a debate over using the drug to treat sick children.

usually about this time of night in new york city times square you see a lot of cars. not tonight. only people who walk in the middle of the street. it's because cars have been banned. the subway has closed down not many flights in this weather, i-95 has been shut down and then there's a picture of the empire state building as new yorkers wait for the bankrupt brunt of the

blizzard to hit. >> general motors says 50 claims have been lodged for faulty ignitions, up by 46 and up from december. they expect a flurry before the deadline. the fund received 338 death claims and rejected 58. the automaker estimates it will pay out upwards of $600 million to the victims. medical marijuana has been called a life saver by some adults. it's legal in 23 states. now a group says it may help six children. >> controversial. the nation's leading or niceation of pead electricians issued -- organisation of ped electricians issued a promising statement. >> a new policy on the use of medical marijuana with children. it says while there's no hard proof of the drug's benefits it advocates its use with children with life-limiting or conditions

where current therapies are inadequate. paediatrician groups goes further calling on the government to remove it if from its current category. doing it will make it easier for researchers to study the benefits of cannabis. it reiterates evidence that suggests marijuana doesn't harm developing brains. the paediatrician advocates using pot. it does not support of the broader use of drugs for adults. blame put, not enough is known about the affects, but the paediatrician hopes that it offers compassionate use for patients like chase. who has autism and epilepsy. his mother moved from chicago to colorado springs so he could use a medical marijuana oil known as charlotte's web, which has had positive life-changing effects for her son.

she is one of hundreds that have relocated to the states. some of the dispensaries that distribute medal cannabis to children are not reg u later and are run by -- regulated and are run by people with little to know medical training. it's hoped it will be used for research. people want more information. >> there'll be a number of questions raised by the changes in the law across the country. thank you. >> still ahead - a close call by galactic standard. how close a giant asteroid came to earth, and what n.a.s.a. scientists can learn from a fly by. by. education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something

seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america

>> beyond the verdict and on the streets >> there's been another teenager shot and killed by the police >> a fault lines special investigation >> there's a general distrust of this prosecutor >> courageous and in depth... >> it's a target you can't get rid of... >> the untold story... >> who do you protect? >> ...of what's really going on in ferguson >> they were so angry because it could have been them >> fault lines ferguson: race and justice in the u.s. one hour special only on al jazeera america the earth had a close encounter with an aft ride. the giant rock is -- asteroid. the giant rock is 2,000 feet wide. it missed hitting by 24,000

miles, three times the distance between the earth and the moon. this will be the closest encounter with an asteroid until 2027. derrick pitts is from franklin institute science museum and is on skype from philadelphia. welcome. >> thank you. >> we said a close encounter. doesn't sound that close to me. >> [ laughs ] . no it doesn't. 750,000 miles is three times the distance between the earth and the moon. it's not really the proximity that is the deal but the fact that we can get good signal to noise ratio on the radar from the object. giving us the opportunity to do service studies and monitor the trajectories. . >> we'll see if we still have derek.

>> it was rotating or tumbling. it seems to... >> seems like weather may be playing with our connection to derek. can you hear me derek? well i think we may have lost derek. sadly he's gone. derek pits - we appreciate him trying to be on. we are pretty much out of time except for this story. the annual sundance film festival is under way in utah. movies are not the only thing on the agenda. rob reynolds has a story from park city. >> attacks on artistic freedom. following a computer hacking assault, it cancelled the release of "the interview," and the attack that killed 12 at a satirical magazine in paris. >> i think freedom of expression

is in danger in a lot of areas, and freedom of expression is fundamental to us. as in the film you see a lot of films that will upset other people but that's okay. it's diversity, it's showing what is out there. what is out there includes 100 films were 2 is countries. it explored impact on a small north dabbing oata injury. "girl-hood" pore trace the lives of girls that form a gang. >> it's for the balance of society. it is important. it has messages and is raising questions and hypothesis. >> reporter: last days in the desert reimagines jesus's long

fast in the desert and his temptation by the desert. independent film-makers are pushing boundaries hollywood studios are less likely to court controversy. >> these are massive corporations with money at stake. i am sure that these corporations are risk averse to begin with there's a reason you haven't heard any movies about i.s.i.s. or attempting to portray the prophet muhammad. that would be incredibly difficult to cast all the staples. >> festival org face -- organizers will do everything they can to keep freedom of g expression alive at sundance. our freeze frame - literally a freeze frame. mixing business with pleasure. helping his dad shovel the

driveway. pennsylvania was covered with snow. more on the way, and more on the shovel. we'll continue to follow the storm, see you back tomorrow night. i'm john seigenthaler. "faultlines" is next. per cent per cent per cent >> august 25, 2014. michael brown is laid to rest by his family and friends