>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris. a desperate land grab before a truce in ukraine. the all-out assault between russian rebels and government troops. schools and government buildings under fire. and a soaring death toll just days before sunday's cease-fire is supposed to take hold. >> leaders from the world's

largest and is warn they're ready to take action against anyone who violates the truce said to take evacuate on sunday. the promise comes as fighting in eastern ukraine intensifies. at least 25 people were killed today. ukrainian officials say that shelling in a key town in ukraine. we have more with the latest on the fate for debaltseve. >> they're in a support position for up to 8,000 ukrainian soldiers in the town of debaltseve. separatists say they have surrounded the town and it has become a major flash point. if the operatests take control of debaltseve, it would give them a direct route via railway into russia. >> there was very little on the road to debaltseve but heavy equipment and ambulances.

artillery was firing nearby. everything is destroyed said this ambulance driver. hehe said there were dead bodies on the road. we're here at at an army checkpoint. there is heavy weaponry and heavy shelling. these soldiers are very nervous about us being here. they say they don't like to be filmed because they consider it bad luck before they go into battle. but some soldiers were returning and one agreed to speak to us. >> we were in a village close by he says, we were shelled with rockets. we want peace. we're happy with the coming peace fire but we don't trust president putin. >> behind me is the last bridge before the town of debaltseve. the military telling us that it is too dangerous.

there are fears that separatists could hit this bridge at any time. the cease-fire is supposed to start at 0000 hours local time on february 15th. a withdraw of heavy weapons on both sides is supposed to begin soon after. for now though, the guns and rockets remain. behind me in the field the ukrainian military has sent up tank batteries. there are grads to my left. bear in mind that we were here a few days ago and these soldiers were not here. there is a big fear that the separatists will try to take control of debaltseve in the interim peter of the truce being signed on february 15th. >> my goodness, separatists have seized several ukrainian

soldiers in fighting near debaltseve. this video posted on facebook shows the soldiers being captured in a town several miles away. s unclear how many soldiers were taken, and what has happened to them sense. now to iraq, where isil fighters attacked a key military base in the western part of the country today. the u.s. military said that they repulsed the attack, and the iraqi forces killed most of the isil attackers. we have more now from baghdad. >> the attack around 7:00 a.m. on friday against the air base by isil fighters they were quickly beaten back by iraqi security forces. now they have about 300 u.s. soldiers in that compound. and they say that those u.s. soldiers never women under threat. now sleeper cells came to the

town. and now what we're hear something that the area has been cleared by iraqi security forces. according to local sources there are a number of isil fighters still within the center of the town itself. reinforcements have been coming from the west. they say this is the first time that isil has gotten so close. their soldiers were under threat and the iraqi security forces dealt with those isil forces coming in. >> mike viqueira joining us from the white house. how are the u.s. officials reacting to this attack? >> the first thing that the pentagon officials are saying is between 300 and 400 american advisers on that base never

heard a thing. they may have heard shots but they were certainly never under any danger. they were on the other end of the base which they say is a sprawling base. ever since the president announced they were sending these advisers into iraq, there has been skepticism and fear especially on the side of democrats that there would be mission creep. especially about events like this one. this will stoke that fear and republicans will say that americans are in harm's way they need to have a more robust pension there and take the fight to isil. then owe they did not come under direct attack, these americans there, between 300 to 400 advisers on the base, they were prepared to defend themselves if they had come into any danger. >> but like all american troops potentially in harm's way, they have the right obligation and

responsibility to defend themselves and they're trained and fully capable of doing that. if they come under fire they will shoot back. they have the means to do that. >> there are currently about 2500 total american advisers in iraq tony. as you know, they're there ostensibly, the mission that they have there is to train the iraqi army to take the offensive against isil fighters, part of which is set to begin this coming spring. >> so mike, this attacks comes as the president as you know, is trying to get formal authorization to keep up the fight against isil. does this attack have the potential to complicate that effort or help his cause? >> that's a great question, tony because it was just wednesday the day before wednesday when president obama here at the white house announced the proposal for the authorization of military force. of course he sent it to congress. it was a request that will be debated in the coming weeks but what did he leave request? the fact that isil was on the run. on the surface this will under

cut that argument and heighten calls from republicans for a more robust or more stringent ability for americans to go after isil and put boots on the ground: the president has said that americans will not be on the ground. on the other hand it does not speak well of the iraqi army. while the pentagon was eagle for say that it was iraqi regulars who fought off the attack on the base the iraqi army is going to be dependent to take the fight to isil in the coming months and years, and it does not speak well of that airport, and i think we'll have that echoed in congress. >> mike viqueira four us. thank you. the date has been set for a change in command at the pentagon. the pentagon said that ashton carter will be sworn in as defense secretary on tuesday. the senate voted overwhelmingly to confirm him. president obama picked carter for the post after chuck hagel announced his resignation. hagel will remain in office

until carter is sworn in. saudi arabia italy has shut down their embassies in yemen. >> the official reason give by the saudis to close their embassy is they pointed out the security situation in sanaa. their decision to close the embassy is proceeded by the u.s. u.k. france and italy to close their diplomatic missions in the capitol as well. but analysts are saying that the saudi's decision is not only because of the security situation, which is deteriorating very fast, but because the saudis are trying to pile on the pressure on the houthis, who have essentially de facto rulers of the country since they conducted the coup a week ago.

regional governments have not adopted accept the houthi, and in fact, they're calling for the reinstatement of the former government and ordering the houthi to withdraw from the capitol and return institution buildings to legitimate rulers or legitimate governments here. there are three different military bases that have been taken over by tribal fighters. this is after another base has been taken over and handed over to tribesmen there. the events in yemen showing how unstable the situation is. >> al jazeera journalists are home after 400 days in jail. mohamed fahmy, baher mohammeds were released on bail. jonathan betz here.

>> reporter: this is encouraging. the charges have not been dropped, so these two men could indeed face prison. they face trial of collusion with the banned muslim brotherhood, but their focus is being home. >> after 411 days, after too much time alone in prison, it's like a dream come true. >> al jazeera journalist baher mohammed celebrated the first moments of free with his wife and three children. >> i'm very proud of every single moment i spent in prison for the sake of freedom of expression. i'm really proud about it. time goes back, i would choose the same experience. i know that the case is still there, i'll continue to fight for the freedom of expression. >> a judge granted bail to mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed on thursday. they were arrested in december of 2013. egypt accused and convicted them of spreading false news and helping the banned muslim

brotherhood. charges al jazeera rejects. mohammed was initially sentenced to ten years and fahmy to seven years in president. that decision was recently overturned. egypt's highest court of apeoples challenged the evidence presented by the prosecution and ordered a retrail saying that the proceedings were flawed. [ cheering ] earlier this month a third al jazeera journalist peter greste was deported to australia after 400 days in jail. fahmy who is egyptian but holds canadian citizenship as well was told by authorities that the only way to freedom was to denounce egyptian assistship, which he has done. it has drown condemnation from all over the world. >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence and it's deeply disturbing to see in the midst of egypt's transition. >> and their freedom may be

short lived because their retrial is accident in just ten days. >> the war in syria is about to enter a fifth year. today the united nations envoy said that bashar al-assad must be part of the solution for ending the conflict. communications in homs has broken down. >> this has been the scene in homs. constant bombardment by government forces is a clear indication of where the rebels stand. the government has asked fighters to give their arms up. but they're not leaving. >> we're here to fight. we'll stay and defend our people. >> an earlier opposition fighter of arms and position in return to allow police in government

institutions to get back to work. it also meant that there could be delivered food supplies for thousands trapsed in the area. they simply hope for an agreement this time. >> why isn't anyone carrying for us. we suffer in silence as the whole world watches. >> the end of that suffering must seem like a long way off. al jazeera. >> in chad at least ten people have been killed in an attack by boko haram. for the first time the group's fighters crossed over from neighboring nigeria and set fire to a village. we are following the story from abuja. >> reporter: the details from this attack come from an unnamed security official. what we know is that the group boko haram suspected members of the group stormed this village in the very early hours of friday morning. now according to this security official there were at least 30 suspected boko haram fighters.

however there, is some discrepancy of how many people may have been killed. what does this mean for the broader fight of boko haram? when you talk to those who are supporting the military offensive, the various military offensive going on against the group by countries like nigeria chad and cameroon, they say this is an ongoing battle. no army has said they are able to defeat boko haram. it's difficult to know where the group are and to know where the members are and to mow how they're planning those attacks. but when you talk to critics of the authorities they say that this news of the latest attack is just more evidence of the ineffectiveness of the armed forces who are battling the group. that billions of dollars are spent fighting them, thousands of soldiers have been deployed to the region, but still they're failing to protect life and property. >> today president obama is pushing tech firms to share more information with the government. he said together they can tackle

cyber crimes. he held his first-ever cyber security summit. >> what is interesting are the companies who are noticebly absent or the ceos. google yahoo, the ceos were invited, but they did not event. it's no crete that certain silicon valleys have had tension with the u.s. government with the government trying to obtain information from these companies and these companies building encryption software that will make it impossible for the government or these companies to obtain data about the users. regardless, president obama came here to stanford, and it was part of a series of initiatives that he launched on cyber security. >> president obama called the cyber world the wild, wild west and said hacking is a threat to america's economic security. one step he's take willing make it easier for businesses and the government to exchange data.

>> i'm signing a new executive order to promote even more information sharing about cyber threats both within the private sector and the government and private sector, and it will encourage hubs to share information with each other. >> ceos of top credit card companies echoed the need for sharing. >> i really think that information sharing may be the single highest impact, lowest cost and fastest way to implement capabilities we have at hand as a nation to accelerate our overall defense. >> the friday cyber conference at stanford university is the first of its kind. bringing together participants from the government, silicon valley, the corporate world engineers to internet freedom advocates. lasting one day it's a sprint to major online security issues today. >> the personal impact of these

security breaches can be devastating. by clicking on the wrong link or simply using your credit card too many people have had their identity stolen, their finances threatened and their lives turned upside down. >> in just the past 12 months data breaches have either surged or everyone is getting better at spotting hackers. major companies including anthem sony, home depot, jp morgan chase and ebay have all had information compromised. a report out last year estimated that cyber crimes cost the world economy $445 billion. the government says hackers are two steps ahead of the game. although some wonder whether the administration's proposals might do more harm than good. >> we see a proposal to basically facilitate transfer of your data from corporations to the fbi or the department of

homeland security. that's not something that should reassure us or make us feel safer. >> the president acknowledged the challenge and the need for balance. >> i have to tell you that grappling with how government protects the american people from adverse events while at the same time making sure that government itself is not abusing its capabilities is hard. >> an additional thing that the administration also made clear make lemons out of lemonade, and turn cyber security from a problem to an advantage calling it the digital frontier. it's not only about protecting americans, it's also making sure that american corporations make money in the process. just to add a little bit more of an explanation to this, essentially everyone is concerned about protecting themselves so a lot of this

summit is about protecting american consumers, and american corporations. but the administration has taken the opportunity to say that there is a vacuum here in terms of cyber security. yes, there are certain silicon fall companies but there is no global leader, and this is an opportunity for the united states to be that global leader. that's what's really interesting. all of this can be lucrative j. >> initiatives initiatives how effective are these initiatives going to be? >> that's an excellent question, and when you think about the government you're not exactly thinking about an institution that is particularly nimble. they say it's great that the government and governments around the world are recognizing this is a problem and they should do something to help both the people and companies in their countries. but of course at the end of the day the soldiers in the front

lines are just people in front of their computers and hawkers and white hat hackers. it's the brave new world. >> tens of millions of the anthem health insurance company are offers free credit monitoring. anthem announced that a database containing information about customers and employees was hacked. they'll pay for two years of identify reports. an indian man was left partially paralyzed after being assault: look at this. by a police officer. the fbi is now investigating.

>> after months of controversy the embattled governor of oregon is resigning. he's under state investigation over the role his fiancé had in state government. michael shure joins us with more from los angeles.

take a moment and break this down. first of all good to see you. break down the accusations for us. >> first thanks for saying that it was good to see me, tony. and first the accusations first, they're not direct accusations. the alternative newspaper in oregon the reporter there who sort of uncovered this, his wife the first lady, fiancé first lady of oregon, sylvia hayes, was working with energy consultants, taking $200,000 in fees from energy consultants while also being part of the governor's administration. so tony, a lot of people thought wait a second. she's lobbying on energy policy. she is with the governor. this is really untoward. she had her own office. there are further allegations to this and this is really what did in the governor. those allegations were that his office tried to have his personal e-mails deleted from the archive there.

that seemed a little fishy to a lot of people. >> right, and i guess its public statements have been wanting to say the least. how have members of his party been reacting to this entire situation? >> well, you know, the democratic party in oregon is quite strong. this is more about the man than it is about the party there. so i don't know that it's going to take down democratic politics at all in oregon it's a all as much as its taking down the governor. the president of the senate there, the secretary of the treasury there ted courtney, jumped ship and said it was time. the oregonen newspaper the state's biggest newspaper said it was time for the governor to go. >> now this is a pretty interesting story. >> it is. first of all when you write a letter of resignation you write it to the secretary of state. in oregon the secretary of state is the next governor. kate brown will become the first

governor in u.s. history who is openly by sexual, that is a side story but an interesting one to many people. and because of the fact that she's secretary of state she's well-known in oregon. but she has her own problems, too, and she'll have to contend with those. people have had a problem with her as secretary of state. so it's not going to be an easy walk for kate brown. it's seven straight democratic governors, and four of those terms were curved by kitzhaber himself. they're used to democratic politics and that may cause the change not kitzhaber himself. >> his reaction to all of this, and his noted resignation, he was pretty combative wasn't he. >> well, he was. you never like to have these things pointed out. you never like to see them bring you down. i think that kitzhaber was

wronged here. wronged by the marks as most people do. when go to the most famous richard nixon his relationship with the media was terrible. as recently as yesterday kitzhaber was insistent that he would not resign. that's really--i think that he really doesn't want to resign, but it's an untenable situation. >> people who supported him for years, he feels that those people bailed on him. good to see you. >> good to see you too. >> michael shure from los angeles. new accusations against argentina's president and they could result in criminal charges. and taking mexico to task over the missing people including the missing mexican students. students.

>> you all kinds of fall out from a disturbing incident in alabama. have you seen this yet? dashcam video shows a police officer showing an indian man to

the ground, leaving him partially paralyzed. now the whole story has taken on international implications. eric i understand that the indian government is involved in this. >> yes, that's right. you have indian government officials condemning the attack, and they're saying they're extremely disturbed of the treatment of one of its citizen who is was visiting his family. he had only been in the u.s. for a couple of weeks when a confrontation with the police landed him in the hospital severely injured. >> out for a stroll, patel was approached by two madison alabama, police officers. dash cam recorded the encounter. >> the officers were respond to go a 911 call about a man wandering the streets possibly peering into people's garbages.

>> that skinny black guy turned out to be a 57-year-old grandfather from india visiting his son in the u.s. >> the police told him to stop. he stopped. and he was telling them no english, indian. >> the language barrier caused confusion for the alabama officers. >> officer eric parker warned patel he would put him to the ground if he didn't cooperate. seconds later the officer followed through with his threat. >> but at that moment patel could not stand and he could not walk. to this day one week later he still cannot walk. the patel family said that the trauma to his spine from the take down temporarily paralyzed him. he needed surgery to relief

pressure on his spinal cord. it's taking a toll on the entire team including patel's wife in india. the police chief fired officer parker. >> officer parker's actions did not meet the high standards and expectations of the madison city, police department. for that reason i sincerely apologize to mr. pate will. >> the family attorney said that the chief's announcement is a step in the right direction. >> it's a good start. police accountability is extremely important. >> but they're now suing the city and officer parker for damages. while the complaint against the city of madison points out that while patel has dark brown skin, this case is not about hate crime but police brutality, although he would not rule out race as a factor. >> we're not trying to prove that this is a racially motivated attack, but again i

think it's--it can't be denied that frequently there is a racial component that affects the interactions between predominantly police forces and persons of color. >> the u.s. government has gotten valued with an fbi investigation of its own. the state department responding offering condolences to the patel family. the police officer has not responded publicly, and court records do not show if he has a laureate. patel is now well enough to be transferred to a rehab center where the family hopes that he'll recover soon. >> we need a recovery. this is horrible. troy, good to see you again. look pretty shocking stuff here. what do you think about this that surprises you at all? >> unfortunately not.

i mean, i tell every friend, family member, client, i say it from the mountain tops nobody has to talk to the police. now the police are allowed to come up to anyone and ask to talk to them. it's called a con sinulin counter. but the same token any person has a right to say no, i don't want to talk to you. >> let me ask you we hear the communication back and forth. then there is the initial call. from someone in the neighbor, a description, a skinny black guy. today in this country and for as long as i've been on this planet. apparently that equates to stranger danger. this happens to change at some point, doesn't it? >> it's not a crime. now in order for the police to detain someone lawfully they have to have what's called reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred. and just that you happen to be a dark guy even in an all-white

neighborhood walking on the street or even standing on the street that's not a crime. that does not provide an articulate suspicion for a police officer to detain somebody. you just can't. >> give that many of us thought that the eric garner video would lead to an indictment, and we're watching it again. ultimately look, he was arrested. what do you think will will happen as a result of this video. >> this officer is facing three different cases. first, the criminal case that could be lodged against him by the local district attorney for assault and battery. but he's also facing a civil case by the family for his damages in a state court and then he's also facing a federal--what's called 19el 1982 civil rights action where the family can sue him in court where under color of authority he violated this man's civil rights.

even though he's not a citizen of the country he's entitled to the constitutional rights that any citizen would enjoy to be free from an unreasonable police contact such as this. >> we're going to roll this video one more time just because. so the justice department has a as you know a person and practice of investigation going on in ferguson, missouri. the results results are backing in on a similar situation in cleveland with harsh recommendations and conclusions. do you see this--wow, do you see this case leading to that kind of justice department incurry of this police department? >> it certainly could. the d.o.j. the united states department of justice likes to look into police practices especially with this--especially with this department of justice under the outgoing eric holder. they like to take a look and see whether this was just an isolated incident or whether

there is something systemic in the whole department. if they can find that there is something systemic, then the whole department could be suspect to what is called the consent degree where the department of justice will oversee what that department does for the next several years. >> well, you would think that the justice department would want to watch this case particularly closely and ask some straight-forward questions. we're asking about an officer who was in training. right? someone who was learning how to become an officer involved in something like this. >> right. the officer that was involved in the assault, he was what is known as a field train officer. >> training someone else. >> it is his job--that's right. it's his job to be the best example of how a new officer should act and interact with the public and what an appropriate use of force would be in a situation like this. this is--based on watching the

video, breaking a man's neck for just not wanting to talk to you when there is no suspension that any crime has occurred, and so this officer--the police department did the right thing by immediately removing him especially because of his position of supervision over a brand new officer. >> that's crazy. a training officer working with others showing them how to operate in situation like this. great to see you. defense attorney and former prosecutor with the l.a. district attorney's office from los angeles tonight. thank you. >> thank you. >> the fbi is taking on the case of three muslim students murdered in north carolina. the police in chapel hill say that the three were killed over a long-standing parking dispute. relatives say they were victims of hate crime. the fbi will determine whether

federal laws were violated. an united nations report said that disappearances are widespread in mexico, and authorities are often behind the kidnappings. the report cites the september disappearance of 43 students as an example. and adam rainy telling us that they're calling for a thorough investigation into their deaths. >> family members of though students, of course, welcome this report. they say its good to have international pressure but they're not that hopeful that mexico will continue to investigate this in a way that satisfies them. they continue to put pressure on the attorney general here, but he has been resistant to keep investigating. in his opinion this case is closed. he said its historical fact that these students were killed and burned on thety night of september 26th at a trash dump, that's something that these parents completely reject. they hope that this pressure from the u.n. and other groups will force mexico to some how

reopen or to start investigating other this case, and they hope to find the students, at least some of them alive. many in mexico, most leave there is little chance that these students are actually alive but they say it is a clear case in which corruption at the state level led to the disappearance. you have police allegedly handing these students over to a criminal gang. that's a definition when authorities are disappearing people. the family members hope that this continued international pressure will some how lead to new leads in this case, and some how lead to some sort of justice. >> a big development today in the scan doll surrounding the president of argentina. she had been formerly accused of covering up a deadly bombing in 1994. the case against christina kirchner was initially brought by prosecutor alberto nisman. but he died under mysterious

circumstances. >> there are some who question the legal validity of this latest move, but there is no doubt that there is impact on argentine society. there are those who call it a judicial coup d'etat perhaps emphasizing the point a little bit, but it has had a huge, huge impact. the president herself have phone down to her summer retreat for a little bit of a rest and recuperation, but she'll come back to buenos aires to a missionbig march that is only likely going to further polarized an already divided society. those who believe the president and her foreign minister that they were not trying to cover up iranian involvement in the balm attack on the usual community center in 1994.

her opponents generally believe that she was trying to do that, and is only trying to get herself out of this very serious legal implications. what does remain unquestionable is that there are still many unanswered questions here in argentina. the forensic investigators went back into alberto nisman's flat to aid the investigation into whether he committed suicide or whether he was murdered. if he was murdered, then who killed him. but argentina now living through very difficult times this is election year, and the elections being held in october. so this really added the ahead to some very difficult situation. in the extreme heat of the argentine summer. >> the governor of pennsylvania has suspended the death penalty in the state. tomorrow wolftom wolf said he wanted to look into it.

pennsylvania has the fifth highest number of death row inmates in the country because of court delays there have only been three executions in 39 years. the american economy is stalled in sea ports along the west coast. millions of dollars of goods are held hostage in labor dispute between maritime companies and dockworkers. a work look out imposed by the pacific maritime association resumes tomorrow. today, dockworkers may have clocked in, but cargo isn't moving at the usual pace. general london takes us to the support port of los angeles. >> this is the port of los angeles and long beach the busiest container port in the country. from up here you have this incredible advantage point to see what the slowdown looks like. another way to tell there is a low john these cranes are up. normally when the port is running at full steam the arms would be down. now it's taking 10 to 12 days to move cargo instead of two to

three. today there are approximately 24 containers docked and waiting to be off loaded normally when the throwing stones is not a slow down, the ships come in, they're docked and off loading begins immediately. you can see signs of the congestion. there are 19 container ships anchored waiting outside of the port meaning products vital to keeping the u.s. economy moving are stuck at sea. the outbreak ever measles that started at disneyland in california in december has fueled a debate over vaccinations in america. ali velshi is looking at the subject on his program. >> for those of us who were immunized which don't know about the seriousness of measles which may be part of the problem. 120 case of measles in 17 days and d.c. the vast majority of them in california. california's latest scare past

the disneyland stuff involve an employee who is infected with measles and road the mass transit system. vaccinations do not cause autism, but we're talking about this because parents refuse to get their kids vaccinated. there was a survey, a study that was published that said that there might an link between the measles mmr vaccine and autism. that since has been debunked, but some people ignore that science and mistakenly believe that it causes autism or other problems. parents who choose not to vaccinate are putting their kids at risk of getting potentially deadly diseases like measles. they're endangering other young children or anyone with weak immune systems or people who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons. we've seen 644 cases of measles

in the united states after irradicating this disease. >> what should be done about it? >> i'm sort of talking about that tonight. peter coye has written a peace. he said the shaping going on, shaming parents who are not interested in vaccinating their children is not the answer. you and i know this. if someone has strongly held beliefs, shaming does not help them to come around and say you're right i'll give my kid a needle. but the problem is exposing people to the cold hard fact of science does not work all that well either. we're relying on herd immunity. if enough people are immunized. even those who are not are safe because the disease can't reach them. but we need 92% of the population to be immunized. there are recent studies that some communities are falling dangerously below that level. >> can't wait for the program. appreciate the time. you can watch real money with

ali velshi. before i--you know, let's split the screen. before i start talking about these crazy conditions coming to the northeast, rook at that, look at that on the right of your screen. that's lovely. where is that, california? laguna beach that's lovely. what is the northeast likely to experience this weekend? blizzard conditions expected to hit new england hard--look at this. high wind, heavy snow in a region that has already been measuring record snowfall by the foot. nicole mitchell is here. what are folks--what's coming up? >> especially if you're in somewhere like boston. >> boston! >> i can't buy a break right now. >> no, you can't. >> it doesn't look that bad right now. if you look at the snow system that we have moving through the midwest we're talking two to for inches that move along for the northern midwest in february.

you barely blink at that. it does not look hat impressive right now. but eventually it will make its way to the lost line and pick up more moisture then we have a problem on our hands. this is already later into the day tomorrow today tomorrow, these are the heaviest amounts of snow and high winds that will be ratcheting up as well. we start to clear out already by the holiday on monday. in the meantime, sunday especially saturday night through sunday big problem in the core of this where we do have the blizzard warning up. that's a massachusetts coast line up through the main coast line it could be another one to two feet of snow. winds at 15 mph. across the whole region the front has been going through and dropping the temperatures signaturely. we're looking at temperatures 20 to to below average in the midwest, and february is one of our coldest months already. so it would be that far blow average, and then you add in the high winds.

it looks like the whole eastern half of the country that has gotten some of that cold air well into the south. we're going to see some of that by comparison. the west coast has been running 20 degrees above average in places like los angeles. 85 dress. that probably sounds really wonderful right now although it's not great for the drought conditions. >> right right. >> but you would take the 85 versus the blizzard. >> that jet stream. bringing all that cold air from canada. thank you. our series race in america. one of the countries' most popular scientists while studying to be an astro physicist.

>> in today's race to america report the success story of neil

tyson, he may be america's favorite astro physicist. his cosmo sear aired to critical acclaim and 3.5 million people follow his tweets. but his parents say that road to the top was a bumpy one. del walters has more. >> he would be stargazing at night. sometimes he would identify the stars and show them to me. i couldn't see anything. i said that's very nice, but i couldn't figure them out. >> she is the mother of astro physicist neil tyson. with his criticcally acclaimed tv sores "cosmo." >> tyson wears many hats, tv, and radio show host. >> i'm tyson. i'm astro physicist. >> he's so synonymous with popular science that it even earned him a spot on the big

bang theory. >> i liked pluto. erog i do not like. >> you i didn't demote pluto. that was a vote of the astronomical union. >> tyson knew he wanted to be a physicist since he was a child. helping neil and and their children with their dreams they had unique challenges. especially neil who set his sights on a career that few blacks were pursuing. >> why don't you go to a rowcationnal school. >> that was often the crisis that schools would give poor black students. tysons feared that would sidetrack their son's ambitions. >> i had to live to things that were not said. i had to listen to things that were being told and there might be another hidden story behind it about johnny, mary or whatever. we were always on the alert. >> like the time that neil wanted to apply for a signature and needed a teacher's signature

to qualify. >> he put down this teacher's name. i said don't use him. he said he's a great person. this particular teacher said to him, what makes you think you're qualified for this? and he didn't sign it. he didn't give him a letter. >> another incident, the time neil was attending the high school of science. >> first day he appears in the advance physics class. the teacher takes him aside and said i don't think you belong in this class. he said, no, i think you should go to the class below this. neil came home and told me what happened. i was on the phone. i made a couple of phone calls. he was in class the next day. >> tony was convinced it had more to do with how he looked. >> the only kid in class with a huge afro. >> protecting their children were acism was just as important as teaching them to deal with it

it. >> it's helping your children understand what's going on, and how to respond in a way in which they continue to move forward. >> we told him how to handle it. you know, we told him what to say, how to handle it. never, never never fight. all right because if people call them name, it's their problem. not your problem. >> life lessons that helped neil tyson not only reach for the stars but become one. del walters al jazeera, new york. >> and be sure to tune in tomorrow night for a special report race in america. there is the 7:30 p.m. eastern 4:30 pacific for a look at what is coming up at the top of the hour. john seigenthaler is here. >> coming up on our broadcast at 8:00 tonight we heard president obama talk with the private sector and try to get themed to more to protect america from cyber threats. now glen greenwald, best known for working with edward snowdon talks about whether we can trust

the federal government to take the lead in cyber security. >> no one would ever say the things like hacking cyber warfare or terrorism are not real. of course there are things of those dangers. the things is if we talk about them in a real way proportionate to the actual threat or are me exaggerated to justify powers vested in the government. >> he talks about the rift between silicon valley and washington and the cyber warfare that the u.s. conducts on other children. also race in america the talk. from many africa men african-american families it's a fact of life, in one high school the aclu gave students some advice. >> the first rule is don't run. if you start running or fleeing from the police, what are they going to do--are they going to be just like, okay?

>> parents we spoke to in d.c. say that the talk has taken on an added sense of urgency since the deaths of michael brown in ferguson and eric garner in new york. helping stray dugs, we show you what life is like between the prisoner and dogs behind bars. and we have documents. white earth what inspired the director to document thousands flock to north dakota to work in the oil fields. the oil boom seen through unexpected eyes of three children. all that and more coming up in three minutes. >> that's a packed show. thank you. an extremely rare diamond is headed to the auction block. the gem was mined in southern after and weighed more than 200

carats before it was cut and polish. it's expected to fish between $18 million and $25 million. have a great weekend.

>> hi everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler. white house crack down on cyber-threats. some tech leaders done like it and journalist glen greenwald called hypocritical. >> deadly force. outrage over a police killing in broad daylight. race in america. african american children and the police. the talk around kitchen tables across the u.s.