with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera part of our special black history month coverage on al jazeera america >> this is aljazeera america from a new york city. i'm tony harris. millions of undocumented immigrants in legal limbo. a federal judge blocking president obama's executive action. putting his plan to grant status to illegal immigrants on hold. >> we will not stand idly by while the president ignores the law and fails to secure the border. >> the white house is pledging to fight back. >> it will ultimately be decided by the higher court.

>> the federal government is set to start accepting applications tomorrow from undocumented immigrants seeking to not have deportation and the obama administration said that it will appeal the court order. >> we expected the ruling, i disagree with it, i think the law is on our side. and history is on our side. >> heidi jo castro is live with us from brownsville texas and you spoke with people on both sides of the issue. what's their reaction? >> reporter: that's right tony, texas was the leader of the 26 mostly conservative states that filed the lawsuit against the obama administration, and they claim that the president overstepped his constitutional authority with an executive action with a

cost to border states. last night a judge here in brownsville sided with those arguments and put a temporary injunction, which was applauded by leaders here, but devastating to the immigrant community. >> 36-year-old doris clutches an american flag in front of the courthouse where hours earlier, a federal judge ruled now is not the time for her to step out of the shadows. >> i was waiting for my kids to finish breakfast and i read it and started crying. >> this is your life. >> it is. and it's been this way for many years, and i thought i was going to do something and i read this, and it's heartbreaking. >> llama said her mother sent for her to come to the u.s. from mexico when she was nine. she crossed the rio grande following strangers holding

her four-year-old sister. >> did you have any idea that doing so would mean you were breaking the law? >> no, when you're small you do whatever your parents tell you. >> now lada is married with two u.s.--borne children of her own. she's among the 4.9 million undocumented immigrants who would have qualified for work permits under president obama's executive action. applications were sent to open tomorrow but monday's late night ruling bars the federal government from carrying out the president's plan. >> i had all of my parents and i was going to go to lupe and get the application and fill it out. >> the ruling says the obama administration violated the administrative procedure act. a 1946 law governing how the federal government establishes regulations. in his state of the state address this morning texas governor greg abbott called the executive action lawless. >> i'm proud to report that

late last night a federal judge halted the president's executive action plan. >> the fight of course is not over. >> it is the decision by one federal district court judge. i expect and have always expected that this is a matter that will ultimately be decided by a higher court if not the supreme court then a federal court of appeals. >> meanwhile immigration activists are telling undocumented immigrants to remain hopeful. >> don't freak out. this is temporary. the program will ham. you need to get prepared and get your documents ready. >> i get proud. >> when the 9-11 thing

happened, i wanted to serve my country. >> but for now, the country lada claims as her own remains divided against her and she'll have to continue waiting. again, applications under this executive action will not open tomorrow. and now the federal government said that it's considering filing an emergency appeal to the court of appeals which could hasten the timeline to three weeks before we have the decision but everyone knows that this case will be appealed all the way to the supreme court. >> heidi in brownsville, texas and now to the latest developments in the fight against isil. isil fighters burned about 45 people to death in the town of el baghdadi. they captured much of it last week. and they said that creating the you knew bank coalition is the

best way to get rid of isil in libya. they have carried out airstrikes since sunday there and meantime they will be discussing isil in libya. the group posted over the weekend a picture of what it shows 41 christians being murdered. speaking with egypt's foreign minister about the response that his country is looking for. >> it's up to the international community to define what is the best course of action to deal with the threats. i will not prejudge or jump to any conclusions. it's up to us to forge a collective understanding and commitment that should not exclude any form of support to the government. >> egypts a foreign minister has been meeting with diplomats to discuss a potential resolution on the issue. the state department said the u.s. and turkey have agreed on

a plan to the syrian rebels, putting months of difficult negotiations. last morning the government said that it would send nearly 1,000 troops to turkey and qatar as part of the effort. and we're getting a new look ant the toll this conflict has taken on syria's largest city, aleppo. these pictures were taken by a drone that flew over the old city and they show damage to mosques dating back to the 13th century. aleppo is a world heritage site that's in danger. syria and isil are a challenge challenge -- challengers in the pentagon and ash carter's first day on the job. >> well, tony, you know ash carter is a rhodes scholar is and a physicist by training, and he's going to need all of that knowledge and experience

as he takes over the pentagon in a time when it faces political battles at home and difficult engagements abroad. the short walk up the steps to the pentagon's river entrance are as familiar to ash carter as the problems that he's returning to tackle. the 60-year-old has already served two tours in the building, most recently as the civilian from 2011 and 2013. >> if anyone is made for this job, if there's a job description, this is the guy that fits the job description. >> in his swearing in at the white house carter said that his priority will be first to help the president make the best possible decisions while protecting military service members and waging war on wasteful spending. >> i have a commitment to the future to building a force for our future. that involves not only securing the resources we need, but

making sure that we make the best use of the taxpayer's dollar. >> carter, who met with the president in the afternoon has his work cut out for him. >> we talked about a wide range of security channels and opportunities that we face around the world. >> in iraq and syria, is ill continues to hold key territory as the u.s. tries to train enough troops to liberate major cities. in afghanistan, the top general is saying that we need to slow down the pace of withdrawal. and in ukraine carter will advise president obama on whether to provide more arms to ukrainian forces if the latest ceasefire fails, something that carter says that he's inclined to do. at home, carter will have to battle over the sec west ace cuts ready to gut military readiness, as well as a new war powers authorization. and the massive over hall of the military's retirement and

healthcare systems. and carter is vowing to make decisions about his most solemn responsibilities sending u.s. troops into harm's way with what he called the greatest reflection and care. >> jamie mcintyre, thank you and more signs today that a ceasefire deal in eastern ukraine is falling apart. both sides were supposed to withdraw heavy weapons from the front lines today. but that hasn't happened. and john terry is here with more on this. john. >> we are talking about the northeastern part of the country, there was fierce fighting today. and even reports of ukrainian trooping cam toured. neither side, it appears, is willing to give the town up. >> a gas pipeline explosion caused by a mortar is the latest example of the fractured two-day-old ceasefire in

ukraine. heading into the town of debaltseve. and within the past few hours valid vad said that he's hopeful that the rebels will allow all ukrainian troops safe passage out of the town. >> >> interpreter: i hope that the representative will not detain and hold these people and let those troops freely leave the settlements and go back to their families. >> after engaging in intense battle with the ukrainian troops pro russian separatists say they're now in control of the town. but the ukrainian military leaders dispute that. >> . >> there are clashes near the railway station and they are holding their positions and they have the complete right to hold the positions that they have been holding for several months ago. >> the town is being the

fiercest in weeks as both sides claim that baby debaltseve is on their side. line. today, the u.s. weighed in, demanding russia, accused of holding the rebels, who let the monitors in. >> this is a test of whether the separatists in russia are committed to this agreement. debaltseve needs to be fully part of the secrets fire, and fully part of the withdrawal of heavy weapons and it needs to happen immediately, before more blood is spilled. >> it would both sides have a deadline to withdraw heavy guns but they don't seem to be going anywhere, and debs pipe ukraine.>> what we have today is not declaring the failure of the process, but working and insisting for the process to

get a positive outcome which is i repeat, the full implementation of what was signed a few days ago by the separatists. >> here in new york today the u.n. security council has unanimously approved the ceasefire, and they have stressed ukraine's independence and calls on all sides to fully implement the deal. >> john terry with us. and in haiti, at least 16 people have been killed during carnival celebrations in the capital, port-au-prince. they were electrocuted when a float hit a power line. >> reporter: carnival in port-au-prince early on tuesday morning. thousands of people are partying as a procession of musical floats makes its way through the streets. among them one belonging to a group. as the open topped bus heads

down the road, it comes close to some electrical tables, and then a man is struck by the cable. the man who received the electrical shock is now in a critical condition. many other people were killed or injured, both on the bus or on the road when people were trampled on as they tried to get away. the casualties were taken to the city's general hospital. as you can see some of these are critical. we have stabilized them and given them oxygen, and there are also some who are relatively stable, and they will be able to go home soon. >> haiti's president issued a statement on twitter expressing his sincere sympathies to the victims. tuesday's incident happened on the day of mardi gras. for more than 200 years haitians have celebrated carnival in important port. it's normal practice in haiti for the open top floats and buses to have someone onboard

who lifts power cabled out of the way. but it seems on this occasion, that did not happen. dominic cane aljazeera. >> authorities in west virginia are letting a huge train fire burn itself out. have a look at what's left of the cars here. carrying crude oil that burst into flames last night in charleston. about 100 residents were evacuated, and so far none of it appears to be in the river. one house was destroyed. but no reports of serious injuries. and coming up on the program --. >> we were in the close proximity, and he touched me inappropriately. >> a prominent islamic scholar arrested for sexually abusing women at his school. and criticized for the use of armed drones. why the u.s. may start selling the controversial weapons to

other countries.

>> this evening, a noted muslim

leader in the chicago area out of police custody. he posted bail hours after being charged with sexual abuse. and lisa stark joins us from chicago, and lisa, you've been covering the story for days now. what's the latest? >> mohamed abdullah saline is free on bail. but he faces two felony counts for sexual abuse and aggravated battery against one alleged victim. and there was a civil suit filed against celine and the religious school that he founded, involving sexual abuse in five cases. now, we spoke with two women who say that salemme abused them when they were children. and they asked us to keep their identities hidden. >> we thought maybe this is a revered man and he loves me, and this is how he shows me he loves me. >> sandy that's what she asked us to call her said she was only 10 or 11 when abdullah

salemme abused her. he's a renowned scholar, the founder of a religious school and education in illinois, a chicago suburb. it's a boarding and day school for students, aged 10-17. >> can you talk about what happened? >> certainly. he touched my hand and touched my fingers and then he started moving my scarf, and started kissing me on my cheeks and stuff, and them from there he started touching my breasts. >> the alleged abuse took place in a private home during private tutoring sessions to study the haran. this woman who asked us us to call her amber said that she too was abused when she was 15. >> we were on the floor and close proximity.

and he touched me inappropriately, and it shifted to the bed where he would take my hand and make me touch his private part. and i knew at that point it was wrong and disgusting. >> but in their devout muslim community, they never breathed a word. >> this is so taboo. i've never even seen my parents hold hands. there's no public display. pda is not heard. everything is behind closed doors, it's so hush-hush. >> they say that was more than 30 years ago and they're finally talking now because of a recent always against abdullah salemme by a woman in her early 20s who worked at the school. steve denny filed a civil lawsuit on wednesday on behalf of the alleged victims. >> these allegations cover four decades. >> according to mr. denny when the latest accusations came to light, a local muslim scholar

arranged a meeting with salemme, the victim and her mother where salemme was confronted with the allegations. a document that he signed states that "salemme has apologized to the victim and her mother, and he has admitted to his actions." we went to salemme's school for answers, and we found his oldest son. >> where is your father? >> i don't know. >> is he in the country. >> yeah. >> he is in the country? and what are your responses to the charges? >> i'm not talking about this. >> he drove off and we were told to leave. >> we have been kicked off the property and told to leave or they're going to call the police, so we're walking off now. >> they asked us to call

saleem's attorney, thomas glasgow, and we were told that they're conducting an internal investigation, and were told "i have found nothing to substantiate that there were inpro priorities. and those accusations have not been very forthcoming. this group of women is offering support to the alleged victims and working to open a dialogue about sexual health and sexual abuse in the muslim community. >> there has been a lot of anger and urgency to start doing something about this and start having a conversation. >> conversations that these women say are critical to protecting young women now and in the future. >> as far as the community, i want them to know there's a

zero tolerance policy. and yes we're muslims and we're all pius, but it doesn't make us immune to this type of activity. >> today we spoke again to mr. saleem's attorney, and he categorically denies the charges against him in court. saleem will be back in court again in early march and for now, he has surrendered his passport. and he has been told to have no contact with the alleged victim in the criminal case, and also no contact with anyone underage 18. and tony, coming up tonight at 8:00 we'll have much more on the charges against abdullah saleem, and also, we'll have details about the victim in the criminal case, and what she alleges happened to her. tony? >> you really feel for them, coming forward to speak with you, lisa. lisa stark in chicago for us, and thank you, lisa. the fbi is trying to track down whoever might be responsible

for graffiti at a islamic school in rhode island. it was tagged with the words "this is a hate crime pigs." and there were references to the prophet mohamed. and the white house -- a judge has put on hold the law on immigration that would clear the way for undocumented immigrants to stay in the country, and protesters ralied in several cities against it. saying that obama didn't follow legal procedures. and they are promising to appeal. it teaches about immigration law at cornell law school, and professor, it's good to have you on the program. for a moment, let's talk about prosecutorial discretion for a moment. but is my understanding correct, is the president deciding what offenders in the

case what lawbreakers to pursue and that akin for the police officer who over looks you at 70 in a 55 miles per hour zone, and if that's correct, does the president have the power to act in this way? >> well, it's not exactly a perfect analogy but certainly when it comes to immigration law, there's no way that any president can deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the united states so they have to make priorities. and the president said we're going to go after the serious criminal aliens, and for those people who are merely here illegally, we'll get them get a work permit x that's all he's done and it's not amnesty. >> what is the take clause of the constitution, and how does "it factor" into the debate that we're having. >> well, the take care laws

clause of the juice requires the president to faithfully execute the laws of the united states and the immigration laws say that the people who are hired here illegally are supposed to be deported. but the congress has never given the executive branch enough money to deport 11 million people. so the president has to pry or tiles where he's going to spend the limited money that he has. and the courts have given the executive branch wild discretion throughout history on how to prioritize who should stay and who has to go. >> are we witnesses with, in your opinion, an example of activism in this judge's decision in much the same way many feel there was judicial activism at work with the chief justice in alabama on the same-sex marriage just a week ago? >> well, yes and no. the plaintiff selected this judge because he's known to be

anti-immigrant. but the ruling yesterday was on narrow procedural grounds and it said that the federal government failed to follow procedures as set forth in law. so the court did not rule on constitutionality. so he wasn't being a judicial activist yesterday. but he had long words if that opinion and expressing his rule about immigration in general. >> there seems to be broad view here about executive power and we thought it might be helpful to put up a graphic here. so in the question of flexing the executive orders, president obama has issued 202 executive orders so far, and there were 364 executive orders under president clinton and 290 under president george w. bush, and 381 under president ronald reagan. so does it occur to you that maybe the easy fix here is for republicans who control both houses of congress to pass immigration reform? the president seemed to be

suing that pretty strongly today. >> well, certainly the ultimate fix -- it's not easy to get anything through congress these days, but the way to make sure that this doesn't happen in the future is to have comprehensive immigration reform and if they did that, they would not get involved. >> good to see you steven yale, law teacher. and ways to find isil and al qaeda. how one community in minnesota is trying to prevent those same groups from recruiting their kids. and plus, two women who may run for president. what did hillary clinton and elizabeth warren talk about. we discuss it in politics.

>> well, the white house today gave the green light to a new drone policy. it will allow the widespread sale of armed drones to

american allies, but there's concern about how the technology will be regulated. and wow mike, this is a development here. how soon could want u.s. begin selling armed drones on the global market. >> well, it certainly is a development, tony, and there's a lot that goes into it. a number of nations have been clamoring for the technology, and america thus far has refused to sell it to its closest allies. it was a few we can see that jordan asked for unarmed drones and there's a time when there's a lot of global competition in the drone market. obviously the administration is looking at that, and plus, this is something that many of the allies can use absence of the military boots on the ground. and many critics are saying that this could up the incidence of military conflict around the world. >> and how easy will it be for other countries to actually buy american drones? what types of regulations are

we talking about here? well, the administration, tony said that it's going to set the bar high, though the details and the exact criteria do remain classified. in the general sense the administration said there's a presumption of denial f a country comes to the united states and says they want to buy this technology, they have to prove that they need it, and they have to begin at a starting point and it won't be transferred. and must not be used for domestic surveillance in that country, the country that requires the weapons technology and it must only be used in accordance with international law. many are scoffing at that, noting that the united states has used, particularly in the obama administration, in many instances, they questioned the authority in which the administration is deploying these weapons, tony. >> tell you what, it's clear that this is big business and big profits to be made and who stands to benefit from it. >> well, $6 billion a year,

that's the estimated size of the market right now and it's growing, and there's competition from american companies, from china and israel, notably, and there's one company in san diego called general atomic, and it's the company that uses some of the wide-spread drones and they represent ones that were rejected when they wanted to transfer to jordan. so there will be critics noting again tony that drone strikes have killed untold scores of civilians over the years ago and concerns by many that these weapons systems and others, like in iraq, could fall into enemy hands. >> wanted obama administration is looking for ways to stop americans from joining groups like isil or al qaeda or carrying out lone wolf attacks. and today, vice president joe biden kicked off a summit represented by dozens of nations attending a three-day

conference. and biden said that engagement is key to combating recruitment efforts. >> all of us, including in the united states, we have to work from the ground up and engage our communities and engage those who might be susceptible to being radicalized. because they're marginalized. >> one strategy focuses on stopping young people from being lured to fight overseas, but as kim early halt reports from minneapolis, it some say that those efforts unfairly single out immigrant communities. >> when she fled from somalia her only goal was to raise her family away from conflict. but now worries that young children in minneapolis are being targeted by isil recruitment videos. >> we in the muslim community are the most vulnerable, because we have enemies -- i don't want to call it anything

else waiting for our kids to take. >> wanted fear that the children in this community leave not will leave to join isil is real. that's because this july, seven people have left to travel to syria and have since been charged with crimes related to their involvement with isil ill. the obama administration has launched a pilot program here, as well as in boston and los angeles. it's aimed to stop the recruitment of what it calls at-risk youth. the u.s. attorney from minnesota said that they will address issues such as high unemployment and poverty that make young people feel isolated and vulnerable. >> there's a feeling of identity crisis, am i sollami am i american? the community wants to address it and we're there to help. >> the program has its critics that they fear will lead to mass surveillance as in the past.

teenagers were recruited by el shabaab, but the community that was supposed to help them used it to gather tense. >> they appeared to be community outreach programs on the outside but in their internal documents they made very clear that one purpose of this outreach was to collect information about the community. >> after holding dozens of meetings with imams and youth leaders, andy said this program is different. >> we do have a problem and we want to solve it, the community wants to solve it, and we're going to do it together. >> community members say they're optimistic, but also sceptical. >> i don't appreciate it putting light on the muslim community. we need to share the blame where the bad guys do whatever they want to and get away, and we're the ones who are going to get the label or the sticker or the name for it. >> and she says as long as there's a stigma, there will

also be suspicion about government-run programs, even when the leaders claim they want to protect young people like her children. >> and today power politics, a private meeting between two of the democratic party's most powerful women. hillary clinton superintendent down with elizabeth warren, and michael, what do we know about this meeting? >> we know it's the first time that they have actually sat down to it discuss policy as warren's name has been swirling as a possible presidential candidate. and she insists that it's not wise for she and hillary clinton to bridge any gaps where they might have, this is what i plan and where i want to meet on you policy and i to the hear you because apparently a lot of democrats do too. >> is this good politics for clinton and warren in my opinion in my opinion?

>>warren, in your opinion? >> if warren is not running for president, elizabeth warren was a senator and a candidate had a big problem with a lot of the deregulation of the banks and a lot of that happened during the presidency of hillary clinton's husband. so i think it's important to get on the same page as that, how she's going to be position toured. because the record of the hillary clinton administration -- >> elizabeth warren said that she will not run for president and she has not ruled out taking the vp post, if that's offered, correct? >> . >> that's a little bit of carpet before the horse especially when hillary though she hasn't said she will, is going to run. she could endear herself

alleges a running mate hillary clinton. and there's a poll that said that hillary clinton is viewed and a lot of the liberals in the democratic party still support hillary clinton though she has been viewed with policies that are more populous, but yes everybody's name is in the hat. and it's prison. 2015. >> let's get out the 2015 calendar year first so to leaders are cheering the ruling in texas that is blocking the president's executive action on immigration, and how is this impacting republican leadership right now? >> it's an interesting question and it's an interesting dynamic with the department of homeland security expiring this month. and a lot of people thought this gives me free pass to boehner and tim mcconnell saying i will pass it without it being attached to the bill

we'll pax the funder for dhs and it will be a clean bill for what the democrats want. but it's not the case. because you leave it to the jeweleddish year, and the poles and the pundant are going to get blamed for this. and there's probably going to be a stay on this. >> a lot of the south because the weather has pretty much ground to a halt today. but i'm wondering, is it business as usual for politicians there? >> it's not in north carolina. from jeff jackson a state senator in north carolina, representing charlotte and want meklinburg area, and he went to work and he was the only guy there. he was tweeting and facebooking, and he said due to inclement weather, he said that

i should hurry up and pass medicaid expansion. he was there by himself. a lot of 1-0 rulings and it was like night at the museum, but in the end, we have a stronger middle class. >> michael shore for us in los angeles, and thank you. so winter shows no sign of letting up with an icy grashion. millions woke up to ice this morning all the way to the northeast. and thousands lost power in north carolina and tennessee and even the federal government in washington was shut down. meteorologist, nicole mitchell has where the storm is next. >> well, we have had a lot of problems over the last couple of days. can you see the one front that caused the freezing rain continues to clear through and another front behind that, and not a lot of moisture with that but it's going to reinforce the cold air but tomorrow on the great lakes, it will bring in lighter amounts of snow. but it's the cold air that's going to be significant as it

continues to dry up. because of the cold air in place tonight. all of that wet weather through portions of the south will refreeze and this next front is reinforcing the cold air bringing the temperatures down to 20-30° below average of where it has moved through and that means the midwest tonight where the front has brought the colder air -6 in minneapolis and the wind that funnels in from canada behind it, drops the windchills, to the dangerous categories, 20-40 below is what it's going to feel like on your skin, and the cold air sinks farther southward, in places like memphis. into the morning on thursday starts to get that. friday morning the northeast. and really, a lot of the country being impacted by this very arctic air. back to you. >> my goodness. it has bandage six years since president obama promised to shut down the prison camp in guantanamo. and we are hearing from a

person staying. it's the efficient that a detainee is speaking out on his captivity and treatment. >> wanted torture was growing day-by-day. the guards in the block actively participated in the process. they considerationed me for no reason. >> a public reading in new york city of a unique work. the guantanamo diary. >> this book tells us what happened to a prisoner in guantanamo from his side, from his words from his heart. >> he maintains his own dignity. his own humanity. and in doing so, i think he gives us all a model of how to move forward when we talk about guantanamo. >> it's the first published account from a guantanamo prisoner who is still in detention. >> you dear reader, could never understand the extent of the physical, and much more, the psychological pain people

in my situation suffer. >> bring me into court and i'll answer awful your questions, i would tell the team. there will be no court. they would answer. are you a mafia? you kidnap people, lock them up and blackmail them, i said? >> he was arrested in 2001 in his native more taina. he came to the attention of the cia because of what the agency considered to be a series of suspicious connections. he had fought against the soviets in the early 1990s in afghanistan. had a cousin who was an aid to osama bin laden and it is alleged that he crossed paths with a 9-1-1 planner in germany. >> what was your role in september 11th? >> i didn't participate in september 11th. he screamed madly. i realized that it would be no good for my life to look innocent for the timing, and so i said, i was working for

al qaeda and radio telecom. he seemed happier with the lie. >> but he maintains that though he was in afghanistan he gave up the fight long before al qaeda took up arms against the united states. prosecutors at guantanamo never brought charges against him. >> what have i done? i don't know, you tell me. look, you kidnapped me from my home in more taina not from a battlefield in afghanistan so what's the next charge? it looks to me that you -- >> you can watch the rest of joie's report tonight. every state deals with the state of homelessness, but some in alaska would prefer living without a roof over their heads. and operation beach how special forces are making

things safer especially during carnival. celebrations, live in new orleans, live pictures from bourbon street. careful out there. careful.

>> you know, winter is one of the most dangerous times for the homeless. there are as many as 1.75 homeless people in the uns and 600,000 of them are without shelter, and with its endless winters, nowhere is living on the streets more dangerous than alaska. it's one of the top ten for battling homelessness. julia is a freelance writer in alaska and she has written about homelessness for aljazeera.com, and thank you for being with us.

>> you followed the police as they broke up several homeless camps in the wilderness, and describe the camps. >> they were all over the place, from really really disorganized and littered with alcohol bottles to super sophisticated. we came across one that was like a teepee with a fire burning inside of it, and they had a last night rein, and there was like a cluster of them. and they were pretty deep into partly of the green belt that runs through the center of the city. >> you know in many cases people choose to live in those camps, and did you have the chance to talk to someone who had actively made a choice to live in a camp as opposed to a shelter? >> well, the issue frequently is the ability to freely drink. a lot of the people who are

chronically homeless, are deep in addiction and the shelter requires that they just don't drink at the shelter but sometimes they will have physical symptoms of alcohol withdrawal in the time of the overnight stay. so we're talking about chronically alcoholics, and there are many who are mentally ill, but addiction is the center of it. >> so chronically homeless, and addicted and is there help for these people? >> something that has worked elsewhere, is to offer housing to people chronically living outside, without requiring that they equipped drinking, and what we have seen is that people who get into housing with out having to quit drinking tend to cost the public less, because they're not using the emergency services and things like that, and also tend to drink less. they don't die at a slower

rate because people who have been chronically alcoholic for a long time tend to have lots of heaping problems, but they don't die outdoors, and that's important to the public anyway and everyone. in our city parks is something that has caused some of the problems among politicians. >> you're talking about those who may end up dying of exposure and it could be so cold for so long there and what kind of a physical toll does want weather take on them? >> well, frostbite is common, and a lot of times, it's just the fingers or the toes, or earlobes or pieces of your face, and other times, it's feet. and that creates some pretty intense complications down the line. when you go back out into the weather, and you are disabled at that point so so just

generally, people don't have good nutrition, and there are a lot of chronic diseases. >> what's different about homelessness in alaska and homelessness say in new york city or another big city here in the wintertime? >> well, it's a high stakes place to be homeless because the temperatures can be extreme, and right now, it's springtime. and i think it might actually be warmer here today than it is in new york, but at night it might get really cold, so people go outside in the daytime, and then we do see a spike in exposure. >> julia, thank you and i want to direct everyone to your piece right now, it's on aljazeera.com. thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> aljazeera journalist, he is

confident that he will be released, and he talked about seeing his children for the first time after his release last week. >> it's hard to describe. you can see it and feel it, but to describe those moments i can't. but it's fun to be home. you saw me on the stairs, and they suddenly jumped on me, and i took them, and i think i started crying, and this is the first time my children start telling me, stop going to work. don't leave again. you spend too much time at work so don't go again and we want you to stay. >> baher and his colleagues spent 111 days behind bars, and they will be back. aljazeera rejects the charges against them. coming up at the top of the

hour david schuster is here. >> we continue our look into the chicago area. imam charged with sexually assaulting a woman. and tonight he's freed from jail after posting bail. but tonight a social worker who talked with the victim is telling her story. >> there was a constant barrage of shaming and blaming her saying, what did you do to bring this on? if you do say something you're going to hurt the community. >> as criminal charges were filed today against the i'm the imam, a lawsuit was filed. and there's controversy in great britain about a man and he wants to go from britain to syria. you will hear from him as the white house talks about his style of extremism. and rains have not abused

the drought in one california town. porterville, just south of fresno and the relief efforts for residents are running out of money. the city is playing politics with people's lives. we'll have those stories and more in a few minutes. >> it is fat tuesday and that means brazil's carnival is coming to a close. tens of thousands of people packed the samba drone in rio did i janeiro. >> rio and the beach are synonymous especially during carnival, when people all over the world flock in by hundredsens of thousands. but locals know to bring the bare minimum to protect themselves from a possible

tsunami. but not a tsunami from the ocean, but rather the hills surrounding rio de janeiro. it's a human wave that comes onto the beaches stealing everything in its path. three months ago on this same beach, this was the scene. beachgoers running in panic trying to vein to escape from the onslaught of thieves. that's why rio de janeiro's police have introduced a new type of sun protection. it's called operation beach. the same special units forces that normally fight drug trafficking gangs is now stationed at the beaches in full combat gear. >> this is not an extreme measure. it is a precaution who protect people who frequent the beach. due to the large number of people who come here, some take advantage to commit crimes. >> some 300 police on motor

bikes and on foot, carrying pistols and stun guns, weave their way around the umbrellas. while on the pavement, the central command truck uses state-of-the-art technology to keep track of potential flareups in realtime. these are the images from the helicopters and cameras. suspects are arrested on the spot. a welcome development say the locals. >> without a doubt. i decided to come here because it's closer to police. it makes my whole family feel safer. >> the last month and a half things have improved noticeably. it was a bit dangerous. authorities promise to keep operation beach going as long as there's a mass presence of beachgoers, which in rio means practically all year round. >> and that's all of our time

for this news hour, tony harris in new york city, and thanks for watching. david schuster is up next on aljazeera america.

>> violence, stopping homegrown threats, and we hear from one. so called in europe raising new fears. [ unintelligible ]. >> fall from grace. a revered muslim leader in chicago is charged with sexual