of his business empire. al jazeera, las vegas, nevada. >> closing arguments, the jury could soon have the case of one of the first officers charged in the death of freddie gray. caught in the crossfire, diplomats trying to find a solution to end the war in syria. two popular christmas items under the microscope because of security and safety concerns.

this is aljazeera america live from new york city, i'm del walters. closing arguments underway right now in baltimore. that is where a baltimore city police officer is on trial for his alleged role in the death of freddie gray. officer william porter is were you ever six charged. john terrett has more from baltimore. >> william porter's attorneys rested their case on friday after putting their client on the stand. the baltimore police officers faces involuntary manslaughter and three other charges in the death of freddie gray whose neck was broken in custody in april. counterclaims made by prosecutors is that freddie gray was having difficulty breathing and porter simply ignored his pleas for help when he was in distress in the back of the police van. porter denied that gray told him he could not breathe and testified that when he checked

on gray, he showed no sign of injury. had he been injured, i would have called for a medic, porter said. when asked why he didn't secure gray with a seatbelt as required by updated police department policy, porter said through all my training, i seatbelted people inside my personal vehicle, but never the wagon. jurors saw the police wagon for themselves. porter described it as pretty tight and noted that in seatbelting gray, his gun would have been very close to gray. porter testified gray asked for medical help but did not say why he needed it. porter knew gray from the neighborhood, saying he had a reputation for feigning injury and two weeks before the arrest, gray tried to kick out the window of a police s.u.v. after he was detained. among witnesses who testified for the defense, former baltimore police commander timothy luongo now the chief of police in charlottsville west virginia said porter acted within his discretion.

a defense doctor countered the state's expert saying when gray asked for help, porter could have saved his life by simply call a medic. gray's death a week after his arrest set off days of protest and rioting. defense attorneys cautioned jurors against a verdict aimed at quelling unrest. as the trial draws to a close, the city is on edge. >> we have a system of justice. is it perfect? no. is it our system that we need to protect? absolutely. i think when you ask residents of the city to sit, to listen, to weigh evidence and then to make a decision, we need to respect their decisions. >> john joins us live from ability more, the jury hearing those closing arguments or summations as to what officer

porter did or did not do. so far what have you heard inside the courtroom? >> that's a very clever way of putting it, del, actually. officer porter is on trial not for shooting a man for for badly beating him up or any of the cases we have lived through in several years. he is on trial for something he did not do. on friday, there was great concern when the judge barry williams got to his summation today, when he gives jury instructions on how they should proceed, if he says to them look, if you think that officer porter was in any way negligent in his duty as a police officer toward freddie gray you must convict, that will blow the defense completely out of the water. they were talking to the judge about that and the way in which every phrases his instructions to the jury later this morning. just coming back, the latest is this courtroom is the most packed it has ever been in the last two weeks for jury selection or the trial itself. what's happened in the end is that the judge has just begun giving instructions to the jury, so we'll get those first.

he's doing that right now, and then we will hear the closing arguments from the prosecution first, i expect, followed by the defense and then after that, depending on how many breaks they take, we are expecting the jury to get the case either late this morning or early this afternoon, so we don't know when a verdict might come in. you can never call a jury on that one. could be today. i suspect most likely sometimes tomorrow, but we will see, del. >> how fragile i also baltimore. how concerned that any verdict will lead to unrest? >> i have to be perfectly honest with you. the city seems quiet today. it seems calmer than it did a couple weeks ago when the trial got underway, but you never know. i think that all you can ask for in life really is to have your day in court, and the officers involved are getting their day in court and those most concerned to see that they are prosecuted in some way are getting their day in court. that's happening all around us

right now and will go on through the middle of next year. the police commissioners that he's preparing for a variety of scenarios. all police leave is canceled, officers working 12 hours a day, just in case, del. >> john, thank you very much. >> inlay l.a., the investigation there in underway this one involving the police shooting of an armed man at a busy intersection. 28-year-old nicholas robertson was shot 32 times. he is now dead. the los angeles county sheriff's department promises a full investigation, but demonstrators say the shooting wasn't justified. al jazeera's bisi onile-ere reports. >> they are images that felt eerily familiar, sheriff's deputies in los angeles caught by a bystander's cell phone during a deadly encounter. the victim was 28-year-old nicholas robertson, an african-american. his death already sparking outrage with activists taking to social media calling for justice and family members asking why. >> you can see him on the video that he's crawling away and they

still just shooting him. department said deputies deputies responded to multiple calls in the minutes leading up to the encounter, reporting robertson was roaming the area with a firearm acting erratically. >> we have six calls to 911 received from other businesses and residences in the immediate area. not only was he armed, but had actually discharged a firearm several times. >> deputies yelled for robertson to put the weapon down, but he ignored them. >> there are two women and three children in a car at a gas pump that is within five feet of him at the time. actually, we've interviewed those witnesses and they expressed grave concern that they believe the suspect was actually going to shoot them. >> according to authorities, the two deputies fired a total of 33 shots. they have both been reassigned pending the investigation. among the questions left to answer of investigators is why robertson was acting so agitated.

>> we're not sure if it was because of circumstances or there may be a drug nexus to it, as well. >> area activists call for a thorough investigation. >> a black man once again was shot and killed by law enforcement. >> they also urged patience and calm. >> let the investigation take its course and wherever it takes us and leads us to, that's where we'll go. we're asking people don't make a decision based on a 10 second clip of a cell phone video that's on the news. >> bisi onile-ere, al jazeera, new york. jail authorities are launching an investigation into the police shotting of a palestinian teen. they want to know whether officers used excessive force. he shot a 16-year-old girl last month. investigators want to know if the girl posed a threat when she was shot. another girl was accused of trying to stab israelis in the west bank.

president obama meeting with his national security team. later today, the president will meet with defense and law enforcement officials at the pentagon, getting a threat briefing at the national counter terrorism center this week. the president is trying to curb public fears over isil. secretary of state john kerry in paris today meeting with foreign ministers to outline plans to stop the syrian war. this weekend, there were stepped up airstrikes by the syrian government on rebel positions. those strikes hitting several damascus suburbs, killing at least 45. an associate professor of international studies at arcadia university also wrote a book about syria's war and says those meetings are going to have no effect on ending the conflict. >> while the riyadh conference was happening, there were two others also happening within syria, one in damascus by the

pro regime opposition and one in the kurdish areas, as well, so even within riyadh, there wasn't consensus and within the broader opposition landscape, there isn't, as well. the larger problem is that the powerful groups on the ground, the ones that have the greatest ability to affect the course and trajectory of the conflict are no longer supportive of the opposition and attempts to unify them. the russian intervention has weakened the western position. this is why we see a greater emphasis on the political process right now. the united states is losing, if you will, power to affect the trajectory of the conflict, so they want to do is legitimize the political process. i think that unfortunately, the only way that a political process will turn into a solution or will translate into a solution is if it greatly satisfies russian and iranian interests in syria.

>> saying those trying to end the conflict are fueling it. turkish troops are beginning to leave iraq. they've been there since last year. baghdad said it never gave ankara permission to operate within its borders. thousands of iraqis protesting, saying they're upset that turkish troops are on their soil. republican ted cruz surging in the polls just weeks before the iowa caucuses. cubans trying to get to the u.s. by land stuck in central america.

>> we have people who are

desperately in need of jobs. >> hear from citizens caught in the crossfire... >> we want freedom, freedom! >>...and what america can learn from chicago's ongoing gun violence. >> donald trump sometime leading in polls nationwide but ted cruz is gaining ground. chris is at 22%, five points be behind trump. in iowa, cruz is winning. two separate polls over the week put him ahead of trump two to 10 points. now trump is taking aim at cruz. >> i don't think he has the right temperament. i don't think he's got the right judgment. >> what's wrong with his temperament? >> you look at the way he dealt with the senate where he goes in there like a, frankly like a little bit of a maniac. you're never going to get things done that day.

look, i built a phenomenal business. i am worth many, many billions of dollars. i have some of the greatest assets anywhere in the world. you can't walk into the senate and scream and call people liars and not be able to cajole and get along with people. he'll never get anything done. that's the problem with ted. >> trump insisted his own judgment has been sound. he also said he can beat hillary clinton in a general election. >> cruz tweeting this response: trump and cruz will be on the main stage for tuesdays republican debate along with chris christie and kentucky senator rand paul. christie and paul were relegated to the second tier in the earlier debates because of low numbers. recent polls in iowa and new hampshire have them with barely enough support to meet the threshold to take to the main stage. >> today marking three years

since sandy hook. twenty first grade students and teachers were killed. adam lanza, the gunman also killed his mother before killing himself. town and school officials have chosen not to hold any public remembrances. families are asking the public oh honor the victims by showing acts of kindness. guns and violence have been in the headlines all year in chicago. this week, aljazeera america taking a closer look at the problem with a series of reports we are calling five days in chicago. we have more on the issues that continue to divide the windy city. >> weekend after weekend, shooting after shooting, chicago has become infamous for its gun violence. >> in chicago, 10 dead, 54 others injured. >> it has dominated the headlines. >> in chicago, seven of those people were killed. >> giving rise to the city's nickname, chiraq. yet the city is safer than decades past.

view rent crime is down. >> it always has been division. there's always been two chicagos. we've known that our whole lives. we hear shots almost every night. everybody is on pins and needles and after a period of time, you become numb to it. i don't want us to be numb to it anymore. >> al jazeera, chicago. >> our week long special five days in chicago begins tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. director spike lee's latest film is set amid gang violence in chicago.

it's call "chiraq." he spoke about the newtown shooting and why that didn't change gun laws. >> if young white infants and kindergarten first grade get slaughtered and nothing happens right away, then you know that it's going to take a minute. because every -- i thought for sure, i would put money on it, president obama felt the same thing. but it hasn't been the case, but where 88 people die every day in america due to gun violence. >> 88 people. >> every single day. it adds up to like i think 32,000. i was never that good at math. >> i was told there would be no math in this exam. >> it's profit. profit. >> you can see spike lee's

entire conversation on talk to al jazeera tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern, 3:00 pacific. june thousands are cubans are trying to get to the u.s. stuck in costa rica. the number of cubans coming into the automatic has gone up by 30,000. as paul beban reports, warming cuban american relations may affect that trend. >> riot police stand guard on the nicaraguan border. the country is refusing to let 5,000 cubans in costa rica pass through on their way to the u.s. >> we don't have any other motivation other than getting to the united states, but we don't have passage through nicaragua. >> we can't go back. many cubans sold their homes and they have no work. cuba would not accept us if we return. there would be retaliation against us. >> since 1966, cubans who reach the u.s. are eligible more or less for automatic residency. as relations with the u.s. thaw, many worry that will end,

leading a new wave of people to try to reach the u.s. in the past, poverty and the castro government's limits on travel made braving the florida straits the only escape route, but now cubans can travel to ecuador without visas, opening a new route overland through central america and mexico. according to customs and border protection in 2014, more than 17,000 cubans arrived in the u.s. through the mexican border. this year, that number has nearly doubled, until the borders were closed. at a recent summit, the nicaragua government said the cuban migrants are a threat to security. costa rica had a plan to bypass nicaraugua's road block by flying migrants to guatemala and belize to continue their journey but those countries have also refused to let them in. >> this position disappoints and especially due to the argued reason, which is that this should be resolved through a regional treaty.

>> central american countries have been under pressure to crack down on migration since 2014 when tens of thousands of children arrived in the u.s.unaccompanied. in the meantime, costa rica's foreign minister said he is running out of options. >> we urgently request the countries located toward the south, ecuador, panama and columbia, implement clearer, more forceful measures to avoid these migrant flows. >> for now, these cuban migrants remain in limbo. paul beban, al jazeera. >> up next, the fallout over hoverboards, from number one holiday gifford to being yanked from store she was. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you.

we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. >> a california hospital reaching out to the families of some babies, they say they may have been exposed to tooberg close in the maternity wing, saying more than 1,000 people may have been exposed to t.b. between august and november. they say a nurse had active t.b. but didn't know it. she worked with mothers and newborns. the hospital will offer preventative treatment to any infant that was exposed. in the navajo nation, grocery stores are few and far between with that some say that explains why so many american natives have poor eating habits. >> here on the navajo nation,

one in three residents are diabetic or prediabetic. recent studies show heart disease is the second leading cause of death among tribal citizens on the reservation. locals say the root of the problem is access and options when it comes to food. >> for the last five years, loretta has been raising churro sheep for their meat and growing her own vegetables. she said self sufficiency is almost the only option. just 10 grocery stores serve nearly 300,000 people here on a navajo nation, roughly the size of south carolina. >> we have a huge problem with having access to good quality food. we don't have access to grocery stores. we don't have the convenience of driving to the nearest grocery store that carries good quality food. >> for those who can't make the drive, gas stations and trading posts fill the spaces in between

with few options for healthy food. the result is a range of disturbing health problems. the question of food access could soon be getting renewed focus through a set of benchmarks called sustainable development goals. the director of the policy institute says on the navajo nation, that kind of attention would be a good first step. >> we've been rendered invisible at multiple layers and over time, the average person in the u.s. has access to food and are moving forward. i've personally had family members who have passed on because of unchecked diabetes and i know people who are constantly diagnosed with them. it gets scary. >> citizens here say it's a trend that can be reversed involving policy changes at the local, state and federal level. until then, navajo citizens say the change has to come from inside, native people growing

native food. al jazeera, navajo nation. >> washington has new regulations for drones. the f.a.a. said any drone weighing more than a half pound have to be registered. owners have to be 13 and sign up before their first flight. there will be a $5 registration free, but it's free for the first 30 days. one study finds more than 300 close encounters between drones and planes in the past three years. several hundred thousand drones will be purchased over the holiday season. another item, hoverboards. two on line retailers are not going to sell them anymore. >> hover board is on fire. >> timothy paid $500 for his hover board. he said it started burning up three days after he got it.

>> i rode it like 7500 feet, and it exploded, it was just like boom! >> according to the consumer products safety commission, there are 10 fire investigations in nine states involving fiery hover boards, including ones that badly burned houses in new york and louisiana. >> i could hear it. it sounded like a lit firework. it was just like that. >> now amazon appears to have joined other retailers pulling most hoverboards from its site. swag way said amazon notified all hoverboard sellers that want to sell through amazon said they must prove their boards meet federal safety standards. overstock.com has stopped selling the boards altogether. >> they are not toys. >> consumer safety advocates said it's what's powering them that makes these dangerous. >> it is coming from the charging in the lithium ion batteries. >> it is the same batteries in cell phones and laptops, but much bigger and powerful.

the f.a.a. ran that test, showing what can happen to those batteries on flights. that's part of the reason why most major domestic carriers no longer let passengers bring hoverboards onboard. >> mom, get some water or something. >> while the fire danger hasn't turned off timothy from getting another hoverboard. >> i'm hoping they worked out the kinks. >> it's made others check their christmas list twice. >> i don't really want it anymore. >> star wars the force awakens could be the biggest grossing film in hollywood history. regular old fashioned fans camping out in front of the historic chinese theater for more than a week, already all of the first neat screenings already sold out. thanks for watching. may the force be with you. i'm del walters in new york. the news continues live from doha. ha.

>> welcome to the news hour. i'm richelle carey. this is al jazeera live from doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes. almost five years of fighting and a quarter of million people killed. the diplomatic push to end the conflict in syria takes center stage. after protests in baghdad protests in baghdad where turkey ve