gerald tan, al jazeera. >> fantastic. plenty more news analysis comment and video on our website. take a look at aljazeera.com. >> vegas showdown, national security taking center stage as the candidates faceoff again. al jazeera asked donald trump about the muslim issue. >> many of them have called me and said donald, you have done one of the great services. a baltimore jury back to work trying to work through that deadlock in the if he was freddie gray trial. high anxiety over high interest rates, the fed could boost them today and what that could mean for your finances.

this is aljazeera america live in new york city. i'm deem walt. it is back to the campaign trail today for the republicans who say they want to be president. just hours ago, they faced off in las vegas. last night's debate focused on national security and foreign policy, as the candidates try to differentiate themselves on the issues and who could keep the country safe. powell beban has our report. >> with the race entering the final stretch before the iowa caucuses on february 1, the stakes were high in las vegas. nine presidential candidates deep baited who would be tough on terrorism and protecting americans. donald trump and his plan to bar muslims from the united states drew fire from all the other candidates. but former florida governor jeb bush was itching for a fight. >> he's a chaos candidate and would be a chaos president.

he would not be the commander in chief we need to keep our country safe. >> jeb doesn't really believe i'm unhinged. he said that simply because he has failed in this campaign. it's been a total disaster. nobody cares. >> trump and bush weren't the only ones sparring. senators marco rubio and ted cruz went after each other on national security and immigration. legalizing people that are in this country now? >> i have never supported legalization and i do not intend to support legalization. >> new jersey governor chris christie saw an opening, using the senator's bickering to tout his executive experience. >> this is the difference between actually having been federal prosecutor and actually doing something or spending your life debating it. let's talk about doing this, not which bill each one of these guys likes more. the american people don't care about that. >> overall, the tone seemed set

by fear, a sense that americans are afraid and looking for a leader fierce enough to take on terrorism and hillary clinton. >> like all of you, i'm angry, i'm angry at what's happening to our nation. citizens, it's time to take our country back. >> perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was deescalation between donald trump and senator cruz who has surged in the polls. when asked about calling cruz a maniac, instead, he sang his praises. >> he has a wonderful temperament. he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> whether what looked like a non-aggression pact will last depends on what happens at the next debate. >> donald trump defending his plan to ban muslims from coming into the u.s. after the debate, he said his proposal i also not

about isolation, but security. >> quickly, if you were running against donald trump, what would you do? >> i think i'd give up. he can't be beaten. he cannot be beaten, i'd give up. >> what do you think about -- look, i was overseas when you made your comments about muslims not coming in. i'm canadian and muslim and was a little scared it wouldn't happen. you don't mean that, do you? >> i have many, many great muslim friends, great people, incredible people. they called me, some of them, some are a little bit not so happy, but many called me and said donald you have done one of the great services, because we do have a problem and by bringing it out, we can solve the problem. >> can you do it in a different way, rephrase it? >> no, no, they're such amazing people, but we have to solve the problem. there is a problem with a certain small group and we have to get that problem solved because that small group can cause tremendous havoc. you've seen that.

you've seen that. muslim friends of mine who are phenomenal people have said to me, you have done such a -- and these are really successful people, by the way, you have done such a tremendous service. people, i love the muslims and i have so many unbelievable relationships. i watched you the other night on television and i said you did a good job. >> have any of these friends of yours challenged you? >> some were not so happy, but some were really happy because i'm bringing out something we have to discuss. we have to discuss the problem. >> do you think there is a way of getting that problem solved without being so strident? >> we have to get the problem solved. >> in san bernardino, that guy was born here. >> but she wasn't and she was heavily radicalized and shouldn't have been allowed to come in and she came in and they created a lot of havoc. you have 14 dead people and others are going to follow suit because you have badly injured

people. it's a very sad situation. you know what, by bringing it out to the fore, we'll get the problem solved. >> are we immigrants going to stick together? >> if you stick with him, you can't miss. great to meet you. >> one prominent muslim, malala yousafzai condemning trump's plan. >> it's important that whatever politician say, media says, they are important about it. if your intention is to stop terrorism, do not try to blame the whole population of muslims for it, because it cannot stop terrorism, it will rather create more terrorists. >> she was talking in an interview marking one year since the taliban attack that killed 150 people in pakistan. most who died were children. hillary clinton taking a swipe at her republican rivals over the issue of isil and guns. >> it defies common sense that republicans in congress refuse to make it harder for potential

terrorists to buy guns. if you are too dangerous to fly, you are too dangerous to buy a gun, period. >> clinton said the nation needs a comprehensive plan to defeat isil, including occur tailing their recruitment overseas and here at home. defense secretary ash carter is in the middle east talking about ramping up the fight against isil. he is explaining special operations troops being sent to iraq, something baghdad does not want. bernard smith is live in istanbul. what is the purpose of carter's middle east tour? >> good morning. ash carter kicked off his tour here in turkey. he went to the air base in southeastern turkey. that was opened up in the summer to the u.s. military, allowed the turks after a lot of arm

twisting, pressure, allowing u.s. military to use that base to launch airstrikes on isil targets in syria about that what ash carter wants is repeating a call from the u.s. administration that turkey and the gulf states particularly do more in the fight against isil. , turkey says opened another base, but most of turkish airstrikes have been aimed at separatist p.k.k. targets, not isil. the u.s. wants turkey to do more in the fight against isil. in the gulf, there are navy and air bases, but it wants the states to use their own militaries, using their own resource he is. he's pushing that message that he wants the gulf and turkey to do more. >> bernard, this is a controversial topic here in the u.s. does accelerating the campaign mean more of the same or is there something new about the u.s. approach?

>> i think we're hearing from washington from the white house that the u.s. recognizes that it needs to step up its campaign against isil. it hasn't done enough or isn't doing enough to push home the advantage that it's making against the territorial gains it's making against isil. we know that one of the reasons ash carter is here is really to discuss targets. yes, he's meeting the iraqi leadership, but also lt. general sean mcfar land to discuss with him what more the u.s. can do to improve to bring more of the fight to isil. >> some of of the candidates proposed that they should arm the kurds, sunni forces and other groups. does that play into the current strategy? >> well already, really, the u.s. has been -- are giving small articles, small weaponry

to the kurds in syria, particularly in some other selective sunni groups fighting isil. there's a call, a recognition that these groups need more weaponry. there's a recognition that particularly the kurdish forces on the ground in syria are the most effective fighting partner the u.s. has. the difficulty for the obama administration is it doesn't want to upset the turks by doing too much to help the kurds. >> live from istanbul, thank you very much. in baltimore, jurors are deliberating the fate of the man, the first man on trial in connection with the death of freddie gray. tuesday, jurors tell the judge they were deadlocked over the charges against officer will come porter, the judge telling them keep trying. january terrett has more. >> it means we're looking at the possibility of a mistrial here in baltimore. what happened yesterday afternoon was the jury filed into the courtroom and gave the

judge a note. we thought it was a question. on the piece of paper it said we are deadlocked. the judge said get back in there and try harder. they stayed until half past five and came back early this morning. they are trying to reach a verdict. we don't know what they are stuck on or what the split is. if they come back and say we really are hopelessly deadlocked, then judge barry williams will have a conference with them and say will anymore deliberations help. if they look blankly at each other, he'll look to the attorneys and if they all agree, a mistrial will be declared and officer porter will be back here for another trial on a new date. the jury may very well come up with a verdict, but of course we don't know when the decision will come in. >> that is john terrett reporting, baltimore officials

saying their red for anymore unrest in the city if and when that decision comes down. congress working on a spending bill for a longer team deal. house speaker ryan saying a deal is in place but won't be voted on until tomorrow. it would fund the government through 2016. it increases the deficit, extending popular tax breaks, listing the 40-year-old he ban on exporting crude. we will know today whether the fed will raise interest rates. it is expected to raise its bench mark short term interest rate a quarter point. that rate has been just about zero now for seven years. the move will increase borrowing cost and reduce wages, but savers will earn more on deposits. economist josh bivens saying it will hurt an already weak america economy.

i mean when you look at the data on both wage and fries inflation, they are far below what you would want to see in a healthy economy. inflation is coming in well below the fed's 2% target and has been for years now and there's no real sign of any acceleration even in pretty recent data. theoretically that's a worry you can have an overheating economy that you need to rein in, i don't think that's the economy we have today. the economy today still needs support from the fed, i think. >> so today's 25 basis point increase, if they raise it there, and then they say something along the lines of ok, further increases will be totally dependent on data, we're not going to raise until we actually see some durable increases in wage and price inflation, then i think we come out of this ok. if instead today's rate is a signal that it's going to start to be a regular rate increase and we're going to try to hold the line and not let unemployment get too far below what it is today, that's bad for low and moderate wage workers. those workers need moderate market to get today's increases.

today's increased signals that we're not going to let them get tight labor market, i think we are not going to see much wage increases for low and moderate wage workers. >> he thinks the fed should wait just a little longer to raise any interest rates. a record number of travelers hitting the roads for the holidays. triple-a predicts there will be more than 100 million travelers by the end of the year. triple-a said 91% will be driving. gas below $2 a gallon is to thank, the lowest since 2009. >> a record snow day frustrating colorado commuters, the roads icy and a mess this morning. more than seven inches falling at the denver international airport shattering a record set more than a century ago. is that storm system going to move east. >> colorado is used to digging out quickly, they are making good progress there today. the snow has ended and they've

moved out. we are worrying about the northern tier have the country. the front that had been pretty dry through the southern tier of the country now is moving closer to the gulf coast, picking up more moisture, so easier not only to pick up that line, but more places will see the rain now. while we're still in the big picture, we've had break from rain, but more will be back especially into the day tomorrow. we still have a setup where places will get rain, we had that warm air ahead of everything. even the last front cooled things down a few places, especially the midsection of the country, but not so much in the eastern half of the country or eastern third, so still warm air. 53 in memphis is pretty good for december. as we continue to watch that, the snow is lifting more toward canada, that side of it, the rain, that area will expand a little bit. where we are now getting the snow, it's winding down, interstate 29 a big problem, but

most of it is on the ground now. the rest of today, still has rain and then tomorrow, it hits the east coast a little more and then a brief dry break behind all that have. as i said, already by tomorrow's forecast, we want to look to the northwest, because that's where that next weather system will be winding up. >> nicole, thank you very much. >> when we come back, the accident stepping up security as a major crossing for undocumented immigrants, the difficulties the national guard is having trying to scour the rio grande. a new crackdown over fake firearms that look too real.

>> 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.

extra security in los angeles this morning as students and teachers go back to school. the classes canceled after that threat was issued against the entire district. it turned out to be a hoax, but parents say it was terrifying. >> i'm concerned for all of us. i think, you know, having these terrorist attacks happening in places that are as normal as the situation in san bernardino where no one suspected anything is very unnerving. >> california school superintendent trying to determine the best way to respond to what they are now calling a new era of threats. most americans say they are against a ban on assault weapons. a new poll out this morning finding that 53% say they are against banning the sale of assault weapons compared to

1994, back then only 18% opposed the ban. the poll shows 22% of americans were were confident that the government can't stop a lone wolf attack. new york state is cracking down on those toy guns that look real. al jazeera's john henry smith has our story. under pressure from new york's attorney general, 30 on line retailers who sell on amazon have agreed to no longer offer some toy guns to new york residents. >> year after year, we have found that retailers such as walmart, amazon and k-mart chose profits over safety and in the process put thousands of new york kids and police officers at the risk of a tragic and even deadly encounter. >> a new york law prohibits the sale of those realistic toy guns in the state unless they feature a brightly colored tip to show they're not real. the attorney general's office said the company still sold

thousands of replica guns in the state in recent years. a similar gun was the one 12-year-old tamir rice was holding when he was shot and killed by police in cleveland. under the deal with new york state, the retailers have paid $27,000 in fines. that's on top of the $300,000 some big box stores like walmart, sears and k-mart paid in their deal with the state earlier this year. those stores also agreed to stop selling those replica guns. gun safety advocates say new york's campaign against realistic looking toy guns needs to be expanded nationwide. >> the fact that congress has chosen not to regulate this very pervasive and lethal consumer product is a great tragedy and shame that americans need to do something about. >> half a dozen states have laws on the books dealing with toy guns. another seven have introduced legislation to create or amend such laws. texas is going to keep national guard troops on its

borders to block people coming from mexico. the governor saying the deployment is still needed because the federal government isn't doing enough. al jazeera's heidi zhou castro has more. >> here along the rio grande we are steps from mexico and with an uptick in the number of children trying to cross this river into the u.s., the texas governor has called for reinforcements. >> 18 months ago, state leaders responded to a surge in immigrant children by sending nearly 1,000 national guard troops to the border. that deployment was to end this month. now texas governor greg abbot is extended the guard's mission. the move is in response to a new spike in the number of immigrant kids caught at the border. in the last two months, more than 6,000 children, mostly from central america were caught in the region. that's almost double the number apprehended in the same time period last year. federal officials took drastic steps last week to make

temporary living quarters for nearly a thousand of those children who recently crossed. as their immigration case is processed, they are staying at summer camps further north. texas leaders criticized the move saying the children's presence is a burden on local counties and a security risk. >> with their extended deployment, national guard troops will remain at strategic locations along this border to deter illegal crossings. governor abbot has called for state troopers to increase their patrols here, both in the air and on the water. brian power, innovative thinking to help the less fortunate, finding shelter for america's homeless by thinking small.

>> the f.a.a. wants to know what caused a southwest airlines jet to roll off the runway. it happened last night in nashville. it rolled off the grass and got stuck on the runway on its way to the gate. 133 passengers and crew were onboard, eight people were hurt. investigators don't think weather was a factor. >> a growing number of americans can't afford to pay their rent. now some homeless advocates have found a new approach to shelter those in need. we have more from nashville. >> they call it the sanctuary, a cluster of tiny homes for the homeless. these micro homes in downtown nashville are part of a growing national trend, a short term solution to get people off the

streets. >> mentally, does it make it easier to set your goals and to move on when you can come home at night to a little home? >> yeah! you know, come home, your privacy, gives you time to, you know, think on the next step of things you want to do. >> it's estimated that on any given day, there are more than 600,000 homeless in the united states. the city of nashville counts roughly 2300 people within its borders, but local organizations think the number is nearly three times higher. 60-year-old peter reagan suffers from bipolar disorder. he's been on the streets most of his life. >> we all have some kind of an issue. >> we spent this chilly december night around the community campfire that he shares with others at the sanctuary. >> what's it like having your own key to your own house? >> it's great. you know you can lock your stuff up and it's going to be there when you come back.

>> so how did this tiny community come to exist? its roots go back to 2011. peter and the others live on a lot owned by the green street church of christ. green street has long provided services, food and shelter to the homeless. with rising crime against the homeless and laws criminalizing sleeping in public spaces, it was time to do more. >> somebody that had been here a good bit needed a safer place to camp, so they asked if they could set up a tent behind that. >> behind the storage thing. >> storage container. >> what started as one tent quickly became 30, and the sanctuary was born. >> do you feel like you've been given a gift, being able to live here? >> yes, because if i wasn't here, i'd be out with everybody else sleeping under a bridge,

and people die out there. i got a few more years i want to live. i'm not ready to go yet. >> lisa fletcher, al jazeera. take a look at this, a once in a lifetime proposal might land a houston lovebird in jail. the couple was standing on houston's busiest highway. he worked with friends to stop traffic in all lanes. he now faces misdemeanor charges for doing just that. if he is convicted, he face as fine or up to six months in jail for his honeymoon. star wars will be in theaters friday nationwide but the movie already making history. nothing will stand in our way. i will finish. >> advanced ticket sales for the force awakens exceed $100 million, four times the record holder, "the dark knight" rises back in 2012. >> thanks for watching, the news continues live from doha, next.

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ it's good to have you with us as we begin another news hour here in doha. our top stories. a mass prisoner swap gets underway in yemen, despite violations of a week long ceasefire. stopping the flow of isil oil. the efforts to prevent the armed group from making millions a month from the trade. i