likely to introduce plain packaging, tobacco companies continue to feel the squeeze. al jazeera, london. lots more news on our website, aljazeera.com, including the latest on the top story there, coming to us out of ramadi. wild weather from coast-to-coast affecting millions of americans headed out of town on one of the busiest travel days of the year. hundreds of protestors expect at the mall of america, angry over the police killing of an african-american man. >> retaking ramadi, iraqi forces moving closer to pushing isil out of that crucial iraqi city.

this morning millions of americans making their way home to their holiday destinations, this is a live look at the crowded skies right frow. travelers also better pack patience, because mother nature just not cooperating. this is aljazeera america live in new york city. today is one of the busiest for holiday travel and severe weather in large parts of the u.s. promises to make things even worse. >> this bises holiday travel week started wet for many people and is not getting better. [ laughter ] >> aaa says more than 100 million travelers will hit the road over the next two weeks. they'll have to keep an eye on the skies just as much as they do the road. fog may have led to this chain reaction crash on interstate 49 in arkansas, killing at least three people. across parts of the west, snow is so heavy, it's slowing a search and rescue mission in washington state. officials had to suspend the search for a missing skier because of avalanche dangers.

>> he could be in a snow cave, he could be under a tarp, just waiting for us. >> dangerous winds in california overturning tractor trailers and taking down trees, that's keeping utility crews working round the clock. >> we have another tree down, we're going to have to go respond to it. >> more than 38 million travelers are expected to fly through january 3, the busiest airports, atlanta, los angeles, and chicago and weather could cause flight delays at all three. temperatures could top seventy degrees in washington, d.c. >> this is not the type of weather you want for a holiday week. it's been lots of different weather. we had severe weather. we have flooding going on, as well. of course the temperatures are going to be even higher than what they were last week. first let's get right down to the severe weather.

notice these clouds here and these thunderstorms popping upping just over the last couple hours. you notice these areas of red, that's where the highest tops are and where the threat of severe weather. we are talking about tornadoes all the way through the day, mostly around the mississippi river valley. in terms of damage, we have enough picked up a few, where you see the blue is hail. we also have wind damage right here, but later on, i do expect that we are going to start to get some of those tornado reports popping up especially this afternoon, so right now, we have quite a bit of warnings and watches out. flash flood warnings are brand new, that's because we are seeing all of that rain down here towards parts of alabama, but where you see the orange as well as the yellow, that is the severe weather, as well as the tornado watches that are in effect right now. as well as over here towards the east, where you see this green right here is where we are going to be seeing flooding not only today but as well as do

tomorrow, as well. for the rest of the day, we are going to see rain tomorrow. it is going to be a rainy day. the severe weather threat goes down, but as we go towards christmas, the temperatures come down, too, not too average, it is still above average. new york is about 64 degrees. washington is going to be a rainy balmy day at about 69 there, but memphis, we do expect to see more active weather, but people going home on the weekend, it is going to be also a mess as we go towards the weekend. it is going to be toward the beginning of the holiday, the end of the holiday. >> over the river and through the woods not as easy as it used to be. inmate releases on hold in washington state, prison officials releasing 3200 inmates early over the last 13 years. the department of corrections says a computer glitch is to blame, miscalculate be the time prisoners got out for time for good behavior, releasing them days to years ahead of schedule.

washington's governor ordering an immediate investigation. >> this problem was allowed to continue to exist for 13 years, is deeply dispointing, totally unacceptable, and frankly, it is maddening. >> there are reports that three years ago, the family of an inmate reported the problem, but nothing was done to fix it. iraqi officials saying they are now pushing even closer to the city center in ramadi, trying to retake the capital of anbar province from isil. the progress is called slow, but steady. al jazeera has this report. >> after months of planning, training and shaping operations, iraq's offensive to retake ramadi is in its final phase. it would appear based on the overwhelming numerical superiority of the iraqi forces that isil's days of ruling ramadi are numbered, possibly in the single digits. >> employing a floating bridge supplied by u.s. army engineers, iraqi security forces forded the

river and began to close in on the city center where they face methodical house-to-house combat against dug-in isil fighters. back in may, isil took ramadi with shocking ease, routing a force of nearly 20,000 battle weary iraqi defenders with just over 1,000 attackers. months of coalition bombing and low level ground attacks have whittled the isil fighters down to 350 or fewer, while the iraqi assault force numbers over 10,000. it is backed by u.s. air power, which has been relentlessly pounding isil positions, killing hundreds of isil fighters, according to the u.s. military spokesman in baghdad. >> i think the fall of ramadi is inevitable, the end is coming, but that said, it's going to be a tough fight. >> for months, iraqi forces executing a plan drafted by the u.s. have been slowly surrounding ramadi, cutting off supply lines. for u.s. commanders, the pace of the campaign has been

frustratingly slow, especially since the iraqi government, prime minister abadi has refused to accept help in the form of u.s. apache attack helicopters that could provide air cover in tight urban terrain. >> it's kind of hard to inflict support on somebody. we try to provide support, and like i said, the kind of support we provide has to be consistent with the way iraqi security forces fight. >> iraq has taken one important piece of u.s. advice and kept shia militias out of the force that will retake and eventually secure ramadi, a largely sunni city, iraqi security forces have been joined by u.s. trained sunni tribal fighters and former anbar police, who will patrol the city after the fighting ends. >> the conditions i think are properly set for the full liberation of ramadi, and we're doing everything we can to expedite the completion of that operation.

i remain very optimistic. >> the pentagon called ramadi a crucial test for iraqi forces. if they can push isil out of the city just you a mile's drive from baghdad, it won't be just a huge psychological victory, it can be the model of future operations next year in fallujah and eventually against mosul,s isil stronghold in northern iraq. >> the foul of ramadi had been seen as a setback. i talked to retired army major mike lyons. he warned the fight is not going to be he says. >> it just ex10 waits the time line as to when things get done. this is how it is in that part of the world.

you come to understand that things take a lot longer in this particular situation. it's very slow, very deliberate. we're used to fighting wars, conventional war, that kind of conventional war using speed, audacity, shock and we think that that's an advantage in combat. it doesn't look like the iraqis are using that to their advantage, they're slow and deliberate as they take the pace. >> the president has been criticized for his iraqi strategy, being said it is not focused and fast enough. if ramadi falls by the first of the year or middle of january will that change the narrative with regards to the attacks against isil and political resolve back home? >> it shows that the iraqi forces and prime minister are doing the right thing, row restoring that iraqi border. they're going to have to fight in both directions, on the tigress and euphrates river. we've been talking about this for months. >> the iraqi military warning civilians to stay safe as the fight steps up, dropping

leaflets over the city, asking residents to leave. we are getting a sense how much the fight is costing the country. the pentagon saying costing upwards of $5 billion, most going towards air strike and surveillance, the military saying more than 89 airstrikes have been conducted since the military began in september of 2014. protestors are beginning to gather at the mall of america in minnesota despite the court order barring some from doing so. they plan to demonstrate over the death of an african-american man shot and killed by police. a state judge saying the mall has the right to keep black lives matter organizers out but said the mall can't bar everyone who wants to protest. we are live outside the mall of america and the mall just opened. what's the latest? >> the protestors should start showing up later on this afternoon. that judge last night said no, you can't keep out all the protestors in the group as the

mall demanded, but said yes, there are three protest leaders you have to keep out of the mall and one joins us now, candace, thanks for joining us. what do you think of the judge's ruling to keep you out? >> i think that it's again another attempt of which the police government and corporations colluding together to protect the interests of the mall and in general corporate profits, as well, you know, we're a leaderful movement. i'm not offended, because there are literally hundreds of other people, organizers and other amazing junk black leaders who are ready to step up and hold down the protest, as well. >> are you going to try to get in today? >> you know, we'll see. >> using that facial recognition technology, they can recognize you. >> exactly. i think that i'm going to trust folks to be able to hold down the protest and support folks in other ways that i can. >> what do you think of the texas ruling that said yes, the rest of the group can go in?

>> i mean, of course. june from last year. >> this case, as well was a totally ridiculous situation. i think that asking anyone to telling people that they can put on their facebook or their twitter is a violation of our first amendment rights. >> what do you make of this whole thing? some say the fact that the mall tried so hard to keep you out this year and the media out, we can't go in either is fueling the fire to get back in. do you think that's the case here? >> the mall saying that we can't come in? >> right, right. >> absolutely. >> and making a big court case out of this. >> absolutely, like i was saying earlier, like, when you dig in and try to impeach on people said first amendment rights, you bring in a larger group of people than just the folks continually throwing dawn for black lives matter. consistently our message has been when black people get free

we all get free because the oppression that we face is replicated in different forms for other people and this is one of those perfect examples. i think that more people are feeling this is a violation of their values, that a corporation is trying to tell people what to tweet and what to facebook and where they can protest, even though literally hundred was millions of dollars have been spent on the building and expansion of the mall, yeah, is bringing more people out. >> candace, thank you for joining us. the mall did want to make it clear to us, the attorney said look, we are not taking any position on black lives matter at all, all we care about is people coming into the mall and possibly disrupting the shopping. >> thank you very much. when we come back, the concussion controversy, a new film raising serious questions about just how safe football really is.

>> a decision to stop recognizing concealed carry permits in virginia from 25 our states is raising concern. an internal review found other states don't follow virginia's strict requirements for getting a concealed permit. it takes effect february 1. the n.r.a. lost a challenge to a tax on guns and ammunition in seattle. a judge there dismissed the group's argument that the law exceeds the city's authority. it willed a $25 to the price of each gun sold as well as a few

cents to each round of ammunition. officials expect it to raise up to $500,000 a year to off set the cost of gun violence. >> there's a controversy over concussions in pro football. the nfl is excused of pulling grant money to study the issue. concussion is all about the league and the research into the condition. >> i found a disease that no one has ever seen. >> in the new sony pictures film concussion, will smith stars as real life forensic pathologist dr. bennett omalu. he coined the phrase cte after performing the autopsy on mike webster. >> repetitive head trauma chokes the brain. >> his pioneering research led to the discovery of the disease born from repeated blunt force trauma in the brains of nfl

three players took their own lives. the film chronicles how the nigerian doctor went from knowing nothing about football to becoming the preeminent scholar on football-related injuries. >> no proof was presented today. >> the film portrays the national football league as determined to cover up the doctor's findings. three days before the movie hits theaters, multiple reports have the league reneging on a $30 million grant promise to a leading brain injury research group. the reason, according to reports, the boston university project is being led by a leading critic of the league, dr. robert stern. the nfl denies that and the group handing out the nfl's money said it's setting the grant aside for another project. emails made public from the sony hacking scandal seemed to indicate the studio tried to avoid the nfl's wrath by softening some parts of the film. one august 2014 email from

senior studio executive reads: >> that wouldn't surprise me, because they've downplayed the concussion situation for such a long time. >> joe is an nfl hall of fame guard. >> if the nfl did have a way of alternating the film or altering it in any way, of course they're going to try to soften it. >> it should be noted sony pictures has no formal business relationships with the nfl and the film's director strongly denies any effort to soften the story. as for players, one of thousands collectively awarded close to a billion dollars to settle a class action lawsuit, he said he's keeping his grandchildren away from the game he once loved. >> i've got five grandkids or do we have six? six grandsons.

i really don't want them playing. >> dr. robert gladder is the director of sports medicine, we asked him if the nfl is serious about getting to the bottom of the problem. >> these players have had multiple hits, concussions throughout a long term career. we don't know the exact genetics behind this. we do know there are genetics. these hits that happen over a long period of time are very different than someone who plays youth sports and stops playing up in my the high school level. >> here's the question. in this case, you literally did write the book on this and wrote an article, a column for forbes in which you talk about it and it deals with the decision that parents should make and you tell them what they should do and

that is a what? >> i think they should let their children play sports. some may be contact sports. we have to realize that football is actually not one of the riskier sports, equestrian, skateboarding, snowboarding. the injury rate amongst football is actually less than you would have amongst other types of sports and we have to be aware of that. the data itself is not clear about the risk of concussions and what we call sub concussions in the youth age. we have to look at that. >> the doctor depict would in the movie said he believes more than 90% of football players are suffering from that disease. the washington redskins may have help trying to get their trademark back. a federal court striking down a part of the law. in july, the federal judge ordered the trademark registration to be revoked becausen that native americans say it is offensive. the redskins are challenging that decision.

a living building. we go inside what is said to be the greenest building on the planet.

>> we are keeping a close eye on bad weather hitting the country today. it could cause more delays on this the busiest travel week of the year. leave the worst traffic is

expected between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. we want to show you these images out of chicago's o'hare international airport. you can see if you're flying through chicago, forget about it. nasa putting its next mars mission on hold because of a leaky instrument on a probe. it was designed to take measurements on the planet. instead, it's being sent back to be fixed. that will push the launch back in my at least 2018. builders in seattle say that center's bullet center is the greenest structure anywhere in the world. the office building generating more energy than it consumes. we had a look inside. >> the greening of this 52,000 square foot office this begins with basic materials. concrete is relatively cheap and known for load bearing properties, but here, it's used only for the first two floors, because it's considers a carbon emitter, due to all the energy used in making it.

the top four floors of the 32 ana half million dollar building are wood, laminated timber beams reinforced by a steel core. >> this is probably by a factor of not quite two, the most energy officials building in the world, and it's not that hard. >> dennis hague runs the non-profit eco friendly bullet foundation. >> we wanted to place a very big bet to show that what was going on in green building wasn't beginning to achieve what is possible, and we wanted to set a very high bar that the theory being once it exists, it's possible. >> the concept here is bio mimicry, build a building that operates like a plant. >> we tried to design this building as if it were a doug fir tree, using the rain for all

it's water, composting all its waste. >> a building that takes its cues from nature. >> there's the weather station over there. that's feeding information into our system, it's telling us the wind speed and wind direction and if it's raining and if it's sunny. >> what do we have up here? >> these are the solar panels. >> can we go up there? >> absolutely. it's 575 panels producing 232,000-kilowatt hours. >> the rooftop solar array gives power to the grid in the summer and takes it back in the dreary northwest winter. the building produces 60% more electricity every year than it uses. tenants who meet conservation goals don't pay for power. >> it's totally aligned with who we are as a company and makes absolute sense. >> the building is cooled and heated by water pumped underground drilled 400 feet deep where the temperature is a constant 53 degrees. in summer, the liquid circulates

through the floors for cooling and in colder months warmed by a heat pump to warm the temperature. >> hot air goes out the top, cool air in the bottom, you get this covection action. >> self opening windows tweak ventilation at needed. blinds adjust automatically to the angle and intensity of the sun. a computer monitored by a watchful human helps the building run itself. >> the building operates like an organism. it tries to keep itself regulated. >> eventually, all this building's water needs will be met by what falls out of the sky, rain captured in a cistern. >> the water comes out of that cistern. it's pulled through ceramic filters. >> so called gray water from

sinks, showers and dish washers drains into a huge tank in the basement. it's then pumped several times through an artificial wetland on a third floor rooftop, where plants, soil and beneficial bacteria filter in impurities and nutrients. landscaping filters down through tubes into the water table beneath the building. toilets use minimal water and waste is composted on site, then further treated for use as fertilizer, a two year process. >> we think this is the world's only six story composting facility. >> the parking garage accommodates only bikes, no cars. a grand windowed stairway also encourages exercise, small steps towards a bigger goal of greener, healthier construction practices. >> it's a slow beast to turn, but we've got to turn it. >> the challenges of life in a living building. al jazeera, seattle.

the news continues live from doha, next. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the news hour. i'm live here in doha. the top stories so far today. syrian activists say five civilians are killed in a gas attack near damascus. amnesty international accusing russia of possible war crimes during three months of air strikes in syria. pulled from the rubble. more than 60 hours after the