journey as long as the temptation of settling in the u.s. remains possible. and there's much more on many of our stories on our website, the address to click on to as ever, is aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com. shopping center showdown, mass protests planned at the mall of america days before christmas. >> seal the truth, huh? kill the babies that's what planned parenthood does. >> reporter: attorneys question whether the accused colorado planned parenthood shooter is mentally fit to stand trial. a deadly storm system is sweeping across the country, as millions of people head out for the holidays. and the nfl on the defensive, reporting the league

is reneging on a deal to study game-related brain injuries. ♪ this is al jazeera america. live from new york. i'm patricia sabga. this morning millions of americans are taking to the sky, the road, and the rails, trying to get to their holiday destinations. this is a live look at the crowded sky right now from flightaware.com, but many travelers could be seen delayed from severe weather. today is the worst day for holiday travel, so expect traffic jams and exceptionally long lines at the airport, and be prepared to wait if you are just now starting that christmas get away. del walters has more on the dangerous weather. >> reporter: interest busy travel holiday week started off

wet for many people. and it's not getting any better. more than 100 million travelers will hit the road over the next two weeks, more than ever before. and they will have to keep an eye on the sky just as much as they do the road. fog may have lead to this crash in arkansas, killing at least three people. across parts of the west, snow is so heavy, it is slowing a search and rescue mission in washington state. officials had to suspend the search for a missing skier because of avalanche dangers. dangero dangerous winds this california overturning tractor trailers and taking down trees. >> we have another tree down we have to go respond to. >> reporter: more than 38 million travelers are expected to fly through january 3rdrd. as historic heat makes the

northeast, temperatures could top 70 degrees in washington, d.c. and new york city on christmas eve. already this morning one person has been killed in arkansas as a result of severe weather. parts of the south are facing tornado watches and warnings. kevin corriveau is here tracking off of it. it is getting ugly. >> it is. just over the last couple of hours, we have seen a big expansion of thunderstorms. nine states are talking about tornado watches in effect. you can see how these clouds and these storms have really built up just over the last four to six hours across parts of arkansas, missouri, and now into parts of illinois. i want to go closer in and show you what we are looking at. specifically when you see these storms with those bright red tops those are the ones producing the bad weather. we have seen quite a bit of wind

damage as well. the wind damage would be these ones right here in yellow, and that is in arkansas where we did see the fatality with those severe weathers. i also want to show you have, though, how these storms are playing out with the plains up in the air. here are those thunderstorms we're talking about. thunderstorms are making their way into o'hara right now, so what we're going to see is a lot of problems, a lot of backlogs, and that causes a domino effect. you may not be flying into or out of chicago, but if your flight is doing out, and you are waiting for that flight of course that will cause other problems outside of the area. we are looking at tornado warnings as well in parts of missouri. most of this activity is going to be making its way to the east and northeast, it will be a day-long event. it will be effecting travelers, you definitely want to keep

posted on what is happening. we're looking at new york at about 55 degrees. tomorrow we're going to be seeing heavy rain along the eastern seaboard, and that means we are also going to be looking at flooding across the region. >> so some really dangerous conditions. >> absolutely. it is not the best time to have this kind of weather. >> hopefully people will stay safe. thank you so much. in a few hours hundreds of demonstrators are expected to protest inside the mall of america in minnesota. this despite a court order barring some of them. they are demonstrating over the death of a black man shot by police. a state judge tuesday said the mall has the right to keep black lives matter organizers out. but the judge said the mall cannot bar everyone who wants to protest. andy is live outside of the mall of america for us in bloomington. andy good to see you. the mall has been open now for more than an hour, what are you seeing and hearing?

>> reporter: nothing yet patricia. the protesters say they were going to meet here at 1:30 local time. what a difference a year makes, though. last time when they came here for this holiday protest, the mallet them hang out for about an hour before they shooed them away and arrested a few. but this year the mall is not allowing any media in at all, and it went to court to try to prevent the entire black lives matter group from showing up, and to order them to go on social media and say the event was going to be canceled. well as you might imagine the aclu just howled at that one. and the judge agreed, that no, you can't force them to go on social media, and you can't prevent protesters from just showing up. but the court did ban three protest leaders. >> i think it's again another

attempt of which the police, government, and corporations are colluding together to protect the interest of the mall, and, you know, in general corporate profits. as well, we're a leaderful movement, so i'm not really offended, because there are literally hundreds of other organizers who are ready to step up. >> reporter: are you going to try to get in today? >> you know, they'll see. >> reporter: the attorney for the mall said this was a victory for them actually, by keeping these three leaders out, but she also wanted to emphasize that the mall is not taking a position on black lives matter at all. they say, they just want to keep this a peaceful holiday shopping season for the shoppers. >> andy is it possible that we could see arrests today? >> reporter: i'm guessing we will, because the mall has been so tight.

they kicked us off of their property earlier this morning. they don't want anyone around. they have according to the protestors facial recognition technology that could spot people like candace that you heard there, if she goes in. a lot of the protesters are saying because the mall tried so hard to fight this in court, that is inspiring the protesters to come out even more. so we shall see, patricia. >> thank you very much, andy. now to presidential politics. donald trump is ending the year with a commanding double-digit lead in the latest poll, a cnn survey out today showed trump with 39% support from g.o.p. voters. ted cruz trails with 18%. ben carson and marco rubio are tied for 3rd, at 4%, and jeb bush has 3%. meanwhile, hillary clinton is fighting back after donald

trump's use of a profanity in his description of how she lost to president obama in 2008. >> you are looking at somebody who has had a lot of terrible things said about me, and that's why it's important to stand up to bullies wherever they are, and why we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the presidency. if you go on arabic television, as we have, and you look at what is being blasted out with video of mr. trump being translated to arabic, it is playing into the hands of the violent jihadists. >> reporter: clinton's democratic opponent has defended her before, and has done so again after trump's comments. >> donald trump is very upset, it is very hard for him to deal with -- i don't know what his relationship with women has been in his life, but he has discovered that women go to the bathroom. [ laughter ]

>> sander's defense of clinton may be working in his favor. a poll released tuesday says sander would beat trump in a general election, 51-39%. accused planned parenthood shooter robert dear is due back in court this afternoon. he faces more than 100 felony charges. in a previous court appearance, he admitted his guilt, saying he was quote, a warrior for the babies. but his attorney says he will seek to have him declared mentally incompetent. if he is declared incompetent, what impact will that have? >> well, it of course it's a very complicated question here that will perhaps be decided here at the courthouse here in colorado springs.

it could take some time. it could go on for a couple of days. but if he is declared incomp tent and not clear enough mind in order to carry on with the proceedings. all of the prosecution proceedings would be put in hold while he is sent to the mental health facility south of here in pueblo. but it's a very, very complex question that will heard here later today. >> jim are cameras going to be allowed into the courtroom today? >> reporter: last time when there was a hearing here, two weeks ago, when mr. dear interrupted the court proceedings some ten times with those blurtings that you heard. all of that was captured on a camera inside of the courtroom,

today because of the competency question, and the mental health questions, there will be no cameras allowed inside the courtroom. some will be allowed in the hallways, but no cameras in the courtroom. >> any updates on when the clinic in colorado springs will reopen? >> reporter: well the clinic itself exists still. it is all fenced off, and there is still one police car that stands in front of the building each and every day. we were over there a short time ago. there is some repairs underway, but no official word from planned parenthood locally as of yet, as to whether that building will ever reopen as a clinic once again. >> thank you, jim. kentucky will soon have new marriage licenses to answer the religious objections of some

clerks. the new governor has ordered his state to revise the licenses and remove the names of clerks who issued them. that includes county clerk kim davis who was jailed earlier this year, for refusing to give out the documents. a settlement in the new town, connecticut shootings. the families of 16 victims will split $1.5 million. they filed suit against theest indicate of adam lanza's mother. nancy lanza was also killed by her son. the families are also suing bush master, the maker of the rifle. up next, saudi arabia feeling the pain of falling oil prices. a look behind the kingdom's cash flow problems. and a major mistake in washington state, thousands of

prisoners, accidentally freed.

iraqi forces say they are pushing closer to the city center in ramadi. isil has been in control of ramadi since may. at least 14 soldiers were killed at the start of the offensive by a suicide bomb. today russia has come out denying that its air strikes in syria are deliberately targeting civilians. the kremlin says an amnesty international report published this morning on russian action in the country is a provocation. that report accuses moscow of directly targeting and killing at least 200 civilians.

>> translator: the russian and syria air strikes on eastern [ inaudible ] and especially on duma and [ inaudible ] have increased recently. most of the people killed are women and children. >> amnesty documentation showed that the location and timing of moscow's attacks match russian defense ministries report of air strikes. we're getting a new sense of how much the fight against isil is costing the united states. the pentagon says it has so far cost upwards of $5 billion. the military says more than 8900 air strikes have been conducted since the coalition began in september of 2014. oil prices are inching up this morning after global benchmark crude hit an 11-year low this week.

investment bank goldman sachs says oil could fetch as little as $20 a barrel next year. opec predicted it will eventually recover. one major factor, the saudi-lead oil cartel is pumping crude with abandon even though the oil gut is hurting the saudi economy. >> reporter: awash in oil, but going broke. the ironic state of saudi arabia, which the imf says will exhaust its financial funds in five years if it doesn't cut spending. >> it is facing physical problems it hasn't faced for many, many decades. >> reporter: thanks to a oil glut in large part. a dive driven by saudi arabia, which is pumping oil into a market overflowing with crude, to drive more costly u.s. shale

oil producers out of business, and keep iran from cashing in handsomely on the 1 million barrels of oil per day it plans to pump by the end of next year. but that strategy has caused oil to trade almost $65 below what saudi needs. thanks to a costly war the kingdom is waging in yemen, expensive air strikes against isil, and doling out billions to its citizens through well-paid government jobs, and offering interest-free loans, for building homes, getting married and starting small businesses. >> probably the most important thing is producing subsidies. >> reporter: but cutting benefits never an easy political sell, and there are reports of moves within the saudi oil family to oust the king and his son who heads the kingdom's

economic policy committee. >> they have around $650 billion in foreign exchange reserves, and that should stave off the need for immediate spending reforms. today washington state's governor is saying inmate releases are on hold indefinitely. it follows a report that they accidentally released 3200 inmates early over the last few years. it blames a computer glitch. releasing them anywhere from a couple of days to two years ahead of schedule. >> the problem was allowed to continue to exist for 13 years is deeply disappointing, it is totally unacceptable, and frankly it is maddening. >> reporter: there are reports that the family of one inmate reported the problem three years ago, but nothing was done to fix it. officials are now scrambling to

figure out if any of the prisoners released have committed crimes since they have been out. real estate heir robert durst will soon be put on trial for murder. he is accused of killing his girlfriend back in the year 2000. he is currently being held in louisiana on gun charges. the concussion controversy, a new film is once again raising serious questions over just how safe football really is. and a close encounter for one of the best skiers in the world. you won't believe what he almost collided with during a world cup race.

it was not a bird, nor a plane. the defense department says a mysterious bright light spotted along the west coast last night, was from a russian rocket booster reentering the atmosphere. a federal appeals court ruling could help the washington redskins keep its trademark protection. tuesday the court struck down part of a law that let the government reject trademarks it

found offensive. a federal judge ordered the trademark registration be revoked, the redskins are currently challenging that decision. new controversy today over concussions in football. the nfl is accused of pulling grant money meant to explore brain trauma. john henry smith reports, concussion is all about the league and the research into the condition. >> i found a disease that no one has ever seen. >> reporter: in the new sony pictures film concussion, will smith stars as real life forensic pathologist who coined the phrase for the disease. his pioneering research lead to the discovery of the disease born from blunt form trauma in

the brains of some of the greats, players who took their own lives. the film chronicles how the nigerian-born doctor went from knowing nothing about football to becoming the leading scholar on the research. three days before the movie hits theaters, multiple reports have the league reneging on a $30 billion grant promise to a leading brain injury research group. the reason, according to reports, the project is being lead by a leading critic of the league, dr. robert stern. the nfl denies that, and says it is setting the grant aside for another project. and emails made public from the sony hacking studio, seem to indicate the nfl tried to avoid

wrath by softening parts of the film. >> that wouldn't surprise me, because they have down played the concussion situation for such a long time. >> reporter: this is an nfl hall of fame guard. >> if the nfl did have a way of alternating or altering it in anyway, of course they are going to try to soften it. >> reporter: 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 like this man, he is one of thousands of former players collectively awarded close to a billion dollars. he says he is keeping his grandchildren away from the game he once loved. >> i have five grandsons -- or

do we have six? >> six. >> six grandsons, but i really don't want them playing. doctor robert glader, the director of sports medicine and traumatic brain injury, discussed whether parents should risk letting their children play football. >> we have to realize that football is not one of the riskiest sports. equestrian, snowboarding, these are very dangerous sports. the injury rate amongst footballers is actually less than you would have amongst other types of sports. the data itself is not clear about the risk of concussions and what we call sub concussions in the youth age and we have to look at that. >> the nigerian-born doctor depicted in the picture, says he believes 90% of players suffer

from this disease. it was facebook helped solve this mystery. users on facebook said this isn't an ancient relic. a ground keeper found it buried in a cemetery. they are still not sure why it was left there. and the international ski federation is banning drones after a dangerous near-miss on the slopes. just take a look at this video, and you will understand why. this is an austrian skier who was competing on tuesday night. he was more than halfway through his run when a drone crashed into the snow behind him. thank you very much for joining us. i'm patricia sabga, the news continues next live from london. ♪

reports of a deadly gas attack in syria, claims that sarin may have been used. ♪ hello there, i'm felicity barr, and you are watching al jazeera live from london. moscow says an amnesty report is fake off it claimed russia may be guilty of war crimes in syria. russia requests an international arrest warrant for the kremlin critic. and a remarkable tail of survival from china. the 19 year old found after more than