good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america until we have a congress in line with the majority of americans, there are actions within my legal authority that we can take. >> president obama's emotional plea and executive actions to stop gun violence, tonight republican anger and how easy it is to buy guns and ammunition. also... >> earlier today a u.s. service member killed and two u.s.

service members injured the growing battlefield in afghanistan claiming the life of another soldiers, and the claiming u.s. mission in that war torn country dangerous flooding after years of drought in california, the danger san diego faces we begin with breaking news - north korea says it carried out a successful hydrogen bomb test. if the information is correct, it would be north korea's fourth nuclear test, and hydrogen bombs are much more powerful than the nuclear bombs north korea tested in the past. earlier tonight south korea reported a magnitude 5.1 earthquake centered near a known testing site. north korea conducted a third nuclear test causing an

earthquake similar to the one recorded tonight. see awe called an emergency meeting -- south korea called an emergency meeting to address the situation in the united states president obama is trying to bicas congress to reduce gun accidents. he bypassed congress talking about measures to take. he got emotionle talking about the sandy hook elementary school shooting. >> reporter: at times during his presidency he's been called aloof, detached, gold. -- cold. talking about the murder children, president obama openly wet. >> every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. >> in the audience, victims of gun violence and their families, there to see the president announce new executive actions effective immediately, amounted

at cracking down on so-called private sales of guns during the internet or gun shows where no background check on a buyer is needed. under the plan, those that sell guns for profit. no matter how many or where the traction takes place, will have to get a licence, making their customer subject to background checks, and other violations prohibiting them from buying. >> president obama rejected critics who say the new rules violate the constitutional right to bear arms. >> this is not a plot to take away everyone's guns. you pass a background check. you purchase a firearm. the problem is some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. >> we'll take our country. >> republicans are unmoved. the presidential candidate bashed the president. not only for what he did, but

how he did it. and promised to undo the executive action as one of the first acts, if they make it to the white house. >> if he's serious about gun violence, he'll focus on violence, what it is that leads people to commit violent acts. republicans have a way to block president barack obama. as they have in the past. the president is asking for fbi and a.t.f. to investigate and enforce the new rules. that will require funding and the g.o.p. controlled congress is likely to try to stop it. >> in the wake of the 2012 shooting at sandy hook. many thought the political moment came, at the state of union, that president obama, invited the parents of a 15-year-old girl from chicago, killed in a random shooting while standing in a park with friends. >> they deserve a vote. >> the effort to pass gun laws collapsed, and the vote never came. >> tuesday in the east room, the

same couple stood behind the president. without the cooperation of congress, he is doing all he can, and the emotion is genuine. >> he has two doubters, he is a father first. >> it touches home. >> today guns are here illegally. change are looking left and right to make sure it's okay to play, sit on the porch. it's unfair to him. >> the national rifle association is speaking out about the president's positive action, saying the american people do not need for emotional condescending lectures. the proposal would not have prohibited the event. they are right for abuse by the president obama negotiation which made no secret for contempt. >> shares of firearm companies

had a boost. before president obama announced plans to tackle gun violence. gun sales have doubled since 2001, and reached a high in 2015. as david shuster reports, americans will still likely have an easy time buying guns, despite the president's actions. >> in the renewed debate over gun control. there's one thing all sides can agree on. by the latest estimates in the united states, there's now at least 350 million firearms. that means there's more guns in the united states than people. and by most accounts the firearm ownership friend is intensifying. at a gun range in virginia, gun and ammunition sales are stronger than ever. feared by customers that feared new restrictions. >> it's making people want to get it before their ability is taken away.

>> the irony is no ability will be taken away because of president obama's actions. gun stores have been required to conduct a criminal backhand check before a customer purchases a weapon. the president's actions are supposed to help the fbi process background checks faster. president obama's executive actions will not change or restrict sales by individuals at private shows. the seven states and the district of columbia require a check if purchasing it from an individual. in marylands, it applies to handguns, in 43 other states, individual sellers have no obligation to conduct a check, this is known as the gun show loophole. the thought that a president might take government action led gun enthusiasts to fear sweeping controls or bans are coming. >> there's a lot of people that feel passionate about it.

it's the fact that there's a firearm, but the government telling them what they can and cannot do or can and cannot have. >> fair or not the fears spiked during the obama administration. >> during the year before president obama took office, the american gun industry says it manufactured 4.5 million weapons for sales. last year it topped 11 million, thanks to president obama. the biggest impact next may come online. hundreds of weapons operating virtual stores. the president says the gun sellers will be required to check the background of each fire. >> a study found one in 30 people looked to buy funs. several studies found that overall americans are significantly more likely to die from violence than residents of other industrialized countries. and yet the centre for disease control reports that the number

of gun deaths per capita has stabilized and compared to 25 years ago, it's down by over 40%. in other words, while pass shootings, gun purchases and calls for action are up, data shows overall levels of u.s. gun violence are no longer getting worse. >> the fbi says there's no indication that the san bernardino attack was ordered from abroad, but it was called inspired. investigators still need more information on the two tashfeen malik and his partner. we have accounted for 3 hours, 42 minutes of their time. we are missing 18 minutes of their time. why is that 18 minutes important? it's important.

we want to ensure that we know they stopped at any locations or businesses that we know b we want to endure that if they make contact with anyone that they don't know about between the hours and between that time. so that you are able to fully investigate the matters. >> the fbi says it needs photos and videos between 12:59 pm and 1:15p.m. . >> a u.s. sold never was killed in an hour's long gun flight when a medivac helicopter landed in hostile territory. two others were wounded. fears fighting is ongoing between afghan forces and taliban fighters. they were accompanied afghan forces on a train, advise and assist mission. two helicopters like the ones in these pictures went to provide assistance. one was waved off after taking fire. the other landed, struck a wall

and damaged rotor blades, forcing it to stay on the ground. >> this is an ongoing situation. there is still a fight going on in the surroundings, we'll provide details as they are available. because of the situation we don't have all the details surrounding what has taken place. the taliban has been battling afghan forces in yemen we are joined from london. jennifer glasse, there's a lot of confusion over the role of u.s. forces in afghanistan now, how does that play out practically. >> well, in 2016, we have more u.s. forces than we thought we would have in afghanistan. about 10,000, a decision that president barack obama a made last october not to drew down the forces. they have two missions, one to train advise and assist afghan forces, and the other is counter-terrorism mission, where

they can be more active and fight alongside afghan forces, that is what we are seeing happening in the south. special forces have been down there trying to help the afghan security forces. >> and has that number that has been left there, which is higher than what was expected - it seems like it may not help. it may not be enough because of taliban resurgence, increasing the number of attacks, and people are saying now that the taliban control more territory in afghanistan than they did since they were governing the country in 2001. >> they have. this is the most territory they have controlled since 2001, and i think afghan forces believe it would be worse if there weren't 10,000 american forces and 4,000 or so n.a.t.o. forces helping them with problems they have. they don't have an air force that can help as much. they have problems with

logistics, with coordination among the forces, and so that is something that the u.s. forces are trying to develop. we have seen a reurgens of attacks. this week alone in kabul there were two attacks. we saw a number of attacks in the afghan capital. six american grooms were killed outside the bagram air base, and around the country the taliban have attacks. >> afghanistan is known as the graveyard of empires. what needs to be done for the enormous investment of people and money that the united states has done in trying to stablilize the country, that that doesn't get lost? >> there's a great concern about letting afghanistan slip backward. afghans watch what happened in iraq with concern after u.s. forces left there. and the state basically crumbled. united states invested more than a trillion in afghanistan, and

afghanistan lost 2400 lives with thousands more injured in afghanistan. i don't think they want to see those investments go to waste. i don't know what they are going to go. they are supposed to go down to 5,500 u.s. troop numbers by the end of the year. the fighting seen has not officially started. it usually goes from the spring, march, april, may and october. we'll wait and see how fierce the fighting season is before they make any decisions jennifer glasse reporting from london iran's president stays saudi arabia's decisions to sever diplomatic ties with iran will not cover up the execution of a prominent shia cleric. saudi arabia cut off relations with iran on sunday after protesters set fire on sunday in response to the execution. is number of pal lies cut or reduced their times.

kuwait recalled its ambassador. the west coast is getting slammed by the first el nino storm. more will come. record rain fall in parts of southern california. eric said the city is taking steps to ensure homeless residence do not get caught up in the flooding. a flash flood is in effect for northern california, left bear by wildfires and drought conditions. kevin corriveau joins us with more. big changes in california. >> that's right. this is due to, of course, el nino. we expected this. it came in hard. as you said, we are looking at all week long, them coming into play. the first storm made its way in right now. you see the storm through nevada and here to parts of baja california. the next storm will come within the next four to five hours. first to northern california, and as it makes its way on

shore. we'll see southern california will seat the storm as well. the third storm towards the pacific will come in this week. >> let's look at what has been happening. heavy rain across the north. we had flood - flash flood warnings in effect for san diego. they were under flash flood watching all the way to northern california, that stays all week long, and we are looking at heavy snow across parts of the nevadas. 2-3 feet of snow expected. some locations with the higher elevations could see 4 feet of snow, and snow to the north of los angeles. that is going to stay in effect as well. all the way to parts of friday. as we go through the rest of january, because of el nino, it will be wet. >> seems like we are going from one stream to the other.

>> more on the breaking news we brought you at the top of the hour. north korea's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb. japan's prime minister weighed in calling it a serious threat. we'll have a live update with more context on the story coming up next.

more on the top story, north korea claiming that it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. the first indication a good sized seismic event recorded in north korea a couple of hours ago. adrian brown joins us from beijing china with more. some of north korea's neighbours are reacting with alarm to this. >> that's right. at 10 o'clock this morning local time we were told it looked like there'd been a suspected earthquake in north korea. as the mourning drew on, it was clear it was more than that. a short time ago north korean media confirmed in a brief statement that north korea claimed out a hydrogen test. it was successful and in defense of a nation. a short time ago, a spokesman

announced that she was convening a meeting of key security advisors. the test was called a serious threat to the korean peninsula. what is key is how south korea will respond to this. remember in 2013 after north korea carried out the text, there were war games close to south korea at the time. and this appeared at a stage to - it seemed as if - i remember being in south korea at the time. the north and south were on the gring of conflict. the crisis went on for weeks and had the effect of destabilizing stock markets and we are waiting to see how china will respond. it's about the only friend that north korea has. there has been a strain in the relationship. stemming from the three previous tests that north korea carried

out in 2006, 2009 and 2013. now, the foreign ministry is due to hold a media briefing in a few hours time, so we'll get the official line then. the big question is were the chinese informed about this tests beforehand. the south korean media is romping that the chinese weren't informed. if they weren't. they'd be upset indeed. >> kim jong un had announced that north korea had a hydrogen bomb a few months ago. of course a hydrogen bomb would be more powerful than the nuclear weapons tested before. after the announcement there was a lot of skepticism that north korea had the know how to build a bomb. what do you know about that thinking. >> you're right. on december 10th, kim jong un made announcement, a broad cast to the nation that his country had the capability to develop

ach hydrogen bomb. there were a few raised eyebrows. particularly among north korea's neighbours. now we have this claim, and it is a claim, that the north has successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb. certainly the question that many will be asking is this - is this the first step towards developing a nuclear warhead that could be mounted on to a long range missile that could reach, you know, the united states or some other countries close to north korea. that will be the question that is fixating certainly the president of the united states. >> many questions, i am sure, about what north korean intentions are. thank you. >> the armed occupiers of the government building in oregon say they have drawn a line in the snow. why one of the spokesmen says he is waiting for the feds to come and arrest him.

armed protesters in oregon say they have no intention to back down until demands are met. allen schauffler is at the wildlife building with new developments. >> the leader of the group tonight said that they are taking a defensive stance, and they certainly are. road range material has been built in to block the road to the administration buildings that are occupied. we are seeing armed presence that we haven't seen before, and take a look at the video. one man taking an emotional stand. drawing a line in the snow, believing that the arrest may be imminent. saying he'll wait by the road, armed for federal marshals to come out and serve a warrant if that's what they'll do. it seems that the broader

complicated issues of land use management in the west and around the country are coming to a head in remote oregon. >> reporter: an infrastructury of activity at the wildlife refuge tuesday night, as the leader claimed to have intelligence that there are warrants out for five of his groups holding an emotional press conference. >> we feel we cannot leave. this is too important of an issue. >> i am, and these men that have been here - we refuse to pass this on to our children. this is not what america's made of. >> and it needs to end here. >> as he heads back to the

refuge offices, the question remains whether the locals want this to happen at you will. burns is a town split by the protest. you'll find signs of opposition posted in some places. many saying the cause may be important. the tactics are wrong. >> you may run into bill at down. >> the hammonds were shafted. it was a miscarriage of justice. the rancher calls the takeover miz guided, but appreciates that it's calling attention to a war working the land, and people making and enforcing land use rules. especially in this country, where more than two-thirds is federal land. >> the underlying issue is the oppressive hand of government. and the never ending rules and regulations that prevent you doing what you need to do to make a living, raise your family, pay your bills, educate your kids and retire. >> tom sharp runs cattle on

1,000 acres of land, but is impacted by regulations governing the federal land. he also things the counter 5 year sentences amend to government overreach, buts says modern ranchers have to learn to work with, not against government. >> it is important that we collaborate with all the groups from the federal agencies to our environmental groups. that are the watch dogs that make sure that the land is not being abused. >> yes, there are differences. and again, in the country we opted to settle the differences through collaborative processes where we sit at the table with all the constituents. >> for farmers in the west, the relationship is difficult, leading to the occupation of federal property and rising intentions in organ's wide open spaces. >> the sheriff called a public meeting for 4 o'clock wednesday

afternoon i'm antonio mora, thank you for joining us, for the latest news any time head to aljazeera.com. ray suarez is up next with "inside story". have a great night. finish >> the president says he wasn't getting any help from congress in reducing gun death, so so he moved ahead on his own, tearing up when he thought about the sandy hook victims. using measures that he says will make guns hard tore get for the wrong people and just as easy to get for the right ones. did he go too far? did he go far enough? are the new rules as he laid them out tonight at the white house make guns safer?