developers hope ensures that hot air ballooning will be a sustainable sport in the future. >> you see the headline stories there at aljazeera.com, but click on any number of links, and you will see the background as well. ♪ ♪ claims that north korea set off a nuclear bomb are being met with scepticism and global condemnation. going after obamacare again. the house preparing to vote on a measure to repeal the law for the 62nd time. 18 minutes missing, the fbi having trouble piecing together the time line for the san bernardino massacre. and making a murder, a

netflix documentary shining a light on serious flaws within the criminal justice system. ♪ this is al jazeera america live in new york city. i'm del walters. the u.n. security council is holding an emergency session at this hour. they are talking about north korea's claims that it has tested a hydrogen bomb. pyongyang making that announcement earlier today. if confirmed it would be the fourth time that north korea has done a nuclear test. the site showed up on sensors in the north as a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. there is growing condemnation from around the world today. >> translator: aur government has to take decisive measures against any additional provocations by north korea, and

work with the international community to make sure the isolated country pays the price for its latest nuclear test. even china is condemning today's test. >> translator: the chinese government has always tried to keep peace in northeast asia. it is urging north korea to stick to its commit for denuclearization. >> if confirmed the test raised alarms, the hydrogen bomb is the most powerful type of nuclear bomb. almost 2,000 times more destructive than the americans dropped on japan. a hydrogen bomb gets its power from nuclear fusion. the blags can cause fire storms and intense white light that can induce blindness. james bayes is at the united nations, but we begin with jamie

mcintyre who is at the pentagon. and jamie so far what has been the u.s. response to north korea's claims? >> reporter: well, the official response has been condemnation. the statements that the u.s. will not accept north korea as a long-term nuclear power, and resolve to take steps to make sure they counter the threat. unofficially, there is general consensus that north korea did in fact explode some sort of nuclear device underground at that test site in northeastern north korea, but there is a very high level of scepticism that north korea was able to make the leap from the rude elementary tests it conducted in the past, to the detonation of a hydrogen bomb, something that is far more complicated, and a bomb that is far more powerful. and most of this initial assessment comes from the size

of the explosion, which we are told is less than 10 kilotons. that sounds like a big number, but in fact in nuclear terms it's very small. hyde again bombs are generally measured in megatons, something that would be a thousand times more powerful. so simply based on the size of the explosion, the u.s. does not believe north korea was able to detonate a hydrogen bomb. but they will wait for air samples they take over the site. >> that being said, is there anything more than the white house can do beyond condemning the actions of north korea? >> reporter: well, of course there will be calls for increased sanctions. north korea is already heavily sanctioned. there will be preparations to ensure that the u.s. has a

military response. secretary of defense ash carter has already consulted with his south korean counterpart, and the u.s. commander of u.s. forces in south korea to make sure the u.s. sends a signal that it is standing resolutely behind south korea. but part of what is going on here is that north korea is not interested in giving up its nuclear weapons, because the leader kim ki-jong, i think believes that one of the things that keeps his country from being invaded, is the fact that it is now a nuclear state and just the threat of just a few weapons is often enough to deter an attack. >> jamie mcintyre live for us at the pentagon, thank you very much. james bayes at the u.n. in new york. and james tell us what you are hearing about this emergency session of the security council. >> reporter: that session has been underway for sometime now, looking at what options they can consider. they certainly condemn what has taken place. what options can they put in place?

you remember there are already very strict sanctions in place. they will also want to know what sort of device was actually tested. and we have some news in the last few moments on this, del, because you have heard jamie's assessment from the experts at the pentagon. well the international body that does this is based in the austrian capitol vienna, that's very much the nuclear city in the international system. and there is a body there, called the ctbto, and that is the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty organization. they have sensors all over the world to detect this sort of thing. well their executive secretary has been speaking literally as we have been on air, giving information, and he says his initial readout is that this test by north korea was actually somewhat smaller than the last test in february 2013, a seismic activity marked at 5.1 last

time, and this time only 4.8. but he said they can't be definitive on whether it was a hydrogen bomb which looks unlikely, until they get the samples back and then they can do the testing of the radioactive isotopes. >> we also heard today from ban ki-moon. what did he have to say? >> reporter: remember ban ki-moon, the undersecretary general was trying to plan a trip to actually go to north korea. that looks like it is off for now, and we got further condemnation from the u.n. secretary general. >> this test once again violates numerous security council resolutions despite the united call by the international community to cease such activities. it is also grave contravention of the international norm against nuclear testing. this act is a profoundly

destabilizing for regional security, and seriously undermines nation non-proliferation effort. i condemn it unequivocally. >> reporter: those are the comments from ban ki-moon. ahead of the security council meeting, which continues right now, as they consider what course of action. i think worth pointing out to you, del, that even if they decide to have even more sanctions that is not going to happen right now. that takes a process of negotiating security council resolution may well take days or weeks. >> james thank you very much. the republican controlled house is voting again today to do away with obamacare and defund planned parenthood. unlike the 61 other bills that the g.o.p. has drafted to try to throw out the affordable care act, or obamacare, this one is expected to make it to the participate's desk, and the president says he will veto that measure. libby casey is live for us in

washington, and libby if republicans already know the president is going to veto the bill, what is the point of voting on it in the first place? >> reporter: del, this time it is different, because as you mentioned this senate has approved this bill, and it's the first time in scores of house attempts that they have the senate on board. in that was able to happen before the holiday because of a process called reconciliation, where senate republicans just needed a simple majority. so this is an advancement for the republican cause of defunding obamacare, and defunding planned parenthood. but as you point out, it's still dead on arrival, because president obama plans to veto. so why do it? the optics and symbolism are still very important, and republicans are trying to set their own agenda for 2016. >> with this bill, we are standing for life. we are confronting the president with the hard honest truth. obamacare doesn't work.

>> reporter: democrats are equally eager to use this opportunity to push back against republicans, and they are calling this attempt pure politics. >> the relentless attacks on planned parenthood and other healthcare providers has to stop. planned parenthood serves almost 3 million americans every year. more than half of its centers are in rural, or medically underserved areas, and defunding may leave their patients with no other options. >> reporter: now even though president obama will veto, republicans will get a chance to try to override that, they can't be successful. the numbers don't add up, but republicans still see that as a symbolic opportunity to show the american public what their priorities are. del? >> how could this vote play into the presidential race, even though we're talking about a congressional issue? >> reporter: yeah, they certainly are not separate by any means. republicans running for

president all say they want to roll back obamacare, repeal that, and as many have pointed out, it will take putting a republican in the white house to change a law that has been in effect for years now, so it is playing into presidential politics. democrats are also eager to talk about what they see as the affordable care act advantages, and they think americans will be loathe to let go in some of the advancements that have been made. but the law is still unpopular in many pockets of america, and it is still an issue that both sides feel like they need to talk about on the campaign trail. >> and the president has said time and time again if you want to do something about obamacare, a replacement, find something better, speaker paul ryan promising to do just that. is that a viable replacement that we're talking about? >> reporter: it won't be able to go very far, del, because senate democrats won't be on board, but once again it's a chance for republicans to say to americans

here is our alternative. >> libby casey live for us in washington, d.c. thank you very much. at this hour, the man accused of supplying those guns and explosives to the san bernardino shooters due in court. he will be formally arraigned at that time. prosecutors say he is the person that gave the couple the weapons that they used to kill 14 people back on december 2nd. if convicted marquez faces 50 years in prison. meanwhile the fbi is asking for help in reconstructing what happened after the attacks. they want to know what the couple did in 18 minutes after the attacks that killed 14 and before they were later killed in that shootout with police. >> we have accounted for 3:42 of their time. we are missing 18 minutes of their time. so why is that 18 minutes so important? it is important because we want

to ensure that we know whether or not they stopped at any locations, any residences, any businesses, that we don't already know about. we want to ensure that if they made contact with anyone, that we don't already know about when those hours, or between that time, that we're able to fully investigate those matters. >> reporter: the fy says they need photos or videos that show the suspects when 12:59 and 1:17 pm on december 2nd. the fbi says there is no indication that the attack was directed from overseas or abroad, but they did say it was, quote, an inspired attack. also qatar now the latest country to recall its ambassador to iran over that dispute with saudi arabia. meanwhile, iraq is saying it is willing to immediate between the two countries. iranian protesters ransacked the saudi embassy over the weekend, all of this in response to that

execution of a prominent shia cleric by saudi arabia. up next on al jazeera, can armed protesters in oregon be placated? and from drought to drenched, el niño already taking its toll on california.

>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target. schools are still closed near burns, oregon this morning. officials are planning a townhall meeting where they will

address concerns of the occupation of the wildlife center by the protesters. the demonstrators say they won't leave until the federal government returns the land to area ranchers. katherine, the local sheriff is going to meet with the members of his community. what is it that they are most concerned about? >> reporter: that's right, del. well, a lot of things. there is some sympathy, there are ranchers in this community, but there is a lot of anxiety about what a group of armed protesters might or might not do, and how the situation could peacefully or not peacefully resolve itself. there is we ariness about the duration that this has gone on, and the fact that the kids are out of school, until probably this is resolved. and there is head-scratching about what exactly this protest could accomplish. >> i don't understand why they are out there.

they want the land given back to the ranchers to husband the land. and mostly they do a good job to that. if you are going to give it back to anybody, give it back to the indians. they had it first nch >> reporter: the protesters are steadfast in their demands that the federal government relinquish its control over grazing land to state and local governments, which they feel would be more amenable to each ranchers' interest. del? >> katherine there is also this issue of reinforcements. the protest leader saying last night more supporters are going to come to oregon. is there any sign that law enforcement might break up this occupation before they get there? >> reporter: well, they -- the way i heard it was that they asked for reinforcements. we haven't seen any great influx of people to this location. they have moved their perimeter closer to the media, and they are open about their goal of

actually maintaining coverage. they talk about supporting the first amendment as well as the second amendment. as far as what law enforce plans to do, they have made no real statements. there was a report that the sheriff had been told by the fbi that they were preparing federal charges and at some point they would charge these people with federal crimes, but no active move to displace them that we know of at this point. >> that being said if they face those charges from the federal government, why do they continue the occupation? >> reporter: well, they talk in terms of answering to a higher authority, to the constitution. they feel that the federal government is violating the constitution in imposing federal management over these lands that ought to have been state and local. it's really a state's right issue in some ways, a constitutional issue in others.

they are not afraid of prosecution, i think. >> katherine as was thank you very much. a second baltimore city police officer charged in the death of freddie gray in court today. caesar good season, jr. was the driver of the van that gray was in when he suffered and later died from severe injuries. lawyers for william porter the first officer tried have asked the judge to block their client from having to testify in goodson's trial. debbie heintz telling us on your world this morning, that the charge would be an overreach. >> i think the second degree depraved heart charge was a stretch for the prosecution. and whenever the prosecution has a stretch in a case, meaning you are asking the jury to go through leaps and bounds based on the evidence in order to convict, you can almost end up with a non-conviction, because you are just trying to stretch

what you have of the evidence so far. i think it was more than appropriate to charge him with manslaughter in the case. but second degree is really asking a lot of the 12 jurors who will sit in this case and to get a conviction out of this case. >> app heintz says without the testimony of william porter, prosecutors will have a very difficult time getting a conviction. california bracing for more rain today. and while the state needs the rain, and john henry smith tells us, this may be too much. >> reporter: the first major el niño storm slamming the west. drought-stricken california suddenly awash from the bay to l.a. flood waters forced this man to make an escape through the window. rushing waters filled southern california streets. >> probably the most dangerous

place in southern california. >> reporter: mud was the concern here where ed keeps an evacuation list in the front seat of his car. the hillside was wiped bare by the colby wildfire. like many in this region, he fears the worst. >> i can't get out from underneath this. we're stuck until either the big disaster comes and wipes out my home, or this stuff stops. >> reporter: mud also a worry in glen dora. homeowners there did what they could. >> we have done the boarding on t driveway. >> reporter: a short-lived tornado touched down in vernon. and in arcadia officials are still cleaning up from the water that broke this retaining wall. in the north heavy rains also made driving treacherous along

route 101. driving was nearly impossible in this part of san jose, and officials warn today's storms hitting the bay area could be even worst. and something you may not want to see if your money is in a 401k, stocks are down again. this is the dow right now. down 198. prolonging an already shaky start to the year on wall street. there are new concerns over the reports of those nuclear tests in north korea, and that has rattled the markets. also oil prices hitting an 11-year low. all of this in part to the continuing tensions between saudi arabia and iran. the conflict also making it very unlikely that opec members will agree on any production cuts. and new york city mayor unveiling a plan today to raise the pay for about 50,000 workers to $15 an hour.

that hike goes into effect at the end of 2018, he says, workers in 14 states getting that raise on january 1st. the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, has not increased in more than six years. when al jazeera america returns, a necks flicks dock cue drama draws a claim and at tings to the controversial conviction of a murder. 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. wisconsin governor saying no to a request that he pardon a

convicted murderer. he says he has no plans to pardon steven avery who is serving life in prison and is the subject of the new netflix documentary series making a murderer. it has many asking if the case points to serious troubles within the criminal justice system. ines ferre has the story, and warning there are spoilers in this report. ♪ >> reporter: the netflix documentary, making a murderer, puts the spotlight on a justice system which defense lawyers say is far from perfect. >> you have a lot of people who will be looking at these sorts of things, and when they hear about a story, they are going to be more inclined to believe that the government actors are -- are not as honest as they may once have thought they were. >> reporter: making a murderer is the story of a wisconsin native, steven avery, dna helped

ex-d exonerate him. >> despite 16 alby witnesses, and a time slip, a receipt from a shopko in green bay that showed it was virtually impossible for mr. avery to have committed the crime, the jury convicted him. >> reporter: two years after his release, he was tried and convicted for the murder of a journalist. >> we the jury find the defendant, steven avery, guilty. >> reporter: the series suggests avery was framed by vindictive law enforce professionals angry over a $36 million civil lawsuit he filed for his wrongful rape conviction. averies defense attorney told al jazeera the documentary is sparking public interest in how cases like this are carried out. >> participate in some way that

least offers the prospects of having an impact on things in the world that upset us. >> reporter: the prosecutor in the murder case says the netflix documentary left out damming evidence against avery, saying: the directors say they put in all of the significant pieces of the case, and they are confident in the series they made. ines ferre, al jazeera. this time tomorrow you could be a multi-millionaire the powerball jackpot now up to $500 million. that is the biggest jackpot since the $564 million prize last february. it is also the sixth largest in north american ris ji. your odds of winning 1 in 292.2 million. lottery officials say you have got to be in it to win it.

thanks for joining us. i'm del walters. the news continues live from london next. ♪ >> hello, i'm david foster, it's 6:00 p.m. london, and wherever you are watching this al jazeera news hour. >> this is act is a profile stabilizing for national security. >> emergency u.n. talks on north korea's announcement it has tested a hydrogen bomb, although that claim is doubt bid experts. the fight for