losing his paintings was worse than when his mother and father died. and he considered helms to be a steward for their safekeeping. there is plenty more on our website, the address as ever is aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com. ♪ i think he's sick. i think he's a sociopath. i think he's a serial rapist. >> reporter: a former oklahoma city police officer is set to be sentenced any moment now for assaulting women while on duty. u.s. markets now trying to pull themselves out of the red. nearly 50 million people on the path of this major winter storm. and detroit public schools now filing suits against their

teachers after days of sickouts to keep their kids out of class. ♪ you are looking at former oklahoma city police officer being escorted into the court today. he is set to find out any moment now many he will spend the rest of his life in prison for raping and sexually assaulting several women while on duty. he was convicted of 18 counts of sex crimes back in december. he faces up to 263 years in prison. a judge expected to hand down that sentence today. heidi zhou castro is inside the courthouse. and what is the latest? >> reporter: hey, del. so this packed courthouse behind me has everyone waiting in anticipation for the sentencing to begin. the delay, is possibly due to a

last-minute motion filed by his attorneys yesterday seeking a new trial. they claim prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense team that may have helped his case. there were 13 african american women from a low-income neighborhood here in oklahoma city who said he sexually assaulted them while on patrol. ultimately a jury back in december convicted him of 18 counts of sexual offenses. >> this has left the community devastated and that is putting it mildly, how is the police department now working to try to restore confidence there? >> reporter: sure. well the department has stressed that it has been very thorough with the investigation, investing one of its own, and it has been very transparent. however, the community is still asking for more to be done in terms of reform. so far the department has

enacted no changes since this case has surfaced other than implementing their body camera program at a more rapid pace. however, this community is asking for patrol officers to patrol with partners rather than -- alone. >> heidi zhou castro thank you very much. the weather now. millions up and down the east coast bracing for this winter's first major winter storm. washington, d.c. as you can see, getting some light snow overnight. but it is nothing to what the nation's capitol is expecting this weekend. washington, d.c. could be slammed with more than two feet of snow. the may yar -- mayor speaking a short while ago. >> given the severity of the forecast, we will treat this event as a homeland security and

emergency management. today i'm declaring a state of emergency for the district of columbia, which allows us the ability to access federal resources when we need them. nicole mitchell has been tracking this storm and has more on what we can all expect this weekend. >> the storm is causing a lot of different problems for us, decides all of the snow that we'll get along the east coast. it has pulled out of the rockies. this is today's forecast, and we have seen the snow reports, there could be a heavy core of snow through today, four, five, six inches along tennessee, arkansas, even into northern mississippi. that's pretty significant that far south in terms of people knowing how to deal with that kind of snow. and southern portions of the state of mississippi could see the severe weather. more snow, even ice on the

backside, and then as this continues to develop, it eventually pulls off of the coast by saturday, so i think saturday will be the worst day in terms of not only heavy amounts of snow, but the winds will really pick up as well. so a few different problems with this storm. today besides the northern snowy side, the severe risk, that does include the risk for tornados, so you really want to keep an eye to the sky, and as we get through friday, it already starts a little earlier in the day, but it really ratchets up between friday night and saturday, so 18 inches in the core of these darkest pinks. you get further north like new york still a lot of snow, #, 10, 12 inch, by boston it's probably only 3 or 4. but there will also be the winds associated with this. it will reduce the visibility. some of those winds could be in

the 30 and 40-mile gust range. possibly as high as 50 miles an hour. and that is why we have some blizzard warnings in a few areas, already up today. >> nicole thank you very much. a rally today after wednesday's huge selloff. the dow right now at about 233 up. it closed at 250. in that was the worst close since 2014. that rebound following a decision by the european central ba bank to leave interest rates the same. but another bad day in asia. that drop was fuelled by fears of falling oil prices and troubles with the economy niece economy. a former corporate finance analyst and the market appears to be rebounding after yesterday. is it because of what we're seeing with oil?

>> absolutely, oil, and also what is going on in the euro zone. those are the two big driving factors today. >> oil is just one of the factors. the other factor is china. still not certain what to do with china, whether or not the news coming out of china is reliable. >> that's the big issue. we can't rely on the information being released from china, and therefore, how do markets price that into their estimations of what the future is going to hold. and that has big implications, specifically with oil, because if the numbers out of china suggest that the economy isn't doing as well, then that could push prices for oil down. >> what about the announcement from the ecb. >> they want to make sure that banks within the euro zone

continue to lend out money, which is why they are keeping rates at historically low levels, but they also sent a message to the market saying we are willing to go a step further and lower rates even more. from pure financial standpoint, that's good. whether it will translate into more jobs? europe, and more spending power for the average joe, which ultimately influences the broader global economy, that remains to be seen. but, again, the big news today is that oil number. >> some analysts saying that europe in is a bear market, asia is in a bear market. we're up right now. how close are we to a bear market. >> what a bear market means is you have a 20% decline in an index within about a two month period. we haven't seen that.

it's unfair to talk about global economies, because there are two big drivers. the united states is such a huge portion if we are not in a bear market, then there is hope for the whole global economy. so i don't -- based on what i understand, it is not going to happen any time soon in the united states, although everyone is nervous. >> let's talk about inflation. >> inflation normally is described as a bad thing, because you want the money you have to retain value. but in europe they are concerned that there is not enough inflation. when there is inflation it means there are more people spending money and earning money. the value of your home, for example, will go up because of inflation. if you have debt, assuming you have a fixed rate of interest, then literally your debt burden

is lower so you are more likely to spend money. and when there is low inflation, that signals that people don't want to spend their money. that's why the ecb is so concerned, they are saying we're going to make interest rates low to encourage banking to lend more money and people to spend more money. >> thank you. the obama baum could announce new visa requirements for european travelers including nationals of iran, iraq, sudan, and syria. it is unclear just how they would be phased in, or if there will be exceptions for those traveling to the countries working for the government, humanitarian groups, or journalistic institutions. senate democrats stopping the bill that would have kept

syrian refugees out of this country. >> reporter: supporters of the bill said it would help prevent americans from terrorist attacks. now syrian and iraq refugees are already vetted before they come to the united states, but this would have made that process much more stringent. it would required the head of homeland security, the fbi, and national intelligence, to sign off that each refugees was not a threat. here is one of the bill's supporters. >> what this legislation is about is about national security. people who are refugees whether they are adequatably vetted by the appropriate authorities by they come to the united states and live in our communities. this is not about banning refugees. it simply is not. >> reporter: many democrats denounced the legislation saying republicans were declaring a war on refugees. here is dick durban. >> reporter: our war is not with

syrian refugees, it's with al jazeera america and terrorists and those using this country's freedoms to kill innocent people. and for us to turn our back on these refugees is plainly wrong. a pause? give me a break. read it. >> reporter: republicans needed 60 votes to advance this vote to even begin debate, and they did not get it. democrats said we'll vote toed a vans the bill if you let us vote on an amendment that would denounce trump for his call to ban muslims from coming into the united states. immigration, of course, and security a very hot topic on the campaign trail. and three republican candidates actually left their campaigning to comcast a vote, marco rubio, ted cruz, and rand paul. bernie sanders stayed on the campaign trail. he was not at the senate today. but we know he would have voted

against this refugees bill. back to you. lisa thank you very much. of the 4 million syrian refugees in the world the u.s. taking in fewer than a thousand so far. and the international community has six -- e.u. has six weeks to change its refugees policy or risk it falling apart all together. >> it's a crisis of historic proportions. we have never seen anything like this. 60 million plus displaced in the world, over 20 million refugees. and if you don't address this question, you are not going to have prosperity or peace out human rights. >> also condemning the move by the danish parliament today. the final vote on that is monday, and that vote is

expected to pass. al jazeera media network calling for the immediate release of their correspondent who is believed to have been kidnapped in yemen. he had been covering the fighting in the yemeni city of ta'izz. al jazeera calling him an honorable reporter who shared the situation in yemen with objectivity to the outside world. a hit orchestrated by the highest levels of the russian government, a judge connecting vladimir putin to the killing of a russian dissident. and a battle between the city of detroit and its teachers now in court.

>> our american story is written everyday. it's not always pretty,

but it's real... and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight. that standoff in oregon is now proving to be costly. oregon governor says the ongoing occupation of that national wildlife refuge center, costing $100,000 a week in that state. she says the feds are moving too slowly to end the standoff. it began on january 2nd. officers so far avoiding anything that they say would provoke a confrontation. at the start of the flint water crisis, michigan governor is releasing hundreds of pages of emails. some showing top staff members unsure of who was in charge and responsible for cleaning up the mess, including this one that said:

the president by the way in detroit on wednesday where he promised to support flint but didn't go to the city itself. >> all of the people of flint, as they work their way through this terrible tragedy. it is a reminder of why you can't shortchange basic services that we provide to our people, and that we together provide as a government to make sure that the public health and safety is preserved. [ cheers and applause ] and the president has tapped an assistant to lead the response in flint. schools in detroit are back open today. the district asked the courts to intervene, and they did. teachers say their pay is too

low and their buildings are unsafe. >> reporter: the doors were lock at this school on wednesday as teachers from that school and 87 others called in sick, so they could march outside of the north american international auto show where president obama was visiting. this was the teacher's latest effort to draw attention to what they say are impossible working conditions in their debt ridden school district. >> we have overcrowded classes. >> they knew the conditions of the school. they just didn't know we were going to tell on them. >> we're seeing damage from the roof. >> reporter: the american federation of teachers posted this video on youtube showing how rain water damaged a ceiling, and caused a floor in one gymnasium to warp. and teachers complained about classrooms with too many kids and not enough supplies. >> i teach first grade, and i

don't have reading books. >> reporter: money problems and a revolving door of emergency district managers are why so many members are frustrated. the school district is struggling under a more than $500 million deficit, caused by a drop in property tax revenue and cuts in aid. but the interim president of the detroit federation of teachers says the district is turning a blind eye to the problems in its schools. >> they need to make education in the city of detroit priority one. >> reporter: and they haven't done that? >> no. it has to be a priority. this is not happening to any other school district in the state of michigan. >> reporter: the michigan legislature is now considering a plan that would create a second school district that would take control of the schools and pay down debt. in his state of the state speech tuesday niebt, the governor said

the legislate sure needs to act soon. >> detroit schools are in a crisis. they are in need of transformational change. >> reporter: the emergency manager says its help doesn't come from april, the district will be insolvent. >> we're talking about the lives of some 47,000 students, and families and communities. these are critical to the long-term survivability of any city or any community. we believe it can be fixed, but we need the legislature to do that. >> reporter: he couldn't say what might happen if the state fails to act. but the teachers fear it could mean even fewer teachers, and an even tougher learning environment for detroit's children. diane eastabrook, al jazeera, detroit. in a statement, the teachers union responding to the school district's request to ban those sickouts all together, saying, quote, it is regrettable that the detroit public schools seek

to punish those who speak out about the deplorable conditions in our schools. martin murphy has taken over the probe of st. george's school from the former massachusetts attorney general. not clear what is behind the change. in alabama, a man is scheduled to be put to death today using a controversial drug cocktail. he will receive a combination of drugs that includes madolazon. his attorney said the sedative was used in these problematic executions. this is alabama's first execution since the state banned the use of that particular drug. russia's president vladimir putin is being implicated in the connection with the poisoning death of a former spy. he was a vocal critic of putin.

he deflected to the u.k. and died after being poisoned. british police accusing two russian men of giving him the tea. but they deny they were involved and moscow refuses to extradite them. >> i have concluded that there is a strong probability that when mr. lugovoy poisoned mr. litvinenko, he did so under the direction of the fsb, the federal security service of the russian federation. >> alexander litvinenko's wife urging the british government to p punish russia with sanctions. when we come back, sad news for "star wars" fans why they might have to wait even longer for the next installment of that blockbuster series. and we'll talk about the

lasting effects of climate change. ♪

the buffalo bills making history, hiring a woman as a full-time coach. katherine smith is going to be a special teams quality control coach. she is the first woman ever to get a full-time coaching job with any team in the nfl. there is new evidence today that climate change is real. government scientists finding that 2015 was the warmest year on record. jake ward has more. millions of acres of forest

land burned to a crisp. rain so severe, bridges and roads were washed away. billions of dollars in damage. these are just a few of the effects of strange and severe weather in the u.s. and around the world last year. >> the 2015 was the warmest year on record by a sizable amount. >> reporter: 2015 set a terrible new standard for the planet, shattering records. warmer even than 2014, which had been the hottest year on record. >> if you look at the surface temperature record which goes back to 1880, you notice that 15 of the 16 warmest years have all occurred since 2000. this tells you that climate is warming, and this is due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. >> reporter: the united states was hit especially hard. according to noaa, 2015 was the

country's second warmest year, and third wettest year since record keeping began. hotter temperatures are also causing havoc around the world. last year, a cyclone was the first hurricane-strength storm to make landfall in yemen in recorded history. india lost 2,000 people dead in a heatway that saw temperatures abbas 48 degrees celsius, or 218 degrees fahrenheit. >> it's not natural. when you go back and study the climate of the earth as i have, you see that at certain times it was colder, but at other times it was not as warm, but we are at one of the warmest periods for the past one or two million years right now. >> reporter: el niño may be partly to blame for balmy temperatures in december. >> it definitely effects weather

patterning globally through more extreme weather events. as the atmosphere warms, it can hold more water vapor. this is why we're seeing a greater frequency of heavier rains and snowfalls. >> reporter: the question now is whether 2016 will break records again. jake ward, al jazeera, san francisco. and bad news for your "star wars" fans disney announcing it will delay the release of the next movie. it will be leased in december of 2017 as opposed to may. episode 7 the highest grossing release in north american history, earning $861 million. it is also the third biggest global release in history, taking in nearly $2 billion so far, and the tickets are still being counted. thanks for joining us. i'm del walters in new york. the news continues live from london next.

and you can always find us by going to aljazeera.com where the news never stops. ♪ >> live from london, coming up in the next 60 minutes. alexandar widow you remembers britain to impose sanctions on russia. probably approved the former five murder. a child soldier appears before the international criminal court.