good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. >> talking about a potentially paralyzing storm. >> in for a blizzard. the steps political leaders along the east coast are taking to prevent disaster. and already dangerous for travel. also... >> we stopped the syria rapist with a badge. >> an oklahoma police officer is sentenced to 263 years in prison, the message from a victim and a police department trying to regain the community's trust russian president vladimir putin is linked to the murder of a kgb agent, the personal connection between the two and the evidence british authorities have. and a look at the diverse offers

at the sundance film festival that may or may not turn into blockbusters. millions of people along the eastern seaboard are preparing for what could be the biggest snow storms in years. people across the region have been stocking up on its, including food, shovels and salt. some source are seeing huge crowds. >> everyone is panicking. >> get prepared. everyone sold out of salt. i don't know where everyone is going to get salt. more than 2 feet could fall by washington d.c. the storm is expected to hit the

nation's capital. if what happened 24 hours ago is an indication, the next now days could be rough. mike viqueira shows how 1 inch of snow caused a gridlock. >> the washington mayor admitted it was a pathetic performance. >> we are sorry to inadequate response. dismroo we believe we did not provide adequate sources. >> wednesday was just a dusting. less than 2 smches. beginning at the end of the day. the result a literal meaning. even the president's motorcade felt the mix.

marylands's forecasters blamed it on the forecast. what we experienced is nowhere near the forecast for weather in other areas. >> what is coming next could be a storm for the ages. friday to saturday. 1-2 feet. from carolinas, to new england, it's packing high winds, with marylan marylands, d.c. and virginia under a blizzard warning. >> we see everything lined up for a major storm system affecting the eastern third and many millions with heavy snow, cold temperatures and strong winds, which are dangerous situations if they develop. >> millions could be snowed in and worse, lose it the electricity to heat their homes,

and there's the threat of roofs collapsing under wet snow. >> the thing that has us worried is the death of the snow and potential for wet snow. the thing that worries us is when the snow weighs down the tree branches, breaking them. there are long lines as people prepare to hunger down. store shelves have been left baron. >> we've been moving snow. states of emergency in maryla s marylands. d.c. and pennsylvania. political leader are trying to get out in front of the storm. it could take days or up to a week to dig out the roads.

i ask marylands to be prepared and patient. >> with talk of a storm, millions are bracing for the worst. >> a regional director with the u.s. environmental protection agency is resigning in connection with the drinking water crisis in flint michigan, the e.p.a. says susan hedman, in charge. region will step down on february 1st. purchase of the blame for the my levels of led in water has been directed at governor rick schneider, some faulted the e.p.a. for not acting force reply. >> today 263 years in prison for a police officer convicted on rape and sexual assault charges. al jazeera al jazeera's correspondent reports, he target and committed crimes on duty. >> reporter: daniel showed no emotion as the judge read his

sentence. there was a murmur from the audience. followed by tears of joy and relief. >> we topped the syria rapist with a badge, when everybody else was down. . >> a former oklahoma police officer will spend the rest of his life in prison for sexually assaulting african-american women for a poor neighbourhood, whilst he was on patrol. >> thank god for those that believed us. no matter how powerful he was, we had no power to do what was done to us. >> the attacks happened in a 6-month period in 2013 and 2014. a jury convicted him on 18 charges last month. jamie was the last victim. the 68-year-old grandmother was assaulted. >> whatever happens to you. no matter who it is. tell it. don't let them get away with it.

it's not right. the police officer with a badge. it's wrong. >> the previous victims had histories of drug abuse. the state said the officer targeted them, believing no one would take the women's word over his. but this woman had no criminal history and reported the attack. >> you broke the case, do you feel like a hero. >> no, i don't. >> the oklahoma police department tried to make amends, firing the police officer and investigating the case. >> we are committed to the community, i believe we proved that. this is a terrible case. there's no way of changing what happened to the victims. we can't change the past. those that lived in the area are not satisfied.

they called for meaningful reforms. >> do you feel safe in the neighbourhood? >> i know he's off the streets. i don't trust any of them about now. >> can you with 100% certainly say that there are no other officers committing these crimes on your force? >> we have no reason to believe there are. if there's an allegationar case to investigate, we will do so. with his 263 year assistance, he'll never watt roll the streets, in the allies and corners, the shadows cast by the crimes loom. >> the judge struck down a defense motion asking for a new trial. he did not spoke at his own sentencing, but we heard from three victims, one who said to the judge that since her attack, she feels like she's dying on

the inside an atlanta area grand jury indicted a police officer who shot and killed an unarmed naked black man. robert olsen shot anthony hill while responding to a call about a man behaving erratically in an apartment complex. he was charged with two counts of felony murder. >> stacks finished higher on thursday with help from oil traders. the do you climbed. crude oil closed, up 4% from wednesday. today's rise followed rallies on the stock market after a hint of a new stimulus package. despite the bounce back, a glut in supply will keep oil prices down for the future. john terrett is here to explain where all that oil glut is

coming from. >> i always want to say other than in the ground. the longer answer is saudi arabia, which played the oil card in the 1970s, when supplies were withheld, now it's a different game. crude is flooding the market as the saudis strive to maintain their own market share by knocking other producers off the board completely. >>reporter: the do you bounced back on thursday. oil talk dominated the trading floor. the black stuff surged above $30 a barrel, the biggest relief in three months, crude has not found the floor. the world is awash with oil is the problem. china, a key consumer is going through a slow down and needs less oil than anticipated. add to that the lack-lustre recovery at home, the u.s. needing less, despite the lower

prices at the pumps, and then there's saudi arabia. riyadh is playing a game of double jeopardy. first up, they want high tech oil producers making america the biggest oil producer in the world. second, many analysts believe the saudis want to damage iran's chances of turning a fast buck once the oil flows, now that international sanctions have been lift the following the arms deal. >> saudis are saying we are not going to creed market share, and in particular iran and iraq. they have oerpd the spig ots as a way to control market share and prevent rivals in the gulf from producing oil. the saudis can afford to keep it up. it's not true of others like nigeria, keen to have a meeting of the cartel in an effort to cut production. it's that time of year when the biggest names in u.s. business

tell us how well they did in the last three months of last year. the fourth quarter earnings could play a part in driving oil and stock in the short term, long term it's anybody's guess. >> right. the longer this zones on, the better the chances of a $10 barrel of oil. you can't believe $10. it's good news for you and me, but too low to make drilling worthwhile for oil producing countries, the fear is we'll see major corporate bankruptcies. serious analysts predict it could go down as far as $10 a british judge is accusing vladimir putin of giving the okay for an assassination, the judge releasing a report in which he claims vladimir putin probably ordered the 2006 murder of former russian spy in london, alexander litvinenko. neave barker reports, the accusations could strain relations between the u.k. and russia. >> reporter: the long-awaited

murder inquiry led investigators to the doors of the kremlin. the damning finding saying vladimir putin probably approved of alexander litvinenko's murder because of a feud. the inquiry chairman implicated the head of russia's security service f.f.b., calling the killing a state-sponsored assassination. >> that is a strong probability that when mr andrei lugovoy poisoned mr alexander litvinenko, he did so under the direction of the f.s.b., the federal security service of the russian sfrags -- federation. the reports say andrei lugovoy and dmitri kovtun poisoned alexander litvinenko with radioactive plutonium 210. it said this was their second murder attempt. speaking in russia andrei

lugovoy called the allegations nonsense. >> translation: everything that is being said by the british media, referring to an open and public hearing is a lie. outrageous lie. i can't find another word to describe it. >> alexander litvinenko's wife and sons say they are hope with the findings, urging the british government to punish russia with sanctions. >> i'm calling immediately for the explosion from the u.k. of russian intelligence operatives, and i'm calling for the imposition of targeted economic sanctions, and advancing against named individuals, including mr nikolai patruskev, and mr vladimir putin, summoned to the foreign office, russia's ambassador to the u.k. moscow says the findings are baseless. >> we consider the case, and the way it was disposed over

provocation, of the british authorities. >> the british government says it will freeze the assets of those suspected of the killing. it was a murder straight out of a cold war spy novel. the former russian agent defected to the west. only to be hunted down and poisoned. apparently by former colleagues. the report suggests there was personal antagonism dating back to the 1990s. alexander litvinenko made personal attacks on vladimir putin, accusing him of pead fillia. >> the public inquiry had no basis, it could decide on what could take place next. when it comes to defeating i.s.i.l., a full-blown diplomatic row is the last thing the government wants the obama administration is implementing changes to the visa waiver programme allowing citizens from 38 countries,

mostly in europe to travel to the u.s. without plying for a visa, people that visited iran, iraq, syria and sudan in the past five years must apply for a visa to visit the u.s. people that visited the countries may be eligible for wavers. still ahead on al jazeera, an unlikely partnership how loggers and environmentalists work together to save for efforts and increase lumber productions.

the problem of sexual assaults on college campuses is highlighted in a federal report. according to a study conducted by the justice department at nine colleges across the u.s., 10% of female college students experienced a form of sexual assault in the 2014 to 2015 school year. 4% of students reported being raped. more than 5% said they were victims of sexual battery, including unwanted kissing and forced touching. less than 13% of rapes were reported. the former u.s. marine held in an iranian prison for 4.5 years

is home. amir arrived in flint michigan, and was released from custody on saturday along with three other americans. he was visiting americans in 2011 when arrested and charged with espionage, amir hekmati thanked reporters, his congressman and president obama who supported him the logging industry has been working with environmentalists and the government to become more sustainable. results have been positive. allen schauffler has a look at the sump in productivity. >> you can see that there, that probably wouldn't have been here in the past. >> mark webb runs blue mountains forest, a non-collaborative group formed 10 years ago. loggists, environmentalists, trying to find common ground. this area was logged heavily, and without much oversight for the land, for a century, environmental pressure gutted the industry in the '80s, and

'90s. the environmental community litigated, shut us down. they impacted the livelihoods and what we knew and valued as a lifestyle. when it happens, it creates anger and distrust. >> less timber meant more growth, fuel for fires and beatle infestation. similar conditions exist across much of the 1.4 million acres. getting tree huggers and cutters to sit and talk is never easy. >> it doesn't happen until everyone's back is against the wall, until everyone is losing something. we weren't getting enough wood to stay afloat. our back was against the wall. the environmental community was losing in terms of fire, and insect damage. >> the forest partners use grant money for research and thinking projects. volunteers contribute thousands of hours of work in the woods.

the amount of timber tripled. far below production of the past, but enough to keep the local mill operating and the log trucks rolling. the u.s. forest service has the final say on any local land management proposals. >> frankly, we live in a legislative framework. it is subject to public process. like doug and others, many called them a drop in the bucket. he works for a company that buys and sells milling machinery, but has no local customers left. >> the nearby mill used to be a big employer, and they are used to dry hay now. >> the country is smaller and smaller. people finally just can't hang on any more. and they move out of town. >> mark web sees hope. >> it involves communication, being honest where you are coming from, where you want to go and d admit that you have

been mistaken about what was the best way to do things. >> if you have those conversations and public land management moves forward in productive good ways the country's most prestigious film festival kicked off in the utah. we go to park city for a look at the buzz, and which movies are getting all the attention. >> david bowie's history is secure, but his place among the stars is less certain.

the transportation security administration says it seized a record number of guns from carry on baggage in 2015. the t.s.a. said it found nearly 2700 firearms last year, that's up 20% from 2014. more than 80% of the guns were loaded. the largest number of seizures were at airports in dallas and atlanta, this year's sundance film festival is set to be the biggest with 120 feature films, the most history. rob reynolds has more on the films creating a buzz now in park city, utah the rocky mountain air in this small resort town is full of expectation. independent film-makers from 37 countries are showing off their

artistic creations to 45,000 eager cinema fans and perspective buyers. >> it's a bucket list item for me. people are here, they know this is where the best content in the world is for film. >> reporter: 120 feature films will be screened at the sundance, calling for 4,000 smileses. the focus says festival founder robert redford is on narrative. >> for me, the important thing is the story, and story telling is what it should by about. >> among the most talked about films, christine, by alex campos, starring rebecca hall. a dark drama about a female journalist trying to break into the male-dominated world of 1970 tv news. israeli produced arabic film "sand storm" tells the story, and struggles to reconcile

religious beliefs with contemporary relationships. >> birth of the nation takes its name from dw griffith's racist 1915 silent epic, but tells the story of the bloody slave rebellion in virginia, led by african american folk hero. in the documentary division, there's buzz about newtown, taking on the debate about gun violence, focussing on grieving families that lost children in the sandy hook film massacre in 2012. and german film-maker is back with lo and bihold, an off-beat look at the digitized internet connected world humanity made and which is remaking humanity. >> the film industry is waiting to see whether this will surpass 2015. when the grand prize winner, a quirky comingful age winner

failed to win big audiences when released in theatres. that shows there's a difference between the bubble of the sundance film festival and what mainstream audiences are interested in. >> you can be you sure many hope their labour of love will be the next little miss sunshine. whiplash or blair witch project david bowie will be remembered as the original space oddity, but will not get his own constellation any time soon. not officially. last week a belgium observatory teamed up with a radio station claiming they had registered a new constellation in honour of bowie, shaped like his lightening bolt maker. the group in charge of naming the objects said it never signed offed on the request, and -- off on the request and the stars in

the made-up constellation are included in other constellations. >> i'm antonio mora, for news head over to aljazeera.com. ray suarez is up next with "inside story". have a great night. presidential candidate ted cruz was born in canada and the only surprise about it becoming an issue in the campaign is that it took this long. the country has never had a president born in a foreign country and like so much in this unusual campaign season, it has been made an issue by donald trump. the constitution is clear, sort of, on who can be president. why was that qualification in there in the first place? has our interpretation changed