american dream hard earned only on al jazeera america this is al jazeera america. with a look at today's stories. traffic now banned in new york city. motorists stranded on the roads for hours. >> reporter: i'm the metrologist. some cities are getting better. things are still very dangerous. i will bring you all the details

lessons learned from the water crisis in flint. we look at government responsibility to keep america's drinking water safe. with just over a week before the iowa caucuses, he says not even committing a violent crime can turn away his supporters. we will tell you what crime he is talking about it has been a long cold day for the people of the united states. the blizzard brought with it hurricane force winds and up to three feet of snow in some areas. it has claimed 18 lives either from car crashes, shovelling snow or hypothermia. flights have been cancelled as

well. in new jersey tides higher than they were during super storm sandy are causing major flooding. extremely heavy snow fall. our correspondent is in manhattan. finally some good news about the travel ban? >> reporter: the travel ban according to the mayor will be lifted at 7am in the morning. as you can see those gail force windows have subsided. so has the snow. people are walking around the streets and having fun already this evening, but this was just one of the cities that got pum eled by the blizzard. it will take day to dig out. >> the smart thing to do is to get away from any place that

you're at. >> reporter: in the new york area where a travel ban is in effect, the message was clear. stay home. >> the nypd will take any measures necessary to keep our roads clear in the middle of this emergency >> reporter: roads are empty except for snow ploughs and emergency vehicles. public transport will not operate until at least monday morning. many showed up at the station with nowhere to go >> i did not check the internet beforehand. i'm now wondering what i'm going to do >> reporter: hundreds of people lined up to see broadway shows, but they were cancelled.

local and city officials up and down the eastern seaboard urged residents to stay home and stay safe as heavy snow and winds pummelled the region. there was flooding with streets filling streets in some coastal towns. new jersey says the worst may be over. >> the word now is that the high tide tonight will be less significant than the one this morning and tomorrow it will be less significant than today's. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of people lost power. heavy snow brought traffic on parts of interstate roadway to a stand il >> you don't imagine years being

out here for five hours >> reporter: people came with supplies to help. >> this is horrible. we've been stuck here for 13 and a half hours and still koupting. >> reporter: with a travel ban in effect many headed to central park for some sledding and skiing. here on # 34th street the station is closed. people are in the streets and they're having fun. i'm hearing somebody say, let's take a selfie. when an officer asked, it was said people are were off the streets. it's not that dire here. you can hear the snow ploughs and scraping. there will be heavy flooding thoefr. it will take time to dig out

from all these major cities including new york, baltimore and washington. bruce springsteen has cancelled his concert tomorrow night he will be back. going to washington dc and john terrett. how is it there? >> let me me bold. i want to be bold and tell you that it's over. i think it's over. we all think so here. you can see the moon. the moon is up there right now, so that's a good sign. that's the first time that it hasn't been snowing in about 32 hours. a bit more than that t i know you can see bits of snow coming down, but we think that's falling off the building around us and being blown around by the breeze and things. this is people out and about walking around the city. from these pictures you can get a better idea of what the city

has been, what the nation's capital no less, has been living through. it's very, very dangerous conditions, no-one driving and no-one working. most businesses closed. the hotels and bars are open, but that's about it. we have a beautiful time lapse sequence from the white house. of course, the white house is white. it never looks better than when it is surrounded by white like it is today. this is a beautiful sequence of the bad storm going over also head the president's home. it almost disappeared at one point because of the terrible conditions. addressing the fact that many people have been out and about today, the mayor ticked them off. she said quite frankly you really shouldn't be out in this

storm. it is very, very dangerous. people did come out to see what it was like. this is how she put it. >> visibility is poor and you cannot be seen. there are too many people on the streets, both driving and walking. we need you to stay home. this is an emergency event and we are very much in our emergency response phase. please stay home. >> reporter: so how are they going to deal with all this snow? because we had snow storms, bad ones, in 2010 and 1996 i think. it doesn't come very often to washington on this scale. the director of homeland security for the district says that they're not even going to begin trying to decide how they clear the main streets in the area until the final snow fall

comes and that's happening around about now. i guess they will be making that decision about now. >> the storm is still happening. we are still in that timeframe when real bad things can happen. once we get past this emergency phase and the winds calm then we will be getting into the response phase. then we will look at our damage assessment and looking at the things we need to do to get recover to the recover stage. >> reporter: there's no bus service, the railroad is not running. flights have been cancelled. no flights in and out at the moment, but the hope is to try and get things back on track late sunday. the forecast is for sunshine tomorrow in washington thank you.

now to our meterologist. >> it has been quite a storm. it had been more than people thought. we saw the storm coming four days ago, but the amount of snow we saw with the storm definitely broke records. some broke the record for the day. central park 25.1 inches. it didn't break a record, but it still could depending on what the need reading is going to be. they need to see 26.9 there. kennedy airport 27.6 inches of rain did break a record. in washington we are clearing out. do you see this area here, most of that is moving up here towards the north-east. for new york we have a little bit of a break in the clouds. we could still see a flurry tore two. where the biggest threat will be for the next three hours will be

out towards long island and up towards cape cod. we're looking at gusty winds as it makes it way out to the north-east. look closer in. heartford has some. the blue is where the heaviest showers are going to be. it will be dropping off down to the south. for new york they're saying the blizzard conditions are going to be well over before 7am. towards up here very heavy snow, up towards cape cod that is one place to be watching as well as nantucket and when we come back i will talk about more behind the storms clear skies are? >> reporter: clear skies thank you. more news tonight. a 17-year-old has been charged in a mass shooting that took

place in a school in rural canada. police say the teen gunman killed two brothers at a home before heading to a community school where he shot nine people. two of the victims there died. seven are injured. one of the dead is the daughter of the town's mayor who was a teacher at the school. turning to the fight against i.s.i.l., the vice president biden is shoring up the alliance with turkey. he met with erdogan and the prime minister saying they're joining together to beat i.s.i.l. syrian peace talks resume on monday. he also condemned a group at work. he called the group a terror group plain and simple and a threat to turkey like i.s.i.l. sunday's presidential elections in haiti have been postponed after residents who expect a

rigged outcome fled to the streets in protest. >> reporter: it was the threat of widespread violence that led to haiti's planned election being called off. this is now a nation in limbo. polling stations have been set ablaze across the country with many thinking a crisis. >> reporter: you think it is going to be a struggle? >> yes. we will be fine. we are fighters. >> reporter: a group of former candidates known as the g8 when have been calling for change amid accusations including fraud and irregularities. he says haiti has some serious challenges ahead. >> translation: i have a good feeling. we made a big step in the right direction, but it is not the end. we still have a very long way to

go because this fight is more complicated than people think. >> reporter: leadership struggles aside, the people of haiti are growing impatient with the entire process. this student and musician told us he is rapidlying lose hope. he says most live in inhumane conditions. other observers don't see an easy way out of the political impasse. according to the constitution, the president has to be out of office by the beginning of february. the timeframe gives those in power little time to act decisively >> translation: we have less than two weeks. there is no way to have another election. so it will be up to the parliament and the political parties to agree on a new government. >> reporter: elections have never been an easy thing in haiti, but for the past this country has enjoyed relatively

stability, but all of that has been unravelling in the past few months. perhaps the most important thing for the future of this country is that the next leader has legitimacy. there some more at stake here than a smooth hands over the power. haiti is still struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake, unemployment is rampant. this nation's 50 million people may ultimately pay the price a manhunt is underway in southern california for three violent criminals who escaped from an orange county jail. the three police were last seen at the jail is about 40 miles south-east of l.a. they are accused of murder, attempted murder and torture. the break was preplanned and

well thought out. they cut through half inch steel bars. up next lessons learned from the water crisis in flint. thousands are left with nothing but contaminated water. we take a deeper look at government responsibility. later, the crime donald trump says he could commit and still keep his loyal followers. the declaration just over a week before the iowa caucuses.

the crisis in flint michigan has raised questions about government responsibility and possible misconduct, but at its core is a bigger question concerning every community in america, how do you keep drinking water safe. tonight we take a deeper look at flint and the warnings it holds for other communities around the country. emails released suggest it is a delayed action on complaints on water for almost two years. ten days after a chemical spill in one area. many have decades-old pipes with

issues. our correspondent looks at keeping america's drinking water safe >> reporter: there really is no easy fix to improving flint's water crisis. poor state monitoring plays a huge part in this but the ageing infrastructure is also to blame. many of the pipes in town are more than 100 years old near the bring of bankruptcy several years ago, maintenance and improvements has not been easy to come by. newly erected mayor estimates that it would cost 1.5 billion dollars to replace the water pipes in the city >> they can't handle this financially. the state doesn't have the finances. we need federal assistance >> reporter: help is coming in the form of federal and state funds, but more will be needed. it isn't just a flint problem. other cities across the country have similar issues as it pertains to ageing

infrastructure. in flint the fallout continues over the water crisis. on thursday the environmental protection offered a regular ignore nation. two employees were suspended from the department for their involvement in the city's water switch which resulted to led contamination. there have also been complaints made to the water and an increase in the number of legionnaires disease. the city and state's handling over this water crisis has been criticiz criticized joining me now is the investigative reporter with the american civil liberties union and in washington dc the director of the defense counsel.

you broke the story about flint's dangerous drinking water. what does your reporting reveal about the infrastructure problems about the water supply across the country? >> thought america there is ageing water and sewage infrastructure which is consistent consistently - which is low grades of its condition from the national engineering groups. basically it's failing, but because it is underground and people dant see it, it's somewhat of an out of sight out of mind situation, but it's a growing issue-- can't see it. the bill to repair and replace all this ageing piping systems could be a trillion dollars or more according to some of the estimates i've seen it's sort of puzzling, but

maybe it isn't, so you tell me. when you hear citizens complain about problems with the drinking water and they find scientific tests to prove that there's a problem with the drinking water, why would elected officials, why would regular lateliry agencies charged with the responsibility of keeping the water safe, why would they neglect something as critical and crucial as drinking water? >> there are a couple of different reasons. one is sort of specific to flint and a group of other cities in michigan that are under the control or were under the control of the emergency manager. they were put there because the cities and school districts are in bad financial shape and given complete trial. flint, in order to save money, it a decision was made to switch to the flint river.

when it became obvious that was leading to the problem, the department was also an extension of the same governor that had appointed the emergency manager that was over flint, so there was a conflict of interest in terms of the regulatory authority going on there. there was no independent actors. it was all the state essentially, but that was an effect with flint. there was no powers to not have to incur the expense of replacing these led service lines. a service line is what goes from the water main running down the center of the street to the property bringing water inside the house. these service lines i've heard estimates that there are maybe ten mile i don't know of these led service lines in america that should be replaced, and the cost of doing that is immense.

so if a city is viewed to be out of compliance with federal regulation, in terms of led levels, they have to start replacing these service lines that's a good place to take a pause with you. in one of your previous jobs was the attorney with the environmental protection agency, what is the responsibility of the federal government and specifically the epa to protect drinking water for all american citizens? >> theoretically epa oversees the states and the local governments who are supposed to be primarily responsible for making sure that our water is safe, but what has happened repeatedly is the epa has become afraid of its own shadow. it has been beaten up for being too reticent to take action

which is really unfortunate because their budgets have been slashed and so we see it starting to have an effect. we would like to see epa much stronger and aggressive. we think they dropped the ball here. we need to see more action by the federal epa overseeing the states and localities one of the reasons behind flint's power crisis is because the government didn't appeared chemicals. -- add chemical is >> cities are supposed to add a chemical to their water that coats the inside of the pipes with a thin film. it is called a corrosion inhibitor that redecency-- reduces the amount of led leaching into the water. we need to take care of those pipes, but in the meantime it is

really important to use corrosion control to coat the inside of the pipes to reduce the led leaching into the water as we have mentioned, one of the biggest costs is the infrastructure upgrade. >> reporter: in this restaurant nothing seems reliable these days as water-- nothing sea seems as unreliable as the water. two of the city's main water pumps shut down causing a drop in pressure making it easier for bacteria to seep into the water. he has had on to spend hundreds of dollars buying bottled of water and ice and estimates more in a drop of customers >> something has to be done about it because it's a headache. >> reporter: this problem isn't new in new orleans.

the most recent interruptions happened after the pumps lost power, but it's not clear why >> if you've got a hundred year old infrastructure-- >> reporter: this man says the route of the problem is chronic neglect of century old infrastructure >> that's what we're seeing. the fraying of that system. when you don't maintain it, at some point if it comes back and bites you >> reporter: in the city the problem got worse after hurricane katriana. >> that water added weight and that breaks the infrastructure. >> reporter: after the storm crews fixed some leaks but the city still loses about 40% of its drinking water each day. that can amount to 80 million gallon i don't knows a day.

>> reporter: this man runs the city's water board. we asked him why the system is such a mess >> we're at the end of being able to survive on nur 19th century infrastructure. it hasn't been touched in nearly 60 years. from time to time there will be those issues >> reporter: along with new pumps and turbines, the city plans to add water towers to keep the water pressurized in case of another outage. a company recommended upgrades years ago but nothing was done >> i think you will see in the next two to two and a half years most of the system will be rebuilt. >> reporter: the improvements will come at a huge cost. three billion dollars. while the bulk of the money is coming from the federal government, more than 700 million is being passed on to customers. water bills for the residents

will increase 10% for the next six years. >> reporter: for in this man he is welcome to pay it if it fixes the problems back now to our guest. mr olsson, what do you think is going to take-- it is going to take for the city to improve the infrastructure but at the same time protect people from costs? >> it is like having a car that's 75 years old and never changing the oil or tyres, never doing any maintenance. that's what we have across the country with water systems that have pipes in many cases that are a century old. you have to pay a little bit of money in order to maintain something like your water infrastructure. you don't pay for it-- if you don't pay for it now, you will have to pay for it later, with health problems, contamination,

breaking water mains. we have quarter of a million water manners in the u.s. every year. we have to take care of this and invest in the ongoing maintenance and updating of our drinking water suppliers or we're going to have more and more problems just a couple of days ago the president spoke to the conference of mayors in washington dc promising them that federal money would be used for municipal water >> we secured additional funding to help cities build water infrastructure. we're going to have that available to you by the end of next week. that includes more than 80 million dollars for the state of michigan. our children should not have to be worried about the water that they're drinking you heard the president promising 85 million dollars. are the people in flint

michigan, they weren't too happy about that, were they? >> no. i think you said in your introduction how much that the mayor estimates it is going to cost to replace the damaged infrastructure there and so 85 million out of - sure, it's appreciated, but it's far short, terribly inadequate for what is needed. in terms of overall, my understanding is that since the 1970s the federal government has cut by about 75% the amount of money it gives to the states and through the states to pay for water infrastructure. you were talking about new orleans, their bills going up 10% a year for the next year. that's huge especially in a city that is largely poor. in detroit they shut off water to tens of thousands of people

because you could not expect to p pass on the money for the necessary improvements. it is not there to pay on the backs of taxpayers i would be remiss if i did not give you an opportunity to summarise for us who, based on your reporting, you found to have responsibility, if not blame, for what happened in flint. >> ultimately it rests with the governor. the governor is the person who pushed through this, who put it in place, democracy being taken away, the result of that, and then there is short sighted decisions to try and save a

relatively small amount of money by switching to this river water which was just not suitable to be used and then to not use the necessary corrosion control, all of that was an australia territory-- austerity program put in place. ultimately he is responsible for this one official in the epa resigned, presumably because of lack of action on this issue. >> yes. absolutely. there was an epa employee who had been writing memos and pulling the whistle on this problem earlier last year. that was really swept under the carpet. so i think there is responsibility at the federal epa. there should have been much more aggressive handling.

they finally issued the emergency order at the end of last week. the federal epa is at blame, but i think fundamentally the state government needs to bear the line share of responsibility thank you very much eric ol s sen-- olson and eric. >> thank you. >> thank you coming up, we are nine days away from the first votes in this year's presidential election and donald trump says there is nothing he can do to lose support from his loyal followers, even committing a violent crime. the south african government is encouraging breast mothers to breastfeed and to donate their milk.

pictures of severe flooding in west wild abouts wood new jersey. high winds whipped up tides around nine feet. this time around only a few incidents were reported as opposed to the thousands that had to abandon their homes in 2012. what can we expect with this coastal flooding. is it all over? >> reporter: no. it's not over yet. the flood warnings is still in effect. we have seen record breaking high tides across this region. first of all, i want to explain what has been going on. of course, we were talking about the actual storm.

it's an area of low pressure that you can see here off the coast. because it turns counter clockwise, what that is doing is pushing the water and the winds up towards the coast. i want to go closer in so you can see what's been going on. you can see how this has been moving towards the west or the south-west of the look at some video that came out earlier from new jersey. this is one of those areas, the same kind of damage that they were hit by the hurricane super storm sandy in that area. they did not need to have any more damage. this is going to continue through the evening. i want to show you what we can expect in terms of flooding. all of long island as well as coastal new jersey to parts of dellaware, they will stay in place. once the wind starts to turn around, then these flood

warnings will start to drop. we are getting gusty winds here. this is the forecast. what you will notice is the winds begin to turn around from the north-west. the reason being the air is moving off the coast and the circulation is changing. by the time we get to tomorrow, we will see a big difference along those coastal regions. temperatures now 27 degrees, not too cold around this region. the wind chill feels low. new york is more like 12 degrees. the forecast is great. for many of these cities tomorrow, a new day. 16 decembering here, new york here, and for boston about 33. a big change starting tomorrow from seasonal temperatures to the political season, turning to the iowa caucuses. in nine days voters will be the

first to show their presidential preference. on the democratic side hillary clinton got a boost. she was endorsed by the demoyne register. on the republican side the newspaper gave the nod to florida senator marco rubio. former city mayor michael bloomberg might have presidential ambitions. he has asked his advisers to draw up plans for an independent candidacy. sources close to the former mayor say he is most likely to run if donald trump and bernie sanders are nominated by their parties. he will reportedly make his decision by early march. donald trump today welcomed a possible run saying he would love the competition. he also touted loyalty of his followers, even if were to commit a violent crime. here is what he said at a rally today. >> they say i have the most

loyal people. did you ever see that? where i could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot something and i wouldn't lose any voters. >> reporter: he is leading the iowa polls ahead of ted cruz. here is a look at the primary schedule. the iowa caucuses are an in a week, then the new hampshire two weeks, and three weeks both the nevada and south carolina will be held. it appears they're running for the top office of two different countries if you listen to them. they have very different rhetoric and visions of where the country is and where they need to be. our correspondent spoke with a political expert who says it indicates it might be more part son than ever >> i believe we can stand up and restore our promise >> reporter: it's a given in any

presidential campaign, ares lofty ads with pretty pictures of america evoking patriotism. what america are we talking about? the democratic america? >> i'm going to build on the progress we've made. gentleman or the republican america. >> our freedom is under attack, our economy is under water >> reporter: it sounds like they're running for president of two different countries. >> in some sense i think the republicans and the democrats are running for presidents of two different countries. it is polarized, not just in terms of partisonship but other things that bring the country together >> reporter: to hear the republicans tell it, the u.s. is on the road >> our country is going to go to hell because that's what's happening >> reporter: it is a much better picture for democrats

>> i truly believe that we are standing on the threshold of a new era of american progress >> reporter: part of all of this has to do with which party is in the white house with president obama in the oval office, the democrats have to convince americans that the country is on the right track and they should stay in office. it is the opposite for the republicans. that's not the only reason for these different messages >> the parties have become more cohesive, perhaps more so than ever in history, which i think contributes to the part son divide divide that you see in the party. >> reporter: fewer americans see themselves in the middle politically. according to the research center, the share of americans who identify as either liberal or conservative has grown to 21%, more than double what it was two decades ago.

a split isn't just idea logical. republicans are rural, democrats are urban and attract the bulk of minority voters. this divide is reflected in a host of issues from health care to climate change, immigration >> the debate is over. climate change is real >> climate change is the perfect pseudo scientific theory >> reporter: even organizations that once had bipartisan support such as planned parenthood are caught in the political cross fire >> plan parenthood is supported and appreciated. >> i have vetoed planned parenthood. >> reporter: this is what the picture looks like now. in the general election the nominees may try to move to the middle grounds, but that is increasingly shrinking political real estate.

especially when it comes to voters the south african government is ebb couraging mothers to breastfeed their babies instead of using formula milk. they also want them to donate to the minimuming bank to reduce mall nutrition. -- milk bank to reduce malnutrition. >> reporter: every day this mother donates milk to a child in south africa. she doesn't know who gets the milk, but she is happy to help a good cause. she has more than enough for her daughter >> i think it is wonderful to help a baby. it's going to help them grew and be nurtured. i think it is very important >> reporter: the donated milk is donated to milk banks across the

country. this is a milk bank where it is tested for hiv and other diseases. it is pasturised and fed to organs. -- orphans. there are 40 milk banks. paediatricians and government experts are encouraging breastfeeding instead of formula milk which lacks nutrients and essential antibodies. >> it is about growing breastfeeding rates where we have dangerously low breastfeeding rates. one in four mothers exclusively breastfeed their babes. this woman's child was born premature and receives milk from the milk bank >> i don't know you how he would

survive without the milk bank. if i bought from the shoms, but they say the milk from the shops is not right for the babies. 34 new born babies out of every 1000 die before their first birthday in africa. this will help them when the midnight strikes at the sun dance festival, the horror movie begins. coming up, this is now underway. in italy extra security in one of the most colorful festivals.

in ven ice people dance to celebrate the city's carnival. it features glowing structures and giant live displace. acrobats display on boats. the 18-day festival begins. >> translation: it is obvious that the 2016 carnival will be a different carnival for the city from a security point of view. as we've seen from recent international events from the terrorist attack in paris in 2015, it is obvious there will

be further attention from security organizations and this attention must be absolutely coincide with the freedom of the citizens to enjoy this event which has a historic and international tradition it is important for citizens and tourists to understand the city's emphasis on security. the festival ends 9 february. in park city, utah, the sundance film festival is underway. the highlight of the festival only happens at midnight. albert hitchcock says always make the audience suffer as much as possible. sun dance is filled with flent of willing participants. >> reporter: midnight is when the horror begins here, horror movies that is. this could be a cult classic and we want to be here first. these people lined up late at night to see the director's film the greasy strangler.

>> some sort of quite depravity. >> reporter: rob zombie is back with a move on about carnival workers kidnapped >> five are taken hostage and taken to an area where it is a fight for the death. >> reporter: horror appeals across languages, borders and cultures. this is a story about a young mother going mad in the middle of the war. she is convinced there is an evil spirit in her apartment. >> every culture has vary own version of horror myth. people are fascinated at the stories that terrify them. >> reporter: horror movies are as old as film itself. throughout the decade an - i

never ending displace of monsters. the horror genre is a money maker. >> they're always a guaranteed profit for the most part. because the fans are so dedicated. >> reporter: the blair witch project came the highest grossing independent film of all time. even for many serious cinema fans there's nothing quite like the guilty pleasure of sitting in a darkened theater and getting scared out of your wits. horror films reflect undercurrents running through contemporary culture and society >> coming out in the last two years, we have seen mass shootings, police brutality.

this feeds the imagination of film makers. >> reporter: so midnight after midnight the sun dance horror features creep on with film makers hoping their audiences will reward their work with the best reaction of all, a blood-curd meddling scream. -- curdling scream stay tuned for america tonight. coming up, a look at the blizzard after 2016 slamming into the east coast right now. >> the scenario from the weather service say 20 to 24 inches of snow. >> there are too many people on the streets both driving and walking. we need you to stay home. >> it is imperative that people get off the roads. >> we've been stuck in the truck for 13 and a half hours

>> it has been one nonstop and it's just doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere. >> this morning when we came out, we cannot open the door. >> i want to keep it in our neighbors, workable for the people if they p want to be out for whatever reason. >> who doesn't want to be out here. this is a historic storm, right? you just want to be part of history. of course, who doesn't like sno snow? >> i could be sitting inside keeping warm, but it's a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

>> you're not going to tell on us, are you? >> this is all we wanted. who cares. >> just get married. that's it. [ ♪ ] >> these workers got the fight in them, they just don't know it. >> facing up to old demons... >> i am really, really nervous... >> lives hanging in the balance... >> it's make or break... i got past the class... >> hard earned pride... hard earned respect... hard earned future... a real look at the american dream hard earned only on al jazeera america

the u.s. secretary of state still confident about syria's talks despite disagreement on who will represent the opposition coming up in the next half hour the u.n. demands access to the yemeni city of tiez to save tens of thousands who are suffering. a mammoth snow fall shuts down new york city as it spreads across the area.