settlers arrived, changing the national day should follow. andrew thomas, al jazeera, sydney. >> the global headlines from all corners of the globe. www.aljazeera.com. that's www.aljazeera.com. >> the fall out from this weekend's snowfall is still being felt up and down the east coast. gone without a trace. california officials are searching for three men who escaped from jail. the push from syria, high level talks could resume later this week. and the fight for voter rights, north carolina's new law tested in federal court a week before the iowa caucuses.

>> this an al jazeera live from new york city. i'm richelle carey. an man enormous blizzard blanketed new york. 31 people die from storm-related causes. commuters heading back to work are facing delayed trains and buses and many secondary roads are still covered in snow. the mayor urged caution for d.c. residents. >> it is important to note that the roads are still dangerous. we talked to you about the weather conditions and it's getting warmer during the day and freezing at night. any wet surfaces can become icy,

walkways, sidewalks and roadways. we are still in a snow emergency in washington, d.c. and i'm operating under a state of emergency in the district as well. congress is delaying legislative business and all federal offices remain closed. they've been shut down since noon on friday. johnter rat is live in washington, d.c. with so much today. you're out there by yourself. >> i know. well, it was a very lonely weekend. i've got to be honest with you. there were only a handful of people out in the height of the storm. that has changed a little bit now but not terribly much. we do have terribly blue skies. you can just see, richelle, the depth of the snow on the ground. it's absolutely extraordinary. we just heard from mural bowser, the mayor of washington, d.c. and she and her homeland

security director are telling washingtonians to be prepared to live with this snow into next week. now, what they mean by that is they want to get the downtown back as quickly as possible. they want to get the subdivisions cleared as quickly as possible. but they're making good progress but it is slow progress. we're on the edge of georgetown, the edge of washington, d.c. not far from the white house, and just look at the amount of snow that is still on the ground. you're looking at single track roads running through the nation's capital. to add to that we just learned that metro is back quite a bit. they tell us within the last half our that pretty much all you but one station is open, but a very limited service being run, richelle. >> with the cleanup being such a monumental task when do officials expect to have government offices up and running again? >> well, according to mayor bowser, she's going to try to

get the d.c. government up and running by tuesday. no word from the federal government, of course, it's been closed since lunchtime last friday midday. regarding the cools, well, some of them said they'll be closed today. others said they'll be closed on tuesday as well. most interestingly the mayor just said that ten schools in the district are going to be open today because they need to provide food for the children. the mayor said that if the kids don't come to school they don't eat. ten schools in this area will be open simply for people to be able to walk to if they can get there, and have a hot meal today. >> that is so key, and that is good to know that they're remembering things like that, and people who sometimes fall through the cracks. before i let you go, john, it seems that most of what we've been hearing, people have been bragging i was in the storm, 20 inches of snow, or 30 inches of snow. but there is one random place in

d.c. that is outlier, explain what happened? >> well, this is a great story, and we thank the "washington post." the weather service always gives key weather forecasting stations like airports a little white board, which they're supposed to leave in the snow and it has marks on it. and every six hours the weathercaster on duty is supposed to determine how much snow has fallen. the national weather service looked at what fell in baltimore, and it was 30 inches. and dulles, the international airport for the city, and it was about 30 inches as well, they looked at reagan national, which is in virginia on the other side of the potomac river received 17 inches. what is that?

they said we might have lost the board. we poked into the snow, and now we can't find it, and 17 inches is what we think fell. everyone is laughing because it's more like 30 inches even in the direct it prompts to question, one, why does the district have its snow measured outside in virginia. and it's serious because the emergency fund something handed out given on based on the number of n- d.c. at the moment will presumably get lesser help. >> yes, those numbers absolutely matter. i'm sure they're going to be looking into this for sure. john, thank you so much. john terrett live in d.c. >> thank you. >> a manhunt for three escaped california inmates has entered it's third day. we're now announcing the first images th of the escape from the jail in orange county. >> pictures from inside the dorm-style cell show how the

inmates escaped by cutting holes in this steel great, climbing through the plumbing and breaking through five other secured areas using a makeshift rope. they used this surveillance video, flashes the light believed to be the inmates. >> we'll not stop until these individuals are back in our custody. >> the fbi and u.s. marshals join the search for the three. >> two of them are in custody for attempted murder, and one more mayhem, kidnapping. i consider them very dangerous individuals. >> the inmates were last seen friday morning at 5:00 a.m. they weren't discovered missing for 16 hours setting off a manhunt late friday night. >> we're depending on the information that is coming in, that's why the sheriff stated that your help and assistance from the public is very important.

>> they're searching places where the fugitives have family and friends. a relative of the youngest fugitive is in disbelief. >> i believe he was tricked into doing this. >> others believe that the plan was well thought out. >> the envoy for syria said that indirect talks between the syrian government and opposition groups will begin friday. these negotiations were pushed back over disagreements over who would take part. >> we'll aim at this proximity talks starting on the 29th, and ongoing for six months. on the staggered chronological proximity approach. that will be the way we try to make it different from the past. this is know geneva three. this is hoping to lead to a success story if we're able to push it forward. >> james bays is live in geneva

this morning. this clearly is very complicated process, james, as of now. how many parties are expected to actually attend these talks? >> that's not really clear how many invitations, how many different groups. clearly the syrian government will be here. clearly members of the opposition will be here. but probably not just the opposition delegation that was decided by saudi arabia, who under this vienna process was supposed to come up the opposition delegation. russia didn't like that idea. so it's being widened. when they spoke to reporters said that he was already clear on the agenda, which is set out in the u.n. security council resolution, which is pasted at the end of december. but he said some eye items needed to be right at the top of the list. >> the first priority will be the focus of the talks of what

must syrians if not all want to hear. the possibility of a broad cease-fire and possibility of stopping the threat of isil, and therefore attack attempts of a broader cease-fire and increase of humanitarian aid. >> so those, richelle, are the key items that they must deal with first in these talks. these talks potentially because they're supposed to build a new syria, could go on for six months. >> so he's starting to layout the agenda. that's clear. but let's back up a little bit, and james, tell us what has been the hold up of the positioning and posturing even to get these talks off the ground? >> on the opposition side they

feel there were talks two years ago. they came to geneva in good faith, and nothing really happened. the syrian government was not constructive. and the opposition, and the russians getting involved deliberately to dilute the opposition and bring in people, certainly the opposition list that were drawn up in saudi arabia, really are perhaps not real opposition and may, in fact, may be more favorable to the syrian government. certainly those in saudi arabia among the opposition not at all happy with this process. we understand they'll make a final decision on tuesday once they get the invite whether they will come here. most diplomats tell me in the end they think even those oppositions members who are in saudi arabia aren't happy with this process, in the end they probably will come here because they don't want to be seen as the ones who collapse the peace talks. >> okay, james bays live for us in geneva. thank you. up next on al jazeera, the highly charged national debate

over voting rights heads to federal court in north carolina. plus a look at egypt's crackdown on protesters on the five-year anniversary of the arab spring.

>> rick perry has endorsed ted cruz for president. he said that the senator is the most consistent conservative in the field of candidates. perry gave up his own presidential bid after 100 days on the campaign trail. donald trump has widened his lead in iowa just a week to go before the caucus.

senator ted cruz is ten points behind trump. trump leads 31% of cruz's 14%. hillary clinton said that michael bloomberg presidential run is not necessary. the democratic frontrunner spoke to nbc's "meet the press" about the reports that the former mayor of new york city was considering a presidential run if she does not get the nomination. >> he's a good friend of mine, and i'll do the best i can to make sure that i get the nomination, and we'll go from there. >> you're not worried about him getting in? >> well, the way i read what he said was if i don't get the nomination he'll consider it, so i'll relief him of that. i'll get the nomination and he won't have to. >> bernie sanders talked about a possible bloomberg run. he thinks it will be a win-win for him for the appeal among

young voters. >> if donald trump wins, and michael bloomberg runs, you'll have two multi billion narrows running against me. i don't think our nation wants to see our government move to a rolan oligarky. >> michael bloomberg said that he won't make a decision until march. >> voter information verification act has been in since 2013. it eliminates same day registration and cuts early voting by a week. starting with the 2016 election it also requires vote tours show specific forms of i.d. the naacp is suing the state saying that the provision is unfair to poor, young and minority voters. the law was first challenged by civil rights groups last summer. lawmakers weaken the voter i.d.

requirement. now the court will hear arguments for more restrictive law. the case will be closely watched because it has become one of the most bitter partisan divides in this year's election. we have more on the case's national implications. >> we are less than two weeks from the presidential primaries. it starts off in iowa with the caucuses that moves on to new hampshire, south carolina and florida. six weeks from now it will hit north carolina will a new law will require all people going out you had to vote to have an official government i.d. >> it is cynical, it is hurtful, it is wrong. it's a form of political violence. all of america should be ashamed. and we have to fight here in north carolina because if this becomes the precedent in the law, then they could spread this all over the country. >> but there are many who do not

agree with the naacp. one of them the governor of north carolina. >> let me be direct, many of those from the extreme left who have been criticizing photo i.d. or using scare tactics, there are more interested in the vice of politics. >> now voting right advocates will be out and about across the state in many of the polling boths six weeks from now when the primary begins they'll be there to answer questions about the new law and they have their enjoysal booklets that they'll be passing out to voters to answer many of these nuances. robert ray, al jazeera, raleigh, north carolina. >> in egypt many are celebrating the revolution that would over throw the hosni mubarak regime. >> there is a stepped up security presence ahead of the

celebration of the revolution. authorities say they will not allow protests. more activess have been jailed. thousands of homes have been searched. the crackdown is being carried out in the name of security. human rights groups say it is part of the campaign to silence the opposition. >> five years after egypt's up rising hope has given way to total repression the egyptian authorities are terrified of another up rising. the activists that we've seen over the last few days and weeks are really a warning shot. >> it has been five years since the protest unseated a president, who kept an iron grip on power for the last three decades. this was the mood when hosni mubarak announced he was stepping down. but the years that followed brought little change. soon the space that had been the epicenter of reinvolvement was no longer the place where egyptian was come together and celebrate. the square became a place where

the opposing sides of the divide demonstrated their grievances. at first activists accused field marshal a military man of having hijacked the revolution and having failed to bring about democratic rule. eventually power was transferred to civilian authorities. elections were held. the muslim brother's candidate became egypt's first elected head of state. but it didn't take long for protesters to return to the streets. they were pursuing a religious agenda and strengthening the grip on power. calls for morsecy to step down were louder, protests intensified and moved into violence. the military stepped in. they arrested morsi and many muslim brotherhood leaders, the interim president was installed. the military coup did not bring about peace.

those who defended what they believed to be a legitimate elected government were violently suppressed. but those who have backed the military action gathered on the third anniversary of the revolution to urge the man behind it to run for president. he did. his supporters say he saved the nation. his opponents accuse him of authoritarian rule. >> you have counter revolutionary force who is tried to hijack the revolution. you have major ideological and social cleavages in society. you have islamist nationalist divide. >> hundreds have been killed. thousands including journalists locked up. the authorities say that they're committed to democracy. their opponents believe otherwise. for them mubarak's security state is back. al jazeera. >> a new video released by isil reveals the last moment of the man suspected of launching last year's deadly attacks in paris. the video show some of the attackers wearing camouflage

fatigues in desert locations. al jazeera has not verified the authenticity of this video. 9 man tall made threats and direct to attack britain. several of them showed beheading hostages. up next on al jazeera. pivotal lawsuit against cigarette maker philipp morris heads to trial. >> the crude i'll that flows through the pipeline behind me has made this the wealthiest lowest taxes state in the u.s. that's all changing as oil prices remains at record lows. 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.

>> the philipp morris is being sued. they want them to pay for costly scans to detect early stage lund cancer. hilton is launching a new line of hotels aimed at budget-conscious travelers. it will be called tru and will compete with la quinta and comfort inn. it will cost $75 to $90 a night.

and mcdonald's all day breakfast menu appears to be a hit. it is reporting better than expected revenues in reported earnings. the change was introduced back in october. lower oil prices is causing tough choices for alaska in its budget revenue. >> let's see what happens. oh mood god, this stopped at 50. we get $1.2 billion in oil revenues. >> it may look like fun. but the economist is serious as he uses toys to demonstrate alaska's his can dilemma. he tours the states and aske asks alaskans to balance the books. >> we have an expensive state

government that provides a wide variety of services. we pay essentially no taxes and the state gives us money. that's been life as usual for three decades. >> if we continue on the same course with no change the dividend program would end in 2020. >> it's all changing. alaskans may soon have to start paying income tax says their governor in recent budget proposals. they haven't for 35 years. there may be cuts in the annual checks they receive as dividends from oil wealth. even more government services will be slashed. >> when oil was $100 or $120 a barrel it was easy. the legislature lost the power to say no. they said yes to every project that came along. now they're going to have to say no and they'll have to cut the projects back. >> declining production and the rise of shale oil fracking has reduced its role in the country's energy supply. revenues from the high arctic crude that flows through this

pipeline made this a wealthy generous state for the people who live here. but low oil prices are changing all of that and putting tough decisions on the table. here's where that pipeline ends on prince williams sound at the only year round ice tree port in alaska. founded by miners, oil is the town's lifeblood, it's largest employer and a source of important revenue. even here there is talk of change, moving beyond oil and giving up the generous benefits it once brought. >> we have lots of other minerals in the ground. we're tries the size of texas. we've got vast fishery that is are going on. tourism. i mean, we've just got to start moving away from that and not making it the number one income for the state. >> for now alaskans are dependent on the oil they ship south for the rest of the country. but they're going to have to start paying for some of their government services or give some of them up if the state runs out of money any time soon.

>> finally a group of british women arrived in australia after rowing all the way from san francisco. they made landfall in queensland. friends and family were obviously just thrilled to see them. the women faced quite a few challenges along the way. >> we had sharks circling. we had a couple of sharks following us for a few weeks. the people supporting us and sharing their stories. >> it's been amazing to see them. i'm sure even more amazing for them to know that we're here and we're not getting back on that boat. >> the women started their journey last april and spent 235 days at sea. they look a little sunburned. that's fantastic, though. i'm richelle carey. the news continues next live from london. keep it here on al jazeera.

>> the envoy says talks to end the war will begin on friday after delays about who should be on the guest list. >> hello, i'm david foster, we're live from london. also on this program, as the refugees keep on coming, european leaders discuss whether to extend emergency border controls in the e.u.'s free travel zone. experts warn mosquitoes are likely to spread the zika virus throughout the americas, putting more babies at risk. freezing conditions in east