chance to catch up with friends and make new ones. it's helping some senior citizens to fight depression and maintain a healthy body as well as a healthy mind. >> www.aljazeera.com for all the global headlines. www.aljazeera.com. >> the fall out from this weekend's snowfall still being felt up and down the east coast. gown without a trace. california officials search for three men who made a daring escape from jail. the push for peace in syria. high level talks could resume later this week. and the fight for voter rights, north carolina's new laws tested in federal court a week before the iowa caucuses.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm richelle carey. clean up efforts are in full swing this afternoon. this midday, in the wake of the enormous blizzard that blanketed the east coast this past weekend. historic snowfalls from washington, d.c. to new york city, 31 people died from storm-related causes. flights are still being canceled today, and commuters are heading back to work. they're facing delayed trains and buses. >> it is important to note that the roads are still dangerous. we talk to you about the weather conditions and it's getting warmer during the day and freezing at night. so 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 in all federal offices remain closed. they have been shut down since noon on friday. al jazeera is live in washington, d.c. john, the mayor said that things were still a state of emergency. does this really have that feel there for you? are you seeing people out and about? >> you know, it really does, richelle. we have a lovely sunny day, and a lovely sunny day as well. people are venturing out. the federal government has canceled. a lot of people don't have a reason to come downtown. and let me show you why that is. this will give a very clear idea of what is happening in the center of our nation's capital city. this is "m" street.

one of the major thorough fares in washington, d.c. look at that. there is snow piled high on either side. this is what the mayor and head of homeland security mean in d.c. who say we're going to be living with this well into next week. we'll have to clear this going into the back of trucks and they can't brush it to the side than it already is. normally there are three lanes of traffic. cars are jostling and fighting each other to go through those traffic lights. what a very different story here in the capital city. can you pan over a little bit more to your camera right? you can see these huge piles of snow and how anybody who lives at work in washington for the next couple of days will have to negotiate this. the mayor says they're busy going zone to zone, sector to sector. streetly street, subdivision by subdivision. but there are 4,400 miles of road in d.c.

that's a lot of road to cover, and although they're going as quickly as they can, it's obviously taking some time, richelle. >> and considering it is clearly going to take some time, john. when do officials expect to have government offices up and running again? >> well, there is going to be another update by the mayor this evening. they're putting a brave face on it. one of the main forms of transport in this city is the metro. and that we are told according to the mayor all the stations at least are open. i just checked the website before coming out, and according to the website three lines are operating, the red, the green and the orange. the other three lines are not operating. they are clearly hope to have much more of a normal service. at the moment the service is extremely limited like one train every half hour. if you're lucky. so when they get the metro back up that will be a signal for people to come back to work. the schools are all closed in

this area and in this part of maryland and virginia. some schools are open to provide hot food for the kids, we're told. we just saw a plane take off. i could have kissed my cameraman. i was so happy to see a plane. and he's very ugly, let me tell you, and we're so happy to see the plane. they're slowly getting things out of reagan, they have one runway out there. >> is our del walters on that plane trying to get back to work, i wonder? he's stuck in d.c. >> i think so. >> john terrett live for us. thank you. >> clean up is underway in alaska this morning after what scientists are calling the area's strongest earthquake in decades. homes from destroyed sunday when this 7.1 magnitude quake struck central alaska. it knocked out power for thousands of people. no injuries to tell you about. a manhunt for three escaped

california inmates has entered a third day. we're now announcing the first images of the escape from the high security jail in orange county. >> pictures from inside the dorm-style cell show how the inmates escape by cutting holes in the steel grate, climbing through the plumbing and breaking through five other security areas. authorities also released this grainy rooftop surveillance video from the southern california jail. the flashes of light believed to be the inmates. >> we will 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 for 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. >> we are he a depending on the information that is coming in, that's why the sheriff stated that your help and the assistance from the public is very important. >> authorities are focusing their search on places where the fugitives have family and friends. a relative of the youngest fugitive in disbelief. >> i feel like he was manipulated or tricked into doing this. >> law enforcement say that the jail break was pre-planned and well thought out. al jazeera. >> michigan's attorney general said that he's bringing in former top fbi officials to investigate the water crisis. he appointed special coun council outside of the office to avoid conflict of interest. the city's water supply has been tainted with dangerous levels of lead since 2014. jeb bush has become the latest politician to weigh in on the responsibility. >> he has a responsibility, and he admitted it.

>> does he need to resign? >> no, he's doing what he is doing. he needs to accept responsibility and solve the problem. >> speaking of the governor there. fundraisers are trying to help the people of flint. there are 16 campaigns life right now on the website go fund me. more than 6,000 donors have already given nearly $250,000 to these projects so far. the u.n. special envoy for syria said that indirect talks will begin on friday. the negotiations were pushed back following disagreements over who would take part. >> we're going to aim at the 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 a different from the pass. this is not geneva three.

this is lead to go what we hope would be aging success story if we are able to push it forward. >> al jazeera's james bays is live in geneva this morning. james, clearly he's getting one of the logistics in the agenda out there, but at this point we still don't really know how many parties to expect to attend these talks, do we? >> absolutely. they were supposed to be here. they were supposed to be talking. it was supposed to have started by now. now it's been moved back to friday, and even that isn't clear because of a disagreement of whose coming from the opposition. it was up to saudi arabia according to the vienna process that created these talks to come up with a list of opposition. they came up with a list. the russians didn't like that list. now it seems that they'll invite more members of the opposition on top of the ones invited or the ones drawn up by saudi

arabia. that is deeply controversial. not clear whether all the fighting groups as a result will turn up on friday. what is clear is that they know what they want to start with in terms of the agenda. >> the first priority will be the focus of the talks of what most syrians if not all want to hear. the possibility of a broad cease-fire and possibility of stopping the threat of isil, and therefore thanks to the broader cease-fire an increase of humanitarian aid. >> and then the talks move to much wider issues potentially talking about the future governance of syria, the future of president assad trying to move up to a governance of syr

syria, and very ambitious all this, elections at the end of 18 months. >> extremely ambitious. tell us more about what has been holding up these negotiations? >> well it's all about the opposition groups, and the controversial has not ended because they're saying tuesday is the day when they send out the invitations exactly who is he going to invite, for example, the puid, very important group in northern syria. they've been fighting against isil. are they going to be invited to these talks? he wouldn't answer the question today. why? because turkey does not want that turkish group involved in these negotiations. it's a very, very difficult job for them, and although they have set a friday date, even that isn't certain.

>> difficult and delicate, that's for sure. james bays in geneva. thank you. the latest government is down playing the debris belonging to a ma lay flight 370. they found debris off thailand. they're investigating the debris to see if it does match the missing airliner. it disappeared two years ago with 207 passengers. it was flying from kuala lumpur to beijing. up next, the highly charged debate of voting rights heads to 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 tells politico last night he thinks the senator is the most consistent conservative in the field of candidates. perry gave up his own presidential bid last year after less than 100 days on the campaign trail. let's take a look at some poll numbers that show donald trump widening his lead in iowa with just a week to go before the caucus. senator ted cruz is more than ten points behind trump. in new hampshire trump's lead is much bigger, 41% to cruz's 14%. hillary clinton said the michael

bloomberg presidential run is not necessary. the former mayor of new york city was considering a potential run if hillary clinton doesn't get the nomination. >> he's good friend of mine, and i'm going to do the best i can to make sure that i get the nomination, and we'll go from there. >> so you're not worried about him getting in? >> well, the way i read what he said was if i didn't get the nomination he might consider it, well, i'll going to relief him of that and get the nomination so he doesn't have to. >> clinton's opponent senator bernie sanders also spoke about a possible bloomberg run. he thinks it will be a win-win for his appeal among young voters. >> you'll have two multi billionaires running for the president of the united states against me. i don't think we want to see our nation moving towards an

oligarchy. i think i'll win that election. >> michael bloomberg won't make a decision until march. north carolina's voter i.d. law has been challenged in federal court today. the voter verification act eliminates same day recommendation station and cuts early voting bay week and requires vote tours show specific forms of i.d. the naacp is suing the state saying that the i.d. provision is difficult for poor, young voters. lawmakers weakened the voter i.d. requirement, now they will hear a more restrictive law. the case will be closely watched because the push for stricter voting laws has been a presidentiaa partisan died in

the presidential campaigns. >> it starts off in iowa to the caucuses that moves on to new hampshire, south carolina, florida. but six weeks from now it will hit north carolina where a controversial new law will require all people going out to vote to have an official government i.d. >> is it 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. are using scare tactics. they're more interested in

decisive 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. also they have their enjoysal book let's they'll be patsing out to voters to help answer many of these nuances. robert ray, al jazeera, raleigh, north carolina. >> and in egypt thousands today are celebrating the five-year anniversary of the so-called january 25th revolution. those protests led to the overthrow of hosni mubarak's regime. >> the army is on the streets. there is a stepped up security presence ahead of the fifth anniversary of egypt's revolution. the authorities say they will not allow protests. more activists have been jailed, thousands of homes have been searched. officials say that the crackdown is being carried out in the name of security. but human rights groups say it is part of a campaign to silence the opposition. >> five years after egypt's up

rising hope is 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 or weeks are really warning shots. >> it's been five years since weeks of protests unseated a president who kept an iron grip on power over three decades. this was the mood when hosni mubarak announced he was stepping down. [ cheering ] but the years that followed brought little change. soon, the space that had been the epicenter of revolt is no longer a place where egyptians came together and celebrated. >> it became a place where there is divide raised their grievances. >> at least the chance called for the down fall of the man who had taken over for mubarak. activists accused 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 brotherhood candidate became egypt's first elected head of state, but it didn't take along for protesters to return to the streets. morsi's opponents said that he was pursuing a religious agenda and strengthening his grip on power. calls for morse any to step down became louder. protest intensified, and did the violence. the military stepped in. it was the government an the governmen--it arrests the government leaders and created an interim government. they would then afternoon the man behind it el-sisi to run

for president. did he. his supporters say that he saved the incarceration. his opponents accuse him of a re rule. >> you have military force who is tried to hijack the revolution. we have major divide. >> hundreds have been killed, thousands including journalists locked up. the authorities say they are committed to democracy where opponents believe otherwise. for them mubarak's secured state is back. >> street artist banksy is unhappy with france's handling of the migrants. the piece painted was placed near the french embassy in london. it also contained a barcode that links to a video showing french police using tear gas in a calais raid earlier this month. up next a pivotal lawsuit

against cigarette maker philipp morris heads to trial. >> i'm in alaska, the crude oil that flows through the pipeline behind me has made this one of the wealthiest, lowest taxing states in the u.s. that's all changing as world oil prices remain at record lows.

>> this week a boston jury will hear a case against philipp morris, a case that has been

pending for a decade. the charge is that the cigarette company makes cigarettes more dangerous than necessary. they want philipp morris to pay for scans to detect early lung cancer. hilton will start a new line of hotels called tru that will cost $79 to $90 a night and it could become their biggest brand. low oil prices is forcing tough choices for alaska. daniel lack has this report. >> very drastically, but let's just see what happens. we have--we spin this. we stopped at 50 which means we get $1.2 billion in oil ref news. >> it may look like fun, but the economist is deadly serious as he uses toys to demonstrate alaska's fiscal dilemma. he tours the state and invites

alaska to balance the books moving wooden blocks that represent costs and taxes. >> we have an expensive state government. we pay essentially no cabs. the state gives us money. that has 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 said their governor in recent budget promises. they haven't for 35 years. there may even be cuts in the annual checks they receive, and 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 will have to cut some of those projects back. >> once alaska produced most of

the u.s. petroleum. but the rising cost in shale faking and fracking has reduced its role. the crude that flows through this pipeline has made this a wealthy, generous state for the people who live here. but low 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 freeport in alaska. founded by miners, oil is now the town's lifeblood, it's largest employer and source of important revenue. but here there is talk of change moving beyond oil and giving up the generous benefits it once brought. >> we have lots of other minerals within the ground. we're twice the size of texas. we've got vast fishery that is are going on, tourism. i mean we just have to start tearing ourselves away from the oil and not make that the number income for the state. >> right now the alaskans are

department on the oil they ship south, but they'll also have to start paying for government services or give some of them up if the state is not to run out of money some time soon. >> let's take a look at this, a group of british women arrived in australia after rowing all the way from san francisco. they made landfall in queensland nearly 10,000 miles from where they started. they reportedly rowed 24 hours a day in two shifts and only stopped in hawai'i and samoa to restock supplies. >> we had sharks circling. we had a couple of sharks following us for a few weeks. the motivation has been people following us. >> it's been amazing to see them. and even more amazing for them to know that we're here an we're not going back on that boat. >> the women began their journey last april and in all spent 235 days at sea. congratulations to them.

i'm richelle carey. the news continues next live from london. >> this is al jazeera. >> welcome to the program i'm david foster and this is al jazeera live from london. it is 6:00 p.m. here. it is 1800 gmt. wherefore you'rwherever you're e news hour. it's spread by mosquitos and linked to babies, with brain damage. zika virus.