restoration. the flying scotsman set off from london north. the iconic train was built in 1923, and recognized as the first locomotive to exceed 100 miles an hour more on the website. ♪ deadly storms tear up property and take out power up and down the east coast. [ cheers ] bernie sanders takes his campaign west days before the south carolina primary. this case is about the future. >> apple versus the fbi, the company's ceo compares hacking a phone to cancer. and now it's working on a phone that you cannot hack at all. and an ancient type of farming that uses a lot of fish,

and not much dirt. could it be the answer to feeding the world's growing population? ♪ virginia governor has declared a state of emergency, as many as 16 tornados tore through the state. this al jazeera america. john henry smith has he latest. >> reporter: the winter storm brought its rage to the north and east overnight. in virginia at least four people died, the result of tornados. virginia's governor declared a state of emergency after this

town took a direct hit. three of timothy williams neighbors two adults and a toddler were among those killed. from louisiana where a water spout skirted the airport in new orleans, to a twister that destroyed an rv park. >> there are family members calling in that has not made contact with loved ones, and that they know were in this area. >> reporter: and then to the florida panhandle with a tornado hit pensacola. winds are strong enough in new york city to overturn a tractor trailer. and in the midwest there were white-out blizzard conditions in crown point, indiana firefighters had to come to the rescue of drivers stuck when the snow became too deep to

continue. hundreds of thousands of customers lost power throughout the u.s., half of those in new york and new jersey. john henry smith, al jazeera. the danger isn't over yet. nicole mitchell has more. >> this has been a very potent system over the last couple of days. this is going back in time a little bit. all of these pinnings, especially the orange ones, the oranges are different areas with wind reports. we had over 300 wind reports of high and damaging winds, a lot of trees and power lines down, and of course a little bit on the southern edge of this, there were also those tornado reports. the severe weather has continued to clear out through the morning. today, though, we still have areas that have seen anywhere from michigan into ohio, down the appalachians, still picking up some snow. most is light and winding down,

but because of that and the wind it is still going to cause us concerns. so today is still a little rough, by the time we get into tomorrow, though, we actually clear out the region pretty nicely. this tomorrow system has been plaguing us for a few days now, really since it got started in the south on tuesday and then trekked its way up the coastline, so a nice dry break is definitely appreciated. in the meantime temperatures will be tumbling behind this system. if you haven't seen that already. we'll have the colder air issuing why. in new york temperatures fall through the day into the 30s tomorrow. otherwise we head westward, and some of these temperatures 10 to 20 above average. ash carter is on capitol hill today answering questions about syria before the house appropriations committee. he is also being asked about north korea and the president's

plan to close the prison at guantanamo bay. that was quite a list there, jamie, but the defense secretary saved some of his most pointed comments about china. >> that's right. they are looking at the pentagon budget and specifically asking whether the pentagon is spending enough money on the kinds of things it needs to counter future threats. the secretary lists out five areas where the thought that there were threats, but he really focussed in on the growing military might and buildup of both moscow and beijing. >> russia and china are our most stressing competitors, as they have both developed and continue toed a vns military systems including anti-access systems that seek to threaten our advantages in specific areas. we saw it last week in the south china sea, and we see it in crimea and syria as well. >> reporter: so in syria, ash carter is talking about, of course the russian intervention

in syria, and it's air campaign, as well as its takeover of crimea, and the insertion and backing of troops in ukraine. but a lot of the discussion focused on china, and it's growing militarization. it's placement of missiles on islands in the south china sea, and trying to increase its influence there. that's something you may have heard the secretary refer to as something called anti-access. >> we are capable today of meeting our obligations in the pacific, and there is no doubt in my mind that we have a competitive advantage over china today. but it is equally clear that with the trajectory that china is on, if we did not maintain

our position, we will lose our advantage. >> reporter: the latest stealth fighter jets coming off of the assembly line are going to be sent to the pacific arena. and secretary carter talked about a range of new weapons, including anti-ship missiles with larger range, new kinds of ship defenses, and even such things as swarming mini drone robots that would be created on a 3-d printer. and the controversy on the hill is that the pentagon wants congress to lift the sequestration limits, and some of the members of congress also think there is not enough money being spent on defending against these threats. >> jamie thank you. it now appears isil is taking aim at silicon valley.

a propaganda video was released and threatened facebook creator and twitter creator. the group says it is in response to growing efforts by facebook and twitter to suspend accounts and remote posts that promote isil's message. new developments in the battle between apple and the fine overunlocking an encrypted iphone. james comey told the house panel that the issue sheds light on the ongoing division between law enforce and silicon valley. >> i love privacy, when i hear corporations say we're going to take you to a world where nobody is looking at your stuff, i think that's great. but law enforcement really does save people's lives, and we do that a whole lot through court orders that are search warrants, and we do it a whole lot through

search war rents of mobile devices. so if we move to that world, it will be a different world than where we are today and where we were in 2014. >> his comments amid reports that apple is working on an iphone that even it cannot break into. ines ferre has the story. >> reporter: with just one day to go before it has to respond to a judge's order, apple is reportedly taking new steps to secure its products. the "washington post" says the company's engineers are working on enhancements that would make the phones unhackable without the owner's help. it would require pass word before anyone could get around security. that would create a barrier for law enforcement. >> safety of our kids, safety of our families very important. the protection of people's data is incredibly important. >> reporter: this is happening as apple fights a court order to help the government unlock the phone belonging to one of the san bernardino attackers.

in an interview with abc news, apple's ceo explained his reasoning. >> the only way we know would be to write a piece of software that we view as the software equivalent of cancer. we would never write it. we have never written it. and that is what is at stake here. >> reporter: while the government insists this would not apply to any other phones. apple says that is not the case. the issue has taken center stage with supporters on either side of the debate. the attorney general is urging apple to comply. >> judges all over the country and on the supreme court have said that those parties must assist if it is reasonably within their power to do so. >> reporter: apple has until friday to file a response to the judge's order. ines ferre, al jazeera. the democratic primary in this south carolina is on

saturday. hillary clinton is holding a townhall right now. she spent part of wednesday in the state talking about protecting the rights of voters. and bernie sanders is in ohio this morning. last night he was in oklahoma stumping for votes, but the next primary again is in south carolina, prompting some to say he has abandoned that state. robert ray has more. >> reporter: the reality is, is that hillary clinton in 2008 got 55% of the vote here. so i'm not sure that he is abandoning, but rather taking his fight to other states. let's listen to what he had to say about that. >> we have waged a vigorous campaign. we have picked up a lot of support, and we have closed the gap very, very significantly. but this from day one was going to be a difficult state for us. >> reporter: bernie has

$90 million in his treasure chest still to keep this fight going. he is the only contender against hillary clinton. and hillary clinton is today in south carolina stumping. she seems to be playing a pretty tight ground game wherever she goes these days. she is having close knit townhalls with a lot of african american voters here in south carolina, as you know, the south a very popular place for politicians, especially on the democratic side to try to get that vote. on the republican side one prominent congressman is urging ted cruz and marco rubio to join forces. republicans will debate in houston tonight, but trump is already taking heat, cruz and rubio are getting in early jabs. >> just say you -- you can't just say the way some people in this race have said, you

probably will know what i'm talking about in a moment -- you can't just say when i get there i'll hire the smartest people and they will tell me what to do. [ laughter ] >> there is a reason we have civilian control of the military in this country. the smartest people are already there, telling the president what we should be doing, he is ignoring it. you deserving to know exactly what the next commander in chief is going to do up next a possible political curve ball. will president obama nominate a republican to replace justice sdal leah on the supreme court. and no candidate has won south carolina in the last 30 years without the black vote. up next how, bernie sanders is hoping young african americans can propel him forward.

florida health officials have identified three new case of zika. all of the cases have been travel related. florida declared a public health emergency earlier this month. and there's good news about the flu vaccine. so far people who got the vaccine are 59% less likely to get sick. we are two days away from

the democratic primaries in south carolina, most african-americans say they support hillary clinton. but bernie sanders is hoping younger black voters will embrace his positions. >> reporter: it's easy to miss this tiny part of south carolina. but it represents a voting block in a state that could play an out sized role in presidential politics. because in the last 30 years no one has won this primary without black support. ♪ >> this is our little africa road. this is the main road in our community. >> reporter: mary hilton and four generations of her family grew up in little africa. it was founded in 1880 by freed slaves. >> this is my uncle's house. cousin's house. cousin's house. my aunt's house. my uncle's house, my mom's

house, and my uncle's house. all on the same block. everyone in little africa in the community is related. >> reporter: these communities are critical to democratic presidential candidates and mary knows it. she raised three daughters on her own, each girl became their senior class homecoming queen. >> on their 18th birthday the only thing they got was to register to vote. i would take them to the highway vote and register them to vote. because i knew that that's what people had fought for them to do to have the right to vote, and that there was an obligation to vote. and to make sure that things were done the right way for them. >> reporter: the right thing, hillary clinton and bernie sanders both promise that's what they want to do for south carolina's black voters, especially women. in 2012 as a group black women voted at a higher rate than any other slice of the american

population. >> so i have to vote for hillary clinton. hilary is basically with president barack obama through all of the ups and downs that he has gone through. she was right there by his side when he found osama bin laden. >> reporter: but mary's younger cousin, who we caught up with after church is not sure hilary is the one. >> reporter: bernie is saying things especially to my generation like with the black lives matter movement that is very important to me. >> reporter: what is not clear is that the generational divide that has worked in sander's favor in states with mostly white voters will hold strong here. bernie is an old white man from the north. >> yes. >> reporter: can he really support a woman of color from the south? >> yes, he can. to me he is just a better candidate that hilary is. i think bernie is speaking to me more. >> reporter: she also holds

mrs. clinton partly responsible for bill clinton's crime laws in the '90s. as for mary it's all about education and the economy. she knows what it was like to struggle to keep a house for her daughters in the 1980s. >> i remember one day i came from work, and received a letter in the mail that the mortgage was going to go up $10 more a month. it was only 10 extra dollars, but i was just stressed out so much. it was just -- just mind blowing that i was going to have to come up with ten extra dollars for my mortgage. >> today the comb coming queens are a teacher, accountant, and a doctor. >> as a child i was the face of poverty. and i'm a testimony that if you invest in that child, the results are tremendous. >> reporter: this doctor is mary's middle daughter. she worries some republican

presidential candidates might gut programs like those that helped pay for her to go to school and make it all the way to the operating room. >> if you want to limit the potential of a person keem them uneducated sick and hungry. so if we have to turn a america around we have to tackle those three things. >> reporter: do you see it as critical important to your future as when barack obama was running? >> absolutely. because you see all of the hate and all of the things he had to endure for the last eight years, so you want to make sure honor his legacy. >> reporter: to the women we met her, this election was rt part of the struggle that began when those ancestors bought this land. president obama is said to be looking at a republican to fill justice scalias seat on the

supreme court. the nevada governor is on the list. the former federal judge says he has not been contacted. the white house says party is not a limiting factor when it comes to the president's choice. >> when the president gets to the stage where he is interviewing nominees, or potential nominees, in a conversation, i'm confident he is not going to ask them which party primary their vote in. >> reporter: white house officials say the president isn't rushing his decision which will be announced sometime in the coming weeks, they say. i'm jake ward in california where an ancient form of farming could be the farm of the future. i'll explain more in a moment.

restaurants in new york city plan to challenge a ruling that forces them to warn diners about the salt in their food. the rule applies to chains with 15 or more locations unfairly targets those chains. it is an ancient farming method that may help fill a big gap in how much food the world needs. >> reporter: these fish could be the key to growing food in the future. ken and his partner jessica, have improvised their way into

being two of the world experts in a very different kind of farming. >> i didn't know anything about fish. >> i killed my first fish tank. >> i have killed thousands of fish. [ laughter ] >> do they bite? [ laughter ] >> no, but they do jump. >> reporter: it's a called aqua ponics. no pesticides become no soil, just plants and moisture. it's an ancient practice. and now it's being updated. >> essentially we're bacteria farmers. plants know how to grow, the fish know what they are doing, so it's providing the right environment. >> reporter: it's a closed-loop system. it saves water, and aquapon ic

farmers say they can grow ten times more food. >> a one block radius of san francisco could probably feed the entire city. >> reporter: this operation gets an incredible amount of food out of a very compressed space, but it is still only the equivalent of a five-acre farm. so the question here is how big can this system get? projections from the united nations suggests that food output will have to double by 2050 in order to feed the world's growing population. and other projections suggest that farmable land will be cut in half by growing populations. but consider that no farmer of

this type has attempted a large-scale crop of grain or rice or ther food stuffs. and consider that it requires a ready supply of electricity, ideally a greenhouse, and start up funding. that makes it impracticable for the hundreds of millions of farmers who live on less than $2 a day. at the moment they sell their salad greens and fish to high-end restaurants. say they break even doing it. but it's note clear whether aquaponics can feed the rest of the world. finally ray charles got a big tribute last night at the white house. ♪ >> president obama hosted a concert featuring his music. earlier in the day, first lady michelle obama hosted ray

charles music workshop for students. thank you so much for joining us. i'm not going to start singing. i'm richelle carey the news continues next live from london, so keep it here on al jazeera. ♪