coming up on our t.v. hundreds of airport workers gathered for a huge protest at new york's la guardia airport that amended better pay and health benefits but those ambitions were grounded what police arrested demonstrators by the dozens the latest on this rally up ahead coming up here on a little bit later president obama tells us how he wants to change n.s.a. surveillance what are the proposed reforms anough to silence critics the latest ahead and iran suspends part of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief could this temporary deal pave the way for a future truce more of these developments coming up later in tonight's show.

it's monday january twentieth eight pm in washington d.c. i'm meghan lopez and you are watching r.t. america well today is martin luther king unit day here in the u.s. and while federal employees have the days off hundreds of new york city employees like airport workers block streets and protest today to demand higher wages and paid holidays thirty people were arrested on disorderly conduct charges for blocking the streets including u.s. congressman charlie rangle and eight members of the new york city council members of the service employees international union marched across a bridge leading toward the airport to ask for better work conditions prince jackson is a security officer at j.f.k. airport for a contractor named air serv he told me that this protest goes well beyond a one day rally. but this for about three years no. we first went to our supervisors. and then we would see the upper management we

went to the contractors the airlines that actually contract us and. we've gone to the port authority and. just last month we went to mr foy at the port authority with a petition to have two thousand names on it requesting that we have this day martin luther king day as a paid holiday. he ignored the request last year he nor the request just a month ago and so now we've reached this point. we hope do you know we'll we'll see some positive results soon but if not they will you just going to have to take it on as far as it can possibly go now many of the people participating in the protest are security guards contract workers and those

who clean the planes after passengers leave at the moment they are paid minimum wage was no paid sick days or vacation minimum wage in new york is seven twenty five an hour. while ever since former contractor edward snowden leaked one point seven million classified documents to the world detailing the n.s.a.'s internal structure president obama has been walking the fine line of political fall out during a speech at the department of justice last week the president finally addressed the issue and announce weeping reforms to the way the national security agency collects digital information changes including more oversight by the executive branch reworking national security letters that force private companies to hand over consumer information to the n.s.a. and an end to section two fifteen of the patriot act which allows for the book collection of metadata now some say that the president's reforms went too far others say that they did not go far enough so was this historic speech enough to while the privacy concerns expressed by civil liberties advocates and lawmakers

like ron wyden rush holt well earlier i spoke with matthew cordle a group legal fellow at the bill of rights defense committee and i first asked him if he agreed with the statement made by tech companies that this speech was a step in the right direction yes but it's and go far enough you know i do there was a lot left out of the speech the president made although he did acknowledge a couple of really important points that i think many civil liberties activists like myself really care about specifically connecting the legacy of. systemic oppressive abuse of surveillance programs to current data collection institutions that is a good that is a good thing to at least to acknowledge so what major reform would you have liked to have seen announced in this n.s.a. speech well i mean in a dream world what i really like to see is the patriot act or evaluated reevaluated you know. all of the reforms that the president offered in the speech sort of still

occurred under the rubric of the patriot act which in my opinion and i think in the opinion of many states. adequately prioritized public safety weighted against constitutional concerns meanwhile he did take a closer look at one section of the patriot act in that section two fifteen the bulk collection of metadata now he did say that he wanted to reform it and then the way that you and i know it meaning that the government would no longer be responsible for collecting and storing that information as i understand it he wants to put that into the hands of third parties what do you think about that. i think is a good i mean it's a good start section two fifteen and metadata collection are kind of really only the tip of the iceberg of the total amount of information that the n.s.a. collects and processes and it's the it's not simply the n.s.a. that's engaged in data collection i mean it's also the d.a. and it's the f.b.i. and to a certain extent it's the cia although their domestic concerns are a little limited the. thing that i would have liked to see more of in that i think

went on addressed when we focus on metadata collection is internet surveillance and is in person surveillance and it's sort of the convergence between multiple technologies together when we focus only on metadata collection. the call records you know that we sort of lose the bigger net that is also being cast simultaneously now throughout the speech president obama was trying to balance between defending the n.s.a. and reforming it now i want to play a part of where he's talking about the steps that he had taken in the past to keep the surveillance apparatus is in check and then i'll get your opinions ok we increased oversight and lot of it including new structures aimed at compliance improved rules were proposed by the government and approved by the foreign intelligence service surveillance court and we sought to keep congress continually updated on these activities what i did not do is stop these programs wholesale not only because i felt that they made us more secure but also

because nothing in that initial review and nothing that i have learned sense indicated that our intelligence community has sought to violate the law or is cavalier about the civil liberties of their fellow citizens so he says nothing violated the law or the civil liberties of americans if that's the case then why call for this massive reform why not stick by the n.s.a.'s policies. well i mean calling for the massive reform comes under ambiguously from the disclosures made by edward snowden and when the president says the n.s.a. hasn't stepped over the line or violated civil liberties that's simply not true in fact there's quite a bit of journalism around the n.s.a.'s use of their data collection systems to monitor their ex-girlfriends and it's like the the history of abuse weighted against the potential for abuse is i think the bigger question the potential for these systems to be abused even with the safeguards that the president is

suggesting is still extremely high and that's what really concerns us i think the lack of transparency and the incredible amount of secrecy with which these organizations operate permit the types of overreaches that can go totally unnoticed until a person like edward snowden comes forward so i don't think that those reforms although they acknowledge the appropriate direction don't do enough to date the structure of the feis accord fiske or foreign intelligence surveillance court which itself operates in secret and the left the ability of congress actually effectuate meaningful regulations on n.s.a. activity none none of that is really addressed in any real depth now we've talked about reform being made on a federal level i understand there's also a number of legislations coming up on the state level can you walk us through a couple of those ideas yeah absolutely so there is i think i heard you mention the whole bill the surveillance state repeal act by rush holt that's one approach at the national level i think many activists and people who are just concerned with

their civil liberties generally think about where they live and you know the state individual states and individual communities are the right place to really be active in an individual sense so to that end there is the fourth amendment protection act which came up in california and there's another version of that in washington state is about six other states indiana tennessee and more on the way all the time these state level. lation prohibit the state from participating in or assisting in bulk data collection not limited only to the n.s.a. but to any federal agency that would undertake it and so that's applying state constitutional privacy standards to the state's participation with federal programs but at the game time given those national security letters is there any way to know whether or not those companies are actually participating given the nature of those a classified national security letter so here's the brilliance of it is that it doesn't deal with private conduct like i think the civil liberties concerns around

google data collection are one thing and the worth that's a conversation worth having but the fact of the matter is google's never going to kick in your front door you know that's that's the job of the f.b.i. and so what this legislation does is it prevents the state from providing material resources to organizations federal organizations that are engaging in bulk data collection that means water that means power that means access to roads and access to internet bandwidth so without the state's cooperation these federal programs couldn't operate so when the state withdraws its cooperation on privacy grounds on constitutional grounds it really cripples the programs from going forward and puts the onus on the federal government to come up with better more comprehensive more secure programs that are really going to fit what people in regular communities and regular towns are willing to accept very interesting thank you so much for watching us through some of those state legislations as well as how some of the privacy advocates are responding to the n.s.a. reforms matthew cal a grueling gl fellow at the bill of rights defense committee. well the us supreme

court has agreed to take up two cases that deal with the search of cell phones during an arrest the issue at hand is whether police officers first need to obtain a warrant before searching through a phone or whether it falls into the same category as any other device found on a suspects person the two cases stem from two separate incidents where police officers searched through phones and found incriminating evidence during arrests which led to more serious charges but lawyers of one of the defendants say that rapid advances in technology require updated laws that take the capabilities of smartphones into account stanford law university professor jeffrey fisher said quote modern cell phones provide ready access to a vast array of personal data and are distinct from the types of possessions such as cigarette packages and footlockers this high court has previously considered thus a search incident to arrest could at the touch of a button become a search of private and confidential information such as medical records bank

activity and work related e-mails the issue of on reasonable searches and seizures has split courts across the country six courts have ruled that the fourth amendment allows for cell phone searches three others disagree the law currently in place is based off of a forty year old supreme court decision well before ninety one percent of americans own to store their information on their cell phones. well the european union has suspended some of its economic sanctions against iran as part of a groundbreaking nuclear deal this could be the first sign that tensions are finally beginning to ease between western countries and the so-called rogue nation and exchange for these lifted sanctions iran has agreed to scale back its uranium enrichment program the deal lift the restrictions on the trade of petrochemicals have precious metals it also creates a special banking channel to facilitate payments for goods like food and medicine this is a temporary deal that will last about six months while negotiators work on a more permanent agreement artie's that post later as more. from today

a deal between iran and the international community goes into effect that will see iran freeze parts of its nuclear program in return for the easing of sanctions in terms of the agreement they will no longer be restrictions on the reigning exports of picture chemicals the country will also be able to import parts for its auto manufacturing industry and trade in gold and other precious metals the next six months are critical because it is during this time frame that the international community and iran will need to reach a final agreement that many fear without which could ultimately see the border middle east descend into chaos and possibly even a war what is clear is that there has been good will and the wanting for this deal to work that has overridden the skeptics and the voices calling for fresh sanctions but what is not clear is how the united states is going to maneuver its way forward it has a very fine line to walk on the one hand you have this role that continues to say

that this was a deal with the devil you also have new is congressmen and women who are calling for fresh sanctions but on the other hand you have iran which essentially the american prison barack obama is urging to come to the party and he himself needs to show transparency and commitment why not alienating for example his friend tel aviv in the region so the next six months are going to be critical the hope is that at the end of half a year you will have a permanent deal in place between iran and the international community here r.t. tel aviv want to go shares attempt to broker peace talks between the two sides of the syrian conflict european supporters of the syrian opposition there call that jihad wannabes are heading to the country to take up arms and estimated one thousand europeans have reportedly headed to syria to participate in the fighting r t is sara further has more. traveling to syria.

and according to one experts they're now part of the largest european islamist foreign fighting contingent in recent times. two. hundred. two. hundred it was from this picturesque seaside town in portsmouth this a group of young men recently left to go and join the fight in syria about a month ago when you reached the community the twenty three year old man was killed while fighting on the syrian front line this is the local mosque that if the current a number of his friends attended before they left the area where they join one of the most radical opposition groups operating in the country isis the islamic state of iraq and. the before he died if it was active on social media placing videos an

update so activities now in the first interview since his brother's death mistaken german exclusively tells r.t. he wants to set the record straight about who his brother really was and why he thinks he went to fight difference between. a uniform just because he was in uniform. or something. just because. different. people in uniform. people. benefit as a country. like many foreign fighters it crossed into syria via turkey it was only once he informed his family he'd gone to fight jihad or holy war do you think that the young men and.

completely misinterpreting the women and especially in the city active interest in this completely wrong concept and wrong wrong idea there other members of the religious community we met in portsmouth agreed and they're under no doubt this toward the major challenges in tackling you think gauge moment social media their friends in other places they get led down a path of who this looks interesting and suddenly they're listening to the teaching and i know that our leaders here in paul's with would not support i don't think the problem exists within any of the mosques in portsmouth per se the issue lies in where if those mosques are not delivering what the youth want. they may look for it somewhere else because the country and europe wide and the syrian conflict of things gauging a young generation like know that the full you is a good member of them a friend who just ordinary boys you know just never thought about this stuff in

this book about you know we're still you know still aware of what's going on in the world but we have thought you know my brother when this when you're older than me is. going to be a dyed in about just something that hasn't sunk in for me or a lot of people so i know it's happened but it still hasn't sunk in so the forward for the full force isn't. so if. but put in from portsmouth in the south of england well in new york police department is in hot water this week after a police officer beat and bloodied an eighty four year old man accused of jaywalking on the upper west side hung one was illegally crossing ninety six straight over the weekend when police tried to stop him witnesses say the officer stood long against a wall and started writing him a ticket when the man suddenly walked away one fordham university law student sent it appeared as though the eighty four year old didn't understand english or the situation i mean was eventually arrested and taken to st luke's hospital with

injuries to the head he was charged with jaywalking resisting arrest obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct mr wong stanley is considering pressing charges against the officer the n.y.p.d. explains that it has been ramping up the prosecution of jaywalkers in the wake of several traffic deaths in recent weeks. well at least fourteen people were arrested over the weekend during a protest against a california court's ruling to exonerate two police officers who are on trial over the death of a homeless man plays or viewing the footage from a local c.b.s. news station whose female photographer call nine one one after being attacked by a protester while filming the rally. some of the demonstrators began surrounding our news for talk of. the much later my photographer was attacked by one demonstrator radars and radical groups out here i was a opportunist the same thing happen anaheim but it's not indicative of who kelly's army is what we're trying to get across to ron thomas kelly's father says blocking

cars and causing problems is not what this demonstration is supposed to be about around one hundred fifty demonstrators gathered on saturday in front of the fullerton police department to speak out against former police officers manuel ramos and jason nelly the protesters believe the death of kelly thomas highlights systematic problems with police brutality artie's liz wahl has more. we've seen images after image showing scenes like this. on forced men using force to subdue people with guns but tang's tasers pepper spray or their bare hands but is it just a few bad apples or is there a systematic problem old hard to tell because accurate statistics are hard to come by of the f.b.i. compiled crime information on just about everything and something called the chief uniform crime report of what you won't find in that report is the number of police

shootings that happened or really any information on police use of force we asked the f.b.i. if they had any recent statistics their response quote justifiable homicide would be the only f.b.i. uniform crime report program data available to determine use of deadly force justifiable homicide is not considered a crime and not all agencies report the data the spokesman tells r.t. that the f.b.i. only collects information if the officer is seriously injured or killed that means we can find out how many cops were killed by citizens but not how many citizens were killed by cops and when it comes to local police departments again the statistics are murky i would say on a daily basis i received inquiries from around the country numbering anywhere from five to ten inquiries per day peter granular is a d.c. based attorney that says he hears about police brutality cases all the time he

shows us this video of one of his clients on the phone when an officer confronts him and punches him in the face and missed the first time the second time he hit him in the jaw in the place in the cell for at least three to four hours without providing any medical care while he sat there with his jaw shattered but instances like this may not be rare and i think that there are many. i mean these were the people would be brutally honest or feel fearful of the pleas they're fearful of making the reports often sound they were brutalized by members of the department to whom they were making a report scott lucas represents a mother that says d.c. police officer mark washington violated her daughter after an investigation into her runaway he came back anyway and he came back in the guise of as we understand anything to conclude his investigation and document injuries photographically and ultimately he had a child disrobe and took some inappropriate pictures prosecutors say there were

other nude photos of minors on washington's camera he was arrested in december and after being released on bail his body was found in the potomac river as d.c. police continue the investigation into the case the police chief says they have put stricter recruiting rules in place since but without reliable statistics that document just how common police misconduct is concerned citizens and organizations are taking it upon themselves to find out when they see a police stop that they stop and watch and record that activity and then after they do so that they that they publish those videos on social media networks and those often spread rather virally looking at these video shot by citizens and compiling media reports denver colorado puts the pieces together and found police brutality cases are highly under-reported in some of these larger studies that have surveyed

civilian experiences with police about about fourteen percent of them have indicated that they have had an interest in her action with police that was either violent or in which they felt threatened or that there was some kind of misconduct but among those who experience that only thirty percent of them filed complaints with departments the hope is that more people will come forward so policing will be more transparent and those that did force the law will never be above it in washington liz of all artes. well omaha rescuers are surface if things are rubble searching for answers tonight after an explosion at an animal feed processing plant killed at least two people right now investigators don't know the reason for the explosion which caused a part of the plant to collapse entirely around thirty eight people were working during the time of the blast ten have been hospitalized four of them were in

critical condition and a brass the plant is located in an industrial area close to the i eighty highway chemicals were not involved in the explosion but little else has been determined at this point this explosion comes nine months after a fertilizer company in west texas exploded resulting in fifteen deaths well there are a lot of tensions between local and federal governments here in the u.s. tonight's resident takes a look at the game of politics between the mayor of grand rapids michigan and fema over a dispute about the flood walls of the grand river. here's a story to illustrate the weird push and coal relationship between local and

federal government in the us grand rapids michigan has a reverse called the grand river and be involved with uses to certify its flood walls saying they're too short the mayor however feels that the walls are not only high enough they're a local issue and the feds that should just mind their own damn business so last april days long grain fell in grand rapids which caused flooding people were being evacuated water was rushing into buildings this but it was shelling out money to protect the wastewater treatment plant but mayor heartwell kept delaying the declaration of a state of emergency his colleagues the media and the police kept asking him why he wouldn't make the declaration ensuring they get federal help and fund if water broke over the rivers flood walls the local paper submitted a freedom of information act request for the mayor's e-mails to find out what was behind this delay they just got hundreds of documents back and what they found was a big clear cut middle finger to the bed it boiled down to this the mayor just

didn't want to admit to feel that they were right about the flood walls he felt so strongly that the well being of the city was a local matter. finally after many days of holding out he did declare the state of emergency and because he did this but he will now be reimbursed by the federal government for much of the almost two million dollars that the flooding cost but guess what the flood walls weren't breached the mayor was right but now. because he declared that state of emergency he's being forced to work with updating the flood walls costing the city four million dollars even though the flood walls worked perfectly well during the epic flooding in april the relationship between us the local and federal government is so weird the federal government can outlaw one thing like marijuana but states can go right ahead and legalize it some states have

tried to outlaw obamacare which is hilarious if like local governments are constantly giving the feds the finger and in the case of grand rapids michigan that middle finger might have sunk this. if local governments hate the federal government this much it's no wonder that many of its citizens follow suit tonight to talk about that by the way to me on twitter asked the president. and before we go don't forget to tune in to larry king now at nine pm eastern on tonight's guest is actor haley joel osment years after his famous role as a boy who said i see dead people in the sixth sense film here's a snippet of what's a common ozment talks about his new t.v. mini series the spoils of babylon tell me about this mini series. john russians spoils a bubble on the weird part i'm told is there is no way. perhaps not in this reality

in the it's a multi-layered reality i would say this mideast is really this to me i'm told it's based on a book that doesn't exist yes i think we created an era john rush and then he created the series of incredibly knowledge or magic an epic stories and this hour one is about a texas oil dynasty and the multi you know the many generations of this family and their problems in the political and romantic intrigue. all right that does it for me for tonight but for more on the stories we covered go to youtube dot com slash r t america or check out our website or to dot com slash usa and follow me on twitter at meghan underscore lopez for now have a great night. well

. science technology innovation and all the latest developments around russia we've got the future covered. i've got a quote for you. it's pretty tough. they wait substory. get this guy like smear that guys that are working for the people both missions the mainstream media for each other right bribes these are. the.