fattah.s four attorneys are asking a federal judge to let them withdraw from the case saying the congressman habit paid their fees. >> when nbc 10 asked about the claims today he said his reelection, not the legal case, is his focus. nbc 10 investigators george spencer with the story. >> we have told them that we can't keep up with the pace of the payments and they know that to be an honest fact. >> reporter: congressman shaka fattah says the money simply isn't there to pay legal counsel defending him against federal charges alleging misuse of taxpayer and campaign money. in a motion to withdraw unsealed today, those attorneys sta s sa continuing their work without pay would present a "insurmountable kwfinancial burden." fattah says he's spend $300,000 litigating the case. >> i'm not donald trump, i'm not writing my own check. >> reporter: so the congressman says he'll focus efforts on raising money for his unanticipated primary election challenge, hosting an endorsement event with a number o

fattah's trial is set for may 2.he judge expressed concern about whether fattah could get a new firm in time to represent him. he also questioned whether the motion to withdraw was an attempt to delay the trial. >> the only delay in this case has been the government motion within days of indicting me to delay the case because they declared to the be a conflict case. >> he told the court he plans to pay a new firm with money from real estate loans and other finances. the congressman says his wife is the sole owner of their philadelphia home but they jointly own a home in the poconos. fattah reiterated his focus on fundraising efforts for his re-election campaign and would deal with his court case after the april election. the judge says he will decide as quickly as possible on today's motion. for the investigator, harry hairston, "nbc 10 news." >> the congressman is married to renee chenault-fattah, renee is on leave from the station. >> abe vigoda has passed away. >> 12. what was that. >> it was his role as detective

the judge had a suggestion for congressman fattah. >> he did. the judge told the congressman to take this matter seriously and question fad ta's priorities. fattah's lawyers told the judge at first they were excited to take on a high profile case. but now they want off of it because the congressman is not paying his bill. the defense attorney said fattah failed to make a payment in full last november. he says fattah promised to make good on the payment but never did. today fattah told the judge he supports his attorney's desire to withdraw because they cannot agree to the payment arrangements he wants which will require them to go without payment for an extended period of time. the congressman told nbc 10 last week he was focusing his fundraising efforts on his re-election campaign and would deal with his court case after the april election. the judge questioned that the motion to withdraw the law firm is attempt delay the may 2 trial. both the attorneys and fattah deny any such motive. >> the issue is i can't meet a payment arrangement that req

fattah is still incredibly popular in his district. >> i think fattah will win ultimately. think that he is, despite all the stuff that's gone on. and i think the other two may in some way split their vote. evans has raised a lot of money. jim kenney -- he supported him early on. it's a fascinating dynamic, but i think people know chaka fattah over "x" number of years, and i think there will be a, "i've been railroaded here." there'll be those arguments, and i think he does well. >> yeah, philadelphians are notoriously loyal to elected leaders, especially who bring home the bacon for their constituency, and chaka fattah, for 20 years, despite what you may say about the charges, indictment, et cetera, has a strong loyalty with the neighborhoods. and so he would be a formidable candidate. dwight evans, on the other hand, is at his peak of his political power. helped elect a governor, helped elect a mayor, and has all of the backings, and you see that manifest itself in how quickly he's raising a war chest. so i don't know if it's a foregone conclusion, but i agree with you --

now, fattah was just endorsed by any number of democratic leaders.ny hardy williams going, "yeah, but he paid for the poll." in this city, that tends to be the only way you get a poll. is the poll telling us something surprising, or should we dismiss it, as anthony hardy williams did? >> no, i don't. and i think it's logical and makes a lot of sense that there'd be a certain fattah fatigue. i mean, this has been an ongoing drama in terms of the situation -- whether you think it's fair or not, i could see people saying, you know, "dwight evans worked hard. he was the chairman of the budget committee. it's time for a new voice and a new face, and we're just sick of the drama." >> i don't think the fattah people are angry at dwight evans for challenging. i think they're sad about what's happened to the family, both the father and the son. and i think that poll, you know, probably has some reality behind it. i suspect dwight would not have released the poll if it didn't reflect well on him. but somebody always pays for polls. that's not a reason to discr

fattah's accused of bribery and money laundering. the congressman is married to renee chenault-fattah. renee is on leave from the station. >>> next, on "nbc 10 news at 6:00," live at the white house. nbc 10 is the only local media invited to do a sit-down interview with president obama. jim rosenfield joins us live next with what the president told him. >>> first a live look outside from skyforce 10 over the river front ice rink in wilmington. you're watching "nbc 10 news at 6:00." hey gus! good to see you again! the usual? veggie burger with the works. see ya. sounds good matt! thanks! gus, the second most famous groundhog in pennsylvania! that's me. and this is for you! gus bucks ! the new instant game from the pennsylvania lottery- with top prizes of a hundred grand. it's the best game yet. 'cause you're on it? well... keep on scratchin'! >>> a special invitation from the white house. nbc 10 is at only media invited to interview president obama today. jim rosenfield joins us live from the white house, where he just finished chatti

fattah was back in federal court, where his four lawyers asked to be excused from fattah's fraud and racketeering trial because they have not been paid. the judge told fattah that he needs to rethink his priorities, after fattah says he was more concerned about raising money for his reelection campaign then for his trial. >>> there are no reports of any injuries in the wake of the stubborn fire in morrisville bucks county. fire fighters had to battle the cold and piles of snow, in addition to the flames and smoke. the the blaze broke out in the two story home in the 100 block of west philadelphia avenue. there is no word yet on a cause. >>> a garbage truck that runs on natural gas, exploded this afternoon in a mercer county neighborhood, and an "action news" viewer caught the entire thing on camera. this happened on fitsrandolph avenue in hamilton township. it started a 2:59 when a battery problem caused the truck to catch fire. workers tried to put out the flames themselves but then the natural gas ignited sending gas tank on to a nearby home. fortunately, and perhaps amazingly, nob

fattah is accused of taking bribes and misusing government grants. he maintains his innocence and should be free to focus on the primary election. the fraud trial against fattah and four others is set to begin on may 2nd. >>> tomorrow marks one full year since a partial roof collapse injured shoppers at at lululemon store in philadelphia. and now a lawsuit against the neighboring building's owners. investigators say that bricks from the building next store fell off and crashed through the roof at lululemon and the debris hit three women in the store and one was a 28-year-old charter school teacher from south philadelphia, that said tonight that the collapse has impacted her life. >> i am in pain every day for a year. i was incredibly active before this happened and i have not been able to be active in a year. >> a commercial landlord in philadelphia has a legal responsibility and a moral responsibility to inspect and maintain their properties so they don't collapse on to their neighbors, that didn't occur here. >> pearl properties owns the building a

he's married to renee chenault-fattah.he's on leave from nbc 10. >>> the cdc reports the number of people who have died from drug overdoses involving heroin or opiate pain relievers rose 200% in the last 15 years. >>> investigators are trying to figure out why a school bus suddenly accelerated and hit a principal at an elementary school in indiana, killing her. before she died, theç principa was able to push two children out of harm's way yesterday afternoon. they're both listed in serious condition. the driver says she's not sure what caused the bus to take off. police say it was inspected just last friday and no problems were found. >>> a texas family hopes police will catch the thieves who stole a toy car that belonged to a toddler with autism. you see the theft on this surveillance video. a girl hops out of the vehicle and grabs the car from claudia ortega's front lawn. she stuffs it into the front seat and the vehicle speeds away. the car belongs to 3-year-old santiago ortega. >> they weren't really nice people. the

. >>> lawyers for congressman fattah tell a judge they want out.the attorneys say fattah stopped paying the bill and the firm is too small not to be paid. the congressman told a judge yesterday he's focused on fund-raising for his election campaign and will deal with his defense fund after the election. the congressman says he hopes to hire a larger law firm. fattah is accused of accepting bribes and misusing government funds. he's married to renee chenault-fattah. >>> the deadline to submit the petitions is february 16th. voters can expect democrats seeking to challenge senator pat toomey and replace embattled attorney general kathleen kane. >>> now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist bill henley. >> coming up on 5:37. we are getting a warmer start today. a little bit of rain still in the area. rain has fallen overnight in philadelphia but it's very light rain. 42 degrees. what an improvement. that's 20 degrees warmer than yesterday at this time. and it's going to stay elevated, above freezing all day long. look at the light rain in

philadelphia congressman chaka fattah's legal and financial woes. fattah in federal court today got a brief but serious lecture from the judge we think your priorities. bruce gordon is live in the newsroom with the story. >> reporter: fattah is the 11-term incumbent serving part of philadelphia and slice of montgomery county. he's facing federal corruption and bribery charges. now four man legal team wants off the case. they say they're not getting paid. fattah is accused of misusing campaign donations, grants and charitable contributions to line his pockets and those of his friends. insists he's and in but here's where it gets interesting t hearing today his defense team told the judge they want to quit the case. fattah made an initial deposit to them back in august but since then has skipped several scheduled payments. the congressman claims he has spent some $300,000 in legal fees since he and his family went under the fbi's microscope nearly a decade ago. and he insists he will pay his bills but first he says, he must fundraise for his re-electi

operating without an elected parliament from 2012 until the end of last year and presidency abdel-fattahi passed laws and the government used heavy handed tactics to make more arrests, since 2013 their than 1,000 protesters killed and thousands more jailed in a crack down on dissent, many of the arrest were under sisi's terrorism legislation and crack down on journalists, 23 behind bars and more than ever before and last year three al jazeera journalists were pardoned after spending time in jail on charges. if you wrote a sentence, magazine article or a book about egypt today and took out abdel-fattah el-sissi and put in mubarak what is the difference today than five years ago? >> there are a number of similarities and also a number of differences. we are not today what we were five years ago. fortunately and unfortunately. but basically i think the main lessons from the arab spring especially in egypt is not who replaces a dictator but what replaces a dictatorship so the question wasn't even morsi or abdel-fattah el-sissi in this case, the question is what happened with the regime becau

fattah says he will pay his bills but that he has to fundraise for re-elect campaign. the judge today did not rule on whether his lawyers can quit. told fattah to think long and hard about his priorities. >>> throughout the cleanup from this past weekend's within storm the city encouraging residents to call 311 if they need their street plowed. well, today we're hearing just how many people called. the philly 311 system says it's gotten 21,000 calls so far due to the blizzard of 2016. that is eight times the normal amount of calls it's gotten 6,000 more requests through social media. if you've called and still have not seen a plow officials say hang on to your claim number so workers can keep track of your request. >> the city is getting there. we're plowing and salting. streets depth has been doing incredible job, and a lot of miles to the streets in the city of philadelphia. >> officials say until crews can get to your street, you can lend a helping hand as well like cleaning snow from storm drains and fire hydrants. >>> construction of the philadelphia 76ers new pra

fattah was back in federal court, where s four lawyers aeto be excused from fattah's fraud and racketeering because they have not been paid. eudge ld fattah at he eds to rethink his priorities afr faah ss was more ccerned about raising money for his reelection campaign th for his trial. >>> there are no reports of any injuries in the wake of thetubborn fen morrisville bucks county. fire fighters had to battle the cd andisf snow, in addition to the flames and smoke. the elaze broke out in e two sry ho in the 100 block of wt philadelphia avenue. theres no rd yet on a cause. >>> a rge truck th ru on nural gas exploded th afternoon in a mercer county neighborhood, and an "action ne" viewer caught the entire thing on camera. this happened on fitsrandolph avenue in hamilton tnship. it aed a 2:59 when a batteryroblem caused the truck to catch re. rkersried to put o the flames themselves b then e natural gas ignited sending gasank on to a ay me. fortunately, and phaps amazingly, nobody was hurt. >>> still to come on "action news"onight a debate rt from donald trump as a new p gives m more of the me

the congressman is married to renee chenault-fattah. she is on leave from the station. >> back to the storm recovery, agents at the philly 311 call center say they answered 24,000 phone calls with their questions and requests, since friday night. officials say that is eight times higher than the normal call volume. the center has had extended hours since the blizzard moved into the area and about 6,000 requests came through social media. one of the most popular questions during this blizzard, can i report a property owner for not clearing snow or ice from their sidewalk? it's a good one. here is what 311 agents say. property owners must clear a path at least three feet wide on their sidewalk within six hours of a snow emergency. you can report a violation to 311 and the streets department will investigate within one business day. it may decide to issue violations to owner who is have not cleared the sidewalks as required by city code. you can read all of the 311 top five questions and requests go to nbc10.com or the nbc 10 app. >>> stil

congressman fattah is married to nbc 10 news anchor renee chenault-fattah.he's on leave from nbc 10. >>> 6:06 right now. 40 degrees in philadelphia. today a philadelphia veterans affairs executive will ask a judge to overturn her demotion and pay cut at a hearing. last year the va demoted diana rubens from director to assistant director of its regional office in germantown. they accuse her of arranging her own move to be closer to her family, costing the government more than $250,000. eight other2philadelphia employees were suspended for alleged mismanagement. >>> one of the fiats that the pope used for his philly visit will be used to kick off this year's auto show at the pennsylvania convention center. it's one of three cars that will be part of the ceremonial drive-in this afternoon. mayor jim kenney will be there as well. the auto show runs through fep 7th, opening to the public on saturday. >>> now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist bill henley. >> seven minutes after 6:00. if you're out driving this morning, you may run into some rain

congressman chaka fattah may need a new lawyer because his current legal team wants to quit. the lawyers will ask a judge today to let them offer the the case since fattah can't afford to pay them. >>> democratic lawmaker facing federal racketeering charges, he says he's already spent about $300,000 on the case. fattah running for re-election, he is set to go on trial in may. >> still ahead this morning, a police officer is nearly killed in a freak accident. now he's talking about how he survived getting hit by a tractor-trailer. incredible. also, not clearing the snow, we all know it can get in you trouble, right? but do you have hear why a delaware county man is now facing charges for using his snow blower after the storm. >> plus, you can call it a blizzard of activity in a hospital maternity ward as the snow fell. the sudden baby boom that earned a spot in the hospital record books. >> ♪ >> sing it, t swift, if only we could shake that snow off still on the street, right? be careful out there. those roads could still be ice if i your street been plowed, a lot of melting y

those four lawyers say fattah has not paid them sensation. u.s. district judge bartle says if the lawyers step down he's afraid that will delay the trial. he also says the attorneys understood what they were getting into when they septembered the case. the 11 term congressman is facing federal corruption and bribery charges. fattah says, he's paid the lawyers more than $100,000 since his arrest this past summer. now he says he will pay his bills but that he has to fundraise for his re-election campaign. the judge told fattah to think about his priorities. >>> donald trump remains firm no show for tomorrow night's gop presidential debate on fox. >> trump absence hurt his chances with voters? republican front man appeared on the o'reilly factor on fox news channel tonight. trump told bill o'reilly he doesn't feel he's missing an opportunity to reach out to voters. he says he won't appear in the debate out of principal. >> i was not treated well by fox. they came out with this ridiculous pr statement like drawn up by a child. and there was a taunt an

those four lawyers say fattah has not paid them since august. u.s. district judge harvey bartle says if the lawyer steps down he feels that will delay the trial. he also says the attorneys knew what they were getting into when they stepped the case. the 11-term congressman is facing federal corruption and bribery charges. fattah says he's paid the lawyers more than $100,000 since his arrest this past summer. he says he will pay his bills but he's got to fundraise for his re-election campaign. the judge told fattah to think about his priorities. >> evesham police with a warning out tonight about the luring attempt of a couple of children. authorities urging you to be on the look out for this black car caught on surveillance camera rah. it's the car police believe the suspects were driving in the sanctuary development januar january 16th. two boys were playing on peter heard way just before 5:00 in the evening when they say a man teenaged girl pulled up and offed them candy. one of the boys became suspicious and pretended to call police on his cell pho

because they say fattah hasn't paid them since august. fattah says he will pay his bills, but that he has to, you know, funds raise for his re-election campaign at this point. so the judge did not rule on whether his lawyers can quit, but yesterday, told the congressman to think long and hard about his priorities, as lauren said. federal corruption charge still set for may second. >> okay, there is a fox news debate tomorrow night t looks like the big headline earn, the marquis player here will not be there. >> yes, frontrunner donald trump said he is skipping this debate, and fox news network seemed to sort of have some type of rocky relationship, because earlier debate where trump claims moderator and host asked other questions, will he threaten to walk as kelly stayed on as moderator? she is, he did. the trump campaign says instead of attend that debate, the presidential candidate will host his own event in iowa to benefit veterans and wounded warriors. >> so, he doesn't like the moderator. so he just quit. it is like if you're in, you

they say fattah hasn't paid them since august. fattah says he will pay his bills but that he's got oh fundraise for re-election campaign. the judge did not rule today on whether this lawyers can quit but told the congressman to think long and hard about his priorities. the federal corruption trial sill set for may second. >> tomorrow marks one year since center city building collapse roof at the lulu lemon stall on walnut street fell after bricks from a building neck door hit. the collapse hurt three women who were inside and year later now, one of them is suing saying she's still suffering. allison friedman joined her attorneys today. she says she's been in pain every day since the accident. and tomorrow she has to have spinal fusion surgery. she's going to spent the next few days in the hospital that includes her birthday which is friday. >> it's really sad. my birthday last year was spent on the couch in pain and this year it will be in the hospital in pain. >> friedman's attorney says they're suing walnut street associates tha

lawyers for congressman chaka fattah staying on his case after judge denied the request to withdraw.t paid them since august but an us district says he's afraid the lawyer stepping down would delay the trial, the 11 term congressman facing federal corruption, bribery charges, fattah said he has paid the lawyers more than $100,000 since his arrest this past summer. he says, he will pay the bills, but first, he needs to fundraise for his re-election campaign. the judge told fattah rethink your priorities. >> philadelphia's water department is insisting the city's water is safe to drink after report last week accused it testing methods of being unsound. that report cited philadelphia's number as one of number of us cities that down plays the amount of lead found in water samples. city water department posted six page response on it website to address what it called concerning statement, and inaccuracies in the report. the department says they followed best practices in sampling approved by the state, mike anal next. >> thank you very much. well, the debate is tonight, the gop debate is

he and four others are facing corruption charges but fattah's attorneys are asking them to dismiss them from representing the congressman because they say they are not getting paid and the judge heard the request and did not make an official ruling but requested why other lawyer was take the case and not get paid themselves. the judge said today he does not want to delay the case. >>> later today, leaders in atlantic city are considering asking the city for permission to declare bankruptcy. the resort town is unable to climb out of trouble and last week governor christie denied an aid package. he and the atlantic city counsel scheduled an emergency meeting at 4:00 this afternoon. even if they agree to file for bankruptcy they have to get approval from the state. >>> we are just six week as way from the iowa caucuses, it shows the frontrunners from both parties in competitive races. >> reporter: good afternoon dts did the is lasering in on his chief competitor who is returning fire. donald trump and ted cruz -- >> it's lie after lie and it's not becoming. he has a problem. >> cruz on the

is married to nbc 10 news anchor renee chenault-fattah. renee is currently on leave from nbc 10. >>> well, coming up we have a big winter storm heading our way. i'll show you the updated snowfall totals and the timing. what you can expect and when you can expect some of the heaviest snow. that's straight ahead. >>> you're watching nbc 10 first alert winter weather coverage. >> impending snowstorm will give penndot a chance to show off new tools. allowing users to track snow plows across the region online, see where the trucks have been over the previous two hours. not all the plows have them, they should give users a sense of the progress they are making. >>> rain, sleet, or snow, postal workers have to work in any condition, but the impending snowstorm they are asking customers to clear any snow around mailboxes and sidewalks. in past storms some carriers have been hurt because of slips and falls on icy and snow covered walkways and porches. >>> these are some of the most important areas to clear, the curb where your mailbox is located. i

the congressman is married to renee chenault-fattah. renee is on leave from the station. >>> you may want to check your credit card statement if you've eaten at within did's recently the chain investigating reports of unusual activity on payment cards used asome restaurants this month. wendy's is working with police and cybersecurity experts to get to the bottom. wendy's is encouraging customers to watch for unauthorized charges on their cards. >>> now to decision 2016. democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton and bernie sanders are in a tight race in iowa. a new poll of iowa voters finds 49% support sanders, 45% are for clinton. martin o'malley is behind with 4% of the vote. today sanders met with president obama in a private meeting in the oval office. afterwards the candidate said the president wasn't taking sides in the nomination and quote, generous and objective, letting the people decide, end quote. the white house said it was an informal meeting. >>> hillary clinton is launching her -- watching her strong lead evaporate

the congressman is married to renee chenault-fattah. renee is on leave from the station. >>> imagine getting more paid time off from work to spend with your new baby. that's what members of a delaware house committee talked been the bill entitles full-time state employees with one year of service 12 weeks of paid leave after the birth of a child or adoption. if both parents work for the state, each would be eligible for paid leave. volunteers took to the streets in philadelphia to count the number of young people without a place to call home. the youth home ms count takes place four times a year volunteers began at love park before fanning out across the city. the count led by the nonprofit valley youth house. digital team spent months on the streets getting to know homeless people. you can learn more and hear stories of the people who have been homeless in an nbc 10 digital exclusive called "faces of homeless youth" on nbc10.com. >>> next, nbc 10 gets an inside look at the allegations against bill cosby. we'll hear what happened inside

. >> and chaka fattah could lose his defense team. what he told his team when they complained they were not getting paid. >> and the sixers are talking about practice. today they unveiled the layout for their brand new headquarters, we'll show you what camden's newest tenants are planning. ♪ i've been a turkey farmer my whole life... and i raise turkey for shady brook farms®. we don't use growth-promoting antibiotics, that's just the way things should be done. that's important to me. my name is glenn, and i'm an independent turkey farmer. (female announcer) shady brook farms®. no growth-promoting antibiotics, just honest, simple turkey. >>> breaking right now one person has died in a school bus accident in indiana. it happened outside of an elementary school in lawrence township. the bus appears to have veered on to a roadway and the person killed was an adult and at least two children were seriously injured but they are expected to survive. we are following developing news, reports of an active shooter at medical center in san diego

fattah is accused of using federal grant and charitable donations to repay a illegal one million-dollar campaign loan and funneling campaign money toward his son's student loans. fattah says he cannot continue to pay the the hundreds of thousands of dollars that it has taken on this case. the court hearing has been scheduled for next week to determine if his lawyers, can quit. >>> a federal judge has dismissed defamation lawsuit filed by pittsburgh area woman against bill cosby. woman accused of defaming her when he and his representatives responded to allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted her and other woman. lawsuit was filed in october but a federal judge dismissed it, meaning that she cannot amend and refile it. >> right now people across the country are helping those affect by that water crisis in fl int michigan. >> that includes a celebrity with ties to philadelphia people in flint have lead poisoning from contaminated drinking water. people are blaming government miss management for the the crisis. now the the justice department is investigating. people around the n

today attorneys for the congressman told the judge, that they want off the case because fattah is not keeping up with his legal bills. the the judge expressed concern that fattah has prioritized raising money for his reelection over his legal issues. judge promised to make a decision and make it real soon. >>> as manhunt continues for the three escaped prisoners in california, we're learning more about the men's violent background. one official says quote they let hanibul lechter out. beyond than tu is facing murder charges other was being held on attempted charges and hussein nair is accused of kidnapping and for to tour. two of the men are linked to gangs and the community is on edge, the authorities say, these men could be hiding out nearby. >> this extremely important them to reach out to us, and let us necessity where they are at because they are armed and dangerous. >> these people are that bad. how did they get out of jail. >> reporter: investigators are trying to figure out how the prisoner got a hold of the tools to escape on friday. and, then,. >> and, the presidential nomin

the judge also expressed concerns that fattah was raising money for his reelection instead of paying his legal bills. >>> campaign 2016 and we are five days a away from the was caucus. on the rope side donald trump said he will in the the take part in tomorrow night's "fox news" dispute, it is a dispute over presence of megan kill hoy trump a has been feuding with since the the first debate. that provided fuel for rival ted cruz. >> he announced he will not be there, apparently, megyn kelly is really, really scary. >> on the democratic side bernie sanders met with president obama today. it is viewed as a way for the president to show neutrality in the race and squash notion that he supports hillary clinton new step towards solving flint's water crisis as more children get tested for lead poisoning. the governor will appoint a 17 member committee including the doctor who first sounded the alarm. they will be charged with monitoring progress. the residents have been without, clean, drinking water since high levels of the lead were last year found. some are outraged because there is sti

the that is what chaka fattah senior is claiming and now it the may affect his criminal court case.sman says he can in longer pay firm representing him in the the federal racketeering case and will have to find a new lawyer. fattah is accused of using federal grants and charitable donations to repay a one million-dollar campaign loan and funneling campaign money toward his sop's student loans. fattah says he cannot continue to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars that it has taken, on this case, and court hearing that is been scheduled for next week to determine if his lawyers can in fact quit. >>> a if just dismissed defamation lawsuit filed by a pittsburgh a area woman against bill cosby. woman accused cosby of defaming her when he and his representatives responded to allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted her and other woman. lawsuit filed in october but federal judge dismissed witt prejudice meaning she cannot amend and refile it. >>> pennsylvania governor tom have wolf ordered all flags placed at half staff to honor 12 missing marines. among two are two from pen

fattah is running for re-election, set to go on trial in may. >> 6:09 right now. still ahead this morning with less than week to go until the iowa caucuses, things are really heating up in that state. >> what the candidate are doing with their final few days before the iowa cake you cents, i'm brian web in new york, i'll have the latest coming up. >> plus, making a stadium super. we have a behind the scenes look as crews get ready for superbowl 50, less than two weeks away. we'll be right back. >> septa warns, still today, there could be some parking issues at some of the rail station frost piles of snow, give yourselves extra time. >> philadelphia international airport also largely back to normal this morning. most flights arrived and departed on time yesterday. but the weekends, oh, talk about a travel nightmare, on saturday american airlines canceled all flights and other airport canceled on the east coast affected by the storm. >> amtrak also back on track this morning. it is operating on a modified schedule due to storm conditions. officials say service betwe

members who support president abdel fattah al sisi have a majority. groups are worried the government may become more authoritarian. legislators elected constitutional expert ali abdelaal as speaker, belonging to a group of lawmakers who support sisi. parliament has 13 days to decide whether to approve some laws by decree. one law allows security organizations to ban demonstrations. another puts restrictions on the media in the name of fighting terrorism. critics say such laws run counter to the spirit of democracy. supporters of the government's top security policy won a major victory in elections held from october to december last year. >>> prodemocracy party are set to take the reins of power in myanmar. buddhists, who make up 90% of the population, and muslims. nhk reports. >> reporter: a law requires buddhist women to get permission from authorities before marrying someone from another religion. the law also forbids no s conv to another religion. one monk flaunts his hostility toward muslims. >> translator: muslims are different. they're trying t

the lawyers say they want to quit since fattah has not paid in several months but he says he paid more than $100,000 since the arrest last summer. the congressman faces charges for bribery and money laundering. he is married to nbc 10 news anchor. renee is on leave from nbc 10. >>> a judge has ordered the leader of an armed group occupying a national wildlife refuge in oregon and seven others to remain in jail until at least friday. amman bundy made the first appearance today in federal court arrested yesterday following a traffic stop that turned deadly. speaking through his attorney, bundy urged those remaining at the refuge to stand down and go home. >>> surveillance video shows a driver trying to lure two boys into his car along a south jersey street. what police want parents to know. >>> i was just -- what is this? screaming for help. >> a mother tells the story of a raccoon attack that sent her 6-year-old to the hospital. how a bystander might have saved that boy's life. >>> and i'm tracking a big warm-up on the way. don't miss the timing and the details in my exclusive forecast.

. >>> today congressman fattah's attorneys told the judge they want out. he's stopped paying the bill and the firm is small and has to be paid. the councilman said he's to with us discussed on fund-raising and will deal with the defense fund after the election. the judge said to reprioritize. >> the issue is i can't meet a payment arrangement that requires me to short-change my re-election effort. right? in order to meet a burden to pay a law firm for a trial that may or may not actually take place on may 2nd. >> the congressman says he hopes to hire a larger law firm that will be able to work with his financial situation. the trial is scheduled to begin may 2nd. he's married to anchor renee. he is on leave from nbc 10. >>> pennsylvania state lawmakers are making another push now to oust attorney general kane. they voted unanimously to launch an investigation into whether kane should be removed for misbehavior in office. kane faced charges that she leaked secret grand jury information to the media and then lied about it under oath. >>> you heard about this

protests against egyptian president abdel-fattah el-sissi erupted there and around the world and it wase years ago when millions poured into the square making it the focal point of arab spring and protest led to the over throw of mubarak regime and meanwhile abdel-fattah el-sissi said pay tribute to the protest sunday during a live televised address and said the 18 day revolt was to revive nobel principles and found a new egypt and we have more. >> reporter: the army is on the streets, there is a stepped up security presence ahead of the fifth anniversary of egypt's revolution and they will not allow protests and more activists jailed, thousands of homes have been searched, officials say the crack down is being carried out in the name of security but human rights groups say it's part of a campaign to silence the opposition. >> five years after egypt's uprising hope has given way to total repression and egyptian authorities are terrified of another uprising, the activists that we have seen over the last few days and weeks are really warning shots. >> reporter: it has been five years sinc

. >> people like noble peace prize, prodemocracy activist allah abdel fattah has been jailed for five years. most i remember is the crack downed at cairo's tahrir square. >> we always blamed the previous generation how they never really moved up towards going on. they never talked about the older corruption about the mubarak regime and all of that. i think there will be a revolution happening within the next maybe five years. that will happen. >> reporter: five years on a blood stained chapter in egypt's history continues to overshadow what many egyptians saw as the people's revolution. osama ben javad, al jazeera. >> european leaders are in their second day of meetings trying to figure out how to reduce the number of refugees. they may vote to eliminate the schengen zone. barnaby phillips reports from germany's bother with austria. >> reporter: on the austrian border the german police have been controlling the border, this is not what the schengen zone is accounting for. in amsterdam european ministers held talks again on how the manage the flow of refugees and migrants. some governm

abdel al fattah has been jailed for five years for violating protest laws.ost of the crack down at tahrir square, besides being betrayed he has a sense of accomplishment. >> they never talked about the corruption of the mubarak regime and all of that. i think the revolution happened within the next maybe five years. that will happen. >> reporter: five years on, a blood stained chapter in egypt's history continues to overshadow what many egyptians saw as the people's revolution. osama ben javad, al jazeera. >>> iran's president hassan rouhani is in italy on his first tour since the lifting of international sanction he this month. he's expected to sign off on a number of lucrative business deals, including a $2 billion contract with italian firm danielli. he clearly has his checkbook out but so have the countries that he's visiting. >> reporter: yes, it's really seen from an economic point of view, as pretty much a win-win situation. we have to remember david that iran has about $100 billion in frozen assets that have been held by the west during the sanctions

causes of the humanitarianin humanitariann syria which are the terrorist acts conducted by i.s.i.l, al fattah army and the islamic front. and other affiliateterrorist groups. it is worth noting here that whenever the syrian army retakes an area from terrorist groups, the humanitarian -- sorry, or the syrian side reaches a reconciliation agreement the humanitarian situation in such areas improves immediately. the syrian government has already requested through the ministry of foreign affairs from the office of resident coordinator of the united nations, in syria by its note 3746, dated 27 december, 27 december, 2015, to urgently deliver humanitarian assistance including medical assistance and fuel toal fo ufga and kefraya and madaya in the government of damascus country side. we would like to highlight that the humanitarian assistance seventh to madaya in mid october 2015 was sufficient for more than two months and this testimony was corroborated b the representative of the icrc in yshe syria a few days ago. so there is no shortage of humanitarian assistance in madaya. the syrian government ap

director john brennan has finished a two-day visit to cairo after meeting with egyptian president abdel fattahl-sisi. it was brennan's second visit to cairo in less than a year. the u.s. has restored diplomatic and military ties with egypt despite president sisi's crackdown on human rights, including the increasing jailing of journalists. the former president of the maldives has been temporarily released from prison and permitted to travel to britain for back surgery. nasheed was the maldives' first democratically elected president, known internationally for his work on climate change. he was ousted in 2012 in what he called an armed coup by supporters of his predecessor, maumoon abdul gayoom. nasheed is serving a 13-year sentence under anti-terror laws. a british investigation says russian president vladimir putin, "probably approved" the 2006 murder of alexander litvinenko, a former kgb officer who blew the whistle on corruption inside moscow's security services. litvinenko died after ingesting green tea poisoned with a toxic, radioactive isotope. the 328-page report was issued by retired br

fattah: let me thank the gentlelady who organized this special order. there's no greater cause that could be the focus of our attention in this august body than future generations of americans. too much time is focused on the next election. i want to thank the gentlelady from new jersey for focusing the house today on the next generation. and we know with a certainty hat early childhood, quality daycare, early education, these are the fundamental building blocks. now, we as a nation are competing with countries like china and india, with big populated nations, we need to make sure that every single american child has the ability to rise up to their potential so that our nation can remain number one in the world. and so, i'm pleased that in the appropriations process, i serve on the labor, health, education subcommittee, and we do our work in the last couple of weeks, we have passed the appropriations bill. and this year we've made some progress. i want to talk first about the good news. billion propriate $2.7 for the child care development block grant.

activists say hundreds of people have been subjected to "enforced disappearances," as president abdel fattah el-sisi widens his crackdown. have been reportedly held for hundreds months without charges or access to a lawyer in secret prisons run by sisi's security forces. many say they have been tortured. some have died in the secret prisons and their bodies later surfaced in morgues. nationalouncil ohuman rits lawyer nasser amin said -- "this is an unprecedented catastrophe for human rights and freedoms in egypt." in canada, a human rights tribunal has issued a major ruling saying canada has discriminated against first nation's children by providing for of a kelly less funding child welfare services on reserves. the underfunding of services disproportionately pushed first nation's children into the custody of canada's child welfare system. are many, this recalls century long practice by the canadian government of forcing first nation's children into boarding schools aimed at stripping them of their indigenous heritage. cindy blackstock of the first nations child and family caring society spo

and deteriorating human rights and press freedom across egypt, now ruled by former army chief abdel fattahsisi. human rights activist dolly bassiouny spoke out about the current repression. dolly: we have experienced a setback i never imagined we would reach. i know the revolution was going to be battled and many political currents would try to ride its wave. i never imagined we would reach where we are now. if we had 1% of freedom or economic power before the revolution, we no longer have this because of the current regime, not because of the resolution -- revolution. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from the sundance film festival in park city, utah. friday marked the 43rd anniversary of roe v. wade, the landmark supreme court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. and just weeks from now, the supreme court is set to hear arguments in a case that could gut roe v wade. the case is called whole woman's health v. cole. it challenges anti-choice restrictions passed by the texas s