robert ray is in atlanta with more on the package situation, but we're going to begin with jim hooleyt the cherry creek mall in denver with the after-christmas sales. today is about returns and using those gift cards that you got, am i correct? >> here we go again, richelle, yes, it is lot about returns, but a lot about these gift cards that people got for christmas and now they are burning a hole in their back pocket. especially younger people want to take these cards that they received yesterday and get out here and just start spending. something like $30 billion of gift cards sold in the holiday season just before christmas, so that's an incredible number. it was a pretty good holiday season. holiday sales spiking just before christmas about 2.3%. that's pretty good compared to last year, but it is all about -- yes, some returns, but these gift cards right here, $30 billion are. a lot of those are going to be spent today. i have 25 bucks on this jcpenney card, and i'm going to be spending that later on today too. >> let me ask one more question and then i'll let you go shopping. on

utah's attorney general is expected to file paperwork monday or tuesday. >>. >> and that is jim hooley joining us from salt lake city, utah. coming up, an update of our top stories and the business of college football making millions even when the team isn't winning. >> welcome back to al jazeera america america. i am del walters here in new york. here is an update on our top story. at least 15 people killed when a bomb exploded in the southern city of overad. a suicide bomber detonating explosives as they approached the metal get ector. inter fax was reporting the bomber was a man not a woman as was originally reported. closed circuit cameras confirmed that. these reports, we should point out, are preliminary. any fan of college football can tell you it is that time of year. it is bowl season, big games all week leading up to the national championship just one week from tomorrow. 650 teams, 70,000 athletes and millions of dollars up for grabs especially in texas where the longhorns are big business. newark schneider explains. >> texas longhorns football is a cash cow according to forb

that should be filed early next week. >> jim hooley live from salt lake city. thank you. >> after 30 years china is easing a one child per couple policy, allowing more married couples to have a second child. formerly only one child was legal, and two if both parents from single children. now, only if one child was an only child. officials fear a labour shortage and growing numbers of elders that the country won't be able to support. >> a city in china has everything you want - plenty of stores, schools and new homes. the only thing it doesn't have is people. andrew thomas explains. >> six years ago all this was farm land. now there's tens of thousands of apartments and plans for more. >> shen dehua lives in one. in her building of 44 flats, four are occupied. >> translation: it's too quiet. on weekends or weekdays it's the same. you don't see anyone on the streets, except sometimes cleaners. >> do others feel the same way? there was no one around to ask. if cheng gong had tumble weed. this is where it would be blowing. >> there's something spooky walking around

jim hooley, al jazeera. >> letters to santa, children write letters telling them what they want.here is a whole team of u.s. postal workers, who enlist members of the community to make these wishes come true. brian rooney, joins me from the central most office of new york, christmas are a few days away, they are right up against the deadline aren't they? >> it's the postal service they say they're going to make it. people for the last month have been able to come to the post office, read through these letters that children send to santa claus, say i'm going odo this letter i'm going to buy this gift that this child wants and bring it back to the post office and mail it. they are no longer delivering letters, they are delivering the gifts. it is all specially coded so you can't have people chasing down children. we spoke to a woman naked mi na micaela bakey. >> this specific one i have in my hands, kind of knew that we would take this one. because of just the need, and i'm a single mother of four amazing kids. recently my kids and i ran into some difficult times, we lost our home.

jim hooley, al jazeera, jamestown, colorado. . >> all right.ur favorite sports guy ross is back for the big, big match-up for the afc west. >> they call it the wild, wild shootout, on the line because did he ha denver broncos and kansas city, 92 records. fighting for the number 1 seat in the playoffs. peyton manning coming off of the loss. tonight, they looked good. miles davis on the kickoff return. looky here awdios. davis takes it 108 yards back to the happy place. casey would take a 21-7 lead. no lead is safe with peyton manning because check out the touch on this pretty pass to eric decker. the hook-up types at 21. the denver fan gets a souvenir. he had a monster game, a franchise record with 4 touchdown passes and manning with 403 yards. the chiefs had one last chance down by a touchdown. they needed to convert this fourth down play. i hate when that happens. denver would win 35-28 to moved in to first place in the afc west. they have the best record in all of the afc while the chiefs have now dropped three straight games. >> big win. it

jim hooley tells us why from salt lake city. >> it's been an incredible week in utah. so many called the situation surreal. hundreds of same-sex couples ran out to get married. thousands turning out for a giant rally. we talk to couples that have been together for 15, 18 years. they are so happy, but will be able to move into the new year as newly weds. the state says the fight is not over yet. >> this has been the scene in utah for days. same-sex couples pouring into country clerk offices to get marriage licences, many turning to local officials and ministers to say, "i do." >> to feel the love and joy and elation of people who are free to marry the people they love. >> it was a shocking turn of events known for its ways and values. >> all of had is possible. among the plaintiffs. derek kitchen and moudi sbeity. they raun -- run a middle eastern business. the federal judge ruled utah's law was unconstitutional, banning same-sex marriage. it's been euphoria in the state's gay community. more than 900 couples obtained marriage licences. there are thousands of couples th

hooley have been locked locked out long ago and probably for a much longer duration than. well once noted in the second they actually made a statement saying that all the country that he had trusted with his requests. into his claims objective decisions and this is apparently what russia has done and that's newton and temporary refuge in this country this same charm it's rather peculiar while given refuge chill while near the whistleblower laws. one who is drawing to. an escape from the s.s. or its is being apparently sue that russia is at the same putting soo much pressure on its own whistleblower there is this harassment a whistleblower is going on in the country including the whistleblower insults there is a huge crush on environmentalist groups and only independent media that are trying to cover all the developments relevant to the olympics construction and there have been critical well i think what that shows is that human rights issues pro probably a major problem not just in russia but in many countries around the world and i guess that means that human rights watch

hooley have been lock locked out long ago and probably for a much longer do you rationed. well once noted in the second. major statement saying that all the country that he had trusted with his requests. into his claims objective decisions and this is apparently what russia has done and that's newton and temporary refuge in this country this same challenge it's rather peculiar while given refuge chill while new whistleblower laws. one who is drawing to. an escape from the s.s. or its is being apparently sue of it russia is at the same putin says much russia on its own whistleblower there is this harassment a whistleblower is going on in the country including the whistleblower it's insulted there is a huge crush on environmentalist groups and own independent media that are trying to cover all the developments relevant to the olympics construction and they're being critical well i think what that shows is that human rights issues probe probably a major problem not just in russia but in many countries around the world and i guess that means that human rights watch has will ha

hooley have been lock locked out long ago and probably for a much longer duration than. well once noted in the second. major statement saying. all the country that he addresses with his requests. into his clear. objective decisions and this is apparently what russia has done and that's newton and temporary refuge in this country at the same charm it's rather peculiar while given refuge chill while new whistleblower laws. one who is drawing to. an escape from the s.s. or its is being apparently sue of it russia is at the same chawed putin says much russia on its own whistleblower there is this harassment a whistleblower is going on in the country including the whistleblower it's insulted there is a huge crush on environmentalist groups and own independent media that are trying to cover all the developments relevant to the olympics construction and they're being critical well i think what that shows is that human rights issues probe probably a major problem not just in russia but in many countries around the world and i guess that means that human rights watch has will hav

jim hooley has the latest. >> it's been an incredible week for so many in utah. so many call the situation surreal. hundreds of same sex couples running out to get married. thousands turning out for a giant rally a couple of nights ago. we talk to couples. same sex couples that have been together for 15-18 years. they'll be able to move into the new year as newlyweds. the fight is not over. >> this has been the scope in utah for days. same-sex couples pouring into country clerk offices. >> to feel the love and the joy and the elation of people that are free to marry the person they love. it's beyond explanation. >> it was a shocking turn of events in a state known for conservative ways and traditional family values. >> all of this has been made possible by a lawsuit chipping the law. among them, derek kitchen, and moudi sbeity. >> we heard the news. >> december 20th, a federal judge ruled utah's law banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. more than 900 same-sex couples obit tained marriage licences. >> thousands of others want the same thing we want. we a

jim hooley tells us why from salt lake city. >> this has been the scene in utah for days. same-sex couples pouring into country clerk offices to get marriage licences. many turning to country officials and ministers to say i do. >> to feel the love and the joy to marry the person they love. >> it was a shocking turn of event in ta state known for -- in a state known for conservative ways. >> all made possible by a lawsuit that challenged utah's law. among the plaintiffs derek kitchen and moudi sbeity. they run a middle eastern food business in salt lake city. >> we heard the news when we were making food for the farmers' market. >> a federal judge ruled utah's law banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. more than 900 same-sex couples obtained marriage licences. there are thousands of couples that want the same thing we want. we are foyinging for hours, but in that process we fight for everybody. >> i now pronounce you wife and wife. >> clifford rosky is a law o prosore. he became a minister to marry couples. >> in utah federal courts recognise same sex couples have

jim hooley live in salt lake city. thank you. >>> students are admitted to a special seattle area high school can get a head start on pursuing their passion for aviation. some are concerned about the public/private partnership behind the unique school. alan shopler has more now in seattle. >> it makes sense in a place nicknamed "jet city" and in a state where 130,000 people work designing and building airplanes that there would be a school called aviation high. raysbeck aviation high where you will see planes out the classroom and find sky mechanicalen loving math. >> it's a language that describes the universe. if you want to go to space and if we are to really develop things that work, that get off of this planet, we have to understand physics and the language of the universe. >> that's what sky and hercase classmates wants to do, get off of the planet. the curriculum is designed to help them. >> there are no traditional organized sports here but making the robotic team, that is a big deal. >> we put a gopro on the r

one of them as sebastian hooley is german that he's now an american because he wanted to come to an entrepreneurial open society where you could do the exciting things and you thought you couldn't in germany. it was too conservative and closed to new ideas. so he started working on artificial intelligence at carnegie-mellon. he participated in the earliest experiments that brought him the self driving car as a project that the defensive research project agency set up the prize and the early cars didn't go very far. the were in the mojave desert. they didn't go very far and they were not reliable. they get better every year. he was the head of the self driving car project. he then decided he that teach the course on computing. and they had announced they were going to teach the course at stanford and they were going to make it available online. they had 400 students in the classroom. they had 151000 signup. drove the stanford administration creasy because how do you regulate it and know that you are getting the stamford quality course and why aren't they paying tuition? it was 43,000 that completed