jessica taff has those stories coming up in sports.ou think you have a good memory welcome can you memorize cards in a correct order? we'll meet people who can. revolutionary. our revolution is just going back to doing the best in journalism. >> this is the place to go watch high quality journalism, period. >> from our headquarters in new york, here are the headlines this hour. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> a deal in the senate may be at hand and just in the nick of time. >> thousands of new yorkers are marching in solidarity. >> we're following multiple developments on syria at this hour. >> every hour from reporters stationed around the world and across the country. >> only on al jazeera america. >> it is a competitive sport. exercising the muscle of the brain. more than 100 people from around the world has been competing in the world memory championships in england these past three days. but you don't have to have a genius or genius i.q. to compete. you just hav

jessica taff is here to get you caught up with the day in sports. let's talk about football.hat a weekend? hum? >> a huge weekly. this is always my favorite point of the week. we get to sit here, talk about week 12, mark, in the n.f.l. football league which we are talking about a big fight to the finish as teams are trying to muscle their way into the play-off picture while others just try to get that important home field advantage. for more on that, we will check in with our n.f.l. contributor, anita marks. thank you first of all, for joining us, anita. let's get started right out of the bank with the broncos. did denver stamp their ticket to the post-season with their win over kpings city? >> not only did they stamp their ticket. but really, i truly believe the road to the super bowl is going to have to go through mile-high denver. we saw paieyton manning play in new england. he has been remarkable all season, 41 touchdown passes emends that home field advantage throughout the playoffs by beating kansas city twice and continuing to win, they have one touch match-up this wee

i am jessica taff. >> we will talk to you a little later. thanks. >>> next, out of control, sunday's deadly derailment and what it may say about america's rails. plus, drone delivery, amazon's promise for the future. will the it really happen? and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america >> welcome back to al jazeeras america on this monday, december 2nd, 2013, i am john siegenthaler seeing in new york. some the top stories, america spent holiday dollars often monday on what may be the easiest he ecommerce day of the year the most important shopping day of the season? the obama administration promised an improved healthcare wen sight in november. reviews are mixed. some are having trouble signing up. insurers say they are not getting the information they need. live pictures from bangkok. protesters have wished through police barricades and made it to the prime minister's. it's the 10th day of demonstrations against the tha

jessica taff spoke with sheree williams from the fort worth star telegraph and asked if the dallas cowboys can recover from the losses and make the play-offs. >> that's the quep in texas. tony is taking a lot of the heat. he's 11 and 17. he's not played well in the month of the december. including this year with the two losses. it will be tough for the cowboys to recover from. there's a collapse of team effort collapse. they have to get it together in a hurry. washington is the only team more dysfunctional and they need to win that. the states headed the panthers two weeks ago. can they do it again and take the decision. the saints have been a better home team than they have been on the road. they beat the panthers. 21-13, it was an easy victory. due for 300 yards. the saints have been terrible on the road. three and four, lost a tough game in st louis that would have given them a division title. this is a big game to win. if they don't win, they'll have to go on the road in the play-offs. they are 0 and 3 in the play offs. high stakes in baltimore. can the ravens continue to frustrate the

health concerns for practically everyone involved, nhl hasn't done enough to protect players, jessica taffpoke with john sinclair. >> we are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. we are asking the court to make a declaration that in fact the nhl new or should have known about the problems in the complaint about the links the connections if you will between sports injuries and brain injuries. and to say that the nhl should have done something better. >> what are some of the effects of these concussions are having that the players are living with now on a daily basis? >> sure. well, there's four different types of sports injuries in essence, concussions, postconcussions, second impact syndrome and long term effects. cte is some of the woshes stuff we're finding -- worst stuff we're finding out there. there's been some in the nhl. the first nhl person was diagnosed in 2010, that was reggie fleming. these folks have dementia, they have trouble dealing with life, they suffer from severe depression, it really makes it hard for them to live a normal day-to-day life as you would expect. >> if

jessica taff talks to charean williams asking what that means. >> carlo has made 69 starts, but has not thrown a pass as a starter and only thrown 15 passes over the last two years. it takes the pressure off the cowboys. there's no doubt about that. they go in, play loose and play defense against the eagles. it will be a tough road. >> the bears had their own quarterback controversy. jay cutler not bad, but not necessarily good in his two games back from injury. there's a division title on the line. what is cutler's future with the team if he doesn't get it done this weekend? >> the funny thing is the bears can be without the quarter backs for next season. both are free agents at the end of the season. a lot will depend on what happens, if jay cutler returns. if they don't win, i think they'll try to resign josh mccallan or another quarterback. i think jay cutler moves on after this season. >> let's talk about the afc, the six seed up for grabs and down to four teams. all of them need help to punch their ticket. who gets it. >> i like miami, they need the least amount of help. kansas ci

jessica taff caught up with serious air between two olympic hopefuls. >> for free skiing athletes like nick goepper and tom wallisch, this is an opportunity of a lifetime to showcase their talent. >> we had no idea this would be an olympic sport until a year and a half ago. a lot of us the childhood dreams were the x games, not the olympics. that was our olympics up until socchi. >> known for his near flawless slope of this style runs the indiana native skied when he was five years old. >> i started skiing at five and doing flips at 11. i grow up in south-eastern indiana, not known for skiing, but five minutes away from a 350 foot hill that i skied on after school and on the weekend. that got me into it. >> this sport is costly, so nick had to get creative to continue to ski. >> when i was 14, 15, dad lost his job and was unemployed for two years. financially my family was unstable. they were not able to support me to the full extent with skiing endeavours. i had to take the initiative to finance my skiing career myself. i was kind of an entrepreneur. i went to mum one day and gave her

. >> in bedford, massachusetts, jessica taff, al jazeera. >> 57 days away. >> is that what it is? 57 days, and we're spending time for this team. we have a rooting interest. >> reporter: that's right. >> thank you, sir. a cold blast impacting much of the country. dave warren here with your forecast. this is al jazeera. >> national forecast looking cold, bitter cold air coming down from canada and moving across the great lakes and affecting the mid-atlantic and the northeast. the winds have picked up, and we look at wind chills well below zero. now the cold over the great lakes creating lake-effect snow. it's not the storms, two of them tweetlactually, they're gone. but this is lake-effect snow. you have that cold air coming across the great lakes, on the eastern side, significant snowfall over the same area. and you can see that that is what we're expecting over the past 12 hours the snow looks pretty much the same getting that snow over the same area. that will be the story for the next few days. the temperatures have dropped down to freezing in new york getting even colder overn

. >> a return of a familiar face to the usc football program, jessica taff is here with your supports ted lines. >> a new big man on campus, it seems. usc has named washington steve kar sizi and the trojans are hoping he can turn around the football program like he did for the huskies. he was an assistant with the usc in 2007 and '8 went 6 and 2 after taking over for lane kisin who was fired in september. mean while, trouble off of the ice for simeon barlemov. he is scheduled to be back in court on monday in denver to face those misdemeanor charges for assault charges that he had after his girlfriend said he attacked her. finally, injuries continuing to playing nets. paul pierce is the latest to go down. the net swing man will be out with a broken hand he injured in the first half of friday's loss at houston. >> jessica, appreciate it. thank you. coming up on al jazeera america, a former new orleans police officer is on trial for the second time after being acquitted of killing a man in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. also. >> i am rob reynolds in bangladesh on the report of the a

i'm jessica taff. that is a rap for the sports at this hour. back to you. >> i couldn't contain myself during the break. i had goose bumps. that was insane. >> it's the first major change in autopsy procedure in 400 years. digital technology using 3d body mapping let's doctors perform an autopsy without using a scalpel. >> it's the tough of science fiction, exploring the human body after dusk. this facility is home to the digital autopsy center, where pathologists conduct post mortems with a click of a mouse. the virtual exam keeps the body intact. >> to have the scan and know whether the bullets or; no where the blood is, the air. it's a huge help. >> this is a typical ct scaper when the body is brought in. within a matter of seconds 25,000 images are taken. >> they are transferred to a computer and 2001s formed. >> there are tools you can dissect with. slowly layers cap be removed. we are looking for abnormalities, differences, foreign object whilst doing so. >> if i wanted to focus on something k let's say the kidneys, how do i do that. >> w

jessica taff was at the heisman presentation. >> on paper jamesin winston was a shoe in. led the nation in florida seminoles's to an unbeaten season and title. this year's race was not just about the numbers. voters had to peel back the layers of jameis winston's record-breaking season and tied if winston's cashing tore was heisman worthy. the 19-year-old kept his composure on the filed. he became the youngest heisman winner ever. >> i trusted in the process. truth is delivered with positive outcomes. this is all the things i have been through. i remember when my daddy trusted in a process. when he risked his job. and was jobless three years ago when i was out there doing wherever i did to provide for my family, because i know he can do it. me and my mama paid bills, making everything happen. and that man, he can't find me, but the truth prevail. eventually i got a scholarship. i kept the reputation up. this is not just for jameis winston, this is for florida state. and i love everybody in here i can't be that much - i'm so blisz now. >> the flort quarterback one in a lan

as jessica taff tells us three goal keepers from the u.s. national team are more than happy to share the spotlight. >> these three women have been camped out since early september with the rest of the u.s. national team, outside of boston, prepping for the upcoming winter olympics in russia. each brings something different to the table. >> what is it that makes jessie a good goalie. >> she gets scored op and you see her gig lipping. and for me sometimes you can get frustrated in the net and practice if you have a rough day. she's giggling and immediately can bring anybody out of a funk. these players are on my team. they are good. way to go. >> i think bree has the widest butterfly. if you score, i would not go low ever. it's a wall. it can be serious. being a goalie i would use the word forget the. you'll get bouncers against you. the biggest thing is to forget it. ladies of all the positions you could possibly play in hockey the three of you chose of one with an 80 mile our puck coming out of your face. why does it go back to the siblings

jessica taff is here to tell us about it. good morning to you. pretty good action. >> we had christmas day. it meant n.b.a. hoops, and for the last two decades it included this guy. yesterday with bryant he was in the house, but the fractured knee kept him off the course. >> it's strange to come in on christmas and not, you know playing. it's a foreign feel. i'm here to support the guys and watch them. >> koby's team-mates hosting lebron james and the miami heat. everyone we aring the sleeves. no restrictions for lebron james, look at the alley-oop. he looks like santa clause. he was clarifying all kinds of goodies. it was another there. here comes another. dwayne this time off the blackboard. 19 points for lebron james as the heat pick up a 6th-straight win, 101 to 95. clippers visited and boeing urt issued a fowl and griffin rejected. clippers trailing by two. chris paul driving. shot is belonged from behind. crawford - he has a chance to win the form heaving up the three, can't get it to go. meanwhile. brooklyn nets hosting the bulls. not so m

. >> jessica taff is here with the sport. i love when when the two teams play. >> it's december, but it doesn't feel that way. every time the miami heat and indiana pacers square off. they jockey for supposition. in miami there was a play-off atmosphere. >> they are trying to defend home court. the pacers find why they had it going. pacers up 11 at the half, and then they keep it going into the third. in transition it ned up in the ants of paul george who drops the trille. pacers have 15 points. the heat - they had it going. they had it going from long range. >> lebron from downtown, cutting the deficit to three. kirch bosch gets things going, tying at 92. why not go to the n.b.a.'s best from downtown. ray allen, popping from the top. the heat go on a 12-2 run, edging the pacers and the series at 1. >> good qualitiry win. a good team. we had to overcome a lot. they are making shots. they, very good win. it's the type of win we needed and wanted. >> we played well and was winning for 80 to 90%. they played at home, with energy