we'll go to john henry smith in denver, where the broncos are wrapping up their football game, but first this report. >> reporter: when our undercover athlete liam collins met charlie sly, he demonstrated his knowledge of drugs, offering liam an anabolic banned in sport. in the next 12 days, in several different meetings, and 27 hours of recorded conversations, slying gradually opened up and about his contacts with athletes. statement he now denies. his most controversial allegation is that when he did part of his pharmacy training at a clinic in indiana. human growth hormone was linked to payton manning's wife. >> all the time we'd send ash manning drugs, from everywhere, florida - never under payton's name, under her name. >> reporter: since then the clinic claimed that sly was there in 2013, after the manning's moved away in 2011, as al jazeera originally reported. now al jazeera is releasing the phone call we made almost a month ago to confirm the dates of sly's rotation. >> thank you for cool the guyer institute of molecular medicine. >> this is heather, can i hope you. >> yes, i ne

and john henry smith reports, concussions is all about the league and the research into that condition found a disease that no one has ever seen. >> reporter: in the new sony pictures film concussion, will smith stars as a real life forensic pathologist, the man who coined the phrase identifying the brain disease, after performing the autopsy on nfl hall of fame center. his pioneering research lead to the discovery of the disease born from repeated blunt force trauma in the brains of nfl groups like these three. all players who took their own lives. the film chronicles how the nigerian born doctor went from knowing nothing about football to becoming the pre-eminent scholar on football-related brain injuries. the film also portrays the national football league as determined to cover up the doctor's findings. three days before the movie hits theaters, multiple reports have the league reneging on a $30 million grant promise to a leading brain injury research group. the reason? the boston university project is being lead by a leading critic of the league, dr. stern. the nfl denies that, an

al jazeera said john henry smith has more. >> 26-year-old william porter was on the stand for four hours. he told jurors he never thought freddie gray was injured, insisting he seemed alert during a 45 minute ride in the back of a police van on april 12. the ride ended with gray having suffered a spine injury that would prove fatal. [ screaming ] >> prosecutors pressed porter on what he did that day, why gray was not seatbelted in and why the officer never called for a medic. porter said he felt he and gray had mutual respect and he was upset over his death. while seatbelts on prisoners is department policy, officer porter testified he never saw one used on the job or during weeks of training in the police academy, and porter testified that he relayed gray's request for a doctor to the driver of the van, officer goodson during the fourth of six stops that day. no medical attention was sought until the final stop when porter said he found gray unresponsive. grape's death sparked violent protests in baltimore and with the defense presenting its case, the jury could get to weigh in soon. ba

john henry smith, al jazeera. >>> there's an update now on that washington state high school assistantootball coach who was suspended because hi was praying midfield. he has filed a discrimination suit saying he was suspended in october, saying it was discrimination. kennedy has been performing those postgame prayers now since 2008. he says he feels his freedom of expression was violated. the district has not yet responded. when it suspended kennedy it said his actions violated the constitutional rights of his students. >>> up next, why one man's marriage proposal could land him in jail, and it hasn't even been released in the u.s., but "star wars" is already breaking the box office records. >>> a record number of travelers will be hitting the roads for the holidays. aaa says there will be more than 100 million of you on the roads and rails and skies. they also say 91% of you will probably drive. gas below $2 a gallon in most places may be one reason. that is the lowest price in about six years. this is the seventh straight year the numbers have grown since they hit that low during the

john henry smith has a look at the numbers. >> these types of shootings they happen more often than you might realizes. on average, americans see more than once a day. 12,000 people have been killed by guns so far this year in america. according to the washington post, there have been 355 mass shootings in the u.s. this year, defined as those in which at least four people get shot and or killed in a single incident. a lot of these crimes do not make the headlines. case in points, since friday's planned parenthood incident in colorado, the country has seen thee mass shootings. one happened in i will pill that there was another in savannah, georgia where one woman was killed and three others shot. then hours later came the shootings in california. the san bernardino incident is now america's deadliest mass shootings since the 2012 sandy hook school shootings in connecticut. 27 died that day, most of them children. with 14 dead, the can better than shootings qualify as the third deadliest mass shooting in the past 20 years, eclipsed only by sandy hook and the virginia tech massacre of 2007

john henry smith has more. >> reporter: disarray at the top of fifa as more officials are charged in corruption scandal. for the second time in six months, soccer officials were placed under arrest at switzerland's hotel, including two top fifa vice presidents and several more have now been charged by the u.s. justice department? >> a federal grand jury this brooklyn has returned a 92-count indictment which includes charges against 16 new defendants, l all of whom are current or former soccer officials. >> reporter: among those charged, five former members of fifa's executive committee responsible for awarding the world cup tournament. that brings the total number to 11 indicted. they are accused of taking some $200 million in bribes. >> the betrayal of trust is truly outrageous, and the scale of corruption alleged herein is uncon shunable. >> reporter: eight others accused in earlier indictments have entered guilty verdicts, including another former vice president, jeffery webb. repleaded not guilty in july. fifa has been meeting to talk about reforms, something leaders say is still

al jazeera's john henry smith has more. >> reporter: gun shops say they have been unable to keep up withand. >> we have sold out of just about every nine-millimeter pistol that would we sell. >> reporter: the fbi says background checks are up nearly 8% from a year ago. >> people that are kind of on the fence or want to go buy a gun and maybe putting off that purchase, a significant portion of them was like, you know what, now is the time. >> reporter: and stock prices for major gun makers like smith & wesson and ruger are soaring. >> people are scared. the situation in california, i think has really alerted a lot of people. >> reporter: industry analysts say these shooting massacre in san bernardino is driving more people to buy guns. the latest example of gun sales ramping up in the wake of a mass shooting. >> if it's busy in here and we don't have the news on we can tell when there is a headline about a mass shooting by the influx of people. >> i am doing it to me. i got my wife one. >> reporter: percentage protection may not be the only reason for a spike in gun sales. >> it seems to

john henry smith, al jazeera. >>> that's all for sport for now. now back to maryam in london. >> thank you very much, you can find all your nooz al news and , video on demand if you check that out, at aljazeera.com. i'll be back with a full bulletin of news life in mexico city where the families of 43 missing students are planning to embark on their march. more on that later, stay with us. >> al jazeera america brings you independent reporting without spin. >> not everybody is asking the questions you're asking me today. >> we give you more perspectives >> the separatists took control a few days ago. >> and a global view. >> now everybody in this country can hear them. >> getting the story first-hand. >> they have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. >> what's your message then? >> we need help now. >> you're watching al jazeera america. >> comedy great richard lewis. >> i really am in love with the craft. >> turning an angst ridden and neurotic outlook... >> i have to unravel myself on stage as fearlessly as possible. >> into an award winning c

john henry smith with more. >> in the new sony pictures film, concussion, will smith stars as bennetted the phrase. >> representative head trauma chokes the brain. >> his pioneering research led to the disease of former greats like junior as much eal, and waterson, they took their own lives. he went from nog on football to the premier scholar on football related injuries. the film also portrayed the national football league as determined to cover up dr. omalu's findings. three days before the movie hits theaters, multiple reports on reneging on a leading brain research group. the reason, according to reports, the boston research is a leading critic, dr. stern. the nfl denies that. in handing it out, it's setting the grant aside for another project. emails made public from the sony hacking scandal made it apparent that the nfl tried to soften parts of the film. one august 2014 email from senior studio executive from dwight canes reads, we'll develop message with the help of a consultant to make sure that we're telling a dramatic story and not kicking the hornet's nest. >> it doesn't su

. >> john henry smith is here with more on that. what do the numbers show? >> well, the numbers are disturbing to say the least. these type of shootings happen more often than realized. america sees a mass shooting more than once a day. over 12,000 people have been killed by guns so far this year in america, according to the west coast there has been 355 mass shootings in the u.s. so far this year. these shootings result - these are shootings resulting in four people being shot and killed. a lot of crimes don't make the headlines. since friday's planned parenthood incident, the country saw three mass shootings. one happened in illinois. there was another wednesday morning in savannah georgia, where reports say one woman killed and three others shot. the san bernadino incident is now america's deadliest mass shootings since the 2012 sandy hook shooting in connecticut. 27 died. most children. >> with 14 dead, the san bernadino shootings qualify as the third deadliest shooting of the past 20 years, eclipsed by sandy hook, and the virginia tech master. >> americ

john henry smith reports. >> reporter: 2015, the year fantasy sports grew up. fans like rick anthony have for years played fantasy sports, picking players and following their success on imaginary teams >> yes. i'm a jeff fan. it's good to make some money along the way voting for other teams and players makes it more exciting. >> reporter: the winner of his leagues takes home hundreds of dollars. but in 2015 a new way to play fantasy sports exploded. >> leagues are paying 75 million dollars a week with immediate cash outs and no commitment. >> reporter: dfs leagues offer the chance to win cash prizes of anywhere from a couple of buckss to over a million dollars. all for an entry fee as little as a dollar a week. >> i won to date so far profit almost $5,000. >> reporter: companies like draft kings and fan debrox o ran around 8,000 ads per week by the start of n.f.l. weeks, funded in partnerships with big media and the sports league themselves. in the second full week of october alone the company took in a record 40 million dollars worth of entry fees. but all tho

john henry smith has more. >> reporter: fans filled theaters to watch old "star wars" movies.y are buying old "star wars" toys and a new one. >> this is what every entrepreneur waits for. >> reporter: jet die aerobics anyone? a lot of people were cashing in. >> we struck more than gold here, frankly. >> reporter: disney spent $4 billion to buy star war's creator. >> this movie alone just in theaters has the potential to earn over $2 billion worldwide. you then add to that the potential for merchandising, down the road, the -- you know, on-demand component, the home video component, some people were saying it would be over $10 billion in revenue based on that $4 billion to buy it. >> reporter: no film has ever made $100 million in a single day, but the force awakens broke that bare -- barrier on presales alone. >> this is potential i will the biggest box office opening ever. >> reporter: the new "star wars" film is great holiday season gift. >> collective goose bumps will translate to big dollars and just a love of going to the movie theater to see great films who are like mind

. ♪ welcome to your world this morning i'm john henry smith and stephanie has the day off and faithfulebrating christmas and the day traditions say jesus christ is born and also praying for an end to a jeer of year of violence and suffering. pope francis delivered his traditional christmas mass to tens of thousands listening outside in st. peters square and asked for reconciliation in the middle east and in africa. >> translator: only god's mercy can free humanity from the many forms of evil, at times monstrous evil which spawns in our midst. >> reporter: meanwhile in the syrian capitol damascus the christian community celebrated christmas overnight, hundreds lined the streets to watch fireworks and sing carols not far from where the syrian army is fighting anti-government rebels and christians makeup 11% of the syrian population many of whom fled since the start of the war, in the u.s. president obama and the first lady put out their holiday message a short time ago. >> today like millions of americans and christians around the world our families celebrates the birth of jesus and the

john henry smith has more on the grand jury decision. >> reporter: for more than ten hours, a grand jurytexas discussed evidence presented by special prosecutors in last summer's jailhouse death of sandra bland. she died three days after this traffic stop. >> the grand jury did not return an indictment. the grand jury also considered things that occurred at the jail, and did not return an indictment. >> reporter: the coroner said bland hanged herself using trash bags. special prosecutor daryle jordan would not review details with the grand jury, other than to say his team carefully reviewed video of bland's time in jail. >> the details, of course those are all secret. >> the biggest problem for me is the entire process, the secrecy of its all. >>> 1100 miles away bland's family continued to express doubt that the sandra they knew would kill herself and about the grand jury. >> we believe this is a sham proceedings. we desperately seeking our own information to conduct our investigation of what happened to sandy there. they are invoking this inherent trust in a system that we think is fla

al jazeera's john henry smith has more. >> reporter: on his 29th birthday he found out he would likelynding the rest of his birthdays behind bars. a jury found the ex-oklahoma city police officer guilty on four counts of first degree rape as well as 14 other counts he had been facing 36 criminal counts in total. >> defendant is guilty of the crime of forcible oral sodomy and punishment will be 20 years. >> reporter: the juries said he used his authority to sexually abuse african american women while on duty. they were all african american women from the low-income areas he patrols. he is white and asian. it was an all-white, mostly male jury that returned the guilty verdicts and recommended up to 263 years in prison. >> i appreciate you trusting us, and standing down and making sure nothing foolish happened during the investigation of this case, and during the trying of this case. you trusted us, and we appreciate that. the oklahoma city city police department did the right thing, and so did we. >>> today family and friends are remembering two more victims of the shootings in this san

john henry smith has more. >> reporter: 26 year old william porter was on the stand for four hours.told jurors he never thought freddie gray was injured, insisting gray seemed alert during the 45-minute ride in a place van on april 12th. he ride ended with gray suffering a spine injury that would prove fatal. prosecutors pressed him on what he did that day. porter said he felt he and gray had mutual respect and he was upset over his death. while seat belts on prisoners s is -- policy, the officer testified he never saw one used on the job, and he relayed the request for a doctor to the driver of the van. no medical attention was actually sought until the final stop when porter says he found gray unresponsive. gray's death sparked violent protests in baltimore, and with the defense now presenting its case, the jury could get to weigh in soon. the mayor is urging presents to stay calm once a verdict is eye announced. >> we have to respect their opinion. we don't have to agree with it at all. but this is about respecting the process and respecting our city. >>> the man accused of killi

john henry smith reports, concussion is all about the league and the research into the condition. >> found a disease that no one has ever seen. >> reporter: in the new sony pictures film concussion, will smith stars as real life forensic pathologist who coined the phrase for the disease. his pioneering research lead to the discovery of the disease born from blunt form trauma in the brains of some of the greats, players who took their own lives. the film chronicles how the nigerian-born doctor went from knowing nothing about football to becoming the leading scholar on the research. three days before the movie hits theaters, multiple reports have the league reneging on a $30 billion grant promise to a leading brain injury research group. the reason, according to reports, the project is being lead by a leading critic of the league, dr. robert stern. the nfl denies that, and says it is setting the grant aside for another project. and emails made public from the sony hacking studio, seem to indicate the nfl tried to avoid wrath by softening parts of the film. >> that wouldn't surprise me,

. >> and johnry -- john henry smith has been tracking the developments. we are also hearing from other school districts. >> reporter: that is true. the superintendent as you mentioned termed the threat electronic in nature. now the "new york times" is quoting sources at the los angeles police department, and they are reporting someone telephoned a bomb threat to a member of the school board, and the superintendent says he wants every single school building in the los angeles unified school district searched. that is a massive undertaking. there are 640,000 students in l.a. unified schools, as well as adult education students, so you can just imagine what it will take to search all of the buildings needed to accommodate those people. he cited recent violent events near and far from l.a. for closing down the schools. >> i think the circumstances in neighboring san bernardino, i think what has happened in the nation, i think what happened internationally, i as superintendent am not going to take the chance with a life of a student. remember, we do get indivi

john henry smith has more on the big money that is rolling in. >> reporter: fans filled theaters to watchld "star wars" movies. they are buying old "star wars" toys, and a new one. >> this is kind of what every entrepreneur waits for in that professional career. where you have a product that the whole world wants. >> reporter: before anyone in north america saw a single minute of the new movie, a lot of people were cashing in. >> we instruct more than gold here, frankly. it feels great. >> reporter: disney spent $4 billion to buy star war's creator. and the new film is estimated to cost $2 million to make. >> down the road, the on-demand component, the home video component, some people are saying it would be over $10 million many revenue, based on that $4 billion investment to buy it. >> reporter: the force awakens broke the records on presales alone, and could take in more than $250 million on its opening weekend. for theater owners hoping to get us into the theaters, the new film is a great holiday gift. >> it will translate to big dollars and a love for going to the movie theater to se

john henry smith with the story >> reporter: since 2013 the n.f.l. has banned anyone not specifically hired to work security at its games from carrying guns into its venues. in the days following the paris attacks, the order of police sent a letter to the commissioner urging him to change course. the union says not having off duty officers in attendance who are armed could leave fans and players in danger since groups like i.s.i.l. pick target based on how much damage they can inflict. local police unions have made similar appeals to the league. repealing the ban makes sense >>> i think it's a great idea. it gives appear untold source of law enforcement officers who have plenty of experience in handling outbreaks such as this if something should happen >> reporter: the nml says it sees negatives. one says paid security officers are fully trained in league procedures and are not allowed to drink alcohol during games. that, he says, reduces the risk of an accidental shooting, but for gun rights activists the benefits of having more armed people in the

john henry smith has our story. ♪ >> look mom, no hands. >> reporter: around google's california headquartersle who have tried the self driving car, say they liekt. >> i could spending more time hanging out with my kids, and finding out how their day was. it would be good. >> reporter: but new proposed guidelines from california's department of motor vehicles won't let people completely relax behind the wheel. they would require that a licensed driver sit in the driver's seat and be prepared to take control if necessary. clifford nass, warned that immediately taking control of a self driving car is not easy. >> drivers are totally disoriented, and they are being asked to absorb an enormous range of activities and things going on to get what we call situational awareness, where there was none, and that turns out to be an extrordanaire challenge. >> reporter: drivers could still get ticketed even if the car is on autopilot. manufacturers would have to put the cars through third-party safety tests, and auto makers could only lease the self driving vehicles, not sell them outright. google says it

john henry smith, al jazeera. >>> defense secretary ash carter getting ready to testify before the senate armed services committee, the chairman of that committee john mccain from arizona is on the screen. >>> we're learning more about the couple who carried out the mass shooting in san bernardino. tashfeen malik and sayed farook received funding from an on site site. investigators believe it may have helped them pay for weapons they used to kill 14 people. >>> we're expecting to hear today from chicago mayor rahm emanuel in the next hour about the jersies surrounding his city's police department. he will talk about police accountability one day after officials there released this new video showing a man being tasered inside a jail cell. 38-year-old phillip coleman later died at the hospital from an allergic reaction. the officers involved have been cleared by the independent police review authority. that authority now has a new leader following the death of two people at the hands of police. an investigators little he was fired because he spoke up. >> when lorenzo davis joined chicago's

grand jury said decision, the prosecutor insists this case is not over yet, as al jazeera's john henry smith has more on the grand jury's decision. >> for more than 10 hours, a grand jury in texas discussed evidence presented by special prosecutors in last summer's jailhouse death of sandra bland. she died three days after this traffic stop. >> the grand jury did not return an indictment. the grand jury also considered things that occurred at the jail and did not return an indictment. >> the coroner said bland hanged herself inside the waller county jail using trash bags. special prosecutor daryl jordan would not reveal details of the meeting with the grand jury other than to say that his team carefully reviewed video of bland's time in jail. >> as far as what happened today, the details, of course, those are all secret. >> the biggest problem for me is the entire process. it's the secrecy of it all. >> 1100 miles away in chicago, bland's family continued to express doubt that the sandra they knew would kill herself and about the grand jury. >> we have absolutely no confidence in what we bel

john henry smith has more. >> disarray at the top of fifa, as more officials are charged in a growingruption scandal. for the second time in six months, soccer officials were placed under arrest at switzerland's hotel, including two top vice presidents. and several more have now been charged by the u.s. justice department. >> a federal grand jury in brooklyn has returned a 92 count superseding indictment, including charges against 16 new defendants, all of whom are current or former soccer officials. >> among those charged, five former members of fifa's executive committee responsible for rewarding the world cup tournament. that brings the total members of that committee indicted to 11. they are accused of taking some $200 million in bribes in exchange for awarding world cup tournament rights. >> the betrayal of trust that is set forth here is truly outrageous and the scale of corruption alleged herein is unconscionable. >> eight others accused in earlier indictments entered guilty verdicts, including another former vice president jeffery webb. he had pleaded not guilty in july. fifa

. >> john henry smith, al jazeera. >> "star wars," the force awakens hits theaters worldwide this friday. all six of the star worse movies have made billions. and as reported the franchise's cult following is breathing new life into a forgotten art form. >> r 2 d 2 recognized but with a distinct difference. this is "star wars." elaborate shadow craft by crafted puppets are projected on to a screen. the master puppeteer provides every move, provides the narration and the voices. [ music ] while the traditional band of musicians plays the sound track. it's a concept dreamt up by the designer and a friend. >> how to reconnect youth to this traditional act. so maybe if you use something that they can easily recognize like darth vader, that helps to project. >> it came to fruition with the help of the veteran of the art form. he had seen the popularity dwindle over the decades. this is how they hope to keep it alive. he started a gallery for visitors as well as a school where he trains puppeteers, crafts men and musicians. >> in the past they would attract crowds of a thousand people. that nu

john henry smith reports. >> reporter: on his 29th birthday, daniel found out he would likely spend thet of his birthdays behind bars. a jury found the exoklahoma city police officer guilty on four counts of first degree rape as well as 14 other counts he had been facing 36 criminal counts in total. >> defendant is dill if i of the crime of forcible oral sodomy and punishment set at 20 years. >> reporter: the jurors concluded he used his position of authority to sexually abuse african american women while on duty. all of his occurers were african american women from the low-income neighborhoods he patrols. he is white and asian. it was an all white, mostly male jury that returned the guilty verdicts, and mrenged penalties of up to 260 years in prison. >> to the african american community, i'll say this, i appreciate you trusting us, and stanninging down, and making sure nothing foolish happened during the investigation and trying of this case. you trusted us, and we appreciate that. the oklahoma city police department did the right thing, and so did we. >>> family and friends are rememb

john henry smith, al jazeera. >> and the retrial date has now been set for a police officer charged inhe death of freddie gray. william porter's new trial will begin on june 13th. the first case against him ended last week, and another officer set to go on trial in january. he is the driver of the police van where prosecutors say that gray was fatally injured. in minnesota, a judge there expected to decide whether to allow protests inside the mall of america, demonstrators say they plan to gather there on wednesday, all of them upset over the death of a plaque man at the hands of police. al jazeera reports. these protestors are being told not to demonstrate on their property, asking a minnesota judge to grant the temporary restraining order. the mall of america is hoping to prevent a huge demonstration like the one last year, where some stores had to shut down. the mall says that caused irreparable harm, saying it prohibits all forms of protests, demonstration and public debate. mall officials also want protestors to delete and take down any online materials soliciting demonstrators to

john henry smith has more. >> disarray at the top of fifa, as more officials are charged in a growingscandal. >> for the second time in six months, officials were placed under arrest, including two top fifa vice presidents, and several more have now been charged by the u.s. justice department. >> a federal grand jury in brooklyn has returned a 92 count superseding indictment, including charges against 16 new defendants, all of whom are current or foamer soccer officials. >> among those charged, five former members of fifa's executive committee responsible for rewarding the world cup tournament. that brings the total members of that committee indicted to 11. they are accused of taking some $200 million in bribes in exchange for awarding world cup tournament rights. >> the betrayal of trust that is set forth here is truly outrageous and the scale of corruption alleged here in in unconscionable. >> eight others excused in earlier indictments entered guilty verdicts, including another former vice president jeffery webb. he had pleaded not guilty in july. fifa had been meeting at the hotel

. >> john henry smith, thank you very much. and we're going to talk to bernard parks the former l.a. police chief out there. you may recall him from several high-profile cases. we'll talk to him by phone in a few short moments. >> but right now, let's go to our correspondent on the phone. dena, how and when were parents notified that the schools were closed this morning? >> reporter: good morning, patty, the parents were notified roughly around the same time that the schooled were closed which was around 7:00 local time. the threat came in around 5:00. and parents were notified one the threat was found to be real. we are told that buses were being turned around in the middle of the morning on their way to pick kids up. so some students are already in schools right now. those students are told to sit tight. when evacuations start to happen, they are told to meet with their patients at the various reunion gates. there are 900 schools being affected, and 187 charter schools. everybody is waiting to hear from law enforcement and th

john henry smith has the story. >> look, ma, no hands. >> people who have tried the company's self driving car say they like having the vehicle do all the work. >> if i had a self-driving car, i could spend more time hanging out with my kids or helping them with their homework, finding out how their day was and not waiting until you get home and have dinner. pretty good. >> the proposed guidelines from the department of motor vehicles won't let people completely relax behind the wheel. the d.m.v. would require that a licensed driver with the special certification sit in the driver's seat and be prepared to take control if necessary. this stanford researcher was considered a pioneer in studying how humans interact with technology. he warned that immediately taking control of a self-driving car is not easy. >> drivers are totally disoriented and they're being asked to absorb an enormous range of activities, an enormous range of things going on to get what we call situational awareness where there was none and that turns out to be an extraordinary challenge. >> among the other guidelines prop

. >> reporter: john henry smith with al jazeera. >>> illegal poaching threatened endangered and protectedspecies and we went to the port of entry for animal trade, los angeles. >> because animals can easily be bought online and shipped, i visited the international mail center in los angeles, california. here inspectors see a flood of endangered species coming through their doors. >> between a million and a mall and a half pieces of mail pass through this facility every month, each one of them has to be inspected by customs and border control officers and some pieces are more interesting to the officers than others. this day one of the hardest working inspectors is on duty. within the first hour of our arrival, locket a canine inspector for fish and wild service finds something and locket is part of a pilot program and the first canine inspector and trained up to 20 scents and have proven her value. >> it would take me all day to do 100 and with her i can clear 10,000 packages a day. >> good work. >> a powerful nose. >> found a python skin wallet and across the world there are 25 different

al jazeera's john henry smith has our story. >>> under pressure from new york's attorney general, 30 on line retailers who sell on amazon have agreed to no longer offer some toy guns to new york residents. >> year after year, we have found that retailers such as walmart, amazon and k-mart chose profits over safety and in the process put thousands of new york kids and police officers at the risk of a tragic and even deadly encounter. >> a new york law prohibits the sale of those realistic toy guns in the state unless they feature a brightly colored tip to show they're not real. the attorney general's office said the company still sold thousands of replica guns in the state in recent years. a similar gun was the one 12-year-old tamir rice was holding when he was shot and killed by police in cleveland. under the deal with new york state, the retailers have paid $27,000 in fines. that's on top of the $300,000 some big box stores like walmart, sears and k-mart paid in their deal with the state earlier this year. those stores also agreed to stop selling those replica guns. gun safety advoc

manslaughter verdict in the murder of his girlfriend in 2013, the judge call it a human tragedy, john henry smith reports. >> the man who rose so fame as a double amputee olympian was not in court but the mother of the woman he killed was. >> he out to be convicted not of culpable homicide on that count, but of murder. >> mr. pistorius please stand up. >> headline had had been convicted of manslaughter, for killing girlfriend nearly threiers ago. >> when he fires four shots into the door of a bathroom she was in. >> he must have forseen what whoever was behind the door, and gambled with that person's life, the identity is irrelevant to his guilty. >> he has been under house arrest since being released from jail. he served one year in jail, of his original five year sentence. >> oscar pistorius will remain under house arrest until his resentencing sometime next year. he faces at least 15 years in prison. the former athlete can appeal to a higher court, but he would have to prove his rights before violated which carries a very high burden of proof. the corruption scandal involving world governing b

john henry smith, al jazeera. >>> what a difference a year can make, the english premier league i'm talkingabout are now top at christmas for first time in their history. they traveled to a struggling liverpool on saturday. after picking up only one point from the last nine on also leaving them ninth in the league. they face three games in eight days beginning with the stern test from lester. >> it's a difficult game. it's the lead off the table, it's lead off to premier league, it's really, it's not easy but it's possible and i don't need more never. so and now let's try to do and i hope we don't have to discuss that often about things when it happens after the game. >> saturday is english football's busiest. chelsea plays wafford. it won't be easy to turn chelsea's season around. >> it's not easy to fix. sometimes after a championship, you might relax a bit as a team. and then but then you get a wakeup call somewhere, somewhere in september. but the situation is that they were down to last week, to one point after which was frightening for everyone inside the club. but it's not easy to sa

john henry smith reports the film's release comes as the league is denying reports it pulled funding from new concussion research. >> i found adisease that no one has ever seen. >> in the new sony pictures film concussion, will smith stars as real time physician ben i.t. omalu. he coined the phrase cte. hall of fame center mike webster. >> repetitive trauma cloaks the brain. >> led to the discovery of the disease born from repeated blunt force trauma in the greats like junior seal, andre waters, players who took their own lives. knowing nothing about football to the preeminent scholar on football related injuries. the film also portrays the national football league as determined to cover up dr. omalu's findings. three days before the movie hits theaters, multiple reports have the league reneging on a $30 million grant to a brain research group. led buy leading critic of the league, dr. stern. the nfl says it's setting the grant aside for another project. and e-mails made public from the sony hack scandal seem to indicate the studio tried to avoid the nfl's rath by softening parts of

john henry smith, al jazeera. >> now rambler is leading the hobart yacht race.were chasing a ninth win and they got off to a great start. the first to head into the open sea, but the american industry broke a rudder after initially retiring. now he has tried to carry out wins at sea. it is now down to 100 boats. >>> australia with the advantage going into the ncg. day one in melbourne saw the home side rack up 145-3. this after they put in bats by the wist indies. australia leads 1-0 in the best of three series. >>> in the lost early wicket on an interrupted day. a player has been suspended for failing a dope test. the suspension comes just days after they said they'll be sending a drug task force to russia. that's all your sport for now. >> wasatch front more news on the website. lauren will keep you company. we'll be back in the usual times tomorrow. see you then. >> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. >> al jazeera ame

as al jazeera's john henry smith tells us, those aboard describe it as the flight from hell. >> could worse. >> relieved passengers after harrowing moments aboard air canada. >> like we were in midair and i just fell back down. >> just like you were in the roller coaster, the plane was just go down like very swiftly, like go down, and lots of screaming. >> the bowing 777 of the traveling from shanghai to toronto with 332 passengers and 19 crew members onboard when it hit that turbulence. the pilot was forced to land in calgary with fire and emergency crews waiting to help the injured. >> 25 were identified at potential patients. in the end, we transported 21, 18 were duties, three children. >> authorities say all the injuries were non-life threatening. most were in the back and neck area. those onboard say there was one common factor that led to passengers getting hurt. >> whoever didn't put the seatbelt on was falling off. >> girl sitting next to me and she was sleeping, and she just fly. >> here in the u.s., the f.a.a. said turbulence related injuries are not uncommon but deaths are

john henry smith has more. >> 26-year-old william porter was on the stand for four hours.he told jurors he never thought freddie gray was injured, insisting he seemed alert during a 45 minute ride in a police van on april 12. the ride ended with gray having suffered a spine injury that would prove fatal. [ screaming ] >> prosecutors pressed porter on what he did that day, why gray was not seatbelted in and why the officer never called for a medic. porter said he felt he and gray had mutual respect and was upset over his death. while seatbelts on that prisoners is department policy, officer porter testified he never saw one used on the job or during weeks of training in the police academy, and porter testified that he relayed gray's request for a doctor to the driver of the van, officer good son during a series of four stops that day. no medical attention was sought until the final stop when porter said he found gray unresponsive. grape's death sparked violent protests in baltimore and with the defense presenting its case, the jury could get to weigh in soon. baltimore's ma

john henry smith has the story. >> since 2013, the n.h.l. has banned anyone not specifically hired to work security at its games from carrying guns into its venues. n days following the paris attacks, the fop sent a letter to roger goodell by the f.o.p. urging a change, saying not allowing them to be armed could leave fans and players in danger. >> local police unions have made similar appeals to the league. the gun rights group georgia carry said appealing the ban makes sense. >> it's a great idea. it gives an untold source of law enforcement officers who have plenty of experience in handling outbreaks such as this if something should happen. >> the n.h.l. says it sees plenty of negatives. the chief nfl security officer, a 24 year veteran of the pennsylvania state police says paid security officers are fully trained in league procedures, and are not allowed to drink alcohol during games. that, he says, reduces the risk of an accidental shooting. >> for green bay rights activists, the benefits of having more armed people in the stands outwei

john henry smith explains. >> reporter: hover board is on fire. >> reporter: timothy kaine paid $500hover board, but he says it started burning up just three days after he got it. >> i hadn't even road it like 75, 100 feet, and it exploded, just like boom! >> reporter: there are ten active fire investigations in nine states involving fiery hover boards, including ones that badly burned houses in new york and louisiana. >> i could hear it, it sounded like a lit firework. >> reporter: now amazon appears to have joined other retailers pulling most hover boards to its site. amazon has notified all hover sellers that they must firstproof their boards meet federal safety boards. consumer safety advocate, shawn kaine says it is what is powering these povr boards that make them dangerous. >> the fire problems come from the batteries. >> reporter: those are the same type of batteries in smartphones and laptops, but much bigger and more powerful. the federal aviation administration ran that test showing what could happen to those batteries on flights. that's what most domestic carriers no long

i'm john henry smith. latest in bethlehem where tens of thousands are gathering to celebrate christmas. >> this is it. >> oscar winner alex gibney's "edge of eighteen" marathon. >> if i said that i'm perfectly fine, i would be lying. >> i feel so utterly alone. >> in this envelope is my life. >> if you don't go to college, you gonna be stuck here... i don't wanna be stuck here. >> catch the whole ground-breaking series, "edge of eighteen" marathon. >>> from doha, coming up in this news hour: fighting rages on in the iraqi city of ramadi as government forces try to recapture it from isil. >>> christmas celebrations in the west bank with no let up in the sporadic violence. >>> storms sweep through the u.s. causing several deaths and travel chaos. ♪ >>> we me

john henry smith. al jazeera. >> that's all your sport for now. it's now back to lauren in london. >> thank you very much, indeed. a new york metropolitan opera has hosted some of the world's greatest singers, but these days it's attracting a different type of crowd: kids. kristin saloomey discovers a whole lot more. >> these children may be more familiar with adele or rihanna, but the metropolitan opera house never fails to impress. >> we were gasping. we were like. [ gasping ] >> it was just like watching on television but in real play. >> for many city kids it's their first formal exposure to a classic art form. attending a address rehearsal is just one part of the opera based program sponsored by the opera gild. [singing] the gild represents the artists like carolyn blackwell, who in addition to being a world class performer has herself spent time teaching children. >> i made them realize how opera was already in their lives. i said to them, bugs bunny cartoons. i said, you hear ♪ figero, figero, figero you hear that, right? oh, yes, they unde

john henry smith explains why. >> it is on fire >> reporter: he paid $500 for his hover board but it started burning up three days after he had got it >> i only rode it 75/100 feet. it exploded. >> reporter: according to the consumer product safety commission there are ten active fire investigations in nine states involving firy hover boards, including ones that badly burnt houses in new york and louisiana. >> it sounded like a lit fire. >> reporter: amazon appears to have joined others pulling boards from its site. swagway says amazon notified all hoverboard that want to sell these, they have to say they meet federal safety measures. >> the hover boards are not toys. >> reporter: consumers say safety advocate says it's what's powering them that makes it dangerous. >> the problem comes from the charging and the lithium ion batteries. >> reporter: they are the same batteries in smart phones and lap tops but bigger and powerful. the fed rail aviation administration ran that test showing what it happen to-- to the bottle trees on flights das t-- batteries on flight. while the fire dange

. >>> john henry smith in denver, manning is one victory from setting a new record for most wins by arting quarterback and the injured manning may have to wait to the playoff and they say oswiler will be the quarterback for the regular season game. prison sentence. >> former israeli olmert sentenced behind bars for bribery. >>> identity crisis and chinese are being pushed out of china towns across the nation. ♪ there has been a deadly blast in northwest pakistan this morning. >> near a government office north of the capitol city islamabad and 12 were killed and dozens injured and someone on a motor bike drove in the gate and blew themselves up and the worst since the school massacre a year ago. >>> vows to take mosul from i.s.i.l. after victory in ramadi and this morning al-abadi visited the city one day after proclaiming the last i.s.i.l. fighters had been driven out and ramadi had been under i.s.i.l. control since may and we are live in erbill, iraq, good morning is the fight in ramadi over or are the celebrations premature? >> well, the battle is over we can say but the fight still

john henry smith has more. >> gun shops say they have been unable to keep up with demand. >> we havet of just about every nine-millimeter pistol that we sell. >> background checks are up from a year ago. >> people are on the fence or wanting to buy a gun and maybe putting off that purchase, a significant portion of them is like you know what? now's the time. >> stock prices for major gun makers like smith and wesson are soaring. >> people are scared. the situation in california i think has really alerted to lot of people. >> industry analysts say the shooting massacre in san bernardino is driving more people to buy guns. the latest example of gun sales ramping up in the wake of a mass shooting. >> we can tell whether there's a headline about a mass shooting by the influx of people. >> personal protection may not be the only reason for the gun sails spike. >> it seems to be coming out in the defense in the political area and this aspect of what's going on in hopefully what's driving it. >> we need to make it harder for people to buy assault weapons. >> the call by president obama stok

in for stephanie sy, prosecutor insists the case is not over yet and we begin with al jazeera john henry smith has more on the grand jury's decision. >> reporter: for more than ten hours a grand jury in texas discussed evidence presented by special prosecutors in last summer's jail house death of sandra bland and died three days after this traffic stop. >> grand jury did not return an indictment. the grand jury also considered things that occurred at the jail and did not return an indictment. >> reporter: the coroner says she hanged herself in the jail using trash bags and special prosecutors would not say anything other than the team carefully reviewed video of bland's time in jail. >> as far as what happened today the details of course those are all secret. >> biggest problem for me is the entire process. it's the secrecy of it all. >> reporter: 1100 miles away in chicago bland's family continued to express doubt that the sandra they knew would kill herself and about the grand jury. >> we have absolutely no confidence on what we believe is a sham proceeding. we are desperately seeking very b

john henry smith has more. >> hover board is on fire. >> he paid $500 for his hover board.d it started burning up three days after he got it. >> it exploded, it was just like boom! >> according to the consumer products safety commission, there are 10 fire investigations in nine states involving fiery hover boards, including ones that badly burned houses in new york and louisiana. >> i could hear it. it sounded like a lit fire work. it was just like that. >> now amazon appears to have joined other retailers pulling most hoverboards from its site. swag way said amazon notified all hover board sellers that want to sell through amazon said they must prove their boards meet federal safety standards. amazon.com has stopped selling the boards altogether. >> they are not toys. >> consumer safety advocates said it's what's powering them that makes these dangerous. >> it is coming from the lithium ion batteries. >> it is the same batteries in cell phones and laptops, but much bigger and powerful. the f.a.a. ran that test, showing what cap happen to those batteries on flights. that's

john henry smith. al jazeera >>> football and manchester united are taking on stoke in the first of the boxing day fixtures in the english premier league. winning in six games, they haven't got off to the best start. they're currently currently two nil up. >> reporter: a much different story for leicester city. they were bottom of the table this time last year. now they're top at the christmas in the first time in their history while they travel to liverpool later on saturday. they need to make up some ground after picking up one point from the last nine on offer. leaving them ninth in the league. they face three games in eight days beginning with the game at leicester. >> it is a difficult game. it is the lead off the table, leaped off the premier league. it is not easy, but it is possible. i don't need more. no, let's try to do it. i don't we have to discuss that often about things that happens after the game. >> reporter: ten matches in total in the premier league on saturday. chelsea take on wattfo

john henry smith has more.ndiana were among dozens of state leaders who vowed their states would refuse any new syrian refugees after the september 13 paris attacks. >> i have no higher priority than the safety and security of the people of the state of indiana and i'm going to continue to uses the authority that we have to take a stand. >> catholic charities has taken its own stand. tuesday, the group helped settle a syrian family of six in houston, another family of six in the dallas area, and a family of four in indiana. indianapolis archbishop joseph tobin declined al jazeera's request for an interview but said in a statement: >> i'm disappointed with the decision by catholic charities. >> indiana governor mike pence had asked the archbishop not to resettle any syrian refugees in his state but now says he will allow the family to take advantage of state services, despite his order barring state agencies from helping. >> this is not about families or about catholic charities. this is about an administration

john henry smith hat story. >> look, ma, no hands. >> people who have tried the company's self driving car say they like having the vehicle do all the work. >> if i had a self driving car, i could spend more time hanging out with my kids or helping them with their homework, finding out how their day was and not waiting until you get home and have dipper. pretty good. >> the department of motor vehicles won't let people completely relax behind the wheel. the d.m.v. would require that a licensed driver with the special certification sit in the driver's seat and be prepared to take control if necessary. stanford researcher was considered a pioneer in studying how humans interact with technology. he washed that immediately taking control of a self driving car is not easy. >> drivers are totally disoriented and they're being asked to absorb an enormous range of activities, an enormous range of things going on to get what we call situational awareness where there was none and that turns out to be an extraordinary challenge. >> among the other guidelines proposed by california's d.m.v., drive