>> that is the question on everyone's mind, johnathan.nd in fact we are going to be hearing shortly from the ntsb they are going to be holding a press conference. right now they are going through all of the boxes and all of the material. the passengers said too they did feel the train was going very fast. we are not sure if that was a factor in what derailed this car. but we are going to know more very soon. >> we are expecting that press conference later this hour. we are live in bronx were the latest on the deadly train derailment, thank you. >> authorities in new mexico are investigating a deadly train derailment as well. >> a lyc locomotive plunged inta ravine. it was carrying nine cars of iron ore. >> in thailand the leader of the anti-government pr protest has t with the prime minister and refuses to back down. they took control of the state broadcaster aroun and forced the minister to take ref funeral ina police compound. >> in a haze of tear gas thailand's political divisions became clear yet begin. police had warned anti-governme

. ♪ >> you are watching al jazeera america from new york i'm johnathan bet with tonight's headlines theovernment is calling for a release of american veteran merrill newman. the government released a video of the 85-year-old today apologizing for war crimes. swedish embassy officals were allowed to visit newman but his condition is unclear. >> vice president joe biden is gearing up for a trip to asia live on the aagain da easing growing tensions. the tensions have been growing over who controls a group of islands in the south chinese say. >> efforts to locate survivors of a helicopter crash in scott land continue tonight. eight people were killed when the chopper crashed into a crowded bar in glasgow. they are not sure if there are more victims until they remove the wreckage from the bar. >> the verdict is out whether opening on thanksgiving is giving retailers a boost. black friday sales droppedbly 13% last year when you combine thanksgiving and black friday this year spending increased by 2%. >> those are the head lines i'm johnathan betz we'll be back again at 11:00 eastern and 8:000

>> you are watching al jazeera america live from new york city i'm johnathan betz with a look at today's top stories four people are dead and more than 60 others are injured this morning when a metro north train derailed. 14 of those were critically injured. they were in the first two cars. the operator was also among those hurt. the train left the track stopping feet from the harlem river. >> by the time i looked up it was going to off the track and there was rubble from the track flying at my face. >> national transportation safety board investigators on the scene of the accident. >>> the obama administration say healthcare.gov is working most of the time. their hope is to have it successfully. to have 50,000 people sign up at once. >> in thailand the anti-government leader has met with the prime minister and refused to back down. thirty than thousand people toot in the pro safety. test. and in kiev 100,000 people are rallying in the streets the protest began last year to support a trade agreement with the european union. >> those are the headlines i'm johnathan betz. america tonight w

. ♪ >> hello welcome to al jazeera america i'm johnathan betz. the u.s.s pushing north korea to release an 85-year-old american veteran. he is being held for war crimes. >> today was the day to fix healthcare.gov and the obama administration says they will get the job done. >> in thailand the government supporters are calling off their protest after battles with the prime minister turned deadly. >> and a push for small businesses to get a piece of the holiday shopping card. ♪ just hours ago north korea released a video of an american veteran confessing to deck aith old war crimes. eighty-five-year-old mee merrill newman has been held by that country for months given his advanced age and health conditions we urge you to release in newman so he can return home an reunited with his family. >> 85-year-old merrill newman was about to leave north korea after a ten-day tour in october we he was arrested. he is now on tv talking about trading guerrilla's 60 years ago. >> they attacked a communication system and killed three innocent operators and they laid the mu

here's abc7 news reporter johnathan bloom. >> reporter: after fixing considers for decades, bodyshope damage. >> a typical accident you would have with a deer in the front-end collision. >> this is the mild end of it, but at freeway speeds, he said about nine out of ten cars that hit a deer are totaled. >> suspension damage, radiator, headlights. all of that stuff is very costly to repair. >> he would know. his shop is a stone's throw away from the hotbed of deer collisions on highway 280. that's in san mateo county. >> not only deer, but mountain lions and other animals who happen to cut across the freeway. >> while other freeways cut through jungles of concrete, this one slices a lush green forest in half. a beautiful drive until man literally collides with nature. there's a field of science that studies that. it's called road ecology. >> understanding wildlife and how wildlife move in relation to road. >> he runs the road ecology center at u.c. davis. he spoke to us last year when they put gps collars on two dozen deer and tracked them over a period of months. now with the study c

the stockings were hung, but when johnathan and his sister got up early christmas morning ... >> i came to the christmas tree and i didn't find anything under the christmas tree. >> i noticed tall presents were gone. >> reporter: someone came in through a window and packed up the present. >> i started crying a little bit because everything i wanted for christmas was that bike. >> reporter: a story so heartbreaking that officers at the newark police department pulled $200 to help the family out. >> and i was like oh my god, that's awesome. >> reporter: but the biggest surprise came the day after christmas. newark police sent these flowers over and invited the family to the police station. overnight, their story had spread and the community dropped off a host of gifts for the family. toys, cash, and all of these gift cards. >> i never expected that from nobody. >> reporter: and that was just the beginning. just a few hours after the newark police department presented them with gifts t fire department came calling. >> we heard on the news this morning sitting here at the station that a fam

i'm johnathan betz. the top story. search cars left the tracks stopping just short of the harr len rif. the metro north train derailed nurse ar just north of the station in new york. it was heading tout sew grand central and manhattan. >> by the time i looked up it was completely going off tess track. and there was rubble el off the tracks flying in my face. >> right now the new york fire department says there are 63 reported injuries and of those 11 are in critical condition and six of the injuries are reported as

. >> i'm johnathan betz. "america tonight" is next. you can always find us on-line have a great night. ♪ ♪ >> good evening and thanks for being with us i'm jo john joie . you are watching "america tonight" evening edition. one in seven americans are food insecure. what does that mean? it means to put food on the table on a consistent basis. many americans are faced with the choice of putting food on the table and living without basic necessities. often times they makes poor food choices the cost of processed food has gone down and the price of fresh food has gone up. the price for health has gone up in things like type two diabetes. >> this family in baltimore are a tight-knit clan. that is on sale we can get that. >> get the big one down in stef not the small one. >> julie and ai aaron have been together since they were teenagers. and in 22 years ago they have never spent a night apart. family first is their motto and their desire to provide for their children is the bedrock of their lives. these days there are some hard choices to ma

i'm john johnathan bet with the headlines. >> the goal is to handle 50,000 users at once. the questions remain about the overall stablity of the site. >> thev.p. joe biden is gearing up for a week-long trip to asia. the reason is to ease tensions. who controls the group of islands in the south china sea. >> the u.s. government is calling for the release of

scoresunited states teens were compared to their peers in developing countries around the world johnathanetz has the results. these tests are showing that american students are lagging. the program tested 15-year-old's around the world top scorers were asian countries, including china, japan and singapore. the united states is in the middle of the pack and didn't crack the top to. 20. 9% scored in the top two levels of math compare that to shinnini where half aced the exam. in math 29 countries ranked better than america. including europe and united kingdom and france and estonia averaged slow vi slowand latvia. overall after 12 years of these tests the united states has not improved their scors scores muc. the education second called it the picture stagnation. >> and how the u.n. is using drones to keep the peace. >> and you wouldn't believe how much the partridge in a pear tree costs now. >> a dramatic rescue caught on tape. this is the moment a nigerian ship was pulled from under water after spending three days trapped in a tug boat. he shows his hand as he reaches out to alert the res

johnathan, tell us more about this place. >> reporter: well, it's less than three miles from the store where i bought this lottery ticket and didn't win anything but the person who did win and again georgia lottery officials confirm it's a single winner, not office pool, walked into this office building you see behind me in the buck head busy district and went into a small shop in the lobby called gateway news stand. young sue lee, who owned that place for nine years, says she's never seen such excitement. take a listen. >> first time i had this kind of money. i have no idea. thank you for the god. >> a lot of excitement indeed. the georgia lottery corporation called for a news conference. it will take place within an hour. they're going to announce the georgia winner of this megamillions lottery drawing. however they tell us the winner will not be present at that news conference. >> you gave it away. i was hoping the winner would be there. otherwise i wasn't going to mention it. shame on you. what about the other one in california. do we know anything about that person? >> we do. it i

here's johnathan bloom. >> after fixing cars for decades, bodyshop manager, jim, can usually tell what would have with a deer in the front-end collision. >> this is the mild end of it, but at freeway speeds, he said about nine out of ten cars that hit a deer are totaled. >> suspension damage, radiator, headlights. all of that stuff is very costly to repair. >> he would know. his shop is a stone's throw away from the hotbed of deer collisions on highway 280. >> not only deer, but mountain lions and other animals who happen to cut across the freeway. >> this one slices a lush green forest in half. a beautiful drive until man literally collides with nature. there's a field of science that studies that. it's called road ecology. >> understanding wildlife and how wildlife move in relation to road. >> he runs the road ecology center at u.c. davis. he spoke to us last year when they put gps collars on two deer -- two dozen deer, and tracked them over a period of months. they proposed a solution. this 8-foot fence on either side of the road. could cost millions of dollars. >> it would be here

here's johnathan bloom. >> after fixing cars for decades, bodyshop manager, jim, can usually tell what did the damage. >> other typical accident you would have with a dear in the front-end collision. >> this is the mild end of it, but at freeway speeds, he said about nine out of ten cars that hit a deer are totaled. >> suspension damage, radiator, headlights. all of that stuff is very costly to repair. >> he would know. his consider is a stone's throw from the hotbed of deer collisions on highway 280. >> not only deer but mountain lions and other animals who happen to cut the freeway. >> this one slice as lush green forest in half. a beautiful man until man literally collides with nature. there's a field of science that studies that. it's called road ecology. >> understanding wildlife and how wildlife move in relation to road. >> he runs the road ecology center at u. c. davis. he spoke to us last year when they put gps cool letters on two deer and tracked them over a period of months. they proposed a solution. this fence, 8-foot sense, to cost millions of dollars. >> it would be here b

johnat johnathan long and looking at the extent or range of executive power in the american politicalse cable pun people are good for something. >> the obama administration is laying out some environmental policies. among all of the new epa regulations, what are the critics fearful of? >> they would regulate much of the water in the united states but it would go beyond regulation on private property. something congressional critics say threaten private property rights. >> they want to control the private use of water on private property. they have done so without letting their science board weigh in. >> this isn't the first time that congress has raised question about the science hiepd behind the vigor. epa has ignored congress's request for the data behind the clean air acts that might cause businesses up to $90. they promised to provide that data, but now the science committee has had to issue a subpoena. >> one of the concerns i have is resources continue to be challenged and challenged and congress is continuing to challenge us on the house side. >> smith says he might issue more