i'm ray suarez. we're talking about the president's ability to make nominations when the senate is at recess. in the nlrb and many other departments were of longstanding but unable to either get a hearing or unable to pass the relevant committee. the question is had the advice and consent power been used to make the nlrb non-functioning as an agency of government? >> i think that was the plan. there was, the nlrb, the supreme court previously held unless the agency has a quorum, three members, they're not able to junction, and they dip below that. they are not able to decide matters properly before them. and notwithstanding that the senate was refusing to take nominees before them. this was a case of holding up nominees was very much by design, intended to slow or halt functioning of the agency. >> and it was defeated because ultimately the president did nominate and the senate confirmed the full roster of nlrb commissioners and they're moving on. if these particular rulings were invalley, the new bo

i'm ray suarez. if you would like to spend a few depressing moments on this king birthday holiday pull out a map of the world and run your eyes over all the places where people are oppressed or killed becaus because they profess one faith or another, people rivetted over resources and poverty, power, and things people can exclude, fight and kill over. demonstrators in cairo's t an ahrir's square shouted that they were all egyptian. a wild later mobs were killing coptic believers and burning churches. the conflict had far more to do with identity than what the religions teach. when receiving his nobel peace price, he said: >> 50 years after dr. king spoke those years, religious-related attacks took place in one in every five countries in 2012, hostilities increased in every major region of the world except the americas. the survey found threw quarters of the world's population now lives where overall levels of religious restrictions hostil hostilities were high or very high. the survey pointed to one

. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. america cities didn't escape the national recession, and at a time when their residents needed government more money coming in from sales and property taxes plummeted as millions lost their jobs and homes. running a city means thinking about the urgent needs of today and about what the city is going to need 10, 20, 30 years from now. money spent today will have an impact today and have a big say in how people will commute, learn, work, and play for years to come. looking to the state capitol isn't very promising these days, and the glory days of you are man investment from the federal government seem over for good. what the city has got in the 6060's can look in retrospect le a mistake. so america, how is it going? we'll spend the rest of the program looking at the answer. 280 mayors descended on washington, d.c. hoping to persuade congress the president and his cabinet to pay more attention to american cities. on thursday president obama pledged to help mayors and not wait on a divid

i'm ray suarez. in 1964 the university of michigan president lyndon johnson used soaring words to commit america's great wealth and power to solving it's d domestic problems. he said a great society depends on its abundance, and end poverty to which we're totally committed in our time. he told the audience to picture an american where the cities are beautiful, environment is cleaner, schools are better and people healthier. he talked in economic and spiritual terms of what a better and healthier america would look like. now it's 50 years later. did the great society programs hit their mark? did we get close to johnson's vision? or did it put a tax burden for the next 50 years. >> our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity. >> january 8, 1964, president lyndon johnson's state of the union address. >> this administration today here and now declares u unconditional war on poverty in america. i urge in congress and all americans who join with me in that effort. [applause] it will not be a

i'm ray suarez.raq's president saddam hussein used a mix of police surveillance, terror and murder. when iraqis removed his head from his shoulders, the shia took power that it had long been denied. the united states left the country in 2011. the new government has struggled in the year since to run all of iraq in the interests of and to the satisfaction of all iraqis. recent weeks has brought resurgence in conflict. >> reporter: american forces are gone. and in their absence iraqi you's violence escalating by the day. suicide-bomb eggs killed 14 iraqis and wounded another 34. united nations said 7,800 civilians were killed in 2013. that's the highest death toll since the u.s. surged in iraq in 2007. tensions have mounted between the government and sunnies who say they have been discriminated against. in a concession to tribal leaders, al maliki left local police to handle security. militants then took over police stations, freed prisoners and set up check points throughout the city. since then the i

i'm ray suarez.n this edition of our program we're talking about the new deal between boeing and the machinist union that keeps the production of the 777 x airliner in the state of washington. the state gave boeing big tax breaks but the union als also ge concessions, particularly on retirement. the company will shift to a 401k style plan. we'll go to a professor at university of cauniversity of california-berkeley. and from seattle, scott hamilt hamilton, managing director of liam company. professor, let me start with you, apart from the scale which is new and big, aren't these trends already established in american manufacturing? right-to-work states trying to pull work out of closed shops, the end of benefit pensions, moving to 401ks and workforce is interchangeable. if we don't make it with you, we'll make it with somebody else? >> they sure are there in force. this isn't a new story. there is a poisonous atmosphere when it comes to unions in the private sector throughout the united states and in

i'm ray suarez. since he became president but more specifically since the republicans won back control of the house of representatives after the 2010 midterm electio elections, the president has seen initiative stalled, appointees blocked and his own political fate attached far monday than he would choose to the congress in history. if you were the president is there anything that you can do about that, legally, constitutionally. president obama has talked about his desire to stop waiting for congress to see things his way. >> senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals. police chief are asking our help to get weapons of war off our streets because these police chiefs they're tired of seeing their guys and gals being outgunned. each of these proposals deserves a vote in congress. [applause] >> president obama at last year's state of the union speech. >> but for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to co

i'm ray suarez. you can find it right there in the institution, which is the handbook for running the country, article 2, section 2, the president shall have power to fill vacancy that is accept during the breaking of the senate. what did those framers mean? at a time of horsepower transportation that the president could fill a job without waiting for everyone to get back to washington, or the president could not be held hostage by the senate's advise and consent role. it's an interesting clash of executive power, legislative mechanics, and the ups and downs between the president and the congress. the supreme court has been asked to make a precedence-setting decision. in 2012 president obama named three people to the national labor relations board or nlrb while the senate was not working but instead was in per form ma session. the three seats had been vacant for a long time because the senate had not approved the nominations while in session. >> this was a clear attempt not to put into place official

hello, i'm ray suarez. in thes are looking at all the promising data and forecasting better job growth in 2014. the economy added 1 8,000 jobs in 2013 up until december. maybe the u.s. jobs market had finally turned the corner after years of promised corners that didn't work out. then a not so great number. we'll talk about what it might mean and what it doesn't. first let's set the table. it was a disappointing jobs report from the department of labor on friday. just 74,000 jobs were added by u.s. employers in december, the lowest number in three years. the announcement came as a surprise as economists were pr pre-addicting double that figure. october and november saw more than 200,000 jobs created. >> last month's reports under scores what the president has said repeatedly, we need to pick up the pace of our recovery. >> reporter: retail added the most jobs with a busy holiday season. other expanding industries, manufacturing, mining and business. but growth was marginal in comparison to months before. so

i'm ray suarez. that's outgoing federal reserve chairman ben bernanke.e's talking about unemployment, inflation, and highly accommodative monitory policy. and even today he mentioned that he set transparency as an important priority for a the time that he served as fed chair. when he talks like that is the public meant to follow or is he talking in -- >> during the press conference it's difficult for him not to get technical because we ask him somewhat technical questions, but i think he has done a great job. his predecessor alan greenspan believed in policy by discretion, and it was sort of we're doing this because we think its best. we're not going to tell you the reasoning behind it, and ba bernanke has gone out of his way to discuss the policy. he has not use the average person's vernacular, i think he does his best to describe why the fed is doing what it's doi doing. >> in this case what does this mean? >> very low interest rates for a very long time. the fed is going to remain supportive of the economy regardless of this small retreat from the won

hello, i'm ray suarez. when the polar vortex plunged places into unusually bone chilling territory, americans nodded knowingly, pointing out that small amounts of snow cause havoc in some places, where minneapolis detroit and denver just shake it off. but how much of it is not brought on by a natural event but taxpayers and home buyers, was plenty of notice enough to engineer one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in american history? was it the snow or an unwise toy to grow? there were helicopters in the sky and authorities on the ground racing to help stranded drivers along a debilitated southeast coast and it was all over some two inches of snow! the storm essentially crippled the american south, leaving drivers locked in traffic jams and their children sleeping on gym floors. governors issued states of emergency. >> i was in my car 18 hours. >> 18, almost 20 hours. >> 24 hours later, the blame-game isen in full throd l. >> why weren't they more prepared for this? >> in georgia the governor took t

." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. if you're a baseball fan you may remember the 1990s with sheer joy, great players beginning or ending careers. or you may have memories that are ambivalent. mark mcgwire and sammy sosa combining for 136 round trippers in one season. baseball trying to wrap its head around a new normal only very late in the game. today the decisions of the voting members of the baseball writers association of america were announced who among eligible players would be honored with the plaque on the walls of the baseball hall of fame in cooperstown, new york. they are greg maddoux, the winner the cubs and braves fame, and the great chicago white sox greg thomas with 521 career home runs. what to do with the players whose careers are in the shadow of the tainted era? the writers have decided not to decide. barring the gates of cooperstown glory to the most heavily rumored names and allowing players who had reputations for playing clean to emerge from their arcane balloting. >> reporter: players are voted

i'm ray suarez.n this edition of the program we've been discussing the way forward for iraq and how the violence there effected the broader middle east, ambassador, you wanted to respond. >> yes sure, to understand the problems before us we have to realize in contrast to what the professor said, it wasn't a paradise up until that time. saddam has invaded two of his neighbors, he had fired rockets all over the middle east. he had one of the broadest chemical weapons seen in the region, and he had killed far more of his own citizens than those who have died since 2003, hundreds of thousands by chemicals weapons. it was a complicated and difficult situation at the genesis of th of the american intervention. did we make it better? in some respects , yes, and some respects, no. >> how do we fix the place and get it more on a stable, predictable moving forward. what is your prescription for your country? >> well, there is something to be mentioned here. northern iraq is stable and is out of the equation. b

. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. for many american cities the big municipalities for the core of the metropolitan areas it was a rough half century. from the 1950s on many of them watched as people, investment, infrastructure, corporate headquarters all fled to the suburbs or newly zooming cities in the sun belt. the government propped up sagging cities with programs, housing support, transit and educational funding all kinds of taxpayer funded support. as the axis swung to the suburbs resentment of the cities grew and they tumbled into decay and decline. since then many places have started to grow again. many suburbs have long since gun to have the same problems as their urban neighbors. even as economic growth has been uneven, sporadic, many cities are healthier financially than their states, healthier than their federal government. an urban report card on this addition of "inside story" we begin with this background. >> thank you very much. >> some of america's major cities are waving good buy to their veteran may

i'm ray suarez. americans' attitudes about marijuana have changed a lot since the worst days of the drug war. they've come to think of the drug as more benign and less dangerous than cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine, but the federal government still classifies marijuana as a narcotic that can lend its users, sellers in jail. now two states have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. how can state law, revenue collection, law enforcement, be made to mesh with the federal code. another win for weed. a spot on november's ballot to determine if marijuana could be used for medicinal purposes. opponents challenge its language in court. >> this particular initiative has nothing whatsoever to do with medicine. it is not tightly restricted. it is wide open. it would allow pretty much anybody to use to treat any condition whatsoever. >> the legislations language spacifies that medical marijuana can only be used in, quote, debilitating diseases like cancer, a.i.d.s. and parkinson parkinson's. >

i'm ray suarez.ying in america can be complicated, expensive and accompanied by questions that are hard to answer. if a person is unconscious and unlikely to ever be conscious again but their heart is beating, their fate can hinge on family members, the state where they live, hospital rules, legal documents and the struggle to understand their wishes in the absence of key documents. as a nation the united states already spends a lot of money on people whose lives are almost over. one out of every $4 spent by medicare, more than $125 billion is spent on the tiny minority of patients in their last year of life and costs don't just fall on the public system. many families are shocked by the out of pocket costs that accompany keeping a dying loved one alive. two cases, two very different situations bring end of life decision-making into focus this week. on december 9 she had a con sill electricity and adenoid removal. she began to bleed heavily from the nose and mouth and went into cardiac arrest. her fa

i'm ray suarez. pete seger had been at it for so long plunging himself into the political passions with so many decades it felt like he had been around forever, and would stay around forever. he died monday night at 94. he kept abreast of movements and struggles worldwide, and spread the love of music of the world to the world. he deplored the exaltation of the rich over the poor, exclusion and snobbery. he was a man of many thoughts. he went to harvard although he did not stay long enough >> seger put musical notes to a call of change, labor rights and the environment. he used elementarie elements ofl songs and his hit "where have all the flowers gone" is a standard of antiwar days in vietnam. >> i think the world is going to be saved >> folks stars showed up to salute him. bruce springsteen showe spring g archive. seger charged up the occupy wall streeters in did yo zuccotti pa. he believed in the power of song, but more importantly he believed in the power of community to stand up for what is righ

i am ray suarez. feel about edward snowden and what he did, there is one thing that can't be denied. he opened up the world of national security agency surveillance to public scrutiny. in the years after the september 11th terrorist attacks. government officials and elected officials have asked themselves and each other, sometimes even the rest of us, what does the united states have do to protect itself from conspiracy and attack? what works to thwart terrorist plan something what fits with our legal system, traditions, our liberties and expectations of privacy? and can you steer a path that passes all of those tests? edward snowden's theft and release of classified information has led to a national did h debate, a commisn report and soon to come a presidential response. after months of straddling the lines between privacy advocates, big internet firms and his own intelligent services, president obama will share his plans for the national security agency friday. according to a recent report from the

. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. the powerful gathering of international leaders is talking about peace but presented very different ideas about whether bashar al-assad's stays or goes. meanwhile iran's leaders invited and then uninvited from the swiss conference unable to fuel the fire are publicly doubting the chances for progress. and judging from the delegation appearance in montreux, assad is ready to fight the last syrian. foreign ministers and negotiators from som several nas gather. right from the start, the hard lines decisions between syrian government and leaders of the opposition cast doubt on the success of the meeting. >> the syrian people aspire to defend the borders of the sovereignty. >> reporter: representing the government of bashar al-assad denounced the proceedings and the participants. >> no one in the world has the right to give or take legitimacy to a president or government or constitution or law or anything in syria except for the syrians themselves. this is their right and their constitutio

i'm ray suarez. during the long bloody slog of the syrian war a certain rhythm has long since set in. lots of movement, lots of violence, lots of death, lots of international concern and then nothing. nothing but strike and counter strikes, denunciations from the united nations nothing while syrians continue to flee and die in horrifying numbers. but secretary of state john kerry while pushing for movement in the israeli-palestinian conflict and broker a non-proliferation deal with iran has been pushing hard to the end of the fighting in syria. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry is not taking no for an answer on his trip to europe and the middle east this week. an in fact, he told the syrian national coalition leaders if they don't attend peace talks in switzerland on january 22nd the u.s. will pull its support. >> i'm counting on both parties as well as the 30 or so plus other nations to come together in an effort to try to end this violence. >> reporter: syrian president bashar al-assad's govern

i'm ray suarez.yrians are continuing to fight and die in hellish conditions. even as some of the world's best-known diplomats descended in geneva. the powerful gathering is talking about peace but have presented very different ideas about whether bashar al-assad stays or goes. meanwhile iran able to continue to fuel the fire, are publicly doubting the chance for success. and assad is ready to fight to the last syria. foreign negotiations gathered in the stated hopes of drafting a plan to bring peace to syria, but right from the start, he hard lines of division between many of the participates, especially the syrian government and leaders of the opposition, cast doubt on the success of the conference. >> translator: the syrian people aspire to have a strong army that protects their assets, land, and ethnicity, protects it's borders and land. >> the syrian foreign minister, denounced the proceedings and the participants. >> translator: in one in the world has the right to give or take legitimacy to a p

in washington, i'm ray suarez. i could've chosen better underwear. are you prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice? >> you can do anything except for politics. >> when you kind of imagine what a nuclear disaster would look like, it's something like this. so how long have you been coming and getting pedicures for? >> you gotta take care of these bad boys. >> don't worry mum, everything's cool.

i'm ray suarez. now, full disclosure, the "inside story" team is off this new year's day so i'm not even really here. and to make that possible we dipped into our archive for a show that may pair well with family and football. we're talking about american craft beer. today there are as many working breweries in the country as there were in the late 19th century as consumers search for new flavors and experiences beyond the big brewers that you know like coor's and budweiser, the handmade beers brewed across the country are generating billions of dollars in retail sales. boulevard brewing has been sold to a huge belgium brewer, and some are wondering if craft beer will become too big to remain distinctly american. >> this is a great time to be in craft beer. it's a lot of fun. >> reporter: americans have a nearly insatiable historic love of beer. 400 million kegs brewed in the u.s. annually. but not all beer is the same. craft beer is not your father's suds. craft doesn't belong in your red to go cup.

in washington, i am ray suarez. fast, cheap and easy, and that's not the case. >> american chef and action visit alice waters said we should return to eating local and seasonal food. >> you know, it's celebrating life. >> the owner of the world renowned restaurant is famous for her pioneering use of organic ingredients. >> we are part of nature. we depend on it. >> for deck caused, she has championed the slow food movement. >> the idea of eating in your car is something just

i'm ray suarez. the olympic games gather athletes, heads of states from all around the world. and it is a tempting target for killers who want to create maximum damage, get the world's attention and make a political point. in the modern age every host city has had to worry as much about security as weather, tv rights, accommodations and traffic. with the winter games in sochi just a few weeks ago and the recent bloody terror attacks just a few weeks ago, president vladimir putin know the threats are high and real and there are a number of groups who would like to put putin's pride and joy in a world humiliation. >>> russian security forces killed islamist leader, a senior insurgent suspected in leading numerous attacks on russian target. >> what has happened in the run up olympics is proof of a hard line approach 1234 the shootout comes at a time when the russian leader faces intense international pressure over rising security concerns at the sochi olympic games next month. he spoke about the situati

the world hot spots, and that's the "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez.u would like to spend a few depressing moments on k

i'm ray suarez.he olympic games gather athletes, heads of state and celebrities from around the world along with hundreds of thousands of spectators, even the somewhat winter games offer a tempting target to killers who want to get the world's attention and make a political point. palestinians knew it, and in the modern age every host city has had to worry as much about security as weather, tv rights, accomodations and traffic. with the winter games just a few weeks ago, putin's russia knows the steaks are high and the threats are real. a number would like to make this into a world wide humiliation. in a surprise raid in a home in dagestan tuesday, russians killed an islamist military leader, suspected in leading numerous attacks on russian targets. >> translator: what is happening now is proof of a hard line approach. >> the shootout comes at a time when vladimir putin faces intense international pressure over rising security concerns next month. >> translator: our task as organizers is to provide s

that's "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. if you're a baseball fan you may remember the 1990s with sheer

that's the inside story. >>> hello, i'm ray suarez.1964 the university of michigan president lyndon johnson used soaring words to commit america's great wealth

the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america assault. afghan president karzai is long accused the united states of trying to push him out of office and he has one major voice backing his claim, the former u.s. secretary of defense, the revolution in robert gate's new book will further strain ties between the two countries and kabul. >> it was an accusation often dismissed as paranoia. >> and there were plans in washington and london to bring a change into the structure of governance of afghanistan and to go to the strong men they like in afghanistan and to put resources to afghanistan. >> reporter: now, ex al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. fema sending clean water to west virginia in the wake of a

. >> on your screen is as america's, ray suarez. former senior correspondent for cbs news hour and now with al-jazeera america. before we talk about your book, mr. suarez come when did you make the move over to al-jazeera? >> just a couple of days ago. my first day on the air was november 11, and so far so good. >> why the move? >> it was time. sometimes you've been out of place for a while and you done everything you can do there, and they were new opportunities and great chances for advancement at al-jazeera america, and if they started with everything with that implies. fresh, energetic, forward-looking but it's really, really fun. my staff keeps me young because of that is like 27. >> ray suarez, this is booktv so we want to talk to you about this, "latino americans: the 500-year legacy that shaped a nation." what sparked you to write this? >> the publishers approached me and tbs was about to launch a big documentary series on the same subject, and they wanted something that would be a handbook that would both be for a general a

i'm ray suarez.here are talks scheduled in switzerland later this month but it's unconcern which parties of the crisis will be at the table. let's talk more about what professor landis brought up just before the break, that now both the united states and russia have a big stake in what happens in damascus. he can't hear us. i'll move on, i was interested, sir, in knowing what happened to syria? if you look at the history after world war ii at mai many countrs in the region there was a heavy emphasis on nationalism that stressed being syrian over christian, sunni, shia, or sun sunni. what happened to national over the things that now divide your countries? >> for sure they continue to have a lot of pride in their national belongings, and their regional belongings belonging to arab areas. we look to free syria, and to regain our rights as a people to reunite our constitution, and reelect our leadersed a free citizens under one country, under one flag. >> professor, joshua landis both managed that russi

the world hot spots, and that's the "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. if you would like to

the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera americaal jazeera america is a straight-forward news channel. >> an america tonight exclusive. mortgage fraud. how one woman spoke up and made a difference. >> i had seen a couple of the girls making up documentation at a copier. >>> welcome back. we're talking about the mish mash of drug policies in the u.s. and waj before the break we asked our community to weigh in on what this idea to an end of the war on drugs means -- >> yeah, and our community very critical carol says . . . >> so ethan we hear that phrase thrown around quite a bit, by decriminalization advocates in particularening the war on drugs, but what does mean? >> if you imagine all of the laws, going okay. to at the other end the most free market, no-controls policy like we have had with cigarettes 30, 40 years ago, we're aiming to reduce the role of criminalization and the criminal justice system in drug control, to the maximum extent. and what does that boil down to? legalizing marijuana, and trying to reduce america's proble

joining me now ray suarez, host of "inside story." if many ways this is all about the speech tonight. >> every speechwriter who has worked on a state of the union that i have spoken to has told me revisions are still being made even now inside two hours before the president steps to the lecturn, which is remarkable in its way because these speeches are months in the making. for the writing team it's the super bowl. we talked to former presidential speechwriter michael waldman who said on state of the union night he field like a former player who wants to run out on the field. >> these speeches go through many, many drafts. every word matters so it's possible that they're still fiddling with it and editing it up to the end. president obama gets very personally involved in the writing of it, and i'm sure he's making changes now. >> michael waldman knows a thing or two about the pressure of writing a state of the union speech. >> bill clinton loved this format. >> what should we do with this projected surplus? i have a simple four-word a

i'm ray suarez. we're talking about judge in the central african republic sectarian violence has cild at least 12 -- killed at least 1200 people. our correspondent barnaby phillips reports from the village of zaray some starting to return home. >> people have fled, houses burnt down. these villages have suffered attack after attack. but in this settlement near the town of bosangura hundreds of people arrive out of the bush for a visit from a u.n. official. they were hanging on his every word. >> we want to hear about your need. >> he was shown all that's left of the health center. everything taken by the seleka militia. these people don't have a government that can help them. any assistance has to come from outside. >> the institutions of the state here don't exist. there's no health infrastructure, no schooling infrastructure. they really have to step up in an unprecedented way, to respond to what is an unprecedented situation. it's so long now that this country, the people are this country, have be