One year ago today three of our al jazeera colleagues were arrested in egypt where they remain in prison now. The United States which gives egypt 1. 5 billion a year in aid has protested their detention as have other governments. Now theres talk that peter greste, Mohammed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed, could be released soon as world outrage grows at their plight and pressure from the United States and others increases. In june all three were convicted of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood, and spreading false news about the country. Our colleagues have denied the charges, but the court still sentenced all three to prison sentences of between seven and ten years. The court can dismiss the entire case, uphold the verdict and sentence or order a new trial. What we do know is that peter greste, Baher Mohamed, and Mohammed Fahmy have paid a heavy price for their work as journalists, and that kind of work is judged a threat by the countrys military dominated government. Since july of 2013, an estimated six journalists have been killed by Egyptian Security forces. Dozens have been detained. Egyptian authorities continue to detain at least 11 on youralists including our three colleagues. Authorities admit to detaining some 10,000 political opponents in 2013. The u. S. Government continues to give egypt military and financial support. The United States gives up to 1. 5 billion a year in aid to the egyptian government, 1. 3 billion of that goes straight to the Egyptian Military, but president obama temporarily suspended the military portion of that aid in july 2013. Thats when the Egyptian Military removed mohammed morsi, the countrys first democratically elected president from office. Since then the new military dominated government has cracked down harshly. In december 2013, egyptian authorities jailed three al aljournalists. Peter greste and two egyptian producers. Mohammed fahmy, and Baher Mohamed who also holds canadian citizenship. Six months later, john kerry let with egypts new president and protested the journalists defense. During the talks kerry offered to release u. S. Aide to the egyptian government. I emphasized our strong support for upholding the rights and freedoms of all egyptians, including free expression. That did little to help the jailed journalists. The very next day an Egyptian Court convicted all three of aiding terrorists and reporting false news. They have always maintained their innocents. The Obama Administration has released 570 million worth of aid and ten app patchy helicopters to the Egyptian Military. In december the u. S. Congress inserted language into his 2015 spending bill that would make egypts aid contingent on progress made on free and Fair Elections and the freedom of expression, but gives the u. S. Secretary of state discretion to wave those conditions if doing so is deemed to be in the u. S. National interest. We welcome the flexibility that the bill provides. That said, there has been no policy decision with regards to our Assistance Program which remains under review, and our concerns about egypts human rights record, which we speak changed. We are joined by a professor in new york, and author. His family roots are from egypt. He has followed events there since mid2013, and he says in effect, the u. S. Backs repression in egypt by continuing financial and military aid there. The u. S. Had a choice in mid2013 to pull that aid out, they did for a little while. And then they went back in. They gave up that leverage. Why do we talk out of both sides of our mouth on egypt . I wish we wouldnt. It seems to me the United States is making a bad decision. The same kind of decisions they have made with countless dick forships in the past. So egypt needs to succeed as a democracy, and it has certainly struggled with that. Can you call egypt an democracy today . I dont think so. You have mass arrested. There were at least 10,000 people who were arrested last year. Probably the figure is closer to 20,000. You have show trials. You had hundreds of people sentenced to death in these show trials as well. And you have laws against public assessably in egypt. So i think theres very few ways democracy. What has gone wrong though . When the first protests began in egypt, the military was thought of as a bit of a savior. Well, its a long story, but essentially there is a lack of institutions in egypt, and its a winner takes all game in egypt. You are either on one side of the muslim brotherhood, or you are on the side of the military at this point. These are the forces that have been working towards that was the case in so many dictatorships where they didnt build a Civil Society without everything collapsing. Exactly. We need institutions to be formed before you have this government working. You dont even have a sitting parliament right now in egypt. Lets take a look at the military and Institutional Support we give to egypt. 1. 3 billion. Much more than the economic support. That military support becomes important to the United States in this current environment with the issues going on between israel and hamas, with isil in syria and iraq, and when you think about who is going on with iran. So the u. S. Has made a determination that egypt is more important as an ally as ann ann an regional power. I feel like thats a dangerous place to be in. If you look at the example of iran back in the day. You can see how you can go from being an alley to not being an ally overnight. You need a government that speaks for the people and is a stable government, and if you dont understand how instability forms extremism, then were not going to be working towards eliminating either. What is the best policy right now for the u. S. To follow with respect to egypt. I think setting performance goals is a necessary thing. The report you just aired said there are waivers that are going to be coming in. We didnt do this for china, which is now almost our biggest trading partner. Absolutely, but the u. S. Continues to say they support democracy all over the world, but they speak out of both sides of their mouths. But what if he just flipped it around. What if he contributed 1. 4 billion in economic aid, and only 200 million or so in military aid, we would probably have a very different looking egypt. We have a lot of aide going to be israel and egypt, and what we really need is to think about how we should limit the militarism of that region, and militarism. What do you think is likely to happen to our colleagues . There is a hearing on thursday, and it sounds like that is a procedural. Its not really about the mar rits of the case. So we would love for them to be happens . Predicting the future is always tresh tresh treacherous. But theres more of a possibility they will be pardon. Right, which does not deal with freedom of the press. If the judiciary and the government doesnt have to say changed. Exactly right. Thank you so much for being with us. Join us onto at 9 00 pm eastern for an indepth look at the dangerous state of journalism and press across the globe. Hollywood bigwigs just learned something about the movie business today, and they might have north korea to thank. Keep it right here. Its a chilling and draconian sentence. It simply cannot stand. This trial was a sham. They are truth seekers. All they really wanna do is find out whats happening, so they can tell people. Governments around the world all united to condemn this. As you can see, its still a very much volatile situation. The government is prepared to carry out mass array. If you want free press in the new democracy it started little little literally as a shack in Madison Square park, now shake shack just filed an initial Public Offering for 100 million. In the last four years it has more than quadrupled his profits. Millions of people downloaded the interview. Sony decided to release it on line. As Duarte Geraldino reports, the interview could pave the way for more blockbusters to bypass theaters all together. Reporter sonys the interview was banned by over 300,000 theaters. So they released the movie on line. People paid to download the interview, within five days the movie earned more than 50 million on line, and 2. 8 billion in box office sales. That adds weight to the belief that movie theaters no longer carry the sway they once did in hollywood. 20 million fewer people went to the theater than the year before. Its a horror story for theaters struggling to stay in business. Since 1995, one in four u. S. Cinemas has shut down. Industry. The thinking behind that is we should shut down unprofitable establishments, and focus on these multiplexes. Ibsworld expects theaters to earn 14. 9 billion in 2014. Thats a half of percentage than a year earlier, but mostly because of increased concession sales and higher ticket prices not more attendance in the seats. The demographic s is dropping because of online distribution. We see netflix and amazon prime capturing the demographics. Reporter that shift and the impressive online performance of the interview, suggests a deep appetite for online watching. Distribution growth has already exceeded 2 billion. Revenue from the video on demand Services Grew almost 27 in the First Six Months of this year. And sales for platforms like itunes grew nearly 37 in the same period. Hello, north korea reporter while sales for the interview are impressive they were still not enough to cover the 44 million sony spent to produce the movie, but all of the social media buzz, the company is hopeful, will push the film into the black. In the first nine months of 2014, profits at Regal Entertainment were down 50 . And movie attendance for americans ages 12 to 24 keeps falling. Sony makes many of its films Available Online only after a run in theaters. But with the interview it released the movie online at the same time it did in a somebody of theaters. It made the strategy a test case for major releases. It is taughting the interview as the bestselling online movie ever. Bill, im going to take the other view with this thing. This is not a test case. There is nobody interested in a movie as much as the interview. The interview is probably a patently mediocre movie that got all of these people to download it because of all of the hype. Exactly. Sony was walking the plank, and it was the plank the company did not want to go on. That was a great report. And we have all of these inflated ticket prices, 3d, imax, that has been covering up a decline in movie price right, because everybody tells you how this is the biggest grossing movie ever, thats because your ticket prices are more expensive than when i was a kid. Exactly. And one thing i always tell people is avatar is not really one of the top five highest grossing movies of all time. Thats how extreme ticket prices are going up. The interview should have gotten 30 or 35 million given all of the publicity at the real box office. 15 is great. It helps sony a little bit. That 44 million is before advertising, and sony only gets exhibiters. And the advertising has got to be very good to cut through the clutter, and if you are market in some way other than advertising thats even better. Exactly. And nobody wants online streaming. The exhibiters dont want it, because it takes away from their opportunity to sell 12 12 gnawcos to teenagers. Once you go to the online streaming, your revenues go drastically down. When i was a kid, you know, there were little video stores, and then there was blockbuster, and thats where you went for everything. The fact is, the the the consumer, particularly the young consumer, 12 to 24, they are agnostic as to your studio and how you distribute your video, and they want to see it on their devices and computers. Exactly. The movie industry is relatively smart. Thats why were seeing the top ten, top 20 movies of the year are always these larger than life comic book movies, but the game is shifting. Its not going to happen next year, but within, you know, four or five years, were going to see a drastic shift in the movie industry. For old timers like us, this effort to continue to get us to go, while its still remarkably expensive to do so, there is a bit of a win for movie goers, because has duarte was describing, there are theaters that have full menus and everything. Its not economical, but the experience is getting better. There is one by my house too, and it has about 30 seats in it. And you realize its not a movie theater. Its a diner. A diner showing movies. Seriously because the exhibiters have to give the first week or two, all of those revenues back to the studio, but if they can get people in to buy their overpriced food, they are ahead of the game. And thats a great expense for movie goers like us, but its full of commercials, kids texting next to you, you have to get there to get a decent seat, its not a good moviegoing experience for adults, thats why People Like Us sometime stay home and watch hbo on our largescreen tvs. Yeah, between the parking, seating, and cost of everything i had to go to, im going back to my tv. North koreas hacking abilities is a reminder of the stiff competition in the world of tech. There are more techology jobs in the United States than workers with the skills to do those jobs. It has become enough of a problem that president obama has allocated 25 million in the knew year to go to stem technology. And cities are starting to get serious. Chicago said all students must know how to code by the time they graduate. But for those who want better jobs, getting into stem fields can be challenging. But some Tech Companies are trying to fill the gap. Mary snow reports. Is that active state. Reporter 20something joe is a Web Developer in new york. Ill get a design, and ill have to code it, work it out with html, css, and others. Reporter he started here in march, just a few months earlier, he was working two jobs as a security guard. I wasnt passionate about security. It was mainly just a means to make a living. Ill show you a simple example. Reporter so joe signed up for tree house, an online site that teaches courses in computer courses. One month after he finished he was offered a job. I did not think i would find a job in three months. But you have to take a risk. Reporter three months is a quicker turn around than normal, says the ceo of tree house. If you take someone who has never written any code or used technology in their job, it will take around 6 to 12 months. But the nice thing is that is working 20 to 30 minutes a day. We can take someone from zero to job ready in six months. Reporter and there are many tech jobs to be had. Nationwide there are five job openings for computer workers. There are 50 times more job openings for an unemployed computer worker, than an unemployed unemployed construction worker. The u. S. Department of education predicted by 2020, stem jobs, jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math, will increase dramatically. I think that demonstrates this ability for people that feel like they are a part of the middle class, and they cant find something that is well paying and meaningful. Reporter not all stem jobs are created equal. Tree house teaches around building websites and apps or to write code. Initially they get paid about 15 an hour for about three months as a trial, and then they get paid around 45 grand. But thats the beginning. Grand. Reporter tree house is one of dozens of Online Education companies teaching coding and web development. It believes not every tech job requires extensive higher education. Its the same for joe, he had some education in computer science, but didnt want to spend the money or time to go back to school to finish his degree. But getting a tech job isnt as easy as joe makes it look. Many large Tech Companies still require a College Education and several years of experience before being granted an interview. This is a major challenge for job seekers like austin. Typically they ask for more experience than i have. Or for a degree that i dont have. So thats where im looking to cross that barrier. Reporter but he says even though he ran into a lot of roadblocks, his Current Employer saw a website he built, and decided that was enough to get him the job. Thats where you find companies that actually care more about what you are producing than your actual background. Like it or not, china is now getting swept up in russias new cold war with the west. Were on the ground with both border, next. Al Jazeera America morning news good morning and welcome to al Jazeera America real stories. Real reporting. Real news. A deeper look. A much better forecast for today with an International Edge why is this so important and how close is this deal . From our Award Winning news teams across america and beyond we begin with breaking news coming out of the west bank. News that matters. Al Jazeera America morning news every morning 7 eastern only on al Jazeera America from stage to screen oscar nominated actor ethan hawk the theatre has always bee my first love. Separating art politics if you have an agenda with people. You sometimes dont see the truth and the lifelong influence of his mother she was worried i was gonna be a spoiled brat and not see how complicated the world was every monday, join us for exclusive. Revealing. And surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. Talk to al jazeera only on al Jazeera America pain killer addiction on the rise i loved the feeling of not being in pain deadly consequences the person i married was gone are we prescribing an epidemic . The last thing Drug Companies wanted anybody to think was that, this was a prescribing problem fault lines al Jazeera Americas hard hitting. Today they will be arrested. Ground breaking. Theyre firing canisters of gas at us. Award winning investigative documentary series. Opioid wars only on al Jazeera America what a difference a year makes. Im specifically talking about the price of oil. Last year this time by the way, by oil, i mean west texas intermediate crude last year at this time, it was selling for 99 a barrel. At the close of business today, it was down to 51. 60 a barrel. A drop of 45 . Gasoline prices are down nationwide to an average of 2. 29 per gallon. They were 3. 31 per gallon a year ago. Thats really good news for drivers, but the decline in Oil Prices Also has farreaching consequences for the economy. Take for example, unemployment. At 80 per barrel, seen here the red bar at 8 0dollars per barrel, unemployment was 5. 7 . At 60 it was 5. 5 , at 40 a barrel, unemployment could drob to 5. 2 . And thats good news for most people. With less money spent on oil, more money in the economy to hire people. People spend more. Companies hire people. They spending less on energy and have more money to hire people or expand. We could see private payrolls rise. More people working means more money being spent on goods. That could push gdp up. The one thing that might spell bad news for some is the effect of lower prices on inflation. Oil is such a big part of the economy, that as the price falls so does the inflation rate. Currently inflation is at 1. 3 , thats far below the feds objective of a 2 increase, and if the inflation remains low, the fed is likely to hold off on increasing Interest Rates. And you will continue to earn very little interest on your savings, your wages could take longer to grow, and the value of your house will rise slowly, although Interest Rates will stay low. All and all low oil prices could be a mixed blessing. California has the biggest adopt deposits of shale oil. Jennifer join us with more. Pennsylvania, colorado, texas, just a few of the states throughout the country that have setback rules on how close Oil Producers can be to school. California does not have any setback limits. Which is leaving many worried about their childrens health. Students play in the shadow of big oil here. My first concern is about my daughter, because, you know, many things happen in in my area. First thing is fracing. Reporter fracing is a Controversial Oil and gas Extraction Method where water and chemicals with pumped into the ground to break apart rocks, allowing oil and gas to escape. Rodrigo says he believes it is making his 13yearold daughter sick. Three wells less than half a mile from his daughters Old Elementary School were fracced at some point in the last three years. In August Joanna started suffering from seizures. When i still went to school, and i went outside, and i was really hot, and people were working there. My head started to hurt a lot. Reporter she now takes half a dozen pills aday. I want to see my daughter laughing and running and jumping again. I love my daughter. Im very much because the government doesnt hear poor people. Reporter a new report finds more than 350,000 children in the state attend school within one mile of oil or gas wells. And School Districts with large hispanic populations are more likely to be close to oil production, including fracing. In shafter, 82 of the population are hispanic. What the data shows is an undue burden on these communities that are predominantly hispanic and nonwhite. Reporter just beyond the playground, less than half a mile away, three oil wells that have been fracced. Residents say this fence will not protect them and their children from toxic chemicals. Reporter while other states have setback limits, california does not. The states Regulatory Agency in charge of the oil and gas industry says it doesnt have wells. Thats just a really easy way for the state to turn a bliengd responsibility. Thats not what is happening. What is happening . We are regulating the oil and gas operations themselves. However, where the wells are placed that is all determined locally. If you were inclined to regulate more heavily i dont think that we have the authority to require setbacks. You are allowing them to come want. Reporter juan what evidence is there that fracing makes people sick . The evidence we have is the same evidence that we have that sick. Reporter although fracing has been linked to a number of toxic chemicals, doctors cant say for sure what causes joannas seizures. A new fracing bill goes sorry, jennifer go ahead and finish that up. No problem, i just wanted to point out one thing, that there is a new piece of legislation that goes into effect in 2015, and although it does call for some increased regulations, it will require the oil and gas city to disclose what chemicals are used in the fracing process. But opponents say it is nothing more than window dressing. And also, sb4 will not require setback limits. Its remarkable that thats still a big advance from a federal law which protects these companies from disclosing these chemicals. To think that just knowing what the chemicals are in an advance in the law, not necessarily being able to do anything about it, what is it that these residents and activist groups want . A ban on fracing or better control over where the fracing takes place. The activists will tell you they want an outright ban on fracing. The father featured in our piece says he knows oil and gas is very important to the state, so hes not saying he wants an outright ban. But he says why do they have to frac so close to the schools. He said no frac in the mountains. If there is no much oil to be have in california, where do they have to frac so close to the schools. It has got some way to go on regulating this. Jennifer thank you so much for being with us. Fracing does remain controversial, some people are looking at ways to reduce the impact the ground. One solution would be to create a car which uses less fossil fuel. I sat down with the ceo of the largest Solar Power Companies in the country, and his company is working on an electric car which is recharged using only solar power. So the argument some people have is when you are using electric vehicles, the electricity is still coming from carbon sources. But in these units, these are powered by solar. Thats right. We have solar panels over the canopy. The idea is to show the connection between the two, and also to show that solar can be used to provide shade and shelter from the weather. You have a leaf over there, and the biggest challenge to the leaf and those kinds of cars is the network of charging stations. Thats right. We want to create a National Network under an nrg wholly owned company, and were trying to present a Car Charging Network for every car other than tesla. Tesla is putting electric car chargers in the middle of nebraska. Our view is its more of an intraurban, or intrasuburban market. So were sort of going city by city. California is of course the biggest market, and were spending 100 million to create a charging network in the state of california, but were going to be national by 2013. Where would these be, and how would they work . With electric cars, the main charger is at home in your garage. But if you live 30 or 40 or 50 miles from your workplace, and, you know, most people are at work for eight to ten hours a day, its a great place to have what is usually called the second charger. Theres a little fob and you just wave it over here, and then you plug in, and you are ready to go . And how big do you see this getting . What influence will this have on peoples decisions to buy electric cars. Well, 80 million cars in the United States are second or third vehicles, and even though no one in the United States drives across the country, everyone seems to think they need to have a car that can drive across the country, my view is thats fine. But everyones second car should be one of these. Should be one of these. As we go to break i wanted to take a moment to share some sad news. A beloved team of our makeup artists died in a car crash on christmas eve. Our thoughts are with her on techknow we should not be having earthquakes in texas the true cost of energy hits home. My yard is gone. Are we destroying our way of life . Contaminated water from the fracking activities come here they stick it to the core of the earth but this Cutting Edge Technology could be the answer the future of fracking is about the water protecting the planet saving lives. How do you convince a Big Oil Company to use this . Techknow only on al Jazeera AmericaAfghan Soldiers were killed today, during a fierce battle with the taliban. This comes one day after the u. S. And nato formally ended their cam bat mission in the country, and moved into a training and support role. Jamie a large number of u. S. Troops will be staying behind in afghanistan. What does this mean . What it means is the u. S. Wants to learn one of the lessons from iraq which is dont leave without leaving support troops behind. But the Obama Administration is really pinning its hopes on the Afghan Forces, even as the taliban itself is claiming victory. 13 years after the september 11th attacks, most u. S. Troops leaving afghanistan will never return. President obama who pledged to end the wars, says the original mission has been accomplished. Because of the Extraordinary Service of the men and women in the American Armed forces, afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. Reporter but the taliban responded with a statement declaring victory. Labeling the ceremony a clear indication of their defeat and disappointment. The taliban were dramatically ramping up attacks. The pentagon argues that unlike in iraq, u. S. Trained afghan troops have not cut and run. Those attacks have had no strategic effect. And the Afghan Forces reacted bravely and quickly to each of the attacks. Reporter but they have reestablished influence in areas previously cleared. Namely in an oh pee umrich region. The ceremony started a mission that will provide some 12,500, to 13,500 nato forces including tom ackerman reports. Just after dawn, naturalist luke de grute is out, trapping birds in mesh nets. Theyre iefd identified, banded and soon thereafter, released. Here in pennsylvania the birds neednt fear their worst enemies, glass panes, nearly a billion die crashing into windows. The majority of birds that hit windows are night migrating song birds. Once they migrate, they have to find food, frequently from glass windows. Using this flight tunnel the american birth bird conservancy is using this means to detect them. Record which way they go. Do they tend to go towards our clear pane or do they tend to go towards the pane with the treatment on it . They reflect ultravital light and have a pattern on it. This glass enclosed sports stadium under construction in minnesota lies along one of the biggest migration fly ways on the continent. Local activists are still fighting to change the window design and reduce the threat. And the city of San Francisco has adopted birdsafe standards for its new buildings. But modest adjustments to existing homes can protect many birds too. These are the simplest and most effective ways of minimizing bird collisions. Window strips or hang cords. There is no need to have totally transparent glass. You could have a very narrow stripe which is an effective way to stop birds. Instead of relying on a wing and a prayer. Tom ackerman, al jazeera rector, pennsylvania. Time for raul and sports. Chelsea in action against south hampton. After 17 minutes, almost the last kick of the half, equalized for the blues. Few seconds in that match it remains 11. Earlier , attempts repeatly thwarted, second half little more even but it still finished goalless. Yeundunited faced that. As man chester united, you play like that, you can create six to eight chances, open chances. Then you have to finish that and we you dont reward yourself. Then its normally, that the opponent win. But you could see also the difference in the second half. It was no football anymore. It was a struggle for life. laughing most of the other games are nearing halftime. Manchester city leading, onenil up, going well at west ham, newcastle will play everton. , still 11 between southhampton and chelsea. Record eighth time, 100 foot supermax held off a challenge from wild oats, broke the record of australian yacht, between 1946 and 1960. Well indias contradicters fall indias indias cricketers, put on 261 for the fourth wicket, both players, 169 was his third century of the series. Ryan harris took four wickets of the day. 69 runs short of australias first innings. Port elizabeth, tempa bavuma became the first he african batter, out for 10, south africa going on to declare on 417 for 8. Craig bathwate, 129 for 2. And it was a maiden century 293 for 5, sri lanka, of the day three of the first tests against new Zealand Christ church. Tour itions ists still trailing. The Boston Celtics have slumped to their fourth Straight Loss in the nba. And the main architect of the defeat is paul pierce, one of their former players. Now part of the washington wizards. Just four minutes of the opening quarter. Chris humphrey scored eight points. Scored a hattrick, new jersey devils, four minutes to to, hen rick henrick, rinning 31 at Madison Square garden. That is all your sports for now. Robin adams will have more for you later. Thank you very much raul, thats it for this news hour. Latest on the missing airasia plane. Do stay with us on al jazeera. So this is where that focal point will be mufg forward. As far as the grim task of identifying the bodies. Debris will be brought to java island, but not where we are someplace else, obviously thats going to take some time. But again now rye anonymity its the retrieval process. They havent said that its just you know, a process of getting debris and getting retrieving whats left of this aircraft, still callings rescue operation in hopes they can find some people alive. It doesnt appear thats going to be likely, i cant confirm that, no one has confirmed that now but what we know resources drivers have been doesnt where that was found. Scott as families await for more information. We saw earlier on many of them in tears very grieving, very worrie