Transcripts For ALJAZAM Your World This Morning 20151214

Walters. And im in for stephanie sy. Promising a full investigation of a black man in a busy intersection over the weekend. 28yearold was armed and motioned toward them with a gun and opened fire 33 times and al jazeera reports. Reporter they are images that feel familiar, Sheriff Deputies in los angeles caught by a bystander cell phone during a deadly encounter. The victim was 28yearold nicholas robertson, an african american. His death already sparking outrage with activists taking to social media calling for justice and family members asking why. You can see him on the video he is crawling away and they are shooting him. Reporter at a press conference sunday they said deputies responded to multiple calls in the minutes leading up to the encounter reporting robertson was roming the air with a firearm acting erratically. Six 911 calls received from businesses in the area and he was yelling for robertson to put the weapon down but he ignored th them. Three children in a car at a gas pump that is within five feet of them at the time and actually interviewed those witnesses and they expressed grave concern they believe the suspect was actually going to shoot them. According to authorities the two deputies fired a total of 33 shots and both have been reassigned pending the investigation. Among the questions left to answer the investigators is why, robertson was acting so agitated. We are not sure if its because of circumstances or there may be a drug nexus to it as well. Reporter area activists called for a thorough investigation. Appears to us a black man once again was shot and killed by Law Enforcement. Reporter but also urged patients and calm. Let the investigation take its course and wherever it takes us and leads us to is where we go and asking people dont make a decision based on a tensecond clip of a cell phone video that is on the news. Reporter al jazeera, new york. One former Police Officer says from everything he can see on the video the lapd shooting appears justified and hill praised the police for going public with details of the incident so quickly. They dont know if the gun was loaded, all they know is a gun, guns kill. They kill, they maim, they hurt so an officer to say maybe the gun is not loaded, maybe it is loaded they had no idea and a 911 call with a man with a gun and acted according to policy and training and force continuum and police are trained to eliminate the threat and eliminating the threat doesnt mean it is down but means it is stopped and dealing with an armed suspect with a loaded gun that has been firing at people that can easily turn to the officers and fire at any time they were justified in what they did. They dont want them in chicago or the next baltimore or the next ferguson so transparency is key when you are dealing with cases like this. Police are asking the public to come forward with Additional Information or additional video of the shooting. A closely watched case involving police and closing arguments expected in the case of the first officer charged in the death of freddie gray and accused of manslaughter and one of six baltimore officers charged in the case and we are live in baltimore and how soon before the jury gets the case . Good morning del and patricia and we are expecting to hear closing arguments from the prosecution first off this morning followed by closing arguments from defense and followed by the judges instructions and if they take no breaks or very few breaks we are expecting the jury to have the case by this afternoon which means there could be a verdict by this evening, here now is a reminder of how we got to this poi point. William porter attorneys rested case on friday after putting their client on the stand and faces Involuntary Manslaughter in the death of freddie gray whose neck was broken in custody and counterclaims made by prosecutors that freddie gray was having difficulty breathing and porter ignored pleas for help in the back of the police van and denied gray told him he could not breathe and testified when he checked on gray he saw no sign of injury. Had he been injured i would have called for a medic porter said. When asked why he didnt secure gray with a seat belt as required by recently updated Police Department policy porter said throughout all my training i seat belted people inside my personal vehicle but never the wagon. Jurors were able to see the police wagon for themselves, porter described it as pretty tight and noted that in seat belting gray his gun would have been very close to gray. Porter testified that gray did ask for medical help but did not explain why he needed it. Porter knew gray from the neighborhood. He told jurors gray had a reputation for feigning injury and two weeks before the april 12 arrest gray tried to kick out the window of a police suv after being detained and witnesses who testified for defense former Police Commander now the chief of police in charlottesville, virginia said he acted reasonably and well within his discretion and defense also called neurosurgeon dr. Matthew to counter the states expert saying when gray asked for help porter could have saved his life by simply calling a medic and says grays injury would have immediately rendered him paralyzed and unable to speak or use his limbs a catastrophic injury that could have occurred after porter checked on him. His death a week after arrest set off days of rioting and cautioned jurors against a verdict of quelling unrest but as the trial draws to a close the city is on edge. We have a system of justice. Is it perfect . No. Is it our system we need to protect . Absolutely. I think when you ask residents of the city to sit, to listen, to weigh evidence and then to make a decision we need to respect their decisions. Reporter of course once the jury gets the case no one has any idea how long it will take them in deliberations but john Perry Williams said he expects the case to be over by thursday. Del and patricia. John lets dig a little deeper how concerned are they any verdict in this case is going to lead to more unrest . Well, the city is on edge, there is no doubt about it, has been for the last two weeks while this case has been going on the Police Commission of baltimore says his officers are preparing for a variety of scenarios all police leave has been cancelled for the next seven days and officers are working 12hour shifts and in the meantime city of baltimore says dont judge us on the outcome of one of these cases, charge us on the outcome of all six of them which will last between now and the middle of next year. Life in Baltimore John thank you very much. Egyptian investigators say they have yet to find evidence that terrorism brought down a russian plane in october. A preliminary report out today said there was no indication of foul play, that is in direct contradiction to what russian and u. S. Investigators found and i. S. I. L. Said members of affiliated group put a bomb on board and 224 people died when the jet crashed shortly after take off. In a few hours president obama will be making a rare visit to the pentagon. The fight against i. S. I. L. Is on the agenda. The president will be meeting with Defense Intelligence and Law Enforcement officials and later this week mr. Obama gets a threat briefing at the National Counter Terrorism Center and polls show the prime time address last week did little to ease the fears regarding attacks. San bernardino is over and recovered items from the lake and will not say what they are and searching for evidence in the Mass Shootings that left 14 people dead, there are reports that investigators were looking for a missing hard drive that belonged to the two suspects and f. B. I. Also now working with police in hey thorn, california and investigating hate crimes at a mosque and Islamic Center and at the mosque someone writing graffiti outside and leaving a fake hand grenade and graffiti nearby and incidents like this on the rise since San Bernardino attacks. In paris marking one month since attacks that left 130 people dead. As al jazeeras jonah hall reports those attacks have had a profound impact on the entire continent and how it deals with security. Reporter the i. S. I. L. Attacks in paris that targeted sports fans, concert goers and diners happened a month ago. A month in which life from the banks of the sand to syria has changed dramatically. I think in the short term the world is only going to become more dangerous as a result of the things that are happening and that is a consequence of the fact that Islamic State has become so strong and global jihadism has become so strong. Reporter it was friday the 13th and at least eight attackers opened fire randomly with several detonating suicide vests, all were european citizens, some having returned with battle experience from syria while others had lived as social outcosts in the suburbs of paris and brussels. There is an umbilical cord between the wars that are raging in syria and iraq and european security. You have radicalized limited networks in the heart of europe. I. S. I. S. Could not have carried out this massive attack in paris without having local, local recruits. Reporter paris followed a string of i. S. I. L. Attacks on civilian targets including the bombing of a russian passenger jet over egypt that killed 224 people exactly a fort night earlier. Western capitols have responded with the rhetoric of war with an expanded Bombing Campaign against i. S. I. L. In syria amed the creeping fear of attack at home. The western powers will not send boots on the ground to syria and iraq. This means that the response is in terms of rhetoric basically vocal and at war and the reality is in the same stretch. Air strikes along with supporting local forces on the ground it means its a long, gradual strategy that could take years. Reporter it has been a bad month for refugees still filing into europe but the thousands each day. With perhaps two of the paris attackers believed to have entered europe among the refugee influx border controls have been tightnessed and supporters grown for antiimmigrant parties on the far right. Its arguably been a good month however for this man, Bashar Alassad whose army is the dominant force on the ground in syria with the spotlight now on eradicating i. S. I. L. And talked about the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Above all the emerging coalition between western countries and assad russia and i. S. I. L. In the wake of paris attacks signalled new reality a constant from of life from washington to moscow possibly for years to come, london. The state department is warning americans not to travel to burundi, armed clashes over the african nations political future killed 90 people since friday and state department urging all nonemergency u. S. Government workers and family members to leave burundi as soon as possible and violence broke out in april after the president zizi said he would seek a third disputed term. A lawsuit against the state of ohio after a state investigation into the groups practices. The states attorney general finding that planned parenthood clinics in cleveland, cincinnati and columbus improperly disposed of fetal remains and said they are calculated to lead to an all out ban on abortions. This morning federal officials expected to outline new federal regulations for drones and faa rules last month called for a nationwide registry for most devices and predict 700,000 drone also be purchased over the Holiday Season and according to one study from bar college there have been more than 300 Close Encounters between drones and planes in the past two years. Texas cleaning up and tearing up houses and trees and knocking down power winds and high winds knocking a train right off the tracks, at least 50 homes were damaged. That system wreaked haviland in texas is now headed east and lets bring in metrologist Nicole Mitchell, good morning. I will start with the temperature side of that because really that set into the fact we were having some severe weather, so warm for the month of december added extra energy and kind of fuel to that fire and most people ahead of this have been enjoying it still 60s and 70s up the east coast, in some cases 2030 degrees above average and you can see the sharp contrast behind the system and a lot of temperatures in the 30s is more typical for this time of year and feels cold after the exceptional warm weather and getting back to average and sets the stage for the next weather system and now the temperatures are more typical the next will be more of a snow system and coming up, in the next half hour but because of the warmth this has been more of a rain system even for the month of december. Just a little bit of mix on the backside of this but as far north as minnesota or wisconsin this has been predominately rain so if you look at this and we have flooding ahead of this, although the blues and pinks you see behind that winter storm is the next system but still a lot of flood concerns as this moves through and bringing totals to wisconsin up to one or two inches and this continues through today. By tomorrow really just located into the northeast and then clearing out after that. But temperatures again will snap a little bit closer to reality and then that next system c coms in and almost spring type weather in the United States and tropical on the other side of the world and some images coming out of the philippines where they have been bracing for a typhoon that is now taking impact on the island so this one has winds of over 130 Miles Per Hour right now, it is starting to buffet the island and the wind speed in our category would be the equivalent of a category four, once it moves over the islands it will die quickly but a major storm. Nicole thank you very much. When we come back we will talk more about ending the war in syria. European leaders meeting in brussels ahead of an International Conference in new york. A health scare for hundreds of babies who may have been exposed to tuberculosis. We want this film to save lives. I lived that character. We will be able to see change. The only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and thats what were doing at xfinity. We are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. And this includes our commitment to being on time. Every time. Thats why if were ever late for an appointment, well credit your account 20. Its our promise to you. Were doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. Because we should fit into your life. Not the other way around. European leaders meeting in brussels this morning with a focus of finding an end to the war in syria. John kerry will be sitting down for talks on paris on the issue of syria and tuesday he will head to moscow and meet with russian president putin and diplomatic efforts surrounding syria are a central concern his words for the u. S. And u. S. And u. N. Hoping to hold a meeting friday in new york laying out ground work that will take place next year. The meeting of stepped up air strikes by the Syrian Government and saying syrian and russian jets targeting damascus and several suburbs were hit over the weekend and at least 45 people are dead. Associate professor of studies at arcadia and author of syria, in depth analysis of syrias decent into civil war and thank you very much for joining us today professor abooed and we do apressure appreciate it and one was considered too extreme for a seat at the table, is there a unified opposition to negotiate with at this point . No, unfortunately that is certainly not the case. While the riyadh conference was happening there were two other conferences also happening within syria, one in damascus by proregime opposition and one in the kurdish areas as well so even within riyadh there wasnt consensus and was in the broader opposition landscape there as well. The larger problem is as you alluded to is that the powerful groups on the ground, the ones that have the greatest ability to affect the course and trajectory of the conflict are no longer supportive of the opposition and attempts to unify them. So when you take a look at the talks that are underway you are also talking about so many powerful nations on the outside that have proxies on the inside which really begs the question can the nations that are trying to steer these talks can the United States, can turkey, can the gulf states can they keep their proxies inline . That is an excellent question. One of the problems is that for the last four years they have been doing precisely the opposite. They have been using their proxies against one another and have contributed to the fragments and what they are trying to do is correct the policies of previous years and its unclear and i believe at this moment its extremely unclear whether that is even possible. So there is kind of a reversal if you will of policy right now and its just not clear whether the incentives are there for the groups to come together and whether the political and material incentives exist to even do so. Of course against all this secretary of state john kerry is heading to moscow for a meeting with president Vladimir Putin and what do you expect to come out of the meeting with respect to syria . The truth is not much will happen, russian intervention strengthened the russian position and weakened the other and see a greater emphasis on political process right now. The United States is losing if you will power to affect the trajectory of the conflict so what they want to do is legitimize the political process and i think that unfortunately the only way that a political process will turn into a solution and will translate into a solution is if it is greatly satisfying russian and syrian interest. Talking about opposition and how difficult it is to get opposition to come together and how it is fractured and a question of assad, are we taking it for granted that putin and iran can prove assad to the table, can they do that . Absolutely. I think that at this point the regime has withered and is so sub servient to interest that in reality assad himself and the apparatus around him is not really in a position to counter what russian and iranian issues are in syria. That said we are in a situation now where there are tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of proregime malitia men running around syria and those groups and their relation to the regime is not really known. I mean they have connections to the russian military, to the Iranian Revolutionary guards and regime itself and i think those groups have a tremendous impact on the conflict. So whether we see the regime itself negotiating, we could also see a parallel spoiler role if you will played by the armed groups. So many places it could fall off the rails for talks and afraid that is all the time we have and thank you so much for joining us this morning. Thank you for having me. World leaders trying to sell that major agreement on Climate Change back to governments agreed to on saturday and the first global consensus on cutting Greenhouse Gas emissions and agreement promises to help the poor countries build economies in environmentally friendly way and leaders agreeing that cutbacks and emissions will not start until 2020, every five years the nation will reevaluate their targets and congress doesnt have to sign off or ratify the deal and only requires the signature of the president. The verdict not public in the trial of a chinese human rights lawyer and started and ended this morning only after about five hours and as court was led out they scuffled with journalists and protesters and not allowed in for pu zhiqiang trial in prison for a year and a half after comments on line and said not guilty for inciting hatred. Saudi arabia and holding the first election open to women. At least 19 have now been elected and al jazeera reports. Reporter the doors have opened to a new era in saudi public life with two milestones reached, women gaining the right to vote and to stand as candidates in local elections. Translator i feel very happy that king solomon has given us the opportunity to vote and now equal to men. Reporter journey to gender equality has been a slow one. So has the overall pace of political reform. The monarchy often applies a little interpretation of islamic law and so far saudis have voted in just three local elections to choose councils that are the only elected bodies in the kingdom. I want to see the woman to be more involved in every institution and the government in the private sector, okay, to be part of the planning, part of the execution, part of the performance, part of the evaluation, she has to be always there. Reporter behind the scenes saudi women do already have powerful positions, they sit on the countrys top advisory body the sure council and most University Garage whichs are female yet even with such strives women did not drive themselves to the polls on saturday a freedom women elsewhere enjoy, al jazeera. Controversy over politics in brazil where protesters filled the streets of 100 cities this weekend, they are demanding the impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff. [chanting] Dilma Rousseff reelected less than a year ago, since then there has been growing frustration over the deteriorating economy and expanding Corruption Scandal that has rocked the government. Lawmakers started impeachment proceedings earlier this month. All leading up to the olympics. On cruise control. Republican president ted cruz surging in the polls weeks before iowa caucuses. Reporter nutrition for navajos and lack of food blamed for the rise of diabetes in their community. Every day is another chance to be strong. I cant get bent down because my familys lookin at me. To rise, to fight and to not give up. Youre gonna go to school, so you dont have to go war. Hard earned pride. Hard earned respect. Hard earned future. We can not afford for one of us to lose a job. Were just a family thats trying to make it. A real look at the american dream. Hard earned. Sunday, 10 00 eastern. Only on al jazeera america. Welcome back to your world this morning. The l. A. County Sheriffs Department investigating what happened when police shot and killed a man at a busy intersection. Officials say the man was pointing a gun and kept waving that gun at him even after he was shot 31 times. Closing arguments today in the trial of a Police Officer charged in the death of freddie gray. Gray died in injuries he suffered being transported in a Baltimore Police van opinion officer William Porter is accused of manslaughter, one of six ability more Police Officers charged in the case. A hate crime in california, a mosque vandalized with graffiti on sunday. A fake grenade was left in the driveway of one center. There has been a shakeup in the polls, donald trump leading in National Polls but ted cruz gaining ground, at 22 , just five points behind trump. In iowa, cruz is winning. Two separate polls put him ahead of trump anywhere from two to 10 points. Now trump is taking aim at cruz. I dont think he has the right temperament. I dont think hes got the right judgment. Whats wrong with his temperament. You look at the way he dealt with the senate where he goes in there like a, frankly like a little bit of a maniac. Youre never going to get things done that day. Look, i built a phenomenal business. I am worth many, many billions of dollars. You cant walk into the senate and scream and call people liars and not be able to cajole and get along with people. Hell never get anything done. Thats the problem with ted. Trump insisted his own judgment has been sound. He also said he can beat Hillary Clinton in a general election. Both trump and cruz are going to be on the main stage for tuesdays debate. Also, new Jersey Governor Chris Christie and rand paul. Christie and paul were relegated to the second tear in the earlier debates because of low polling in connection, but recent polls say they both have barely enough support to meet the threshold to make the main stage. An associate professor of Political Science at Howard University joins us live from washington, d. C. , mr. Fonteroy, thanks for being with us. I think its a pretty big deal. We are entering that lull before the storm, if you will, what with the country about to turn its attention to the holidays. If the news is prominently put out there that trump is beginning to fade, and it turns out that cruz wins in iowa, then i think youre beginning to see the end of trump. When you look at the calendar in the first few primaries, you see trump is doing well in New Hampshire. But cruz has evangelicals locked up in south carolina. If cruz wins New Hampshire and south carolina, its difficult to see how trump wins the nomination. Ted cruz that his own bagsage, not well liked in the senate. Could a president cruz be ineffective with the republican led congress. Yes, and part of that is ironically mentioned by trump in the taped piece there. Ted cruz made his political persona by thumbing his nose at the establishment. He wont work well with others. Its difficult to see how he would have the temperament to work the way to make things happen. Senator cruz has been at the fore front of opposing everything president obama has done. He will see it from both sides if cruz were to win. There was talk of a brokered convention, the fear that donald trump and ted cruz were hurting the party and they might be losing in downed ballot races. How concerned should the Republican Party be now that it said it wanted to open itself up to be that big tent, that that tent has shrunk and they could see more losses than the white house. The downed ballot piece is essential to understanding where this could go. The republicans are on the verbal of maintaining the house and senate and potentially winning the presidency, however, if dodge trump is the nominee in particular, youre going to see a demoralized republican establishment and see a number of down ballot races more closely contested, because many republicans are not going to be excited about vote are for him as a nominee. Consequently, the republicans could theoretically lose the senate and see their margins in the house shrink in part because those downed ballot races are going to be more closely contested and also, the state legislated races where political rubber meets the road will also be negatively impacted. Let me push back on that. The kentucky governors race, a republican wins, the democratic there was ahead five points in the polls, the day before the election. Is it time to jetson the polls and what about Eric A Cantor in virginia . They said the same thing about that race. I think your point about the polling is important. Keep in mind also that caucus polling, which is what we have in iowa is much more difficult to manage than we see generally, but i dont know that what happened in kentucky or with eric cantor are sort of the leading edge of a trend. I think those are more race specific. I think as you see a more wholesome knoll dialogue particularly on issues of the economy and on immigration, you could see a National Trend more so than what i think are more localized races. About 30 seconds left. Is it still to late for the Republican Party to say it wanted to build a bigger tent to reach out to hispanics, women and other minorities. Has the damage been done because of the trump candidacy . I think the damage had done years ago. I dont think that the Republican Party is particularly serious in winning black and brown voters, because to do that would require moderation or in some tig Public Policy proposals that helped explain why the republicans have done so well in recent years with White Working Class voters. I just see it more so as rhetoric than actual strategy and dont see any significant changes going forward. Thanks for being with us. Today marks three years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Adam lanza, the gunman also killed his mother before killing himself. Town and School Officials have chosen not to hold any public remembrances. Families are asking the public oh honor the victims by showing acts of kindness. Guns and violence have been in the headlines all year in chicago. This week, Aljazeera America taking a closer look at the problem with a series of reports we are calling five days in chicago. We have more on the issues that continue to divide the windy city. Weekend after weekend, shooting after shooting, chicago has become infamous or gun violence. In chicago, 10 dead, 54 others injured. It has dominated the headlines. In chicago, seven of those people were killed. Giving rise to the citys nickname chirac. Yet the city is safer than decades past. It always has been division. Theres always been two chicagos. Weve known that our whole lives. We hear shots almost every night. Every is on pins and needles and after a period of time, you become numb to it. I dont want us to be numb to it anymore. Al jazeera, chicago. Our week long special five days in chicago begins tonight at 7 00 p. M. Eastern time. Director spike lees latest film is set amid Gang Violence in chicago. He spoke about the newtown shooting and why that didnt change gun laws. If young white infants and kindergarten first grade get slaughtered and nothing happens right away, then you know that its going to take a minute. Because every i thought for sure, i would put money on it, president obama felt the same thing. But where 88 people die every day in america due to gun violence. 88 people. Every single day. It adds up to like i think 32,000. I was never that good at math. I was told there would be no math in this exam. Its profit. Profit. You can see spike lees entire conversation on talk to al jazeera tonight at 6 00 p. M. Eastern, 3 00 practice risk. A california hospital is contacting mothers whose babies may have been exposed to tuberculosis in its maternity wing. The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center said 60 people could have been exposed august to november when a nurse of unaware she had active t. B. And was working with mothers and newborns there. The hospital says it will offer preventative treatment to the exposed infants. In the Navajo Nation, Grocery Stores are few and far between with that some say that explains why so Many American natives have poor eating habits. Here on the Navajo Nation, one in three are diabetic or prediabetic. Recent studies show Heart Disease is the second leading cause of death among tribal citizens on the reservation. They say the root was problem is access and options when it comes to food. For the last five years, she has been raising churr row sheep for their meat and growing her own vegetables. She said self sufficiency is almost the only option. Just 10 Grocery Stores serve nearly 300,000 people here on a Navajo Nation, roughly the size of south carolina. We have a huge problem with having access to good quality food. We dont have access to Grocery Stores. We dont have the convenience of driving to the nearest Grocery Store that carries good quality food. For those who cant make the drive, gas stations and trading posts fill the spaces in between with few options for healthy food. The result is a range of Disturbing Health problems. The question of food access could soon be getting renewed focus through a set of benchmarks called Sustainable Development goals. The director of the policy institute says on the Navajo Nation that kind of attention would be a good first step. Weve rendered invisible at multiple layers and over time, the offering person in the u. S. Has access to food and select moving forward. Ive personally had family members who have passed on because of unchecked diabetes and i know people who are constantly diagnosed with them. It gets scary. Citizens here say its a trend that can be reversed involving policy changes at the local, state and federal level. Until then, navajo citizens say the change has to come from inside, native people growing native food. Al jazeera, Navajo Nation. Colorado is preparing for more snow after a White Weekend in part of the state, denver saw two inches saturday. In the rockies, some areas recorded more than seven inches. That caused all sorts of headaches on the road and there could be more trouble in colorado today. Nicole mitchell has already strapped on her skis heading west and as soon as the show is over, i guess youre going to be what . You have to find snow somewhere if you like the winter. Most enjoy the warm temperatures. Definitely the rockies is the place to be right now, dont want to be on the roads, but the outdoor activities, the skiers loving this and colder air, too. This looks like the major system, the one moving through the rest of the country not as severe a component as this, pretty much rain. Our biggest trouble maker is in the rookies, bringing heavy areas of snow, also some higher winds with it, not quite probably to blizzard conditions anywhere, but getting in that area where you can get whiteouts from time to time. Were going to see this from montana down into parts of arizona seeing that snow. One good piece, theres still some spotty showers in the northwest. We get a little bit of a break tomorrow. Its been such a wet couple weeks that any bit of a break is next. Heres what we have looking into today. If we put this into motion, the plains, Northern Midwest and then a dry break after that. In the meantime, enough snow coming down, pretty widespread through this area that well get six inches or more, isolated spots, nine inches to a foot. This does as i said, as we get to the next couple days, we had the advance precautionaries up newt Northern Midwest. Well see that into tomorrow. After the warm weather and rain storms, this one is more of a proper snowstorm. Did you bring your Cross Country skis . Did you ski last time it snowed in new york . I usually get up there once or twice a winder. Costa ricas president is in cuba this morning. Thousands of cubans are stuck in cuba because nicaragua wont let them over the border. The number going into the u. S. Is up 30,000. Warming cuba American Relations may be impacting that trend. Riot Police Stand Guard on the nicaraguan border. The country is refusing to let 5,000 cubans and costa rica pass through on their way to the u. S. We dont have any other motivation other than getting to the United States, but we dont have passage through nicaragua. We cant go back. Many cubans sold their homes and they have no work. Cuba would not accept us if we return. There would be retaliation against us. Since 1966 cubans who reach the u. S. Are eligible more or less for automatic residency. As relations with the u. S. Thaw, many worry that will end, leaving a new wave of people to try to reach the u. S. In the past, poverty and the castro governments limits on travel made braving the florida straights the only escape route, but now cubans can travel to ecuador without visas, opening a new route overland through Central America and mexico. According to Border Protection in 2014, more than 17,000 cubans arrived through the mexican border. This year, that number has nearly doubled, until the borders were closed. At a recent summit, the nicaragua summit said the Cuban Migrants are a threat to security. Costa rica had a plan to bypass the road block by flying them to guatemala and bell lease to continue their journey but those countries have also refused to let them in. This position disappoints and especially do that to the argued reason, which is that this should be resolved through a regional treaty. Central american countries have been under pressure to crack down on migration since 2014 when tens of thousands was children arrived in the u. S. Unadad. In the meantime, costa ricas foreign minister said he is running out of options. We urgently request the countries located toward the south, ecuador, was not ma and columbia implement clearer, more forceful measures to avoid these migrant flows. For now, these Cuban Migrants remain in limbo. Paul beban, al jazeera. Hover board fallout. Well tell you how those popular two well scooters went from one of the hottest Holiday Gifts to being yanked from store shelves altogether. The only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and thats what were doing at xfinity. We are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. And this includes our commitment to being on time. Every time. Thats why if were ever late for an appointment, well credit your account 20. Its our promise to you. Were doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. Because we should fit into your life. Not the other way around. Ok, posse, chris lass 11 days away, now there are two major on line retailers pumping the brakes on the sale of that hot item this year. That would be hover boards, and al jazeeras John Henry Smith has more. Hover board is on fire. He paid 400 for his hover board. He said it started burning up four days after he got it. It exploded, it was just like boom according to the Consumer Products safety commission, there are attentive 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 hover boards 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 sell them. They are not toys. Consumer Safety Advocates said its whats haring them that makes these dangerous. It is coming from the lithium eye on pates. It is the same 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. Thats part of the reason why most major domestic carriers no longer let passengers bring hover boards onboard. Mom get some water or something. While the fire danger hasnt turned off timothy from getting another hover board. Im hoping they worked out the kinks. Its made others check their christmas list twice. I dont really want it anymore. The department of customs and Border Protections seized 160 with fake batteries and counterfeit safety marks. Officials say its possible those fake batteries were to blame for at least some of those fires. This controversy is growing, some places banning these all together. They are. In fact, they are banned on public roads and sidewalks in the u. K. And here in new york city, police have said the devices are illegal under rules governing motorized scooters. Anybody caught riding them can be find. A threat to pilots is the laser display that you use to brighten your home without stringing those lights, the f. A. A. Saying use caution setting up the projectors. An American Airline pilot said he saw a laser for more than 13,000 feet. The maker of the star shower said the laser should only be pointed at the house, not into the skies. Star wars, the force awakens hitting theaters on friday. All six of those movies making billions. The franchise cult is breathing into life into a forgotten malaysian culture. Easily recognizable but with a distinct diverges, this is star wars in shadow puppet play. Elaborate shadows cast by puppets are projected on to a screen. The master puppeteer provides the moves while a musician plays the sound track. We want to reconnect youth to this traditional craft. We used something to easily recognize, darth vader to help the project. It came to fruition. He has seen the popularity of craft dwindle. This is another way he hopes to keep the art alive. He started a gallery for visitors, as well as a school where he trains puppeteers and craftsman. The younger inr. Generation choosing to watch move series and concerts instead, so the new interest comes as a pleasant surprise. There are so many audiences coming to watch. To me, it is a good sign. The troop travels malaysia giving performances which are being well received. Most of the young people think the idea is crazy. How can you do something which is Science Fiction in very old cultures. However, the show which has received permission from lucas films, the producer of the star wars films needs funding. Until then, its only a 15 minute performance, but still enough to revive a dying art. Al jazeera, malaysia. Star wars the force awakens could be the biggest premier in hollywood history. The film is opening for v. I. P. Audiences in los angeles today. Regular fans have been camped outside the front of the historic chinese theater in l. A. For more than a week. Ahead, the world pins hopes on a political transition in syria, but it may not be in time to help the millions caught in the crossfire there. We are scared. Have an organized rightwing movement trying to kill others. Im off the coast of hawaii. We are on the Tipping Point of an ecological disaster. This coral is not dead. Techknows team of experts show you how the miracles of science. This is what innovation looks like. Can affect and surprise us. I feel like were making an impact. Lets do it. Techknow where Technology Meets humanity. Diplomatics stepped up airstrikes putting millions of syrians at risk. Anger in l. A. , cell phone Video Shows Police shooting an unarmed black man. Protestors call it unjustified. Snow piling up in colorado as tornadoes sweep through texas. Good morning. European leaders are meeting in brussels this morning with a focus on finding an end to the war in syria. The diplomatic push to end the crisis comes ahead of a major u. N. Meeting in new york later this week. Today, Foreign Ministers will meet with secretary of state john kerry in paris. Kerry saying that diplomatic efforts surrounding syria are a central concern for the u. S. Those meetings come on the heels of stepped up airstrikes by the Syrian Government. Several damascus suburbs hit over the weekend, 45 dead. Al jazeera reports. In this moment of sheer panic and desperation, talk of a truce is irrelevant, bloody bodies clouter the floor of a temporary basement clinic in douma. In this rebel stronghold outside damascus, lifeless infants are checked for vital signs. On another table, a doctor tries to save another child who has lost his legs. The streets are douma are littered with debris and shards of glass, making it difficult to reach those in need. Most of the victims were children and women at a market and a school. Activists say syrian and russian jets were targeting rebels who shelled damascus from the area. This latest exchange of fire between rebels and the government comes as United Nations humanitarian chief Steven Obrien toured Government Health areas, including damascus and homs. Obrien is trying to assess the needs of millions of syrians. The u. N. Proposed a ceasefire deal that would allow humanitarian aid in and some civilians to leave. Its also hoping it will lead to a nationwide truce. This follows a saudi sponsored initiative to unify the political opposition and hold direct talks with the regime, but the leader of one of the most prominent armed groups, alnusra front is criticizing that proposal saying syrias government is no longer in charge. They ar the regime controls y small areas of syria. Now the armed groups have more weapons than the regime has. The u. N. Says at least 220,000 people have been killed since the start of the war in march, 2011. For the millions of syrians living in this devastation, there appears to be no end in sight. Al jazeera. An sort previous off a of International Studies at Arcadia University told us that the saudi conference will have no effect on ending the conflict. While the riyadh conference was happening, there were two others also happening within syria, one in damascus by the pro regime opposition and one in the kurdish areas, as well, so even within riyadh there wasnt son senses and within the broader opposition landscape, there isnt, as well. The larger problem is that the powerful groups on the ground, the ones that have the greatest ability to affect the course and trajectory of the conflict are no longer supportive of the opposition and attempts to unify them. The russian intervention has weakened the western position. This is why we see a greater emphasis an the political process right now. The United States is losing, if you will, power to affect the trajectory of the conflict, so they want to legitimize the political pros. I think that unfortunately, the only way that a political process will turn into a solution or will translate into a solution is if it greatly satisfies russian and iranian interests in syria. I think at this point, the regime has withered and is so subservient to russian and iranian interests that in reality, assad himself and the apparatus around him is not really in a position to counter what russian and iranian interests are in syria. That said, were in a situation now where there are tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of pro regime militia men running around syria, and those groups and their relation to the regime is not really known. I mean, they have connections to the russian military, to the Iranian Military guards, but to the regime itself. I think that those groups have a tremendous impact on the conflict, so whether we see the regime itself negotiating, we could also see a parallel spoiler role played by these armed groups. He said the players now trying toned the conflict have actually been fueling it by supporting different opposition groups within syria. Investigators are trying to figure out what was behind an attack in a paris suburb. A teacher was stabbed inside a classroom in a nursery school. She was alone and suffered nonlife threatens injuries. Police say the masked suspect was wielding a box cutter and scissors and shouted it was a warning from isil. President obama plans to visit the pentagon today. The fight against isil tops the agenda. The president will meet with defense, intelligence and Law Enforcement officials. Later this week, hell get a briefing at the National Counter Terrorism Center. These events are aimed at easing public fears about any potential attacks. The showing of the prime time address by the president last week didnt do much to ease concerns. The search of the lake in San Bernardino is over. Police recovered some items but wont say what they are. Authorities were searching for evidence in Mass Shootings that left 14 dead. There are reports this morning that investigators were looking for a missing hard drive that belonged to the two suspects. Also in california, the f. B. I. Working with police in hawthorne to investigate hate crimes at a mosque in an Islamic Center, someone writing graffiti on the outside of both believes and leaving a fake grenade inside mosques. Incidents like this have been on the rise since the attacks in San Bernardino, california. This morning, theres anger in los angeles over the shooting death of an armed man at a busy intersection. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department promises a full investigation, but demonstrators say the shooting wasnt justified. Al jazeeras bisi onileere reports. They are images that felt eerily familiar, sheriffs deputies in los angeles caught by a bystanders cell phone during a deadly encounter. The victim was 28yearold nicholas robertson, an africanamerican. His death already sparking outrage with activists take to go social media calling for justice and family members asking why. You can see him on the video that hes crawling away and they still just shooting. The sheriffs democratic said deputies responded to multiple calls in the minutes leading up to the encounter, reporting robertson was roaming the area with a firearm acting erratically. We have six calls to 911 received from other businesses and residences in the immediate area. Not only was he armed, but had actually discharged a firearm several times. Deputies yelled for robertson to put the weapon down, but he ignored them. There are two women and three children in a car as a gas pump that is within five feet of him at the time. Actually, weve interviewed those witnesses and they expressed grave concern that they believe the suspect was actually going to shoot them. According to authorities, the two deputies fired a total of 33 shots. They have both been reassigned pending the investigation. Among the questions left to answer of investigators is why robertson was acting so agitated. Were not sure if it was because of circumstances or there may be a drug nexus to it, as well. Activists call for a thorough investigation. A black man once again was shot and killed by Law Enforcement. They also urged patience and calm. Let the investigation take its course and wherever it takes us and leads us to, thats where well go. Were asking people dont make a decision based on a 10 second clip of a cell phone video thats on the news. Bisi onileere, al jazeera, new york. Questions about Police Conduct taking center stage in baltimore, closing arguments expected in the first trial involving the death of agreed gray. William porter one of six officers charged in that case in baltimore. John terrett is live. How long are the summations, the closing arguments expected to take. Good morning, del, patricia. We are expecting when court gets underway roundabout 9 00 this morning to hear first of all the closing arguments from the prosecution and then closing arguments from the defense and then after that, judge Barry Williams will issue his instructions. Now assuming they get all that done fairly quickly and there are no breaks or not too many breaks, the jury could get the case late this morning or early this afternoon, which means its possible, i think unlikely, but possible that there will be a verdict by the end of the day. Here now is a review of how we got to where we are. William porters attorneys rested their case on friday after putting their client on the stand. The baltimore Police Officers faces Involuntary Manslaughter and three other charges in the death of freddie gray whose neck was broken in custody in april. Counter claims made by prosecutors is that freddie gray was having difficulty breathing and porter simply ignored his pleas for help when he was in distress in the back of the police von. Porter denied that gray told him he could not breathe and testified that when he checked on gray, he so you no sign of injury. Had he been injured, i would have called for a medic, porter said. When asked why he didnt secure gray with a seatbelt as required by updated Police Department policy, he said through all my training, i seatbelted people inside my personal vehicle, but never the wagon. Jurors saw the police wagon for themselves. Porter described it as pretty tight and noted that in seatbelting gray, his gun would have been close to gray. Gray asked for medical help but did not complain why he needed it. Porter knew gray from the neighborhood, saying he had a reputation for fayneing injury and two weeks before the arrest, gray tried to kick out the window of a police s. U. V. After he was detained. Among want witnesses who testified for the defense, former baltimore Police Commander Timothy Luongo now the chief of police in charlottsville West Virginia said porter acted within his discretion. A doctor countered the states expert saying when gray asked for help, porter could have saved his life by simply call a medic. Grays death a week after his arrest set off days of protest and rioting. Defense attorneys cautioned jurors against a verdict aimed at quelling unrest. As the trial draws to a close, the city is on edge. We have a system of justice. Is it perfect . No. Is it our system that we need to protect . Absolutely i think when you ask residents of the city to sit, to listen, to weigh evidence and then to make a decision, we need to respect their decisions. We have no idea of course once the jury gets the case how long it will take them to deliberate, but we do know that judge Barry Williams two weeks ago today when they were picking a jury said he wants the case to end by thursday. Del. Just 11 days to go before christmas, the inner harbor there a major area where shoppers are gathered. How concerned are they that regardless of what happens within this case that there just might be more violence . There could be, you know, the city is certainly on edge. The Police Commissioner here has said that the Police Department is preparing for a variety of scenarios. Hes canceled all police leave for the next seven days, officer working 12 hour shifts. The city of baltimore is saying dont judge is by the outcome of one of these cases. There are six individual Police Officers, six cases coming up. They will last between now apartment middle of next year. John, thank you very much. In just a few hours, federal officials are expected to outline new regulations for drones. Preliminary f. A. A. Rules released last month called for a nationwide registry for most of the devices. According to one study from bar college, there have been more than 300 Close Encounters between drones and planes over the past two years. Analysts predict more than 700,000 drones will be purchased over this Holiday Season. They are cleaning up in texas this morning. Tornadoes hitting that state over the weekend. The tornadoes on the ground near dallas and houston ripping the roofs off of houses, uprooting trees and knocking down power lines. High winds even knocking a train off the traction. They say at least 50 homes there were damaged. Lets bring in Nicole Mitchell because shes goings to tell us how much worse it might get. The storms better, but over the weekend, yes, there were three different tornadoes reported in texas. Before that, the same storm moving through washington state, a tornado reported. In december, thats pretty exceptional especially for washington, but anywhere, part of it has been this big temperature divide. In some case, record warm. Not every has set record, but its been persistent how warm its been for so many days. We could set september warm records. You could see the dividing line where were still ahead of this, temperatures in the 60s, even 70s up the east coast. Thats phenomenal for december. Dropping behind that, 30 degrees, more back to normal this time of of year. It was the warm air that helped fuel that strong storm as it went through. For most, this is a rainstorm p. M. You can see a heavier band in the northern tier. We could in places like tennessee or kentucky get one or two inches total. The backside, a little bit of mixing into some wintery precipitation, but this has mostly ban rainstorm because of all that warmth. The next system behind that now that this has cooled us down will be a snow system. Ahead of this, where weve had heavier amounts of rain, some spotty flooding for today. Again, this hasnt had such prolific rain that its caused too many problems, but something to monitor. This pulls through the northeast the next couple of days and a little bit quieter behind that until we get to the next one. Wheel have the snowstorm coming up in the next hour. The storms we are seeing with the heat of part of that pendulum, that extreme on one side or the other side with this el nino and global warming. This in general, 2015 easily on track. I think we are 99 to be the warmest year on record. This just adds to all of that. Nicole, thank you very much. Theres confusion underway in Northern Iraq this morning. Turkish forces are on the move and there are reports theyre being pulled out of the country altogether, but turkish media said they are being repositioned to other bases. The turks were training Iraqi Kurdish fighters to fight as i say ill. Baghdad asked the u. N. To pull all those soldiers out of the country. Egyptian investigators have yet to find evidence that it was terrorism that brought down that plane in early october, saying there was no indication of foul play. That contradicts what russian and u. S. Investigators found. Isil claimed that an affiliate put that bomb onboard the plane. 224 people died when the jet crashed taking off from sharm elsheikh. We are going to take a look at all the shootings in chicago. The trial putting censorship back in the public eye. The only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and thats what were doing at xfinity. We are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. And this includes our commitment to being on time. Every time. Thats why if were ever late for an appointment, well credit your account 20. Its our promise to you. Were doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. Because we should fit into your life. Not the other way around. Guns and violence have been in the headlines all year in chicago. This year, Aljazeera America is going to take a closer look at the problem. We have a series we are calling five days in chicago. We have more on the issues that continue to divide the windy city. Weekend after weekend, shooting after shooting, chicago has become infamous for its gun violence. In chicago, 10 dead, 54 others injured. It has dominated the headlines. In chicago, seven of those people were killed. Giving rise to the citys nickname, chiraq. Yet the city is safer than decades past. It always has been division. Theres always been two chicagos. It starts from the top town. He took the day off to protest. Theres always been two chicagos. Weve known that our whole lives. We hear shots almost every night. Everyone is on pins and needles and after a period of time, you become numb to it. I dont want us to be numb to it anymore. Al jazeera, chicago. A reporter for the chicago reporter, his latest article about Chicago Police contracts and how theyre being renewed in the aftermath of Laquan Mcdonalds death, all eyes are on the mayor. There are calls for him to resign following his handle of the Laquan Mcdonald case, but when you read the contract between the city and f. O. P. , it appears his hands may have been tied firing the officer and releasing the tape. Is that a Fair Assessment . To a fair extent, yes, i think his hands were tied, in many ways. In other ways, obviously theres lots of questions about what he knew and when and how the city handled it, but the contract was a very, very big part of the citys response in handling. You write this article. I wanted to ask you this question. Did you get any blow back . Did you get any people calling up saying why did you write this, are you trying to defend the mayor, because there is such a public outcry in chicago that mayor rahm emanuel has to go. I didnt get that so much. I think the people recognize that no one official, no one individual is fully responsible for everything that happened here. We have a system and they are structural issues, not just individual issues. Getting rid of a mayor or superintendent without changing the actual system itself would do very little in the eyes of lots of folks here, though a lot of people out there in the streets do want the mayors resignation. I think that theres an understanding that there are bigger issues at play. The contract between the fob and city of chicago expires in 2017, the caucus demanding an officers risk be tied to their employment, in other words if an officer is a problematic cop, there would be problems with his employment. How would that change the landscape, in your opinion . The idea is that you encourage a department culture, one where bad behavior isnt tolerated, where people know their contract doesnt give them multiple lets say steep discounts on discipline thats been handed down or doesnt allow them to continue to cost thety millions of dollars and have all these complaints. People shouldnt be able to do that. Folks are saying with impunity essentially, folks are able to do this and contracts protect them. This would change the landscape in that it flags people for maybe interventions, maybe there is an issue with training. Maybe folks need to not be on the force, but the idea is that if your liability is tied to your employment, after a while, you would have done something to raise the flag to draw attention to you and maybe its easier to get rid of so called bad apples. You right that these contract negotiations happen behind closed doors. When the tape kim out, everybody said why didnt you fire the cop. He said he couldnt. Were his hands tied by this contract . Well, the mayor cannot and the superintendent cannot unilaterally just on his own fire any Police Officer whos covered under this policing contract. Theres a rather slow cumbersome disciplinary process. The applies department would file charges with the police board who reviews discipline and try to get something to happen. It can be aggrieved through arbitration. That binding arbitration has been shown to be very much stacked in favor of Police Officers, so, it seems as though what managers can do can be overturned and that in itself, to be a leader and try to fire someone constantly and for folks to see that it doesnt really work, theres lots of things at play that makes it hard for a mayor to just say we want that guy out. Mr. Emmanuel, thank you very much for being with us. You can see more of our week long special five days in chicago airing at 7 00 p. M. Tonight eastern time. The state department is warning americans to steer career of burundi. Armed clashes over the africa nations political future has killed 90 people since friday. All nonemergency u. S. Government worker and family members are urged to leave burundi as soon as possible. Violence broke out in april after the president announce he would seek a disputed third term in office. Politics, tough talk from donald trump. He leaks out at ted cruz gains ground. Images matter. Innovative filmmaker, spike lee on his controversial new movie. The southwest side of chicago is a war zone. Taking on the critics. And another thing. A lot of the people have not seen the film. And spurring change through his art. We want this film to save lives. I lived that character. We will be able to see change. 2000 your world this morning, now 8 30 eastern time. European leaders are meeting in brussels this morning, focusing on trying to find an end to the war in syria. Later today, secretary of state john kerry is going to be sitting down for talks on syria in paris. The u. S. And the u. N. Both hope to hold a meeting in new york on friday, laying out the groundwork for more syrian talks next year. The l. A. County Sheriffs Department is investigating police who shot and killed a man at a busy intersection this weekend. Officials say the man was waiving a gun and kept pointing it at them even after he was shot 33 times. Demonstrators in l. A. Want a federal investigation. A leading chinese human rights lawyer awaiting his verdict after going on trial today. He is accused of posting inflammatory comments on line. There were scuffles outside the court between police and journalists and protestors there. People werent allowed inside to watch the trial. A shakeup ahead of the polls in the next republican president ial debate. Ted cruz is gaining ground. The latest wall street news journal poll puts him just five points behind donald trump. In iowa, cruz is winning, ahead of trump two to 10 points ahead. Now trump is taking aim at cruz. I dont think he has the right temperament. I dont think hes got the right judgment. Whats wrong with his temperament . You look at the way he dealt with the senate where he goes in there like a, frankly like a little bit of a maniac. Youre never going to get things done that day. Look, i built a phenomenal business. I am worth many, many billions of dollars. I have some of the greatest assets anywhere in the world. You cant walk into the senate and scream and call people liars and not be able to cajole and get along with people. Hell never get anything done. Thats the problem with ted. Trump insisted his own judgment has been sound. He also said he can beat Hillary Clinton in a general election. Political scientist michael fontroy saying cruz does have a history of not being a Republican Team player. He has made his political persona thumbing his nose at the establishment. He doesnt work well with others. Its difficult to see how he would have the temperament at trump noted to do the kind of things and work in the consensus way that needs to happen. Remember, senator cruz has been at the fore front of opposing virtually everything that president obama has done. So he will see it from both sides if cruz were to win. Let me ask you this. There were fears that donald trump and ted cruz were hurting the party and they might be losing in down ballot races. How concerned should the Republican Party be now that it said it wanted to open itself up to be that big tent, that that tent has now shrunk and they could see more losses than just the white house . The down ballot piece is important. You are going to see a number of down ballot races that are going to be more closely contested, because many republicans are not going to be excited about voting for him as a nominee. The republicans could theoretically lose the senate and see their margins in the house shrink partly because those downed ballots will be more closely contested and where the political rubber meets the road locally would be affected by trump nomination. Let me push back on that. The kentucky governors race, a republican wins, the democratic there was ahead five points in the polls, the day before the election. Is it time to jettison the polls and what about eric cantor in virginia . They said the same thing about that race. I think your point about the polling is important. Keep in mind also that caucus polling, which is what we have in iowa is much more difficult to manage than we see generally, but i dont know that what happened in kentucky or with eric cantor are sort of the leading edge of a trend. I think those are more race specific. I think as you see a more wholesome National Dialogue particularly on issues of the economy and on immigration, you could see a National Trend more so than what i think are more localized races. There is speculation trump will attack cruz. Two republican candidates will join the front runners on the main stage for the next Republican Debate tuesday. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and kentucky senator rand paul. They had been pushed to the second tear in earlier debates due to low poll numbers. Recent polls show them with barely enough support to meet the threshold to make the main stage. Income inequality is a major issue in the u. S. President ial race. The two parties have different plans to address it. Al jazeera went to las vegas, a city where the split between the haves and have nots is very visible. It is a city built for excess where only the best have everything is on display and for sale and thousands lose that on a single game which cards. Las vegas is rebounding from the recession. For people who make their play possible, things around quite as good, maria cleans hotel rooms for 14. 86 an hour. She says its not enough for her and her four kids, even though its double the federal minimum wage. I feel like, you know, a lot of stress at home. I feel sad, you know. Sometimes i have to stop paying some bills to get food for my kids, you know. Thats my life, every day. In the shadow of the gleaming gold tower where she works, she took part in this protest march in an attempt to get her coworkers to start a union in the hopes together they could demand better wages, because the person she works for, donald trump says a higher minimum wage would be bad for the country. Its a big debate in this campaign, marriage wages have barely increased since the recession, so the question for politicians, should the minimum wage be raised from 7. 70 an hour. Democrats say it would help the economy. We have this direct effect where people who really need the money get it, we can always see that they really need the money, so they spend it. As that cycles through the economy, you create Business Opportunities and there is a broader affect that is not just getting the increase. Republicans argue the opposite would actually happen. Doubling the minimum waged not help the economy. It would make our businesses less competitive. It would likely mean higher prices and lower benefits for workers and many individuals wouldnt be able to get a job at all. Both sides have studies to back up their arguments. Hers is a much more apparently appeal. Thats what they think, but we are a person, you know, we have a life at home, like they do. We deserve to have better. Her boss guess agrees, so her coworkers voted to form a union hoping if they cant change his mind for the country, they can force him to change in one part of his business empire. Al jazeera, las vegas, nevada. Planned parenthood filed a federal lawsuit after a state investigation there into the groups practices, it is found they improperly disposed of fetal remains, the group finding those findings inflammatory. They say they are calculated to lead to an all out ban on abortions. While it feels like fall, even string leer, its definitely wintery in colorado. Portion of that state received know over the weekend. Denver so you about two inches on saturday, ill in the rockies, some areas record more than seven inches. There were traffic delays along interstate 70 where the snow delayed the opening of a new expressway. What makes this so fascinating is we are seeing that snow in the midwest and out on the west coast but on the east coast incredibly warm temperatures. I actually just got to brag to someone in los angeles has has, were warmer in new york, which is a very rare appearance that that happened. This one that looks at least on the radar like the more potent system with all the rain, that is what brought in cooler temperatures. Really, more back down to normal for a lot of cases. Ahead of it is where temperatures are 20 to 30 above and very warm and very unfeasible. Its this next system that is going to bring more seasonal weather with it, so now that this is in the colder air from behind the next system, where this one will be snow versus rain and we have it from arizona to portions of montana this morning, especially the northern tear this, not only heavy snow, some places will get six inches, isolated spots a foot and higher in the higher elevations, but wind along with it. This is for today as we get into tomorrow, more of this starts to move in the midwest. This is more are our classic storm system. Then i want to mention as were dealing with this sort of weather here and it kind of goes on, as i said for the next couple of days, this one stays more north, just a little moisture on the southern end of all of this, but from winter to tropical, as we go around the world, we actually have a typhoon that is hitting the philippines right now. This is the equivalent of a category four storm. As it moves in and movers through quickly, it will diminish within the next couple of days. A lot of impact, weve already seen the high winds moving through. Heres the video of that, very active area of the world, but still for it to be the equivalent of what we would call a category four, definitely watching for some of the damage and impact as all this moves along. Pretty big storm. Yeah. Thank you, Nicole Mitchell. In california, a hospital is trying to locate mothers whose babies may have been exposed to do burke closes at its maternity wing. More than a thousand people might have been exposed to the disease that happened between august and november. A nurse who had active t. B. But didnt know it was working with the mothers and newborns. The hospital says it will offer preventative treatment to anyone that might have been exposed, those tiny little infants. Costa ricas president is in cuba this morning. One of the items on the agenda is a growing migration crisis. Thousands was cubans trying to get to the u. S. Are stuck in costa rica because nicaragua wont let them cross the borders. The number of cubans crossing into the u. S. Has raised 60,000. Riot Police Stand Guard on the nicaragua border. The country is refusing to let 5,000 cubans in costa rica pass through on their way to the u. S. We dont have any other motivation other than getting to the United States, but we dont have passage through nicaragua. We cant go back. Many cubans have sold their homes and they have no work. Cuba will not accept us if we return. There will be a retaliation against us. Since 1966, cubans who reach the u. S. Are eligible more or less for automatic residency. As relations with the u. S. Thaw, many worry that will end, leaving a new wave of people to try to reach the u. S. In the past, poverty and the castro governments limits on travel made braving the Florida Travel made braving the florida straits the only escape route, but now cubans can travel to ecuador without visas, opening a new route overland through Central America and mexico. According to Border Protection in 2014, more than 17,000 cubans arrived in the u. S. Through the mexican border. This year, that number has nearly doubled, until the borders were closed. At a recent summit, the nicaragua summit said the Cuban Migrants are a threat to security. Costa rica had a plan to bypass nicarauguas road block by flying them to guatemala and bell lease to continue their journey but those countries have also refused to let them in. This position disappoints and especially due to the argued reason, which is that this should be resolved through a regional treaty. Central american countries have been under pressure to crack down on migration since 2014 when tens of thousands was children arrived in the u. S. In the meantime, costa ricas foreign minister said he is running out of options. We urgently request the countries located toward the south, ecuador, panama and columbia, implement clearer, more forceful measures to avoid these migrant flows. For now, these Cuban Migrants remain in limbo. Paul beban, al jazeera. Still ahead, well talk about a shift in policy in germany refugees may no longer find a warm welcome. In saudi arabia, women getting the chance to serve in public offers. This is the warm welcome for Syrian Refugees in canada, getting a lot of attention on line, earning praise for how canada has handled the refugees, a childrens chair singing a song in arabic, a song of welcome and hope. 160 people landed in toronto just last week. The song is significant to many in the muslim faith. Tradition says it was also sung to the prophet mohammed when he, too, sought refuge. So must have of a contrast the way they are being treated in different countries, some saying they should not be allowed to come in period. The canada government welcoming the refugees, other nations sticking to their pledges post paris, like scotland who remained committed to its pledge to settle before christmas. The warm welcome for refugees in germany may be turning chillier. Angela merkel told her conservative party she will slow the number of refugees coming to her country. They have seen 1 million migrants arrive this year. Merkel said its in the best interest of her country to limit how many arrive going forward. She has faced pressure to take a tougher stander on the migrant issue. The leader of the far right party in france blaming lies, saying it cost her her victory in the latest region ales. Marie lepen dropping to third place. They led in almost half the regions just one week ago. History was made in saudi arabia this weekend, the country holing its first elections open to women. 19 women have been elected. Al jazeera has the story. The doors have opened to a new era in saudi public life with two milestones reached, women gaining the right to vote, and to stand as candidates in local elections. I feel very happy that king salman has given us this opportunity to vote. Now we are equal to men. The journey to gender equality has been a slow one. So has the overall pace of political reform. The monarchy often applies to literal interpretation of islamic allow and saudis have voted in just three local elections to choose councils that are the only elected body in the kingdom. I want to see the woman to be more involved in every institution, in the government and the private sector. Ok . To be part of the planning, part of the execution, she has to be there. Behind the scenes, saudi women have powerful positions, they sit on the top advisory body, the sura council. Women still didnt drive themselves to the polls saturday, a freedom women elsewhere enjoy. Controversy over politics in brazil where protestors filled the streets of 100 cities this weekend. They are fee handing the impeachment of president rousseff. Roussef was reelected less than a year ago. Since then, theres been growing frustration over the rapidly deteriorating economy and an expanding Corruption Scandal that rocked the government, lawmakers started impeachment proceedings early they are month. We will talk about the popular holiday gift yanked from the shelves. Two major retailers stopped selling hover boards, the risk that they could explode. Excitement from a galaxy far, far away. The return of star wars, giving them old tradition as new start. We have people who are desperately in need of jobs. Hear from citizens caught in the crossfire. We want freedom, freedom . And what america can learn from chicagos ongoing gun violence. World leaders are trying to sell that major Climate Change agreement back to their governments at home. One of the key negotiators, sussecretary of state john kerry praising the deal. Were going to continue to be pumping gas and using gas and oil for years to come, but what it does is it signals that theres a transformation taking operation and people need to diversify, people need to look for cleaner ways of doing things. That deal agreed to on saturday is the first global consensus on cutting Greenhouse Gas emissions. The agreement also promises to help the poorer countries build their economied in an environmentally friendly way. Christmas is just 11 days and counting. I was sad to hear you say that. Those two major on line retailers are stopping the sale of hover boards. John henry smith has more. Hover board is on fire. He paid 500 for his hover board. He said 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 its whats 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. Thats part of the reason why most major domestic carriers no longer let passengers bring hoverboards onboard. Mom, get some water or something. While the fire danger hasnt turned off timothy from getting another hoverboard. Im hoping they worked out the kinks. Its made others check their christmas list twice. I dont really want it anymore. They are banned on public roads and sidewalks in the u. K. , and here in new york city, police have said the devices are i will legal under rules governing motor rides scooters. Anyone caught using them could get fined up to 500. This was supposed to be one of the hottest Christmas Gifts this season, really lucrative. That have its knockoffs, any role of knockoffs in these hoverboards catching fire . The department of customs and Border Protection said it seized more than 160 hoverboards with fake batteries and counterfeit safety marks. Officials say its possible those fake batteries were to blame for at least some of these fires. John, thank you very much. I was fascinated by this one, as well. Another hot item is posing a threat to pilots. Those laser displace that let you light your home without stringing lights, the f. A. A. Warns people to be cautious setting up the projectors. An American Airlines pilot saw a laser for more than 13,000 feet. The maker of star shower says the laser should on the be pointed at your house, not at the sky. As most fans are well aware, star wars, the force awakens hits theaters worldwide this friday, all six of the star war movies have already made billions. As al jazeeras florence lee reports, the franchises following is breathing new life into a forgotten malaysian art form. R2d2 and c3pio are easily recognized. This is a puppet crafted and projected on to a screen. The master puppeteer controls every move, provides the narration and the voices while a traditional band of musicians plays the sound track. Its a concept dreamed up by tim and a friend. We actually want to reconnect youth to this tradition. Maybe if you use something they can easily recognize like darth vader, it helps the project. It came to fruition. He has seen the popularity of the craft dwindle over the decades. This is another way he hopes to keep the art alive. He started a gallery for visitors, as well as a school where he trains puppeteers and craftsman. The Younger Generation choosing to watch movies and concerts instead, so the new interest comes as a pleasant surprise. As a master puppeteer, there are so many audiences coming to watch. To me, it is a good sign. The troop travels malaysia giving performances which are being well received. Most of the young people think the idea is crazy. How can you do something which is Science Fiction in very old cultures. However, the show which has received permission from lucas films, the producers of the star wars films needs funding. Until then, its only a 15 minute performance, but still enough to revive a dying art. Al jazeera, malaysia. Star wars the force awakens could be the biggest premier in hollywood history. The film is opening for v. I. P. Audiences in los angeles today. Regular fans have been camped outside the front of the historic chinese theater in l. A. For more than a week. Many first night screenings already sold out. I already have my tickets. Thats it for us here in new york. Coming up from doha in our next hour, more on the strapping near paris involving a preschoolteacher, the person responsible shouting it was a warning from isil. Your world this morning is back tomorrow morning at 7 00 a. M. Eastern. After protests in baghdad and basra, turkey moves its troops stationed in Northern Iraq. Hello, im richelle care live from doha. Also ahead on the program, almost five years of fighting in more than a quarter of a Million People killed, the diplomatic push to end the conflict in syria takes center stage. Scuffle of protestors outside beijing courthouse as a well known rights lawyer stands trial over on line posts