Welcome to your world this morning im John Henry Smith and stephanie has the day off and faithful celebrating christmas and the day traditions say jesus christ is born and also praying for an end to a jeer of year of violence and suffering. Pope francis delivered his traditional Christmas Mass to tens of thousands listening outside in st. Peters square and asked for reconciliation in the middle east and in africa. Translator only gods mercy can free humanity from the many forms of evil, at times monstrous evil which spawns in our midst. Reporter meanwhile in the syrian capitol damascus the Christian Community celebrated christmas overnight, hundreds lined the streets to watch fireworks and sing carols not far from where the syrian army is fighting antigovernment rebels and christians makeup 11 of the syrian population many of whom fled since the start of the war, in the u. S. President obama and the first lady put out their holiday message a short time ago. Today like millions of americans and christians around the world our families celebrates the birth of jesus and the values he lived in his own life. Treating one another with love and compassion, caring for those on societys margins. The sick and the hungry. The poor and the persecuted, the stranger in need of shelter or simply an act of kindness. Reporter the white house has been decorated for this season, the 62 trees there with more than 70,000 ornaments but as has been tradition the president and first lady recorded that message before they went on vacation. He and the first family are marking the holiday in his home state hawaii. Al jazeera has more on the worldwide christmas celebrations which began overnight. From the epicenter of the catholic faith the pope leads the faithful through a Midnight Mass marking the birth of jesus christ. A way from the vatican people around the world are celebrating christmas as well. In cuba there is an atmosphere of hope after the u. S. Reestablished diplomatic relations with the communist nation after more than 40 years. It is making it easier for cuban americans to reconnect with cuba. Translator its absolutely changed 100 with everything, why . Because people want to reunite with their family and spend christmas with friends and get back to your roots and everything and so people feel a little bit more together. Reporter christmas this year falls a day after the profit mohameds birthday, in iraq fireworks will be by the river of baghdad every night of the week and estimated 200,000 iraq christians displaced by the Islamic State of iraq and levante since last year and many live in camps around baghdad. In the Central African republic businesses are struggling in a climate of instability. Fighting between muslims and christians over the past three years has left the country dealing with social and economic challenges, many government workers have not been paid their salaries. But that has not affected the christmas spirit. Translator , in fact, the town is lively with a lot of traffic and means the celebrations will go well despite the difficulties we are going through. People are determined to celebrate even if there is no money. Reporter people in france are being asked to remain vigilant going about celebrations and the country is still under a state of emergency after last months multiple attacks that left 130 people dead. Security is tight in the chinese capitol too after the british and u. S. Government issued a warning about possible threats to westerners on or around the christmas period. But that didnt stop hundreds of catholics from attending Christmas Eve mass in this communist country. And in bethlehem thousands of worshippers gather at the church of nativity led by the ar archbishop where the spot where jesus christ was born and called for unity and mercy. Al jazeera. Some people in Northern California are waking up to damage from tornados, this one touched down in east of sacramento in the neighborhood there were damaged roofs and downed trees and broken fences but no reports of any injuries. And death toll is now 14 from tornados that ripped across the south and midwest earlier this week, 34 twitters reported in 7 states and majority in tennessee and mississippi and governors in the states declared emergencies and thousands are still without power and may take days to get them back on and for more on this extreme weather lets bring in the metrologist and when can the people expect some relief from this . The other threat we will talk about is the flooding because the storms are still there. Lets see what is happening now and see all the rain that is pumping in across the gulf coast states and storms building up with a few severe thunderstorm watches and warnings in effect but there are no tornado watches and warnings in effect right now. The big problem here is going to be the flooding. I want to take you a little closer so the flooding is going to be the big problem and talk a little later at the next winter storm coming in and then the weekend we could see another Severe Threat coming in. That is going to be coming up, in just a few moments but lets talk about what is happening here across the south. Still across alabama, mississippi, parts of georgia we are talking about a lot of rain happening. Over the last 48 hours we have seen quite a few tornados across this area, just in the last 18 hours we did see one here in parts of georgia but take a look at all of the warnings that are in effect right now, all the green is talking about flash flood warnings as well as a flood warnings and as well as flood watches. Lets get all of the states and expecting to see anywhere between probably another 68 of rain across this area over the next couple of days. And then the next threat is coming out of the west right here across new mexico. We do expect to see our next winter storm but before i go i want to show you what it looked like in new york city yesterday where temperatures were broken. We were looking at temperatures up in the mid 70s depending on what part of the city you were at. A lot of people had their shorts on. A lot of people of course put away those jackets. Today its going to be a little cooler but temperatures are still going to be well above average. Warm christmas thank you so much. There is a deal in the works that could allow injured i. S. I. L. Fighters and family members to leave an over crowded refugee camp, u. N. Says conditions at the camp just outside the capitol damascus have become deplorable and also difficult to get humanitarian aid inside because of i. S. I. L. s presence there. In april the group infiltrated the camp and briefly seized large parts of it. Al jazeera has the details of the proposed deal. Reporter u. N. Official confirming to al jazeera that the u. N. Is involved in this deal in syria but backing away from reports that its a u. N. Brokered deal. The u. N. Official told al jazeera quote the u. N. Is an observer for the agreement concerning yarmook but not part of it and what we are hearing from the u. N. Now this deal, the details of which are still very vague potentially could involve i. S. I. L. Fighters given safe passage out of the refugee camp and into the i. S. I. L. Stronghold of raqqa. Now this would be important because the refugee camp is a very dangerous place right now. Ban kimoon has previously said it is quote in the deepest circle of hell and that is because there is not only i. S. I. L. Fighters there that infiltrated the camp in april but also alqaeda linked alnusra front fighters as well as pro and antigovernment malitias there as well all fighting for territory within the sprawling refugee camp on the outskirts of damascus. Caught in the middle of in the u. N. Says there are about 18,000 refugees innocent civilians there that the u. N. Is not able to get any sort of aid into so the thinking is if this deal can be brokered and some of the armed fighters especially i. S. I. L. Fighters are able to leave it will allow the u. N. To get in there and deliver aid to the people that need it the most. Now it is important to note that this is not a done deal yet but we are told that if it does get done it could happen as early as saturday. Reporting from the u. N. , once the camp is made safe the u. N. Will be able to get aid to those refugees. Afghanistan Security Officials say 20 people have been killed in overnight fighting with the taliban in the province, for days the army has been trying to push the group out of the districts, fighting is now spreading to other parts. Al jazeera is near the front line. What is the latest on the fight . What we are hearing from afghan Security Officials here that afghan official forces applied and is fighting facetoface from very close distance taliban and we are hearing that afghan reenforcement start traveling yesterday and they arrived there and now Afghan Security forces are saying that they are in a better position but taliban are saying also that they are there and they are going to continue to fight. The residents complaining about use of bombardment and artillery from both sides and heavy fighting continuing. What is the u. S. Doing to help push back the taliban . Well, u. S. Is playing a very significant role now in this fight because without the u. S. Air support it will be a very difficult fight for Afghan Security forces to win. I talked with a couple of high government officials here in helman and they said without the u. S. Air support it was impossible to push taliban back and now that they are benefitting from the u. S. Air support they are saying they have an upper hand in taliban. Now remember in this part of the country logistic supply for the forces is very extremely difficult because the remote part and also from here last year they got 70 kilometers to sangi and its the stronghold taliban area, there are lots of ieds and there are lots of mines so the u. S. Is playing a very significant role by giving afghan the air support and also playing the advisor to afghan forces. Thank you so much for that report. In nigeria a huge blast at a gas plant left dozens of people dead and injured. It happened in the southeastern part of the country in a town about 250 miles south of abuja and a truck carrying butane cooking gas exploding offloading at the plant and residents gathered around waiting to buy gas to Cook Christmas meals and blast damaged houses in surrounding area and the fire raged for more than five hours after explosion. A payment 36 years in the making for the American Embassy staff who became victims in the iran hostage crisis and starting next year the hostages and estates will get up to 4. 4 million. Its part of the federal spending bill president obama signed last week. 53 american citizens captured back in 1979 and spent 444 days in captivity, some were tortured. Investigation is underway in North Carolina after gunfire caused panic on thursday and happened at the Northgate Mall in charlotte and a gun between two groups of people and an off Duty Police Officer shot and killed a person who says pointed a gun at him. This is not a random act of violence. This is something that happened between two parties who were beefing back and forth. We were just walking and people just started running, yelling and screaming so i just my first thing to do is get safe. Reporter shoppers who were crowding the mall for lastminute gifts hid in stores and locked themselves inside, the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave. In chicago tensions are high following release of audio tapes related to last years Police Shooting of mcdonald and comes from conversations between chicago and dispatchers as they chased mcdonald. Let me know when he is in custody guys. Fire. Shots by the police. Over here. Recordings show that officers were looking to use a taser on mcdonald after the 17yearold was spotted breaking into cars, instead mcdonald was shot 16 times. Officer Jason Van Dyke is facing first degree murder charges. Chicago main shopping district is quiet after a small group of protesters shut down things on thurs and anding thursday and angry about corruption in the chicago pd and as we say they want the mayor to step down. A much more quiet Christmas Eve downtown than on black friday and 100 protesters and a couple arrests far less disruptions of businesses down here as well but this protest still packed a punch. They called it the black christmas protest, marchers once again on the move pass all the high end shops on Michigan Avenue on the last day of Christmas Shopping and called again for the resignation of mayor emmanuel and they blocked the traffic by laying down, playing dead they said, in remembrance of mcdonald. 16 shots and a cover up. Reporter but this time protesters got a big assist from a hispanic protest group. Is there any difference between how the Hispanic Community views this as opposed to the black community . A little stigma between them and the black community but we see justice of general things so no matter what happens with the communities justice is for both communities. Making Society Better for all of us. Reporter Police Stayed hands off as they helped block entrances to a few stores like the apple store. Some people say you are hurting black and miss hispanic workers when the store shut down what do you say to that . If the people who work there really care about what is going on in society they will come out and join us. Reporter between the out of town protesters and the out of town shoppers and tourists who gawked from the sidelines no doubt the message is getting out. So this is like two weeks ago, Something Like this. Happening a lot lately. In the news. Definitely shouldnt happen any more and its not right so its terrible. A lot of people think that barack obama was the answer to all of our problems, well we got a long way to go. Its not just in cleveland and not just in chicago, its worldwide. Reporter police kept a tight but quiet watch over protesters who ripped into them but its a strategy that for the most part has worked in four weeks of protests there have only been a handful of arrests but with new groups joining the cause its anyones guests how many protests are still ahead. The mayor has been barely seen or heard since the apology a couple weeks ago and staff says today he is vacationing with his family in cuba. Back to you. That is andy for us in chicago. Nurses and 911, the program in Washington State that officials hope could save money and lives. Plus the new technology that in one simple test can diagnose Breast Cancer in some women at increased risk. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths among women worldwide, in south africa one in eight women develop the disease as Al Jazeera Miller reports from cape town experts there say a new screening machine could save time and money. Reporter this is the latest innovation in Breast Cancer technology being tested and usually the disease is looked at with a mammogram or xrays. When the lady has dense breast tissue and that happens in almost half of women, particularly those aged between 4050, that density can mask the cancer. Reporter this machine is able to xray the breast and take ultrasound at the same time penetrating dense breast tissue to reveal any cancer. This is the worlds first system that incorporates both these technologies into a single platform so the idea would be that you can catch that Breast Cancer early in one go rather than having to ask the woman to come back repeatedly for more studies in the future. Reporter when nora also a had a lump which was benign helped with the testing. Using the machine compared to other digital machines ive worked with before and good to see there is so much progress being made especially when you think of the time that you need to have the mammogram and have an ultrasound afterwards. Reporter early test results show the machine to be safe and effective. Development began six years ago and it cost about 3 million. Studies by doctors around the world suggest that around five of every thousand women tested with a mammogram xray have a tumor detected, that total rises to around 12 of every thousand tested with ultrasound. Now, the developers of the machine say its technology will provide women with access to better quality cancer testing without having to under go two separate tests. Both the developers and the government say the machine which costs 350,000 can be used to reach a large number of people. We would like to see greater manufacturing capability in south africa and developing this machine in our country and then being able to market it to europe, we hope eventual to the United States and throughout the africa continent and through this development make a difference to the Health Status of women. Reporter while women will save time and money, Developers Say the greater benefit will be the quicker detection of cancer to save lives. Miller, al jazeera, cape town. More health news there is a new call today for giving more people Blood Pressure medication even if their Blood Pressures are normal. Researchers writer in the medical journal say doctors who focus on individuals risks rather than Blood Pressure thresholds and found patients high risk of smokers and people over 65 with diabetes would benefit from the treatment and until now they were offered monitoring but not pills. A Fire Department in Washington State is testing out a Pilot Program aimed at providing better and cheaper medical care and stationing a nurse at fire houses and al jazeeras has the story. Reporter firefighter is in route to a call in washington. Having to go to the Emergency Rooms to deal with infections because not getting prolonged care. Reporter this is to the nurse sarah harden. Have been here before. Yeah, several times. Reporter when they arrive harden brings her medical supplies, together they check on the patient. How often do you change that . Reporter part of a Pilot Program run by the city known as fd cares and adds nurses into the 911 mix. What you need here is actually an emt and nurse together, that is what makes this model different. Reporter savvy nurses at this fire station 24 7 came after looking at the types of 911 calls the department receives, more than 70 of the calls that come in here are medical related and of those more than a third are not medical emergencies, they dont require er care. Emergency responders also realized many 911 calls were coming from the same people elderly and mentally ill and homeless, veterans and people with language barriers. Here we have a tier one patient. Reporter a special database to identify who was calling 911 and how often. How often do you see that when someone is calling over a period of time they are calling 911 multiple times for care . We see it all the time. Reporter dozens of people are calling 911, more than 25 times a year. Just stabilized release as opposed to treated and have no c continuity of care. Reporter they assess if the 911 call requires a trip to the er and after that a team of firefighters, a nurse and a social worker discuss frequent callers to determine who warrants a followup house call. It makes so much sense when i can talk to the patient and my partner has a different approach and i come in and i can ask about well have you went doing these kind of things and how about these medications, are you taking them regularly. Reporter the National Quality forum focused on improving healthcare estimates that unnecessary care wastes 38 billion dollars a year in the u. S. , medical professionals say connecting people to the right resources means patients get better care and er visits are reserved for true medical emergencies. I think it has a lot of merit and i think its gone well beyond peoples expectations in terms of taking two disciplines and having them work side by side. Reporter looking at adopting similar programs so this Team Approach could become common practice in the future. Al jazeera, kent, washington. The threat of deportation in the controversial move prompting Democratic Candidates to lash out at the white house plus the year Fantasy Sports became real big business and we look back at the industrys explosion in popularity and why some states are looking to squash it. You are looking live at manger square in bethlehem the birth play of jesus on this 2015. Welcome back to your world this morning, it is 7 29 eastern time, taking a look at todays top stories the faithful around the world are marking Christmas Today including pope francis who used his annual address at the vatican to call for peace especially in the middle east and africa and also played for negotiations to end the fighting in syria. U. N. Says its trying to broker a deal that would allow injured i. S. I. L. Fighters and their families to leave a refugee camp near damascus and Officials Say it has been difficult to get humanitarian aid inside the camp because of i. S. I. L. s presence there. [change of captioners] afghan troops have been trying to push the group out of the province in southern afghanistan. U. S. Airstrikes have been aiding the afghans in that strike. A major policy fight erupted between president obama and the Democratic Candidates who hope to follow him into the white house. Administration officials confirmed that the department of Homeland Security is now preparing to carry out a series of raids in january to deport hundreds of migrant families. This will be the first large scale effort to remove people who fled violence in Central America last year, and came to the u. S. Illegally. All of the Democratic Candidates are criticizing the administrations decision. A spokesperson for Hillary Clinton said Bernie Sanders called the reports disturbing and said in the republican nomination race, senator ted cruz is facing a barrage of negative ads in iowa. Polls showing him leading the gop field so a super pac supporting florida senator marco rubio is now hitting cruz with this our leaders must keep america face but when ted cruz had the chaps to fight anti terror policies, he didnt. He voted to weaken abilities to identify and hunt down terrorists. Efforts to shore you were the conservative base over National Security is what its been called. Two others suggest their campaigns may not survive past the iowa caucuses. Mike huckabee has moved nearly all staffers into the state for this campaign. He spoke on a conservative talk show. If we cant come within striking distance of the victory or win it, then i think we recognize that its going to be hard to take that on to the other states. At the moment in iowa, polls suggest huckabee is running eighth. Kentucky senator rand paul is barely ahead of puck beand said he wont participate in the next debate night if hes kept off the main stage. Of course the republicans goal is winning the white house and a group of republican donors have just delivered a christmas lump of coal to Democratic Front runner Hillary Clinton with this attack ad now running in iowa and new hampshire. It was the morning of christmas at the clinton house, the gifts were all open, a new server and mouse. A new lamp for huma and checks from big banks. A reset from putin, shell 10 him a thanks. The lab was a reference to one of clintons emails released from her time as secretary of state. The huma is aid huma. In one email, they discussed lighting fixtures. Several candidates proposed changing Social Security. Al jazeeras libby casey takes a look at the challenges face be the system that helps Older Americans in retirement. The vision, give americas retirees economic security. This Social Security measure gives at least some protection to 50 millions our citizens. 80 years after its creation, Social Security is one of the governments hallmark programs. Do americans believe Social Security will be around for them . I do, yes. There are too many of us for it not to. What about for your children. Could be another situation. That does not look hopeful. Do you expect to get Social Security when you retire. Im honestly not sure. I know that im saving for it right now, but i dont know that i will get it when the time comes, so, no. We recently surveyed members of the genx generations, people 50 and under and half of those generations do not expect Social Security to be there when they retire. Politicians have been warning for years of a looming crisis, but its hardly new. If its a crisis, its the best foreseen crisis in history, because weve been talking about the demographic and financial challenges of Social Security for decades now. Heres how the program works. Todays retirees get benefits from the taxes paid by current workers. Even though you spend years paying into the system, it doesnt go into a penalized account. We like to think theres a little drawer of money in the Social Security building with our name on it. Thats not true with that it did not work that way. The money used to be enough to fund the retirements of the older generation. In the 1980s, the nation saw a threat on the horizon, baby boomers. As they retired, they create a bubble of people drug on the system, so congress changed the formulas to collect more taxes. For 30 years, more money came in than went out. That all changed five years ago when boomers started to retire. Now theres a negative cash flow. Last year, payouts were 74 billion higher than earn ins. Thats projected to go up this year to ate 4 billion. The Social Security trust fund estimates its reserves will be completed by 2034. I think people have not quite made the connection that even after the pot of money is gone, youll still be paying Social Security taxes, so there will still be money flowing into the system just like every other part of the government. Its filling the gap thats the challenge. Politicians suggest changing the age you can collect. Theres another option, prioritizing Social Security payouts over other government functions, because at the end of the day, its tax dollars to go to fund Social Security, just like everything else. Libby casey, washington. What do you get the man who has everything . In the case of actor robert downey, jr. , hes getting a pardon this holiday. Governor of california parted the star for a drug conviction dating back 20 years. Downey briefly spent time in prison because of it. Dozens of other prisoners received pardon. In atlanta, clean up crews are hard at work after heavy rains caused floods around the area. Roads were blocked and power knocked out for a while for some people. So far, there are no reports of injuries. Lets bring in meteorologist Kevin Corriveau now. How much of this weather is the south going to have to endure. In terms of rain, another two or three days. Thats going to make things worse, grounds are saturated, creeks and rivers are going to be going up. Theyve only seen the beginning there. Well get into the forecast of that in a moment. I want to show you the temperatures. Yesterday we were looking at very warm temperatures starting out in the morning. This morning across the region, we are a little bit cooler than we were yesterday morning, but that doesnt mean were not going to be breaking records across the region, because we definitely are. Some of these states down here, especially across the east central areas, we will be breaking records. About 19 states and some of those cities are expect to break records. The rain were talking about here, texas up towards visual, its going to continue. Saturday, really starts to expand. I think were going to be seeing anywhere between six and eight inches of rain across this region, as i showed you at the beginning of the hour, we do have a lot of flash put there warnings and watches across that area. The next area is towards the west. We have another winter storm system making its way off the pacific. That is going to come in and on sunday, thats when we really start to see the intensity of the storm especially across parts of new mexico, the panhandle of the accident, a lot of snow is expected there. Right ahead of that, you can see this area of red across texas. While this could be our next Severe Weather outbreak, we just had one with all those tornadoes, heres another one coming into play. Were going to be watching this very carefully, because a lot of people are going to be traveling back home after the holidays, and of course, dollars and fort worth, Dallas Fort Worth as well as into parts of houston, san antonio are big travel hubs, so thats something were going to be watching very carefully. Well keep our fingers crossed in that develop system. For thousands, this will be another christmas without any place to call home. Homeless advocates say the numbers of rising in americas largest cities, we report on the efforts in the Nations Capital to end homelessness. Homelessness in the heart of washington capital, shortly before authorities tore this down, calling it unsafe and a Health Hazard and against the law. Some didnt want to leave. Well, its a temporary shelter. It allows you safety. Washington is one of a few u. S. Cities where local laws require housing for all the homeless who are in need. For durees, douglas, this is home after living in homeless shelters. The cabinets were already here. I fixed the kitchen and stuff up. She and her 8yearold daughter share the apartment, the rent subsidized by the city and charities. She is required to pay at least one third. Its a place i can call my own. Its something that im paying for, so its giving me, you know, the opportunity to be responsible. Within the next five years, washingtons local government has vowed to make homelessness in its words, rare, brief and nonrecurring. Its most serious challenge is a shortage of affordable housing. Providing housing early on is the most Cost Effective strategy for charities and local care agencies. If they wind up in hospitals, in Mental Health facilities, substance abuse, treatment centers, jail, prison, all those costs tend to go down once people are housed. Community of hope is one of the citys nonprofit groups that back up housing programs with health care, legal services, and help to prevent homelessness in the first place. Sometimes, just having resources, and people there to help you, and pull you along the way, and you knowing that someone theres going to help you. It really does push people to wanting to do better. Her hope is to move on in a couple of years and to own a home of her own. Al jazeera, washington. The nations largest daily Fantasy Sports sites are now asking a judge to declare theme legal in illinois after the states attorney general said what they offer is a form of illegal gambling. Its just the latest challenge for an industry that despite increasing popularity finds itself fighting to survive. 2015, the year Fantasy Sports grew up. Fans like rick anthony have for years played Fantasy Sports, picking players and following their statistical success on imaginary teams. Ok, yes, im a jet fan. Its good to see us win, but to also make some money allege along the way rooting for other teams and players makes it that much more exciting. The winner of ricks league takes home hundreds of dollars at seasons end. In 2015, a new way to play Fantasy Sports exploded. Fun duals leagues are paying 75 million a week with the media cash payout and no commitment. Daily Fantasy Sports offer the chance to win cash prizes from a couple of bucks to a million dollars, all for an entry fee for as little as a dollar a woke. Wife won to date, so far profit, almost 5,000. Companies like draft kings and fan duel. This isnt fantasy as usual, this is draft kings. Ran around 8,000 ads per week by the start of the nfl season funded in part by megapartnerships with big media and the with the big sports leagues themselves. Fan duel is paying out 1 million every day this baseball season. In the second full week of october alone, fan duel took in a record 40 million worth of entry fees. But all those ads drew more than just those entry fees. Thats 200 free. Politicians started asking if d. F. S. Is illegal gambling. Officials all over the country began coming to the same conclusion representative frank polome came to. How is it different from Sports Betting . Because you call it gambling. Gambling is defined as a game of chaps while d. F. S. Should be considered a contest of skill. Fall brought a scandal and legal action that called the very fairness of the games into question. Nevada moved to restrict the sites and class action lawsuits were filed against fan duel and draft kings after an Insider Trading scandal in october. The most damning accusation was that employees at draft kings used their inside information to place bets with competitors. The new york torn general told fan duel and draft kings to stop accepting those fees, saying daily fantasy constitutes illegal gambling under new york law. In december, an Appeals Court said the two companies could continue operating until januar. All the state meant was the pellet court said until we have a chance to lack at this, nothing should change. Its made many other states begin to ask the question, if new yorks attorney general is looking at this carefully under the law, should web, as well. As for the odds of fan duel and draft kings winning that appeal on january 4. I would certainly not bet the mortgage on my house. Its a close call. In the meantime, significant damage to the industry has been done. According to legal sports report. Com, entry fees have plunged since their record highs in october, and Corporate Partners like espn and the ncaa have begun to distance themselves. Still, avid players hope it isnt the end of the industry. I wouldnt kill it. I would control it. John henry smith, al jazeera. As of right now, players in seven states are not allowed to participate in those daily Fantasy Sports sites. The attorney generals rule in illinois if holds, that number would rise to eight. Pinatas. We associate them more with birthdays than christmas, but up next, well show you where they are as much a part of the holiday as christmas trees. A rise of female gamers. How women are rapidly changing the industry. Quite an unusual sight, a rare christmas full moon. The first in 38 years. The best view was early this morning if the sky in your area wasnt blocked by clouds. It will be another 19 years before it happens again. Its been an abnormally warm december in new york and in other places, too, like moscow. This was the scene thursday when it definitely looks like spring has sprung. December temperatures in moscow are normally 21 fahrenheit, but its been closer to 40. El nino is being blamed. Many may be waking up to gaming consoles or new games under the tree, and increasingly playing isnt just a mans endeavor. Women are just as passionate about gaming. Meet kelly dunlap, 29 years old, doctor of Clinical Psychology and x box champion. She achieved a perfect kill by shooting her enemy four times in the head. Yeah. Kellys the new face of the video game industry, one of the Fastest Growing sectors in the u. S. Economy. The recently released halo five made 400 million in just one week. Games are now mainstream block busters for global audiences. At this point, gaming is just such a wide range of experiences, almost like hollywood films. Its not fringe anymore, not just localized to teenagers or kids anymore. Gaming is a multiply billion dollars industry. An industry that can credit women with its success. We are 50 of the gaming. Were close to 52 now of the console market. Thats right. According to a 2014 Study Released by the Entertainment Software association, the majority of people playing games are women. Whats it like being a female gamer . Ultimately, the important thing is to realize that it isnt a gaming tree house with the no girls allowed sign, that you dont have to pass the literacy test to be a gamer. When you make the resource no longer scarce, its encompassing and everybody can be part of it, you see less judgment especially among women, because were not fighting for the respect, for something that we should already have. The industry seems to be respecting the wallets of female customers by featuring more female heroes, but unique challenges remain. I as a female somehow have to prove to somebody else that i have the chaps a be a gamer where a male does not have to go through that, and i dont know if ive ever heard of a guy who had to have his geek cred challenged and have to defend his right just to exist in the space. When i play on line, im vocal, i dont hide. Unfortunately a lot of women feel they have to out of fear of harassment. One emerging safe space is the game lab at american university, combining liberal Arts Education with gaming. The professor acknowledges the tremendous value of female gamers. Ive seen the young female gamers within game lab really become some of our best designers. I mean, all our designers are great, but i think that there are theres just a different point of view that is geared towards creating something new and refreshing. His colleague, professor benjamin spokes say men hold most positions of power in the industry. I think the biggest challenge for women in games is time. With a little patience, youre going to have more women in my position. Right now, its still easier for us to hire faculty that are men, but give that another 10 years and youre going to be hiring more and more women. One way women can accelerate change is by creating their own games. Its vital for women to claim their voices, and claim their space. Gamers like kelly are leading the way. Shes creating a game that rewrites the classic film noir. Our detective is a female, and the person whos in distress is in fact a dude, so were just kind of exploring what we can do, what kind of perceptions we can kind of play with. Al jazeera, washington. An id dough School District that fired a School Cafeteria worker for doing a good deed has offered her her job back. It sparked outrage when it fired her for giving a hot meal to a 12yearold girl who had no lunch main. She admits she broke the rules and said she worries if she goes back, she might get fired again. A christmas tradition continues this year in mexico. Peen i cant tell at as are very popular at christmas parties. We have a look at how the centuriesold practice has survived and thrived in modern mexico. If youre a pinata artisan, this is the season of achy hands and ripped nails but pride in knowing his creations are copied has kept him glueing and wrapping for 40 years. I like the colors. They represent the christmas star. In the bible, the star revealed the birth of jesus to the Three Wise Men and led them to bethlehem. This stretch which road is called the kilometer of the pinatas. Artisans say machines are now changing what was once a strictly handmaid craft. Machines are now cutting the paper and making the bodies of pinatas. I feel melancholy, because this tradition is coming to an end. Our parents taught us this for two or three generations. Elaine in a vazquez said the tradition of pinatas will endure. She said they are not only firmly rooted in catholicism but in the spirit and music of mexico. Theyre also an extension of the person who made them. Tilt of the year, people are always looking for the traditional pinatas and thats differ to find when its made by a machine. Although this business is changing, the artisan are adapting because they know how to you satisfactory their customers. Thats the value we are promoting. For kids, pinatas will remain a game that comes with a prize. I like the pinatas, because i can hit them and eat the candy. Not so for christmas. Its peanuts, oranges and guavas that come tumbling out of these pinatas. Thats it for us here in new york. Have a very merry christmas. Coming up next from doha, the latest on the fight in Afghanistans Helmand province. Government forces there are facing off against the taliban. Your world this morning is back on monday. For the latest news anytime, go to aljazeera. Com. Have a great christmas day. Comedy great richard lewis. I really am in love with the craft. Turning an angst ridden and neurotic outlook. I have to unravel myself on stage as fearlessly as possible. Into an Award Winning career. From hell. Its thrilling when its working. I lived that character. Go oneonone with americas movers and shakers. We will be able to see change. Hello, youre watching the news hour live from doha. Coming up in the next 60 minutes, a surprise visit, the first indian Prime Minister to set foot in pakistan for a decade. [ gunfire ] the siege of taiz, Houthi RebelsBlock Industries interest entering yemens third large have the city as the fighting rages on. A day of mercy in which god, our father revealed a great