Transcripts For ALJAZAM Your World This Morning 20160104

Boiling over this morning a day after the kingdom announced its cutting ties with tehran and bahrain will be cutting ties with iran and saudi Officials Saying iranian diplomates have one more day to leave their country and shia protesters storming the Saudi Embassy on sunday angry over the execution of 47 men accused of terrorism including shia cleric alnimr. Began three days of mourning and he has been buried in an undisclosed cemetery and he was a central figure and protests by saudi arabia shia minority and arrested in 2012. This morning Irans Foreign Ministry accusing the kingdom of covering up the executions. Moves to another and this indicates its intention and it is wonton of diplomacy to create tension after tension and crisis after crisis. Major sunni and shia powers in shia and yemen and fears the standoff could have tensions across the region and Al Jazeera Gerald tan reports. Reporter the Saudi Embassy ablaze in tehran. Iranians lash out after leaving shia cleric was among 47 men executed in saudi arabia on terrorism charges. The saudi government says it made repeated requests for iran to protect its embassy but they were ignored. In response the kingdom has cut diplomatic ties with tehran. We are determined not to allow iran to under mine our security. We are determined not to let iran mobilize or create or establish terrorist cells in our country or in this countries of our allies. Reporter the execution of alnimr prompted protests among shia communities across the middle east. Nimr and other man including alqaeda preacher were charged with plotting and carrying out terrorist attacks targeting civilians and security forces. Nimr sentenced to death for disobedience and carrying arms and said he never carried weapons or called for view lens and riyadh says he got a fair trial based on facts and followed a judicial process, a view supported by the Muslim League says the death penalties are under islamic law and apply to both sunni and shia. Iran media is warning what he calls divine revenge. Translator this blood will trouble them without a doubt. I have no doubt about it policy makers executed them. The saudi governments Decision Makers should not under estimate this blood will trouble them. It will torment them. Reporter iran and saudi arabia have often engaged in the war of words but some view this latest diplomatic conflict as a new more troubling chapter. This is an ex escalation that will create havoc in the region but im not surprised in the sense that this is not the first time when the two countries have broken diplomatic relations. Reporter tehran and riyadh support opposing sides in the conflicts in yemen and syria. The concern now is that the widening rift between these two regional powers will have a wider impact across the middle east. Gerald tan, al jazeera. And the u. S. Is calling for diplomatic resolution to events in saudi arabia and iran and state department releasing a statement on sunday saying diplomatic engagement and district conversations are essential in working out differs and will take affirmative steps to calm tensions and the standoff may be spilling over into iraq. Overnight iraqi Officials Saying two sunni mosques were bombed south of the capitol city of baghdad. Witnesses say they saw groups of men wearing military uniforms setting off explosives in the mosques and coming up, we are talking to the former ambassador to saudi arabia and get his take on iran and saudi arabia. Uncertainty is driving stock futures down this morning here in the country following a dramatic drop in the Chinese Market and plunged 8 in the opening session of 2016 automatically triggering a halt in trading and reacted to news of a slow down and weakening currency in china and worries spread to hong kong and japan, european stocks opened lower and are trading down as much as 3 . Al jazeeras adrian brown has more on the Chinese Governments response. Reporter what happened on monday was the market fell by 5 . That was enough to cause trading to be suspended for 50 minutes and trading resumed and the market had to halt for the rest of the day and when that market was temporarily closed it fell by 5 it actually did the very thing it was supposed to stop, it created panic. So you know we expect the market to open again tomorrow but of course its going to be interesting to see what happens after that dramatic fall today. We have had bigger falls than this but its the symbolism of it all because today was the first day of trading on the stock markets in shanghai and zen and going to be the day that would show whether this mechanism was working. It was certainly working but in many ways i guess for all the wrong reasons, what is wrong with chinas economy right now, manufacturing out put is continuing to slow for the 10th consecutive month and data shows manufacturing is continuing to contract also currency is continuing to weaken and concerns in the middle east right now with deepening tensions between saudi arabia and iran and also let us not forget this economy is burdened by two very big problems right now, local Government Debt and also currency flight. Billions of dollars are leaving this country everyday because people with the money simply have no faith in the stock market as we have seen today and have no faith in the Property Market and in china those are basically the only two places you can stick your money. Wall street is expected to open with the doe sharply lower. A powerful earthquake rocking india killing nine and injuring more than 100 others that 6. 8 magnitude quake before dawn and felt by bangladesh and myanmar and we report. Reporter the earthquake struck about 30 kilometers west of the capitol nepal and happened in the middle of the night. People say they were jolted right out of their betz. People running out of their homes screaming, crying. One person we spoke to this morning said that at a temple nearby started ringing because of the sheer amount of shaking going only. There has not been a lot of reports of damage. However, the rural parts of the state have poor connectivity to begin with even before the earthquake happened so getting information from those areas is still only now trickling in. Now the capitol itself which has about a quarter Million People as residents has reported at least one building collapse. Now there are reports that there may be workers underneath, the local rescue teams are checking that right now and rescue teams from the region are still checking, on the way to the area. Reporter and that is fez reporting, the Indian Government sending specialized troops to treat natural disasters in remote areas of the country. Federal workers not reporting to work this morning at a government building in oregon where armed antigovernment protesters have been held up since saturday and not moving until the government hands over the land and they also object to a prison sentence for two local ranchers who burned property and are in a remote natural refuge in oregon and led by bundy and his father led another government standoff at a nevada cattle ranch in 2014 and prepared to stay there for years in they have to and we are live on the phone from burns, oregon and carol good morning and authorities held back this weekend and workers not showing up today, how long do you think federal authorities will allow this to go on . The f. B. I. Came in yesterday and they all through flew in and staying at the best wes western in burns and its single and 12 degrees for the high. Its impossible to say how long the feds are going to put up with this but they have said that they want this to end peacefully. Meanwhile these 20 or so occupiers out in that wild land refuge which is reference a Bird Sanctuary say they got plenty of food out there and they are going to be there as long as it takes in quotes this all began over the convictions of these two local ranchers who planned to turn themselves in i understand today but say they are not a part of this group. Well, they say that the occupiers dont speak for them. Dwight and his son steve left yesterday to turn themselves in to prison in los angeles and the sheriff of Carson County here also said he believes these occupiers have come here using the ranchers as an excuse to over throw the local and the federal government. All right, Carol Mckinley with the latest in burns, oregon and carol thank you. San bernardino, california this morning employees back to work a month after the deadly shooting there. 14 people were killed, 20 others injured. You may recall they open fire during that holiday party. The building has been closed ever since the december attack and the couple was killed later during a shoot out with police, their neighbor has been indicted on terror charges for his role in that attack. President obama is to meet attorney general Loretta Lynch later today and gun control expected to be on the agenda and the president is preparing to use executive power to beef up gun control laws and gun enthusiasts are fighting back and kimberly reports. Reporter so many gun stores in the United States at the blueridge arsenal gun range in virginia gun and ammunition sales are up as americans rush to buy firearms before strict new gun regulations are put in place. Not having and not being able to get what is making people want to get stuff before their abilities are taken away. Reporter many are concerned about president Barack Obamas announcement he is meeting with his attorney general Loretta Lynch on monday to discuss using president ial power to impose new restrictions on u. S. Gun sales. We know we cant stop every act of violence but what if we tried to stop even one. Reporter obama says executive actions are necessary after efforts to work with Congress Stalled. Following the Sandy Hook School shooting in 2012 which killed 26 people, obama proposed congressional measures to fight engun laws and that effort failed in congress. Licensed gun stores like this one are required to conduct a background check before a customer buys a gun but some firearms sold privately at gun shows do not require the same scrutiny. Its confidential loophole and what some see as a gap in u. S. Gun regulations that the white house now seeks to close. The National Rifle association the countrys largest Gun Rights Group says increased background checks will do little to increase public safety. All they want to do is blame guns. Reporter president ial candidate donald trump says owning the gun or right to bear arms in the u. S. Is a constitutionally protected right. I dont like anything having to do with changing our Second Amendment. We have plenty of rules and regulations, there is plenty of things they can do right now that are already there, they dont do them. Reporter its a view shared by many who see obama potential executive actions as nothing more than a power grab from people that violates u. S. Law. As a veteran myself i raised my right hand to defend the constitution of the United States of american and not dismantle the constitution so yes i do find it a front that some people would choose to circumvent that. A lot of people do feel passionate about it and its not just the fact the firearms but as much the government telling them what they can and cannot do or can and cannot have. Reporter the white house says its too easy for someone who wants to commit a crime to acquire a gun and president ial actions to make it more difficult are expected to come as early as this week. Kimberly with al jazeera, virginia. Thousands of residents along the Mississippi River told to evacuate rising flood waters heading south into tennessee and arkansas and floods leaving two dozen dead and breaching levees and threatening the homes. Reporter the tops of the houses are peeking out from the flood waters in southern illinois, dozens are dead and hundreds of homes destroyed by a wolen Mississippi River. More damage from surging water levels making their way south down the mississippi and river expected to crest on the northern tennessee and arkansas border earlier this week and head further south to the mississippi. Planning for the 48 foot mark to have a levee break or something north of us and have the right people and resources in place to deal with whatever situation comes our way. Reporter at least one left vee has already breached further north in olive branch making some homes only reachable but boat, the Reynolds Family are checking in on their mother. This is where she lives and wants to stay and we will do everything we can to make that happen. Reporter as rising water levels are monitored Authorities Say firefighters are going home to home warning of the flood water coming their way. And flooding could continue for a couple of weeks as the water recedes slowly in some areas. How common is it to see this type of flooding, extent of flooding in the winter months . Not often at all and happens in the spring with the snow melted along with rain but to give you an example out of the 50 historic crests of the mississippi in st. Louis only one of those occurred in the winter months. Southern california is also forecasting to get lots of rain in the days ahead, the rain began overnight and could last for a week. Local Officials Say they are doing everything they can to prepare for what could be a historic storm season. Last elnino the big storm that happened 18 years ago we lost about 14 people and we had billions of dollars of damage. And so we are determined to get out in front of this. Reporter Los Angeles Mayor eric says the city has been preparing for this series of storm systems as much as half a foot is expected which will increase the likelihood of flooding and landslides in southern california. In new york the governor is taking a rather controversial approach to protect the homeless from this harsh winter and signing an executive order that would require local governments to take Homeless People off the streets beginning tomorrow and officials he says would remove them by force if necessary once the temperatures drop below freezing and Mayors Office supports intent of the order but doubts legality of it. Just ahead the growing tension between tehran and riyadh. Talk about the lasting negative effect the severed ties could have on middle east conflicts and u. S. Interest in the region. Book publishers who criticize the government go missing and hong kong says there is no foul play and others not so sure. The diplomatic dispute between iran and saudi arabia nearing the boiling point this morning. Gave diplomates two days to leaf leave the country and they stormed the Saudi Embassy and angry of execution of 47 men accused of terrorism including el nimr and bahrain is severing ties and the united emirates say they are down grading the diplomatic relations with iran and a former u. S. Ambassador to saudi arabia having served from 2001 to 2003 and joins us this morning from dallas. Thank you for joining us this morning ambassador jordan we appreciate your time. Your assessment of the fall out from the fracturing of diplomatic ties between saudi arabia and iran. Well, this has been brewing for a long time. The saudis have been fighting proxy wars with iran certainly in yemen and to a great degree in syria and iraq as well. The saudis have in a way completed the terrorist activities that they have seen over the last 1012 years and which accounted for most of these executions, with the execution of El Nimr A Shia cleric with peaceful resistance and shows how the saudis lost faith in American Leadership and americas handling of relations with iran and they are going their own course. This is not surprising fallout. We have seen the saudis sever diplomatic ties in the past with regional rivals including cutter some years ago frankly over something that al jazeera broadcast on one of its shows so its not the first time. But i think we are seeing an escalation in what has been mostly a cold war but now is heating up between sunni and shia and the middle east. Based on what you said there i should caveat for the viewer that of course al jazeera as a network is owned by the qatar government which is part of what we are talking about here when we talk about the region and how we are seeing fractured ties not just between iran and saudi arabia but have the uae and bahrain weighing in as well. This is interesting ambassador and the rush sun News Agencies are saying this morning that russia is interested in acting as mediator between iran and saudi arabia. What do you make of that especially given what you have said about the lack of u. S. Leadership i believe you called it . Well, certainly russia is now trying to fill that vacuum. I dont believe that its likely to be successful. But certainly anyone, any major power that is interested in mediating and trying to tap down the flames right now that are boiling i think would be useful. It really does remain to be seen whether any kind of mediation attempt will be helpful here. This is something that has probably crossed a red line. Iran is trying to make as much of this as they can among their own people. They have to account to their own people for their reaction to the execution of el nimr and the saudis likewise are trying to show their own people they will not tolerate any kind of decent even if its peaceful decent. What is the worst Case Scenario . Well, i think iran perhaps could escalate their involvement in yemen. They could also escalate further antisunni activities in iraq and syria. We could see its difficult now to bring any kind of resolution to the Syrian Civil War because irans cooperation is necessary along with those of the sunni states in the region. They have been assembling a sunni, Arab Military force and may be that force is now escalated and forms more readily. This will be a military counter to irans interest in the region and i think this could lead to even more explosive events. Ambassador jordan thank you for your insights this morning. My pleasure. Stephanie says there is no indication that china is involved in the resent disappearance of book sellers there, over the past few months five employees of the Hong Kong Based company that publishes books that are critical of the government have now vanished and lawmakers in hong kong have been protesting the disappearance of the latest employee reported missing just last week and Robert Mcbride has more. Reporter protest is out on the streets demanding to know the fate of publisher lee bowe and the fifth person from the same Book Publishing company to go missing in resent months. Last seen in hong kong his disappearance is the most troubling. The most scary thing is that there is no news and no proof on what happened to those five publishers and even the Central Government and the Hong Kong Government refuse to respond previously on the whereabouts these citizens are. Reporter the Hong Kong Government says its investing and local media says lee phoned his wife from across the border from Mainland China after disappearing and taken against his will and he told his wife he was assisting in an investigation and then told her not to make a scene about his disappearance. She has also quoted as seeing lee left behind his paperwork that he would have needed to get across the border leading many to believe he was smuggled there by mainland security officials. Hong kong is home to a flourishing business and political books about chinas ruling elite band in Mainland China and the status agreed before the hand over from British Colonial rule guarantees free media and arrests are alarming activists. Protesters again took to the streets on sunday over what they see as an attack on academic freedom. Campaigners believe its all part of the same gradual process by the Chinese Government to grind down hong kongs autonomy. The chinese authorities certainly believe that the ability of the party regime is more important and containment of information is more important and certainly more and more chinese leaders tend to believe that hong kong is less and less important for chinas modernization efforts. Reporter at the book store itself no signs of life on display only the covers of books that for now are no longer on sale. And messages of support, this one wishing the missing staff a safe return soon. Robert mcbride, al jazeera, hong kong. Mystery a lot of people asking questions about where those book sellers are, ahead puerto rico billion dollar bill. The islands mounting debt threatens to cut the food supply to dangerous levels. Debate how loud big money talks in this president ial Election Year. You did your research. Youre one of the most prepared journalists ive ever known. Go inside the lives of musical icons. I was given a gift. I think ive used it well. I want the ballet world to be given the respect that it deserves. And global activists. I feel compelled to do it, because if i dont do it, whos going to do it. Revealing conversations you wont find anywhere else. Welcome back to your world this morning, exactly 7 30 eastern time, time a look at todays stop stories. Saudi arabia not giving iranian diplomatics one more day to leave the country after cutting dip ties. They are angry over the execution of 47 men accused of terrorism including nimr al nimr. United arab he can receipts is downgrade be relation witness tehran, focusing only on business between those two countries. Federal workers will not report to work at a Federal Building in oregon. Armed Anti Government protestors have been there since saturday and say they will not go until the ghost hands over the land. They object to a prison sentence for two local ranchers who burned property. The Mississippi River continues to rise, thousands of residents told to evacuate. In some places, the river is 16 feet above flood stage. 25 have died in the flooding, more than 100 homes have been destroyed. Port seek is expect to default on its billion dollars debt for the second time. The island owing creditors more than 37 billion. The island isnt likely to see any relief anytime soon. Robert ray is live for us in tehran. The ag secretary saying the island is running out of food, so what can they do. The island is running out of food. The reason is behind me, you see the beautiful Atlantic Ocean, cargo ships come in here every single day and they bring food and items. In fact, the island is 85 rely a. M. An those cargo ships and the imports that are brought in. There are many people here, including some Restaurant Owners and farmers that are trying to build a better food system for the island. Four years ago, Tara Rodriguez opened this small organic restaurant in san juan. I base our menu every day on the vegetables that we get from different farm theirs we know. Today, her kitchen is busy, creating food grown locally mostly by her sisters farm. People are packing the tables, a sustainable farm to table menu and a boost for the local economy. Whattive seen in these past few years, on one end we have become a poster child of something everybody wants on this island, which is to have good food and good farming practices. Now were leaving san juan heading up to the mountains, the second highest elevation in puerto rico where her sister daniela is farming on two acres. We pass a shut erred poultry farm, a as i will symbol of the islands economic problems. 2,000 photo above the sea, an owe is a. Her sister is growing organic produce for the restaurant in san juan. Time is running out and its either now or never. Time is running out, because is there really a food crisis on the island . In terms of self sustainability, yes. Studies show that we have enough food to last us two weeks if the ships were to stop coming. Two weeks. And thats including canned food, pro bowl even including dog food. Thats remarkable. Thats frightening. Its absolutely frightening. Staples like rice and beans and coffee come mainly from the u. S. Mainland, neighboring latin america countries and china. Youre trying to produce food opt island. Yes. But yet right now, 85 of food is imported into puerto rico. Yes, yes. The agriculture secretary said they are working toward more legal foods being produced. We developed an ambitious plan where we understand that we can increase the local production from 50 of our consumption to near 25 . While the government has implemented a plan to redevelop the islands agricultural sector, that includes providing farmers with subs decease and new equipment. Fortunately to table entrepreneurs like tara and daniela say things are promising but they need more collaboration from the government. At the same time, weve been the only, you know, or one of the only faces, places, or initiatives that is actually tackling this issue, right from the bottom up, so i have no Government Support whatsoever. The two sisters are trying to revitalize the agriculture of the island, farming and offering organic food for residents with the hope that people become less dependent on imports and less ambitious with the soils of puerto rico. Dell, yet another problem that the island of puerto rico is facing. As we know, puerto rico will default today. They owe 1 billion that theyll pay almost all that debt and on the interest, about 37 million, theyre going to default on that today. If and when they do default on that, what is next in the debt proceedings . Well, in february, they owe two hub Million Dollars, which they say no problem, theyre going to come up with that money, but then the big hurdle is in may when another lump sum is due and they claim that they are not going to have to money. Weve heard that before from the governor and the government, but governor Alejandro Garcia practice dela whos been speaking to the new speaker of the house paul ryan, paul ryan has taken that offers and hes working with some on that Judiciary Committee to convince congress there should be a pathway to economics reconstruction for puerto rico. Robert, thank you very much. Bill clinton is back on the president ial campaign frame stump forego his wife hillary in New Hampshire. The clinton camp hopes the president s popularity will help. It is opening the campaign to new attacks, as hillary found out when she was heckled during a rally on sunday. The heckler was identified as a woman, a republican state representative obrien, she said she wanted to ask miss clinton about allegation of Sexual Assault. The campus is pushing back by comments by donald trump. He sponge out criticizing clinton for what he calls pandering to woman. She constantly plays the woman card. Its the only way shell get elected. Personally, im not sure anybody other than me is going to be here and i think shes a flawed candidate. Youve seen whats happened recently and it hasnt been a very pretty picture for her or bill because im the only one to talk about his problems. What he did and what he has gone through, i think is frankly terrible, especially if she wants to play the woman card. Dave heaven that will is a senior reporter. Donald trump is going to be spending 2 million a week on t. V. Ads in iowa. Basically what he says is the same thing hes been saying on the campaign trail, hes going to make america great. The ad features images of cruise missiles launched from boats. It also shows, he says that he is going to take out the oil fields of isil. Here is a look at that ad. Is this a game changer . It may not be a gamechanger, but its definitely something that hes got to use to shore up his foundation. Weve been hearing for months that donald trump is leading in this poll and leading that in poll, but the poll numbers in some of these early states are cutting against him a little bit. Ted cruz is really up and adescending in iowa. There are several candidates in New Hampshire nipping at the edges of donald trump, a few of them include Chris Christie and New Hampshire is a kind of state where if you look at its history, you sometimes will have candidates kind of come out of nowhere. Im thinking john mccain in 2008, and really set themselves on a major path going forward. It could happen again in New Hampshire. Donald trump is looking at those last few weeks before the game really begins in earn effort and is putting serious money behind his effort here and not just relying on free media. We have spent time talking about why donald trump is rising so if he feels he is in trouble, why is he falling . Well first of all, it would be an overstatement to say i think that he is in trouble. Certainly he is leading in national polls. Certainly he is leading in various states here and there. It goes back to the notion that donald trump cantrell just on that anymore. Hes got to put true, hard cold cash into the game. Hes a candidate who unlike many of the others doesnt have a super pac, one of these groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money shoring up him and providing major air cover on television, so really, what it boils down to is donald trump opening up his own wallet and saying look, im going to just keep pounding this message that ive been saying for months and months and months and getting free attention for, and im going to put real money behind it so that people can see that im serious about being a president ial candidate and i want to win in these early states. If youre serious about being a president ial candidate, dont you have to come up with serious issues, serious things that youre going to do for the issues you say youre going to fix other than saying im going to fix it, im going to build a wall, its going to be huge, its going to be great. Isnt there a point in time voters ask how are you going to do it . Voters may pour over the policy papers many candidates release and parse the particulars about what theyre saying and what theyve heart in debates and town Hall Meetings and various interviews candidates have conducted but up to this point, donald trump kind of talking in broad broad vagaries has been able to attract an incredible number of people to his campaign who are simply frustrated with the republican establishment, frustrated with candidates on the republican side who they feel are just more of the same, more of the mitt romney and john mccain sort of approach to the way that president ial campaign is running and ultimately, too, sort of an anti president obama, who donald trump has made among other people a major major bill in. That to this appointment has been enough to generate an incredible amount of support, absent real specifics on issues such as the economy to Foreign Policy to jobs, you name it. Dave, as always, thank you very much. Thank you. In jackson, mississippi, a city councilman is standing by controversial comments made toward police. He is angry about high speed chases through his community, but his proposed solution is controversial. What i suggest, we get the black leadership together and as they come into jackson, we throw rocks and bricks and bottles at them. That will send a message we dont want you in here. The councilman first made those comments last week. He said the chases carried out from Police Officers from all white neighbors jurisdictions are motivated by race. They are not chasing murderers or kidnappers, theyre not chasing bank robbers. Theyre chasing somebody who may have stolen candy, its a misdemeanor, spue were going to endanger all the citizens in jackson because this person had a misdemeanor is important . The mayor of jackson who is black said he does not condone violent. The head of the Suburb Police department called the comments very disturbing. A new video appears to show isil executing five men they say are british spies. They accuse the men of gathering intelligence against isil inside syria. The group confess that is they filmed inside isils main stronghold of raqqa. They are then shot to death by masked executioners. The attackers marked british Prime Minister David Cameron and threatened to invade the u. K. That global fight against isil is one of the most pressing. Facing World Leaders in 2016. I talked about it with our National Security correspondent jami macintyre. I began by asking if the current strategy to defeat the group is working. Jami, the u. S. Strategy against isil big topic in 2015. Where do we stand right now and is it working . Well, if it is working, its workinging very slow motion. I think thats the message that the Obama Administration has been trying to convey over the course of the year, that the strategy is methodical, it will work if you stick with it. Basic live the strategy is to slowly retake territory that isil holds in iraq and syria with local forces that are enabled by u. S. Special forces and air power and gradually squeeze isil to the point where it no longer controls the territory. As we end 2015, isil has a firm hold on mosul in iraq, a firm grip on raqqa in syria and as were speaking, the Iraqi Security forces are still trying to settle out and make sure that they can retake the key city of ramadi, so the strategy is a long term one. Theres been a lot of frustration in congress this year about why the u. S. Isnt doing more but president obama has steadfastly said he is not going to commit large numbers of combat troops on the ground. Thats not to say there are no u. S. Boots on the ground. There are in terms of special forces operations and over 3,000 u. S. Troops in an advise and assist role in iraq. The coalition has been bombing isil targets in both countries for months. Weve seen a lot of isil leaders killed. Does the military feel like its strategy is working . Well on the one hand, history shows us that the socalled decapitation strategy, the idea of taking out leaders doesnt really usually change a whole lot on the ground, but the pentagon argues that it does have an effect, a psychological effect in particular, telling that the isil leaders that they have to be worried about where they are. It limits their movement because they are concerned about u. S. And coalition airstrikes. It also indicates that the u. S. Has some level of intelligence about where some of these key leaders are, both in iraq and syria and that comes from the kind of information they get from these special operation raised on the ground. So one thing were told that well see more of in 2016 is more of these u. S. Only in and out special operations commandos going in and gathering the kind of intelligence that sets up targeting for future raids. Ash carter taking over the top spot in the pentagon in february. It has been an eventful year. One of the biggest decisions to open up roles for women in combat. How big of an impact will women in combat have . Its huge, dell, because up until now, women have been denied some of the key combat positions that they need, tickets they need to punch in order to assume the top levels of leadership in the pentagon. One reason we havent seen a female chairman of the joint chiefs for instance is because that kind of combat track that leads to that job has not been open to women. That said, this controversy is not over yet. The big question is will standards be lowered. The pentagon insists absolutely not, all the jobs that will be open to women will only be open to qualified women who can meet the same standard as a male applicant. This is the first time in history that women have been able to serve in every job in the military if theyre qualified, so it was pro bowl the most historic thing that happened this year at the pentagon. What does ash carter have to look forward to in 2016 . President obama came in office promising to end the wars in iraq and afghanistan. They havent ended, so thats his big problem. He has a lot of other issues. Hes got to worry about the budget, these big ticket pentagon weapon systems eating up the budget. Ash carters pet project is something he calls the future force, getting in touch with Technology Leaders and trying to attract people to the pentagon who have high tech skills that are going to be necessary in future warfare. Weve got another big decision to make. The pentagon does not have a policy right now on the service for transgender troops. Its done on a case by case basis in each of the services who decide whether someone being transgender has an effect on their ability to serve. Carter hair committed to having an open nondiscriminatory policy Rewarding Service in the military so we may look to see in 2016 whether he issues something object that. The other big issue hanging over the pentagon and the administration, will they be able to close began to know mow, the prison there. The pentagon surveyed a number which sites around the country, recommended one where they think prisoners could be transferred to once others are sent back to their home country. Those are all things that will be coming up in 2016. Thank you very much. New video in the investigation into the sunken cargo ship the el faro. This new footage shows the wreckage resting on the ocean floor fib thousand feet beneath the surface. The video was recorded using an underwater vehicle. It sank in october while sailing through a category four hurricane on its way to puerto rico. None of the 33 crew members survived. Caught while on the run. The teen who says he is too spoiled to serve any time for a fatal drunk driving accident now trying to avoid extradition from mexico. This morning, u. S. Authorities are working with mexican officials to get the socalled affluenze teen back on american soil. He violated probation related to a fatal drunk driving accident two years ago. His defense at trial was that his privileged life made him act irresponsibility. Al jazeeras bisi onileere has more. I have never seen a case that sparked such outrage, which shark such emotion. A texas teen became the poster boy for unequal justice. Ethan couch killed four people driving down a texas road in 2013 with three times the legal lament of alcohol in his blood. His defense was he was grown up so spoiled he was never taught his actions have consequences and doesnt know the different between right and wrong. Whens the last time you recall disciplining ethan or anything . I dont remember. Couch received a 10 year sentence of only probation, causing a public uproar. This past december, the teen ran into trouble once again. A twitter post tagging the prosecutor showed this video. Apparently it is of couch playing a drinking game, possibly violating the conditions of his probation. That say authorities was when couch and his mother went on the lam. We expected that they had planned to disappear, that they even had something akin to a Going Away Party before they left town. The pair was tracked to Puerta Vallarta mexico, captured there on december 28, and processed for deportation. Tanya couch was brought back to the United States and charged with a felony for helping her son. Her bail is set at 1 million, but ethan couch caught a last minute break when a mexican judge temporarily halted his deportation. Couchs mexican attorney arcs his client should have never been arrested because hes committed no crime against mexican law. Law enforcement Officials Say its anyones guess how long the extradition process will now take. The couches have legal counsel, and it seems to me that if they wanted to, they could pay them as much money as they wanted to to drag this out as long as they want to. In texas, authorities are debating whether to transfer couchs case from juvenile to adult court if and when he returns to the u. S. That was bisi onileere reporting. Al jazeera spoke with ted simon, an attorney with the National Association of criminal defense lawyers. We asked him to explain why he got than couch had yet to be extra dated. There are a number of issues in this case, including one, whether or not the deportation proceedings were properly invoked, two, whether or not the offense that theyre seeking his return for is actually one identified in the treaty, because the treaty only speaks of manslaughter. It doesnt speak of intoxication manslaughter, and there is a difference, and all of these terms will be decided by the domestic law of mexico. The same thing happens here. Even though extradition is international, the application of the terms within each treaty is decided by the domestic law. There remains to be quite a number of questions as so whether or not he will be returned. Im not predicting he will or he wont but there is a number of thorny issues. Simon says the extradition process is much harder than the deportation process which is why officials tried to go that route first. For the third week in a row, the force is still with star wars, the force awakens is now the second highest grossing film of all time. The domestic take surpassing Jurassic World and tie tan nick over the news weekend, saying Million Dollars in ticket sails. Avatar is still the highest grossing film with a net of morn 760 million. Here are the numbers, avatar still number one at 2. 8 billion, titanic not too far behind, Jurassic World i also third at 1. 7 billion, then the avengers and star worse the force awakens each earning 1. 5 billion worldwide. Harry potter, frozen and minions each earning over a billion dollars. The new Star Wars Film is making big bucks outside of the theaters. Merchandise will earn about 5 billion worldwide. Disneys roll out of the products ahead of the release was unprecedented and may have generated up to 2 billion in the u. S. This holiday season. The standoff in oregon, were live at the site with an armed Antigovernment Group that refers to say leave a Federal Building. We take a closer look at president obamas plan to take executive action on gun violence. We are back in two minutes with more of your world this morning. We will see you then. Tent cities. Were back to square minus one. The city is a powder keg at the moment. You see transactional sex and no one is held to account for that. The United Nations has never accepted responsibility for this. An ali velshi on target special e armed and determined, antigovernment demonstrators seize a government building and they say theyre prepared to stay for years. Other countries joining saudi arabia cutting their diplomatic ties with iran. Global markets nose dive, middle east tensions sink stocks on the first day of trading. Gun control, president obama said he will use executive action to try and curb gun violence. Good morning, and welcome to your world this morning. Im del walters. Im stephanie sy. Happy new year. Dozens of armed protestors who call themselves a militia are still occupying a oregon wildlife preserve. They took over a Federal Building saturday after a judge ordered two ranchers surrender for setting fire to federal land. More protestors are gathering at the preserve led by ammon bundy. His father lifen led a separate standoff in nevada in 2014. People have been abused long enough, really. Their lands and their resources are taken from them to the point where its putting them literally in poverty. If we do not do something, if we do not make a hard stand, then we will be in the position where we wont be ail to as a people. Al jazeeras carrol mckenley is live for us. Federal workers not going to go to work today because of the situation. Any idea how long this standoff might last . You know, theres really not. Its so strange, it happened over new years weekend, so we dont know whats going to happen today, monday. No one is going to work at the Wildlife Sanctuary so there wont be any kind of confrontation that we know of. Weve got two dozen protestors what they call themselves a militia and they say theyve got enough food for a year. The schools are closed this week. Also the Federal Buildings in the town are closed. 7500 people work here. Theyre all being affected, and were just hearing that nobody knows whats going to happen, although we do know that some of these occupiers are armed. In the meantime, is there still heat, plumbing and electricity inside the compound where they are holed up and why cant the government just cut it off . Thats a great idea. You know, maybe urged of thoughr thought of that. The sheriffs dont seem to be too concerned about whats going on out there because it is 30 miles outside of town. This is a Bird Sanctuary. This town is known for the canadian geese and this is the place that this socalled militia has come to set up and they say that theyre not going to back down until these federal and local lands are turned over to private ownership. And carol, the two ranchers at the center say they are going to turn themselves in today. What are they saying about the support they are getting . They love the support from their community. They dont love the support from these occupiers. In fact theyve said out loud that they dont want this socalled militia to speak for them. Meanwhile, the sheriff here and were standing in front of the sheriffs office, the sheriff here says that the reason these people came into burns is not to support the ranchers but they had their own agenda and that was to shut down the local and federal government here, because theyre so angry about the fact that federal lands are being taken from ranchers. Carol mckinley for us in burns, oregon. Carol said it is a chilly 12 degrees there. Carol, thank you very much. In San Bernardino this morning, employees are heading back to work one month after the deadly shooting there. 14 people were killed and 20 others injuries when sayed farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik opened fire during a holiday party. The building has been closed since the december attack. The couple was killed during a shootout with police. Their neighbor has been indicted on terror charges for his role in the attack. There are fast moving developments in the middle east. More countries are cutting or downgrading diplomatic ties with iran. Saudi arabia was the first, now bahrain, sudan and the United Arab Emirates are limiting or cutting diplomatic relations with tehran. Sawed officials gave iranian dips until tomorrow to leave the country after shia protestors stormed the Saudi Embassy, angry over the execution of shia cleric nimral nimr, 147 executed after being accused of terrorism. The Iranian Ministry is accusing the saudis of trying to cover up the executions. From one crisis to another, this indicates its intention and want actually to create tension after tension and crisis after crisis. Saudi arabia and iran are the major sunni and shia powers in the region, but both back opposing sides in the conflict in syria and yemen. Now there are fears the standoffs could stoke further tensions in the region. Al jazeeras gerald tan reports. The Saudi Embassy ablaze in tehran, iranians lash out after a leading shia cleric was among fort seven men executed in saudi arabia on terrorism charges. The saudi government said it made repeated requests for iran to protect its embassy, but they were ignored. In response, the kingdom has cut diplomatic ties with tehran. We are determined not to allow iran to undermine our security. We are determined not to let iran mobilize or create or establish terrorist cells in our country or in the countries of our allies. The execution of nimral nimr has prompted protests among shia communities across the middle east. Nimr and the other pen men including alqaeda preacher were charged with plotting and carries out terrorist attacks targeting civilians and security forces. Nimr was sentenced to death for disobedience and bearing arms. He didnt deny the political charges but said he never carried weapons or called for violence. Riyadh is animate he got a fair trial based on facts and which followed a judicial process, a view supported by the Muslim World League which said the death penalties in saudi arabia fell under islamic law and applied to both sunni and shia. Irans Supreme Leader is warning of what he calls divine revenge. It is a wrong deed because this blood will trouble them without a doubt. I have no doubt about it. Policy makers executed them. The saudi government Decision Makers should not underestimate that this blood will trouble them. It will forement them. Iran and saudi arabia have often engaged in a war of words but some view this latest diplomatic conflict as a new, more trouble chapter. This is an escalation that will create havoc in the region, but im not surprised in the sense that this is not the first time when the two countries have broken diplomatic relations. Tehran and riyadh support opposing sides in the conflicts in yemen and syria. The consensus now is the widening wrist between these two regional powers will have a wider impact across the middle east. Gerald tan, al jazeera. Nimr al nimr has been a key political player in saudi arabia for quite some time. As you saw in girl raileds package he was a well known presence at Anti Government demonstrations. He used sermons to criticize saudi rulers for the treatment of the shiite minority and provoked a government crack down on the minoritys eastern hard land. The u. S. Has responded to the events in saudi arabia and iran calling for a diplomatic resolution. Early are we spoke to the former ambassador to saudi Arabia Robert jordan. We asked if he was surprised how quickly tension eggs congratulated between the middle east powers. This has been brewing for a long time. The saudis have been fighting perform eye wars with iran in yemen and to a great degree in syria and iraq, as well. The saudis have in a way completed the terrorist activities they have seen and accounted for most of these executions with the execution of nimr al nimr, a shiite cleric who advocated peaceful resistance. I think it shows how the saudis have lost faith in American Leadership and americas handling of relations with iran and theyre going their own course. This is not surprising fallout. We have seen the saudis receiver dip ties in the past with qatar over something al jazeera broadcast on one of its shows, so its not the first time, but i think were seeing an escalation in what has been mostly a cold war but now is heating up between sunni and shia in the middle east. Based on what you said there, i should caveat for our viewers that al jazeera as a network is owned by the qatar government, which is part of what were talking about here when we talk about the region and how we are seeing fractured ties not just between iran and saudi arabia but now the u. A. E. And bahrain weighing in as well. The russian News Agencies are saying this morning that russia is interested in acting as a mediator between iran and saudi arabia. What do you make of that especially given what you said is seen as the lock of j leadership, i believe you called it. Russia is now trying to fill that vacuum. I dont believe that its likely to be successful, but certainly anyone, any major power that is interested in mediating and trying to tamp down the flames right now that are boiling, i think would be useful. Sit really does remain to be seen whether any kind of mediation attempt will be helpful here. This is something that has pro bowl crossed a red line, iran is trying to make as much of this as they can among their own people. They have to account to their own people for their reaction to the execution of al nimr and the saudis likewise are trying to show their own people that they will not tolerate any kind of dissent, even if its peaceful dissent. The standoff may have spilled over into iraq. Overnight, iraqi Officials Saying two sunni mosques were bombed south of baghdad. Witnesses reported seeing groups of men dressed in military uniforms setting off explosives inside the mosque. The anger over the excuses in saudi arabia spilled over into bahrain. Authorities used Water Cannons and bird shot on the crowd. The demonstrators chanted anti saudi picture and held up picture ofment executed cleric, nimr al nimr. Protests erupted in turkey in istanbul. Members of the Shia Community called the cleric a martyr. In the u. S. , thousands of residents along the mississippi are told to evacuate as the flooding heads into tennessee and arkansas. Those floods leaving two people dead, dozens of people are injured and levees are approached threatens hundreds of homes. We have more. Just the tops of these houses peaking from the floodwaters in southern illinois. Dozens are dead and more than 100 homes destroyed by a swollen Mississippi River. Here in alexander county, its the worst weve seen. The fear damage from major water levers flowing south down the mississippi. The river is expected to crest along the tennessee arkansas border earlier this week and head farther south into mississippi. We are continuing the plan for that 48foot mark in case we were to have a levee break. We are going to have the right people and resources in place to deal with whatever situation comes our way. One levee has breached farther north in olive ranch making shhomes reachable only by boat. My mom is older and this is where she lives and she wants to stay, so were going to do everything we can to make that happen. As rising water levels are monitored, authorities are going home to home warnings of the floodwater coming their way. Its uncommon to see the Mississippi River flooding at these levels during the winter months. They usually occur during the spring when the melted snow and rain caused rivers to swell and just to give you an example of the top 50 historic crests of the mississippi in st. Louis, only one of them occurred during the winter months. Thats right. Thank you very much. Southern california expect to get lots have rain. It began overnight and could last a week. Local Officials Saying they are doing everything they can to get ready for a potentially historic storm season. The last el nino, the big storm that happened 18 years ago, we lost about 14 people, and we had billions of dollars of damage, so we are determined to get out in front of this. Los angeles mayor saying the city has been getting ready for quite some time. Just a few months ago an Emergency Task force was create for storm related incident is. Here comes iowa. The president ial race heating up with just four weeks to go until the caucuses. Investors rattled by weak Economic Data and tensions in the middle east, stocks in china plummeted, causing a halt in trading. Were an hour away from the opening bell but stock futures are down following that dramatic drop in stocks in china, price he is plunging. Worries have spread to other markets, including hong kong and japan. European markets have been trading down as low as 3 . We have more on the Chinese Governments response. It seems that a survey carried out showed that manufacturing output in china has contracted for the 10t 10th straight month. Also, the chinese currency, the yuan is continuing to weaken. The reason why manufacturing is declining here in china is there is a drop off in demand for what china makes. The economy is slowing elsewhere in the world. Why is it slowing . Because chinas economy is slowing, so that is creating a vicious circle. Ed ad to that, right in the middle of all this, china is carrying out a big experiment at the moment. It wants to transition its economy away from Big Industries like steel and coal and wants to if he can cuss on really an industry that is more service led. That is creating a very painful transition just a few days ago, the president address the nation on new years eve and fruitful gains come from efforts. I think he meant there is going to be pain this year. Gold prices are trading higher as traders look to make what they consider a safer investment. After spending months on the sideline, bill clinton is back on the campaign trail today. The Hillary Clinton camp hopes his popularity will help. His presence is also opening up the Clinton Campaign to new attacks, as hillary found out when she was heck would during a rally on sunday. You are very rude. Im not going to ever call on you. [ applause ] the woman was identified as a republican state representative cab Catherine Obrien who said she wanted to question miss clinton about Sexual Assault allegations by her husband. Donald trump spoke out in an interview sunday criticizing clinton for what he calls pandering to woman. Shes constantly playing the woman card. Its the only way she may get elected. Personally, im not sure that anybody else other than me is going to be here and i think shes a flawed candidate. Youve seen whats happened recently and it hasnt been a pretty picture for her or bill because im the only one willing to talk about his problems, i mean what he did and what he has gone through, i think is frankly terrible, especially if she wants to play the woman card. 2006 will be president obamaed final year in the white house. During his prechristmas News Conference he said hes never been more optimistic about the year ahead. He talked about the president s legacy he leaves behind. President obama when last we saw him back on december 18 when he had that Year End Press conference took something of a victory lap, talked about the accomplishments hes had over the course of the last year, economy up, gas prices down, the Unemployment Rate down. He had the historic agreement with cuba, the Environmental Accord reached in paris. To a certain extent, the president is going to want to keep that momentum going, although there are going to be huge obstacles in the way. The campaign is already in full swing, but the caucus and primary schedule gets started very early in the year and thats going to threaten to consume the entire agenda. Whats left for president obama, what he would like to see done, some of this is going to be done without congress as he did with immigration, using his executive power, executive actions to rewrite some of the rules principally and three issues, three issues that he can affect, guantanamo, gun control, and to a certain extent, he will need the entire agreement of the congress on the third issue, that really looms large and that is the trade agreement, the t. P. P. , the Transpacific Partnership president obama entered into. Both houses of congress are going to have to agree to that. On began to know mow, obviously we know the story, going to be down soon to 90 detainees, the president , one of his first acts in office was to vow to close guantanamo bay. Obviously hes been unsuccessful in that. Going to be interesting to see what the white house can come up with in terms of executive action going around congress that has presented obstacles. Gun control, the penalty has said this is his most frustrating issue, the white house openly admitting they are looking at executive actions, what can be done legally to stop the gun sales at some point of purchase, talking about a new approach to the assault weapons ban and background checks for certain individuals who buy guns at private gun shows and through private transactions. An the Transpacific Partnership, this is an issue the president should be speaking of trade in lock step with republicans who traditionally favor these kind of agreements. The president s problem is going to be democrats and Hillary Clinton has come out against the Transpacific Partnership. That is going to be a very tough sell, no to mention that politics is going to take over everything, every member of the house of representatives up for reelection. They are going to be trying to find a way to stake their territory and make their cases back home for reelection. When it comes to the issue of legacy, there is the issue of legacy and issue of loyalty when it comes to campaigns for the next potential president. Which comes first in the mind of barack obama . The white house has made it clear that president obama will start campaigning for a democratic nominee and even before its apparent who that nominee is going to be, in other words during the primary season, we may expect to see president obama campaigning. We can all assume that the front runner Hillary Clinton will be the beneficiary of that, but we simply dont know. As far as president obamas legacy, hes obviously got a lot invested into seeing a third consecutive term of a democratic in the white house, the Affordable Care act would go cheap. Among that, the president , his ability to veto turned back any legislation, the many times that the house and senate have voted to sort of degrade or roll back the provisions within obamacare, the president is there with his veto pen. If there is a republican in the white house, that wont be the case. Ditto with environmental regulations, the president used his executive actions to curtail ignitions from coalfired plants or clean water. That has incensed republicans. That would be in danger if a democratic does not succeed him in the white house. Theres the issue of immigration, donald trump with a very hard line to put it very mildly view on immigration. President obama has already taken executive action there. Those pro advices are in the courts now being held up which brings up another issue and that is a Supreme Court session that could conceivably look at the president s executive orders on immigration and roll them back, as well. Del. Im looking at the accomplishments, obamacare, Osama Bin Laden is dead, the economic recovery, the first africanamerican president , but if there would be just one, what would the one thing be that this president is remembered for after we have moved on to 2016 and moved towards the next president . Well, i dont have my dress stall ball but i think a lot of people would agree with the view that the Affordable Care act is the signature achievement of president obamas tenure. There have been dispoints, the approximate the came in, we talked about the guantanamo bay, he has vowed to close that. Hes been unable to do that. Remember sequestration and cap and trade when it came to the environment, and most of the energizes politicking actions in washington were devoted towards passing what has become known as obamacare. That is the one thing the president and the white house are going to hang their hat on when it is all said and done. Mike as always, thank you very much. After wards, off familiar are a, mike and i were talking about the fact that the white house is now shaped by events that almost happen weekly as opposed to each Election Year cycle. Does seem to be the case. Speaking of president obamas legacy, the fight over gun control. The president is expected to finalize executive actions he says will tighten americas gun laws. Puerto rico said expected to default on a billion dollars bill is leading to a food crisis. Still living in these tent cities. Were back to square minus one. The city is a powder keg at the moment. You see transactional sex and no one is held to account for that. The United Nations has never accepted responsibility for this. An ali velshi on target special welcome back to your world this morning, now just shy of 8 30 eastern time. More and more countries downgrading diplomatic ties with iran. Saudi arabia was first, now bahrain, sudan and United Arab Emirates are limiting or cutting diplomatic relations with tehran, coming after protestors stormed the Saudi Embassy sunday, angry over the execution of shia cleric nimr al nimr. Some federal workers are not reporting to work in oregon where armed antigovernment protestors have been holed up until saturday, refusing to leave until the government hands over the land. They object to a prison sentence for two local ranchers who burned federal property. President obama will meet with the attorney general today in hopes of getting guns offer the streets. He is prepared to use executive powers to close loopholes in gun laws. Gun enthusiasts are pushing back against any restriction on gun sales. The Blue Ridge Arsenal Gun range in virginia, gun and ammunition sales are up as americans rush to buy firearms before strict gun regulations are being put in place. Not having, not being able to get is making people want to get stuff before their abilities are taken away. Many are concerned about president Barack Obamas announcement that he is meeting with his attorney general on monday to discuss using president ial power to impose new restrictions on u. S. Gun sales. We know we cant stop every act of violence, but what if we tried to stop even one . Obama says executive actions are necessary after either to work with Congress Stalled following the Sandy Hook School shooting in 2012 which killed 26 people, obama proposed congressional measures to tighten gun laws, but that effort failed in congress. Licensed gun stores are required to conduct a background check before a customer buys a gun, but some firearms sold privately at gun shows do not require the same scrutiny. Its called the gun show loophole and is what some see as a gap in u. S. Regulation that the white house now seeks to close. The n. R. A. Says increased background checks will do little to increase public safety. All they want to do is blame the guns. Top republican president ial candidate donald trump says owning the gun or the right to bear arms in the u. S. Is a con stukes ally protected rights. I dont like anything having to do with changing our Second Amendment. We have plenty of rules and regulations, theres plenty of things they can do right now that are there, they dont do them. It is a view seen by many as nothing more than a power grab by people that vitals u. S. Law. I raise my right hand to support and defend the constitution, not dismantle the constitution. Yes, i do find it an affront that some people would choose to circumvent that. Theres a lot of people who do feel passionate about it. Its not so much the firearms but the government telling them what they can and cannot do or can and cannot have. President ial actions to make it more difficult expect to come as early as this week. Al jazeera, virginia. The executive director of new yorkers against gun violence joins us to talk about this. This is about a power grab about that what do you understand about what the president will say and what he can do . I think the president is frustrated like Many Americans are added congresss inability to address the gun violence in our nation. We havent had any major significant federal regulations since 1993. In fact, congress has taken steps to weaken our gun laws and allowing for example gun manufactures immunity from lawsuits, cutting off all federal funding from Gun Violence Research in section 96. I think its time that, you know, the president uses his power toes extent that he can to keep guns out of the wrong hands. You think its more symbolic than anything else . I assume the states will File Lawsuits as soon as this executive action hits. Obama only has so much longer in office. The next president could easily undo this executive action. Whats happening i guess the states like new york, like california and massachusetts are taking action on their own because they know that congress is not doing anything. This can be more than just symbolic. If he changes or refines the definition of what it means to be engaged in the selling of firearms, he could get into that definition many more gun sellers out there are not conducting background checks. What you are talking about is federal licensing and we expect the president to announce that these will be expanded to businesses that are not currently included, there be increasing the amount of background checks, because anyone with a federal license has to background check. Thats correct, thats absolutely right. You know, law abiding gun owners have absolutely nothing to fear from this. If they can pass a background check, whats the big deal . What about people like donald trump and other politicians who say there are rules and regulations on the books, enough of them and they are not being enforced . I think hes right. They arent. The reason is because the a. T. F. Has been stripped of resources to do that. Its the only federal Agency Charged with upholding our federal gun laws and in specting the licensed gun dealers. There are thousands across the country. How do you change that . Fund them. Congress should stop cutting their funding, give them a full time director again, make sure they have enough agents to make sure the licensed dealers are conducting background checks and following federal law. Trump in a sense is right, but there are also many things that need to be done. We have gaping holes in our federal laws. New york state closed the private sale gun show loophole so every sale of a gun in new york has to be accompanied with a background check. It goes back to the focus that a lot of gun control advocates have, doing gun control better at the state and local level but even that has drawbacks, because guns can cross borders. We need strong federal laws, the president is taking action in his capability as the chief executive of the nation to try to do what he can to stem the tide of gun violence, keeping guns out of the wrong hands is what were talking about, the hands of terrorists, criminals, domestic abusers, gun traffickers, children. I think this is something, no right is unlimited. The Second Amendment is like any other right, the right of free speech or right of assembly, we live in a society with other people and i have a right as you do, not to be shot, and we have a right to feel safe in our communities, so this is a very mild measure the president is taking. This send as strong message. That you know. Police in mexico say they have three people in custody suspected of murdering the newly elected mayor of the town one day after she was sworn into office in temixco. She was sworn in as mayor of temixco city on friday and was dead on saturday, shot and killed at her home. Detectives suspect at least nine people were involved in her murder. Two of them were killed at the scene. Police officers and soldiers chase and detained four others. We demand a full complete investigation by the State Government to its final consequence. There are four people arrested who will have to confess who was the mastermind of the crime. The state is suggesting drug cartels or organized crime gangs are to blame. In her debut speech, the mayor pledged to end corruption and tackle crime head on. We firmly believe that there were interests who felt threatened by her opening speech yesterday. We dont want to discard any line of investigation. Violent crime in the region is widespread. Ten kilometers away is the most violent city in mexico, based on the number of cases of murder, rape, kidnapping, and extortion. Politics is becoming increasingly dangerous in mexico. Four politicians, including two mayoral candidates were killed before elections last year. Her murder just 24 hours into her new role is seen as a new blow for politicians trying to tackle Violent Crime in mexico p. M. Caroline malone, al jazeera. For the second time, puerto rico is expected to default an its billion dollar debt. It owes more than 70 billion. It was supposed to pay 37 million of that today. The governor said it doesnt have the money and the island isnt likely to see relief anytime soon. All sectors are hurting, but the armed Group Secretary says the island is almost and you have food. What can they do . Well, indeed. That is an issue. They are heavily reliant on cargo ship that is come in on the Atlantic Ocean behind me, but theyre working with local farmers and restaurants to make this a better situation. Four years ago, she opened this small organic restaurant in san juan. I base our menu every day on the vegetables that we get from different farm theirs we know. Today, her kitchen is busy, creating food grown locally mostly by her sisters farm. People are packing the tables, a sustainable farm to table menu and a boost for the local economy. What i have seen in these past few years, on one end we have become a poster child of something everybody wants on this island, which is to have good food and good farming practices. Now were leaving san juan heading up to the mountains, the second highest elevation in daniella is farming on two acres. We pass a shuttered poultry farm, a symbol of the islands economic problems. 2,000 feet above the sea, an oasis. Her sister is growing organic produce for the restaurant in san juan. Time is running out and its either now or never. Time is running out, because is there really a food crisis on the island . In terms of self sustainability, yes. Studies show that we have enough food to last us two weeks if the ships were to stop coming. Two weeks. And thats including canned food, probably even including dog food. Thats remarkable. Thats frightening. Its absolutely frightening. Staples like rice and beans and coffee come mainly from the u. S. Mainland, neighboring latin america countries and china. Youre trying to produce food on the island. Yes. But yet right now, 85 of food is imported into puerto rico. Yes, yes. The agriculture secretary said they are working toward more legal foods being produced. We developed an ambitious plan where we understand that we can increase the local production from 50 of our consumption to near 25 . While the government has implemented a plan to redevelop the islands agricultural sector, that includes providing farmers with subsidies and new equipment. Farm to table entrepreneurs like tara and daniella say things are promising but they need more collaboration from the government. At the same time, weve been the only, you know, or one of the only faces, places, or initiatives that is actually tackling this issue, right from the bottom up, so i have no Government Support whatsoever. The two sisters are trying to revitalize the agriculture of the island, farming and offering organic food for residents with the hope that people become less dependent on imports and more ambitious with the soils of puerto rico. Tomorrow speaker ryan is holding a meeting in washington to talk about what puerto rican officials want and what theyre asking from washington to make this entire economic crisis better. If they do default, whats next . They have another payment in february, 200 million that they say they can make and then the next one is in may, which, you know, we dont know whether or not theyll be ail to make that payment, but the big thing is with these defaults, the second default in puerto rican islands history is they are expecting potential lawsuits from bond holders which will go into court for many many years and in the end, just cost the island more money than it would to actually having to pay these bond holders the cash, but they claim they dont have that money. Robert, thank you very much. Five employees of a hong kong publishes company have vanished. Their employer specializes in publishing books banned by the Chinese Government. Al jazeeras rob mcbride reports from hong kong where pro democracy protestors are demanding answers. Protestors out on the streets demanding to know the fate of puthe publisher, the fifth to go missing in recent months. Last seen in hong kong, his disappearance is the most troubling. The most scary thing is that theres no news and no truth on what happened to those five publishers and even the Central Government and Hong Kong Government refuse to respond on the whereabouts of these citizens. The Hong Kong Government said it is investigating. Local media is reporting lee phoned his wife from across the border in Mainland China on the night he disappeared after apparently being taken there against his will. Lee reportedly told his wife that he was assisting in an investigation, and then told her not to make a scene about his disappearance. Shes quoted at saying that lee left behind his paperwork, that he wouldnt leave it to get across the border, leading many to believe he was smuggled there by mainland security officials. Hong kong is home to a flourishing business in political books about chinas ruling elite, banned in Mainland China. Hong kongs special status greed before the handover from British Colonial rule guarantees a free media. The arrests are alarming activists. They should be afraid of the university. Protestors again took to the streets on sunday over what they said as an attack on academic freedom. Campaigners believe its all part of the same gradual process by the Chinese Government to grind down hong kongs autonomy. The chinese authorities certainly believe that stability of the party regime is more important, containment of subversive information is more important, and certainly more and more chinese leaders tend to believe that hong kong is less and less important for chinas modernization efforts. At the bookstore, no signs of life. On display, only the covers of books that for now are no longer on sale. Messages of support, this one wishing the missing staff a safe return soon. Rob mcbride, al jazeera, hong kong. Overstaying their welcome, a look at why some African Leaders seem to do almost anything to remain in power. An unusual message of hope, how aid groups able to create a giant peace sign honoring thousands of refugees losing their lives searching for safety. A message of hope for refugees going viral this morning. Humanitarians working on the greek island of lesbos gathering on new years day used life jackets to send a message of peace that could be seen from the sky. More than half a million of people arrived seeking refuge from war and poverty from the middle east. Sweden sending a different message, travel restrictions in effect today could make it tougher for refugees to call that country their new home. New york states govern is taking a controversial approach to protect homeless from the harsh Winter Weather here. Yesterday, the governor signed an executive order requiring local governments to take Homeless People off the streets. Beginning tomorrow, officials would have to remove the homeless by force if need be once the temperatures drop believe freezing. The Mayors Office saying it San Diego Padres the in tent of the order but doubts the legality of it. The african country of burundi is in turmoil. Violence is sparked by the president s bid for a third term, leaving more than 400 dead since april. That is the latest nation where a dictator is being challenged. We have more. Moments after elections last november are announced, elected Burkina Fasos first civilian leader in five decades. Citizens broke into song and dance to celebrate not just a new president , but a hard won victory against what they see as dictatorship. In october, 2014, when the man who ruled burkina faso for seven years with an iron fist decided to change the constitution to remain in power, people revolted. A Civil Society organization planned an uprising that toppled the leader. We met him outside the parliament that was banned down during the protest. We know if we let this guy change the constitution, thats forever, and maybe after him, his son, his little brother and all the family going to be in the power in this country. President s tinkering with the constitution for their own purposes is not new in africa. Shortly after taking power in 1986, ugandas the problem of africa in general and uganda in particular is not the people but the leaders who want to overstay in power. Yet in 2005, he was secure in changing the law allowing him a third term. I met him in 2011. Do you ever see yourself retiring any time soon . Well certainly i will retire. I will retire. I wouldnt say soon, but i am looking forward to retirement. At the age of 72, campaigning for a fifth time in office would see his rule extended to 35 years. Sudans leader is among the African Leaders who have overstayed in power. In 2011, he told al jazeera he will not seek reelection in 2015. I am currently serving an office term and will not step down before it comes to an end. At that point, i would have completed 26 years in offers. Is that not enough . More than enough. More than enough. But it wasnt to be. In 2015, he won another five years in office, despite a questionable track record and dyer economic receipts in sudan. Cameroons president and eek with a tore yell guineas leaders have been in power since 1992. The man praised for his role in stabilizing rwanda jointly the league of African Leaders eager to stay in power. In burundi, the fallout have been most pronounced. At least 400 people have been killed and 220,000 displaced in violence since last year when the leader announced he will seek a third term in office. After three weeks in theaters, it is the movie to beat. Up next, star wars the force awake thats taking out every Box Office Record in sight. New images of the el faro ship wreck at the bottom of the ocean. This is new video of the sunken cargo ship the el faro, the Images Released of it now resting on the ocean floor 15,000 feet below the surface. It was recorded usedden an underwater vehicle. It sailed through the category four Hurricane Joaquin on its way to puerto rico. None of the 33 crew members survived. I finally saw star wars. Apparently others have too. For the third week in a row, the force awagens keeps raking in the big box, now the second highest earning film of all time. Nothing will tanned in our way. It has surpassed Jurassic World and reigned over the box office over the new years weekend. Satisfy tar earned 2. 8 billion, titanic was not far behind, jurassic word is third at 1. 7 billion. Avengers, furious seven and star wars the force awakens. Right now, rounding out the top 10, all of them at just over 1 billion. That film making a killing outside the theaters. Forbes projects the merchandise will earn 5 billion worldwide. Those products are flying off the shelves. This takes disneys merchandising and marketing to a whole new level. Its crazy to watch fans. People just grabbing two immediately and going straight to the counter. Experts saying disneys roll out ahead of the movies release was unprecedented, saying it may have generated up to 2 billion in the u. S. This holiday season. When i saw star wars lipstick and nail polish, i knew disney was on to something. When i taught film, i taught my students its not just the movie itself, its what you make outside the theater. E. T. Led the effort. Im sure all your students are now future movie titan, right . No, they work for the government somewhere. Thats it for us here in new york. Coming up next from doha, the latest on those diplomatic developments in the middle east following saudi arabias decision and others now to cut ties with iran. Your world tomorrow is back tomorrow beginning at 7 00 a. M. Eastern. For the latest news anytime, go to aljazeera. Com. Have a great monday morning. Standing together, several of saudi arabias allies back riyadh in taking diplomatic action against iran. Youre watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. Also coming up, sectarian tensions flare in iraq, the tackers strike at least two sunni mosques near baghdad. Sweden and denmark reintroduce border controls to stem the flow of refugees. Chinese stocks collapse on the opening day of business in the new year, triggering an automatic suspension of trading