Transcripts For ALJAZAM Your World This Morning 20160112

Championship in seven years. Welcome to your world this morning. I am stephanie cy. In turkey there has been a defendant powerful explosion in istanbul. It happened in an area popular with tourists on the european side of the city. The square is located close to the mosque and grand bazaar. 10 people are dead and more than a dozen injured. Turk es president said it was carried out by a suicide bomber and may have terrorist ties. Citizens rights and freedoms are being breached but not by the turkish state. They are being breached by the terrorist organizations. It is the terrorist organization that blocks roads, that digs ditches and, that prevent did our people from traveling. It is the terrorist organization that burns schools, mosques, offices, businesses, centers and various other places. It is the terrorist organization that shoots at civilians. And makes life a hell for them. Al jazeeras emory rendy joins us. Thanks for being with us. Tell us more about this mornings attack. Of course. We are just heard from president erduan who has said for the first time that a, quote, syrialinked suicide bomber is believed to be behind the istanbul blast. This is coming from president erduan speaking to a yearly gathering of turkish ambassadors. He is also saying that some foreigners are among those killed in the suicide bombing so the president is calling it a suicide bombing. He strongly condemns the attack and all of this while the Prime Minister is holding an Emergency Security meeting in ankara with heads of the armed forces and the minister of interior. Em re, last year, turkey was the site of several attacks. Squarely aimed at tourist. How will they address security concerns in istanbul . The turkish government, you know, when you speak to turkish officials, they will tell you, you know, despite all efforts and despite all efforts taken by turkey, despite everything that is being done along this extremely long border, it is quite difficult to keep those borders completely securities. I think we will see quite increased, the walls, i imagine, being built alongties 800 long border with syria will speed up. We will see highly increased security. He rights tore turkeys pulse. Joining us via skype. Thank you for being with us. Suicide bomber. What more do you know . What are you hearing from your sources . Concentrating today. Killed 10 people and wounded 15. The tourists in istanbul targeted. Who did this . If you analyze the attack through the criteria of the locates of the attack, people being targeted, the attack time and the delays in the government revealing and the attempts to stop the attack, i can say isis comes to the stage. As you have noted very well, the turkish Prime Minister has said a couple of minutes ago, syria is the prime suspect for the attack but did not mention about his or her affiliation. As we know, turkey has been going turf against them for eight months, 2015, isis suicide bombers attacked five times in turkey. Let me remind you, the first of all of these attacks, Suicide Attacks, was in january, 2015. Before we lose your signal, i wanted to ask you why you believe that it is isil and not pkk. Yes. To aechief like that. It has been alleged there are three and 20 different sleeping cells intie right now. Regarding to nationalities of those. Germany in the fight against isis both in europe and in syria. With all probability, as you have mentioned before, the attack would also have been in the work of the kurdistan powers or tuk we call it in turkey. The group also has a direct record of attacking public squares in turkey. In 2010, the Group Carried out a Suicide Attack inest istanbul a in 2002, it carried out one in ankara. The attack has this sort of bad reputation. Isis is the prime target or the prime suspect. Istanbul, thanks very much for being with us. We will continue to follow developments on that story throughout the moraled. Iraqs Prime Minister is vowing to continue the fight against isil following a deadly attack on a Shopping Mall in baghdad. Hider al aba did. I. 18 people were killed in that attack. Another 50 were hurt. The final state of the union this and the challenge of keeping america safe in the face, of threats from isil. Al jazeeras courtney keely is live in washington this morning. Good morning. At the start of his presidency, mr. Obama was intent on getting american troops disentangled from the wars in iraq and afghanistan but the fight against isil will likely dominate his last year in office with regards to Foreign Policy. How much will his strategy be part of his address tonight . The first thing president obama is going to have to address is the fear of terrorism. Its gripping parts of america. In fact, polls are showing americans think that terrorism is a greater threat to the nation. Thats the highest level of people saying that since the week after 911 f 18 of americans polled said that its the greatest threat in the nation now. Thats up from one percent from last year. Talking about the troops. He promised to get them out. Nearly 10,000 remain in afghanistan. Right before christmas, Six Air Force members were killed. One special forces member was killed this year. You are still seeing casualties in afghanistan. You are seeing resurgence of the taliba in iraq, nearly 3,000 Service Member troops are on the ground assisting iraqi forces and there hasnt been a lot of successes against isil. They are still in control of the second largest city in iraq. One. Largest cities in syria and raqaa and 30,000 foreigners have joined the rafshingz of isil recently according to the sufon group. You still have numbers that are worrisome. You have incredible anxiety among americans and president obama is going to have to reassure people tonight after attack todays attack. Arrangeara, some say isil may have been involved in that as well. You are seeing isil not just in iraq and syria but outside and my very fearful. Would you expect the president to address his strategy on syria . The first thing that has to happen is assad must go. We have seen at the end of december and what will be happening at the end of january, talks about syrian peace talks involving russia, iran, saudi arabia and secretary of state john kerry an the deal on the table isnt necessarily that the first and the only, that they have to say assad has to go. He might remain as these peace talks continue. The state of the union this evening will be a syrian. He is a scientist who recently came here with his family and he will be featured tonight in the state of the union. Al jazeeras courtney keely leaf with a preview. Al Jazeera America will bring you complete coverage of the state of the Union Beginning tonight at 7 00 eastern. T the u. S. Navy released video of what it says is a highly provocative act by iranian forces. It happened last 3409 when iran fired rockets near a u. S. Air craft carrier as part of a test. But the tape was kept under wraps until al Jazeera America requested it under the freedom of information act. The pentagon spokesman said the rockets were aimed amp from the shipping lanes andposed no direct threat but called them a quote extremely unprofessional and unnecessarily provoctal. Bo bergdal going before a judge, charged with sderings and misbehavior before the enemy. He walked away from his army out post in the afghanistan and was held captive by the taliban for five years. Robert ray is live for us in fort bragg North Carolina where the hearing is taking place. What can we expect to come out of this hearing this time . Reporter no details have been disclosed as exactly what is going to happen today but this is the second time bo bergdol will meet here in the first month. He met december 22nd at his arainment. Lawyers on both sides are expected today go through some motions. One of the thing that bergdahls camp has requested at least right now is they are not quite sure that they want to have this trial that is expected to begin in august happen here on fort bragg premises, del. There is that podcast that bergdahl is on. How has that affected this controversial case, the certase its in the fourth installment. Audio recordings of him being interviewed about his time in captivity and, you know, there is a lot of speculation on whether or not that will affect jury selection and, you know, with social media, so many people hearing it, the Public Opinion on exactly who bo bergdahl is and what happened when he was in captivity by the taliban from 2009 for five years. What is next in the process after todays hearing . Well, there will be another hearing at some point. We dont know exact details. We do have the court date expected in august. Like i said, we are not sure whether its going to happen here at fort bragg, but this will likely go on for the next few months. Attorneys coming up with different motions and we know, remember back in december, there was no plea. Be bergdahl did not say whether he was guilty or not guilty. We dont know if that will happen today. Its not likely but hes got to make that plea eventually before this trial begins this summer. Robert ray live from fort bragg North Carolina. Thank you very much. New development in the fight against isil. The pentagon says the u. S. Has blown um large amounts of isils cash. They estimate millions was destroyed when an airstrike hit a Storage Facility in mosul where he is ill is believed to have stored profits from oil looting and extortion. Mentioncos attorney general says it could take a year to ex trad died guzman to the u. S. He was recapped toured after six months on the run. The Mexican Government has released the dramatic video of the raid that led to his capture. A didly raid caught on video by mexican marines, gunfire from both sides as marines looks for mexicos most wanted man. At. 1 point, a man was down. A marines voice can be heard saying, we have an injured man. Grenades, a barrage of bullets, five People Killed in the raid. El chapo wasnt to be found. The marines call out, where is he . Look for him. As they asked a woman where he is, she said, i dont know. He slipped into the sewers and crawled for a few hundred meters before surfacing and stealing a car from a woman driving by. Mexican authorities soon caught up with him. He is now under heavy guard at the same maximum security prison he escaped from in july. The latest turn in the story, mexican officials now say it could take at least a year to ex trad ite him to the u. S. Where he faces charges of Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering and murder. His lawyers will file as many motions as they can to delay the process. Mexican authorities are keen to get el chapo to the hands of u. S. Authorities as soon as they can, a dramatic turnaround from 2014 when they refused to ex trad ite him. Now, there is pressure on mexico to hold on to him as long as it takes to make sure that extradition is successful, a a. M. Rainey, al jazeera, mexico city. There are protesters occupying a federal wildlife refuge in oregon have destroyed a fence. It was built to keep them off of the country. The group taking over the sanctuary 10 days ago now. They say they are going to put up a gate. They say that gate will allow ranchers to bring their animals on to the land and graze. They want the federal government to turn that lack land back over to them. A man sentenced to two years in prison after his son used his gun in a School Shooting is preparing an appeal. Ramon fryberg was convicted of illegally owning. 6 firearms. The 2002 violent protection orders banned him from buying guns. Never made hadt into any criminal data basis n 2014, his son, jaelin used the gun to kill. 4 dallasmates and himself. Prosecutors are considering whether to charge a Police Officer for killing an unarmed homeless man last may. Police chief charlie beck has recommended criminal charges against l. A. Police Department Officer Clifford Proctor who shot 29yearold brandon glen twice in the black. Investigators determined he was lying his stomach when the shots were fired. They havent charged an officer for an onduty in 15 years. Buffalo new york could be getting more snow today, about a half foot expected along with freezing winds coming off of lake erie. And that is on top of this, what has piled up so far this week, snow and winds, making it difficult for drivers out there . That is if you can get your car out of the snow and ice in the first place because it seems like this, del. People until buffalo dealing with frozen cars. A quick drop in temperatures over the weekend changed rain into snow covering the city and many cars in a sheet of ice. You cant even use a scraper thing. You remember the cd covers . That would take a long time. More snow is in the forecast pofor people in the northeast. Kevin . Reporter you laughed. If you lived there, you wouldnt be laughing. We will see more snow. We have another system, an Alberta Clipper. We have another system pushing through this is going to be more widespread than just those narrow bands we see from lakeeffect snow. I want to show you the snow is progressing toward the eat east. Will be a prop. Totals have been impressive with the lake effect. 34 inches in the last 48 hours. Angola has seen 25 inches. More is expected for low rain. You can expect is to see another 20 inches on top of that talking 50 to 55 inches just in the last 36 hours. In new york, nothing too bad yesterday snow storms hitting fairly close to the region. Quite a few warnings the purple, those are for Winter Weather advisories for snow and where you see that pink in maine, talking 12 to 14 inches. That guys car will be there for quite some time . It will. Thank you very much. A pivotal deal improved. The u. S. Getting go ahead to increase presence in the philippines. Aid for thousands of syrians. The government insists it is not starving its own people. Tonight, president obama delivers his final state of the Union Address to a joint session of congress. The president expected to highlight achievesments and what he expects to accomplish. This time, there is going to be an empty seat in the first ladys guest box to highlight the total of gun violence. Againwold is a Senior Writer at politico magazine. He joins us from washington d. C. To preview this speech. In your article that you wrote for politico recently, you described nothing less than revolutionary changes that have happened under obama including the healthcare law and the realignment of student debt. What was the most surprising or underreported obama achievement that we may hear about tonight . I wrote a book about obamas first term, you know. I have written a lot about the obama administration. I wanted to talk to dozens of people in the. How it has rnts been able to change washington. It is as dysfunctional as people have always said. Woot reform. There have been extraordinary changes over the last seven years. A lot of what he has been able to accomplish, at least in his second term, he did through executive actions or orders. When he stands in that House Chamber tonight, is it as a uniter or as a divider . Well, the country is divided. There is no question about that. Thats something he promised to change and was unable to do so. We could talk for an hour about whose fault that is. But its a fact. What i think he would like to discuss more is that, you know, regardless of how, you know, paralyzed and gridlocked washington has been, he has been able to do all of this stuff. In the first two years, through legislation, like wall street with ramp, his stimulus and obamacare which included tucked in do the end the most dramatic reform of student loan in decades. And then, as you mentioned, the last few years, he has done it through executive action. Climate, tracking down on for Profit Education, going after tobacco. Trans fats. There is the tpp. There is the iran deal. But what do you think is the biggest goal he said for himself he hasnt reached . Gun control, closing gitmo, closing tax loop holes for the rich . If you asked him, he would say gun control has been a defendant huge frustration for him. Immigration as well it really shows as he goes into the speech tonight the limits of his bully pulpit. People talk a lot about why isnt he communicating to the country. Look at gun control. Some of his most moving speeches. He is he was always known as this great communicator during campaign. Look at his speeches after tucson, after the horrible tragedy in newtown, after what happened in charleston . He has begin these moving speechestha but he didnt have the votes in congress. So nothing really happened. Now, he is trying dermatologists to do a little bit through executive action. He hasnt moved the ball. While on some of these more obscure things like for Profit Education or prominently things like gay did in the military, he has had the votes or he has had the power of the executive. So he has really been able to, you know, change the governments relationship to the public it serves. Michael grunwold, thank you for offering your insights this morning. Al jazeera this morning thewill bring you complete coverage. The democratic black and brown form, hillary clinton, Bernie Sanders, all talking about thegration broadcast on the fusion network. We have got to move to a cough prehencei Immigration Reform and a path towards citizenship. As police department, if congress does not do what they should be doing, i will use the executive offices of the presidency. Itch come out against the raids. I do not think the raids are an appropriate tool to enforce the immigration laws. In fact, i think they are devicing, sewing discord and fear. According to the laidest polls, clintons lead is shrinking. Those Iowa Caucuses 20 days away. Two republican candidates wont be on the main stage for the next debate. Rand paul and carlie fiorina. Instead they have been invited to participate in a debate with Mike Huckabee and rick santorum. Rand paul says he wont be there. He will go to New Hampshire and iowa for campaignents. A major ruling today. The Supreme Court in man ill a signing off on a deal coming at crucial time because there are rising tensions in the south china sea. Al jazeera has more from manila. The presence of foreign troops in the philippines is a rather did i have vicivishment there were military basis here until 1992 when the lease was no longer extended. Since then, a visited forces agreement was signed between the fiphilippines and the u. S. Whic has allowed for u. S. Troops to come here in the small hundreds. This enhanced agreement will allow for more u. S. Fors to spends more time here and give t them greater answers to Philippine Military bases. It will allow americans to store equipment in the country. This is a development that many filipinos are not happy with. They see this as something that could potentially incur the ire of china the philippines subpoena in particular dispute dispute with china over portions of the south china sea. China has, itself, been expanding its military might connellstructing islands where there once were none and can you going flights in those areas. Some filipinos see the presence of the americans now as actually a good thing. They see it as a why by with their own Defense Forces can be backed up and have more of a power to then stand up against any threats posed by china. So what will happen from here on out now that the Supreme Court that deemed this enhanced agreement constitution al is still something to be seen as many filipinos say they will take to the streets in protest. That is amorga ortiz reporting from manila. The trial over ignition switches. Gm pitted against a driver. Plus the. Coming up, we will tell you why an arabic language song has not only tipped the charts in israel but is also breaking barriers. Every monday night. I lived that character. Go one on one with americas movers and shakers. We will be able to see change. Gripping. Inspiring. Entertaining. No topic off limits. cause im like, dad, there are hookers in this house. Exclusive conversations you wont find anywhere else. These are very vivid, human stories. If you have an agenda with people, you sometimes dont see the truth. Talk to al jazeera. Monday, 6 00 eastern. Only on al Jazeera America. Welcome back to your world this morning, taking a look allege todays top stories. Breaking news overnight, at least 10 dead, 14 injured after this explosion isis stan bull, several tourists among the wounded in the square near the citys mosque. That attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. It is the terrorist organizations, organizations that he breaches the rights and freedoms of our people. The deputy Prime Minister now saying that the bomber was a 28yearold syrian tourist from germany, norway, peru, south korea all believed to be among the dead. Bowe bergdahl is charged with misbehavior and desertion. He walked from his army outpost and held by the taliban for five years. He has a hearing today. President obama will speak to congress for his final state of the Union Address. AlJazeera America will have complete coverage of the state of the Union Address tonight. Opening statements are set this morning in a civil suit over General Motors faulty ignition switches. The plaintiff claims he suffered injuries after crashing his satellite and blames a bad switch for causing it. Bisi onileere has our story. The case pits an oklahoma man against auto giant General Motors. Roberts federal lawsuit is among six bellwether trials that could influence hundreds of claims against g. M. He is pictured here with his attorneys opinion he alleges he suffered neck and back injuries after crashing his saturn eye i dont know into a tree in 2014. His core was among more than 200 million vehicles recalled that year. The automakers new for more than a decade that defective ignition switches could shut off and cut power. The plaintiff says lives were put at risk for delaying too long to let people know of the dangers. G. M. Will argue it did not cause his injuries. The automakers paid out 600 million to settle hundreds of claims but as part of a massive civil suit, hundreds of plaintiffs are waiting for their day in court and this suit will likely determine how many of those cases will proceed. Bisi onileere, al jazeera, new york. The trial of a baltimore Police Officer excused in the death of freddie gray has been put on hold. Jury selection in the trial of van driver caesar good son was supposed to begin but an Appeals Court delayed the trial while it considers whether another officer can be forced to testify. Officer porter is the only state witness that connects the dots, prove that is officer good son was aware that freddie gray needed medical assistance, so without officer porter testifying, the state may not be able to prove that goodson was aware that freddie gray needed emergencies medical help. Porter also faces charges in the case. His trial ended in a hung jury last month. The a. T. F. Announcing new rules that will require gun dealers to report lost and stolen firearms to the federal government part of president obamas executive actions on guns. Gun dealers have 48 hours to file those reports. It includes legal guns that are stolen on their way to customers, the a. T. F. Saying those guns are linked to 1300 crimes every year. The u. N. Humanitarian chief is calling for hundreds of people to be evacuated from the syrian town of madaya. They are in need of Urgent Medical help from being malnourished. Several cities are cut off by that the Syrian Government. Aid agencies saying this one off delivery is not enough. The food and medical supplies are enough to last in madaya for just one month. Dob beis the spokesperson for the International Committee of the red cross. She joins us from sleeve, thanks for being with us this morning. This is not the first team we have seen the images of starving children in madaya. Why did it take those images to get the word to do something . Good morning. Indeed, horrible, horrific heartbreaking images that many could see with their own eyes yesterday in madaya. The situation is terrible and very sad to see that the world indeed waits for some photos to get out to react and to put pressure and to take action. Ive been following syria more than three years now and this is not the first time i do interviews to speak about very dire humanitarian situation in many areas and we have seen similar places from other places such as the yarmouk camp. The world needs to wake up and remember there is an ongoing conflict in syria where millions of people are paying an extremely heavy price. Syrias ambassador to the u. N. Saying aid shipments are already being looted. Are those reports true and is that one of the biggest obstacles to getting aid to the people who need it most . Today what is important to say and know is that there are people here and probably in other besieged areas that are malnourished. They saw with their own eyes people that wanted food. All they wanted was something to eat, people that didnt have bread for almost five months now. People that ever to pay 100 to get one kilo of race. They are boiling water with a bit of salt or spices to eat. They saw critical medical situations. Our head of delegation saw more than 20 people that were in a room that is socalled hospital on the ground without mattresses, just with blankets. Some of them are between life and death. So today in madaya but probably in other besieged areas, people need immediate help. This is why we need regular unfettered access. Its not a one shot or one off of assistance that will save the people. We need to have regular access to those people to bring them the aid they need. Is there any doubt in your mind that food in this case is being used as a weapon of war . Well, i will not speculate on this now. Actually what i was told by my colleagues is that what they saw in madaya or head of dell allegation there for five years now said that this is the worse that she has seen in syria, but again, from information and when we talk to people in areas where we have access or dont have access but in contact with people, we know that there are dire needs and people need food, medicine, water, access to health care. Five years of conflict have weakened syria, the economy, had weakened the people, they are on their knees and they need immediate assistance. Its not easy to access certain areas, it necessitates negotiations, long negotiations. Today we call on all parties to the conflict because we are not only negotiating with the Syrian Government. Other areas of besieged by armed opposition, other factions, like yesterday where assistance reached, as well. We are negotiating with all of them and we call upon all of them to allow regular unfettered and safe access to areas where people are in dire needs. Thanks very much for joining us live from geneva. The pentagon says a guantanamo detainee from saudi arabia has been sent home, the fourth cleared for release this month. A group of human rights experts continues to call on the u. S. To close the facility. 103 men remain in prison there, many without charges. Samsung reached a deal with workers sickened at their plants. The south Korean Company agreed to improve workplace safety. More than 200 current or former employees are suffering from leukemia and other ill insists. They say its due to exposure to carcinogens. There are new guidelines about when to get a mammogram trying to clear confusion after conflicting advice. The task force saying women now age 5074 should get a mammogram every other year. It election mends women with average risk of Breast Cancer make a decision about how often they should get tested. These suggestions diverge from other guidelines suggesting getting a mammogram every year in their 40s. Flooding is a major concern along the mississippi which is quickly swelling its banks. Lets bring in meteorologist Kevin Corriveau for that story. Weve been talking two and a half weeks since its rained. Illinois and missouri is clearing out but the water is making its way downstream. These are the flood warnings now down towards the delta. I want to show you in baton rouge what the graphic looks like in terms of flood stage. Write now they are in major flood stage. As you can see towards saturday, the water is still rising, even though they opened up the spillway just downstream, the pressure on the river is still very very heavy and we are looking at still the possibility of flooding across the levee, so we are going to be watching that as we go through the weekend and of course downstream from there is the potential risk for flooding for many people. Towards the north, the temperatures this morning are very very low. Minus five in minneapolis, fine mouse 14 in far dough. This has been the trend the last several days. There are very very dangerous wind chills people are experiencing this morning. Far go you feel like minus 30 degrees for you here. This is all due to that new system that is moving across the great lakes. Thats that Alberta Clipper. Temperatures are going to stay quite low, we are talking about below average temperatures. Saturday, you are back to eight degrees with an overnight low of about minus five degrees there. Towards thursday, well, more snow across much of the Great Lakes Region and we are going to see more rain going towards the weekend. Feels like january now. It does, now it does. Kevin thanks. [ laughter ] if you were worried about asteroids hitting the earth, you are not alone. Nasa is setting up a special office to deal with the threat. We have the story. It was nearly three years ago that a small asteroid exploded above russia injuring more than a thousand people and shattering windows. Nasa is spearing a new office of planetary offense. This is not just a Science Fiction contest or something that will happen 500 years in the future. For years scientistses have sounded the alarm on a possibility they insist is certain. It is one pun guaranteed that an asteroid will hit the earth if we dont prevent it. Scientists estimated 1,000 asteroids. Theres about a million asteroids large enough to destroy new york city or larger out there. We know theres about a million, because we have only surveyed a small volume of space, so our challenge is to find these also destroyeds before they find us. Part of the teams goal is to implement new technologies to track an as strayed years in advance and then redirect it so that it misses earth. If you have lots of time or smaller asteroid, you can use slow techniques, which is slowly move the orbit of the asteroid. If you have less time or larger object, you can use kin nettic where a spacecraft slams into it, changing the orbit. The mission becomes focused on preparedness or evacuations. Coordinating with fema on how to respond if an asteroid strikes. They have their eye on one asteroid expected to come close to earth in 2029. The as strayed is the size of the rose bowl and will be one of the largest objects ever observe that had close to earth. Sounds like cue ben affleck and bruce willis. What can we do . How can the public help track the os trades. Nasa has put out contests for citizen scientists to track the as trades and set up algorithms to help look at these and identify these before they come close to earth. I warned if the president talks about this in the state i have the union. I hope he does. Thank you very much. The philadelphia newspaper is the Parent Company of the philadelphia inquirer, all being donated to the institution for journalism in new media, starting with a 20 million endowment donated by the current owner. It is designed to help stabilize the newsroom which has been seeing job cuts and declining revenues. Wedding bells will be ringing for rupert murdoch, he announced his engagement to jerry hall. She has four kids with Rolling Stone frontman mick jagger, murdoch six children from prefers marriages. Estimated to be worth 11 billion. All bets are now on. Daily Fantasy Sports sites given the go ahead that keep running in new york for now. Breaking barriers, for the first time in israel history, a song sung in arabic is topping the charts. This morning, the tide rose, alabamas crimson tide defeating the tigers last night winning the national title. Nick saban took a huge gamble when he called for an onside kick. He called for the unexpected play after they scored a field goal. When it comes to competing and making plays, it was probably as good as it gets. I think thats the kind of competitor that is win championships and thats probably why were sitting here. Saban called for that onside kick because his team was tired on defense. He said he didnt think that he had chance without that play. This is sabans fifth College Football title, four at alabama, one at l. S. U. The game is not over for the two biggest daily fantasy gaming sites. They can keep operating in new york while they are in court. John henry smith has the latest. The two leading fantasy gaming sites now have permission from a panel of new york appeals judges to keep accepting money from state residents who want to play their games through at least may. That covers the upcoming ncaa basketball tournament and the start of the nba and nhl playoffs. This is just the latest development in the industrys back and forth battle with new yorks attorney general. This past fall, Eric Schneider man ruled draft kings and fan duel were illegal gambling institutions under state law. A state judge agreed and suspended sites in new york. In granting this stay, the appeals judges seem to agree with the site that is shutting them down would cause them irreparable harm. Losing the new york market could cost draft kings and fan duel around 35 million per year. The pellet court said until we have a chance to look at this, nothing should change. A draft kings lawyer said the decision means hundreds of thousands of new yorkers who love fantasy supports can continue the contest they love, but the Attorney Generals Office said we look forward to demonstrating to the pellet division that the trial judge was correct. Draft kings and fan duel are indeed operating illegal gambling operations in new york and should be permanently barred from doing business in new york. As part of his suit, the attorney general demands that draft kings and fan duel repay new yorkers all the money they ever lost playing the games. That could amount to billions of dollars in repayment. New york i guess not the only state challenging these sites. The attorney general in illinois made a similar ruling to the one in york, being that daily fantasy is illegal gambling. The Massachusetts Attorney general will hold a public hearing on that subject today in boston. In all, daily fantasy gaming barred in six states and many others are considering some form of restrictive ledge lakes. The first book about pope francis is available today, pretty much an in depth book, called god is mercy. Its a 100 page conversation between the pope and an Italian Journalist focusing on the popes view on mercy. He criticizes scholars of law who goes against the message of jesus, which is unconditional love. Three sisters are topping the charts singing in arabic. We have more from telaviv. Its been viewed on line more than 2 million times. It stormed to the top of israels pop music charts. The song love of my heart is her first single its success is an impressive feat for any group, but its almost unheard of for a jewish israel band that seems traditional folk songs in a nearly extinct dialects of arabic. The Three Sisters who make up the group know they are unlike any other band in israel and theyre proud of it. Music is a language in itself, so i dont think it should have any borders or something. We just want people to enjoy our music, no matter where they come from. The sisters are descendents of yemeni jews who moved to israel after it was created in 1948. Like many israeli jews whose family come from arab countries, they grew up singing the songs of their ancestral homeland. 300 trace their ancestry to the middle east and 20 of Israeli Citizens are arabic speaking palestinians. Both communities have historically been among the poorest and most disenfranchised in israel. On the surface, it seems a given that an arabic language song should achieve commercial success in israel, given that the majority of the population comes from arabic speaking countries, but there is another reason this is the first to top the israeli music charts. For decades after the creation of israel, arabic music and this music more broadly was rarely played on israeli radio. The early leaders of israel were European Jews and their culture dominate. That slowly started to change in the 1970s with a select few artists achieving commercial success. All those blended with he brew or music which gave their music a distinctive israeli flair, something they have not. I think the design of the system made it very clear from the get go, from the very early 1950s that you need to work twice as harder to prove to us that you are not that kind of arab. From telaviv to tangiers, brooklyn to beirut, they hope to continue to transcend israels race politics and history with their music, selling records and packing dance floors while doing so. Al jazeera, telaviv. Fans around the world are mourning the loss of rock icon david bowie. Theyve gathered outside his home in new york city to pay respects and in los angeles where flowers, candles and letters were laid on bowies star on the walk of fame. Some things never change, this is one of them. Ahead, that explosion in istanbul killing at least 10. Well have the latest on the breaking news and reaction. Facing justice abroad, el chapo waits to be extra dated to the u. S. , but it could be more than a year before his day in court. Stay with us. Understanding the epidemic. It was terrifying. Its like navigating a minefield. Go inside the new medical breakthrough. You had quite a reaction there. Thats crazy. I really feel my life changing. The freedom is unbelievable. Techknows team of experts show you how the miracles of science. This is what innovation looks like. Can affect and surpise us. I feel like were making an impact. Lets do it. Techknow, where Technology Meets humanity. Only on al Jazeera America. Breaking news overnight, an explosion in a popular tourist area of istanbul, several people of dead, turkish president saying it was a suicide bomb attack. Facing justice abroad, captured after a dramatic firefight, seven u. S. States are eager to put the drug kingpin known as el chapo on trial. President obama getting ready for his last state of the Union Address, it is a speech attempting to define his legacy. Daily Fantasy Sports sites allowed to keep running in one state despite legal attempts to shut them down. Good morning, welcome to your world this morning. Im del walters. Im stephanie sy. A powerful explosion in turkey leaving 10 people dead in istanbul happened in an area popular with tourists on the european side of the city. The square is located close to the blue mosque and grand bazaar. The dead of foreigners, a dozen people injured. Within the last hour, the turkish president saying this attack was carried out by a 28yearold suicide bomber from syria. Citizens rights and freedoms are being breached butch not by the turkish state, by terrorist organizations. It is the terrorists that blocks roads, dig ditches, bombs schools, offices, Business Centers and various other places. It is the terrorists that shoots at civilians and makes life a hell for them. We have reporters on the ground. Al jazeera has more. Its the heart of istanbul and one of its most popular tourist spots. This is the square, less than an hour after an explosion, the site cordoned off and security tight. We understand that from eyewitnesses that it was quite a powerful explosion. Nobody has commented yet on the reason or cause of it. It took place in the square, just behind the mosque. Istanbul is turkeys biggest city and the historic square is a draw card for tourists and turks alike. The district is home to the museum and istanbuls iconic blue mosque. This is the latest blast to hit turkey. In october, at least 102 people died in a double Suicide Attack on a peace rally in the capital, ankara. The violence comes with a backdrop of Ongoing Operations in the southeast of turkey and almost five year civil war along its southern border with syria. The district has been locked down and its people left bewildered that a blast has torn through their beloved and historic city. Al jazeera. Turkish officials now saying they are working to increase security across the country. More now from al jazeera in istanbul. The turkish government, when you speak to turkish officials, they will tell you that despite all efforts taken by turkey, despite everything that is being done along this extremely long border, it is quite difficult to keep those borders completely secured. I think we will see quite increased the walls i imagine being built along turkey, 800kilometer border with syria will speed up and i feel that in the turkish cities at least well see higy increased security. Todays explosion comes after a year of turmoil for turkey. In october, a peace rally in ankara was attacked. 102 people died. It was the worst attack in the countries history. In july, 37 died in bombings at two other public gatherings. A ceasefire has broken down between the government and a kurdish separatist group, the p. K. K. More than 300 have been killed over the last six months, as well as hundreds of p. K. K. Fighters. President obama is expected to talk about the fight against isil in his state of the Union Address. Hell talk about keeping america safe here at home. We are live in washington. Todays attack just highlighting the importance of the president s Foreign Policy and fight against isil. How much of that strategy do you think hell outline in tonights address . Its his last year in offers and whether the strategy kill change for can be adapted in the last year is very unlikely. The president will have to assuage the fears of americans. Polls show that the fear of terrorism in the United States is higher and at its greatest number among people. Since the week after 9 11, president obama has called isil before the j. D. Team of terrorism. Even after San Bernardino and the terrorist attacks, he said the threat has been contained. Thats not necessarily true. Hes going to have to balance the reality on the ground in the u. S. , where statistically a terrorism attack is unlikely with the optics that are coming out of iraq and syria, the social media campaigns of isil and the fear of the very real fear of isil as a threat after Something Like paris, after Something Like turkey today, well see who actually takes responsibility for that, del. Courtney, syria has also been a huge challenge for the president all told, remember that line in the sand, how will he characterize their way forward in syria and dealing also with the refugee crisis . Well, del, in an address a couple of years ago, he said that assad didnt have much time left. Clearly that was three years ago. This year, we saw the greatest number of refugees flowing into europe since world war ii. This is going to be something that president obama is going to have to have incredibly precise and sympathetic words for, but also some way out of what is looking like an abyss. One guest is a 55yearold scientists who escaped syria with some members of his family after his wife and daughters were killed in an attack on his home. Hes become something of a humans of new york phenomenon, this gentleman. He will be sitting next to michelle obama, a symbol of what has been lost in syria and what hopes people will have for the Syrian People and well hear what president obama has to say about him and the Syrian People. Thank you very much. Al jazeera will have complete custom of the state of the Union Address. Our coverage begins tonight at 7 00 p. M. Eastern time. Youre looking at the police raid that captured escaped mexican drug lord joaquin guzman, better known as el chapo. The mix ken military called its operation black swan. After more than six months on the run, el chapo is back in mexicos highest security prison in solitary confinement. Mexican Officials Say it may take a year to extradite guzman to the u. S. Chicago is one city that indicted him. He is accused of being involved in the vast majority o Drug Trafficking there. In 2013, the Chicago Crime Commission named Joaquin El Chapo public enemy number one. Its a moniker last used by chicago Law Enforcement to describe al capone in the 1930s. His involvement with the day to day drug trade in chicago is of a major significance, and he controls the street gangs by supplying them with the drugs. In chicago, the u. S. Drug Enforcement Agency estimates sinaloa provides 60 of the citys her win, cocaine and meth. He has been captured three times. He is scraped from mexican authorities in 2011 using bribes and a series of tunnels. He was recaptured in 2014 but escaped last july through a mile long tunnel from his cell to a safe house. He was recaptured by the Mexican Government on friday. Authorities carried out intense and careful intelligence work and a criminal investigation that allowed them to identify and arrest guzman, and dismantle the network of influence and intelligence of this criminal. Chicago is at the center of the sinaloa drug empires distribution network. In 2009, federal authorities in illinois indicted guzman in one of the most significant drug importation conspiracies ever in chicago. He has been indict in other u. S. Cities. More than 20 alleged Sinaloa Cartel members have been indicted in federal court in chicago. In a statement, the dee. A. Said the arrest is a significant achievement in our shared fight against transnational organized crime, violence and Drug Trafficking. It is further evidence of our two countries resolve to assure justice served for families who have been plagued by guzmans ruthless acts of violence. It will be Loretta Lynch who will determine where guzman will face trial should he be extra dated. Mexican authorities informed him arrest warrants are being processed. It could take at least a year. Probably the most important thing is the weight of the evidence. You dont want to spend a lot of resources here only to have the case fall apart. In addition, the significance of those charges, not just has that hes charged with a dozen counts here versus five counts there, but what charges consist of. The other big people are asking is whether or not guzmans arrest will have any effect on the flow of drugs into the United States or here on to the streets of chicago. The drug lord himself says no. While some Law Enforcement officials believe the arrest may cause a temporary disruption in supply, the multibusiness of Drug Trafficking will i didnt know in that certainly the arrest of el chapo is considered a Law Enforcement victory for now. Al jazeera, chicago. A major ruling giving the u. S. To increase military presence in the philippines, the Supreme Court in manila deciding that today, coming at a crucial time with rising tensions in the south china sea. We have more from manila. The presence of foreign troops in the philippines is a rather divisive issue. There were u. S. Military bases here until 1992 when the lease was no longer extended. Since then, a visiting forces agreement was signed, allowing u. S. Troops to come through here in the small hundreds. However, this enhanced agreement will allow for more u. S. Forces to spend more time here and give them greater access to Philippine Military bases. It will allow the americans to store equipment in the country. This is a Development Many filipinos are not happy this. They see this as something that could incur the ire of china. The philippines is already currently in a dispute over portion of the south china sea. China has been constructing islands where there once were none and conducting flights in those areas. Some filipinos see the presence of the americans now as actually a good thing. They see it as a way by which their own Defense Forces can be backed up and have more of a power to then stand up against any threats posed by china. What will happen from here on out now that the Supreme Court deemed this enhanced agreement constitutional is still something to be seen as many filipinos say they will take to the streets in protest. That is marga reporting from manila. A portion of a fence was destroyed in oregon in a wildlife refuge where a goop took over the sanctuary. They say they will put up a gate allowing ranchers to bring their animals to know to the land. Prosecutors in los angeles are considering whether to charge a Police Officer for killing an unarmed home lass man last may. Police chief charlie beck recommended criminal charges against Clifford Proctor. He shot 29yearold brendan glen twice in the back. Investigators determined glen was lying on his stomach when the shots were fired. Local prosecutors havent charged an officer for an on duty shooting in 15 years. It is going to be another snowy day in buffalo new york, along with freezing winds on top of this, whats already piled up, snow and winds making it difficult for driving, and that is if you can get your car out of that snow and ice in the first place. Some cars in buffalo totally frozen over in a sheet of ice. I want to bring in meteorologist Kevin Corriveau to explain how that even happens. Does that mean that car was covered in water somehow . When you get the wind close to the lake, it brings up the display. That was very close to a lake. I wouldnt park my car that close. Of course it makes a great picture. If you dont have to scrape the stuff off. Absolutely. We have another that is going to come in just on the heels of the lake effect. This is called an Alberta Clipper, moving quickly, causing snow across much of the ohio river valley as were talking. Well see West Virginia up towards maine is going to get snow over the next 24 to 48 hours. Even towards the northwest part of new jersey, youll see about a trace to possibly an inch of snow. We have seen quite a bit snow here across the great lakes. Lorraine new york saw 34 inches so far, angola 25 inches and they are just going to see more through the next couple of days. The closer radar towards the cities is coming into play, but new york i think will be spared. We may see a few flurries in the air, but really nothing to shovel any accumulation there. The warnings and watches are in effect now. You can see from pends up towards maine. The lake effect snow warnings are still in effect. Those will stay in effect there, but for maine, youre probably going to see the most amount of snow out of anybody, up to about 14 inches of snow there. Temperatures are going to stay quite cool with 28 degrees towards the next day. The snow for tuesday, as we go towards wednesday, that Alberta Clipper will be moving away and what well be seeing is the lake effect machine starting to kick in again, only around the lakes will web seeing that snow. Theyre not getting much of a breakthrough the next days. He said probably selling that car but you might have to wait six months to pick it up. Army Sergeant Bowe bergdahl will be back in court today. Well tell you how his case and a popular podcast are changing how the military handles the situation. This morning an Army Sergeant the taliban held captain active for five years goes to hearing again. Bowe bergdahls Court Martial came after he walked from his army outpost in afghanistan. He he could face life in prison if convicted. Robert ray is live where this mornings hearing is taking place. Why is this Pretrial Hearing so important . Good morning. Its important because back december 22 when he had his arraignment, there was no plea. Now both sides of the camps are going to have motions today and talk about several things, one being that Bowe Bergdahls camp is not sure if they want to have this trial take place here at fort bragg, stephanie. A lot of people have been following this piece recently because its on that popular podcast serial. Could that affect the case, the details that have come out of that podcast . Yes, it could. When you have a radio podcast that the public hears before a trial that releases details of his captivity, clearly that can, you know, sway whether or not jury selection is done fairly, and even Public Opinion. Lets listen to a little bit, this is the fourth installment of this Bowe Bergdahl podcast serial. You know, youre not in next week, next month. Youre in this second, and it can last an eternity. You can forget about time when you are able to distract yourself, reading a book or doing something that concentrates youre minds, but when you dont have any of that, youre just staying there, it turns into, you know, a repetition, like your mind turns into a broken record, almost. So you can hear him talking about, you know, some of the things he went through while in captivity for five years with the taliban. Clearly he was getting a little philosophical there. A lot he said and clearly this could change the way this proceeding goes forward, expected in august. So walk us through what happens after todays hearing. Well, ok, so we have today. Theyre going to meet all day were told. Both sides are going to give their motions and talk about exactly, you know, what goes forward, things they want on both sides of the camp and then were told this probably could go into tomorrow, as well. Now after that, we dont really know the next time theres going to be another hearing, because of course, theres been no plea yet. But we do know that on the docket is an august trial here at fort bragg, but again, Bowe Bergdahls camp not sure if they want that trial to happen here, so a lot of uncertainties and clearly this is the military, so theyre not going to give us a whole lot of information until it comes out live in person today and again as i said, probably tomorrow. Robert ray with the latest, thank you. Lets go to patrick mcclain, retired marine corps judge joining us from dallas. Thanks for being with us. Will in your opinion Bowe Bergdahls attorney bring up his clients mental state and do you believe that is a viable defense . They will certainly conduct an inquiry for Court Martial under 706, a Mental Health examination to make sure whether he was responsible for his conduct mentally at the time of the and would offenses. I expect considering the high bar for declaring someone not responsible for his conduct due to Mental Health reasons, its unlikely that that will be a defense. Do you believe that Mental Health is playing into what were seeing play out on that popular serial pod cast, because he is taking his case public. How will that influence his chance for a fair trial . I suspect it doesnt anger them, it intrigues them. One of the problems you have and your reporter mentioned it, and that was that how will that influence the jury pool, or members as we call it in the military. The military judge will not want anybody on the panel who is familiar with the contents of the serial podcast, because he wants them to be a blank slate on the evidence in the case. But by the same token, do you expect that that podcast will wind up being used against Bowe Bergdahl and introduced into evidence . I am certain that the trial team is going through it many times over. Theyve already augmented the Prosecution Team to 10 attorneys, going through, not only the serial podcast, but reims and reims of material, bolt classified and unclassified in trying to build their case against Sergeant Bergdahl. Take us inside the mind of the jurors on the base there. I have been there for military trial and i saw soldiers turning their backs as the defendant would walk past them on the base. Do they view him as innocent until Proven Guilty or deserter . Its hard to tell the individual motive of an individual soldier but could be two motives. There may be some that have alike for Sergeant Bergdahl but there may be others that have received instructions from their chain of command not to have any interaction with him because they dont want to taint the pros by having interaction with Sergeant Bergdahl. We are in a campaign year, is the fact that we are in an Election Year going to impact this trial . It already has. This case was investigated by a Major General in the army, not for legal reasons but to investigate the facts of the case. He reported based upon his study of the facts including testimony from Sergeant Bergdahl that this case should not go to a court mall. Nonetheless, it was sent to a preliminary examination, article 32 hearing, and the lt. Colonel lawyer instituted a special be Court Martial. The Divisional Authority general abrams decided nonetheless to send it to a General Court mall. General abrams comes from a long line of army generals. He could be free of politics but when you see folks like senator mccain or the folks at the Armed Services committee saying if there isnt punishment, we are going to examine the case ourselves, that is a huge amount of pressure on the leadership in uniform in the army. Thank you for being with us. Aid is finally reaching syrians under siege for the first time in months. The u. N. Insisting much more help is needed but the situation in madaya is called a lie. Be a closely watched lawsuit against General Motors, thousands affected by faulty ignition switches look for answers years in the making. We do these things because ultimately they will make us safer. President trying to figure out just which course to take. This is how you can fight the republicans, and hes putting them where they have to respond. And after the address. Welcome back to your world this morning, taking a look at top stories. At least 10 dead, 14 injured after an explosion in istanbul, tourists there are reported among the wounded in the square near the citys blue mosque. Turkeys president saying the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber from turkey. From syria, just to be clear. Demonstration in manila after the u. S. Got the go ahead to increase military presence in the philippines. The countrys Supreme Court signed off on the deal today. The decision comes at a crucial time with rising tensions in the south cline in a sea. President obama hours from the final state of the Union Address of his presidency. He is expected to outline Top Priorities in his final year in office, including gun control and fighting isil. Mike viqueira has our preview. The message from president obama tuesday night, im not a lame duck. Theres more to do. The president of the United States a white house multimedia p. R. Blitz before the speech makes his approach clear, building a legacy for the future will mean revisiting the past. We will rebuild. We will recover, and the United States of america will emerge stronger than before. That was 2009, just a month after taking office. His first speech to Congress Heading into his final state of the union, the Unemployment Rate is down to 5 , the economy is growing, the domestic Auto Industry has risen from its death bed and some predict a dollar a gallon gas this year, all positive signs for most measures. Years of slow growth, stagnant wages and income inequality, all factors in voter anxiety over their economic future. Fueling the rise of populists like donald trump and Bernie Sanders in the race to succeed mr. Obama in the white house. Which brings up another problem for the president , the calendar. In just three weeks, the first votes of 2016 will be cast in iowa. It will consume much of the political oxygen, complicating efforts with congress. While aids say this state of the union will be nontraditional, not the usually laundry list of issues, there are boxes the president still wants to check, closing the military prison at guantanamo bay. Criminal justice reform, and pushing the pacific rim trade pact through congress. Mike viqueira, al jazeera, washington. AlJazeera America will have complete coverage of the state of the Union Address beginning tonight at 7 00 p. M. Eastern. Two republican president ial candidates around going to be on the stage for the main event, theyve been invited to participate in the earlier debate with arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. Rand paul said he will not be there, instead campaign in New Hampshire and iowa for events there. In turkey, a deadly suicide bombing in a popular tourist square in istanbul, the explosion took place in the european side of the city close to the blue mosque and the grand bazaar. Turkish officials closed off that area. At least 10 are dead and more than a dozen injured. Turkeys president says the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber from syria. We are joined now from the site of the bombing in istanbul. Most victims were foreigners. What more are we learning about the attack . Well, the Government Spokesperson just briefed the media, journalists following an Emergency Security meeting in the capital, ankara, and he told reporters that as you mentioned, the attacker was a 28yearold syrian citizen. He also said that the majority of those who lost their lives, 10 at the moment, were foreigners. He also added that two of the 15 injured are in critical condition. President erdogan spoke about an hour ago, condemning the attack and thats the first time we heard the syrian connection to this attacker. President erdogan did not list an affiliation that that individual had with any particular group. Has any group come out yet claiming responsibility . We know that isil has had a growing presence in turkey and they have threatened attacks before. Youre very right. Both president erdogan and the Government Spokesperson only referred to syrian citizenship and the connection a man from syria. They were short of pointing the finger at isil or any other group. Having said that, as you mentioned, isil has been responsible for two attacks in 2015 in turkey. The one in surich and train attract that killed over 100 people. Emery, thank you. That is one of the reasons that there have been so many calls to fortify that border between syria and turkey, which stretches for miles. This morning the u. N. Humanitarian chief is calling for hundreds to be evacuated from the syrian town of madaya. They are in desperate need of medical help. The government said it has a different story of whats happening there. Trucks carrying food and medicine finally arrive in madaya, a town of more than 40,000 people, where theyve been eating their pets and after that, survived on a diet of soup made from grass. We witnessed a lot and suffered a lot. People kid cats to eat them. Others ate grass. I saw people sitting on garbage and eating from it. We need to break the siege. It is reported that as many as 28 people have starved to death, but at the United Nation, the Syrian Ambassador seemed to dispute all this. The information concerning the humanitarian situation in madaya is based on false information. Weve seen reports of death, some in the last few hours. Weve been seeing pictures of starving people. Are those fabrications . Yes, indeed. So reports of mass starvation issued by the United Nation and other humanitarian agencies and these deeply disturbing pictures of the towns population, including children suffering from malnutrition are, he claims, fake. He also seemed to have a different second explanation. The terrorists are stealing the humanitarian assistance from the syrian red crescent as well as from the United Nation and they are keeping these in their warehouses and use it as a leverage of political and financial gain for them. The u. S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the u. N. General assembly she had no doubt who was to blame. Look at the grotesque starved or surrender tactics, the Syrian Regime is using right now against its own people. Look at the haunting pictures of civilians, including children, even babies in madaya, syria. These are just the pictures we see. There are hundreds of thousands of people being deliberately besieged, deliberately starved right now and these images remind us of world war ii. On the ground in madaya, one woman seemed to back the Syrian Ambassadors explanation. The situation in madaya is so bad, before the siege, we used to live a proper life. The armed rebels when they entered the village and acted as we all know revealed their true colors. At the beginning, people were deceived, but it has become clear now. They are nothing but traders of peoples blood. Getting to the truth in the chaos and turmoil of syrias long war is very difficult. The camera crew who filmed these pictures were operating under Syrian Government media guidelines. Syria remains a country where its difficult to speak freely and basic humanitarian needs, the access to food is used as a weapon of war. The u. N. Now says it needs the urgent evacuation of 400 people from madaya who need lifesaving treatment. James bays, al jazeera at the United Nations. Last hour we talked to a representative of the International Committee of the red cross. She told us the world would not wait for those horrific pictures before it acted. It is very sad, actually to see that the world indeed waits for some photos to get out to react, and to put pressure and to take action. Ive been following syria since more than three years now and this is not the first time i do interviews to speak about very dire humanitarian situation in many areas. We have seen similar photos from the yarmouk camp for example, and the world needs to wake up and remember that there is an ongoing conflict in syria where millions of people are paying an extremely heavy price. Our head of the delegation has been there five years now. She said that this is the worst that she has seen in syria, but again, from information and when we talk to people in different areas, whether we have access or whether we dont have access but we are in contact with people, we know that there are dire needs and people need food. They need medicine. They need water. They need access to health care. Five years of conflict weakened the syria, had weakened the economy, had weakened the people, they are on their knees. She said that the International Red cross calling on all parties in the syrian conflict to cease fighting for the sake of peoples lives. Ires Prime Minister promises to push isil forces out of his country following attacks on monday that killed dozens of people. This morning, al abadi toured the damage in the Shopping Center in a shia dominated area of baghdad. 18 were killed in that attack monday. Another 50 were hurt. This morning, oil is starting the day below 32 a barrel and low prices are causing major issues for Oil Producing countries. Nigeria is considering devaluing its currency. We have more from nigeria. 80 of the government budget is made up from ail sales and recently, the country put together the budget and found that it bench marked on him at around 38 a barrel. Were now reporting that its much low are than that, were looking at 31, so the question is arising here, how will nigeria meet its budgetary requirements for the coming year. Now, there are reports emerging that the minister for petroleum and oil in the u. A. E. Is dismissing comments by the nigerian minister, saying that opec wont do anything artificial but what the oil minister is basically calling for is a rethink of the strategy. Now so far, opec produces 31. 5 millionbarrels of oil every single day, and even with the plummeting price of oil, for one reason or another, the organization has decided not to cut production to try and bowlsster the price of oil. That is mainly steered by saudi arabia, which is one of the biggest Oil Producing countries within opec. Countries like nigeria, like algeria, like venezuela, who rely so heavily on oil is saying no, maybe we need to rethink this. This is going to put pressure under the nigerian authorities to do what theyve promised for many many years, diversify the economy and steer it away from its dependence on oil. These plummeting prices are just going toed a to the pressure on the government to do something to try and reduce nigerias dependence on oil and invest in agriculture and other mining sectors. Opening statements set this morning for the civil suit against g. M. For its faulty ignition switches. The plaintiff blames bad switches for crashing his car. It is a case with far reaching implications for others waiting for their day in court. Bisi onileere is live outside the courthouse. What is expected when the opening arguments begin . Lawyers for the plaintiff in this case are expected to argue that because of a defective ignition switch, the air bags in roberts vehicle did not deploy when he hit a saturn ion into a tree. He claims he suffers neck and back problems as a result and thats why he is going after General Motors. General motors denies the accusations, saying that the defect did not cause his injuries. If you recall, g. M. s ignition switch troubles began a couple of years ago when it was revealed that General Motors knew about the defect for more than a decade but waited until 2014 to issue a massive recall. Dozens of people were injured. More than 100 people died from that defect in their vehicles, and basically, when it comes down to it, the plaintiff is basically saying that General Motors put his life at risk. What about the evidence, the physical evidence, what will the jury see . We were in the courtroom yesterday during jury selection, and you can see in the artists sketch that there is a blue tarp. Under that tarp is a portion of a vehicle. Right now, its unclear if that is a portion of is the plaintiffs car. His saturn was totaled. There is a portion of a vehicle under that tarp, its also important to note that jurors will hear depositions made by General Motors executives, such as g. M. C. E. O. Mary barra. This case is expected to last about a month. The five remaining bellwether trials will take course over the course of this year. Bisi onileere, thank you very much. It will be months before the trial for the one of the baltimore Police Officers accused in the death of freddie gray gets underway. Jury selection in the trial of van driver goodson was supposed to begin monday but an Appeals Court delayed proceedings while it considers whether another baltimore Police Officer, william porter, can be forced to testify. Officer porter is the only states witness that connects the dots, that proves that officer goodson was aware that freddie gray needed emergency medical assistance, so, without officer porter testifying, the state may not be able to prove that good sunni was aware that freddie gray needed emergency medical help. Porter also faces charges in the case, his first trial ended in a hung jury last month. Trials for the other four officers are expected within the next few months. New york fans of detail lip fantasy sites can keep their money in play. A state court decided that fan duel and draft kings stay in business for now. A week after heavy rains, residents along the mississippi look for relief from the rising waters. In College Football, the cry is roll tied. Alabama defeating the crimson tilers winning the national title. Alabama Coach Nick Saban taking a a gamble if the Fourth Quarter calling for an onside kick. Play was unexpected, came after a game tying field goal. Alabama went on top score the go ahead touchdown. When it comes to competing and making plays when we need to make them, it was probably as good as it gets, and i think thats the kind of competitors that win championships and thats probably why were sitting here. Saban called that onside kick because his defense was flat out tired. He said he didnt think they had a chance without the play. This is sabans five art College Football title. The game is not over for the two biggest daily fantasy gaming sites in new york. An Appeals Court said they can offer their fans the game while they battle the states attorney general in court. The two leading fantasy gaming sites now have permission from a panel of new york appeals judges to keep accepting money from state residents who want to keep playing their games through at least may. That covers the upcoming ncaa basketball tournament and the start of the nba and nhl playoffs. This is just the latest development in the industrys back and forth battle with new yorks attorney general. This past fall, Eric Schneider man ruled draft kings and fan duel were illegal gambling institutions under state law. A state judge agreed and suspended sites in new york. In granting this stay, the appeals judges seem to agree with the sites that shutting them down would cause them irreparable harm. Losing the new york market could cost draft kings and fan duel around 35 million per year. The Appellate Court said until we have a chance to look at this, nothing should change. A draft kings lawyer said the decision means hundreds of thousands of new yorkers who love Fantasy Sports can continue the contest they love, but the Attorney Generals Office said we look forward to demonstrating to the pellet division that the trial judge was correct. Draft kings and fan duel are indeed operating illegal gambling operations in new york and should be permanently barred from doing business in new york. As part of his suit, the attorney general demands that draft kings and fan duel repay new yorkers all the money they ever lost playing the games. That could amount to billions of dollars in repayment. There have been challenges in several states. How much damage has been done . Significant damage. Entry fees have plunged since october. Corporate supporters have begun to distance themselves. There were no draft kings orphan dual ads during the College Football championships. Heavy rains that flooded homes along the mississippi remain downstream now. The army corps of engineers opening up a spillway in louisiana st. Charles parish to drain out the rising waters and to protect new orleans, this is the 11th time in history that spillway has been opened. It is expected to stay open for two more weeks. Southern communities along the mississippi are not out of danger yet. Its taking quite a long time. Were talking about the rain from two and a half weeks ago that we saw in st. Louis, now down towards baton rouge. We have flood warnings in affect along the Mississippi River from st. Louis all the way down and out into the gulf of mexico. I want to show you the river gauge located at baton rouge. We are at major flood stage along the river at 41. 25 feet. We do expect it to increase every single day towards saturday and probably as we get towards the beginning of next week. Its still not at the record yet that. A lot of that water has actually subsided. The highest levels to the north, were not going to see major record flooding like we did see in the north, so that is good news there. We do have rain in the forecast on friday. Ill get to that in just a moment. Lets quickly talk about those temperatures to the north, still extremely cold across much of the northern plains, as well as into the great lakes states. We talked about of far go at minus 15 degrees with a wind chill of minus 28. Anytime you get a wind chill between minus 18 to minus 30, it only takes 30 minutes to get frostbite and damage to any exposed part of your skin, so very dangerous situation across that particular area. Going to the next couple of days, wednesday, still more snow to the north begins to subside except for around the lakes. Friday, we are going to see another storm system. Were not going to see the amount of rain we saw previously in that area, but this is not going to help areas trying to get that water out of their locations its trying to clean up. Thank you. Still ahead, nasas new armageddon office. The space Agencies Mission to monitor any threats falling from space. Theres a new effort to keep the newspapers alive in philly calling them a public service. They are donated to whats called the institute for journalism in media, setting aside 30 million to run the nonprofit. It has faced job cuts for years. If you were worried about asteroids hitting the earth, nasa is setting up a special office to deal with the threat. It was nearly three years ago that a small asteroid exploded above russia injuring more than a thousand people and shattering windows. Nasa is spearing a new office of planetary offense to protect the earth. This is not just a Science Fiction contest or something that will happen 500 years in the future. For years scientists have sounded the alarm on a possibility they insist is certain. It is one 100 guaranteed that an asteroid will hit the earth if we dont prevent it. Scientists estimated 1,000 asteroids. Theres about a million asteroids large enough to destroy new york city or larger out there. We know theres about a million, because we have only surveyed a small volume of space, so our challenge is to find these asteroids before they find us. Part of the teams goal is to implement new technologies to track an asteroid years in advance and then redirect it so that it misses earth. If you have lots of time or smaller asteroid, you can use slow techniques, which is slowly move the orbit of the asteroid. If you have less time or larger object, you can use kinetic impact where a spacecraft slams into it, changing the orbit. The mission becomes focused on preparedness or evacuations. Coordinating with fema on how to respond if an asteroid strikes. To give you an idea how many years ahead scientists see these, theyve been observing one he be expected to fly by the earth in 2029. It will be one of the largest objects ever observed this close to earth. Its good they know when theyre coming. The u. N. Absolved in coordinating a response to as trades. Why . Because this they deflect these, they move it off its orbit. If something were to go wrong with this deflection, it could put at risk nations that werent at risk beforehand. They need to coordinate with governments to figure out how and when to do this. If you just happen to have 200 million, there is a very famous place up for sale. Its the playboy mansion. Its a catch. Hugh hefner wants to stay. He bought the home on fiveacres in los angeles for just over 1 million, 45 years ago. The property that 29 bedrooms, home theater, gym, tennis court and even a zoo license. I hope it comes with a thorough cleaning, too. Coming up next, the latest on the explosion in istanbul. Well see you tomorrow at 7 00 a. M. A syrian suicide bomber suspected of setting off an explosion in the heart of turkey says biggest city. Hello, welcome to al jazeera, were live from doha. Also to come on the program, food and medicine finally arrive for people suffering in some of syrias besieged towns. On him prices continue to fall. Crude is now below 31 a barrel, the lowest in more than 12 years