. >> edward snowden is hoping to make a move from moscow to brazil. the form area national security agency contract jor published a letter in a leading brazilian newspaper, pleading for sympathy. opinion is divided. >> appealing to the people edward snowden published an open letter in a leading brazilian newspaper on tuesday. not only did he hint at requesting political asylum, but alluded that he would help investigators uncover information about the united states effort to spy on brazil. they cited examples of the way braz brazil -- the u.s. spied on brazil saying: >> his appeal was met with mixed reaction in sao paulo. >> translation: edward snowden has a very important role in history are and contributed a lot by revealing the information. by considering this brazil could give him asylum. >> translation: no, brazil should not give asylum to edward snowden. he's not a person you can trust. if his own country cannot trust him, why would ours. >> brazil would be a major target of the n.s.a. spying program. documents leaked by snowden revealed that th

tell us about this alternative address from snowden, phil. >> richelle edward snowden apparently taped this in moscow and it will be airing shortly on britain's channel 4. we expect -- we do have an early release transcript of what he will say, and the bulk of it is about privacy issues, and in particular edward snowden says that children born today may grow up in a world where they have no idea what personal privacy is. he -- he pointed out several issues about technology and how easy it is to eavesdrop on all of us now a days with our smartphones and internet access. he also in particular points out the british author george orewell's 1984 novel in which of course famously there is the presence of big brother in everyone's lives. so it this a tradition in britain, and many will be looking to see exactly what edward snowden says. as you say his first televised appearance. >> you say that this is a tradition in britain. give us a little bit more of the history of this channel 4 alternative address. who else has done this? >> well, notably then iranian president did it one year. channel

what it does is vicinity kates edward snowden. he came forward because he said he discovered what the government was doing was illegal and a federal court, not a liberal, great with him. i think it's a huge turning point in how the story played out. >> you said that the megadata collection is more invasive. >> the government tried to claim if we collect just megadata. that somehow it is not invasive. megadata is a list of every person that calls you, how long you speak on the phone, when you call them and where you are when you do so. the same is true for emails. it reveals your location, the type of device you use and the reason megadata is more ipp vasive, if you think of the example i use, a woman who calls an abortion clinic. if you listen to the woman, eavesdropping on her call, you'll hear somebody pick up the phone, answer with a generic sound, hear the woman make an appointment and hang up. you'll have it no idea what the purpose was. if you collect metadata you see that she's calling someone you identify was an abortion p

. >> i think edward snowden is a hero. what he's been doing, is he went to china, to give the documents. it's amazing the debate that he created for the world. he helped my country to understand everything that happens here, how the u.s. has spoilt the president and the population. i wanted to help him get out in a place. i think it's a good democracy, and he can be - have his human rights defend. >> you want edward snowden to come to brazil. is it a real possibility? >> i want edward snowden to be in any country with the willingness and ability to protect its human rights and ensure that he is not persecuted by the united states for decades in prison for going the acts of the united states. whether it's brazil or russia or any other countries. that would be a good outcome. there's a possibility that brazil, for the reasons said. a lot of the reporting that came from the documents, that he showed very large-scale violations of brazilian citizens and this country has been appreciative of that reporting, and understands how

edward snowden fled to hong kong and then moscow. edward snowden was defiant saying, "i shared with the world evidence: >> al jazeera's john siegenthaler reporting. >> the report says metadata that is currently collected should be held by service providers for third party s with government access granted only following a court order. >> for the first time in three years congress passed a bipartisan budget deal. the deal cleared the senate with 64 votes, despite opposition from conservative republicans and tea party members. it will go to pam re, who promised to sign it into law. ittees it eases spending cuts and abaits a risk to a shut down for two years. >> health insurance customers are giving customers extra days to pay their premiums. the first premium payment is due on january 10th. consumers must select a plan by next monday for coverage on the first of the new year. a day after russia offered to bail out the ukraine, there is word the european union is willing to fork over more money. the former republic was given a loan. ukra

leaker edward snowden. in exchange the government would want the rest of the documents he took. >> the world says goodbye to iconic apartheid leader nelson mandela. he was buried in his childhood village in a traditional state funeral. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. south america's wealthiest country has a new leader. left-wing candidate michelle bachelet has been elected president for a second time. al jazeera's correspondent has the latest on the victory. >> she's back. chillie's most popular former president michelle bachelet elected again on the promise of reforms, so make south america's stable economy more equal. >> it is time for a new constitution, for a democracy this ensures rights for people, guaranteeing the future voice of the poor majority will not be silenced in the minority. >> michelle bachelet's personal appeal is unquestionable. >> i'm thrilled. michelle bachelet is an amazing woman whose thoughts will guarantee my son will study for free. >> rob matheson math. >> eu

but edward snowden won't. what he wanted to do was warn people about the private information that the n.s.a. gathered. jim, most security officials, i believe, including you, have talked about the fact that he already has caused serious damage. how much else could he have, and how much damage could he cause. >> there has been damage caused. some of that language is exaggerated when there were folks who leaked nuclear weapons to the soviet union. that was more substantially threatening. there has been damage done. it goes back to the last question you asked. weighing costs and benefits. clearly there are - i think we are all in agreement that we are hope now that we know this is a problem. why do i say that. >> we have a the chair woman of the senate intelligence community saying there are problems. we have the president's panel who reviewed this saying there were problems, and the president himself, while becrying edward snowden welcomes a national conversation. we don't have a national conversation unless the

edward snowden does have political support in brazil. several legislators asked for his support in hearings about the n.s.a. the only person that can grant him asylum is the president. >> and tomorrow night on "al jazeera america" my conversation with glenn greenwalled. >> next, an ancient site gets a makeover. tÑ >> [ singing ] >> lots of music videos, catchy tune, years of great performances and enough votes to get them into the rock'n'roll hall of fame. hall and oates among a mix of artists, along with the duo, the class of 2014 is impressive: >> now to a different set of rockers. stonehenge. tourists will have something extra to see. emily haywood reports. >> they have watched over this land for thousands of years. stonehenge and monuments set deep in the corner of england. around a million people come to see the icon every year. >> what endures about the place is the puzzle it presents. no one has been able to say with total certainty what stonehenge is. >> some say it was a solar temple. others believe it's an astronomical compute

phil tell us what edward snowden had to say. >> well, richelle, obviously the central point of edward snowden's christmas all tern -- alternative christmas address was privacy. he went on and on about it in certain -- in a number of different aspects. he was speaking about government and new technologies and how to balance all of that with personal privacy. at one point he said that a child born today will most likely not know what it is to have personal privacy. it was -- it was a -- relatively brief address. he did wish everybody a merry christmas, but speaking to the british audience -- now keep in mind this is bound to be watched ash the world, not least of which in washington, at up with point he did say that what is -- in many ways most alarming is that the future envisioned by the great british author, george orewell was nothing compared to the capabilities and surveillance techniques now in the hands of goes. >> phil ittner thank you so much. ahead on al jazeera america, the aloha state and land of lincoln, they are lobbying hard for rights of the future home of the presidenti

contractor edward snowden. we break down both speeches. >> speaking for under 2 minutes edward snowden wished great britains a merry christmas. and then transitioned in his request - privacy or the lack thereof. he said george orwell had no idea what new capabilities modern technology would allow people to snoop into private lives. he warned children will live their lives not knowing what privacy is. >> the conversation today is based in the technology around us and the government that regulates it. together we can find a better balance in mass surveillance, and remind the government that if they really want to know how they feel, asking is cheaper than spying. >> in contrast the queen gave a traditional address, and spoke for a great period of time, reflecting on the last year, 60 years since her coronation, and a moment us year when it comes to the royal family. >> my own family is a little larger this christmas. as so many of you know, the arrival of a baby gives everyone the chance to contemplate the future

by now, most of the world has heard the name edward snowden. the former national security agency contractor who released thousands of classified documents about government surveillance in one of the most significant leaks in u.s. history. he's been charged with espionage and has been living in russia under temporary asylum. the american journalist at the center of the story lives in brazil. >> we've had to come to rio to speak to glenn greenwald. he hasn't returned to the united states since he broke the story about the nsa surveillance programs for fear of being prosecuted. >> the nsa's goal really is the elimination of privacy globally. it is literally a system designed to monitor all forms of human behavior inside the united states, which is the ultimate surveillance state. >> last december, glenn greenwald received an email from a person who didn't identify himself. >> we still didn't know who he was, where he worked, but he was saying he had access to large amounts of very sensitive surveillance information that show the united states gove

program thanks to edward snowden. edward snowden weighed in and says that the judge vindicated him. this summer glen green walled talked about the fact that edward snowden had enough -- glenn greenward talked about the fact that showed had enough information, but he won't, he wanted to just warn people about the private information that the n.s.a. was gathering. most security officials, including you, jim, is that he has caused serious damage. how much else could he have, and how many damage could he cause. >> some of that language is commaj rated. some of it was exaggerated. there has been damage done. weighing costs and benefits. clearly there are - i think we are all in agreement that we are happy now that we know this is a problem. why do i say that? we have the chair woman of the senate intelligence committee saying there are problems and the president himself while decrying snowden welcomes the national conversation. you don't have a national conversation, unless there's a link. has it done damage, yes, it has. is there future damage. yes, there may be. absent any of this, we

. >> we begin with edward snowden. a federal government ruled that documents ruled are likely conu conunconstitutional. is the ruling an anomaly. edward snowden may have had brief hopes of returning to the u.s. after the official who ran the task for proposed amnesty for the leaker if he returned data. that was squashed by the white house. the n.s.a. official warned the trove of documents was a goldmine for our enemies. for more we are joined by faiza patel, the co-director of the liberty and national security at the brennan center, and we are joined by jim walsh, an international security expert at mit security studies program and security consultant for al jazeera america. and joins us from watertown. the ruling by a judge, the ruling of all that information, who we are calling is likely to be a violation of the fourth amendment. other judges sided with the n.s.a. in the past. how likely is this to be the rule going forward or is this just an outlier. >> i think the fourth amendment jurisprudence, your call records w

. >> edward snowden - rattling washington - unclear on how many he knows. now there's talk of even giving him a deal. >> we begin with breaking news in massachusetts. police there investigating a security scare at one of the nations prestigious universities. harvard university place are looking into reports of explosives inside four buildings on the campus. they have been evacuated. students are on campus, and are there because they are scheduled to take their final exams. we continue to follow the story and will bring you more developments as they warrant. >> the northern city of aleppo has seen some of the worst violence since the civil war broke out. women and children in syria among more than 100 dead after government troops dropped barrel bombs filled with explosives. those there now are searching for survivors in the rubble. nicole johnston has the story. >> no child should have to experience war like this boy. he's clearly in shock. many people in aleppo will feel that way after a bombing raid on the city. in the al-haidaria neighbour hood bombs fell

thanks to the revelations of edward snowden. the keynote speaker at the hacker meeting this year was the journalist who made public snowden's story, glen greenwood. >> i think the power lies in the skills that you possess, the privacy inroads preventing the u.s. government and its allies from invading the sanctity of our communication. >> germans were shocked by revelations made by greenwald and edward snowden, past episode in the cub' cub's history. working with the nsa listened in on conversations with top european union officials, including that of unicef, calling that an outrage so they're suing britain for the european court of human rights. >> i guess the agencies and the chief of the agencies should be asked about their smieg spying capabilities and even sow we can have some hold on the future, spying didn't end just because the public knows about it, nothing changed anyway. >> many of the hackers didn't want to be filmed. they have long taken their privacy are seriously and feel there is even more reason to do so. nick s

>> what edward snowden began may very well be fished by the u.s. supreme court. especially with the -- finished by the u.s. supreme court. the agency has been collecting phone records for some time now. tapping into conversations as part of the war on terror. but do it do so in contradiction to the constitution? mike viqueria reports. >> metadata is likely in violation of the constitution, specifically the fourth amendment prohibitions against unlawful search and seizure. no court has ever recognized a special need to sufficiently justify continuous daily searches of virtually every american citizens. it is important in the ruling that judge lee oaf leon stayed s ruling. giving the government a chance to appeal. they have seen the court ruling they are studying it they go on, quote, we believe the program is constitutional as previous judges have found. we have no further comment at this time. they add for background, the fisa court that hears appeals and when the intelligence community wants to go for warrants, and other investigative tools, to look into potenti

how much information does former contractor edward snowden really have? the answer could be the ticket to an amnesty deal. the story from white house correspondent patty culhane. >> we now know if you are anywhere in the world the n.s.a. can find out who you are calling. who you are emailing, where you go on the web or the planet. in some cases they can listen to everything you say - whether you are a powerful politician or a regular person. when it comes to the person who made sure we now know that, edward snowden turns out the n.s.a. can't figure out what other information he has. the office he worked at in hawaii didn't have the technology to know. >> will we ever know what he has? >> i think not. he has a negotiating edge, he has this overhang over us. >> that's the big question in washington. should the u.s. government negotiate with edward snowden, offer amnesty for the 1.5 million documents he has. >> the man leading the investigation says yes. >> my personal view is yes, it's worth having a conversation about. i would need assurances that the rema

live than edward snowden. but the potential is there for edward snowden to be grabbing the headlines tomorrow. >> for more on edward snowden's christmas message, let's bring in an analyst, you also have a radio show. >> the david pack ham show. >> i referred to edward snowden as a whistle blower. it must be said that the united states government does not see him as a whistle blower but as a traitor. what do you make about the statement that a child born today will grow up with no consension onoconception of pri. >> i it will be a drastically different privacy than others have had growing up. privacy that you're in a room with no other person, no cameras are there and you're not posting on facebook. it's not talking on the phone and certainly not e-mailing people. >> had you ever thought as answering that question have you taken a moment about the extent to which there is some form of information sharing, some surveillance of our daily lives, you got a phone. folks know where you are, right? the extent to which

edward snowden just put a white middle class face on it. it's going going on for years. it brought up the debate of what our government is doing and do we trust the transparency promoted by the obama administration. but syria is different. using the beligerance. he god assa got assad to agree p chemical weapons to u.n. inspectors without firing a shot. many around the world felt that america was capable of everything. it was reflection of using the past and future to use policy today. >> tevy troy, showing strength by not showing how strong you are? >> i think they would appreciate the compliment. but i think something else was going on. president obama gave the speech as a nationally televised addressed. he was going on late night talk shows and appearing on deejay shows in the midwest and south, and he shows up and tries to talk about syria in a serious way, and it seems that the american people weren't interested and moved on. and without the american people, it was hard to pursue other options. >> i think that's true. if the congressional vote had gone ahead that mig

when it comes to the person who made sure we know that, edward snowden, n.s.a. can't quite figure out what information he has. of the office he worked at didn't have the technology he had. >> will we know what he has? >> i don't think we will. >> what are the reppercussionre? >> he has an overhang on us in negotiations. >> that's the question - should the u.s. government offer amnesty for edward snowden, for the 1.5 million documents he has. >> my personal view is yes, it's worth having a conversation. we need assurances and the bar would we high. >> the obama administration doesn't agree, they will announce changes to the spying programs next month. it's believed we have seen only 1% of what edward snowden has. the other 99% - not even the u.s. government knows what that will reveal. >> the united states will send 2 guantanamo bay detainees back home. they were suspected of being members of al qaeda. they were held for 11 years, but never charged. the pentagon accused congress. >> she entered the history books as chile's first female president in 2006. michelle

should brazil grant edward snowden asylum. hackers target target. the security grief is revealed just before the last shopping weekend before christmas. ceiling collapsed heaps of plaster wood and dust reign down on a packed audience to about 700 people in a theater in london. dozens of overs were hurt. and same-sex marriage, the state today joined 16 states and the district of columbia in allowing same-sex marriage. president obama reducing the sentences of eight people convicted of crack cocaine offenses. it was part of the white house's overall approach to drug sentencing and whether the punishment fits the crime. fast a longer sentence than somebody possessing the same amount of powder cocaine. criminologies originally crewed crack as more destructive, civil liberties call the focus discriminatory, since those convicted before poor and minorities. congress with bipartisan support passed the fair sentencing act. but it only applied to new convictions. people who have been convicted under the old rule remain in prison. a concern addressed last sum

and edward snowden will be making anaing anies into that. his addresses the main one being the queen's address. we expect to here both of those and edward snowden in five hours time. >> thank you phil ittner, we appreciate it. >> an attack on police headquarters in mansoura left 14 dead and spajed riots in the city. two powerful explosions ripped through the headquarters. a third bomb failed to detonate. a group active in the sinai peninsula claimed responsibility. writers have been attacking shops and businesses. egypt's former prime minister is under arrest. this man served under mohamed morsi and is facing a year in prison. the company was originally owned by the egyptian government. the united nations has voted to double as peacekeeping troops. 1300 troops are headed to the region. u.n. relief workers say there's evidence of killings along ethnic lines. one mass grave was found there. it erupted after a power struggle between south sudan. >> santa under attack. in washington d.c. - the nation's capital. arrangemently someone doesn't like

spy officials are talking about an amnesty for edward snowden. the first pictures from china's mission on the moon. >> al jazeera's correspondent in the syrian city of aleppo says more than 120 people have been killed in a helicopter attack. activists say government forces dropped barrels full of explosives on civilians on sunday. many of the dead were children. a warning this report contains graphic images. >> this is being described by activists as one of the worst days of the syrian war in a long time. opposition groups say syrian forces used helicopters to drop barrel bombs on to at least 10 neighbourhoods in aleppo. volunteers are begging for help. >> translation: we have not rested since morning. more than 10 different areas in aleppo came under bombardment. as you can see this is the only equipment the civil defense team has. we don't have other tools or equipment. >> it's not the first time government forces used barrel bombs. they are made with large cinemas, packed with explosives and rolled out the back of helicopters. they are not ter

it's the first of many in the few of edward snowden. there will be many more court cases like that strike down what the nsa has been doing and what he's fighting against in allowing leaks to go forward. we should point out one other item to the agenda here. president obama is hosting heavy hitters from the technology world tomorrow including the ceos from apples and netflix and others. they talk about healthcare.gov and some of the technological challenges it has and also this issue here and the technology involved. remember, that the judge in the case today cited the already orwe orwellian nature of the data being gathered say that from 1979 that they have used to authorize this is outdated. the technology has changed considerably, and that's the basis of his ruling today. >> mcviqueira at the white house. we have nate cardozo from california. he's an attorney of the electronic frontier foundation, an organization questioning the constitutionality of these we're not at all surprised that the first public court ruled it unconstitutional

contractor edward snowden. phil ittner watched both of them. >> speaking for under two minutes edward snowden wished great britains a merry christmas and transitioned into the theme of his address - privacy or the lack thereof. he said the great british author, george orwell, had no idea what real capability, modern technology would allow governments to snoop into people's private lives and warned that a chilled born may live his or her life, never knowing what personal privacy is. >> the conversation occurring determines trust placed in the technologies that surrounds us and the government that regulates it. together we can find a better balance. and remind the government that if it wants to know how we feel, asking is cheaper than spying. >> in contrast the queen gave a traditional address, speaking for a great period of time, reflecting on the last year, 60 years since her coronation, and certainly a moment us year when it came to the addition to the royal family. >> my own family is a little larger this chr

leaks coming from edward snowden, a former contractor for the nsa. snowden's contact was glen greenwold who plikd the documents for the tworld see, in the guardian newspaper. calling their actions justified, calling other as traitors or worse. snowden fled to hong kong and moscow, and he was defiant, saying some governments are building a worldwide system to secretly track how we live, who we talk to and what we say. i was motivated by a belief that the citizens of the world deserve to understand the system in which they live. today i talked with greenwold and asked him his what i thought about the recommendations from the advisory panel. >> these recommendations are from an advisory board that president obama created and staffed with his allies essentially. it is unclear whether the white house will adopt one or all of the recommendations but one of the recommendations is the main program which is the subject of our reporting, which a federal court ruled unconstitutional which was the collection of all americans metadata for their telephone calls, t

the white house published an interim report commissioned after the edward snowden affair in which they seem to suggest that there may be changes on the way in the way this data is collected and stored. edward snowden has what he wanted a nationwide if not a global discussion of the efficacy and morality of all this data and judges coming up with completely different decisions on the topic, many are wondering whether this issue is going to end up at the supreme court which is where it should end up as it effects all of us and splits us down the middle. >> thank you. there is new information concerning that massive data breach at target. the company is confirming incrypted pin information was taken after the cyberattack earlier this month. hackers stole names and numbers from about 40 million credit and debit card users. they said that the system is secure. and target said we remain confident that pin numbers are safe and secure. the pin information was fully incrypted and it remained incrypted when removed from our systems. >>> the number of reported sexual assaults in the military jump

. >>> and edward snowden take an alternative christmas message to british television. [ cheering ] >> thousands turn out in st. peter's scare as pope francis celebrates his first christmas as pontiff. >> in egypt the military interim government is declaring the muslim brotherhood a terrorist organization. deputy prime minister said there will be punishment for anyone who funds or gets involved with the brotherhood. earlier i asked why the government made this decision. >> the government has been under pressure for some time to declare the muslim brotherhood organization. the timing was right on "p. it's going to be a very divisive action because there is a portion of egypt's population that supports the muslim brotherhood. by declaring them to be a terrorist organization, anyone could por support them financia, involved in demonstrations, involved in their business could be seen supporting terrorism. >> is this ramping up tensions in egypt? >> yes, it will ramp up tensions in egypt. i think it may drive the muslim brotherhood underground while some will simply walk away from them. i t

by now, most of the world has heard the name edward snowden. the former national security agency contractor who released thousands of classified documents about government surveillance in one of the most significant leaks in u.s. history. he's been charged with espionage and has been living in russia under temporary asylum. the american journalist at the center of the story lives in brazil. >> we've had to come to rio to speak to glenn greenwald.

. >> here on the program edward snowden bargains with brazil for possible asylum. the price? information about the united states spy programs. >>> and no matter who wins the mega millions jackpot, government will make a profit. where does that money go? that's next. night with the combatants in their training base. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. the united states is getting some of its personnel out of south sudan. the united states ordered all non-essential officials to leave the region. and hundreds of people have been killed in battles and hundreds more wounded. the fighting comes after the attempted coup earlier the week. >>> nato said six service members died in afghanistan. there is no word what caused the helicopter to crash but the taliban is claiming it shot down the helicopter. >>> major issue that came up during a meeting is the electr electronic surveillance programs. some of those who attended the r forbes magazine. it's greet to see you and thank you for taking the time. put us in the room. what would those tech execs been saying to the president? >> the

now, the man at the center of this controversy, edward snowden, has released a statement that reads in part: >> there'll be many more court cases like that that strike down what the n.s.a. has been doing, and what he is fighting against in allowing the leaks to go forward. we should point out another item is president obama posting heavy hitters from the technology world, including the ceos of apple, twitter, netflix, and they'll talk about healthcare.gov, and the technological challenges that has had. the issue with intelligence surveillance and the technology involved, the judge in the case cited the almost forwellian nature of the data gathered saying the precedent from 1979 used to authorise data, is outdated and technology has changed. that's the basis of his ruling. >> the american civil liberty's union hailed the ruling. in their statement they said, "the call tracking program can't be scared with the constitution." dozens of american sailors involved in rescue efforts now say they have cancer. 51 sailors on the uss "ronald reag reagan" believe they were suffered to radioactive

contractor edward snowden released information. the government's interpretation of its authority under the patriot act was so proceed that it could justify the mass clebz of health and library records of innocent americans without their knowledge. the acl will appeal the ruling saying it misinterprets the statutes, understates and missupplies to weed away constitutional corrections. the department of justice was pleased with judge william pauley's decision. earlier judge leon ruled the opposite way in a suit brought against verizon, writing: >> last week the white house issued a report commissioned in the wake of the edward snowden leaks in which it was suggested changes may be in the offing in the way data is collected and stored. two federal judges coming up with conditions, many think the issue of n.s.a. spying is headed towards the supreme court in washington. >> at least three other lawsuits against the n.s.a. are pending in other federal courts. >> four u.s. military personnel held in libya has been released. the state depart

live than will have watched edward snowden, but certainly the potential is there for edward snowden to be the one who is grabbing the headlines tomorrow. >> phil et ner for us. pope francis used his first christmas day to call for peace in war-torn areas including syria. >> translator: let us continue to ask the lord to spare the beloved syrian people further suffering and to enable the parties in conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to humanitarian aid. >> pope francis prayed for a better world and protection for christians under attack. more than 70,000 people gathered in st. peter's square to hear the pontiff's greeting. >>> it has been a cold, dark christmas for hundreds of thousands of people across the u.s. and canada. many are still without electricity. after last weekend's ice storms pulled down power lines, utilities companies in the region say they are making progress and they hope to have the power restored in many places by tomorrow. subzero temperatures and strong winds are slowing progress in some spots. kevin has more on all of this. >> we're looki

leaker edward snowden in exchange for a stop to the leaks, president obama chose his words carefully. >> it is also important to keep in mind this has done unnecessary damage to u.s. intelligence capabilities and u.s. diplomacy >> on iran, the president came out against a push for new sanctions. leading democrats defied the white house joining republicans in tightening screws. >> in light of that, what i said to democrats and republicans and there's no need for sanctions legislation. not yet. >> the session with reporters was an effort to end 2013 on a positive note. by some measures it's been a tough year, his approval rating sinking to 40% in december before rebuilding slightly. n.s.a. the controversy to blame, and the botched health care roll out. >> since i'm in charge obviously we screwed it up. >> yet the president sees hope for his agenda and chided reporters for writing him off. >> i think this room has recorded nearly 15 near-death experiences. >> at the top of the agenda. immigration reform. the president sees heap for deals in the coming year. >> hopefully folks learnt thei

edward snowden's evaluation of his efforts to leak and make public the n.s.a.'s public surveillance program. french troops brought in to keep the piece. now they are facing violence in the war-torn country, and the u.s. real estate market is picking up steam. not everyone is benefitting from the housing market rebound. six months after leaking more than a million documents to the press, edward snowden says mission accomplished. his leaks exposed details of the n.s.a.'s massive surveillance program. in an interview with "the washington post", he said all he wanted was the public to have a say in how they are governed. >> dennis rodman just left north korea. unlike the previous trips, he did not see leader kim jong un, who he called a friend for life. rodman is planning an exhibition game for his birthday, including a dozen n.b.a. veterans and local players. fighting between christians and muslims killed nine people. peacekeeping troops from the african union and france are struggling to maintain control. we have the latest from bangui. >> misca says a civilian wi

. >>> from moscow, edward snowden told the "washington post" he is working to improve the nsa. six months after leaking more than a million documents to the media, he said his mission is accomplished. snowden told the post all he wanted was for the public to have a say in how they are governed. >>> americans wanting health insurance by the start of the new year must finish signing up by the end of the day. the january 1st signup was originally intended to end monday. >>> next on al jazeera america, a concern for new parents controversy over the vitamin k shot. >>> and a christmas eve space walk as repairing are being made right now to the international space station. >>> today marks the second christmas eve space walk in nasa history, and in addition control has confirmed it will not interfere with santa's operations, just in case you were concerned. astronauts are doing some very important repairs, hoping to finish everything up today after starting the work on saturday. >>> for decades it has been standard medical practice to give vitamin k to newborns, but now a number of pa

live than will have watched edward snowden, but certainly the potential is there for edward snowden to be grabbing the headlines tomorrow. >> phil ittner reporting there. snowed den's call for tightening regulations. happy holidays, thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you, how are you? >> we're great. we're great. edward snowden said that children will grow up with no concept of privacy. let's talk about what privacy means in the age of facebook, twitter, when you're talking about social media you're making a choice to share a certain amount of information. but what does privacy mean in this current age? >> well, we americans travelly value our privacy to the extent that our founding fathers inclined the fou fourth amendmet that frees americans from unreasonable searches and seizers, and in modern days i think that would include social media. i think americans may sympathize and this message may resonate that this unparticularized massive surveillance of your average, ordinary citizen is very troublesome. but the way that he went about exposing it is troublesome. i thi

edward snowden is saying mission accomplished. edward snowden says all he wanted was for the public to have a say in how people are governed. he says that goal was reached long ago. coming up, the man that introduced the ak47. we'll look at how his invention changed everything. >> it's that time of year in the national football league where the coach and carousel revs up. who is in and who is out. >> the past weekend brought damage in terms of flooding, ice. the storm that causes is now making its way out higher. along the eastern ae board a lot of places are clearing up. ice warnings in effect from maine. they have gone, most of the precipitation is leaving. cape codd along long island. >> also lake effect snow is kicking in for parts of western new york there. temperature wise we were breaking records. 71 degrees in new york city, philadelphia at 68 and washington d.c. went all the way to 72. the big change is it will bring colder air in behind it. tuesday this is what we are looking at. 39 degrees in washington. up here towards

s "meet the press", and said the government charges against edward snowden dose not allow for a proper defense. >> the act, the espionage act doesn't distinguish between leaks to the press, and some of this has been in the public interest, and some that sell secrets to the enemy. the department of justice argues it's a worse violation of the war to leak to the press than to leak to an enemy, because all enemies see it. that's true. but the american public see it. >> he took an oath not to disclose classified information. >> he took an oath and signed the same standard of classification, it was to the constitution. if the law allowed him to make a public interest defense, saying, "look at all the good this has done", if the law allowed the government couldn't prove harm, sure, he'd face trial. for now, he doesn't believe the cost of the his act of conscience should be a life behind bars. >> since june he's been in russia. >> a group descended on the ukrainian president's home in protest. >> hundreds of ukrainians took their protest to the streets, trying to reach the pal racial resident

i set this against the backdrop of edward snowden. most say you're keeping the country safe, but invading my privacy. this man is an attorney and can differentiate between what is right and wrong. is that not what the country needs? >> when we talk about snowden we're talking about the intelligence services. >> homeland security, all lock step in washington. >>un fortunately homeland security falls outside the venue of those other alphabets f.b.i. c.i.a., n.s.a d.o.d., they do not fall within the venue of home that land security and so homeland security needs a leader that can make the organization relevant, to make it into the same conversation as the other better-known organizations that actually do gather intelligee, actually do protect investigate and make arrests. >> but the reason for homeland security going back to its initiation was the fact that all of the alphabet soup did share information. now we have the n.s.a., we have all this information they share the information. i go back to the question do we need a top cop or some

national security agency is weighing the possibility of giving edward snowden amnesty and australia could have the first win in six years in cricket and we will talk about that and how a world record could help them do that next in sport. ♪ hundreds of people in the indian capital new deli have the anniversary of gang rape and murder of a student and it prompted the indian government to introduce tougher laws against rape and we have the latest from new deli. >> behind me you can see under the name of every state is the number of rapes that were reported in that state in 2012, in deli 700 rapes were reported. now the question that everybody is asking is new deli in india and is it safer for women? last year this crime led to violent protests not only in new deli but across the country and there has been an out pouring of anger and frustration and what it seems to be political amnesty. >> reporter: the indian parliament have strike laws on rape and harassment and includes a minimum 20 year prison sentence for rape and the death penalty if the victim dies, the definition of rape was exten

i believe thanks to edward snowden many people changed their world view, including politicians. he made this choice. it is a complicated one. we act unthe assumption he will not continue anti-operational propagan propaganda. we have not worked with him. >> he said that no decision has been made on whether to deploy missiles to the country's western most region, something the u.s. is opposed to. vladimir putin says his country's $50 billion bailout did not come with conditions. >> target may have been hacked. millions of credit and debit cart information could have been compromised. the secret service a looking into the breach that started on black fradd. and lasted for several weeks. the data stored on magnetic strips was believed to be hacked at the cash registers. target has 1900 stores in the u.s. and canada. >> for the first time in three years congress passed a bipartisan deal. despite opposition from some conservative rub cans. the deal eases spending cuts that would have taken affect and eliminate the risk of a shut down >> president obama proposes to nam name max baucus

snowden who continues to disclose nsa tactics the public was unaware of through the media. snowden is believed to have stolen millions of documents tied to the nsa's activities. calling the practice likely unconstitutional. the ban on unreasonable search and seizure, on tuesday, the president met with top leaders from internet giants, yahoo, google, microsoft, and others they brisled over revelations that the nsa co-oped their networks to gather intelligence, and have called for changes on behalf of their clients and users. >> in the meantime, nothing is halting the nsa from surveillance of phone calls and internet traffic within the current frame work on behalf of national security. >> four main recommendations of them which one stands out, which one should be get thing lion's share of our attention. >> the ones that should stand out are the main recommendation that bulk telephone, meta data collection, be terminated immediately. been dismissed by the president is that nsa should be separated from cyber command, and again, that the born intelligence court should have to ap

russia has been harboring leaker edward snowden for months, although putin said he never met him. >> i envoy president barack obama. i envy him because he's able to do this. there is not much to rejoice about all this, though, but on the other hand there is no big reason to be unhappy about it either. >> this is not the first time the russian president has tried to clean up his public persona, formerly head of the kgb, putin frequently broadcasts himself as an all around tough guy. publishing photos of himself hunting, fishing, riding horses without a shirt. shirtless or not, his gestures will have outcomes on the amnesty bill and an expected 2,000 people could be released from prison. >> is president putin's pardon of khodorkovsky a token gesture to western nations or something else entirely. here to talk about this question and others , katherine stoner and tamori yakamashivili. he's now a trans-atlantic fellow. katherine stoner, let me start with you. you heard what president putin had to say about his motives, what do you think this has t this is about? >> i don't think this has

according to leaks to t"the washington post" by edward snowden. >> groups are fighting in bangui, there are reports of people being hacked to death. >> the u.n. security council is due to discuss how to strengthen international security forces stationed there. >> extra details on the crisis in the central african republic. the seleka, loosely a group of warlords, began an uprising last year, marching on bank yi. they took control of the pattern. the rebel leader michel djotobia made himself the country's interim president, the first muslim leader. it led to a decision in july to send 2,500 african forces to keep the peace. reports came in of christian groups taking up arms against the former rebels. by december, the u.n. estimated 700 had been quillkill. let's talk to someone from the school of african studies, and from the school of london. is this a sectarian/religious conflict by and large? >> you may say so by and charge. we have got the - it looks at the moment that it's more than islamist side against a non-islamist side. it doesn't make them christian. that's another matter. what

snowden. for months now through published snowden's revelations, we have seen how far into the pockets and computers of ordinary americans u.s. intelligence agencies are able to reach. many of the methods came with the undisclosed assistce of major tech companies. >> companies like google, facebook, apple, microsoft, they provide the nsa direct access to the back ends of all of the systems you used to store data, to put things in the cloud, and even second birthday wishes. and they give nsa direct access that they don't need to oversee. >> these businesses are long complied with legal obligations to hand over certain information about suspicious customers. but revelations of data gathering without the company's knowledge has lead these tech ts to rethink their obligations. microsoft's general council spoke this week on the official company blog, many of our customers have serious concerns about government surveillance of the internet. we share their concerns, that's why we are taking legal ste