kenneth bae. 46-year-old american in ill health held by north korea for unknown crimes. for more than a year he has now been held. for rodman and all the rest of these very well-known basketball players. they say this isn't about politics. we spoke to them. you can hear for yourself. >> all right. first question to you, dennis. i see you got the team assembled there hiebd -- behind you. given the situation in the country whery are right now, why do you believe this is a good idea? >> it's not a good idea the one thing that we're doing. it's a great idea for the world. for the world. and this -- and people always put down the things i do and it's weird. they say wow. he -- you got michael jordan, you got lebron and stuff like this. they can do all the cool things in the world. but me, why north korea? why? i love my friend. i love my friend. this is my friend. all these guys, i mean cliff robertson, all these guys here, and they are the last social virus that actually say hey, yes, we'll go. i've had a lot of guys pull out -- i've had a lot of guys pull out on me that said, hey --

an active nubbing leer weapon program. in 2012 north korea arrested u.s. citizen kenneth bae, a tour group leader and kornaled him with plotting a coup. kenneth bae was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour. the u.s. government says kenneth bae is incident and north korea never showed evidence against him. in a television interview dennis rodman suggested kenneth bae may be guilty of a crime, then cursed at the reporter interviewing him. kenneth bae's sister said the family is appalled by dennis rodman's comments. >> this is not a game, you know, dennis rodman can play the back of a game, media game all he wants with his own life. this is about a man's life that is on the line. i hope that he realises that. this is serious stakes. he has a family back home, a father of three children. we've been waiting for him for 14 months. i hope he remembers that. >> one u.s. congressman says dennis rodman entertaining kim with his favourite sport is like taking adobviously hitler out for lump. >> australia airline qantas had its credit rating downgraded by moody's. given junk status. it says it's

from the sister of kenneth bae. the american still being held in north kree ra without explanation. we're going to talk with mr. bae's sister later this morning. for now, let's get to chris lawrence. >> well, chris, i mean the things that dennis rodman said to you yesterday are still rippling through washington early this morning. it was really kenneth bae's sister that put all this into perspective. even for a man built to shock and surprise, dennis rodman has one-upped himself. >> we have to go back to america and take the abuse. do you have to take the abuse that we going to take? do you, sir? let me know. >> his eruption on cnn's "new day" is sparking widespread reaction. >> i don't give a rat's ass what the hell you think. >> rodman drew disdain from the white house and was disavowed by u.s. diplomats. >> mr. rodman is not there representing the united states. people should remember that when they look at his comments and hear his comments. >> rodman has been under fire since he announced plans to celebrate kim jong-un's birthday with a basketball game. some say he crossed the

would have zero news value but for the interview asking if he would intervene with kenneth bae. >> would you take the opportunity to help kenneth bae? >> what i know about politics, kenneth b bae, if you understood what he did, do you understand what kenneth bae did? >> what did he do? >> no, no, no, you tell me. why is he held captive? >> they have not released any charges. >> my gosh. i am saying, i don't give a [ blank ], a rat's ass what you think of the look at these guy. look at 'em. >> everyone ganged up on rodman. >> the latest now on rodman's bizarre bask diplomacy. >> he went on cnn to defend heading to north korea. >> join us from new york is media corporate for the hollywood reporter. how does cuomo handle rodman's ranting and raving? >> as best as he could but when you ask dennis rodman a geopolitical question you cannot expect to get an intelligent coherent answer. and the media should know this. i thought cuomo handled it fine because he country pressing him and i love that rodman later apologized saying, i was drunk. >> drunk and stressed out or maybe not used word "drunk

states and north korea over the issue of kenneth bae? can you explain what the condition -- what the position is from the north korean government on kenneth bae? >> that's a great question. you should probably ask that to the north koreans. let me simply say that the united states has made significant efforts over the past year since kenneth bae was imprisoned. we have made a number of efforts , sustained efforts, for his release. sought tow, we have have our special envoy for human rights travel to pyongyang so he can go in and secure his release. the north koreans have not been responsive to those appeals over the course of the year. we continue to ask north korea for their pardon for kenneth bae and will continue to work for it. anything beyond that -- we have to wait and see. with north korea is when they publicly articulate the desire for dialogue and yet, trying to sit down and have a conversation, meaningful conversation, or can at times be quite elusive. that does not deter us from robustly, to seek, the release of kenneth bae and we hope the indications given by the north ko

blames booze and stress for his bizarre out bursts and comments about kenneth bae. overnight dennis rodman admitted in a statement to cnn that he was out of bounds. he says, i want to apologize. i take full responsibility for my actions. some of my teammates were leaving because of pressure from their families and business associates. my dreams of basketball diplomacy were quickly falling apart. he had exploded in an interview with cnn's chris cuomo. >> i don't give a rat's ass what you think. >> in his apology, rod man explains his outburst, i had been drinking, i was upset i was overwell med. it's knot an excuse, it's the truth. >> happy birthday to you. >> singing happy birthday to leader kim jong-un and giving him a bow. >> you, sir, let me know. >> rodman sparked a fire storm with the seeming justification for kenneth bae to chris cuomo leaving bae's family back home shocked and disappointed. >> do you understand what he did? do you understand what he did in his country? >> you tell me. what did he do. >> you tell me. you tell me. why is he held captive. >> but now rodman is ba

an american kenneth bae for more than a year. he also has more than an estimated 100,000 people in concentration camps in that country. the meltdown came this morning when new day's chris cuomo asked him about mr. bae's treatment. >> you do have a relationship with this man. you've said it many times. we've seen it demonstrated for whatever reason >> yes. >> are you going to take an opportunity if you get it to speak up for the family of kenneth bae and to say, let us know why this man is being held? that this is wrong. that he is sick. if you can help, dennis, will you take the opportunity? >> watch this. the one thing about politics, kenneth bae there [ inaudible ]. if you understand what kenneth bae did. do you understand what he did? >> what did he do? you tell me. >> to his country. >> what did he doe? >> no, no, no. you tell me. you tell me. why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. >> why? >> they haven't released the reasons. >> i would love to speak on this. >> go ahead. >> you've got ten guys here, ten guys here that left their families, left their dam

-on-one with one of the most dangerous leaders in the world. what does it mean for kenneth bae? we want to welcome viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." it's wednesday in north korea and dennis rodman is about to give a birthday present to his, quote, friend kim jong-un. he and other nba veterans will play against the basketball team as a good gesture. but a c thrks n interview is raising more concerns about the visit and the relationship lead he had his own uncle executed. chris cuomo conducted the interview. >> this rodman trip, the game he will play in the coming hours and his interview is creating huge buzz in washington. there is real tension over this especially in the sense that rodman has access no one else has and officials have no control over him and worried about what he will do next. dennis rodman is deeply emotional when talking about kim jong-un. >> i love my friend. this is my friend. >> reporter: and explosive when asked if he will press the hosts on detained american kenneth bae. >> does anyone underst

adventure is not funny for an american prisoner, 45-year-old kenneth bae, from los angeles. -- from the seattle suburbs. he was already held for 14 months, criticized by rodman this week in a cable tv rant. >> kenneth bae, did one thing -- if you understand what kenneth bae did. >> reporter: that only increased the worry for bae's family back home. >> this is not a game, dennis rodman can play a basketball game and media game all he wants with his own life, but this is a man's life. and that is on the line here. >> reporter: the family says bae, once healthy, is now ill. and the state department says it doesn't severe -- have a sports diplomacy program with north korea and dennis rodman doesn't represent the united states. >> he may have given the north koreans cover for keeping kenneth bae longer, by implying he were guilty, which he was not. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >>> and after word that four americans were killed in the helicopter crash in england, there was another fatal crash today in this country, happening off norfolk, virginia, when a chopper went down in a t

can people take dennis rodman serious and saying that american kenneth bae is guilty of something? >> kenneth bae did one thing if you understand. if you understand what kenneth bae did, you understand what he did. >> what did he do? you tell me. you tell me what did he do? >> you tell me. you tell me. why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. they haven't released anything. >> i -- >> listen -- >> let me -- >> there's a lot more, for lack of a better word, craziness. i want to say what kenneth bae told cnn. they're appalled by rodman's behavior. you've been on diplomatic missions. do you think rodman is being used by this brutal dictator? >> rodman said i'm a basketball player. we will leave him as a basketball player. they did an interview with him on kenneth bae. rodman said i'm a ballplayer and in the tradition of ballplayers and singers. >> your point is taken there. i want to play more of his interview of why he thinks this was a good idea. listen. >> now [ bleep ] rat's ass what the hellu think. i'm saying to you, look at these guys here. look at them. >

kenneth bae was at fault for his imprisonment in north korea. >> a cold blast may have bost the u.s. economy $5 billion, because thousands were forced to stay home instead of work. it's about a seventh of a day's production for the entire county. those are the headlines. "consider this" is next on al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton in new york. a bully and denies knowing about his aide's wrongdoing. will it work? >>> dennis rodman says he is sorry for blaming an american held cap tiff in north korea. >>> also uncovering the shocking role women played in the holocaust. >>> and duz the "the wolf of wall street" depict or glamourize greed gone wild. hello, i'm antonio mora. welcome to "consider this." ♪ >>> we begin with chris christie, the new jersey governor and likely presidential candidate, faced reporters thursday to respond to the biggest political crisis of his career. emails and text showing top staffers conspired to snarl traffic on the george washington bridge in an apparent act of political revenge. >> iment am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the p

he's talking about, and he's certainly no authority on kenneth bae's case. you know, i hope there's not much credence to his comments. >> terry, what is this to your family's understanding of why your brother is detained? >> i think the official charge is crime to overthrow the government, and for which he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. >> and what has been your connection or the family's connection to trying to get the u.s. government to intervene? >> you know, we've been at this for 14 months now, and every day we try to appeal to whoever will listen and those in power. we're ordinary american family. we don't have powerful connections in media or politics, so we appeal to our leaders to advocate for american citizens abroad and here. so -- but he's still there after 14 months. he's the longest detained american in recent history. >> do you think the u.s. has done enough to assist in your brother's release? >> i know they want to see him home, and i know they are constantly working on something, but at this point, every day that passes is too long. it's pay past time to

and one on one, cnn exclusionive and startling frame against american kenneth bae. >>> also a wild finish, thrilling last minute drive at the bcs game, florida state capturing the national championship. >>> and after six years, saturday night live hires a black female cast member. america needs to hear her. newsroom starts now. >>> good morning. i'm carroll. thank you for joining me. this is adding to the travel nightmare for hundreds of thousands of airline passengers. jetblue shattered separations for 17 hours to give their crews a rest. the company says it will start the reboot. jetblue played a big part in the scratch yesterday morning. stranded passengers are experiencing long waits. many are skeptical the airline will be back to 100% by midday as promised. >> i don't think anyone knows where the lines actually go or what they're for. there's no one out here answering questions. >> i was sitting on my plane and then there was announcement that it was cancelled. then i had to get off. i went back with them and been stuck here two days. >> i'm actually kind of worried. the way t

was asked if he'd intervene for release of kenneth bae. >> if you can help kenneth will you take the opportunity? >> what i said the one thing about politics, kenneth bae did -- look, if you understand what kenneth bae did. >> yes. >> do you understand what he did? >> what did he do? you tell me. >> in this country. >> you tell me what did he do. >> no, no, don't. you tell me! you tell me, why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. >> no, no, no i don't give a [ bleep ] i don't give a rat's -- what's sea saying. look at this guy, look at him. >> this caused a media eruption as everyone ganged up on rodman. >> we get the latest on dennis rodman's bizarre basketball. >> he wept on cnn to defend heading to north korea. >> joining us from new york is marissa guthrie for "the hollywood reporter." how did chris cuomo handle rodman's ranting and raving? >> as best as he could i think. when you ask dennis rodman a geopolitical question, you really can't expect to get an erudite, intelligent, coheerpt answer. >> no kidding. >> and the media should know this. >> i thought cu

yesterday on cnn attacking kenneth bae, an american missionary held prisoner in north korea for 14 months. >> can you understand what he did in this country? >> what did he do? you tell me. what did he do? >> you tell me. you tell me why he's held captive. >> reporter: today, bae's sister told us she's furious. >> he certainly is not in any kind of position to pass judgment on kenneth bae. he's uninformed. and it's just outrageous. >> reporter: as a missionary, kenneth bae brought tour groups to north korea. he was arrested for alleged crimes against the state. but there are no details beyond that. when we traveled there, kim jong-un's forces kept us tightly controlled. >> what did he tell you? >> don't go here. >> reporter: stay within five feet of each other? so, strangely, dennis rodman is the closest american to the dictator. kenneth bae's sister also told me today that she once thought that rodman would actually help her brother. she called his agent today. but she's not gotten any word back from them at all. >> an anguished family. thank you, bob woodruff. >>> and next here tonight,

, another apology today. this one from dennis rodman. for suggesting that kenneth bae was being held in north korea for no reason. does kenneth bae's family accept rodman's a polling? that's coming up. c explore what's new. for 575 calories or less on our lighter fare menu. enjoy fresh tossed. go fish. and try our new rosemary garlic chicken at olive garden. isn't it time you discovered the sleep number bed? because only the sleep number bed offers dual air technology that lets two people find the perfect balance of comfort and support for their bodies. their sleep number setting. ok, right there. and only the sleep number bed is clinically proven to relieve back pain and improve sleep quality. oh that feels really good. it's hugging my body. and right now, we're offering our lowest prices of the season. save $300 to $800 on our newest innovations. it's the perfect time for you to try the sleep number bed. plus, take advantage of 18-month special financing on all sleep number beds. sale ends soon. discover the sleep number bed. costs about the same as an innerspring, but lasts twice as

, sometimes, angry, twilightish interview with "new day" about what he said about american kenneth bae. paula hancock is monitoring this from seoul this morning. what's the response been, paula? >> reporter: well, john, it's a quarter past 7:00 here in the evening in korea, so the assumption is that game is under way at this point. of course, we don't know for sure. it's a notoriously secretive state, especially if leader kim jong-un. in a certain sense, if you're at an event with the leader, all your cell phones are taken off of you. so our sources can't tell us that the game has started. it's not just about the basketball anymore. it is about the citizen kenneth bae who has been held in north korea for more than a year now on alleged hostile acts against the country. as you said, chris cuomo from "new day" does can rodman if he would be lobbying for kenneth bae's release. >> do you understand what kenneth bae did? >> what did he do? >> no, no, you tell me, why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. they haven't released any reasons. >> rodman didn't enlarge on what he bel

kenneth bae, that american missionary who's been sentenced to 15 years labor in north korea, somehow deserved it. before we get to that apology, let's listen to some of that bizarre outburst. >> if you understand what kenneth bae did -- >> yeah? >> -- do you understand what he did? >> what did he do? will you tell me -- >> in this country. >> what did he do? >> no, no, you tell me. you tell me. why is he held captive drvesion. >> they haven't released the charges. >> why? >> listen -- >> reporter: yeah, fired up and angry dennis rodman there. well, let's now have a listen to the statement that he released through his publicist, and i want to read it to you in full, if i may. he said "i want to apologize. i take full responsibility for my actions. it had been a very stressful day. some of my teammates were leaving because of pressure from their families and business associates. my dreams of basketball diplomacy was quickly falling apart. i had been drinking. it's not an excuse, but by the time the interview happened, i was upset, i was overwhelmed." he also said "i want to apologize t

bay free. >> kenneth bae's family has waited more than a year for his release, and his sister joins us now. welcome to the program. >> thank you for having me. >> first of all give me your reaction to what has happened in the last 24 hours regarding dennis rodman. >> we were shocked and just appalled. it's one thing for him to say -- [ inaudible ] and that's okay. he's a private citizen, but it's another thing to hurl these outrageous accusations against my brother. he clearly doesn't know what he is talking about. he is uninformed about the case, and we were shocked by that. this isn't a game, this is a serious issue with a person's life on the line. >> let us play a sound bite that came from cnn. >> one thing about politics, kenneth bae, if you are going to say what kenneth bae did, do you understand what he did. >> what did he do? you tell me. >> to this country. >> what do you think is behind this, terry? >> it's hard to know. i'm not sure who he has been talking to. where he's getting his information, but, you know, i don't think dennis rodman has any authority to pass judgment

him free. the missionary is kenneth bae. today on camera he apologized for the, quote, antinorth korean acts he now says he committed. he also says the north north kos are treating him well in can't different. he called it a news conference that he requested. of course many experts on the north korean regime says the government may have staged the whole thing. last year northighest court convicted richard bae of committing antigovernment acts against the north korean government. the sentence, 15 years of hard labor. they say he was a missionary trying to build an undercover operation to convert citizensing a tour business as a front. the reuters new agency reports the united states offered to send a special envoy to north korea to free kenneth bae. other americans formerly in north korea have later admitted that the communist government actually stripped them and -- of all their rights and scripted them with their on-camera statements. so it's impossible for us to confirm whether kenneth bae was speaking his mind today. >> translator: i would like to request the american governme

. the family of american hostage kenneth bae speaking out to cnn. and wait until you hear their new message for the north korean government. >>> plus, she shot to the national spotlight, but now wendy database is coming under fire. is her rags to riches story more fiction than fact. the truck is everything. and when you put them in charge of making an unbeatable truck, good things happen. this is the ram 1500. the 2014 motor trend truck of the year. ♪ and first ever back-to-back champion. guts. glory. ram. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ >>> welcome back to "new day." new developments

new videotape of the american citizen named kenneth bae. it came to our office in north korea. he has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for what's being quoted as hostile acts against north korea. have a listen. >> translator: i want to be pardoned about i the north as soon as possible and returned to my beloved family. for that, i ask the u.s. government, press, and my family to make more active efforts and pay more attention. >> there were a lot of people who thought ex nba star dennis rodman should have used his influence to try to help get kenneth bae released during his most recent visit there in the last couple of weeks. when cnn's chris cuomo asked dennis rodman about kenneth bae, became highly agitated. >> i don't care what the hell you think. i am standing here. look at these guys here. if you understand what kenneth bae did. do you understand what i did in this country? >> you tell me what did he do? >> you tell me, why is he held captive? >> they haven't released in he charges. >> so there was that. rodman later apologized to kenneth bae's family for those commen

constitution and i'll underline the fourth amendmentment. like cliff notes for dummies. by the way, you swore to uphold this so many years ago. see you at 5:00. have a great weekend everybody. >>> hello shall. i'm uma pemmaraju live from washington. we begin with two major news stories at this hour. one happening here at home. the other thousands of miles away overseas. a state of emergency in west virginia as thousands of people struggle another day without water for drinking, bathing or cooking. it's been three days since a chemical spill near charleston forced food and businesses to shut down and left residents scrambling where bottled water is in short supply. as of now, no word on when it will be declared safe enough to use. a live report from west virginia coming your way in just a few moments. but first, israel, mourns the death of a remarkable warrior statesman. earn that nation's respect with military leadership and patriotism. ariel sharon has died. 85-year-old was in a coma for eight years after suffering a stroke back in 2006. sharon garnered the nickname the bulldozer early in his career because of his reputation for stopping at nothing. connor powell joins us live from jerusalem with more on the life and legacy of israel's controversial former prime minister. connor? >> reporter: uma, he was loved and loathed, he was controversial. there was no doubt that ariel sharon was one of the significant leaders in israel's history. he was nicknamed the bulldozer. he was a special forces kmcommao who later turned into a politician. at the height of his power as prime minister, he suffered a debilitating stroke and has been hanging on in a coma for eight years. he was controversial, no denying that. not only around the world but here in israel. hailed as a war hero and a war criminal. in 2000, sharon sparked a palestinian uprising when he pushed past security in one of islam's most sacred locations during the violence. thousands of palestinians and israelis died. sharon was an early supporter of israeli settlements in the palestinian territory. but he later did an about face while prime minister led the total unilateral disengagement from gaza. one of the most controversial political decisions in israel. sharon concluded that israel needed to disengage from the palestinians on israel's terms. or else, the security arrangements and borders on israel. he was 85 when he died. now, according to israeli law, he's eligible to be buried at mnt hers he will. however, he will be buried in southern israel on his family's farm. there will be a state ceremony tomorrow and he will be buried on monday. uma? >> connor, thanks for bringing us up to date on the death of ariel sharon. >>> turning to the other big story out of west virginia. at this hour thousands of people are wondering how much longer will they have to endure a do not drink ban as they wait for news on the testing under way of that state's water supply for nine counties. affected by a toxic chemical spill. it isn't simply interrupting the daily lives of residents in the area. it's also making some folks ill with area hospitals saying dozens of people are showing up in emergency rooms complaining of nausea and other symptoms. at this hour, four people have been hospitalized. doug mckelway is joining us live from bell, west virginia, with the latest on the situation. doug? >> reporter: that's right, uma. we're at a water distribution center 15 miles east of charleston. there's been a steady stream of people coming in all morning long with thermoses, milk cartons, you name it to replenish their water supply. this is one of several facilities set up. people behaving calmly. there's no panic whatsoever. that was not entirely the case yesterday when news of this water emergency first broke. >> when the water company put out the do not use order, a lot of people rushed the big bag stores, convenience stores to get water. the first people that got there got it. later, people didn't get it. it caused some civil disturbances in certain areas. we had to get law enforcement involved. >> last night the president of the chemical company that caused the spill met with reporters just outside of the gates where the spill happened. >> i've prepared a short statement. i would like to start by sincerely apologizing to the people in the affected counties of west virginia. our friends and our neighbors, this incident is extremely unfortunate, unanticipated and we are very, very sorry. >> reporter: those apologies may not go very far. even before the first day of this crisis had ended, there were something like 800 calls to poison centers. there were six admissions -- or four admissions to hospitals. six lawsuits were filed against the west virginia american water company and also freedom industries. one of the lawsuits filed by a man scheduled to undergo a kidney transplant. the surgery had to be canceled and he had to go back to dialysis which contributed to his pain and suffering. let's get to the question. it's a foaming agent used in the processing of coal. specifically to wash the sulfur off the exterior of the coal before it goes to market as mandated by the federal government. we're hearing conflicting views about the toxicity of the stuff. this is the president of the company that caused the spill. >> the chemical has a very, very low toxicity. so if you look at the technical nato owe available on the product. it has no affect on aquatic life. >> i'm sure that's some comfort to aquatic life. what about to human life. according to the cdc, this chemical may cause irritation of the eyes, skin, upper respiratory system and headaches. in animals, it may cause unconsciousness and liver and kidney damage. that is no small concern in this largely rural area where a lot of people own livestock, a lot of people depend on livestock. we're hearing, as i said of four hospital admissions yesterday. people experiencing nausea and vomiting. but there's no indication as of yet that is directly related to the ingestion of water. we've been hearing of lots of visits to emergency rooms. in fact, people taken to other emergency rooms because of overcrowding. but we would suggest that in cases like this, as often happened in the past, when you get a major scare like this, a lot of the symptoms tend to be psychosomatic. the bottom line, nobody yet knows when the water crisis will end. uma, back to you. >> wow, a very difficult and tough situation for the residents out there. doug, thank you so much for the update. a little later in the show, we'll be talking to the sheriff of the county to bring us up to date on the emergency efforts that are under way to help the folks out there. all right. turning now to politics here at home. claims that vice president joe biden has been "wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four years" has the white house playing defense and working to defuse concerns. those and other remarks from former defense secretary robert gates in his new book waging sharp criticism at the obama white house. as fox news' molly hen berg explains, the book comes amid tensions. >> part of that tension is afghan president hamid karzai's decision to release 72 prisoners that american officials believe are a security threat. former defense secretary robert gates wrote in his book that president obama can't stand karzai. he also has sharp words for vice president joe biden. although he called him a valuable colleague but he knocks biden's grasp of international relations and said he's been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades. gates, who was defense secretary under former president george w. bush and then under president obama says he almost quit in september 2009 after a meeting on afghanistan where he said "i was deeply uneasy with the obama white house's lack of appreciation from the top down of the uncertainties and unpredictability of war." >>> even after president obama ordered a surge of troops into afghanistan, one fox military analyst says gates' book suggests members of the president's national security staff were trying to convince the president that the strategy was failing. >> that's clearly undermining the presidential decision that is being executed and troops are on the field executing that and obviously getting wounded and killed executing. that's why it's so serious and that's why secretary gates speaks so strongly about it. >> the obama administration has been pushing back on secretary gates' book. in part saying that, of course, there were debates about the policy in afghanistan. >> that process led to a stronger, better policy for our troops and for our national security because it was focused on what the original purpose of going to afghanistan was about, which was holding responsible those who attack the united states and killed americans on september 11th, 2001. and assisting the new afghan government and the afghan security forces. >> carney also says that the president never wanted war in afghanistan without end. as for vice president biden, carney says biden is a "key adviser" and that the president greatly values the counsel he provides. uma in. >> all right, molly. thank you very much. as you might imagine, these revelations from the gates new book is creating lots of heat with some folks upset that he's blasting a sitting president who happens to be his former boss. joining us now, the former head of homeland security, governor tom ridge is joining us who says he doesn't have a problem with the book and that's revelations. great to see you. nice to have you here. >> it's nice to join you. no, i don't have a problem with it. robert gates is an extraordinary american, unique relationships with multiple presidents going as far back as president nixon. his candid look at the mind-set of the president, which i think is important for americans to know because we have three more years of his presidency and conclusions that he drew with regard to how involved domestic politics were in making national security decisions, perhaps can help explain not only what's been going on vis-a-vis we drew a line in the sand with syria, but we erased it somewhat in a different approach to iranianter tichl. i think it's a startling revelation but a broader condemnation of how we're conducting business in the 21st century and the greatest nation in the world. his indictment of congress is pretty strong as well. >> absolutely. >> you know what i found interesting and striking about this memoir is that despite the president's decision back in 2009 to destroy thousands of troops in that surge that in the book gates says the president kept the focus on ending the war and not winning it. in fact, we throw up a quote there. it says specifically that president obama doesn't trust his commanders, doesn't consider the war to be his. for him, it's all about getting out. what impact do you think that this has behind closed doors on the mind-set, though, of the military leaders at the time? >> i think the impact is devastating because it's obviously reflected in the conversations i'm sure that he had with general petraeus and mcchrystal and passed down to the combatant commanders. i think bob gates says that, frankly, they had national security staff calling three and four-star generals calling combatant commanders in the field. there's no place for that. it frankly, reflects probably a greater concern domestically about how the war is playing out, rather than a commitment to executing a strategy to a successful completion, whatever that strategy, whatever that completion, goal was. frankly, we never had that articulated by the president and that's one of the concerns that bob gates has and to have. how can you send 30,000 people -- how can you you embrace a surge, be doubtful about its impact and at the same time conclude that it's the right thing to do for america. the concern that he expressed with regard to domestic political consideration as being involved in national security decisions, that's not what's good for my country, it's turning president kennedy's phrase inside out. >> you know, homeland security chief in the aftermath of 9/11, a very emotional time, of course, the country was truly united on the mission in afghanistan. with our troops fully engaged in that war on terror, how do you think that this is playing out with our troops but also to those people who say if mr. gates was truly that upset about what was happening inside the white house, why didn't he just resign and come forward with the revelations to the american people and put it out for there everyone to see? >> i think there were several reasons that he -- number one, he chose to stay. i remember this -- he served president bush right after secretary rumsfeld. there was a great deal of concern about how the restructuring of the military would be as a patriot, i'm confident that without having this discussion with him, that he stayed to try to continue to work with the military to see that we had the strongest, the best focused and the best equipped military for the first century to meet america's needs. at the same time, there was a shifting in policy and he dealt with a slightly different personality who according to the book brought a slightly different mind-set toward the use of the military and the engagement much military in both iraq and afghanistan. i think that the fact that he stayed on for a couple of years to complete the mission and moved on, i'm not troubled by this a bit. >> quickly, going forward, what does it stay to us about the leadership under way in the white house? >> it's pretty clear that at least bob gates feels very, very strongly that when it comes to this white house engagement in the rest of the world, domestic politics may trump broader national security needs. i think that is a mind-set. it's probably one of the reasons he thought to reveal this at this time. we've got three years of this presidency and it's quite revealing. it's very sobering and it's something that should cause some concern and alarm among the general public. president of the united states, your commander in chief, when you make those decisions regarding national security, it's when the country's interests, not how you can benefit or somehow not benefit by that decision politically. >> governor, great to see you at always. thank you for joining us. great insight. >> thank you. >>> well, after months of complaints and controversy over the botched rollout of obamacare, there's news that the white house is calling it quits and dropping the i.t. contractor responsible for the problem-plagued website. after deciding that the company called cgi federal was not effective enough in fixing the complex computer system, the white house deciding now not to renew its contract with that contractor. as for cgi, it maintains that its managers never had time to properly test the system before the october 1st rollout. >>> turning now to a developing story where we are now learning that target's massive security breach may have affected many more people than we first were led to believe. 70 million more people in fact. when target first revealed the security breach, it claimed 40 million credit and debit card users had been compromised. now target is telling fox business that hackers used a different method to get those names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and e-mails of up to 70 million more people. target insisting, though, this isn't a new breach, saying all of it had been discovered during its initial investigation. >>> and we're also learning that target isn't alone. retailer neiman-marcus is saying hackers may have stolen credit card information from its customers during the holiday shopping season. but at this point, it's still unclear just how many consumers may have been affected with secret service agents now assisting in this investigation. >>> well, the technology you can't live without could come at a price you're not willing to pay. ahead, you'll hear from a well-known clinical psychologist explaining how our lives and sleep patterns are being turned upside down in the glow of our new modern gizmos. >>> plus, as american kenneth bae languishes in a north korean prison cell, his family fears his release is unlikely. kenneth bae's sister will join us about her fight to free her brother. >>> u.s. veterans despondent over the -- the al qaeda stronghold in fallujah and ramadi are holding firm. we're going to ask an iraq war veteran serving in congress if he feels his service is running -- when you have diabetes like i do, getting the right nutrition isn't always easy. first, i want a way to help minimize my blood sugar spikes. then, a way to support heart health. ♪ and let's not forget immune support. ♪ but now i have new glucerna advance with three 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[ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now. >>> welcome back everybody. now a follow-up to our top story. federal authorities have joined the investigation into that chemical spill in west virginia. four people have now been hospitalized because of that chemical spill. sheriff jonathan rutherford is joining us live. welcome, sheriff. great to have you here. >> good morning. >> i know you're busy there. talk with us for a moment about how the emergency relief efforts are going and how people are coping with this situation. >> we're doing quite well. we have an emergency plan here in the kanawha county. we initiated that plan first thing thursday. at first people were a little anxious trying to get the freshwater. however, there were minor problems. things are going well. we have water at all distribution locations. we have a deputy sheriff and policemen and troopers stationed at different areas to provide assistance. at this point, there's no problems and things are going well. >> do you feel like most of the folks have received word about the dangerousness of drinking water. not everybody watches television or reads the newspapers. >> yeah. we've done a good job of notifying everyone. we have a swift reach and reverse 911. we initiated that thursday evening telling everyone in the counties of the dangers and what numbers to call to get assistance. we've done a good job. we're fielding phone calls from people that are shut-in, that can't get water and our ambulance authority and other authorities are getting water to their residents. we're doing well at this point. >> how concerned are you, though, as the days go forward and you still have no answers from the testing at this point that this can go on for some time and the contingency plans under way to make sure people have bottled water to make use of? >> the state along with the county has contacted resources to bottled water is coming in by truck loads at this point. we have emergency numbers for people to call and like i say, we're delivering it to the residences, the hospitals, the nursing homes and points a such as this where residents can come and get the water. we have a contingency plan and we're prepared to go as long as we need to. >> sheriff, great to see you today. we wish you all the best. keep us posted. >> okay. thank you, ma'am. >> thank you. >>> turning now you to iraq and the fight between government forces there and al qaeda militants. the city of fallujah and ramadi. at this moment, there seems to be no sign of this ending at this point. a health official in anbar province is saying that over the last two weeks, at least 60 people have died and almost 300 others wounded. as the two sides battle over territory, u.s. troops once fought and died for, many are questioning if the u.s. should step back in. joining us now pennsylvania congressman who is also an iraq war veteran. congressman, great to have you here today. i know there are a lot of folks who are very concerned about what's happening on the ground there in ramadi and fallujah, particularly for the fact that you and your fellow soldiers out there fought and died in those areas where al qaeda seems to be taking a stronghold once again. talk to me about the emotions that are running through your mind right now. >> well, yeah. we do know that al qaeda, they've raised the flag over territory, which is something we haven't seen. the president told us that al qaeda was on the run and in dismay and disbanding and clearly it's not true. for people like me that spent a year away from my family, missed the birth of my first cold. i'm a lucky one. i came home unhurt. i don't have unseen injuries. for people, the pennsylvania guard, the second combat brigade team lost 17 soldiers in anbar province. you know, for those families, for that little girl who doesn't have a father, for the mother who doesn't have a son, they must be saying and rightly so, what was that for? what was that worth? we secured the victory. these service members, soemd yers of all branches secured this victory and now this president and this administration simply handed it away, gave it away. they hadn't earned it to give it away. very disappointed. we wonder what that was all about and i'm furious about it. i'm furious. i i all americans should be. what was the point of that whole thing if they were going to hand it away, which is what -- >> government has let you down. >> yeah. i don't know if the government has. a whole lot of people. this administration in particular, i understand. most people do, look, if you disagree with the policies and many people did. we respect that. at the point where the president took office, this victory had be secured, the work essentially had been done. all he had to do was safeguard it. it's like handing your brand new car that you sacrificed to your friend, somebody you trusted and instead of taking it down the block and putting it in the garage, they had run it over a cliff and somehow that's supposed to be okay. it's not okay. we expected him to do the right thing and we understand the agreement might have been difficult to secure with unsure government at the time. but one sure government we had was the united states. they should have worked extra hard to make sure it happened. everything i read shows us that they did very little to secure that status of forces agreement to secure the victory and now we've got resurgent al qaeda. what do we have to do, deal with them again coming to america's shores or america's interest while we have already fought this fight, sacrificed? people are walking around without limbs, with disfigurements, with emotional issues, with broken families. for what? that is the question, for what? i think that's a reasonable question. >> it's really heartbreaking, i know, to think about the fact, about the folks who are living with these disabilities and those who have lost their lives. what about a growing number of people who are starting to say, perhaps we need to rethink our policy and perhaps recommit ourselves to securing those cities and trying to bring more stability back into iraq. do you think that's a good idea? >> i think -- well, i can't say that i think it is. how do you tell somebody that you -- doing your work again after you've done it once and well and done it effectively, now you have to go back and do it again, especially, i hate to say this, with all due respect under this administration and this president. maybe under a different one. but this one. i think bob gates' book shows it. this gentleman has no interest and so we have no faith. we have no trust in him in the role of commander in chief to have us go back in, boots on the ground, back into iraq to do the work we've done well and done effectively for some political narrative, especially when we think and we believe many of us that the reason we didn't find the status of forces agreement is because of the upcoming november election after the 2010 presidential election in iraq and things didn't go the way america wanted it to do. when the president we think does things for political reasons, we're unwilling to put our lives on the line for that. >> a very emotional issue for so many of you. we thank you for your service and your insights. >> thank you very much, have a great day. >> all the best to you. >>> many of you are at home sounding off about this on twitter. here are some of your thoughts on whether the u.s. should recommit to having troops in iraq. sash a. is tweeting no, let the iraqis sort it out. it's their country. >> no. we should limit our involvement. murray adds, not under obama we don't. another tweet, i think a well-trained intelligent security force is necessary. that's a strategy and tactic i would support. that's just a quick look at some of of the tweets we're getting. up next, a family holding on to hope for the safe release of their loved one from a north korean prison. kenneth bae's sister will be joining us live. stay with us. >>> welcome back everybody. this is a fox news alert. former israeli prime minister ariel sharon has died. he has been in a coma for the past eight years after a stroke ended his political career back in 2006. it is day three for residents in nine west virginia counties who cannot drink or bathe in their tap water. the president of the company responsible for a chemical leak is issuing an apology to the 300,000 people affected in the area. officials say they don't know when the water will be safe enough to use again. same-sex marriage will be recognized. that announcement made by the u.s. attorney general previously report stopped weddings until an issue surrounding a state ban. and this word just in. new york yankee alex rodriguez has caught a break. an arbitrator reduced a suspension from 211 games to 162. the shortstop was suspended last august for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs. turning now to news overseas, the family of american kenneth bae says they hope the recent remarks from dennis rodman don't further endanger his life. kenneth bae has been in prison in north korea now serving a 15-year sentence on charges that he planned to overthrow the north korean government. joining us now kenneth bae's sister, terry chung, welcome it's nice to have you here. our hearts go out to you and your family. this is a stressful and difficult time for you. but at the very least, after this week of headlines regarding dennis rodman and the remarks that he had been making in north korea, this once again puts a spotlight on the plight of your brother who has been captive there for quite some time. >> that's right. you know, the longest detained american in north korea. he's been there for 14 months. his health has failed and he's been in the hospital. we want everyone, all americans and our government leaders to know that he needs to come home now. >> this is a story that has drifted away to some degree from the headlines. again, we're putting a spotlight on it because, of course, efforts to seek his release are something that so many people are hoping for. but yet, it still seems it's taking quite a long time for improvement. what do you know about his health conditions at this point? >> he's been hospitalized since august. so you can see it's quite a long time. some of his chronic conditions have been improved some but he has a severe back injury that doesn't allow him to stand for more than 30 minutes at a time. so he's still in the hospital. you know, we're gravely concerned about his health. >> are you hearing word from folks in north korea at all about any hope that there's some movement, particularly following recent efforts to secure his release here in the united states and from those who are pushing the north korean government to take action on this? >> unfortunately, there hasn't been much communication. an envoy was supposed to go at the end of august with ambassador bob kaine. that was turned back. since then, not a whole lot. my mother visited in october and we're hoping and praying every day for swift resolution to this case that has gone on far too long. >> again, can you try to explain to the audience as to the charges that are being brought against your brother saying that he is being accused of overthrowing the north korean government. how are they justifying that charge at this point? >> you know, kenneth was there working legally as a tour operator. he did that for at least 18 tours into north korea as a legitimate businessman for almost two years before he was arrested so the rest is a surprise to us. i can say -- i'm not in a place to dispute the legal charges by the north korean government because of the sensitivity. but i can say with certainty that he in no way had any harmful intentions against the north korean people or the government. he had the biggest heart for them. you know, he was happy to be contributing to their economy with his business. >> now, it's obviously a very sad and emotional situation for you and one that -- a story that we will continue to follow and hope for some better news in the days ahead. we thank you so much for sharing your story with us and we will stay in close touch with you as we move forward with the story. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you. all the best to you. >>> a decorated commander who was a man of war but also a prime minister who made -- the life and legacy of ariel sharon coming your way next. it's donut friday at the office. and i'm low man on the totem pole. so every friday morning they send me out to get the goods. but what they don't know is that i'm using my citi thankyou card at the coffee shop, so i get 2 times the points. and those points add up fast. so, sure, make me the grunt. 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[ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right. >>> welcome back everybody. more on our top story of the hour. the passing of israeli leader ariel sharon. president obama offering condolences and commitment to israel following the 85-year-old's death. sharon was in a coma for the last eight years after a devastating stroke brought his political career to a sudden end in 2006. more now from mike tobin on the life and legacy of ariel sharonment. >> his life was one of the most controversial in modern middle east history. he was shifting constantly between the role of villain and hero with his own jewish people. nicknamed the bulldozer, he was unstoppable. sharon fought in all of israel's wars. he was shot in the abdomen in 1967 and caught the attention of israel's first prime minister by creating commando 101. israel's premiere releet fighting force. promoted to general, sharon led israeli forces across the suez canal in the yom kippur war and got a first case of hero status. nine years later after a peace deal between egypt and they gave up the sinai peninsula, it was sharon's task to forcibly -- on the sinai. then he got the first taste of villain status. he was championing the construction of the new settlement thes on land captured in the 1967 war and encouraging jews to move there. sharon's relationship at nemesis to yasir arafat began when israel invaded lebanon. israeli took casualties, sharon took the blame. then a christian militia slaughtered several in a refugee camp, ariel sharon was accused of turning his back and allowing the massacre. 400,000 israeli protesters packed what is today rabbin square in tel aviv. there was a recommendation that sharon be removed and never allowed to serve as defense minister again. he left the government in shame. but the bulldozer kept rolling. he returned as foreign minister. he was present at the river talks in maryland war yasir arafat claims they shook hands. after the camp david talks in 2000, israelis felt the then prime minister offered palestinians too much. yasir arafat felt it wasn't enough and refused. the two sides were filled with pressure and ready to ignite, ariel sharon provided spark. he made a trip to the heart of the controversy the whaling wall and sharrif, palestinians saw this leader walk through a revered site. one day later there was a riot and bloodshed at the complex. the palestinian uprising began. israelis elected the strongest figure on their political landscape. ariel sharon. israeli and palestinian blood tloed in the following flurry of suicide bombings and military reprisals. he rolled bulldozers into the west bank. all the while refusing to negotiate with his career long enemy and the leader of the palestinians. pressured from the international community and by palestinian attacks, sharon said his view was now different from the prime minister's office. he turned against the occupation and the settlements he once championed forcing a plan to withdraw all israeli soldiers and settlers from the gaza strip and a small part of the west bank. sharon's opponents in government reluctantly embraced the plan. some members of his own coalition turned their backs on him. sharon became the target of death threats from extremists who believe it's sackry lij to keep juice from every inch of the promised land. 7500 settlers and thousands of demonstrators were removed from the gaza strip. the public watched scenes of jew fighting jew. >>> the withdrawal was a success but he emerged with government in turmoil. the former allies turned on him. for political survival, sharon was forced to leave the party which he founded. et formed the more centrist kadeema party he was instantly the most popular political party in israel. sharon appeared on his way if a third term as prime minister. a week before christmas 2005, sharon suffered what was described as a mild stroke. three days later, he was back on his feet resuming the duties of prime minister. appearing once again to be unstoppab unstoppable. within three weeks, sharon suffered another stroke. this one described as massive. sharon's final battle was the one for his life, fought and lost in hospital. onstipation by eating healthier, drinking plenty of water, but still not getting relief? try dulcolax laxative tablets. dulcolax is comfort-coated for gentle, over-night relief. dulcolax. predictable over-night relief you can count on. it took a lot of juggling to keep it all together.k. for some low-income families, having broadband internet is a faraway dream. so we created internet essentials, america's largest low-cost internet adoption program. having the internet at home means she has to go no further than the kitchen table to do her homework. now, more than one million americans have been connected at home. it makes it so much better to do homework, when you're at home. welcome to what's next. comcastnbcuniversal. . >>> welcome back. well our addiction to our 24/7 technology could be hazardous to your health. a new study has alarming news for your work alochall licks. >>> thank for joining us wmplths thanks for having me. >> there's growing concerns that our sleep patterns are being severely compromised if you happen to be one of the thousands of folks who cuddle up if your smartphone. tell me about the impact of this. >> we know that the teenagers can use their smartphones in silence in the middle tf night. so they can sneak these things and there's really good resenl out there that suggests the light, just the light alone from the smartphone is enough to disrupt your circadian rhythms so you can't sleep well. that coupled with the fact even if you're reading a book, you can switch to facebook or youtube or something that's completely overstimulating. so having a tablet or phone or any screen in bed with you in the evening is by and large a really bad idea. >> long term this could be really harmful than most people consider apart from just sleep. is that not so? >> that's true. there are studies that link depression, anxiety, loneliness, even things like heart disease to use long term use of tablets in bed overnight. >> there is also news that people who are high achievers, people who bring their work home from the office often face depression because they're isolated from the rest of the world. talk to me for a moment about what the impact of that is and what this means for our culture. >> right. these are some counter intuitive findings if you think about it. you would think that somebody who is an overachiever, they can bring their work home and work on that tablet long into the night. they're going to be really efficient. there's some research that supports the fact that they are. the problem is that they become so connected to the machine that they're disconnected from the rest of our lives. so they're working night and day, a lot of people -- i've worked with some people who wake up in the middle of the night and they are still grabbing that tablet and getting back to work. their sleep is disrupted. the long term results of that, again, anxiousness, depression, a lot of loneliness and wildly disrupted sleep patterns. >> we are pressed today because of the breaking news but i know this is something that is continuing to make head lyons. we want to have you back to talk to us more about the long term impact this could have on the culture a and our young people as they go forward in this new era of technology. >> that would be my pleasure. >> thank you so much, doctor, for joining us today. >>> up next, take a look at this amazing video. is it an x-ray image or an optical illusion. you be the judge. 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korea is outraged and appalled after a profanity-laced tirade by dennis rodman. he suggested kenneth bae had done something wrong. the former basketball star went off yesterday when our own chris cuomo asked if he was planning to advocate for the release of kenneth bae while in north korea. chris lawrence is here with more of what's going on. first of all, what is the family of kenneth bae saying about this? >> wolf, they basically are saying one thing. this is not a game. despite dennis rodman sort of basketball diplomacy, to the family, this is a very, very serious matter. and they spoke to cnn about how they're feeling right now. >> i was shocked by his words. and i think i -- i don't think dennis rodman -- i'm not sure where he's getting his information. and i'm not sure how much credence i would give to his outbursts. i don't think -- he's certainly not a diplomat, and not an authority on this case at all. and i don't think he has any -- in any kind of position to remark on his case. especially after making -- making it clear he has no intention to help. >> and that's the key for terri

video showing an american -- an american captive, kenneth bae, in north korea. he makes a startling admission. was it coerced? i'm going to talk about that. the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., bill richardson, has been to north korea, standing by to join us live. "stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. nwas the most watchedage otelevision event ever.s so, what's next? the upcoming winter games from sochi. where every second of nbc universal's coverage will be available on every device. on tv, online or streaming on the nbc sports live extra app. beginning february 6th, experience the winter games everywhere. welcome to what's next. comcast nbcuniversal >>> there's new video of the

. now rodman shocked many people by implying that the american man, kenneth bae, who has been in prison without explanation in north korea, deserved his fate. >> you don't understand what kenneth bae did. >> yeah? >> do you understand what he did? >> what did he do? you tell me. you tell me, what did he do? >> no no, no. you tell me! you tell me! why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. >> why? >> they haven't released any reasons. >> listen -- >> no, let me do this. i would love to speak on this. >> go ahead. >> you know? you've got ten guys here, ten guys here, they have left their families, left their damn families. to help this country in a sports venture. ten guys, all these guys here. does anyone understand that? >> well, we've got reaction to rodman's rant, just hours ago from kenneth bae's sister, who also spoke to our own chris cuomo. >> i was shocked by his words, and i think i don't think dennis rodman -- i'm not sure where he's getting his information. and i'm not sure how much credence would i give to his outbursts -- i don't think -- he's certai

the north korean leader today urging him on humanitarian grounds to release mr. kenneth bae, who is san ill man and a diabetic. i talked to his mother today. that's the role i would play. the roll that ambassador richardson would play, president carter would play. we are professional diplomats. >> exactly. dennis rodman is not a professional diplomat so why should he be congratulated or encouraged here. >> the ping pong players are not professional diplomats either and the harlem globetrotters were not professional either. it shed light on a dark situation. >> reverend, how could people -- i'm sure you understand this. how can people take dennis rodman serious after this interview with chris cuomo saying that american kenneth bae is guilty of something. listen. >> kenneth bae did one thing if you understand. if you understand what kenneth bae did, you understand what he did? >> what did he do? you tell me. you tell me what did he do? >> you tell me. you tell me. why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. they haven't released anything. >> i -- >> listen -- >> let

tonight and talking about this. thank you. >> the show may be over, the conversation continues on the website. aljazeera.com/considerthis. or facebook or google+. we'll see you next time. geefntiongood evening everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. a new wave of violence erupts between police and protestors in the ukraine. >>> political protestors in sochi, fears that they may have already infiltrated the city. >>> public schools 138 educators implicated. plus cop encounter. the officer who stopped his car for a football encounter with the boy tells us how the incident is changing his life. we begin tonight with a growing unrest in ukraine. this is a live look at kiev tonight. thousands of antigovernment protestors are taking to the streets and battling with riot police. jennifer tbleas is i greas glase capital of kiev. >> this remains a front line of this line of protestors and the police on the opposite side, with shield and riot gear. they're exchanging explosions. the protestors have been firing fireworks at the police lines and the police respond with flash grenades filled with kind of, trying to move the crowds back. it hasn't been very effective, thousands of protestors to come to support the protestors. the protestors say they'll do whatever they want, stay here as long as they can until they get whatever they want. they're making lots of noise making themselves heard so they know they're here. despite concessions from viktor yanukovych saying he will hold talks with opposition, a lot of people don't hold out hope. the prosecutor general says this street protest is a crime against the state so very menacing words as these protests go on. >> jennifer glasse reporting from kiev. monitoring the situation from washington, d.c, tonight, jim can you give us some sense of why these protests are going on especially tonight? >> well, the protests really intensified in the last couple of days, following the promulgation of new laws trying to curve protests -- curb protests that made it an offense to be wearing a helmet and a mask, to be traveling in car convoys and things of this sort. it is rather ironic because a few days ago, the protest numbers had dwindled into under 100. the content is not all that different than what you would find in washington or berlin or brussels. you can't attack public buildings or attacking police with clubs. which is what we're seeing in kiev. >> it's and ugly battle. what else do protestors want? >> it's been evolving as far as what the justification was. it started with the protest when president yanukovych didn't sign a are deal with the european union which was actually warranted. but now we see renewed intensity. it has been ebbing and flowing as circumstances change. people with some really radical groups now, one sign with his 14/88 which is some kind of neonazi symbol and things like that. it's getting very, very messy over there. >> doesn't this remit a geographic and cultural split in ukraine? >> it does. ukraine unfortunately has been a very divided country and still is a very divided country. it is known that ang awful lot of the protest -- an awful lot of the protestors fr protestorse north and from the south and east, a completely different view. >> jim yatris giving his view of the issue. thank you. >>> reports out that authorities are looking for a young woman known as the black widow. >> one in particular her name is rozana ybrajimova, 23 years old, that group has taunted russian authorities and threatened to launch attacks on the winter games. a post teer has been handed out, with her face on it. the u.s. olympic committee is saying they are working with the state department and with local russian law enforcement doing what they can to ensure the safety of americans traveling to the game. security documents say she is a widow of another of the caucasus 'eemirate. she may have arrived in sochi as long as ten days ago. 40,000 police and security forces are now deployed in the sochi area with the opening ceremonies of the winter games just 17 days out. meanwhile the pentagon says if the russians need additional security and if americans need evacuation help they will have two naval vessels and air on hand in the black sea. what do you make of this john? >> good to see you. >> i know this is impossible to predict but how serious a threat of this to the games? >> i think you have to say it's serious, right? if a group has carried out a couple of attacks at railway stations and then release a video saying they plan to do it in a context, in a historical context where there is a region that has been rife with extremism and some really nasty violence on both sides yes, i any you have to take it seriously. i will add quickly for folks who are going there, for terrorism, it's important to remember what that means, mathematical odds of anyone being injured with all the people at the games is very, very very small but i think it's clear they intend to do something and i think you have to assume they will try. >> who are the black widows? >> the black widows it is a metaphor for any time of have this sort of violent dispute you will have more often than not men who are killed. they are going to be brothers, they are going to be husbands, they are going to be sons and those family members are going to be embit erd by that. they embittered by that. we see this, the family members, the wives, the mothers, the daughters of folks who have been killed who take up that cause. >> and of course as you say terror is what this is all about. the most terrifying to people who might be going to the sochi games is that there are some people embedded, potentially terrorists embedded somewhere in sochi already. >> yeah and you got to say that only because of two things, time and proximity. russians got this a long time ago, years ago, we know this has been on the calendar. and dagustan and the caucasus are physically close by. and travel there is not impossible. my guess, it's a guess, my own guess is that the sites, close sites are going to be secure, rye? if you are going to try to get into a building, that's going to be difficult. if you are going to try about get into event sites, that's difficult. but soft targets where the public gathers that are outside the venues, those are going to be tough to police. >> are there other security measures outside the black widow threat? >> i think so far the discussion about this is focused on one person and one group. there are multiple players here with multiple grievances. so i think we have a tendency to focus on an organization. or one leader. and what often happens is, extremists, there are multiple groups with overlapping membership. people are off doing their own thing. so i think this is just, for the russians they put themselves in a really really difficult situation. there will be thousands of people there, thousands of media people there and lot of people who are going to want to cause trouble. >> sadly enough this has become a magnet for anyone with a grievance. >> john, absolutely. i think that's exactly right. and it's tough. you know the russians are going ogo all-out on this and if they weren't going ogo all-out the fact that there are already bombings and videos, they are going to go all-out. we know putin is sensitive to this, people in prison, pussy riot, other people critical of the government, he doesn't want bad press. they had a shoot-out today that killed seven people in dagustan. they are close by that makes it super-tough. >> jim wallace thank you jim. >> thank you john. >> syria's talks are back on, after an argument about who should attend. iran refused and u.n. withdrew its invitation. more violence in syria. at least 1616 people killed after two car bombs exploded on the border of turkey. >> syria's war is as violent as ever and monday's deadliest attack, more than a dozen people killed at a border crossing. destroyed nearby shops and killed their customers. we are right on the syrian turkish border, it might be seemingly calm here but a few minutes ago, just a mile from here, an explosion of car bomb. most of them were victims, women and chirld who were trying to flee and come to turkey. >> we were at the crossing and heard a hue explosion. five minutes later another explosion went off. many people died. >> in aleppo which is witnessing the worst fightings two car bombs gutted, a man tried to extinguish the fire but both cars burned for hours. targeting other rebels they think are too moderate even though both wanted to oust bashar al-assad. government fighter jets dropped missiles the on two targets in darra which is controlled by the opposition. the air strikes destroyed dozens of homes. survivors were carried away on makeshift stretchers into makeshift ambulances and as people look for more survivors they found only the dead. in the yarmuk refugee camp people had to take fire from pro government snipers, they tried to forage for food. conditions here are so bad, people are dying here of hunger. nick shifrin, al jazeera on the syrian turkish border. >> the eastern seaboard is bracing for a blast of arctic air again. kevin corriveau is here. >> coming out of alberta, why we call them alberta clippers. goa minus 17°. we are going to -- fargo minus 17°. as john said, we'll see big problems. if you are traveling across most of the coastal regions, particularly, tomorrow, the warnings are out, the dark blues indicate the winter storm warnings. we even have blizzard watches for cape cod because the blizzard warnings are expected to be so strong. we are surprised how this has actually turned out. they have increased the numbers as the day has progressed. eastern part of long island, ten to 14 inches of snow. going down into delaware as well as maryland, across the northeast for massachusetts it's going to feel more like a blizzard because the storm just off the coast is going to bring those winds up. tomorrow morning this is what it feels like: new york 8 degrees and the temperature is not going to get any better, not until saturday john that we finally get above freezing. >> all right, kevin thank you. two people died in an explosion in omaha, more than a dozen people were injured. part of the building collapsed after the blast and police say they believe everyone in the building has been accounted for. >>> coming many up. chris christie accused of withholding hurricane sandy funds. the forceful response from the governor's office. the rant, the postgame interview and the story you haven't heard it yet about the player who gave it. >> all this week, >> the strength of our future relies on education. >> we are creating a class of adults exposed to mediocre education. >> stealing education, part of our week long, in depth series. america tonight only on al jazeera america >> north korean prisoner kenneth bae spoke out today. the american missionary talked to journalists and asked the u.s. government to help get him released. bae was arrested 15 months ago while leading a group tour. our craig leeson reports. >> kenneth bae was brought in by state police wearing a gray cap with the number 103 on it. spoke with journalists, during that time he made this statement: i believe my problem can be solved by close cooperation and agreement between my government and the government of this country. that appeared to be north korea reaching out to washington and south korea for ongoing or renewed talks with the country. kenneth bae was jailed in november 2012 for what was said to be crimes against the state after leading a tour group through the country. he was sentenced to 15 years hard labor. he has visited hospital in that time. he recently became a center of headlines after dennis rodman's trip to north korea. he took in an nba basketball team to play a game for kim jong-un's birth daze. that caused problems when he said maybe kenneth bae was at fault for his crimes. he was castigated by bae's family for that statement. >> now increased support for our government the to secure kenneth's release. we have faith in our government to protect the well-being of americans both at home and broad. we hope that the security council and secretary of state kerry can secure his return home. >>> dolphins, japan kills roughly 20,000 dolphins porpoises and small whales every year. u.s. ambassador to japan caroline kennedy has tweether unhappiness about the event. u.s. government post office dry hunt fisheries. >>> she is the nation's first female leader, katherine samba panza takes the helm while her country is in deep conflict. barnaby phillips reports. >> outside the national assembly everyone was listening. everyone wanted to know who was the new president. someone they can respect someone's authority does not only come from the barrel of a gun. inside they were voting. the process was slow, painstaking. as if the members wanted to show that in this broken country something could be done right. then the announcement and victory for the lady in pink. katherine zamba panza, the mayor of bangui, she's styling herself as the mother of the nation. >> translator: i launch a strong appeal to my children of the antibalaca movement and to my children who are in the salaca movement put down your guns. >> the speech was well received especially by women. until now the most senior political positions in this country have always been held by men. >> katherine zamba panza takes on an enormous responsibility. she is the head of state in a country where the government has essentially ceased to exist about.if she is to succeed she will need the support of the international community. >> the new president was showered with messages of goodwill. in a country that is poised on the edge of an abyss, this was a welcome day of hope. barn bbarnaby phillips, al jazea bangui. >> the best defense will face the best offense in just two weeks. one player's performance on and off the field is what they're talking about. and michael eaves is here to tell us about the story. >> a story that was overshadowing a very compelling football game. the worst or best postgame interview afterward. seattle quarterback richard sherman gave an in the moment view into his mindset. >> i'm the best football player in the game. that's the result you're going oget. don't you ever talk about me. >> who was talking about you? >> crabtree, don't you open your mouth about me or i'm going oclose it real quick. >> it went even into today. many going as far as to label him a thug as well as other obscene and racially charged terms. sherman explained what led to his comments and he shared the reaction to his comments. i said good game good game that's when he shoved my face and that's when i went off. it was loud in the moment and a small part of the person i am. i don't want to be a villain because i'm not a villainous person. to those who would call me thug, don't judge a person a's character what he does on the lines. judge a person by what he does for his community what he does for family. and people find it easy to use words on twitter. it is unbelievable to me that the world is still this way but it is. i can handle it. joining me now the is nick eaton. , a good amount of criticism, what did most fans probably not know about the seahawks corner back? >> well, i think everybody knows how passionate richard sherman is but i don't know whether people understand how articulate and educated the man is. he's its his third year in the league. he grew up in compton and he ended up second of his class in high school. he was saluteorian and it was hard to get in in stanford even if you're a football player, performed well in stanford where he was playing under harbaugh with when harbaugh was there. so he is a very articulate and educated guy. i think what people don't realize is he really knows what he is doing a lot of the time and he really knows how to get people talking about him and i think he's done that. >> what has been the response in seattle amongst seahawks fans to his interview? >> it's been really interesting. i've gotten a lot of feedback from our readers online and we actually put up a poll today asking our readers what they felt about it. and we wanted to know if they -- if it turned them off or if they really liked it and were getting further behind him or if he just thought hey this is football, trash talk happens. and the results i thought were very interesting because it was very split three ways. it's a very divisive topic here in seattle. i think there are a lot of people who don't like what he did last night, think that he went too far and then i think there are a lot of people who think wow, this guy is so passionate and we're going to the super bowl and yes, let's go! and then there are just some people who just say this is sports, guys, this stuff happens and enjoy it. >> and i think a lot of people are enjoying some of it, maybe more than others but nonetheless we'll see if it will become any kind of distraction when we go to the super bowl in new york. nick eaton, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> we have talked about the fans reaction, the media reaction. we haven't heard about what they say about his comments. >> i think we'll hear about this for a while. sounds like. we do have the super bowl to come. >> yes we do. >> up next, fixing the gray. the new cheating scandal hitting the schools it play be the largest or the worst whatever. >>> and the cop hits the kid. the officer at the center tells his story. canada. this is going to continu >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. here are our top stories. a threat from black width owes, the police in russia hunt for potential suicide bombers in sochi 17 days before the opening of the winter games. they may have already infiltrated the city. protests fill kiev's independence square leaving dozens injured. demonstrations demand the president support a european trade deal. limits on the right to protest. crisis averted. syrian peace talks on again after a diplomatic disagreement on who should attend. the united nations withdrew its invitation to iran. the geneva 2 talks begin wednesday in switzerland. >>> the city's sprawling public school system and a heating scandal where it's the teachers not the students accused. richelle carey reports. >> it is the latest cheating scandal to hit a major american city and one of the largest. scores of educators at least 138 as of tonight are linked to what is now a widening criminal investigation in philadelphia. and it covers dozens of schools within the city. ranging from public to charter schools. charges provided to the city's reform commission. after unusual patterns were discovered in standardized tests. >> they looked at the test scores that were classroom by classroom, school by school to see statistical anomalies. for instance huge test score increases from one year to the next. or unusual numbers of erasures of wrong answers to right answers. >> evidence of cheating was reportedly uncovered involving teachers, principals, counselors and a security guard. >> they somehow tampered with the test score booklets or they gave improper instructions to students or otherwise did unethical things to inflate the scores, the test scores of students in the philadelphia schools. >> cheating scandals have made headlines across america in recent years. one in atlanta involving nearly 200 educators. in that instance the focus was on making the scores better so districts could receive no federal aid based on the no child left behind initiative. the pennsylvania district is pursuing charges against current or former employees. investigating whether crimes are committed. richelle carey, al jazeera new york. >> camiko royal, dr. carol, thank you for coming. >> thank you for happening. >> how does this happen to a school district like philadelphia? >> i think it can happen in any of our school districts, any of our schools when we have this sort of climate that says that test scores are the way, the be all end all of achievement. not just for students but for educators as well. i think some people end up feeling like they don't have a choice but to manipulate the scores so they can complaint their professional lives. >> they can say they keep their job, if they don't cheat they keep their job? >> right. >> it sounds tough when you are talking about teachers who are teaching children not to cheat, right? >> well, we would lope that they are teaching children not to cheat but you know that may not always be the case. >> i guess i'm sort of surprised at the widespread nature of something like this. you know one or two teachers but more than 100? >> yeah, i'm not surprised by the widespread nature of it. i think this is a difficult thing because we all know that cheating is wrong. but i think people sometimes educators are looking at a lot of things that are wrong but are happening. and say you know since all these things are happening i'm going to do the best thing for me or this particular situation. i don't think this is necessarily bad people, i think these are educators who made bad choices -- >> given the -- i'm sorry go ahead and finish. >> given the situations they were working in. >> let's try this situation, aren't schools that come from underprivileged neighborhoods in a more difficult situation than teachers from other neighborhoods? or do you think this could happen in any school district in america? >> you know, i think this could happen in any school district in america. depending on what sort of conditions or pressures you put on the educators in those conditions. but i do think that there is a lot of pressure on people in underresourced districts, particularly in urban districts. >> talk about that. why? >> well, since a nation at risk in the 1980s, we have heard people saying, our schools are failing and teachers are the problem and we need to do better. there is a lot of pressure on teachers and teachers not doing enough. so when you add what poverty sort of can do to communities and the conditions, teachers not having the resources and the supplies they need to, to actually do their jobs and sometimes you know what they're dealing with in terms of families and just trying to meet everybody's needs, i think that those pressures can kind of lead to a buttible situation and that's where i see people do things like cheating. >> what do you think is the appropriate punishment for teachers in a case like this? >> if it were true, i think it's appropriate to terminate them. i think it could be appropriate. i'm not sure. i think on a case-by-case basis to revoke their licenses. what i don't think is appropriate is what happened in atlanta which are the criminal charges. that, i don't think that's appropriate at all. >> dr. royal, it's good to have you on the program. thanks for providing your insight. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> new jersey's governor fires back against another claim of wrongdoing against the christie administration. the mayor hoboken set the an aid of christie threaten to withhold hurricane sandy relief. quidanno delivered the message and told her it was from christie himself. today she denied zimmer's allegations. >> mayor zimmer's allegations is not only false but is illogical and doesn't withstand scrutiny when all the facts are examined. >> calls the allegations partisan politics. but tonight, zimmer says she has documents that back up her allegations and has spoken to the u.s. attorney's office about it. >> people across the country have celebrated martin luther king jr. day. president obama the first lady and their two children worked at a soup kitchen for the event. >>> how far have we come? as stacy tisdale reports it is a dream still incomplete. >> america has defaulted on this promispromisory note. >> poverty and income disparities being the ultimate segregators. >> in 1968 he pivoted all of his attention on what was then called the poor people 's campaign. and he was killed before his first march. >> his poor people's campaign was focused on pedroiaing economic rights between blacks latinos native americans and whites. he asked for a $30 billion poverty package including massive infrastructure, job training, job care and higher minimum wage. the same thing lawmakers debate about today. >> it is having control over your life and the personal financial dignity and the choices to create the reality that you want i think is the issue, and i think we have never in that regard been in control of that destiny. >> 50 years later, in some areas, financial disparity has become worse. when the poor people's campaign was launched in 1968. the median black family was making 60 cents to every dollar the white family made. census shows that it's now 57 cents to one dollar. 110,000 dollars for hispanics and 98,000 for blacks. while people are color are currently on the losing sides of the income and wealth gaps in this country a key concern has to be what happens in about two decades when the struggling minorities become the majority and the primary drivers behind the u.s. economy. >> we've got a shift to people of color all around the world younger and darker. and unless we emfour these folks the world's got a problem. >> i have a dream that one day, this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed. we hold these truths to be self--evident, that all men are created equal . >> with an equal chance to enjoy the freedom and peace of mind that come with economic security. stacy tisdale, al jazeera, new york. >> now i spoke with a young activist named daniel maria, founder of the million hoodies movement for justice and talked about why this day is so important. >> yeah, i think the significance of the holiday is really to -- for all generations of americans to again reflect on what his legacy actually means for this country and renew are their dead -- their dedication to achieving that legacy. >> where the the country on this mlk day? >> i think we're having -- we're struggling a little bit. we're having to ask ourselves some very tough questions as we're neer nearing the end of te presidency of our first black president. we're seeing an increase i think in mass incarceration of black americans. of having to reassess how far we've come and how far we still need to go. and i think it's especially important, with a million hoodies, help young people assess how we can move forward as a country. >> do you get tired of people my age saying well you weren't around back then. you really don't understand. do you think you're able to, based on history, really grasp what happened? or are you tired of that question? >> no, i think it's a valid question. i think we -- we will never really be able to go the direction we want unless we understand where we've come from. i grew up in south africa and my father was very involved in antiapartheid legacy. my legacy. everyone who works on million hoodies is very much understanding of the legacy that we are a part of within the civil rights movement. so because of that we take care to really partner with other organizations in this field. and really complement them as best we can. we're a little different in that we focus on really progressive came and progressivism and technology, to complement what other organizations are doing within the movement. >> do you think there's a tendency among either caucasians or some african americans to say look, the civil rights movement is over, we've achieved a lot of things, things are better now and let's move on? >> i do, i do, that is a common refrain of what we hear but when you look at the facts and the statistics it's simply not the case. again mass incarceration, the dropout rates among african americans ant minorities, when you start to look at the actual facts it's clear that the issues are still very prevalent. and we no longer -- we can no longer avoid them. you know? we're becoming a more multiracial society and as a result we have to do better at addressing these issues. >> daniel maria, it's great to have you on the program again. thank you very much. >> thanks john, for having me. >> this marks the 50th anniversary of signing the civil rights act. a prominent photojournalist captured many of the iconic images of that era. christina puig speaks to a person who witnessed the history through his camera. >> bob adelman explains why he felt a calling 50 years ago to document the pursue data of southern segregation wheel doing freelance jobs on the side. >> the treatment of african americans and blacks was completely unacceptable. >> in 1952 adelman first photographed dr. martin luther king jr. in brooklyn new york. he used his camera to chronicle king's push for equality. in private they became friends. >> in private he spoke very thoughtfully and he loved to laugh. >> adelman was in the march on washington in 1963. >> police expected a riot or something. it was very dignified and very jubilant. >> he was the only photographer standing on the steps of the lincoln memorial just a few steps away from the man he called doc. >> he said free at last and i have a dream speech. >> that photo along with over 150 shots, are on exhibit at fort lauderdale. >> the water hosing pictures became quite famous. >> the award winning journalist now 84, lives in south florida. his images have been published in more than 50 books. he still has his cameras. >> the way you used the camera was like this. which was, oh yeah, it's very effective. >> this is pretty heavy. >> this i couldn't -- this was more for portraits. i didn't photograph casually. i mean, i -- if i picked up my camera it was because i thought it was something important. >> nearly 50 years after king's assassination. adelman's photos are indeed an important partly of history. christina puig, al jazeera, miami. >> now to the chemical leak in west virginia. seven days after the leak many will still not drink the water. robert ray was there and posed and important question to the governor of the state. >> obviously we continue to test the water supply. every hour and it is showing up at a non-detect level. as i've been told. we will continue to do that and you know to try to get the smell out of the water as quickly as possible. you know if people are not comfortable drirking the water they should use bottled water we're still getting that out. trying to get things back to order just as quickly as we can. it's been a long ordeal here. hoping the next few days the people can use the water again with confidence. >> you drinking the water? >> i drink it occasionally. >> more than 200 people have reported feeling sick after drinking the water. >>> still ahead photo-finish. one of the photos that got our attention today. and caught on tape, a cop's kindness, taking the time out to make a child feel less alone. >> good evening everyone. well we're at it again in terms of the bad weather out of canada. yes, it's january but what we've been seeing has been extraordinary as far as those air masses coming down. first on monday night there's the cold front. over here to the southeast over the next couple of days and with it those temperatures are going to be dropping. of course they're already very cold towards the northern plains and will be coming down here across many parts of new england as we go through the next couple of days through wednesday and thursday. we have a major weather system to talk about that's associated with this, that is an area of low pressure as well as the snow. it is going to be dropping quite a bit of snow across the metro areas. we are really concerned tuesday some places may see accumulations anywhere from 12 to 14 inches, up towards massachusetts it could be blizzard like conditions especially at places like cape cod. we are looking much better but the air behind this is much cooler, we are talking single digits, real time temperatures below freezing in many locations still more snow across the great lakes. that is a look at your national weather, news up next. >> a former commander of the international space station is now a celebrity here on earth. chris hadfield, has written a book called an astronaut's guide to life on earth. i asked him if he actually intended to become such a viral video sensation. >> i was so inspired by the early part of the space race, with the race and neil and buzz walking on the moon. it just -- it kind of set a long term goal and path for my life that i've been pursuing ever since. i think it's just recently, living on the space station, the connectivity, the ability to share that experience has opened it up to the whole world and i'm delighted to see the level of interest in the stuff that we've been doing up on the space station. >> so why did you write an astronaut's guide rather than an autobiography? >> what is interesting about space exploration and the book is just a natural progression of that. of telling some of the stories of the amazing things that happened on the way to being an astronaut. but at the same time what's useful about that back on earth. >> talk about what else did you learn in space as an astronaut an what you think might surprise people. >> you know, the most dangerous thing i've done in my life, john is to ride a rocket ship. i've done it three times, twice on the shuttle and once on the soyuz ship. how do you not let fear keep you from doing something? how do you deal with something that you know should generate fear and yet, reap the benefits of the magnificence that can follow if you can just get around it? how do you deal with fear? and the way we do it is so much wrapped up in really identifying each of the things that might happen. >> others have said don't sweat the small stuff. you say you should sweat the small stuff. >> well gosh, astronauts and test pilots who don't sweat the small stuff are dead. trying to get to a destination, you have to think about the small things. things go wrong, that's life. if you haven't thought about what you should do when those things go wrong, you are counting on charm or luck to get you through. if you have ten minutes to prepare, think about those likely things to go wrong, sweat the consequences and if you don't happen you're all right, if they don't happen you're all ready for them. instead of being pessimistic or fearful, it actually brings you into a situation with optimism and prepared for the situation. >> did you ever dream you would become an inspiration to others? >> to see maybe some idea i had or some experience i had gave them a confidence or maybe broadened their horizon to make different choices with their life, to become a more confident, more productive person. i can't think of a better compliment and a better reward than to see that type of thing happen as a result of the choices that i've made. and i'm really pleased to have had a chance to go live on the space station for five months, share that experience and now see the results that it's having. >> the name of the book is called an astronaut's guide to life on earth. chris hadfield, thanks for being on the program. >> nice to be here thanks john. >> in texas a recording of a game of catch. officer oriel sultura talked about it. >> i've been on the police department for about six years and i think i've always had a passion for law enforcement. i've always had a passion for helping people. i had actually just happened a traffic stop adjacent to the young man playing by himself. i noticed he was still around when i was done with the traffic stop. i went in the complex and kind of turned in. i noticed he was having a game in hi mind, throwing the football, quarterbacking and those kinds of things. i wanted to play with him. it was a beautiful day in rosenberg, it was two guys playing final and i wanted to inject some positive feelings. dash cam videos probably exist in stations across the inflation. it was a wonderful moment captured on a dash cam that included a little boy that was looking for somebody to come into his life and at that point in time it's really just a game of catch. i just kind of stuck my hands up did the universal sign for throw me the football and again he knew at that point in time that it was just two guys playing football. it's truly wonderful. it is an awesome job and truly rewarding that you're making a difference in people's lives. >> our top story, arrest in ukraine. a protestor protecting himself with a hockey mask and shoulder pads and chest pads. improvised protection from the police. the headlines are next. mediocre education. >> stealing education, part of our week long, in depth series. america tonight only on al jazeera america real reporting that brings you the world. o. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. here are tonight's top stories. in ukraine, thousands of antigovernment protestors are in the streets and battling riot police. as you can see in these live pictures, demonstrations turned violence sunday after weeks of mostly peaceful protests, they went violence when the deposit refused the union deal. >>> police are hunting for 18th government protestors in sochi. one called the black widow. police say attackers may have already infiltrated the city. >>> syrian peace talks are still on after a dispute over who should attend. united nations invited iran to the talks but rescinded that today. said it could attend only agreeing to certain preconditions. syria's opposition confirmed they would still be at the table. >>> hundreds of philadelphia coolers under investigation for cheating. unusual results appeared on test scores, revealed by the school reform commission. those are the headlines, america tonight is next. can you always get the latest news on aljazeera.com. i will see you back here tomorrow night. boundary hopping can and do parents really go to jail for stealing education? >> handcuffed with a leather belt. >> with handcuffs. >> we went in jail. >> also tonight, more to come. new threats for tourists coming to the winter olympics. why there's reason to stay away from sochi.

>>> chris christie says he's not a bully and denies knowing about his aide's wrongdoing. will it work? >>> dennis rodman says he is sorry for blaming an american held cap tiff in north korea. >>> also uncovering the shocking role women played in the holocaust. >>> and duz the "the wolf of wall street" depict or glamourize greed gone wild. hello, i'm antonio mora. welcome to "consider this." ♪ >>> we begin with chris christie, the new jersey governor and likely presidential candidate, faced reporters thursday to respond to the biggest political crisis of his career. emails and text showing top staffers conspired to snarl traffic on the george washington bridge in an apparent act of political revenge. >> iment am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team, and i come out here today to apologize to the people of new jersey. i am responsible for what happened. >> christie said he was blind sided and his deputy chief of staff betrayed him. >> i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here. i have terminated the employment of bridget kelly effective immediately. >> the nearly two-hour press conference show how many questions remain news answer. this was a far cry from what he was saying in december when he mocked reporters for asking about the scandal. >> i worked the cones, actually matt. i was actually the guy out there, i was in overalls and hat -- but i was the guy working the cones out there. you really are not serious with that question. >> joining us now is bob engel, the coauthor leslie sanchez is a republican strategist and the author of several books. she joins us from our los angeles studio tonight and with us here in new york is richard mertz. bob, i want to start with you. he took every question asked of him. of course the big question is was this enough? or is this just the beginning of an even bigger problem in >> well, after it was all over, and it certainly was a marathon effort, i had questions that weren't answered. in fact i don't think there were any answers today that we didn't already know from the newspaper stories. >> now, richard you have seen this whole thing play out very closely there in new jersey. the one question that comes to mind is he always seems to have been a politician with common sense. why would he have done -- what his administration have done, wreak venn gej on a small city mayor who didn't support him? >> things get crazy in campaigns, and people do things that really most of us woul look at and say this was not a good idea. >> he seemed to continue the spin his aids had used on the cause of the traffic jam. >> i don't know whether this was a traffic study that morphed into a political venn den ta, or a political vendetta that morphed into a traffic study. >> but there doesn't seem to be any evidence there was a traffic study. leslie from los angeles where you sit, how did christie do? >> i think giving the governor the benefit of the doubt, and the cars he was dealt, i think he played it beautifully. there are not a lot of figures that could have taken this level of scrutiny, stood before reporters, and all of his colleagues to an exhaustive answer and answer all of these questions. is he out of the woods? no. absolutely. >> bob, you said you had many questions. what is your biggest question? >> well, this woman, kelly he said was fired because he called the senior staff in and asked if they knew anything about this, and nobody said anything. so he fired her because she obviously did. well, i have been covering politics for a long time, and one of the things you know about it is there are really no secrets, so i don't believe that she was the only person in that office who knew who was going on. that being the case, why was she the only one fired. >> but then the question some are raising is we saw all of the scandals in washington over the past year, where the president said he didn't know about the irs scandal or the botched obamacare website, does the chef executive, bob, in your experience, covering governors, do they really know what all of their people are doing? >> well, christie said today he couldn't know what always 65,000 state employees are doing, and i agree with that, but i think he can know what his very close knit small staff around him is doing, and if he doesn't, then he should. >> christie of course well-known for his personality, today we saw a more humble governor, but most people are familiar with these sound bites that have become very famous, his straight talking butment some accuse him of being a bully. let's listen. >> you have numb nuts like reid who put out a statement comparing me to george wallace and lester maddux. did i stay on topic? are you stupid. >> first of all it is none of your business. i don't ask you where you send your kids to school. i don't give a damn about election day. it doesn't matter a lick to me at the moment. i have much bigger fish to fry than that. >> but there is a history of him taking action against political opponents, so what is your reaction? do you believe he is telling the truth or not? >> it's very hard to tell at this point. it does seem unlikely that a governor would be totally ignorant of what was going on in his own staff. and there were five people, virtually all of them his appointe appointees, the idea that a scandal would emerge and no one would pick up the phone and say we have a problem. >> let's listen to this. >> politics ain't bean bag. okay. and everybody who engages in politics knows that. on the other hand that's very, very different than saying that someone is a bully. i have very heated discussions and arguments with people in my own party and on the other side of the aisle. i feel passionately about issues, and i don't hide my emotions from people. i am not a focus group tested blow dried candidate or governor. now that has always made some people as you know uneasy. some people like that style. some people don't. i'm in the business of trying to satisfy the people who elected me governor. >> republicans haven't been rushing out to defend him. even a moderate like senator lindsey graham is saying things like what richard and bob said tonight, he said he found it hard to believe that christtive's aids would have done what they did unless they thought their boss was of this mind set. conservative republicans who have never been big fans of christie including people like rush limbaugh are at least support. >> and that's not uncommon. when people are looking at a 2016 possible presidential candidate, the last thing you want is this kind of investigation. i think one thing you know in politics is you have to see where all of the chips fall. what you can't deny is that he said he was deceived. you have to take the governor at his word at this point, especially after this exhaustive conference. he has done what many on the national stage never do, and that is face all of these questions head on for hours and try to do the best he can in his own way answer them. is he truthful? we're going to find that out, i think as more is discloseded, but it's his personality and style, and to many voters i would argue it's exactly what is his appeal. >> bob, as christie was speaking, his high school friend david wildstein who is one of the most important people involved in this process. he was the one that received the email from bridget kelly suggesting that he create traffic problems in the washington bij bridge area, he took the fifth. >> on the advice of my counsel, i respectfully assert my right to remain silent. >> what will happen with him and how significant is the fact that he took the fifth amendment. >> well, it certainly didn't make a great impression on anybody. that's for sure. you have to ask why. why did his lawyer suggest that? and it could be that they are thinking that there is going to be some serious legal action coming down the road. we know today there was a class action lawsuit filed in fact against the people who are alleged to have had their hands on the closing. >> leslie, christie wrapped up the way to go to fort lee new jersey, who went to the mayor to apologize. >> i'm grateful that he would hold a press conference this quickly. i'm grateful he would take such decisive action this quickly. i don't think there was any other alternative, but i think he made the right decision from that perspective. >> is the mayor, he had no other opportunity but to go to forth lee today? >> absolutely. i think the mayor comes across looking like a strong reasonable public servant who is looking out for his constituents at the same way the governor is trying to reach across the aisle and show he was truthful in that he feels he was deceived by his staff. this was a high-risk situation into. and his style of leadership is very evident right now, and i think that is also working in his favor. >> richard how does this rank on the political scandal scale we have seen over the last couple of decades? >> i think if it is determined that the governor hasn't been straight with the people of new jersey then i think there will be some pretty serious consequences, but the scandal here is not so much that somebody pulled a prank, the real issue is was there an abuse of power, because if someone aspires to be the president of the united states, the last thing anyone wants is someone who is going to abuse power. >> let's listen to this. >> the american people are a fairly forgiving lot. if you got it wrong, you got it wrong. but what they don't like is when they think you are dodging it. and i think that's what the president looks like he is doing right now, dodging it. >> i want to ask all three of you quickly, what do you think this will mean long term? is it fatal or not for christie? bob, i'll start with you. >> well, if we don't hear anymore, that he did know and he was lying on us, he does have history on his side. we tend to forgive and forget and two years in politics is the same as 50 in anything else. >> richard? >> i think it's too soon to tell. and when we know whether in fact his story is credible; that he didn't know, that will probably be determinative of how much damage he suffers. >> lessy? >> given the governor the benefit of the doubt he has shown and exhibited leadership and the style that a lot of independent voters and soft conservative democrats are looking for. that's his appeal and would propel him on the level. >> thank you all for your time. appreciate you joining us tonight. the christtive press conference garnered lots of attention on social media. let's check in on that. >> this is one of the stories that blew upimmediately on social media. it quickly rose to number one, while hashtag chris christie took the number two spot. you have probably seen this photo today after governor christie said he couldn't pick the mayor out of the lineup, as you see the photo shows christie meeting the mayor. and it compares bridgegate to a sex scandal. antonio. >> yeah, it was a busy day on social media. >>> coming up dennis rodman apologizes to the family of an american imprisoned in north korea. we'll talk to kenneth bae's sister next. >>> and paid paternity leave is (vo) al jazeera america we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. (vo) we pursue that story beyond the headline, past the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capitol. (vo) we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. (vo) and follow it no matter where it leads, all the way to you. al jazeera america. take a new look at news. >>> den -- dennis rodman apologized today for comments he made earlier this week about kenneth bae. while in north korea to celebrate the birthday of the man rodman calls his friend, dictator, kim jong un, rodman made bizarre comments that took a turn for the worse. >> if you understand what kenneth bae did, do you understand what he did? >> what did he do. you tell me. >> in this country. >> no, no! you tell me! why is he hell captive! that's what the hell you think! i'm saying to you! look at these eyes! look at them. >> rodman blamed stress and alcohol for his meltdown saying his dreams of what is he calling basketball diplomacy were collapsing around him. we are joined by kenneth bae's sister, terri chung. you have accepted his apology. >> yes, we are absolutely appalled about his comments about my brother, for him to say he doesn't want to help that's fine, but everybody makes mistakes and he is human, so we're going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say okay, we accept. sincere? >> again, i think we're going to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope it is. >> rodman has been to north korea four times since your brother was imprisoned. and back in may he sent out a tweet saying . . . so were you shocked to hear then that he refused this week to speak on your brother's behalf? >>, you know, i mean -- it seems like he has slowly been changing his mind over the -- over the several months after that infamous tweet. so we weren't so much surprised by his refusal to help, which is disappointing, of course, we had hoped he would, but more -- we were just outraged by just his hurtful comments. if he doesn't want to help, that's fine. but please do no harm. this is a very dangerous situation where man's life is on the line. >> talking about the danger, you have seen these recent political purges by kim jong un, he ordered the execution of his uncle, and i'm sure this makes you even more worried about your brother's safety? >> we are worried about my brother's life. he has been sentenced to 15 years in a labor camp. >> i know he was allowed to call home recently for the holidays. what did he have to say? i know he has diabetes. how is his health? >> i think he is hanging in there. he is still being held in a hospital, because he has chronic conditions such as severe back pain where he can't stand for more than 30 minutes at a time. he has chronic treatments that require treatment back home, and he is suffering, and he is trying to put on a strong front for us, but it's the second christmas he has spent away from his family. this is the first time he has talked to his children in months. >> it must be devastating. at least he is in the hospital now and not doing hard labor. as hurtful as radman's statements were, do you think in some odd way it may have been a good thing because it has now raised so much awareness and has people talking about your brother again? >> we do appreciate that other people are now paying more attention to kenneth's plite. >> do you believe the u.s. government is doing enough to get your brother released? >> i think the u.s. government wants to help and see kenneth come home, and they tried to send an envoy, and that was called back. and i love my brother and i just want to see him come home safely. so until he comes home, it is not enough. >> i hope you do get to see him come home safely and that happens soon. best of luck with this. >> thank you for having me. >>> as pattern leave becomes more common place in the u.s. is it already shifting the dynamics of american parents. the act gives three mull months of unpaid leave to mothers and fathers who work for medium and large-sized businesses. but a growing number of businesses have begun to give leave to mothers and fathers. liza is the author of the richer sex. she also wrote about paternity leave for the new issue of the land -- atlantic magazine. great to have you with us. it's still only a small number of states and companies that offer paternity leave? >> right. i would like to say it is trending. it is true at large companies that many men and most men now take some time when a child is born, but often men have to use their vacation time, but it is a small but growing number of companies and in some cases states that offer paid time when a child is born. >> the u.s. is one of the few countries in the world that doesn't require paid maternity leave. do you think it is going to be a while before we see paid paternity leave? >> yeah. the few number of states offering it are offering it to mothers and fathers alike. so if it becomes common in more states then i think it will apply to both parents. >> i was surprised by who you thought benefits most from this? >> right. obviously the men who get offered paid paternity leave in their workplaces are very happy. sometimes they are afraid they will be stigmatized, but i think more often they are very happy to take it. it's good for men's relationships with their children. studies show that men are very interested in being more engaged father. but i think what people don't realize is the real beneficiaries are women, working women, and the companies who want to keep women in the work force. when men are able to take time when their child is born and become accustomed to the -- the care of a baby, and the sorts of -- you know, diaper changes and feeding and become comfortable with those routines, men are more likely to be engaged a year down the road or more. and that means women are more freed up. >> and you say that leads to gender equality in the workplace. and you cite a study that says it's all of us, because the stronger economies in the world are the ones that offer paid paternity leave. >> yeah, and women now are the majority of students in colleges. and companies and country's interest to keep these women engaged. so the countries with the strong economies are the countries who have found ways to close the gender wage gap and keep their female work force in the workplace, and offering leave to fathers, and thereby changing the domestic division of labor in a way that makes life a little bit easier for women is one way to keep women in the paid work force. >> and you also found that it could lead to longer lives for men, better health. are there any negatives? because when paternity laws first took effect in california in 2002, there were real killer. >> right. in california it is six weeks of paid leave, and that's a great thing, and that may seem like an eternity to men who wouldn't expect anything before this, but that's not a super long time. and it's not just companies -- the great thing about the state laws is that it applies to men and women who are not in white collar workplaces. so for my peace i interviewed firefighters, a guy who worked in a restaurant, a guy who was a roofing contractor, and these guys were all so happy to have paid time to spend with their kids. and basically the study showed that businesses can cover. >> another piece in the atlantic showed that men who took family leave ended up having depressed earnings. does it carry the financial risk that it always has for women to take this kind of leave? >> men historically have enjoyed a premium when they have gotten married or had children. there is the fatherhood or marriage premium for men. and company's would actually pay husbands and fathers more because they were the breadwinners, and there's still a lingering bonus when men become fathers either because they are working harder or because their employer sees them as more promotable and committed that men have enjoyed this benefit, so if it depresses men's earnings a little bit, keep in mind men are still benefiting this bonus. women are more likely to be stigmatized in the workplace committed. >> so you are saying there could be a reverse stigma, that men are expected to take care of their children and if they don't take leave a reverse sigma could happen? >> right. quebec offers families a certain amount of leave but there are five weeks that can only be taken by fathers. and if the father doesn't take that leave, the family just lose it. and what happens is that men are likely to feel more stigmatized if they don't take the leave. if you just throw it away, then it changes the cultural perspective. >> liza thank for being on the show tonight. >> thank you. >>> time now to see what is trending on al jazeera america website. >> the highest growth in casinos rose to what many considered a magsal model in living wages. it changed lives, but now three monks later 175 of those employees that worked in the casino restaurant have been one frustrated employees explains his frustrations. >> this place is making millions and millions. day and night, and they trying to take away what they give us. we -- everybody in this kitchen deserves the raise. >> a spokesperson for the casino said the restaurant had lost money since it opened and each employee let go would receive some severance. >>> coming up how many congressmen are flush with cash? >>> and later spiderman the musical just ended its disastrous run on broadway, so why are many new move i have adaptations vying to take its >> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america >> a jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour >> here are the headlines at this hour breaking news... sports... business... weather... live news...every hour, on the hour only on al jazeera america >> most people think nazis were by and large men. a new book challenges that conventional women. "hitler's furies, german women in the nazi killing fields" outlines the roles that women played, including those women empire. >> we are joined from washington d.c. by wendy. thousands of books have been written on the holocaust, most focused on men. women faced compulsory labour laws and were part of the nazi regime and were involved at almost all levels. >> that's right. if we talk about the rise of naasies, and the expansion of the third rict we can't leave out the population of women. this was, in nazi thinking, a large revolution that was supposed to occur. they were mobilising p men and women for the war-making campaigns and genocidal campaigns. women were a part of that. >> let's talk about the different ways they were involved. talking about genocide is talking about the role that people. >> actually, the first deaths that occurred in the holocaust, when the killing phase began started with the beginning of the war in 1939. it was against the mentally and physically disabled. the first victims were german children in the asylums and hospitals. the nurses were mobilized for this. one of the women featured - i have 13 biographies interwoven. among the first perpetrators, pauline knissler was brought together with 30 other nurses and signed an oath of secrecy to participate in the mass murder campaigns. at the high point of her career in this campaign, she killed as many as 70 patients a day in a gassing facility. she was mostly giving them - administering lethal injections and giving them deadly medicine. >> horrible stories. and the ones that were not as active. you bring up the secretaries involved who at their deaths say - it's the perfect example of the binality of evil and you describe the women of favouring their detail over morality and they stood by. >> in this regard women were no different to men, in the fact that duty prevailed over morality. women entered into this part of the workforce for generations. it exploded during the nazi era because of the expansion of the modern state. we had 20,000 secretaries working in ss operation, and the gestapo in berlin was a huge administrative machine of about 55,000 personnel. women were part of this machinery, working for people like eichmann. my book takes the phenomenon of women in the clerical role and moves it to the killing fields, the bloodlands of the hollow cause. these are women working as secret ris in towns where the mass shootings and gassing operationing occurred. >> you talk about ss wives and other higher-level nazi women involved in the process. >> a lot of the violence that women participated in in the eastern territories involved - was done in a way that was very kind of - i don't want to say ad hoc, but it happened almost spontaneously or randomly. women, the wives of ss officials, government officials visiting their husbands or maids, or living with them as part of these communities, they would be going on walks in the wood. they'd walk through town or be at the villas. and they were not only exploiting labourers and the roman labourers and soviet pows, but were whipping them. there's a pattern that is astounding of ss wives who are shooting from the balconies of the villas. some may have seen, "schindler's list", there's a pattern of that, it's not an anomaly. women are part of the violence in the home, domestic settings. >> some of the notorious women were camp guards. i didn't realise 3500, one-tenth of camp guards were women. >> there's a list that survived the law. the documentation is sparse. it took me decades to piece the story together from the archives. the list we have of camp guards, 3500, that's the number we use. but, honestly, now this we know there were as many as 40,000 different camps, thanks to the research the museum has done across nazi occupied europe, i think that number of camp guards is quite low. number. >> what happened to the women who participated after the war. you write that some committed suicide. were they sorry. the last line of your book is the short answer is most got away with murder. >> it was difficult to track down the women. a lot of crimes were committed outside the camp system. they were difficult to document. they were not - they were done - they did them by their own volition. they were not part of an official killing unit. it was hard for prosecutors to find substantial evidence. there was a lot of witness testimony from survivors. it was not enough to convict the female criminals. most got away, as you said, with murder. they changed their names, got married. a lot were young single women. it was hard to find them. prosecutors, when they came across them and were questioning the women in the conjunction with cases when they are pursuing their bosses or maids, the men were the perpetrators. they couldn't believe what they had done. there was a lot of disbelief attached to this, that didn't create the kind of will or the drive to convict these women. >> there's horrible stories. i know one of the reasons you write that these stories take to long is because it happened behind the iron curtain. there has been less time for the information to be made public. it's an important book. the book is "hitler's fury, fields." >> straight ahead - there are more millionaire congress men than ever. why do they have so much cash on hand. and golden globes - are younger audiences missing the point that >> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> every sunday night, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks... with the most interesting people of our time... >> as an artist you have the right to fail... that's a big right to have >> his work is known across the globe. but little is known about the gorilla artist behind the glasses... we turned the camera on the photographer shaking up the art world. >> 2... 1... that's scary jr... >> talk to al jazeera with jr only on al jazeera america >> today's data dive gets rich in congression half of the representatives are millionaires. medium net worth is up $40,000 from last year. they are wealthier in the senate. the medium net worth is $2.7 million. lawmakers have been richer, but there's a growing gap with constituents and there are concerns they are out of touch, especially when they argue about low wages, food stamps et cetera. when you consider that they are in session, they make good money. that doesn't include the fundraising events they need to attend and meetings and work back home. they are paid well, but they need to pay for a place to live in their home states and in d.c. with average rent or apartments on capitol hill on $1500 plus utilities and cable, a basic place could cost $30,000 post tax. two of the most powerful democrats, dick durbin and others bunk together with two representatives in a townhouse. it had problems with rodents. their families don't like to stay when they visit. not exactly the lap of luxe. >> coming up "spiderman the musical" closed after losing millions, why are "rocky" and >> every sunday night al jazeera america presents >> $26,000 for one dinner. >> no, this could be explained. >> right. the porter house -- >> we had to buy champagne -- >> and tell them about the sides you ordered. >> sides? $26,000 worth of sides? what did they cure cancer? >> they didn't. "the wolf of wall street" is getting buzz, but a growing controversy is asking whether it exploits victims. bill wyman is with us. what responsibility to artists have to their audiences in being careful not to glamorize this when the subject is a criminal. >> that's a great question. and they are no obligation. they have an obligation to their art. but on balance this ends up seeming a little callus. it tends to leave a little bad taste in your mouth once you start thinking about the implications. i think in the end it is almost like a porky's or a frat comedy, and despite the film making which is extraordinary, but it seems to be a little empty. >> but you are talking about a movie that shows a guy who ripped off clients for millions and millions of dollars, but you show him having yachts and sports cars, millions of dollars, the most beautiful women in the world. so if you are a young person and you are watching this, if this guy goes to prison for a couple of years and then comes back out and has a nice life, whatting kind of statement is this? >> seriously that's true. i'm always suspicious of saying it is going to inspire people to bad behavior, but there is a more interesting story about this sort of con artist. basically they called up vulnerable, there are people who are great con artists who can con anyone. and then there are those who look for the most vulnerable people in the world, and that's what he did. so that's one aspect. and secondly, you never see the other side in the film. right? the movie with the exception of one small scene toward the end is completely tone deaf to the victims. >> yeah, but jordan bellfort said he went into finance partially because of the movie "wall street." and that character was again a bad guy. so it is possible that young people have a little bit of a struggle getting the full message of what these films are -- you know, the underlying message? >> again, i just don't agree with that premise. 90% of move i haves that are made are upbeat and positive, and there's churches that tell people to do good things, and it's hard to point the finger at a piece of film making, and there are people who are inclined to this sort of nonsense, so i'm reluctant to point the finger at popular culture, except as a societal cause. but i think you are allowed to point at the pop culture and say this is bad art. there are a lot of bad rap songs that i don't think they are a bad influence on society, i think they are just bad art. >> we found a video on line where leonardo decaprio talks about jordan bellfort. let's listen. >> what separates jordan's story from others like it is the brutal honesty in which he talks about the a mistakes he made in his life. there is nothing quite like his speaking and ability to train and empower young entrepreneurs. he is stands as a shining dpafrp l of the transformtive qualities of ambition and hard work, and in that regard he is a true motivator. >> bill, i don't know if he had to make that video in order to get the book rights, but that certainly seems like an endorsement of a guy who again was a criminal. >> yeah, it's a complete embarrassment. when you look at this, it certainly looks like you have a very, very rich movie star losing moral focus and embracing a guy who is really one of the cockroaches of our society. and when you read up on these cases virtually everyone involved with him and anything he had to do with, were awful people and reading up on it sometimes it was like picking up rocks and finding cockroaches, more and more cockroaches ever time you pick up a rock, and it's embarrassing that he would say something about a guy like that. the other thing is that he turns on all of his friends and rats on everyone. it's like that american gangster movie with denzel washington, he build up these characters and then when they get caught they turn around and become a squealer. >> a woman named christina mcdowell an abouts rest she is the daughter of one of the lawyers that represented bellfort. she is shown here with her dad on his private plane, she went public about her complaints about glorifying people who hurt people, and her father responded with a nasty letter back. the movie could have at least included something about them, and that is her big complaint. they were simply ignored. >> yeah. >> people who lost their life savings thanks to this guy. >> yeah, the lives that are ruined by this -- and another interest -- it's not about a big wall street trader, this is just the sort of stuff that goes on in storefronts across any country all the time. it's no, ma'am glamorous, it's very mundane and it's sort of sad, but that woman and her dad when you read the things they right, there is something off about both of them, particularly the father. >> yeah. very interesting. let's move on to broadway, spiderman the musical just closed its long and financially disastrous run, losing $60 million. several other movies are about to become musicals despite spiderman, though. is there still a lot of money to be made with these movies? >> absolutely, it's one of the great craft games in american society, and broadway remains a special environment. it doesn't make sense that certain theaters declared a certain thing, and theaters two blocks away aren't. and there are people who just understood broadway, and it seems so odd sometimes when you say why are they making a musical out of that. and sometimes it becomes an enormous hit and sometimes it just doesn't. you look at the lion king, it became one of the biggest money makers ever, and i pe versely admire the creators of spiderman, they took a lot of chances, they obviously were trying to appeal to men on broadway which is unusual, and judy of course is a great artist, and watching the whole debacle has been quite an experience. >> the creative team behind the broadway hit matilda just announced they are going to adapt ground long day, is there difference between making a movie that was a musical and puts it on broadway, as opposed to a spiderman or groundhog day that weren't. >> it's easier to introduce the story to a general public, so everything is driven by marketing. but secondly, again, broadway is an interesting thing. this is very close to opera. opera is the greatest art form that you can imagine which involves music, and writing and done in a no mistakes made environment. and you have to admire the crazy energy that goes into it. so to me with the exception of these companies that the marketing executives are running, you have to admire the person that says i can build a story here, and i have the stuff in the second act that doesn't bore the audience. >> and we have rocky anded a land din among others coming up. >> bill wyman thanks as always for joining us. the show ends here, but you can join us on our website, facebook, or twitter. see you next time. >>> this is al jazeera! ♪ >>> hello welcome to the news hour, i'm adrian finnegan in doha , coming up on the program, celebrations as the president of the central african republic quits. but will the killing stop? thousands forced from their homes, the impact of fighting in south sudan as the government claims a new win on the battlefield. >>> i'm in london with the latest from europe, including the ways greeks are trying to get around their job crisis. plus, t

. we'll talk to kenneth bae's sister next. >>> and paid paternity leave is on the rise in the u.s. we'll talk about the impact at work and at home. and in those cases where formal education isn't feasible because of t >>> den -- dennis rodman apologized today for comments he made earlier this week about kenneth bae. while in north korea to celebrate the birthday of the man rodman calls his friend, dictator, kim jong un, rodman made bizarre comments that took a turn for the worse. >> if you understand what kenneth bae did, do you understand what he did? >> what did he do. you tell me. >> in this country. >> no, no! you tell me! why is he hell captive! that's what the hell you think! i'm saying to you! look at these eyes! look at them. >> rodman blamed stress and alcohol for his meltdown saying his dreams of what is he calling basketball diplomacy were collapsing around him. we are joined by kenneth bae's sister, terri chung. you have accepted his apology. >> yes, we are absolutely appalled about his comments about my brother, for him to say he doesn't want to help that's fine, but

ultimately did not continue. >> or we haven't heard the last of it. thank you. >>> a plea, kenneth bae asking the u.s. government to help get him released. but some question about whether north korea is willing to let him go and president obama says pot is not as bad as alcohol. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at more top stories. the u.s. has started easing economic sanctions on iran after the country began shutting down the most sensitive work today. the european union also lifted some economic sanctions on iran. >>> a threat from russian militant group, carried out bombings that killed at least 31 last month and is threatening to attack the winter olympics in sochi. >>> hundreds of thousands of people were band from drinking the water in west virginia for several days after a chemical spill. state and federal workers are trying to figure out what steps to take and whether that will include a lawsuit. >>> breaking news this hour, the united nations has disinvited iran to the peace talks on syria. the u.s. wanted iran to support a transitional government but the syrian

having me. >> all right. >>> hello again, everyone. i am fredricka whitfield. we have much more straight ahead in the "newsroom" where we're betting a restart right now. >>> no safe tap water, but plenty of health complaints. a west virginia poison center is inundated with calls after a chemical taints the water supply. details are moments away. >>> damage control. newly released documents shed new light on how appointees of new jersey governor chris christie shut down lanes to a busy bridge, and what they did afterwards to stem the growing outrage. >>> and a new ruling today on the career of new york yankees' star alex rodriguez. an arbitrator decides on his punishment for allegedly violating major league doping rules. that decision, and a-rod's decision, straight ahead. >>> no season, no playoffs for baseball great alex rodriguez. an arbitrator reduced the suspension for the new york yankee slugger to 162 games. major league baseball had suspended rodriguez for 211 games for allegedly violating major league baseball's anti-doping rules. a-rod's rep, saying they respect the drug prevention and treatment program. the arbitration process as well as the decision released today by the arbitration panel. jason carroll is following the story for us from new york. so what are the fans saying? >> reporter: kwell, you know, obviously fans are weighing in on this issue. the man himself, alex rodriguez talking about it as well, fredricka. this is a disthat was not entirely unexpected by rodriguez and his team. alex rodriguez releasing a statement earlier saying, the number of games comes as no surprise. the deck has been stacked against me from day one. i've been clear i did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline or violate the basic agreement or the joint drug agreement in any manner. to end this manner and prove it i will take this to federal court and work hard to get back on the field and help the yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. fredricka, i'm told that throughout this entire process, the rodriguez team would have been willing to accept perhaps a 50, even a 65-game suspension. there would not have been any admission of guilt, but something they could have lived with and moved on, but that was not the case. also, major league baseball weighing in on this as well. as you know, they initially wanted that 211-game suspension to stand. they weighed in saying, well, we believe the original 211-game suspension was appropriate, we respect the decision rendered by the panel and will focus our continuing -- and will focus on our continuing efforts to -- to eliminate performance enhancing substances from our game. but as you can imagine, as you said from the top, a number of fans are weighing in on this particular issue. i had an opportunity to hear what fans are saying now about rodriguez and this 162-game suspension. >> i'm from boston. i thought the penalty was also too strong. so i'm good with the 162. >> how do you hand out 162-game ban to one person and not give anything to all of these other people doing the same thing? yeah. i guess it is. just a-rod, yeah, it's too harsh. >> i think it's ridiculous. they gave him anything it should be 50 games. at the max. >> the whole career should be out. not enough. >> i think he deserves it. yop think there should be doping in baseball. it's america's pastime. >> reporter: well, here's the deal. as you know, fredricka, rodriguez was allowed to continue playing during this whole arbitration process. the question now is, will he be allowed to play as he now takes his legal fight to the federal level? when i spoke to a representative from mlb, this person told me, look, the arbitrator's decision is binding and final. he will not be able to play. he will not see him in spring training, et cetera, as he continues on with this, but i'm told that what will happen, in all likelihood, his attorney, a tough guy, anyone who knows this attorney knows that, he knows his stuff. he'll get in there and ask a judge for a federal injunction to allow rodriguez to continue playing while he continues to fight. >> hmm. because he's hoping that maybe a federal court would take on this case, but we've heard it from so many experts and even people you've talked to that say that's not likely, that a federal court will even want to -- take on -- >> reporter: it's a tall order. >> the arbitration panel. tall order? >> reporter: definitely a tall order. once again, joe tacopina and anyone who knows his reputation knows he's a tough attorney. knows the law. knows this particular situation, and perhaps if there's anyone who can get a federal judge to listen and see their sides of things, it might be joe tacopina, but he has a tall order ahead of him. >> jason carroll, keep us posted. thank you so much. >> reporter: you bet. >>> looks like another retailer has been hacked. neiman marcus said today it is working to contain a cyber breach at the company. that took place last month. this follows the revelation that nearly twice as many tart customers had their data than originally thought. jennifer, neiman marcus is style trying to contain this and really don't know how widespread or how far back this breach goes. right? >> you're right. we know the credit card information was takening. the unknown is, how many credit card numbers were compromised, and what the time frame is of when this security breach happened. so let's take a look at what we do know. this all started in mid-december when neiman marcus was alerted that there was a potential security breach. after that, they contacted police. they began working with secret service. they began working with a forensic team and it took until january 1st for that forensic team to determine that there, in fact, was a breach. we know that credit card information was compromised, but we just don't know how widespread that was. neiman marcus has said they will contact customers who they believe their information has been fraudulently used already. they've also issued this statement today saying in part, we have begun to contain the intrusion, and have taken significant steps to further enhance information security. and, fredricka, the importance in that is especially great right now, given that target also had a recent security breach. >> yes, and a very big one. >> yes. >> everyone thought it was big with 40 million, but now, huge. >> it doubled in size. even maybe more than that at this point. we don't know. originally we thant credit card and debit numbers, pin numbers, expiration dates. now that's expanded to include your personal information. the information we're talking about is your name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail addresses, and the reason why that can be crucial is that people could use that information to then contact you and kind of dupe you in to thinking that they know more about you than they should. >> all the ingredients of identity fraud. >> absolutely. >> stealing your identity. >> there are ways to protect yourself. as we talk about this, talking about it with target, seems basic, obvious, but these are the steps want to take to make sure you protect yourself, and some of the steps are, mont are bank statements. anything on the statement that seems out of the ordinary, even a $1 charge, contact your bank and make sure it's legitimate. don't click on strange links e-mailed to you. we mentioned, targeted, the they got your e-mail address. don't click on anything you don't know. be aware of fishing scams, looking for more information about you and contact a credit monitoring service if you'd like and target is offering that to their customers for a year for free. and people still have a chance to sign up for that. these are things that are good to do whether it's a security breach with target, neiman marcus or any other time that you may think your information has been compromised and you could be a victim of fraud. >> all scary stuff. >> absolutely. >> no matter which way you look at it. thanks, jennifer. appreciate that. >>> the scandal involving governor crhris christie and hi office are growing. aides tried to stone wahl the media about plan to close lanes of the washington bridge. it causes massive backups on the bridge and a trail of internal e-mails indicates the closings were done to punish the mayor of ft. lee for not backing chris christie's re-election campaign. what more are you learning from these documents, margaret? >> reporter: fred, about 2,000 pages of documents have, and e-mails, have been released appearing to show that those in governor chris christie's inner circle were part of a cover-up. his closest allies made it seem like closing down lanes to the george washington bridge back in september was part of a traffic study for four straight days there was gridlock. major inconvenience for commuters and delays for emergency responders. now it seems the stunt was allegedly part of a political plot for retribution against the democratic mayor of ft. lee for not backing christie for re-election. the man leading the charge is new jersey assemblyman john wisneski, a democrat saying the charges could be criminal. >> i'm not a prosecutor but i do think laws have been broken. clearly, it was said on september 13th, and public resources, the bridge, the police office, the people who move the coverage all used for a political purpose for some retribution. that violates the law. law enforcement ought to look at this as well to make sure any violations of law are addressed. >> now, i suppose with mr. wisniewski. they've been looking into it and they want all documents related to this made available. and chris christie, could be a potential candidate in 2016 has long denied his involvement in any of this. >> i have come out here to this office where i've been many times before, and i come out here today to apologize to the people of new jersey. i apologize to the people of ft. lee, and i apologize to the members of the state legislature. >> reporter: now, christie's been out there doing damage control saying this is "embarrassing and humiliating." he fired his deputy chief of staff, e-mails showed he was involved and he says he'll do an internal investigation. on thursday christie held a press conference and answered questions nearly two hours and went to the mayor of ft. lee and apologized. there's a lot to come out of this investigation. a lot of questions. did governor christie know about any of this? so far there are no documents showing that he did. and why did it take so long for all of this to come out? fred? >> all right, mart connelly, thanks so much. keep us posted. >>> former israeli prime minister ariel sharon died today after eight years in a coma. he was 85. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu expressed his deep sorrow over his passing and said this -- "the state of israel bows its head on the passing of former prime minister ariel sharon. ariel sharon played a central role in the struggle for the security of the state of israel over all its years." >>> a-rod suspension for steroid use has been reduced, but that's not good enough for the yankee's star. the battle over his future, next. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. 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[old english accent] safe driver, multi-car, paid in full -- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. thou cometh and we thy saveth! what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. more discounts than we knoweth what to do with. now that's progressive. baseball this season. hours ago an arbitrator reduced the suspension of alex rodriguez to 162 games. major league baseball banished the yankees' third baseman to 211 games. joining me on the phone, dan levy, the national league writer for the bleacher report. okay. so, dan, i guess, is this much of a surprise, in your view? that the arbitration panel would reduce what managelb had given n terms of suspension? >> no. this is about exactly as everyone expected. because the original suspension would have taken him through the end of last season and the entire 2014 season. all this does, both sides expected this. >> so a-rod in his statement says he will try to involve a federal court. in the meantime, what does this mean for the yankees' team? what does it mean for his payroll for the next year, since this 162 games means he's out for at least a year? >> i saw you had people, some fans reacting. the yankees' fans should be high-fiving. it's about $27 million that brian cashman can go out and spend on other players. a-rod was an enormous weight on that team when they're trying to get under the luxury tax. if they can get under the tax and still make their team better. they do have a hole at third base. their best option at third base. $27 million you can spread over four, five players without having to pay a-rod in 2014 is great for the yankees. >> does this give them wiggle room to get out of the payroll? >> i think people want a-rod to retire. hope he'll retire. i think he'll try to collect every dime possible just to prove a point. they'll probably try to get out of if. i don't think there's much legal room with the collective bargaining. >> what about his legacy? you mentioned him as one of the best third baseman ever. now what? what does this do to his legacy? >> i don't think it changes it based on this decision. i think his legacy has been tarnished, if you will. it's interesting because of what happened a few days ago at the hall of fame. roger clemens, barry bonds didn't get in. doesn't look like they're get enough votes anytime soon. now i rod. manny ramirez will be up soon. the greatest players of the last 25 years, of all-time, if you look at their numbers and all tainted by this. i really think at some point we're all going to have to look back, all who write about the sport and figure out what this means. it's not a blanket, they're all cheaters. never honor them again. a confusing time in sports. >> no real evidence of his use of substance performance drugs, however does this ruling, this suspension, mean that it now reduces his chances of ever being in a hall of fame? >> well i think the people who don't vote for bonds and don't vote for clemens, neither of them suspended or failed tests. this is now the same process. now they can look at a-rod and say, he's in that category. a great player. so much overwhelming evidence outside of a failed test that they'll feel that he's unclean as well. according to mlb, what they've put out, an overwhelming amount of evidence. a-rod thinks it's all lies. fascinating to see how this will work out. >> if t is fascinating. dan levy, thanks so much from breacher report. >>> waiting in long lines for bottled water. clean water, period. thousands of people in west virginia are forced to do just that this weekend, because they still don't have any clean tap water. days after a chemical leak. the possible health impact of that spill, next. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back, so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what? there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness if you qualify, and new car replacement, standard with our auto policies. so call liberty mutual at... today. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? became big business overnight? ♪ like, really big... then expanded? ♪ or their new product tanked? ♪ or not? what if they embrace new technology instead? ♪ imagine a company's future with the future of trading. company profile. a research tool on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade. >>> for two days now hundreds of people in west virginia haven't had access to safe tap water. the water supply contaminated with a chemical used to wash coal. more than 1,000 people called in to a local poison center complaining of possible symptoms from that leak. those symptoms include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, rashes and sore throats. right now it's unclear if their symptoms were caused by exposure to the painted water, and fema is sending 75 trucks filled with about 5,000 gallons of water each. they will be distributed across the affected areas. joining us now from washington. aaron, what's the latest? we do understand now that there have been five patients admitted to the hospital. and also saying they've been sickened by this water. >> reporter: well, fred, we've learned now that the president of west virginia american water says that this problem may go on for days. west virginia american water just released a statement to us about what things are looking like right now. they say the ken roy valley treatment plant must consistently produce water samples at or below this level, 1 part per million before the current do not use order is lifted. an inadd krit number of samplings to report. even when water meets acceptable water levels extensive levels must be conducted before the do not use order is lifted. as we head, we are going 1250e this go on for days so fema will continue to send in this water so that west virginia residents have something to drink and to use. now, on top of that, one of the u.s. attorneys in west virginia, booth goodwin, is launching an investigation saying even negligent could tlelead to a criminal charge. >> then i understand erin brockovich is also speaking out about this situation. to what degree? >> reporter: well, fred, as you know, as a public advocate, she goes in to a lot of these situations and complains that this is something that is kind of systemic. she was on cnn last night and explained that she and her team may go to west virginia to do some work there. take a listen to what she had to say. >> when there's a disaster like this, i'm usually flooded with e-mails from the community, and so our job is to go to assist, advise, help them in any way we can. we'll take a look at the site. see possibly how that breach did occur and then go from there, and so as the disaster's unfold, i'm getting more and more e-mails. so we will get on the ground, work with those communities. hear from those communities and begin an investigation. >> so we're looking at a couple of investigations essentially there in west virginia, but, again, it's going to be a couple more days before that water is back to usable standards, fred. >> okay. erin mcpike, thanks so much in washington. >>> all right. coming up next, he is the top scoring nba player of all-time. let me give you a couple seconds to think about it. before you see him, right there. kareem abdul-jabbar. also known for his sports diplomacy. he joins us live and weighs in on dennis rodman's trip to north korea. we use this board to compare car insurance rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. 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[ zap! ] a smarter way to shop around. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >>> apologies coming from dennis rodman saying sorry to the family of american kenneth bae ba. and sorry to the players he took to north korea and to those he blasted in a cnn interview. >> reporter: overnight former nba player dennis rodman admitted in a statement to cnn he was out of bounds. i want to apologize. i take full responsibility for my actions. it had ban very stressful day. some of my teammates were leaving because of pressure from their families and business associates. my dreams of basketball diplomacy were quickly falling apart. rodman's apology comes in the wake of a wild week playing exhibition basketball in north korea where he exploded in an interview with cnn's chris cuomo. >> i don't give a [ bleep ] what the -- i don't give a rat's ass what the hell you think. i'm sitting here with these guys. look at these guys here! >> reporter: rodman explains i had been drinking. not an excuse. by the time the irt view happened i was upset, overwhelmed. it's not an excuse. it's just the truth. rodman ended his alarming north korea trip with even more bizarre images. ♪ happy birthday to you >> reporter: singing "happy birthday" to lieder kim jong-un and giving him a bow. >> to you, sir, let me know, we going to get it -- >> reporter: rodman sparked a firestorm with a seeming justification foyer the impri n imprisonment of kenneth bae, living his family and home disappointed. >> do you understand what he did. >> you tell me what did he do? >> in this country. no, no, no. you tell me. you tell me. why is he held captive? >> reporter: now rodman is back pedaling saying i want to first apologize to kenneth bae's family and to chris cuomo. i embarrassed a lot of people. i am sorry. i should know better than to make political statements. i am truly sorry. also, a regret from former nba star charles smith who questions whether he did the right thing going to korea. perhaps in a birthday gift to kim, rodman lost along with his team of former nba stars to the north korean national team. their loss, another apparent victory for north korea's gargantuan prop ganaganda regim which said it paid tribute to north korea and its leader. >>> rodman called this trip basketball diplomacy. cnn caught up with former nba player charles smith. he was part of that group that traveled with rodman to north korea. smith says, they accomplished their goal. >> we all sat out to do, to use basketball as a bridge for cultural change. we accomplished that mission. all the players that were there. the american tourists. even our documentary film crew. i think we can all agree that the trip was just simply incredible. >> joining us now is former nba great kareem abdul-jabbar joining us from los angeles. kare kareem, were you a pointed a cultural ambassador in 2012 by then secretary of state hillary clinton. so your thoughts on this trip? mission accomplished or did it backfire? >> i think that it certainly backfired on them. i don't think they had a really good idea of what they could accomplish, because there's so much that is not known about north korea. it's a very unpredictable place. and the leadership there can do some very bizarre things. you know, caution is usually the best way to approach situations like that, and you know, when you have no idea of what's going to happen, it's usually a wise thing to do to stay away from those kind of situations. >> and then, you know, rodman, you heard in this interview with cnn. he said it in other ways, too, that he really thought that this trip would be opening a door, and that this really was about friendship, and even though this was not a trip sanction eed by e u.s. state department, can you help people understand who may have a difficult time seeing how sports can be used as an avenue to bridge a divide, how, in your view, should sports diplomacy work? >> well, i think that sports diplomacy can be great for getting people to talk. remember the ping-pong diplomacy during president nixon's term of office? >> yeah. >> and also, you know, i have -- i made friendships with, let's say, a baseball player named ernie banks, who's in the hall of fame. he wants to take a team to cuba to play baseball, just to play some games hopefully to open up the dialogue. so sports can be very instrumental in doing those types of things, but i don't think what mr. rodman did was thought through very carefully, and it was just ended up being an opportunity for the north korean government to have a propaganda coup. >> would there have been a better way in which dennis rodman could have embarked on this, and while it may not have been sanctioned by the u.s. state department, perhaps he would have had the blessings from many more, if, perhaps, there was a clear objective or perhaps some real consulting on how to craft this trip? >> yeah. i think he just went in to it with blinders on, so to speak. not understanding the political implications and then, you know, the outburst that he made was very unfortunate. it just -- started to compound all of the bad things that were happening as a result of the trip. i'm really -- i feel that the other players did the right thing in understanding and realizing that they were being used, and getting out of there. >> and how, in your view, can sports be used as a uniter? even when there may be some political differences that may stand in the way? how can sports still kind of bridge that gap, in your view? >> well, you know, differences can never be bridged unless people start to talk, and a sporting match is a great way to initiate a conversation. you have something in common. your love for a game or sport, and the ability to come together in that way can lead to people coming together in more ways, and it just -- it opens doors and gets people talking, and that's such an important key for any attempt at diplomacy. >> and do you see that this trip in any way may have hurt or potentially helped even though dennis rodman seems, says there may have been a door that somewhere down the line we'll see that has been opened? do you see that this trip in some way may have helped somewhere downed line, or do you think it is a setback? >> fredricka, i don't know enough about it, but i was embarrassed. just being a former nba player, i was embarrassed that one of our guys did not take the time to fully look at this and think it through before he went and did something like that, because, you know, he's on the world stage, and that's not the best place to be making mistakes. >> all right. kareem abdul-jabbar. thanks so much. i said at the top, former nba great, but you're still a great. it's the former nba player part. >> you're too kind, fredricka. thank you so much. >> all right. always great. thanks so much, kareem, appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> always good to see you. >>> all right. a hunter's group in texas, you've probably heard it by now, is actually auctioning a permit to kill an endangered rhino. they say it's for a good cause. hear how the humane society is reacting, next. is the better choice for him,e he's agreed to give it up. that's today? 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>> in namibia in africa. >> reporter: marcia works with save the rhino trust and works with the government to protect the rhinos. >> do you agree with the tactic? >> i tepersonally don't agray. it's saying one rhino is worth it much more than the whole. >> reporter: you need a special ticket to get in. no cameras allowed in. organizers say it's to protect the identity of the bidders. the permit could sell for as much as $250,000, even up to $1 million. the dallas safari club says all of the money will be donated to namibia's kevs efforts to save the glak rhino and the government picked a handful of rhinos that can be targeted by the hunter who wins the auction. >> they've already picked out two or three black rhino males that are old, non-breeding males. not contributing to the population anymore. in fact, black rhinos are very territorial and very aggressive and actually are debtmental to the population when they're old like that. they're like a cranky old man. >> reporter: conserve sags groups say it would be better to keep him alive, selling the opportunity to see the animals up close in the wild. >> i can't state strongly enough how perverse this is to say that killing this animal is the best thing for these animals. it is a critically endangered species. >> reporter: the black rhino is in the cross hairs controversy and both side say they're doing what's best for this wild beast. ed lavandera, cnn, dallas. >>> wayne pacelli joins me now from washington, the ceo and president of the humane society of the united states. good to see you. >> yes. good morning. good afternoon. >> okay. clearly, we know your point of view. you're not going to be in favor of such an auctioned item, permit, to be able to kill a black rhino. so what, if anything, could you or other kovaticonservationists maybe not stop the auction but prevent the actual act of killing a black rhino in namibia from happening? >> obviously, we'd have to convince the in a mickian authorities, the ony allows this to occur. even more on point for those of us here? the united states is the u.s. fish and wildlife service is essentially allowing this to occ occur, because there's an import permit. the hunter is only going to do this is the yirt fish and wildlife service allows the trophy to be imported. this is a trophy hunt. it's not for me or for population control. precisely the opposite, as you indicated in your piece there, it's one of the most endangered animals in the world, and, therefore, comes under the protections of the federal endangered species act, there are foreign listed species. so the u.s. fish and wildlife service, the federal regulatory committee, has to bless this, and we are asking the fish and wildlife service to deny this, because where is this going to end? what if a bunch of wealthy elites want to go shoot and orangutan or an asian elephant, perhaps a sigh beberian tiger? will we allow a rich hunter because he's willing to pay for it? i hope the conscious doesn't lay on that selfishness what about the incentive, purely the hunter who is the highest bidder just for the sheer pleasure of being able to hunt and kill this black rhino overseas, is really the incentive enough? it seems as though the u.s. w d wildlife, fish and wildlife would not be able to intervene. would it? >> well, that's correct. but there really isn't a lot of fun going on in hunting a rhino. it's like shooting a parked bus. i mean, these are enormous, prehistoric-looking animals. this is essentially a guide hunt to kill a specific animal. how anyone can think this is sporting is really beyond me. if we care about the care and protection of these animals into the next generation, we have to do everything we can to stop this inhue maim killing. sow the south of africa, nearly 1,000 rhinos have been poached. these animals are under siege for their horns because of the international trade for that product. just like elephants are under siege for their ivory. the last thing these animals need is more human-caused killing for frivolous purposes. whether for a trinket, a potion or someone mounting their head on a wall thousands of miles away for their own ego. >> the real perplexing thing is is, whether it be the dallas safari club or namibia as well, offering the permit, the dialogue that is coming with this auctioned item is, you kill one rhino, this money that was gained from the auction, is going to help in the conservation of the pop populous of the rhino. many are buying that selling point along the line. so what do you say, you know, to that selling point, and how do your words, you know, try to make a difference, or prevent or stop this from happening in the first place? >> well, there are lots of us involved in rhino protection conservation, whether the humane society of the united states or the african wildlife foundation or others. none of us are contributing and demanding the opportunity to shoot one of the animals. if one of these folks in dallas really cares about the rhino, they'll give the $200,000 or the $300,000 that they'll donate for the auction and just decouple that from the idea of killing the animal. why do we have to say that, well, the only way we could get money for rhinos which is so false, because millions of dollars are now going to rhino protection, from people who just want to help the rhino. not get something out of it. >> wayne pacelli of the humane society of the united states, and we did reach out to any representative of the dallas saffuri club. you did see a representative who was in ed lavandera's piece. we did try to reach out to have a live discussion with the representation of those who are supporting this auction as well. wayne, thanks so much for saying, yes. >> thank you so much. >>> you know him as the rough and tough patriarch of the orange county choppers family, but what you may not know about paul is that he's a recovering addict. dr. sanjay gupta brings you his story in this week's "human factor." >> reporter: grinding -- blowing things up -- and building bikes. it's what paul tuttle senior, star of the hoe does best. there was a time his future didn't seem so bright. >> back in the day i kind of started early drinking and getting high and, you know, black then you think that that stuff's going to go away as you get older, and what it does, it gets progressively worse. >> reporter: as a younger guy, tuttle and his buddies hit the sauce early, and auv. >> i could drink a quart of whiskey and lunchtime and then go back to work. >> reporter: after years of giving everything to alcohol, he realized it all came down to a simple choice. live or die. >> i was pretty fortunate that, you know, i was able to get in a 12-step program. i went nine years straight, and i was afraid to miss a meeting. >> reporter: he began to change, but his friends didn't. >> just because i stopped drinking, didn't mean anybody else did, and you know, the people, everybody that i associated myself with drank, and drank hard. the first two years were, it was really -- it was really tough. >> reporter: and the consequences were dire. >> i had a partner. he was 35 years old. i got sober. he didn't. he died the same year. >> reporter: that's why senior has now been sober for 29 years, continues to share his story. >> after 12 years of tv, being myself, everybody knows that -- how [ bleep ] crazy i am. so it's no secret. it's kind of like i always look at it, if i can get sober, anybody can. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels. but we'd really like our truck back, so if you see it, let us know, would you? thanks. what? >>> now to the iraq war. there's been a stunning surge of violence. at least 60 people have been killed and fearly 300 wounded since december 1st. the city of fu lieu ja is at the center of the fighting. michael holmes is live from baghdad. tell us more about the situation there. >> reporter: what's interesting is two cities at center of all of this in a well known to americans the locals there say the tribal leaders, the tribes are charge inside those cities. but i got to tell you there's been a lot of incidents around. and between those two cities. they are not very far apart. for example, police say iraqi military hit a guest house there owned. by a tribal leader. three dead, seven wounded. sort of a tick, tick, tick deaths that have been building up. seven civilians were wounded later on. usually we can't verify as e sh showing those extremists. you say from the islamic state in iraq and syria they were taking on the government. forces outside of ra ma day and also we saw evidence of what the opposition say the tribes say they destroyed five humvees. this happened at a place just about four miles northeast of fallujah. the fighting is still very much going on. it's sporadic. so it's still a very concerning thing for iraq. >> michael holmes, be careful there in baghdad. we'll continue to e get your reporting over the next few days. thanks so much. >>> next, a a young man born to lead. >>> russell wilson thrills crowds with flair, which is good for a guy who was told he wasn't good enough to play in the nfl. his inspiring story is coming up right after this break. we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness if you qualify, and new car replacement, standard with our auto policies. so call liberty mutual at... today. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? at a company that's bringing media and technology together. next is every second of nbcuniversal's coverage 0f the 2014 olympic winter games. it's connecting over one million low-income americans to broadband internet at home. it's a place named one america's most veteran friendly employers. next is information and entertainment in ways you never thought possible. welcome to what's next. comcastnbcuniversal. >>> a victory tonight would propel the seattle seahawks into the nfc championship. quarterback russell wilson is leading the team. wilson comes from a long line of accomplished family members. some people say he was simply a born leader. here's rachel nichols. >> reporter: he has a colgate smile, stars in national commercials alongside his beautiful wife and, e oh, yes, he's the quarterback for the seattle seahawks. but russell wilson is aware according to the experts he wasn't supposed to be sitting here. >> if i had asked outsiders in vegas the odds were that you'd be in this position? 1 in 10,000? >> not too many people think you can play in the national football league. >> reporter: will some coson coa family of high achievers. his grandfather. was a university president. his grandmother earned a doctorate on the way to becoming a college dean. then there was his father harrison, an ivy league graduate, president of his law school class and a two-sports star who attended training camp with the chargers. harrison raised russell in his image. >> he's always asked, you just about to play in the super bowl, what's next? what are you thinking? those type of questions all the time. >> reporter: he enrolled in north carolina state after the school allowed him to play football and baseball. >> i always wanted to do something different, unique. i wanted to be uncommon in that fashion. >> reporter: there was only one problem, his father harrison was sick. >> my dad had diabetes his whole life. fast forward it's my junior year in college. he wasn't doing well at the time. ended up get. ing drafted by the rockies. the next day my dad passed away in 2010. so i'm at the biggest high in my life. the next day he's gone. my dad always thought i would play shortstop for the new york indiana keers. at the same time i had fire o play the quarterback position. my dad loved football so much. he get. s to see every game. it's a special thing. >> reporter: wilson fell he had his father's blessing to return to football. in 2011 he transferred to the university of wisconsin for his final season of college eligibility. taking the badgers to the rose bowl. after being drafted in seattle, he shocked the pundits by taking the seahawks to the playoffs in his rookie season. >> it was the right team, right place, amazing fans. it was something that was really in tune. >> if your dad got to hear those words somewhere that russell wilson is a super bowl-winning quarterback, are you going to save that interview for your dad? >> i will be answering just like i did in the car when i was 14 years old. >>. cute as can be. what a great. story. you can catch unguarded with rachel nichols on friday nights here on cnn. that's going to do it it for me. much more ahead in the newsroom with kyra phillips. >>> you are at the scene of newsroom. coming up, a-rod may have won a battle against the mlb, but not the war. his suspension reduced. he's not done fighting to get back in. the game. >>> a data breach spreading par wider than we thought. hear

to withhold sandy funds as retribution? plus, an encouraging sign. is kenneth bae being held by north korea on the verge of being set free? >>> and president obama opens up about his race in a candid new interview. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> now turning to a he said/she said. kim guadagno is for the first time fiercely denying the allegation that she threatened to withhold sandy funds on behalf of retribution for failing to support a real estate project. it's the latest in the widening string of scandals that plague chris christie as a potential presidential bid for 2016. cnn's erin mcpike is joining us. what's the latest? >> reporter: wolf, today chris christie's administration got very aggressive in fighting back against these accusations that dawn zimmer has had. they even described a conference call describing how much they have done for hoboken. chris christie's lieutenant governor spent the day defending herself and her boss against growing allegations of political retribution that now stretch far beyond traffic jams in ft. lee. >> the suggestion

aide ordered lane closures on the george washington bridge causing gridlock. >> kenneth bae's family accepted an apology from dennis rodman. he insinuated in an interview that kenneth bae was at fault for his imprisonment in north korea. where dennis rodman is visiting. kenneth bae is serving 45 years hard labour for anti-state crimes. those are the headlines. "america tonight" is up next on al jazeera. you can get the latest news on aljazeera.com. on america tonight, reconsidering a return to fukushima. in the final part of our exclusive look at the aftermath of the nuclear power disaster we ponder that nation's energy future. ism imagines of an iraqi city under power. and why falujjah is luking to descend into a new cycle of violence. it is not just this spectacle, to rap revelation. >> the outsider acts that cob signs of a slow thaw with north korea. good etching and thank you for joining us. for many of us there are certain fears, real, imagined, about nuclear power tie the most memorable vision of that long controversy energy resource, there's three-mile island through nobodile

this morning. it comes after kenneth bae appeared before reporters monday saying he committed serious crimes and he urged the obama administration to work to free him. in response, his sister issued a statement asking for mercy and apologizing to north korea's leader on bae's behalf. in the meantime, u.s. officials are offering to send a special envoy to north korea to help secure his release. >>> the majority of americans oppose the nsa's bulk collection of telephone records and don't believe the president's proposals to reform that agency will change anything. take a look at this new survey by the pew research center and "usa today." 53% of the adults surveyed disapprove of the nsa's phone-spying tactics. just 40% approve. and an overwhelming 73% say the changes offered up by the president won't increase privacy protections. just 21% say they will. >>> new this morning, the faa is taking steps to reduce the chance of plane collisions. sounds like a good idea. with more staggered take-offs and landings at more than a dozen major airports. problems have been arising as planes abandoni

morning. >> do you understand what kenneth bae did? do you understand what he did? >> what did he do? you tell me. >> to his country. no no no you tell me. you tell me. >> tonight john mccain tells me what he thinks of dennis rodman's rant. and new year new you. what better time to change your life. and who better to help me than my guest tonight, an expert on reinvention, one of america's favorite journalists, jane pauley. and jamie oliver and cohost sherry shepherd of "the -- >>> it i freezing cold out there. really freezing cold all across america, all 50 states being hit. no one knows that better than my intrepid colleagues. ted rowlands, eric mcpike rosa flores, pamela brown in buffalo. with exactly what we don't need right now, a new blizzard. and chad myers in the cnn weather center. pamela brown is in buffalo, new york, currently a low of 4 degrees. how bad is it tonight? >> reporter: it is absolutely brutal, piers. there's really an understatement to say that really dealing with the trifecta here. ferocious winds with the biting cold and of course the snow. let me show you w

kenneth bae did something wrong. didn't quite say what. but first charles smith insisted to our chris cuomo that the trip is about culture and not politics. >> we're not in here for complications. and again, we apologize for what has kind of the storm that has been created from our presence. we're not apologizing for doing what we do. those people today, the north korean team, many of the citizens, we're connecting people to basketball and people to people. >> that's all good, charles. it's all good. >> you say you get it, but that's all we're doing. >> but the game has been presented as a birthday present to the rule. the game has been presented a as a birthday present to the ruler. i'm not here to fight with you guys. i respect what you're doing. i'm just concerned for the family of this man who is held there and i am concerned, as many americans are, about giving a birthday present to a man who is seen as a despot who just had his uncle executed. dennis, you understand the issue. it's not about hating on american basketball players. >> yeah, but you can -- you can continue to

north korea. what department officials say they're going to do to get kenneth bae back. >>> and a hero's homecoming. the 49ers are in santa clara this morning talking about last night's painful loss. >> nbc bay area news starts now. >>> and a good monday morning to you. thank you for joining us at 11:00 a.m. >> we begin with the return of the 49ers. they're back in santa clara to clear out their lockers. and answer questions about the game that ended their season. nbc bay area's bob ridel live outside of headquarters. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning to you, scott. there's actually quite a showing of fans out here. probably about 40 to 50 people who have come out here heartbroken, of course, over last night's loss. but wanted to show the team their support as the players arrived here at the training facility all morning long. coach jim harbaugh waved to fans as he drove in about an hour and a half ago. fans cheered on quarterback colin kaepernick as he arrived for this morning's team meeting before the cleaning out of the lockers. as far as we can tell, players have no

washington bridge causing gridlock. christ your denied involvement. >> kenneth bae's family accepted an apology from dennis rodman, former n.b.a. charge. he insinuated during an interview that kenneth bae was at fault. >> a cold blast cost the american economy $7 billion. experts say the figure is about a seventh of the day's production for the entire country. those are the headlines. "america tonight" is coming up next. power disaster we ponder that nation's energy future. ism imagines of an iraqi city under power. and why falujjah is luking to descend into a new cycle of violence. it is not just this spectacle, to rap revelation. >> the outsider acts that cob signs of a slow thaw with north korea. good etching and thank you for joining us. for many of us there are certain fears, real, imagined, about nuclear power tie the most memorable vision of that long controversy energy resource, there's three-mile island through nobodile and now fukushima. this week in our series of reports return to fukushima, we focused on how the jap please people have been coping with the hue imagine and the

last debackle of dennis rodman of basically hinting that kenneth bae the american detainee was possibly guilty, singing happy birthday to kim jong un, playing on kim jong un's birthday, basically being a mouth piece, the propaganda effort of dennis has totally in my view undermined his ability to use basketball diplomacy to try to better relation. i hope he has left town, north korea. i was disappointed. i'm an advocate of out of the box diplomacy. and he is the only guy to get in and see kim jong un. i tried and failed. they have a relationship. he could have pushed to get kenneth bae out. and he didn't seem to do that. >> you tried last year, you were there in january. do you think there's an opening, that there's a reason for optimism that kenneth bae will be released? >> unfortunately, i'm concerned that the north koreans want to use them as a bargaining chip. it's been over a year. 14 months. this man is not guilty, he's sick, has a family. because we know little about kim jong un and his negotiating tactics, i could deal with the old regime. i knew where they were coming

to control him there. and rodman has apologized for suggesting that kenneth bae had done something to deserve his fate. he said he was stressed out and had been drinking when he made those remarks. joining us now, charles smith who travelled to north korea with dennis rodman. also joining us -- mr. smith thank you for joining us on the phone. first of all when you agreed to go to north korea, did you know in dennis rodman's mind this was a birthday present for the man he calls his good friend? >> i did not know it was a birthday present. that was stated afterwards. but i think i said afterwards if i did know that, i don't think that would have changed whether i would have gone or not. >> you know the criticism. did you feel at any time what you were doing and dennis rodman was doing were inappropriate. standing there and hearing dennis rodman singing "happy birthday" to kim jong-un. having been there do you feel it's not so bad. >> i felt that. that was something that dennis did unilaterally. we did not know that was going to happen and he just did that. and you know, we spoke afte

group leader and charged him with flplotting a coup. >> the u.s. government says kenneth bae is innocent and north korea never showed evidence against him. in a television interview dennis rodman suggested kenneth bae may be guilty, and cursed at a reporter interviewing him. kenneth bae's sister said the family is appalled. >> this is not a game. dennis rodman can play the media game all he wants. this is about a man's life, and that's on the line here. and, you know, i hope that he realises that this is serious, serious stakes. he has a family at home, a father of three children, waiting for him for 14 months. i hope he remembers that. >> one u.s. congressman says dennis rodman is entertaining kim with his famous sport is like taking adolf hitler out for lunch. >> australia national airline qantas has an illustrious history. does it have a future? moody's downgraded its credit rating to junk status because it's concerned about its core domestic business. standard&poor's rated it as junk. it will increase costs for the airline. >> junk status doesn't mean shares are rubbish or worthless,

kenneth bae, the american who's imprisoned to 15 years of hard labor in north korea with crimes against the country, we're not told. there was no public trial, he did say this. he's offering himself up in exchange to free kenneth bae. dennis said he's happily sweep with him. this is dennis rodman. if they let kenneth bae go, straight away, let him, g go, t me. >> william is from the treatment center in minneapolis. he joins us live. that's a center that helps families and communities with drug abuse and alcohol addiction. william, thank you for being with me. i'm not teen literature i clear what dennis rodman's answer was, if the alcohol was talking and if it had a lot do with alcohol. he seemed to hedge either way. is this even about alcohol anymore? >> well, ashley, i don't really know what dennis rodman's struggles include, but i do know that for somebody who is in treatment or rehab as some people call it, now is not the time for dennis rodman to be public. now is not the time for him to be on cnn or, you know, portraying himself in a public are arena. he needs to be stepping back,

troubled workplace culture. and a missionary who has been held in a north korean prison kenneth bae has been a hot topic since dennis ro rodman. will this attention help his release? we go to the author "how to sweet talk a shark." he joins us from washington, d.c. great to have you with us, governor, as someone who was chief executive of a state is it possible that chris christie did not know what his staff was doing? >> well, it is possible, and he was very candid and let it all out yesterday in his press conference. he's going to have to be right. i think he can't afford to in the future to show that he had any connection because he was pretty forthright. but i will say it does damage his ability to project bipartisanship that he's a tough guy who gets results because this was a bad incident, but i give him the benefit of the doubt having been a former governor that possibly he didn't know. >> you know, one of the things that have brought up is that even if he didn't know, is it a question of the culture that he created? i know that you had issues with some of your own staffers in ne