Brought to a standstill, rain soaking the west and its not over yet. Have you not found a more productive way of supporting the Syrian People . Artists taking on isil using cartoons and comic books to keep young muslims from taking up arms for the group. Good morning, welcome to Al Jazeera America. Cronk took it down to the wire, but the government is still running this morning. The house barely approved a 1. 1 trillion spending plan. The bill is heading to the senate, while a stop gap measure keeps federal offices open. Some democrats threatened to derail the plan over provisions loosening banking regulations and allowing Bigger Campaign contributions, some republicans voted no. We have more. We have democratic holdouts voting in favor of the bill. What changed their minds . Some things changed yesterday, because we have the president and john boehner on the same side, but its still government by crisis management, nothing gets done until the 11th hour, but the president got on the telephone, he called lawmakers, so did the Vice President. They didnt want the government shut down and in the end, they prevailed. This morning, the government is open for business, the house narrowly passing a one dollar and one cents trillion budget hours before the midnight deadline. The motion is adopted without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. This is a bill we should vote for. This bill needs to pass the passage of the bill rs the new power held by republicans in congress, but this wasnt a fight along party lines. Democrats were mostly battling each other and the white house. Enormously disappointed that the white thousand feels the only way they can get a bill is to go along with this. The democrats are angry about provisions in the bill weakening Campaign Finance rules and rolling back taxpayer buyouts for big banks. All the opposite side has to do is stop supporting a bill that would allow the biggest banks in america to rip off the people one more time. President obama and Vice President biden reportedly burned up the phone lines urging democrats to pass the bill. The president sent his chief of staff to capitol hill to rally support. The president supports the passage and would sign it if it arrives at his desk. John boehner worked to get the republican votes in. It stops wasteful spending. Weve now reduced overall Discretionary Spending 176 billion since the 2010 fiscal year. The spending package includes money to battle ebola, fight isil and beef up the food Safety Inspection program. It keeps most of the government if you knowed through next september. It is a gigantic compromise designed to allow government to continue to function. The senate will take up the measure after the stop gap measure was passed for the next 48 hours. If it passes, then the president has promised to sign it into law. It funds most of the federal government through september of next year. There is a big exception in this budget plan, though. Youve got the department of home land security only funded until february, plus youve got republicans taking over congress in january. Republicans are coming to town expecting a fight, and this sets up a fight over the president S Immigration plans. He was urging undocumented immigrants to apply for relief. The republicans want to force the president to withdraw his executive actions, allowing millions of immigrants to avoid deportation. Its unclear whether cutting funding would have an impact. The president could declare d. H. S. Workers to be essential. It is reported that in last years government shutdown, 85 of d. H. S. Employees worked during that shutdown, deemed to be essential. Thats huge. If the president can declare them essential, then theres no fight. That republican tactic may not work in the end, anyway. That you can so much. Washington is buzzing over the report on the c. I. A. Socalled enhanced interrogation tactics and now the current chief is weighing in. Brennan is defending the agents but also acknowledging the agency may have gone too far after 9 11. Yes, admitted c. I. A. Director john brennan, some interrogations at times went too far. I will leave to others how they might want to label those activities, but for me, it was something that is certainly regrettable. Brennan disputes a major finding of the report that the information obtained from some of the socalled enhanced interrogation techniques yield would no actionable information. There was useful intelligence, very useful, valuable intelligence that was obtained from individuals who had been at some point subjected to e. I. T. s. Would in a interrogators lead the same information if not subjected to techniques. He stopped that short of claiming the techniques were essential. There is no way to know whether or not some information obtained from an individual who had been subjected at some point during his confinement could have been obtained through other means. The c. I. A. Is hit with harsh criticism. Mark udall director brennan and the c. I. A. Today are continuing to willfully provide interactive information and misrepresent the effaces of torture. In other words, the c. I. A. Is lying. Since the reports release, president obama has kept a low profile. Mr. President , do you agree he. Thursday brushing off shouted questions in an event centered on foreign trade. Were talking about exports, john, thank you. Just before the speech, the white house praised brennans record of service. That makes him a patriot and someone who has the full confidence of the president of the United States. Part of brennans goal, buck up morale among agency employees. C. I. A. Officers operating in some very, very dangerous places on behalf of their fellow americans. There is concern and disappointment about what has happened. As calls for accountability mount, brennan was clearly uncomfortable with all the scrutiny of an agency accustomed to staying in the shadows. I think theres more than enough transparency that has happened over the last couple of days. I think its over the top. Lisa stark joins us from washington this morning, good morning to you. How unusual is it for a c. I. A. Director to give a press conference particularly from its headquarters . I would say it is very unusual. As you say, first to give a press conference, second from the headquarters in langly, virginia, he took questions and answers from the press for 25 minutes. He clearly felt he needed to get out publicly, very publicly to rebut conclusions in that report released by the Senate Intelligence committee. We saw Immediate Reaction coming from out of washington during brennans speech. What can you tell us about that . We did. Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chair of that committee who pushed for the release of this report began live tweeting responses as soon as brennan began his remarks. In fact, she said things like c. I. A. It is downknowable if we had gotten the intelligence in another way. Studies say it is knowable. C. I. A. Had info before torture. She tweeted c. I. A. Helps keep our nation safe and strong, torture does not, we must learn from our mistakes. She was giving immediate feedback. What do you think his future is . He was a top official when the program started. Could he be forced out . There certainly are some watchdog, government watchdog groups saying he needs to go. You heard senator mark udall calling for brennans resignation. Really, he has the full confidence of the president. He has been on obamas team really since before the first election, advising the president on Counter Terrorism. It seems very unlikely that he would be stepping down or asked to leave. Thank you. Two images this morning of a suicide bombing in afghanistans capitol. The taliban said it sent a teenage bomber into a French Cultural Center where a musical was being performed. One man was killed and 16 wounded. The u. S. Senate has taken a major step towards authorizing military action against isil. In the 108 vote, airstrikes and other military operations were approved. The panel gave the approval for up to three years and barred most use of american combat troops. Lets go to baghdad with the latest on the ground, because we are getting reports of an attack in the Anbar Province that happened recently. Tell us what happened. It appearance to have been a suicide bomber driving a stolen humvee. That would be one of the u. S. Made humvees used by the iraq army and one of the many, many arm vehicles seized by isil when they rolled into northern and western iraq. That suicide bomber detonated just outside a makeshift base used by the iraq army. In the an bar capitol, 14 were killed and 10 injured, an indication of the tactics isil is using now increasingly, the suicide comes into as the fight continues, i want to go back to the senate vote. The Senate Committee envisions that this fight is going to go on for at least another three years, but there are senior iraq officials youve talked to who disagree. We sat down with the iraq finance minister who said it might be a long fight, but key elements of this battle, including for mosul, iraqs third biggest city seized by isil in june could come sooner than many people, including u. S. Officials think. That would be a good thing. I guess the question is are iraq troops at a level, does he believe where they can tackle isil fighters with minimal u. S. Support . That would be a resounding no. What weve seen in the fight against isil is the pattern of u. S. Airstrikes taking out infrastructure as well as other, the command and control center of isil. The advances that the iraq army and Kurdish Forces have made couldnt have been done without the airstrikes. Iraqis acknowledge that. They need to get forces on the ground back up to speed, including, and the finance minister emphasized this, getting sunni arabs onboard particularly in mosul. They have made the most gains with soon any majority. There are a lot of disgruntled people who feel disconnected with the government here. Theres a lot of work to be done not just on the military front but certainly on the political and economic side, as well. That, too, Falling Oil Prices is a point, as well. Ukraines president , 24 hours with no casualties in eastern ukraine, saying today is the first time in seven months that a real ceasefire is in effect. A short term truce took effect this week. Last week, two soldiers and six civilians were killed in clashes in donetsk. In sierra leone, ebola is surging, 87 deaths in one Eastern District in 11 days. More bodies were found piled up at a hospital in kono. The area is under a two week lockdown. Sierra leone has overtaken liberia as the country with the most ebola cases. Thousands are expected to descend on washington, d. C. Several staged a lockout raising their hands in a symbolic gesture of hands up dont shoot. Eric garners daughter continues her own protest. Erika garner has laid down on the sidewalk where her father died twice a week since his death in july. The 24yearold said she intends to keep doing it. In california, this undercover officer pulled a gun on protestors. The officer was marching in demonstrations when it happened. Highway patrol is not identifying him but says his partner was attacked. After suffering a wilting drought most of the year, thee western states are getting soaked with rain. The intense storm currently hitting california is packing Hurricane Forced winds. John henry smith is here with more on that. Experts say Northern California hasnt seen rain and wind like this since 2009. This storm, which already hit washington and oregon is leaving a lot of damage in its wake. Ive never seen anything like it. The weather system known as the Pineapple Express has brought life to a soggy halt along the west coast and brought flash flooding to some areas. I was just wanting to take a picture of the rain coming down, and within like five minutes, my car was almost submerged underwater. In washington state, the storm washed out roadways and claimed two homes. This was winddriven waivers over the top of my deck, wiped everything out. The storm has cut a swath through Northern California. They were kayaking down the street in wine country. There was flooding in other areas north of the bay area, too. Manhole covers in San Francisco were no match for the deluge and winds of 78 Miles Per Hour in low lying areas downed trees and power lines from San Francisco to san jose, where this s. U. V. Got crushed. At the height of the storm, more than 200,000 people lost power and shut down San Francisco businesses and its mass transit system, including the iconic street cars. Those driving found chaos on the streets as traffic lights went dark, floodwater stalled engines and high winds caused accidents. Over 240 flights were canceled. Some were able to have fun with the water, including surfers and kids across Northern California, who enjoyed a rare day off from school. We saw it on the news and it looked really fun, so we just wanted to do it. Rewarding the effect of this storm on californias historic drought, experts say while this is a good start, they would need three to five similar such storms in short order to get rainfall levels back to where they need to be. Lets get more on the storm with nicole mitchell. Some people are having fun, but for the most part, this is a really damaging storm. It is. He was just talking about the drought. The monitor comes out every week. The last big storm didnt dent the drought. All the numbers stayed exactly the same. As mentioned, you need a few of these and it does cause things like this. You can see rocks sliding down the hill carried by all that water and houses there that had tried obviously to put sandbags out to keep that away. As we continue on, now, all the heavy rain moving into more parts of Southern California. You remember a couple days ago, this was more to the northwest, yesterday, it was the northern part of california, now its shifted farther to the south and will continue interior now. Not as much rain as we saw in the northern portion of the state, but today and lingering into tomorrow, one to three inches and mountainous terrain funnels so places will see higher amount. Because of that, our big concern through the state and southward flood warnings to advisories for those conditions. Up get to the Higher Elevations and spreading interior, the pinks is for the snow coming down and that is at least one of the good side effects of this, but you watch this move out. Another one already slated for later into the weekend, so at least theyre getting the moisture they need right now. This system that just been too much water. Nicole mitchell, thank you. Questions about accountability in the wake of this weeks c. I. A. Revelation. Critics want to know will anyone be prosecuted. Well speak with former ambassador about whether the International Criminal court could take up the issue. Another high profile celebrity comes forward with allegations against bill cosby. What a super model said he did to her decades ago. Theres a huge appetite in the middle east for superheros. Countering isil using cartoons and comic books to reach out to young muslims, inspiring them to do something good. 42,900,000 is the big number of the day. The burden of medical debt on Many Americans. Todays big number is 42,900,000, thats how Many Americans have unpaid medical debt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said 20 of americans with credit reports are carrying past do medical bills. The average amount do is 1,766. 52 have all debt on credit reports culls from medical expenses. There is growing pressure on president obama to prosecute individuals connected with the c. I. A. Enhanced Interrogation Program. Our guest is currently and International Law professor at northwestern university, mr. Ambassador, thank you for being with us. Is there a war crimes case here . There certainly is. The question is where and whether it would ever actually be be launched. Thats a value lid question, right . The u. S. Is not a significant in a atory to the u. C. C. It is a nonstarter to even talk about this . Not at all. Under u. S. Law, it would be difficult under some circumstances to bring these prosecutions, because in the Bush Administration, there are various laws passed that essentially immunized officials from prosecution. Thats one hurdle here in the United States. There is exposure overseas for u. S. Officials who were engaged in this activity. Including in the countries where rendition was happening, such as poland, afghanistan . Yes, afghanistan, poland, romania, lithuania, all of those are States Parties to the rome statute of the international court. If crimes took place on the territory of those states, then it is possible that the International Criminal court would absolute nice those crimes and determine whether or not nationals of the United States engaged in committing those crimes might be held culpable before the International Criminal court. Given the political situation among those allied currentries, do you think thats likely to happen. Whats more likely to happen is that the prosecutor of the International Criminal court doubtless particularly with respect to afghanistan will look into this very, very closely. Shell probably examine the torture report released by the committee extremely closely. She already has afghanistan under preliminary examination for several years for crimes committed in afghanistan. That are separate from these crimes at black sites. Well, yes, but this would fold in very logically with her existing examination, so this only strengthens her examination of the afghan situation. I think we all need to be very, very cognizant that unless the United States demonstrates that it is taking care of its own business, namely holding individuals accountable, that opens the door for the International Criminal court to say you havent been doing your job and as the last resort court, we now will examine this issue on our own accord, even though the United States is not a state party, afghanistan is. Why has the Obama Administration been reluctant to prosecute those that misstepped in this program. I think a political decision was made early in the Obama Administration to move on. This has already been explained by Obama Administration officials that they didnt want to create an norm mouse amount of discord with the republicans on capitol hill by pursuing this. Im going to ask you a provoke quell question. Some of these legal memos are being used by the Obama Administration to justify the drone program, is that part of the reason they are not prosecuting . Im sure that is very, very accurate in the assessment. The problem is that there was an attempt in the Bush Administration to rationalize illegal conduct by the issuance of such memos. Those memos were extremely flawed, some withdrawn even during the Bush Administration. Reliance on those particular memoranda is an extremely flawed strategy and open to challenge. Today. Exactly. Super model Beverly Johnson joins the list have women accusing bill cosby of Sexual Assault. She revealed the incident in an essay in vanity fair, saying he lured her to his home in the mitt 1980s. He wanted her to audition for a small part on his television show. She said he then drugged her with the intention of doing god knows what. Two sewn. I executives areologiesing for comments about president obama. Studio co chair and scott ruden joked about the kind of movies the president might like, films like django unchained or the butler. They admit they were insensitive and thoughtless. Lets get another check of the forecast. Nicole mitchell is back with that. I want to start with Something Interesting that happened yesterday. This, you cant really see it, but its the grand canyon. We had a rare event happening at least for this part of the country where we had an inversion, warmer air over the colder and it keeps the clouds from being able to lift. Sometimes you see that with smog trapped in the area. Only happens once every few years, happened last year, happened once this year. The other places you are not seeing today, places like texas through nebraska with dense fog. Can you imagine, really interesting if youre the one time youre there and that happens, but then youve missed the view of the grand canyon. That happened to Prince William on top of the Empire State Building. Thats more common, though, that you cant see out of that. Italys labor union walking off the job and taking tole streets in protest. Theyre outraged about the countries finance and austerity measures. Well have the latest prom rome. A damming report about how a Christian College handled Sexual Assault claims. One woman said they shamed her to keep silent. A hidden message in hiphop, how the u. S. Government tried to use music to spark a revolution in cuba. A couple of pintsized bank robbers armed with toy guns have second thoughts. Thats one of the stories caught in our global net. Taking a live look at the capitol believe in hour notices capitol where a one dollar and one cents trillion budget deal he barely passed the house last night, now goes to the senate. Good morning, welcome to Al Jazeera America. Ahead this hour, how a u. S. Agency tried to spark a revolution in cuba through hiphop music. Countering isil recruiters, artists creating heroes for kids to look up to. In our next hour, surprising location tops the list as the next big tourist destination, at least according to one list. What makes one boor reof new york city the best. C. I. A. Director defending against accusations the c. I. A. Used inhumane methods to interrogate detainees. He said some did go too far. He said its impossible to know if the program led to any useful intelligence. A vote to authorize airstrikes and other military operations for three years to fight isil would prohibit combat troops except for intelligence and rescues. Rain, snow and strong winds slamming the west coast. At least two died in oregon as a result of the socalled Pineapple Express. Its left thousands in the dark from california to washington state, wind gusts north of San Francisco recorded at nearly 80 miles an hour. Workers across italy are walking off the job today. Nationwide strikes are underway, workers angry about the state of the economy and new policies that could cost them their jobs. Jonah hall was in the middle of the protests in rome. People 15 have no jobs, youth 45 , one in two are jobless. The governments answer, the jobs act, passed in early december, containing some of the most sweeping labor reforms that italy that ha seen in years. The government said it will make it easier to hire people, better for struggling businesses, the union said it makes it easier to fire people by removing laws against dismissal. The budget is just another austerity budgets after six dictated by brussels and other outsiders that have failed as this one will fail, they say to reverse the trend of high unemployment and slow growth. In brazil, police say a man confessed to killing 42 people over the last decade. If his claims are true, that would make the 26yearold one of brazils most prolific serial killers. He reportedly said he killed for pleasure and the adrenaline rush. Police say his confessions helped them solve four cases so far. A series of attacks in nigeria, two bombs exploded in a busy marketplace. Thirty people were killed. Police suspect its the work of boko haram. An explosion in the same region in may killed 118 people. Recruits from around the world have joined isil and many made that decision after seeing viral videos. Those videos portray isil fighters as heroes. A new group of artists is challenging that narrative. Number two, if you genuinely think to fight and kill will affect suffering in any way. Appearing on line, trying to convince young muslims to choose peace over isil. Have you not found more constructive ways to support the people of syria than trying to go out and fight to simulate some video game. The creator spoke to us on condition that we didnt reveal his identity. He says isils hard line messages spread through videos like this appealed to many young muslims. It is sexy, it is cool, it does appeal to a disenfranchised mindset. I wanted something that was going to count their and be as appealing. This is the story of element zero, the first issue we worked on. He began creating comics in 2006 after a child in minnesota where he was studying asked him if the arab world had its own superman. It didnt. A few years later, students in jordan told him alqaeda leaders, Osama Bin Laden and al zarqawi were their heroes. He gave them comic book characters. I realized that theres a huge appetite in the middle east for positive heroes, for anti bin ladens. He sold more than a million copies of his comic books, including this based on a real life jordanian womans Counter Terrorism woman. This is an incredibly powerful story to fight misogyny in the middle east. He speaks openly about the power of these books, sometimes at great risk. He says a few years ago on the street in jordan, extremists attacked him, leaving a long scar across his face. He says hell keep creating new characters. The creator of abdullah x. Said many more episodes are on the way. More next week on a topic that is current and will not go away. Peace. They have received tens of thousands of hits on you tube. Its creator used to be an anti western extremist. The other artist told me most of his comic books are in arabic. Hes working on translating them into english. Those artists arent the only reaching out oh with an anti isil message. A series of animated votes have been released on a website. The justice democratic said native american tribes will soon be allowed to grow and sell marijuana on federally recognized reservations. The tribes would have to honor the same rules as states which allow the legal sale of marijuana, including no sails to minors, no distribution out of state. There are 326 federally recognized native American Reservations across the u. S. The house narrowly passed a one dollar and one cents trillion measure last night despite opposition. The bill funds most of the government until next september. Most of the government. A Senior Reporter at the center for Public Integrity joins us from washington. Good morning, dave. Democrats were trying to block this from passing and almost did. 219206. Thats a pretty close vote. Were you expected it to be this close . We were expecting it to be fairly close, but this snuck up on a lot of people. There were awfully strange bed fellows last night. You had very liberal democrats aghast as proposals that were in this bill, particularly one that rolled back some of the dodd frank wall street reforms, others that dealt with Campaign Finance in allowing both Political Parties to have more money flowing into their partisan coffers. On the other side you have republicans, particularly Tea Party Conservatives who felt this didnt go far enough to address other ancillary issues, notably immigration and hitting the president for an overstep and overreach of his executive powers. Very, very odd coalitions that conspired unwittingly perhaps to block this bill. It seemed to have pretty major measures tacked on to a budget bill. You mentioned some. I think some voters might be surprised, for example, d. C. Voters that recently passed a Marijuana Legalization referendum, that was also tacked on to this budget. Absolutely. If you were a supporter of the d. C. Provision, the Ballot Initiative that passed just a month ago here in d. C. Said ok, you can to an extent use marijuana recreationally to find this in a bill funding the government was a shock and made some very, very angry. Congress is saying we know better than you voters of d. C. This is something that does happen, but a lot of folks thought that this was going to be a clean spending bill, that this was going to not be larded up with a whole bunch of provisions that really had nothing to do directly with the funding of government, but that was the case in the end and like this congress has done for effectively two years, it went right down to the wire. The 59th minute of the 11t 11th hour. It was 10 00 before this was resolved. 57 democrats voted yay along with the republicans. Does this come down to its better to get this done now before represents are in charge of both houses come january . In a way, that was what president obama felt, so nancy pelosi was out there trying to whip her caucus saying vote against this bill and the president doing the exact opposite, making calls, job was involved. They sent aids and staffers from the white house up to capitol hill to advocate for this bill. Its the devil now as opposed to the devil later when the republicans control both sides of the house. Some democrats felt it was a compromise, there there were things in it they did not like, but other things they did like in it and of course if the government was going to shut down, everyone was going to have egg on their face and democrats would take the brunt that have, too. Stage bed fellows. Dave thank you. Hiphop and rap has gained steam in cuba for years. It now appears a u. S. Agency secretly tried to use t musicians to spark change. They may be more than just musicians. They and others were knowingly part of a secret u. S. Government program aimed at fueling political change in cuba. The idea was to infiltrate the islands hiphop scene and spread a message of descent. Its claimed the program backfired. It was part of an initiative paid for by the Development Agency known as u. S. Aid and fund the contractors for millions of dollars. It is said to be inspired by syrian concerts but may have put some artists in danger. One big criticism is that Young Musicians were recruited into a program that had clear Political Goals in mind. Its alleged they werent told that. On six occasions, both contractors and cubans were detained and interrogated, putting artists at logger heads with authorities. U. S. Aid said safety was the responsibility of contractors. These programs are managed with appropriate discretion, so it was the responsibility of the grantee. This isnt the first time the u. S. Has been undermind of of undermining the cuban government. Among older cuban americans in miami, programs are welcomed. I believe firmly that anything that can be done along those lines, perhaps not through u. S. Aid so as not to create problems for other programs that they have, but anything that can be done is a good thing. The critics of u. S. Efforts to undermine the cuban that government are simply counter productive. It continues to bring out the worst in the cuban regime, a government that is very repressive, but through acts like this and operations such as this, were help to go foment more are paranoia and mistrust and incentivizing them to clamp down in all sectors of society. The program which ran for two years is now closed down. Those critical of it say the only ones who will suffer now are cubas real musicians. U. S. Aid said the programs were part of a four Year Contract that ended in 2012. The pope stepping into another big debate. What happens to our pets when they die . Pope francis was trying to comfort a boy upset over the death of his dog. The Catholic Leader is quoted as saying one day, we will see our animals again, and that paradise is open to all gods creatures. The pope took his name from francis, the patron saint of animals, so thats not a surprise. In israel, these two boys were arrested because they attempted to rob a bank using toy guns. According to the jerusalem post, the two wouldbe robbers were 12 and 13 and told one of the bank tellers it was a robbery and demanded money. At some point, they chickened out and left but have been arrested. They were really not that tall at all. They were just as tall as the door nab. They had a fake ak47. A wisconsin man faces his 10th d. U. I. And had an interesting excuse for why there was alcohol on his breath. He told an officer he had not been drinking but blamed it on beer battered fish. The man had been stopped for a broken tail light and erratic driving. Deputies smelled challenge on his breath. No, it was the fish. That didnt fly. Like it or not, facebook is giving the thumbs down adding a dislike button. The c. E. O. Said its currently because of its negative nature and computer world added it could discourage people from post be, but they are looking at whether theres Something Else beside the like button. A lot of folks pass sad material, like the death of a loved one. Facebook is looking into adding other buttons. What about not posting and maybe talking . How about getting back to talking again . Its so Old Fashioned . Am i . A disturbing new report puts a Christian College under fire. I think they should have not heaped more shame on me, because i was already filled to the brim with shame. What officials at Bob Jones University in South Carolina are accused of doing that made sex assault victims feel victimized all over again. As strong meres think they detected an he willclusive part of space. Thats one of todays discoveries. School officials were found to blame victims for abuse and told them not to go to authorities. We share the story of a former student at the university who said she was victimized a second time by a dean who was supposed to help. I think they should have told me it wasnt my fault. I think they should have not heaped more shame on me, because i was already filled to the brim with shame. I didnt need anymore. Katy landry is putting the pieces of her life back together. Its been nearly a decade since she left the Bob Jones University, the flagship of christian fundamentalist education. She says it is a place that fails rape victims like herself. I love my teachers. I love the school, not sorry i went there, but what i am sorry about is that they seem so unwilling to acknowledge what theyve done wrong. Heres the socalled fortress of faith, Bob Jones University in greenville, South Carolina. Theres almost 4,000 students who go here to this private college. The teachings follow a pretty literal translation of the bible and rules on campus are strict, no t. V. , no hand holding, theres no popular music. Even a little violation can get you kicked out. Her assault did not take place on campus. They was 19 and working for an Ambulance Company in columbus, ohio when she says her supervisor raped her. One evening while counting supplies in the back of an ambulance, she said she felt the prick of a needle. I just couldnt move anything. He came over and he took my clothes off, and i could still speak, so i was telling him no, and he raped me, and my eyes filled with tears, but i couldnt brush the tears away. Scared to tell anyone, landry returned to work. I had five more shifts. Three out of those five, he raped me again and two weeks later, i left for my freshman year at Bob Jones University. Raised in a conservative mennonite family, she kept her rapist secret until her junior year at bob jones when she finally south help. I couldnt understand why he had picked me, so i thought there must be something about me, was it something that he saw that said it was ok to do this to her, was there something inside of me, and then i thought if he could see it, does that mean other people could see it, as well. I just i needed help. I needed help really bad. She was referred to jim berg for counseling. She said he blamed her for the assault. He he asked me if i had been smoking pot and i really i started to get this almost dizzy feeling, and then he asked me if i had been impure with this man, had relations with this man. I kept telling him no, but he either didnt believe me or he hadnt heard or he wasnt going to help me and he said we have to find the sin in your life that caused your rape. I just ran. I ran out the steps of the Administration Building and he just confirmed my worst nightmare, it was something i had done, it was something about me, it was my fault. Al jazeera. Jeffery hoffman participated in the independent investigation. Hes executive director of the group b. J. Unity which helps people in the lbgt community. He said he was assaulted by a staff member. Thank you for joining us. First, what i want to get from you is as a survivor, whats your Immediate Reaction . Its very gratifying to see this report finally come to fruition after almost three years of very hard and sometimes it seems hard work and hard shouting and screaming against a brick wall, it seemed at times. It seems for a lot of the young survivors, the problems really began when they knew that they needed help, and they sought counseling. Thats where the folks in the counseling offices of the university were saying things like theres a sin in your life that caused this, you must forgive your abuser, dont go out and talk and tell anybody about this, because, you know, it will hurt the christian cause. What do you think about that . I grew up in the culture and its a culture of shame and control by shaming people and by blaming people for things that go wrong. Its difficult. When its spiritualized when youre going for help and youre just its turned into read your bible more and shaled, its very difficult and of course thats your only counseling experience and you dont realize that theres supposed to be confidentiality in counseling and theres supposed to be affirming and supporting message, its destructive. It adds to staying silent. Adds to staying silent, add to get stigma already of the sexual abuse and theres a huge emphasis on purity and virginity. When someone takes that from you as a child and youre told youre dirty and used and damaged goods, thats the kind of message that comes from all of that, and thats what so many people have faced. All right, lets talk about the University President apologized. Lets go ahead and show you the quote here. He said the university failed to up hold and honor its own core values. We are deeply saddened to hear we added to their pain and suffering. Do you believe thats a heartfelt apology . That statement seems heartfelt. Im concerned about the other parts of his statement where he talked about how survivors felt, because what really is not important is how survivors felt. People feel all kinds of things all the time, but what happened is people in terms of the counseling, people were miscounseled and in my case, i wasnt protected from a child molester, and thats a pig problem. Thats what the apology needs to be, Steve Pettitte did mention that there were criminal activities that occurred and if that is the case, which it is, they need to be that needs to be addressed in the court and the criminal justice system. Very quickly, what document to see happen at Bob Jones University. Id like to see them for crimes to be prosecute and i would like to see them help survivors with paying for counseling, with real counselors, with therapists who are licensed. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. A time capsule dating back to the Founding Fathers was discovered in the massachusetts statehouse. Historians believe it was hidden by paul revere and former governor samuel adams. Crews worked to remove the box from the granite cornerstone. Crews found it fixing a water leak. They hope to open it next week. I cant wait to see what is in that box. Nicole mitchell is back with another check of the forecast. Want to get a quick look at temperatures, contrast, the northeast still cool because of the flow here, but the midsection of the country, warm temperatures, as high as 60 in billings today. High pressure on one side funnels because of the clockwise flow, air in from canada, on the opposite side if you know themes in air from the south. Part of this moisture is lend to go fog this morning and the southern plains, also drizzle. Its really cranking up those temperatures, as well. Places like rapid city and places that have the down slope winds, even enhancement in those temperatures, 60s, some places might get close to 70 today. Drizzle, that is where that is, west coast still very active. Ill have more on that in a few minutes. It is time for one of todays discoveries. For the first same, scientists may have found designs of dark matter, the substance believed to help control the movement of galaxies. The evidence comes from price collected by an orbiting telescope. Researchers filtered out known signals and particles, what was left defied explanation. Scientists have been looking for dark matter for 70 years. Well be back with more news in a minute. Beyond the verdict and on the streets theres been another teenager shot and killed by the police a fault lines special investigation theres a general distrust of this prosecutor courageous and in depth. Its a target you cant get rid of. The untold story. Who do you protect . Of whats really going on in ferguson they were so angry because it could have been them fault lines, ferguson race and justice in the u. S. One hour special only on Al Jazeera America a deal went against theyre own government egypt mismanaged its gas industry taking the country to the brink of economic ruin this is because of a corrupt deal to an assigned to basically support two dodgy businessmen an israeli one, and an egyptian one. Al jazeera exposes those who made a fortune betraying an entire nation you dont feel you owe an explanation to the egyptian people . No. No. Al jazeera investigates egypts lost power on Al Jazeera America standing by his man, in an unprecedented move, c. I. A. Director john brennan speaks out against a Senate Report and speaks up for his agents. The federal government keeping doors open, lawmakers passing a one trilliondollar spending bill and buying the senate more time to get the plan to president obamas desk. Trapped on the runway, passengers spending seven hours stuck on a tarmac after their flight from San Francisco to sydney gets diverted. A battle fit for the big screen, director george lucas in a fight in chicago over a museum for his work. Good morning, welcome to Al Jazeera America. Im stephanie sy. Im erica pitzi. Theres a buzz in washington this morning a day after a surprise News Conference at c. I. A. Headquarters. C. I. A. Director took question defending his agency. This in light of a support from Senate Democrats detail brutal interrogation techniques. Pressure is mounting on president obama to prosecute agents or shake up the c. I. A. Lets go to lisa stark joining us from washington. Good morning opinion how rare is it for c. I. A. Directors to hold News Conferences especially at langly . Clearly john brennan felt it was necessary to respond to this report. He was a senior official with the c. I. A. When some of these tactics were going on, these interrogation techniques and he felt the need to defend his agency. From its secretive headquarters in langly, virginia, c. I. A. Director john brennan defended his agency, all conceded some tactics were brutal. It went outside the bound as part of that interrogation process. They were harsh in some instances. In the unprecedented 40 minute press conference, he sharply fought back against a Senate Intelligence Committee Report that concluded torture provided Little Information to stop attacks or on Osama Bin Ladens location in pakistan. Our reviews indicate that the detention and Interrogation Program produced useful intelligence that helped the United States thwart attack plans, capture terrorists and save lives and was used in the ultimate operation to go against bin laden. Brennan said hes unclear as to whether socalled enhanced interrogation techniques were the only way to lead to that intelligence. He insisted the c. I. A. Did not lie about its program to lawmakers and then president george w. Bush. Senate Intelligence Committee chair woman Dianne Feinstein live tweeted a point by point rebuttal of brennans remarks, while on capitol hill the debate aged on. If you are faced with two or 3,000 americans dying and someones head held underwater, i would say hold his head underwater. Even this great agency neath to be actable. The Justice Department in 2012 chose not to prosecute anyone involved in the bush era program. Brennan is one of the president s close effort advisers, have been been with mr. Obama since his first day in office and was in the situation room the night Osama Bin Laden was killed by navy seals. The president wakes up every morning pleased to know that john brennan and the men and women of the c. I. A. Are at work, using their skills and expertise to protect the American People. Even senator feinstein doesnt dispute the good work done by the c. I. A. At times, but as she tweeted, the c. I. A. Helps keep our nation safe and strong, torture does not. We must learn from our mistakes, so the controversy and debate rage on. Does the white house take a risk throwing their full support behind before brennan . Its hard to know if the president s taking a big risk. Well have to see how this plays out, but he is walking a very fine line. Youll remember, he is the one who officially put an end to these kind of interrogation techniques. He has supported transparency and the senate Going Forward to issue this report. At the same time, he is trying to support brennan and the c. I. A. Its a little bit of an uncomfortable position for him to be in. Is there any chance at this point that he could be forced out . Its unlikely. There are watchdog groups, Government Transparency groups calling for brennans resignation. So is democrats senator mark udall, but the president that used brennan as a trusted advisor even before he was elected the first time. He is a key member of obamas inside group and it is unlikely the president would ask him to resign. Stay tuned, coming up, former assistant secretary of defense larry korb is back with us. Yesterday, he called for John Brennans resignation. Well see if he stands behind that call. The federal government is operating this morning, lawmakers barely passed a 1. 1 trillion bill to keep the government running. Next up, the senate. Some democrats had to cross the aisle to get the plan through. The motion is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. Hammered out by both parties in the house and senate, it won white house backing, including funds to fight ebola and the group known as isil and includes a small raise for members of the military. The president supports the passage of this proposal and would sign it if it arrives at his desk. The devil is in the details. As members dug into the specifics of the 1600 page bill, they found plenty of reason to fight it. Here we are in the house being blackmailed to vote for an appropriations bill. House democrats staging a revolt thursday afternoon, upset over provisions to raise Campaign Contribution limitses by big donors, allow Pension Plans to reduce benefits for retirees, block the voter path legalization of marijuana in washington, d. C. And roll back the Dodd Franklin act. It is reckless behavior, a give away to the largest Financial Institutions in this country and its up to us to say no. Not just democrats upset. Some conservatives say the bill green lights too many white house priorities, including obamacare and the president s executive action on immigration reform. We need to hold funding back for who knows what else hes going to do. The bill funds the department of Homeland Security until february. Thats when republicans promise a fight over the president s executive action on immigration. The gop takes control of congress in january. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee says the president should have the authority to fight isil, narrowly approving a measure giving the military the right to use airstrikes and other operations. The measure wont allow american troops in combat except to gather intelligence for rescues. The full senate is unlikely to consider the authorization before the holidays. A suicide bomber attacked security in iraq overnight in are a maddy, the attack comes at senior Officials Say isil is on the defensive. The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber in a humvee, one of the u. S. Made humvees used by the iraqi army and one of many Armored Vehicles seized by isil when it took control of large parts of the north and west in iraq. This attack was on an army base near the president ial complex in arinrimadi and an indication ofe fight in the north and west. It is surprisingly calm in baghdad as shia faithful congregate. Theyve been walking for days. Here the government is struggling with how best to continue this fight. Its dealing with a financial crisis, Falling Oil Price and the costs of the war have left it almost broke. We sat down with the iraq finance minister who said he is coming up with a budget to present to cabinet next week and believes that some key battles on the ground, including the one for iraqs third biggest city mosul could take place sooner than many people think. In mosul isil should be defeated and where the iraqis and coalition should declare victory. Key to reclaiming mosul and other cities in the provinces with a sunni arab majority is getting those sunnis onboard. They are on the sidelines, but a key role of the u. S. And other countries is convincing tribal leaders to fight with them to retake cities. Isil is one of the richest armed groups in the world. It makes most of its money from smuggling oil. Updating oh story we told you yesterday, the taliban said it was responsible for the suicide bombing in afghanistans cant roll. The group said it sent a teenage bomber into a French Cultural Center where a musical condemning suicide talks was being performed. One german man was killed and 13 others wounded. Police in nigeria belief boko haram is behind attacks there overnight. Two bombs exploded in a marketplace in the country killing 30 people. An explosion in the same ragen in may killed 118 people. In greece, police are investigating a shooting at the Israeli Embassy in athens. Four people on two motorcycles fired shots at diplomatic post. Greece has seen rise in anti israeli sentiment. The Jewish Community in greece say it is spread by far right groups. Unions have called nationwide strikes to protest new labor policies that could make it easier to fireworkers in rome. Perhaps the biggest problem, the thing that most exercises people in italy is unemployment rate. One in two youth have no jobs. The good afternoon answer that been the hugely contentious jobs act passed earlier this month, containing some of the most sweeping labor reforms italy has seen. It will make it easier to hire people, the ghost said. The unions say it makes it easier to fire people by removing laws against unfair dismissals. They are also unhappy about the budget for 2015, wimp the unions say is just another austerity budget, just another one after six dictated by brussels and outsiders have failed as this one will fail, they say, to reverse the trends of high unemployment and low slow growth. Italians were thanked for showing up to work today. Italy is facing its third recession in seven years. Thousands expected to descend on washington, d. C. Tomorrow for a marsh against police violence. Washington stafferrers gathered on the Capitol Building steps, raising their hands in a symbolic gesture of hands up, dont shoot. Eric garners daughter continues her protest, she has laid down on the sidewalk where her father died twice a week since his death in july. The 24yearold intends to keep doing it. In oakland, the california Highway Patrol is defending this Undercover Police officer who pull add gun on protestors. The officer was marching in demonstrations when it happened. Highway patrol said the officers partner was attacked. Hundred was beyond Airline Passengers finally made it to sydney, australia this morning, stranded on the tarmac for six hours. The plane was diversed because of debris on the runway in sydney. Some had already been on the plane for 30 hours. Many flights have been canceled on the west coast. That as Hurricane Force winds and rains slam washington state, oregon and california. This has been a really bad storm for a lot of people. It has. There is massive flooding along the west coast. Trees uprooted, schools shut down and at one point, more than 225,000 people in noncalifornia were without power. The storm is now hitting Southern California. Take a look at this mud slide north of los angeles. The Mountain Side came tumbling down, destroying several houses. Thursday, flash flooding made it nearly impossible to drive, residents along the coast say the floodwaters and damaging waves came in a flash. I was just wanting to take a picture of the rain coming down and within like five minutes, my car was almost submerged underwater, the front part of my car are. This was wind driven waves over the top of my deck, wiped everything out. In washington state, the Pineapple Express has washed away homes and filled the roadways. Some people have taken to their sporting equipment, kayaking down streets and surfing along the coast. Kids on the west coast dont get snow days, so many enjoyed their rare day off. We must say, two deaths in oregon are blamed on the storm. Experts say while the rain has helped with californias drought, it needs three storms of this type to bring left where they should be. Nicole, what else to expect . We just had a big storm a week or two ago. That didnt touch the drought at all. It really is going to ache a lot at this point. Originally, this moisture went all the way back to hawaii, thats how it gets the name of Pineapple Express. Today, you can see heavy rain more into out Southern California now. Not as high amounts of rain as we saw farther to the north, but one to threeinches widespread, more if you get into the terrain where some of that moisture if you know themes off. It is going a be a nasty day. L. A. Traffic is never pretty, today is going to be miserable. Look at the central portion of the state, all of those green, places where theres some level of flood concern because of this. Then as we saw, weve seen the Higher Elevations, all that moisture turns into snow. This starts to move interior, places like nevada under winter storm warnings now. The other thing i want to mention, all of this movers interior, another lining up for the end of the weekend possibly, so we will have to watch that, as well. We have a lot of power outages, the ground gets moist and weaver had high winds, because that then knock over the trees. Not necessarily used to dealing with that there. Thank you. A wave of immigrants not just a u. S. Issue. Up next, how european officials are dealing with the immigration issue and the fears of many immigrants being deported. Harsh words for the u. S. , why former soviet leader Mikael Gorbachev is critical of the role in ukraine. What hams when you step on lava . That science experiment and other videos captured by our citizen journalists. This is a powerful storm system near the united kingdom, churning up huge waves. This video of the surf in some cases, the waves reached up to 300 feet. Thats beautiful. In montreal, people are cleaning up after a winter storm dumped 10 inches of snow. This provided the first test for the cities new app, letting residents check when snowplows will reach their streets so they can move their cars. Have you ever wondered what happens when you step on lava. A to your guide answered that question with his group. Not surprising, his shoe started to burn. Thats what happens. Makes sense. Immigration is not just a debate in this country, europe is dealing with undocumented people reaching its borders. The law some say could change. Core chris and jane, finding a doctor willing to treat them has been less than straight forward. Chris is a british citizen. He met jane when was over from the philippines visiting. She got pregnant and a doctor told her she would be reported to the immigration authorities. They were very intimidating, saying they werent going to be able to do anything for us at all. How did this affect your pregnancy . I was stressed, really worried. I felt kind of hopeless. I was really hopeless. Chris works but his wife and babys health were compromised. I think its unethical. I think there could be a possibility that this will have long term consequences. The anti migrant culture hardens all the time. A new law demands that land laws check the immigration status of 10ants. Stories abound of Border Guards checking people at places like hair dressers or health clinics. In just the same way, its becoming harder and harder nor undocumented migrants like these syrian orphans to enter the country to claim asylum. 2014 has been the most pour rendous year and all the worlds conflicts have led to the most extraordinary upheavals of millions who have been displaced to other parts of the planet, and yet here, certainly, the political will to bring some of those people in on compassionate grounds is in short supply. People live in a sort of limbo. Rights groups say children grow up not knowing they are not british until the day comes they have to find a job. There are a number of undocumented Migrant Children who have been here for years, and its very, very difficult for them to regularize their status, because its a very complicated procedure, they cant get free legal advice and representation and the Decision Making i guess often not as good as it should be. Even though married to a british citizen, many would reward jane as an illegal. Any day now, the authorities will tell her if she will have to leave the u. K. And leave her husband and baby behind. The ukraines president says its a milestone, 24 hours with no casualties in the eastern part of the country, Petro Poroshenko saying its the first time in seven months that a real ceasefire is in effect. Its not clear if peace talks will begin next week. Last week, six were killed in donetsk. A former satisfactory jet leader is criticizing the u. S. In an interview with time magazine, gorbachev blaming the u. S. For provoking a new cold war. He backed president Vladimir Putins actions in ukraine, saying he was working in the interests of the majority. A former state Department Official saying governments around the world should step in and hold russia accountable, c. I. A. Countries should intervene even without proper legalization. If russia can invade ukraine and nothing happens, next thing, another country will in void another country with that rules are critical to upholding international order. That said, we have a global system that was designed after world war ii to privilege the five victors of world war ii, russia, china, france, britain and the United States. My pop significance is we need to get past that particular arrangement. That particular arrangement is not going to take care of the Security Problems we face in this century, and sometimes, you have to change rules, break rules in order to change them. President obama is on the verge of approving a bill against venezuela freezing the u. S. Assets of certain government officials. Several jail opposition leaders have been jailed and thousands of protestors jailed. Venezuela president said the u. S. Can stick the sanctions in their ears or whatever else theyll fit in. The calendar says december but feels like spring in parts of the u. S. Today. Nicole mitchell has more on that. I had just taken out my heavier jacket. In the northeast, you can keep it out. The midsection of the country, some temperatures, 2025 degrees above average, so look at this warm core going all the way up to billings and almost 60 degrees, memphis and atlanta, we have the cooler area into the northeast. High pressure in place, thats a clockwise flow. On the eastern side, you get the air from canada. If you follow that flow around, that means on the western side, you get more of a southerly flow. Thats really cranking up those temperatures. You head to the panhandle of nebraska, about 25, usually 40 this time of year, will be in the 60s today. The other thing the flow is doing is bringing extra moisture into the southern portion of the country, texas to nebraska, weve had spay areas of fog. Watch for that, and also just, you can pick it up a little bit on the radar, a little spotty drizzle, texas, louisiana, nothing too bad. Most of the country very, very quiet with that exception of the west coast. All right, nicole mitchell, thank you. Standing by his men and women, c. I. A. Director john brennan defending actions taken by agents to keep america safe post 9 11. Some are calling for him to step down. Former assistant secretary of defense lawrence core and why he says brennan should design. Running to bring about change. The message these guys were trying to make by bearin baring. The fight in chicago over a proposed museum for director george lucas. A conflict that started 100 year ago, some say, never ended. Revealing. Untold stories of the valor. They opened fire on the english officers. Sacrifice. I order you to die. And ultimate betrayal. Drawing lines in the sand that would shape the middle east and frame the conflict today world war one through arab eyes continues episode three the new middle east on Al Jazeera America the is not will vote on a funding bill to fund the government which cleared the house last night. Welcome to Al Jazeera America, ahead, forget about all those other hot spots for traveling in the u. S. , a royal part of new york city is being touted as the place to visit in 2015. The high price to celebrate the holiday. The Christmas Tree rebound will be hitting your wallet this year. Rain, snow and strong winds are slamming the west coast. At least two died in oregon as a result of the socalled pine apple express. Its left thousands in the dark from california to washington state. Wind gusts were recorded at 80 miles an hour in San Francisco. Hundreds of Airline Passengers made it to sydney, stranded for eight hours on a tarmac in australias capitol city. The plain was diverted because of debris on the sydney runway. The senate is expected to vote on a spending plan in the next few days, this after the bill barely cleared the house late last night. The house also pass add short term measure that will fund the government in order to give the senate time to approve the larger legislation. C. I. A. Director john brennan admits some agents went too far but defenders his agency against accusations the c. I. A. Used inhumane methods to interrogate tee daneees. Lisa stark joins us from washington. When brennan came out to answer at c. I. A. Headquarters, this was unprecedented. Its not often you see a c. I. A. Director give a full News Conference live from c. I. A. Headquarters. He took questions for 25 minutes from the press. He was defending his agency in the wake of this very incendiary report about enhanced Interrogation Program. He insisted most of the c. I. A. Agents acted appropriately. It is vitally important to recognize that the overwhelming majority of officers involved in the program at the c. I. A. Carried out their responsibilities faithfully and in accordance with the legal and policy guidance they were provided. They did what they were asked to do in the service of our nation. Brennan also insisted that the c. I. A. Did not lie to congress or to then president bush about the tactics it was using after the 9 11 attacks. What do you think his future is here . He was a top c. I. A. Official when the program started. Do you think he could be forced out . Clearly some are calling for his resignation. A number of government watchdog groups think he needs to step down. Democratic senator mark udall has said he needs to go, saying theyre still not truthful with congress or the American People. President obama has long supported john brennan and hes been a key advisor to the president even before the president was first elected. At this point, the whites house is saying mr. Obama has full confidence in the c. I. A. Director. Thanks, lisa. Also erika, in that News Conference yesterday with the c. I. A. Director, brennan tried to clarify the c. I. A. s use of enhanced Interrogation Program. Theyve also been called torture. He addressed whether it led to valuable information that may have stopped potential plots or saved lives. Our reviews indicate that the detention and Interrogation Program produced useful intelligence that helped the United States thwart attack plans, capture terrorists and save lives. Let me be clear. We have not concluded that it was the use of enhanced Interrogation Programs within that program that allowed us to obtain useful information from detainees subjected to them. Essentially, what he is saying there is that there is not a cause and effect relationship. Lets go now to lawrence core, the former assistant secretary of defense, now at the center for American Progress joining us this morning. Thanks for being on the show. Yesterday, before c. I. A. Director gave his rebuttal to the interrogation report, you called for his resignation. You heard what he had to say yesterday. Do you still feel the same . In fact, i feel more strongly about it, partly cloudy yesterday, he tried to justify something that he knows that cant be justified. Even leaving aside whether you got good information, what they did is a violation of the geneva code, the Army Field Manual and dont forget, he was there in the chain of command when this happened, and he did nothing about it. How else and who else should be held accountable besides director brennan for the mismanagement of the rendition and torture program, which from the report, we understand was basically outsourced to contractors . Well, thats true with that obviously youve got the people running the agency then, for example, george tenant and porter goss and general hayden, as well as people in the white house who wrote legal opinions justifying something that vitals geneva conventions up to and including the president and the Vice President. You know, Vice President cheney came out and he still defenders it, even though it is torture, which interestingly enough is not a word that brennan used yesterday, which in fact it was. Its also not a word that even senator feinstein that used repeatedly was not used in the report. It has also not been used recently by president obama. Is that intentional . Well, i think it is, because president obama did use it in the campaign and when he came into the white house, signed a directive ending waterboarding saying it was torture. We need to be honest about it with the American People and people around the world if we want to get this horrible episode behind us and regain our moral standing, which is really the best thing we have to protect our security. Would it have been different if we had conclusive evidence that these harsh interrogation tactics, torture, as you call it, had worked . Absolutely not. The end doesnt justify the means. If i was i spent 25 years in the military. If youre given an unlawful order, you are held responsible if you carry it out. Those people who were given these unlawful orders, knowing as the Army Field Manual makes it very clear, that in fact, waterboarding is torture, they should be held responsible, as well as the people who permitted this not to mention some of these other horrible things like rectal feeding. Some other people consider these men that youve listed patriots and the u. S. Is still battling alqaeda and isil. How do you balance transparency with the function of the agency itself, which is clandestine and help secure this country . Again, the end doesnt justify the means. What we know and the f. B. I. Will tell you that you can get more information without doing this torture. In fact, this didnt even come up yesterday, one of the people we tortured gave us false information about iraqs weapons of mass destruction which is something colin powell used to justify the invasion. Look at the thousands of americans dead, iraqis dead and the trillions we spent because they used waterboarding to get this wrong information. That was pureed in one of the foot notes in that extensive report. Thank you for your insights this morning. Thank you for having me. China is remembering a grim period in its history this weekend. Its been 77 years since the massacre when hundreds of thousands of chinese were killed by the japanese army. People in a remote corn of china are still falling victim to the chemical weapons left behind. Adrien brown reports. Across the frozen landscape of northeast china lice the destructive legacy of another country. Its a bomb. One of 700,000 the japanese government admits to, more than half of them in this province. They are everywhere. Sometimes we find them when we dig the land. This man was badly burned after stepping on a shell and cant understand why this one hasnt within removed. Of course we he worry. How can we not . It could kill us if we accidentally touch it. Nearby, a father of another victim tells me his son was playing with friends beside this now frozen stream. He saw a steel tube lying at the waters edge and tried to retrieve it, thinking he could may be sell it for scrap. Instead, chemicals inside caused serious burns to his hand and left him with a long and so far fruitless battle for compensation from japans government. How can i not be furious . The japanese left all these chemical weapons in our soil. It not only killed our anises stores, but is going to harm our children and next generations. Japan admits its retreating army left behind weapons that contained chemicals, including mustard gas and cyanide. This is the entrance to a secret military facility where this munitions are being destroyed under japanese supervision. The Chinese Government says its not happening fast enough. Its been estimated that at least 2,000 Chinese People have fallen victim to japanese chemical weapons, most surviving with burns and other injuries. Tokyo says its so far found and destroyed at least 4,000 of these munitions, but that is still a small percentage of what its army left behind here. Tokyo promised to destroy as many of its weapons as possible by 2012, now almost 70 years after the Second World War ended, its still asking for more time. To this day, historians do not have an accurate estimate of the death toll from the massacre. Japanese military records on the killings were kept secret or destroyed shortly after the war. A new report said iran attacked the largest casino company, the cyber attack on the Sands Corporation happened in february. Officials say the attack was meant to punish billionaire owner for his hawkish stance against tehran. It has cost the casino more than 40 million to recover data and rebuild systems. An apology for what many are calling a case of nut rage. She demanded a flight be turned around because she first served macadamia nuts in a bag and not on a plate. Now she says she is sorry. I am truly sorry to trouble you. I am sorry. I am truly sorry that my foolish daughters actions have stirred up big trouble. I hope for the korean peoples generous forgiveness. Please scold me, its my fault. Her dad, the c. E. O. Said he regrets that he didnt raise his daughter with better manners. Heather that quit her position at Vice President of that company. Its an annual tradition at the university of the philippines, dozens of students running the halls neighborhood in the name of greater Government Transparency. It started in the 1970s, the students wore masks to hide identities and carried signs to usually the public to take a bigger stance against government corruption. That is one way to make a point. New york city is a top spot for tourism. It is said its time to get out of manhattan, cross the bring and head to queens. We show you why. In 1964, people came from around the world to attended the world fair in queens. Since then, the working class neighborhoods image decade, overshadowed by manhattan. Not anymore. New york sees more than 50 million tourists a year and while most will visit the Empire State Building and bright lights of broadway, savvy travelers increasingly recommending a trip across the east river to visit the outer borough of queens. Regis travis the world writing for the Lonely Planet guide books, naming queens the number one travel destination in the u. S. For 2015. I think people havent thought about queens enough, but once they realize what there is to offer here, its a pretty appealing place. If youre looking for the melting pot of new york city, you should really look in queens. Culture comes in the form of institutions like the museum of the moving image. With more than 160 languages spoken here, neighborhoods like Jackson Heights boast a wide range of cuisine. Food in queens is probably better than manhattan, more diverse, better prices, more diverse. You take a stroll down in the in the winter, but the summer, its live and really awesome. Rockaway beach is the only place in the city to surf. It is also the inspiration for the rockaway brewing company, one of a half dozen micro breweries in the neighborhood. All the breweries are all different. Its a great place to experience different styles of brewing. Another reason that queens has once again become the toast of the town. Al jazeera, queens, new york. Makes you want to go to queens. I kind of want to go get some chinese or greek food now. It is home to baseballs new york mets. Also home to a great moving called coming to america. There you go. Star wars director george looks, speaking of the movies, is embarringing on a new mission, but this time the villain may not be darth vader, it might just be people in chicago. Well talk with architecture critics about objections to build a museum housing his collection. The holiday decorations with flair. Fighting Climate Change at the u. N. Conference enperu. Glowing down the gauntlet saying every nation, i repeat, every nation has a responsibility to do its part. If you were a big developed nation and you do not lead, youre part of the problem. Whos behind that challenge, next. Stay with us. Of this prosecutor courageous and in depth. Its a target you cant get rid of. The untold story. Who do you protect . Of whats really going on in ferguson they were so angry because it could have been them fault lines, ferguson race and justice in the u. S. One hour special only on Al Jazeera America who said every nation has a responsibility to do its part, if you are a big developed nation and do not lead, you are part of the problem. Our big quote is from secretary of state john kerry, speaking yesterday ahead of the conclusion of u. N. Climate talks in peru today. Its a growing controversy in chicago, director george looks wants to build a museum on the waterfront. Critics are saying no. With he look at the reasons why. On any given sunday, this parking lot near chicagos lakeshore comes alive with tailgater ares cheering on the bears. These football fans could soon be displaced by star wars fans. This 17acre lot just south of Soldier Field is the proposed side of the museum, a 400 Million Museum housing the vast collection of art with pieces from star wars and other films. Not everyone embraces the idea. This is a culture, this is something thats been going on here for years, this is the best part of coming to any Football Game is the tailgating. They take this away, i cant see anybody coming. Rahm emanuel commissioned a task force to help find a location to convince lucas to bring the museum here. In San Francisco, they couldnt agree on a location. I came here and the first thing i said to rahm, they offered me this site. I said that looks great. Its in a museum community, you can walk from one to the other, but i to have warn you, i want to build an iconic museum, something nobody has ever seen before. A lawsuit threaten to say change that. Chicagos greatest natural asset is its lakefront. The president of friends which the parks, a group that filed a lawsuit against the city says any private development would be illegal because it vitals a centurys old law, the public trust doctrine, saying the city can only use the property for certain purposes. We dont believe the Museum Building is a public if a sit approximately its only open to the public at certain times, controlled by someone else and is a museum for one persons collection. A member of the citys Task Force Committee was assigned with finding a location for the museum and concluded that the land is currently underused. It really isnt in the spirit of what lakefront land is supposed to be about, which is supposed to be used in some way thats public. Park land is public, but isnt the highest and best use for a place like this. Lucas and the museum are not party to the lawsuit and not commenting. He is funding the project without taxpayer dollars. The museum could bring in more than 2 billion in own years. Opponents say building anything would prevent it fromming used as a green space. Al jazeera, chicago. Joining us now from chicago this morning is blare contain. Good morning. Youve made no secret of the project, calling it needlessly massive, even an affront to the lakefront. Whats your issue with this . I think that one mans wouldbe icon is another mans eyesore. The design of this building in its current state is really off key. Its a bizarre blob. People have compared it to nuclear cooling towers, to a pile of salt that would be used to salt the highway during winter time or jabba the huts dessert palace. The location is the key issue. Thats the real problem here. This building is massive. Its four times the Square Footage of what george looks wanted to build in San Francisco. Chicago has a there addition of a great open lakefront, a 25mile stretch of parks along the rim of Lake Michigan and this building would join with other large structures like Soldier Field and the Mccormick Place Convention Center to really wall off this section of the lakefront. Thats not how the lakefront chicago should be treated. Would you feel differently if this was a more Traditional Museum and not a place to house everything from norman rock wall paintings to movie memorabilia . One big issue here is the collection itself. George lucas hasnt put together a rationale for this museum. It strikes a lot of people as a vanity project, something thats just like a collection of stuff from george lucas attic. How are these things going to cohere in a way that is meaningful and 50 years from now with people who never saw star wars when it first came out. The city of chicago, the city that cares about architecture, what if people say it does fit the skyline. The rock and roll museum in cleveland, that faced some critics, you know some critique, as well. Could we have that scenario here in chicago with the lucas museum . Thats possible, if the design changes and also if the location changes. Lets just talk about the design. The defenders of this project, franker re, the Great American architect are essentially putting together the eiffel tower defense, you hate it today, youll love it tomorrow, it will grow on you. Its possible that would happen, but i think that in this particular location, its unlikely. The design is too big, its too much out of keeping with the horizontal sweep of chicagos lakefront. I think it was significant that when mayor rahm emanuel was asked bit, he said pointedly that the design was a an early conceptual stage, meaning that he was going to tell george lucas take two. Well see if the director will redesign then. Thank you. This holiday season, Christmas Tree farmers are seeing green, sales way up. 2014 is on track to be a record breaker. Last year, the offering tree sold for 35. Stronger sales this year mean higher prices. Thank you very much. Andrew cole owns a fouracre farm where people cut down and buy Christmas Trees. Hes a small player in a billion dollars industry. This looks like the Charlie Brown snoopy tree. How long will this guy take . From now, approximately six years. Six years . Yep. The trees sold today were started at the beginning of the great recession. As fewer people moved out of their parents houses, demand for trees slowed. Its added up, material and evident you had in it, you probably wouldnt do it. You are doing it because you love to do it. In the last decade, total harvest fell 3. 5 million and one in 10 Christmas Tree farms went out of business, surviving farmers were either very large or really resourceful like andrew. We do Landscape Maintenance for a living. This is shaping up to be a very good season for andrew and the entire industry. Hes on track to sell all 400 of his Christmas Trees. Tree sales in general for new jersey and probably the nation are rebounding somewhat. We found it. 2014 tree. This year, americans are expected to buy more than 33 million trees. Lets talk price. All the trees at this farm, the big ones, the little ones, 50. So it is somewhat related to the cost, but basically what the market will bear. When it comes to Christmas Trees, the american northwest and state of carolina, roughly three out of every five american Christmas Trees are harvested in these areas. The prices demanded by farmers ripple through the holiday season. The Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association Says growers earn 20 on every sale. Thats about 2 to 3 more than last year. By the time these trees make it to big box retailers, nurseries and street corners in major u. S. Cities, you could pay anywhere from 35 to well over 100 for a designer tree. Tree producers are quickly adopting to evolving consumer taste. For example, because of the surge of urban how else holds and smaller living spaces, tiny trees and wreaths are hot this year. Sticking with the holiday theme, what do you get for the harry man with everything . Ornaments for his beard, theyre called beard bobbles. You can decorate a loved ones facial hair. The ornaments have sold out. The idea was the brain child and a pair of advertising executives giving profits to charity. Thanks for watching. Were back at 7 30 tomorrow. Ires finance minister tells al jazeera isil will be defeated. This is al jazeera live from our headquarters in dough he has. Also ahead, government under fire, trade unions on strike over labor reforms. An oil spill in the Worlds Largest mango forest. The clock is ticking as delegates try to cobble together a
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