i'm amy goodman. record cold temperatures are continuing across the eastern and midwestern united states today with a blast of arctic air scientists warn is part of a pattern fueled by climate change. in kentucky, temperatures are in the negative digits, about 40 degrees below normal. here in new york state, martin napier was among those who visited the iconic niagra falls -- which is frozen. >> it was like a wall of ice. it was like icicles. it was cool. it was completely different from when you are in the summer and it is just a wall of water. it is a wall of ice. >> the record cold follows what government scientists have just confirmed was the second warmest january on record worldwide. and while new york city may be among some 100 cities currently experiencing record-breaking cold, a new report from the new york city panel on climate change finds average temperatures here could jump nearly nine degrees by the 2080's. the white house has wrapped up a three-day conference on militant extremism. spea

i'm amy goodman. thousands gathered in north carolina on thursday for the funerals of three muslim students shot dead by a gunman who had posted anti-religious messages online. razan mohammad abu-salha and her sister, yusor abu-salha, and yusor's husband, deah barakat were killed execution-style in what family members call a hate crime. suspected gunman craig stephen hicks has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. hicks had frequently posted anti-religious comments on his facebook page. police say an early probe suggests the killings resulted from a parking dispute, a claim the victims family and friends reject. the fbi is also investigating. a crowd of over 5,000 packed a soccer field at north carolina state for thursday's service. they paid tribute to the victims and amending justice for their murders. in international news, eight ukrainian soldiers have been killed and several dozen wounded in continued fighting in eastern ukraine. the violence comes just after ukraine and russia a

i'm amy goodman. islamic state militants have reportedly kidnapped scores of christians in northeastern syria. the british-based syrian observatory for human rights said 90 assyrian christians had been captured, while another group put the number between 70 and 100. the captures come as i filed militants retreated from kurdish militia backed by the u.s.-led coalition. the obama administration is planning a major offensive in iraq to retake the isil- isis-controlled city of mosul, iraq's second largest city. speaking in kuwait monday after meetings with top u.s. officials in the region, newly sworn in defense secretary ashton carter vowed to defeat the islamic state. our discussion this afternoon affirmed the seriousness and the complexity of the threat posed by isil, especially, in an interconnected and networked world. defeat of this group can and will be accomplished. >> earlier this month, isis released a video of the beheading of 21 egyptian coptic christians in libya. amnesty international now ha

i'm amy goodman. the u.s. is reportedly considering arming ukraine's military amidst renewed fighting with russian backed separatists. according to "the new york times" cap administration officials are leaning towards sending defensive weapons to help kiev fight a new rebel offensive that shattered a five-month truce. the white house has held off in favor of economic sanctions against rebels chief backer, russia. violence has spiked in recent days with heavy attacks across all parts of the eastern ukrainian front. at least 13 government soldiers and as many civilians were killed in 124 hour period over the weekend as talks over a new truce broke down. mediators say the rebels have refused to discuss implementing a cease-fire and instead want to revise the terms of the september truce to reflect their territorial gains. the militant group isis has released a video showing the beheading of japanese journalist kenji goto. goto is the second japanese hostage to killed by isis in a week, following the expi

i'm amy goodman. the federal communications commission has voted in favor of historic rules to preserve a free and open internet. after a record four million public comments the fcc approved , rules to prevent corporate internet service providers from blocking access to websites, slowing down content or providing paid fast lanes for internet service. this is fcc chair tom wheeler. >> this is no more a plan to regulate the internet than the first amendment is a plan to regulate free speech. they both stand for the same concept. openness expression, and an absence of gatekeepers telling people what they can do, where they can go, and what they can think. the action that we take today is about the protection of internet openness. we will speak with professor tim wu who coined the term net neutrality, after the headlines. congress appears set to avert a partial shutdown of the department of homeland security just hours before the agency runs out of money. republicans have repeatedly sought to tie the fund

i'm amy goodman. president obama has vetoed a republican bill approving the keystone xl tar sands oil pipeline. obama says the measure unwisely bypasses a state department review that will determine whether the project is in the national interest. white house press secretary josh earnest said the veto should not be seen as a judgment on the pipeline's merits. >> it circumvents a long-standing administrative process for violating whether or not infrastructure projects like this are in the best interest of the country. and it is not represent a specific position on the pipeline itself. it just merely says that the benefits and consequences of building that pipeline should be thoroughly evaluated by experts and through this him in a straight a process that has existed for decades. >> the rejection of keystone marks the third veto of obama's six years in office. senate republicans say they will try to override obama's veto but they don't appear to have enough votes. more on this story later in the broadca

i'm amy goodman. when we come back, a democracy now! exclusive. a former florida professor has been deported this week from the united states. we will speak to him and is double, turkey. stay with us. -- istanbul, turkey. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> the palestinian activist and professor sami al-arian has been deported from the united states. in one of the most controversial prosecutions of the post-9/11 era, al-arian was jailed in florida for five and a half years on what many described as trumped up charges. he was arrested in 2003 at a time when he was one of the most prominent palestinian activists in the united states. in addition to teaching at the university of south florida, al-arian was a frequent media commentator and speaker at anti-war rallies. he co-founded the tampa bay coalition for peace and justice and the national coalition to protect political freedom. between 1997 and 2001 he visited the white house four times. he a

i'm amy goodman. ukraine and russia have agreed on the main points of a cease-fire following all-night talks in belarus. the truce would take effect sunday into the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front lines. the deal comes amidst some of the worst fighting between separatist ukrainian forces to date in a pending dress decision on arming the government in kiev. international monetary fund has offered a new $40 billion rescue package for ukraine's ailing economy, most of it in loans. president obama has sent congress a formal request to authorize military force against islamic state six months after the u.s. began bombing iraq and syria. the resolution imposes a three-year limit on u.s. operations, but does not put any geographic constraints. it also opens the door for ground combat operations in limited circumstances. unveiling the resolution on wednesday, obama said it does not herald another middle east ground war. >> the resolution we have cemented today does not call for the u.s. ground comb

i'm amy goodman. two u.s.-led coalition airstrikes have reportedly killed over three dozen people in iraq, including at least 20 civilians. hospital sources told reuters a strike near the syrian border killed nine civilians and 17 islamic state militants, while a separate bombing west of baghdad killed six militants and 11 civilians. the bbc and washington post have revealed the identity of the british mandate and jihadi jon huntsman featured in several islamic state beheading videos. the l it's a -- the l it say you lived in west london and was known to british security services. isis militants have continued to capture christians from villages in northeastern syria during a three-day offensive. activist groups have put the total number of christian hostages the between 220 and 300. in other news from syria, human rights watch says the syrian government used of girl bombs on rebel held areas has increased over the past year. hundreds of bombings have been carried out in two key rebel held battlegroun

i'm amy goodman. the chair of the federal communications commission has unveiled what he calls "the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the [agency]." fcc chair tom wheeler has backed the regulation of internet service like a public utility to uphold net neutrality, the principle of a free and open internet. the plan will let the agency prevent internet service providers like comcast from blocking access to websites, slowing down content or providing paid fast lanes for internet service. it would also extend such protections to internet service on cell phones and tablets. wheeler discussed the plan on pbs newshour. >> what we're doing is, we're taking the legal construct that once was used for phone companies, and pairing it back to modernize it so it specifically deals with this issue. so it is not really utility regulation, but it is regulation and make sure there is some of the watching us -- all for the consumer. like you said, there's no blocking. most important, there will be on

i'm amy goodman. the white house has confirmed it will ask congress for an expansive war powers resolution to fight the islamic state across the globe. the plan calls for a three-year military campaign and a potential battle-zone without geographic limitations. the measure could also open the door to deploying ground forces by only ruling out their "enduring" use. president obama has waged the current anti-isis strikes in syria and iraq under the 2001 war on terror resolution as well as the 2002 vote authorizing the iraq war. the new measure would repeal the 2002 authority while keeping the authorization of 2001. the move comes despite obama's previous call for repealing both war authorization measures and a pledge to not sign any law that expands them further. the white house coffin expended war on isis comes as it weighs slowing a withdrawal from afghanistan for the second time. u.s. commander in afghanistan would be given leeway to set the pace of the planned drawdown of nato forces this year. the

i'm amy goodman. president obama has unveiled his $4 trillion budget proposal for next year, asking congress to raise taxes for the wealthy and corporations to help fund education and fix crumbling infrastructure. the plan includes nearly $280 billion in tax cuts for some poor and middle-class families. it also seeks to recoup losses from corporations that stash an estimated $2 trillion overseas by taxing such earnings at 14% still less than half of the 35% rate for profits made in the united states. the budget takes aim at the high cost of prescription drugs proposes a new agency to regulate food safety, and seeks $1 billion to curb immigration from central america. it also calls for a 4.5% increase in military spending, including a $534 billion base budget for the pentagon in 2016, plus an additional $51 billion to fund u.s. involvement in syria, iraq and afghanistan. speaking at the department of homeland security, obama said across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration would hurt the u.s.

i'm amy goodman. egypt has bombed what it calls islamic state targets in libya after the group released a video showing the beheading of 21 coptic christians in libya. the victims are led on to a beach dressed in orange jumpsuits like the prisoners at guantanamo bay. they are then beheaded one by one. the lead executioner points his knife at the camera and delivers a message to what he calls the "crusaders." >> recently, you have seen us on the hills, chopping off the heads, filled with spite. today, we're on the land of islam, libya, sending another message. crusaders, safety for you will only be wishes, especially when you are fighting us altogether. >> the prisoners were all migrant workers from egypt kidnapped over the past two months. egypt has declared a week of mourning. another group of egyptian workers were kidnapped in libya over the weekend. the video is the first to be released showing an isis beheading outside of its strongholds in syria and iraq. isis is one of several militant groups th

i'm amy goodman. the white house is delaying president obama's executive actions on immigration after a federal judge blocked them earlier this week. obama's move to shield millions from deportation was supposed to begin taking its first applications today. but u.s. district judge andrew hanen, of brownsville, texas issued an injunction after a motion filed by texas and 25 other states. the administration said it will comply with the ruling and delay accepting applications for work permits and deportation reprieves. speaking at the white house, president obama said he's confident the decision will be struck down on appeal. president obama: this is not the first time where a lower court judge has blocked something, or attempted to block something that ultimately was shown to be law. i am confident that it is well within my authority, and the tradition of the executive ranch's -- branch's prosecutorial discretion to execute this policy to make our safe it will lp us go after criminals and thawe not want

i'm amy goodman. the ceasefire in eastern ukraine remains in limbo one week after it came into effect. the ukrainian military says it cannot withdraw heavy weaponry from the front line because of continued rebel violence. the rebels took the strategic town of debaltseve last week several days after the truce began, but deny carrying out further attacks. on sunday, two people were killed when a bomb hit a rally in kharkiv marking the one-year anniversary of the killing of demonstrators in the maidan protests that topped president -- toppled president viktor yanukovych. the ukraine government says it's arrested four suspects tied to russia. thousands also marched in kiev while a parallel rally was held in moscow to denounce the maidan anniversary. despite the continued unrest fighting has stopped in several areas and the ukrainian military and rebels have exchanged dozens of prisoners. the top u.n. envoy on syria is in damascus today in a bid to halt the government's bombing of aleppo. staffan de mistur

i'm amy goodman. the white house is delaying president obama's executive actions on immigration after a federal judge blocked them earlier this week. obama's move to shield millions from deportation was supposed to begin taking its first applications today. but u.s. district judge andrew hanen, of brownsville, texas issued an injunction after a motion filed by texas and 25 other states. the administration said it will comply with the ruling and delay accepting applications for work permits and deportation reprieves. speaking at the white house, president obama said he's confident the decision will be struck down on appeal. president obama: this is not the first time where a lower court judge has blocked something, or attempted to block something that ultimately was shown to be law. i am confident that it is well within my authority, and the tradition of the executive ranch's -- branch's prosecutorial discretion to execute this policy to make our borders safer. it will help us go after criminals and th

i'm amy goodman. the islamic state is claiming kidnapped aid worker kayla mueller, its last known remaining american hostage, has died in syria. on friday, isis claimed mueller was killed in a jordanian airstrike on the city of raqqa. mueller's family says it has yet to see proof and maintains hope she is still alive. jordan has dismissed the isis claim as a pr stunt and the u.s. has not confirmed her death. mueller disappeared in august 2013, but her kidnapping was not publicly revealed until friday's announcement. mueller reportedly moved to the turkish-syrian border in late 2012. she had previously traveled to the middle east to work with the international solidarity movement in the occupied territories. she graduated from northern arizona university in 2009. in her hometown of prescott arizona, a family spokesperson paid tribute to her aid work overseas. >> this was part of a life plan and a life path for her. she has gone down this helping others, being a humanitarian. it was something in her hea

i'm amy goodman. pro-russian rebels are now fully in control of the town following a pullout by ukrainian troops. heavy clashes continue their over the past several days despite the cease-fire agreement that went into effect sunday will stop the ukrainian military finally withdrew after suffering heavy casualties. the rebels claim the cease-fire never applied to the town will stop in washington, state department spokesperson jem p saki said the cease-fire appears to have held in most other areas. >> reports indicate separatist publicly declared the refuse to observe the cease-fire in the town and had "a right to shell" the town because it was "their territory." is reported they deny monitors access to the town. the oec confirms the violation in ukraine continues as was the case yesterday, but the quantity and intensity of attacks has decreased with the dramatic exception being the town which i just outlined. we've seen reports of the withdrawal of certain types of heavy weapons in various parts of don

i'm amy goodman. the islamic state has released a video showing a captured jordanian fighter pilot being burned alive inside a cage. first lieutenant moa al-kasasbeh was captured in december when his f-16 crashed in northern syria during an airstrike as part of the u.s.-led campaign against the islamic state. speaking before the video was confirmed, obama said it would only increase u.s. efforts against the islamic state. >> i do not know the details of the confirmation, but should this video in fact be authentic it is one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization, and it, i think, will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a global coalition to make sure that they are degraded, and ultimately defeated. >> jordan had hoped to free the pilot by exchanging a female prisoner held for an attempted suicide bombing. early this morning, jordan executed sajida al-rishawi along with another prisoner. jordanian government spokesperson mohammad al-momani has vowed re

i'm amy goodman with aaron matÉ. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. egypt has opened a new front in the war against isis. on monday, egyptian warplanes bombed northeastern libya after cairo vowed to avenge the killing of 21 coptic christians. egypt says it hit isis sites "precisely." but at least seven civilians including three children, were killed in the coastal city of derna. the bombings come after the islamic state released a video showing the beheading of the 21 kidnapped egyptians. the victims are led on to a beach dressed in orange jumpsuits like guantÁnamo bay prisoners. they are then beheaded one by one. the lead executioner points his knife at the camera and delivers a message to what he calls the "crusaders." >> recently, you have seen us chopping off the heads [indiscernible] today, we are on the south of rome sending another message. crusaders, safety for you [indiscernible] >> the victims were all migrant workers kidnapped late last year. there ar

i'm amy goodman. president obama says he has not yet decided yet whether to send arms to the ukrainian military to fight russian-backed rebels. obama criticized russia's role in the conflict during a joint news conference at the white house with german chancellor angela merkel. >> unfortunately, russia has made a decision that i think is bad for them strategically, bad for europe, bad for the world. and in the face of this aggression in these bad decisions, we can't simply try to talk them out of it. we have to show them that the world is unified in imposing a cost for this aggression. >> on wednesday, chancellor merkel will travel to the belarus capital of minsk for talks with the leaders of russia, ukraine, and france in an attempt to end the crisis which has killed over 5,400 people. we'll have more on ukraine after headlines. syrian president bashar al-assad has said his regime is receiving updates on u.s.-led airstrikes against the islamic state in syria. assad told the bbc that while there is no