>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm jonathan betz with tonight's top stories. more hiccups for president obama's healthcare.gov website. the portions of the website are taken down for maintenance. workers are still trying to free people from the glasgow pub, a number of people are dead but they are not releasing any of the details. north korea confirms it is holding american merrill newman, state department says he killed people in the vietnam war and he

was held captive at the end of a north korea's trips. china says it must be told of all planes including passenger aircraft that fly through its new air defense zone. area over the east china sea, also covers areas that are claimed by china's neighbors, taiwan and japan. we hope you have a great holiday weekend with family and loved ones. thanks for watching.

>> good evening, i'm joie chen, thanks for joining us on this holiday weekend. as shoppers wrap up their black friday trips and cross off must-haves off their list, grand theft auto 5, shattered records when it went from zeroto $1 million sales in just three days. the entertainment of getting tide up in high speed joy rides, america tonight's lori jane gliha. >> the cops are coming, get out at outta here! take cover. shoot everybody. i don't know where my fun is. and then are you going to steal one of these vehicles? >> no, i'm going to steal

another vehicle. >> even though he's a long way from getting his official washington, d.c. driver's license 11-year-old nico frank can cruise anywhere and do anything he wants as a virtual player. >> normally i'm a really good driver. >> sure! >> and do i kind of like doing in this game some things that you just captain do in real life. in real life you can't kill people like this. in this game you can. >> like what do you feel like when you do that? >> that it's not very good. it is kind of fun to do some of the stuff, though. kind of like if you're a superhero in a game you can't be a superhero in life. so it's fun to have this fantasy story. >> the game is labeled mature and designed for ages 17 and older because of the intense

blood and gore, intense violence and but 76thed enough to be among the millions of fans to try the game during its first week on store shelves. >> how did you make the decision that you were going to allow him to play the game? >> we spoke with rico. he explained that he knows that's fiction, that that's not real life. rico's a very well rounded kid. we thought he's mature enough to know that's not the game and he's not going ogo and apply that in real life. >> developers at rock star games spent five years and more than $260 million fine tuning the realistic graphics and developing a story line filled with sex, stealing, shooting and killing. the intense production paid off. it's on track to be the best are. >> it is not just unprecedented

in the world of video games. it's unprecedented in the world of entertainment. >> what makes this game so popular? >> i think it's a combination of things. rock star doesn't make a lot of games. so when they make games, they automatically garner a lot of attention. you can go into their world and not only play the game they want you to play but just roam around and do anything you want. >> players can follow a story line by accepting violence missions that include robberies and shootings or they can enter an alternate virtue world of -- viril are virtual world of free play. >> who is this guy? >> he is michael one of three characters you can play in this game.

>> we asked brian to take us through this world of grand theft auto 5. >> i can run up here and i can actually go up these stairs if i don't run out of breath. i now spent $15 of my money to ride. >> it is not all violence? >> no, no. it's funny if you really wanted to, barring the story, if you didn't care about the story, you could exist in this world and not be voijt. >> if you this think is the absolute best, what do you think is the begs? >> i think it's scope. the ability to do anything you want to in this game, you don't go into a movie theater, sit down to watch a movie and say no, i don't want to see the end, i want to go over here and check this out. >> characters can swim, play tennist and golf with their friends. they can even watch a movie. >> they've created this entire

world that is absolutely a satirical look at today's world and i think that's really genius. >> as enticing as the game is he says he would not recommend it for his own 12-year-old son. >> why do you say this is not a game made for kids? >> because it deals with serious topics and i think that if you look at the is a tire, for instance -- at the satire, it would go right over a kid's head. you can't deliver an experience to a gamer unless you let them decide what they want to do. this is a game that unlike a lot of other games, says okay, be violent. >> what these characters are doing, i can beat somebody for

no reason and just keep beating him and i keep using this club to hit whatever i want. >> why you keep hanging around this clown? >> the game also contains lots of racial slurs and an opportunity for the male protagonist, to get a latch dance and touch a naked woman inside a strip club. violence for no reason. >> the violence can be pretty extreme. we wonder what kind of effect it has on the person holding the controller? >> we have no clear causal relationship between violent video games and actions that people take. >> dr. michael fraser is a new york city clinical psychologist addiction. >> there are so many factors involved, factors that include

personalty, psychiatric history, have parenting style. >> might be likely to use immersive video games like grand theft auto to escape from real life. that he says could lead to hours of obsessive playing which brings its own problems especially when it's time to put the game away. >> it's almost like a withdrawal kind of behavioral segue. they may not be paying as much time paying attention to their hygiene, they shower less, these are games that lend themselves no those kinds of problems. >> what do you say to those who say, this is not a good game for kids. >> like my mom says, it does depend on the kid, on like what they are like, their personality. >> i think a big are question, too, is of all the things that we can put in front of our children, why would we want to put this kind of image, and this kind of video game in front of them, when there is so many

other things that they could engage in? judge it's about to explode and then this door out. >> nico says his extracurricular life is balanced and filled with sports and music. he's too busy to be obsess wednesday a game but now considered the most popular video game in the world. >> correspondent lori jane gliha getting inside the game. after the break on america tonight, a possible game changer on the gridiron, why one former player is contaminate ling the ncaa trying to even the score after he >> we find the fault lines that run through communities. >> the shooting happened about 30 minutes ago. >> companies... >> the remains of the fire are still everywhere here. >> the powers that be

at home and around the world... >> not only do they not get compensation but you don't even have to explain why? >> well thats exactly what i said. >> we question authority. >> so you said we could get access... >> that's enough! >> ... and those affected. >> investigative journalism at it's toughest. determining using some sort of subjective interpretation of their policy as to whether or not your particular report was actually abusive, because if it doesn't contain language that specifically threatens you directly or is targeted towards you specifically, they may not consider it abuse. they may consider it offensive. and in that case they just recommend that you block that person. >> i don't want to minimise this, because i mean, there's some really horrible things that are on line, and it's not - it's not just twitter, what has happened through social media

and the anonymity of the net is that you see websites, hate-filled websites targetting all sorts of groups, popping up. there has been a huge number of those that exist as well. an america tonight special report. as states try to save money, are prisoners paying the price? >> what are you talking about, he's dead. >> an exclusive investigation into prison health care. let's head to the side hiens now of a big debate in college football about whether student athletes should be paid to play. this goes beyond an autograph. texas quarterback johnny manziel. america tonight's adam may has the story about the lawsuit that

may be the game-changer. >> game day in college station, texas. home of the texas a&m a aggies,a school rich with tradition. there's a sucial surge in enthum for this football program, thanks in large part to thisman, the quarterback, johnny manziel, also known as johnny football. last year, manziel let a&m to victory over the best team in the country, alabama. >> johnny manziel. >> and he won college football's most prestigious award, the heisman trophy. according to one estimate, manziel's heisman has been worth $37 million worth of free publicity for texas a&m. but manziel has brought more

than money to the football program. he's also brought controversial. manziel was accused of receiving a five-figure fee for sign ing autographs in the off season. following football season the ncaa suspended the quarterback for an inadvertent violation, suggesting he should know the autographs would be sold. he has ignited a debate, whether college football players could be paid, that landed manziel on the cover of time magazine. just in time for the quarterback to play another spectacular game in front of kyle field's adoring crowd. here in phoenix, l ads, a

former quarterback is trying to change the future for college these. sam keller, beings a long distance from his playing days. >> thethey pounded in your head. everything is scheduled out for you and it lms feels like you're just a robot. >> keller says it wasn't until his playing days were over that he felt what he calls the money making machine going on all around him. >> it's very much driven on money. as a college football player you are what drives the money but your job is to not buy into all that. your job is your responsibility, your teammates, your coaches and your school, your institution.

>> sam keller now works at a restaurant and bar in scottsdale, arizona. he now thinks college athletes ought to be able to capitalize if they can on their football l record. >> getting scholarships, room and board, that should be enough. no, it's not enough at all. if you look at who's benefiting more, everybody else is benefiting more. the ncaa is benefiting more, the schools are benefiting more. people don't come to these games or tune into these games or buy the jerseys because of the institution. they want johnny manziel and they want to see him play. that's what drives it. >> and what are drew him to sue, is this ncaa football, a new version of the game is released

every year. sam ellergan, the ncaa attorney. here is sam keller and here is his avatar. a few years later keller played for nebraska. his picture and his avatar are nearly identically. >> they had me from california, player 15. >> right handed. >> right handed. everybody else was boiled down to a t. >> keller's lawsuit set the ncaa played money off him and thousands of other college athletes by allowing clij sports to use their likeness in the ballgame.

this shows video game designers use athletes' real names in the develop process then roox them before the game is released. >> they realize something bad is going on, they continue want that in the public right? they have been doing it they still do it. this is exactly the type of thing that could submarine the game if it got into the media. >> if it got involved in the media? they didn't want anyone to >> yep. >> do you believe they are exploiting the student athletes? >> you captain treat them as amateurs when you're treating them like proastles. everyone is making money off of it, everyone but the student athletes. >> the ncaa declined to speak to us with a story. but in july, they announced they

would not renew their contract with ea sports, saying, we are confident with the use of trade parks and video games but given the current business climate and the cost of litigation we determined that participating in this game is not the best interest of ncaa. sam keller says he is not bitter because he didn't make the pros and he's not looking for a payday. >> i've not wondered how much i could make out of it, as a matter of fact, i've never asked them. it's not about me, it's about college football as a whole. >> keller says he has moved on with his life no matter what direction the lawsuit takes. back in college station johnny manziel led texas amy to a

65-28 crushing. afterward we asked plan del if he thinks college athletes should get paid? >> midst focus is to make sure our team is focused for the next week so it's way above me. >> america tonight's adam anyway says there is no immediate end to the completely controversy. now ea sports is being sued over this same issue. how >> evey weeknight on al jazeera america change the way you look at news tune into live news at 8 and 11 >> i'm john seigenthaler and here's a look at the headlines.. >> infomation changes by the hour here... >> our team of award winning journalists brings you up to

the minute coverage of today's events... then, at 9 and midnight. america tonight goes deeper with groundbreaking investigative coverage of the nation's top stories... >> a fresh take on the stories that connect to you... >> live news at 8 and 11 eastern followed by america tonight on al jazeera america there's more to it. power of the people until we restore our freedo

>> timely tonight, a big turn around for one of america's greatest auto makers, after emerging from bankruptcy, general motors brand-new model truck, from the oldest manufacturing plant in flint, michigan , lori jane gliha reports on an otherwise economically stressed community. >> in a city often singled out for its high homicide rate, lack of jobs and deteriorating neighborhoods, it may be hard to find a source of pride. but inside this bustling truck factory, thousands of employees are proving there's a lot to be proud of in flint, ar michigan over 24

hours in general motors flint assembly plant, thousands of parts will be put together like jigsaw puzzled. they will be quality tested and checked. the are chevrolet silverado or a gmc extra. >> you are getting a dura max 6.6 turbo. the most powerful engine we have. >> the plant is in an industrial waste land. acres of property are now vacant. after eliminating tens of thousands of automotive jobs from flint, but workers from the oldest north american factory, survived the shut down of 17 facilities across the country.

they've emerged humbled with a new approach towards teamwork. it wasn't easy, it required the union and management to come to the same side of the table and focus on a common goal: making a product the american people would want to buy. >> this product is important to the american economy. it's a work product. yes, it's expensive but it is built in such a way that it helps the economy, farmers, ranchers, construction workers. i mean, the people who are the backbone, the true backbone of our economy, need trucks like this to do their jobs. >> so how many trucks come through this line today? >> more than 700 a day, i mean, that's a lot when you think of three shifts. >> i've been at gm 19 years. yes. 19 years.

>> de andre jackson works the first shift. the flint father leaves home before the sun comes up so he can make it to the truck plant by 7:00 a.m. >> you spend admonish time here with the people at work than you do sometimes. i fell in love, i met my wife here, i was driving material to her area and we began to have a conversation. and turned into a movie and a movie turned into a marriage, i guess. so yeah, it's a community here. it's like family. >> the plant depends on its family of nearly 2700 union employees, like jackson, to manufacture trucks around the clock. >> if a guy down the line from me doesn't do his job, i can't do mine. and if i can't do mine, the next guy can't do his. >> plant employees developed a new sense of gratitude for their jobs after watching the shuttle

downs of so many other factories in the state. to focus on collaboration rather than confrontation. they say they put trust in each other. >> we're all engaged, not just general motors and the uaw. we've got hands that are engage with one another. how are wre we going to be successful. >> harry chapman is the head of the union workers. he says there was a time when this hindered production. more concerned with quantity rather than quality. >> you were allowed to slide it by at this point? >> not about getting them slide, we don't take anything for granted anymore. >> each worker plays a critical role here.

no matter what their job is, they have a power to stop a second of the line. all they have to do is pull this cord and the production stops. >> it's very important. we're here to make quality. if i see something that's not right or one of my guys within my team we have the able to stop the line and call the supervisor out and say they really need the team leaders be actively voched and coming up with new ideas how to make a better truck. >> have you submitted any ideas that would make you feel good? >> they've implemented a lot of my suggestions. >> the fact that we work well together, 100% the secret of our success, the silver bullet that's it. >> amy farmer, improved labor management relationship has paid off.

the trucks produced here received the coveted j.d. power and associates award two years in a row for having the highest initial quality. now general motors is investing capital in this plant to produce the first new model truck in the last five years. >> we want to be part of the future growth and we fully intend to stay on that path. >> to be able to ride by and see a place that's open for business and trucks coming out the back of it, because nothing gives me more pride than to ride down the highway and see a car hauler filled with flint-made trucks. so yes many, id think that's great. >> that's it for america tonight

for us. we'll have more of america tonight, tomorrow. >> every summer in america, a force of nature becomes a man-made disaster. some call it a war, millions of acres, billions of dollars. no end in sight. >> in this episode of fault lines, we follow the 2013 wildfire season and ask - with more homes than ever now under threat, what are the real costs of putting them out? >> the fire took a breath and we got our foot on the throat of it and we're going to keep choking it out.