>> good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. >> burning bridges. new jersey's governor chris christie a potential presidential front runner for the g.o.p. his office at the center of a politically charged scandal. >> gates wide open - the white house firing back at the form are secretary's book as commander in chief. >> white out, the danger on the slopes striking without warning. tonight, the science of avalanches. >> the placebo effect - the impact on surgery and the new findings that might surprise you.

>> good evening, the george washington bridge, the busiest is the unlikely backdrop to allegations of power in politics. a popular elected official is in the middle of all of it. chris christie, the straight talking governor, the scandal having many in washington taking notice, involves the closure of roads, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but could be turning into one. >> republican governor chris christie instituted lane clearance at the approach to the george washington bridge in order to punish a democratic mayor who refused to endorse chris christie. time for traffic reasons in fort lee wrote bridget anne kelly, the deputy chief of staff.

it went to a david wildstein, a friend of chris christie's appointed to an agency overseeing bridges and tunnels. "got it" was the response. a month later the agency closed several lanes as part of a traffic study. the amount of time it took to cross the bridge stretched to four hours. in a text message about the traffic jams another chris christie aide expressed delight: >> two weeks ago chris christie insisted the lane closures had nothing to do with his office. >> because press runs around and writes about it here and nationally, i know why that is, and so do you. let's not pretend it's because of the gravity of the issue. >> the prospect of christy's team settling scores with people has proven irresistible to new jersey. >> the documents published are shocking and outrageous.

the governor has a lot of explaining to do. >> with chris christie considering a presidential run that's correctals seized on it, demanding a federal investigation. in new york and new jersey commuters are torn. >> i think people will be upset about it. i don't know how much it will be felt. >> whenever traffic lanes are shut, it's never a good thing. what can you do. >> late wednesday after cancelling his only public event chris christie issued a written note claiming the lane closures were outrageous and came without his knowledge. now is the question with the aides agree with his version or not. >> tomorrow a legislative committee will hear testimony from officials involved in the scandal. i spoke with new jersey

assemblyman gordon johnson, and iasked what he would ask and whether governor chris christie was involved. >> we want to know the truth. what is going on? where did the order come from? we know it came from the governor's office. we want the truth. the people of fort lee and commuters going to new york, people of new jersey deserve to know the truth. the george washington bridge is the busiest bridge, all the the pollution, people held up. it's a mess. >> the governor called the actions unacceptable. what is your rehabilitation, what do you have to say? >> i find it hard to believe that miss kelly, the deputy chief of staff in the governor's office would do this without approval or without the governor knowing about it. it doesn't make sense. >> what does this say about the

governor's office in your opinion? >> if he didn't know he has a command and control problem. if he did, he's not being truthful. >> what do you think should happen? >> what i want to happen, the next step, bring ms kelly in to testify and found the truth. people are satisfied when people leave office, they resign and they are gone. well, when people leave, you don't get the truth as to what happened. we want to find out the truth, what happened, who is behind this, who initiate it, and make our corrections from there. >> do you believe this was a political vendetta? . >> i have to leave that. the mayor believes it because he didn't support chris christie. that this is retribution, a retaliation. >> do you think the governor was involved? >> i cannot say and have no proof that the governor was

involved in this. when you have a deputy chief of staff in his office do this, i have to question that. he runs a tight office. in this personae, the belligerent personae. it's a tight office. i don't see a deputy chief of staff doing this without an okay from somewhere in the governor's office. >> great to have you. thank you very much. >> chris christie was asked a month ago at a press event whether he had involvement in the lane closures, his response to that reporter was, "you're really not serious with that question." the journalist is matt katz from w.n.y.c. and joins us from philadelphia. welcome. >> good evening. >> what are you hearing from new jersey and the governor's office. what do you expect to happen over the next couple of of days much. >> we expect a hearing where the main player in this, the guy who ordered the lanes closed, or at

least carried out an order that may have come from elsewhere is supposed to testify to a democratically controlled committee. he's trying to get out of the hearing, and there's a court hearing before the noon hearing to see if he can get out of it. we are hoping and expecting that he shows up. >> he's the most talked about possible presidential candidate for republicans. what could it mean for his presidential aspirations. >> we are two years away. still, what is happening here is that there's something of a narrative building. of a guy who might be too aggressive. might act too punitively in the way he deals with political enemies, in the political backwaters. you create that carrico tur of them, maybe -- carrico tur of him, based on things that happened and couple it with

images of him yelling at reporters or teachers and put it together. >> let me play you a bit of tape. when you asked the governor in december whether he was involved in the lane clearance. >> i work the copes, actually, matt. unbeknownst to everyone, i was the guy out there, i was in overalls and a hat. i was the guy working the cones out there. you really are not serious with that question. >> you know, this is not the first time that he has lashed out at reporters or other people, even citizens who have talked to him. when you talk about the narrative, it works on both sides. on the one hand he talked about it as a strait-talking governor, and on the other belligerent. does to work both ways. >> part of the way he operates and deals with reporters, where he has the back and forth. some of that is endearing, because he comes across as a

real person. if he gets a question he doesn't like, he says he doesn't like it. he is often funny. a lot of times regular residents and staffers laugh. a lot is funny, even if it's at the expense of us. he's been able to keep politicians in new jersey in line. he runs a disciplined state and part of it is because they are concerned about retribution, and that has made him, in some respects, an effective governor. there's two sides to it. what are you hearing from republicans in the state of new jersey? >> it's radio silence. they didn't release statements today. it was unusual. other times when democrats criticised the governor, he had a slew of republicans who jump in front of each other to defend

him. that has not happened. that could be because he's, you know, won reelection and is expected to leave new jersey in a couple of years for president. and could be the case that he's losing some. poet epsy that he had. >> the story will continue, hope to talk to you again. matt katz, thank you. >> now to the other big story, the new book by former debtry robert gates, lashing out at president obama's leadership in the war on afghanistan and has strong words for vice president joe biden. >> he served republican and democrat administrations and was a low-key leader, an adult in the room. but a memoire by robert gates hit washington like a bombshell, critical of president obama and vice president joe biden, while american troops are in the field in conflict. now the white house is on the

defensive. >> read any good books lately, anyone. >> sarcasm from the president's spokesman. "the allegations in duty", the memoir from robert gates was no laughing matter. vice president joe biden was the subject of outright scorn: >> accusing biden of poisoning the well in the american milt tary. a photo op of a lunch with biden looked like a show of solidarity. jay carney said it was not in response to the book, but defended the vice president. >> vice president joe biden is a key advisor on national security and domestic policy matters. the president greatly values the council he provides. that's a fact. >> gates loves president obama

in places. such as a decision to go after osama bin laden, which was one of the most courageous decisions i have witnessed. but recounting one meeting, described the president as a reluctant warrior in afghanistan, superiors of military leaders: >> resentful for having been backed into a corner in ordering the afghan surge, president obama was: according to gates. jay carney said the president made his goals in afghanistan clear from the start. >> he thought it was very important to ensure we had a withdrawal date. that even after we surged our forces as part of refocussing the mission and bringing pressure on al qaeda central, that we would also begin the

drawdown, or after that begin the drawdown. that is the commitment he has made and is keeping, and is what the american people expected him to do. jay carney played down concerns the dislike of hamid karzai will complicate negotiations over the future of american forces after their combat rolened this year. >> i think the issues are not about personalities, but policies. >> robert gates served as defence secretary at the end of the bush administration, and president bush comes in for criticism. diverting resources from afghanistan, choosing to invade iraq, gates says that is the reason the taliban gained force, it was an opening for them, they were on the battlefield, that brought about the surge coming about under president obama's administration. >> thank you, u.s. military is investigating its second deadly helicopter crash. search continues from a fifth crew member for a chopper

plunging into the o off virginia. two crew members were killed, two others treated in local hospital. it was doing a training mission when it went down. an investigation to figure out why another went down in britain, killing four u.s. air force members. officials say the helicopter crashed into a nature reserve during a low-level training megs. >> coming up, earth's fury, terrifying images as an erupting volcano triggers evacuation. and dennis rodman's dip loam hassy. the family of an american held in north korea fire back at his controversial comments.

>> former n.b.a. player dennis rodman makes another trip to north korea stirring up controversy and curiosity. >> ♪ happy birthday to >> he sang happy birthday to

north korean leader kim jong un, followed by a friendly basketball game. dennis rodman describes his visit as basketball diplomacy. members of congrerks the n.b.a. and -- congression, the n.b.a. and congress described it as ill-advised, naive. dennis rodman implied that canada bay, from washington state may -- that bea bea from that kenneth bae may deserve to be imprisoned. >> we were shocked and appalled. it's one thing to say he refuses to help. that's his choice, these a private citizens. it's another thing to hurl these outrageous accusations against my brother. he clearly does not know what he's talking about. he's uninformed. we were shocked. this is not a game. it's a serious issue with a person's life. >> kenneth bae's family says

he's a devout christian, moving to north korea to run a tour company. he was arrested in 2012, accused of trying to bring down the government through religious activities. >> the barack obama discipline issued guidelines about zero tolerance policies saying public schools should use law enforcement as a last resort. zero tolerance policies disproportionately affect minority students. >> 50 years ago tonight president lyndon johnson declared a war on poverty. the war on poverty, the white house says, has been successful. in 2012 it was at 16%, down from 26% in 1967. >> not everyone is optimistic. republican lawmakers say more needs to be done. >> our federal government is a

major impediment to the enterprise and ingenuity of our people. expensive tax code, burden some regulations and national debt are suffocating study and good paying jobs. that's why poverty and inequality got worse. >> president barack obama is expected to announce a new program. calling for promise zones for some of the poorest parts of the country. they'll be eligible for public health. one major u.s. city where the need is great is detroit, where tonya mosley is tonight. >> detroit stands at the threshold of a new future. >> the year was 1966. motor city was the automotive and music capital of the world. detroit was considered a model

city. president lyndon johnson war on poverty. in 1967 the federal government sent 490 million to detroit to fight the 36% poverty rate, funding low income housing and social programs. in the summer of that year, this. a domestic rebellion, rioters destroyed blocks, dozens killed, thousands injured. >> 1967 was first and foremost about police brutality and violence against people in the neighbourhoods in the inner city of detroit, and the lack of economic opportunity. they were the two things that the poverty program was not set up to address. sheila was an activist and member of the detroit city council. the fiction is it was a model city. >> it was a fiction that

exploded. autoplants and middle class jobs moved to the suburbs. a tide the war on poverty could not stop. >> we thought we'd be a model of good race relation, we weren't. once the riots destroyed that notion, the population left the city. >> many that stayed did not trust the top-down approach. some programs worked. the mum and totsic -- tots clinic was one of them. mothers got pre and post natal and nursery school. >> it was funded by the war on poverty and beloved, untouched by the rioters. >> it worked because it was local, neighbourhood-centered. >> the mum and tots program operated out of the corner store front for 15 years.

whilst able to survive the riots, it did not survive the economic decline. >> john gallagher believes the rebound of the city would not come from a government-funded war on poverty. >> it's no longer a big government solution, it's all theets other -- these other things we are trying on the ground. >> detroits continues dealing with an exodus. >> the hope is that the city's resurrection is coming from small businesses, private donors and people who care. >> and it was 50 years ago that president johnson said every american deserves a basic measure of security. we look at the numbers in the war on poverty. >> america is among the richest in the world. who are the ones in poverty. in 1964 you had to make less than 1500 a year. today it's about $11,000

annually if you live alone. if you make minimum wage you are not likely in poverty unless you have kids. is the u.s. winning the war. some worry no. the official poverty rate has barely moved over the decades. it's at 15%. 50 years ago 90% of the americans were in poverty. it's 46 million today. studies show without the government benefits like food stamps and social security, the rate would have been higher, at 30% today. evidence that the government programs work. keep in mind the united states no longer has children starving and almost everyone has indoor plumbing. that could not be said 50 years ago. a bright spot, the elderly. impoverished older people has dropped. from 30%, now less than 10%. medicare and social security get a lot of care.

it raises criticism that the u.s. may not be helping if they were giving money to the poor. america spends a trillion a year fighting poverty, breaking down to $20 a year. some argue it may be better to cut them a check. the worry is the war on poverty did not do enough to create jobs. nearly all the people who have full-time jobs are not in poverty. >> jonathan betz reporting. >> the battle against unemployment continues across the united states. having a job may not be enough to pay the bills. natasha ghoneim reports on a family living in one of chicago's poorest neighbourhoods. >> supporting a family of five on $1600 to $2-00 a month requires a financial suffer, paying some bills, delaying others and worrying about every penny. >> if a little income we have

leaves, where are we at. will i be at the door? will i be out the door with my kid. >> 32-year-old alicia wilson is a single working mum, a nationally certified medical assistant, but cannot find work in her field, but she is waitresses, earning money plus tips. >> when i look at the kids i can't get discouraged. >> she pays $130 a month for her public housing apart: it's a life she shares with her four daughters, ages four through 10, and her fiancee, who pays the bills. alicia wilson doesn't want this to be more than a brief pitt stop on the way to a better life with her daughters. >> they live in the liberty city section of miami, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in florida. it's a neighbourhood with similar dreams.

surrounding by the harsh realities of circumstances. >> cecilia gutlerrez is a si sill -- symbol of what is possible. she lived in poverty and broke the cycle. she runs a nonprofit. she says 50 years after lyndon johnson declared a war on poverty the battle wages on for many. >> people do not have the courage or will to address the components. we have allowed ourselves to be okay with saving some and not all. in the last year miami's children initiative pushed a playground. this block by block approach is designed to show people here they matter. most importantly, the goal is to ensure kids get the ticket out of poverty that cecilia gutlerrez did, a college education. if every community challenges

it, and says in our block k on these streets, in this community, our children will be the future. not the ones at the bottom. it would be dramatically different. >> as for wilson and her family life became tougher. after our interview her hours reduced at the job. unable to afford gas for the commute, she was forced to quit. >> up next - fake surgery, is it better than the real thing? plus, danger zone, understanding avalanches, how they start and how to stop them.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. and here are the top stories: tomorrow new jersey politicians will hold a hearing to investigate governor chris

christie's legislature. they blocked a bridge, and critics say they did it to punish a mayor that didn't support him. >> another helicopter crash being investigated, two killed off the coast of virginia. yesterday a helicopter crashed in britain killing four service members. 50 years after the war on poverty, too many americans are worn in the heart of hardship. tomorrow they'll create new promise zones, focussing on job creation and education. >> it's an unusual medical experiment. two different groups offered free knee surgery. the meniscus with one group was fake. the results were essentially the same, according to a study done by researchers at the university of he'll sinky in finland.

what the experiment hoped to show is doctors should think twice when repairing the meniscus. there are 700,000 surgeries in the united states at a cost of $4 billion. joining us now to talk about the study and the placebo effect in surgery is dr david newman, from the mount sinai school of medicine. good to see you. >> good to be here. >> does this mean many of these surgeries are not necessary? >> that is the implication. it's hard to know. when you try to visualise the cases, you get a different answer. the clear implication from this randomized trial was you couldn't tell the difference between a fake or real surgery, which suggests that might be the case. >> were you surprised? >> in a way i was. it's surprising to see a sham surgery trial. you want to see more in one

sense, but in another they are ethically tricky. in another way, if you do a sham surgery, researchers are finicky about what they'll pick. in a way, it's not a surprising result. >> i am sure that there are a lot of patients out there who wonder whether or not their surgery really made a difference. i mean, i guess - have there been enough studies for us to know whether ively this is the case? >> there hasn't been enough to know conclusively. when you see a sham surgery trial, it's an indication that this surgery, if there was no benefit over a real surgery, that really it doesn't look good for that particular intervention. we don't know conclusively. this is a 120 or so patients. we couldn't say for sure. whether it's fake or real, how dangerous is surgery. surgery is certainly dangerous. one of things i point out in the article that i wrote about this

is jahi mcmath is a young woman who was a relatively healthy 13-year-old girl, going in for a routine surgery, tonsillectomy, ended up brain dead. it's not something to take lightly. >> there are all sorts of reserves, infections is the big one. >> it's the most common. >> jahi mcmath's family is looking at an uncommon complication, severe bleeding after a minor surgery. the common one is minor bleeding, pain, which is common with almost any surgery. >> what does it cost? >> the surgery in this case, the meniscus, since it costs about $4 billion to the u.s. health care economy, it's substantial. what it costs in an institution or place is tricky as we know from recent reporting. >> are there alternatives to surgery. what would they be?

>> typically they are similar to the alternatives that you see in studies looking at acl repair and ligamentous or joint problems and send to be physical therapy. it tends to be excellent for knee and orthopaedic problems. and in randomized trials. it tend to be the same. >> good to have you on the program david newman. >> in utah, 1400 same-sex couples marriage status is in question. they wed after a federal judge found the ban on gaye marriage unconstitutional. now, pending a u.s. appeal utah will not recognise the unions. seth anderson, and michael ferguson were the first gay couple to get married in utah and i spoke to them. >> i feel a bit shaken up. the stay didn't come as a surprise. i expected that. today, to have the government of the state where i live single me

out and my family and marriage and say, "we don't like you, we are not equal, and we will not recognise you", is alarming, frustrating and sad and outrageous. >> and they told me they are considering litigation against the state as part of a class action lawsuit. today marks three years since a gunman opened fire an gabby giffords and others in tuscon arizona. >> the mayor of tuscon rang a bell 19 times in honour of the 19 killed and injured in that shooting. 100 people gathered on the front lawn of the medical center where the victims were treated for a reading of the names and a moment of silence. >> former congress woman gabby giffords marked the day in an unusual way, going skydiving over southern arizona with a friend. her husband met or on the ground

and tweeted that he is proud of her bravery. >> civil unrest in africa led to tens of thousands of migrants looking for a new home. it's creating tension in israel. >> moussa abdoul lived here for sixiers years, but it doesn't feel like home. >> there's no hospitals, governments, banks, no activities. you are at the risk of being killed at any moment. >> at first this quiet community outside of tel aviv was welcoming. he got a job, aapplied for asylum. he heard nothing back from the government. now he feels the state is trying to push him out. >> they made our life miserable for the last year, now it explodes. >> the explosion is unprecedented protests. 10,000 boarding buses for the

trip to jerusalem. their version of the march on washington. >> i hope our voice will be heard by the government. and that they'll change their mind. >> when they got there they filled a park overlooking the israeli parliament or ken esic. never before has this many non-israelis filled the space. protest leaders showed up fonar appointment inside. one blocked their way inside. >> we are coming from our county. we don't have a voicism. >> eventually liberal members heard their grievances. >> they heard the asylum request, but no one takes any q >> the migrants kept a low proifl and did not rise voices. now they say they have no choice. new laws allowsize rails to

throw them here. the vast majority don't qualify. they are here for jobs. >> we are talking about illegal work migrants. we are determined to punish them to the pull extent of the law. >> moussa is determined to change the government's mind and will continue protesting because he has nowhere else to go. he wishes he could return to the place he calls home. >> when you look at the photos, does it make you miss your family. >> when i can see them again, when i can be reunited with them and feel happy, surrounded with my loved ones. >> you can't go back. >> i can't. >> that's why he continues to fight to stay here. >> well, three former major leaguers will join baib roouth,

jackie robson and all the legends. the issue of performance enhancing drugs may keep several other players out of the medals. michael eaves is here. >> the baseball writers of america will send three players to coopers town. four-times winner greg maddux ranks 8th all time with 355 vic ris, and won 18 gold gloves. he is joined by longtime atlanta braves team-mate tom glavin, 10 trips to the all star and 22 seasons in the big leagues. and the final member is a 2-time american mpv frank thomas, hitting 301 with 521 home runs and 1700 rbi. i asked kevin baxter from the

"the los angeles times," if he was more surprised at who made the induction or who didn't. >> i'm surprised at who didn't make it, and the procedure around the voting. i think with the steroid issue, with newspapers banging the reporters for voting. we are not allowed to vote. i don't want to see it to the death knell, but we'll see major changes in how it's conducted in the future. >> do you think the baseball writers will have to change the process, is that what you're saying? >> they have been divided into two camps, the people that look at the steroid era saying we can't put the genie in the bottle. yes, some people did some things they shouldn't have. it affected a generation, but we need to deal with that. >> you look at some of the early

numbers, they played at a time when baseball was segregated. they didn't pitch to josh gibson. those numbers are skewed. you look at the steroid era. i'm not equating the who, but there was a time when the players took performance enhancing drugs. they weren't banned until 2004. >> you were surprised who did make it. and some of the steroid users, barry bonds, clemmens, mark mcguire, their vote went down, how surprising was that. >> that was a big surprise. i thought thiption were thawing ou. i thought no one would accept the steroid era and their numbers, and a one to one basis with guys that are clean. one thing about the people like today. frank thomas crusaded

againstster yoids. this was a -- steroids. others that you commenced, mcguire, and clem edges his numbers going down. and pal meral, one of a handful of police headquarters, he's ready to fall off of the edge of the earth. he won three gold gloves. this is a guy before the steroid, he would have been a first ballot hall of famer. >> do you think if the steroid users came out and admitted they used, that their voting chance would increase and give them a greater likelihood of entering the hall of fame. >> i think it would increase slightly, not enough to get them in. for several years now, has been honest about the fact he bet on baseball. it has not helped his hall of fame chances. i do think at some time you and i may not be around.

at some time the numbers for clemmens and barry bonds are phenomenal, they'll have to get in the hall of fame, a veterans committee, when the steroid issue is ancient issue, they should get in. they should be in now when they have a chance to enjoy it. look at frank thomas, maybe he homered off a guy that used steroids or maddux played a game where the game winner was hit by a guy on steroids. you can't say everything these guys did was good and everything the others did was bad. you can't divide the numbers. >> some of the pitchers - they benefitted from guys that used steroids by driving the runs. how do you exclude the ones that

did it for their benefit. or who got away with it and who got caught. there's another, some say 80% of players were using it. it's a level playing field. that's the majority. >> sizzling summer heat may force officials to change the date of the soccer 2022 world cup. the championship game will take place in qatar. with the soccer's international body says the game may be rescheduled to take place in winter and summer. it tops 100 degrees. a final decision has not been made. coming up. imminent threat. a volcano stirs to life with thousands on the run. and a bracelet that tracks hutch sun you are getting, jake ward shows us the technology at c.b.s.

>> most of us enjoyed the gradual warm up moving in, the pacific north-west is bringing rain through the low lands. now, as we look into the mountains, that is where the snow is coming down, roadways are icy, we had icy areas in eastern washington zoo. the winter weather advisories have been issued. the biggest problem will be the powerful wind gusts where we

have a high wind warning with gusts up to 50-60 miles per hour. further south it's a different story. a little moisture riding over the cold air in parts of arkansas and louisville. freezing rain and icing up the roadways. the warmer air will edge in. the temperatures will warm and scour out any chance of icy roadways. further to the north and north-east, we are in the teens and 20s. still, about 20 to 40 degrees warmer than what we were in the last few days. >> for florida on the cool side, so is birmingham. spots will be below zero...

>> a growing danger in mount sinabung appears to be increasing. it has erupted hundreds of times, sending hot gas, ash and rock more than three miles into

the sky and lava streaming down the mountain. 22,000 people have been evacuated from the danger zone. currently three miles around the bay. if the volcanic activity intensifies, the size of evacuation zone could double. it's the fifth avalanche-related death in the rocky mountain reason. tuesday one was killed, three injured in an avalanche near vail mountain. karl birkeland is the director of the forest service national avalanche center. and he explains how they happen and what you can do to protect yourself. >> you can have small avalanches that are not dangerous, or big avalanches that are an equal or destructive power to a hurricane and tornado. the power behind it is sufficient to wipe out mature forests, snapping the trees like match sticks or wipe out a small

town. when a person triggers it, he'll trigger it from the middle of a slab. you could be in the middle of a slope, the entire slope starts to slide as one piece. as it begins to slide, all the pieces break up as the avalanche accelerated and moves over terrain, soon you are in a flowing river of snow that is moving at an incredibly high rate of speed. we mitigate the hazard by releasing the avalanches when no one is there. highway department and skiers utilize explosives to trigger avalanche, making sure no one is in the path and eliminate the danger for the slope. >> what we see over the past several decades is an increase in the number of avalanche

victims. on a small increase in the number of fatalities. we feel that is because we have been more effectively educating and provide information to people. the best thing that you can do when you go to the back country is carry knowledge with you. you need to know what the avalanche conditions are. we encourage people to look at the local avalanche forecast, see what the center is saying about the danger. if people are going into avalanche training. you want to carry an avalanche baekon, an avalanche probe and shovel. the key actually is not getting caught in the first place, with the tools, people can die still. >> most avalanche accidents occur when there's big snow falls and high winds and a season where there is little early snow fall.

>> this week los angeles is home to all things high-tech. it's day two of the consumer electronics show. every day new gadgets are being introduced. one can product you from the sun. jacob ward is in los angeles for us. >> earlier today i showed off this the netamo june bracelet. a $99 piece of jewellery representing a new spirit. i'll talk about what the technology makes possible. it's for detecting sun exposure. it will tell you how much sun you have gotten over the course of the day, week, month, year. you'll know the patterns, and that you get burnt in the commute home. that kind of really specific app and specific piece of hardware would never have been possible before the era of 3d printing.

it makes it possible to create something as specific as a $99 bracelet piece of julie that tells you about the sun exposure. we are about to see 99 tiny gadgets with a purpose. >> jake ward in los angeles for us. coming up, the reason i was not sitting in this chair last night. >> you are the prime-time news anchor for al jazeera america. >> i am. >> okay. who got to you and how?

>> for one week now colorado

residents are legally able to purchase marijuana. all they have to do is show an id. critics of the new law are worried about how it affects young people, teenagers. we have the story. >> around age 12, 13, i wanted to feel different. >> just like that, recovering addict paul scudo says his 30 year struggle with marijuana was underway. smoking once a week became once a day. he was hooked. >> i did the bare minimum of what i had to do to get buy and continue to use pot. >> studies show that teens who smoke early smoke more and more often. also, one in 18 who try pot will become addicted, and the brains of heavy users can develop abnormally. the big question now is colorado's new retail weed regime sending teens a dangerous message. >> there's a concern that if young people get the sense this

it's not a big deal, they do not see a reason to not use. the doctor says, "yes", more kids are viewing it as harmless. >> mason, one of the leaders of colorado's legalization campaign says the problem is not new laws, it's the old laws everywhere else. >> if the goal of our prohibition policy is to keep marijuana away from teens, and 80% say they can get it easily, it's the sign of a failed policy. >> in the 1930s americans freaked out about reefer madness, but with poll after poll showing the majority favours legalization. they are more intuned with dazed and confused. that trend worries this doctor,

who sees parallels between marijuana and tobacco. >> the truth came out with cancer, and i think something will happen with marijuana. >> today paul scudo is a rehab support specialist but he lost his home, job and marriage. >> i talked myself into believing it's okay. it's just marijuana. >> experts say we don't know enough of the effects of marijuana on the body. teenagers included. that could be about to change. state lawmakers are in session, considering up to $7 million for marijuana research. >> we end on a lighter note and app explanation for my absence on tuesday night's broadcast. most nights i asked the questions. last night the table were turned. i left the anchor desk to visit

steven colbert at comedy central. >> you are the prime-time news anchor for al jazeera america. >> i am. >> okay, who got to you and how? who turned you? when were you radicalized? >> i wasn't radicalized but they approached me this summer and asked me to anchor the prime-time news cast >> do they have your family member some place. if this is stockholm syndrome, blink and breeze. >> no, the family is safe. they offered me a chance to anchor serious new, indepth journal. >>. unbiased reports. >> come on >> fact-based news. >> this is al jazeera. >> this is al jazeera america. >> what is the angle, the grist. is it lish ral or fair and balanced. >> i have no... >> you have to have a take, which one is it? which one are you? >> we have no appingle.

it's just the news. >> how do you keep people from being afraid of this? >> i can't keep people from being afraid of this and i can't convince people of that. all i can do is awatch what we do. i think if they see what we do and see the stories we cover, i think they'll understand we are doing serious news. >> john -- (clapping) >> if i know anything about the n.s.a., someone is watching what you are doing. john, thank you for joining me, john seigenthaler, al jazeera america. check it out. we'll be right back. >> lot of fun. thank you to the folks at comedy central and steven colbert. more news in a moment and i'll see you back here with real news tomorrow night.

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. here are the top stories. new jersey's governor chris christie said he did not know that his aide was involved in a traffic lane change that clogged a bridge into the city. it was said that the office was retaliating against a mayor that did not support him. >> the white house came out in support of the vice president after what was written in gate's book. biden is a key advisor to barack obama. >> 50 years after the beginning of the war on poverty,oo