we raise a question about the

survivors. >> reshaping american by hand. a one woman wonder.

schools are in bad situations and e anything goes. no obligation on the part of the parents showing education the taking place. >> my parents were involved with a very conservative church.

>> this only happened to me. i thought the other families [inaudible] >> that i was the failure. i thought i was the problem that deserved things to happen. >> they are compiling cases of child abuse. >> we have cases in every state.

some states more than others. >> dozens of cases, no one knows. >> it is disstressing.

who don't have a future because their families are able to hide behind it. >> should have the right to oversee their children's education. children have a right to an education and right now the [inaudible] >> home schooling parents are against the government looking over their shoulder. the government -- secondly, public schools in oklahoma are failing.

>> now, in a breakthrough television event, al jazeera america takes you beyond the debate. experience first hand the tragic journey of these migrants. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on until you live near the boarder. >> six strangers with different points of view... >> i don't believe in borders. >> our government is allowing an invasion. >> ...get to experience illegal immigration, up close and personal. >> its very overwhelming to see this many people that have perished. >> a lot of families that don't know where their babies went. >> i want to make sure that her life, its remembered. >> what happens when lost lives are relived. >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves. >> on borderland.

only on al jazeera america. >> any of you guys want to come to the united states? more than half a million threing the conflict are now in neighboring turkey. many of them are living outside refugee camps. he spent some time with several refugees and nick, good to see you, what are those people saying to you? those syrians? >> yeah, tony, these are stories of absolutely heartbreak, and inside syria they have all fled horrific very violent fighting and just give you one statistic, one out of every three homes inside syria has been destroyed or damaged. and so that's why these people have to leave, they feel like their lives depend on them leaving. they are fleeing to lebanon, fleeing to

jordan, as you said thereforing also to turkey where i was over

[ technical difficulties ] >> it was very quickly across the great lakes and then dumps a lot of snow here across the east. and that's what we are seeing. 24 hours of snow will be dumped along here. i want to take you closer in. this is our radar, and where you see the darker blues, in those darker blues that is where he is heaviest snow is falling. already this is what we have seen in terms of accumulation. new jersey, 1.5 inches, drexel

hill, and the northern part of central park saw about 5 inches of snow. and we're still going to be seeing that snow at least through the next 18 hours. >> all right. kevin corriveau we hope he gets a hat if he goes back outside. we're going to talk about the prospects in the peace talks in syria. could it lead to a break through? big stumbling blocks, though, already. first off a diplomatically awkward, as the un secretary general had to withdraw his

invitation to iran just one day after he issued it. then some shocking pictures emerged. a team of international forensic experts have images that the syrian government tortured and killed 11,000 prisoners. quite disturbing, and the talks haven't even started. we have the coed for of the book "the syrian dilemma" joins us. can you talk about your feeling here right now? i mean given all that has already happened, what is the pros pet for anything really being a break through in geneva? >> well, if anyone is expecting a break through in geneva, i think they are going to be disappointed, largely because the geneva process and the geneva communique effectively grants the key protagonist veto

power over success. the key power states that the parties by mutual consent are to discuss a transitional government. >> did the disinvitation of the iranians do you think that has become any sort of bigger stumbling block, besides being somewhat of an el bare raszment for banky moon? >> no, i don't think so. effectively iran's interests are being represented by the assad regime and russia, so i don't think that is going to substancively change the prospects for peace, which i think really are to be located in the nature of the structural flaws of the geneva process and the fact that the one key party responsible for this conflict is -- has veto power over

anything moving forward. >> and what about the pictures? these are quite horrific, the indications of significant and widespread torture and abuse, how serious of a problem is that for the syrians? >> i think it's very serious for the syrian opposition because they have to sit across the table from the side that is responsible. so it has been difficult for them to come to the table primarily for that reason, so it is going to complicate the process. i think the pictures are nothing knew. it confirms what we already knew. but the big question is what is the international community going to do about those pictures? are they going to pursue policies to bring an end to this horror story or sichly allow the syrian regime to be respected at the international table, given a voice and if it refuses to co

compromise is everyone just going to go home and throw their hands up in the air. >> we have talked about the refugee situation, the enormous numbers of families, children forced from their homes internally and externally placed. is there any indication there could be movement to provide greater aid to them. >> there was a big meeting in kuwait last week where there has been a lot of pledges. but the refugees want to go home. to dealing with the problem divorced from the conflict that produced these refugees all indications are that more will be produced in the coming year, suggests that the plight of the refugee doesn't look very good until the root of the conflict are going to be addressed in these diplomatic negotiations, and it doesn't seem that the

roots of this conflict -- that produced this conflict and produced those refugees are going to be addressed. >> we appreciate you being with us. >> thanks. ♪ coming up next, lethal prescriptions in a growing number of states. the terminally ill tell us there's more to it. their fight for the right to die when we return. ♪

♪ now a snapshot of stories making headlines on "america tonight." tax season is upon us already. the wealthiest americans will feel it the most. the tax rate for them is 39.6%. because of changes made last year to avoid the fiscal cliff, the filing was delayed, but some things never change, taxes including the tax deadline which is still april 15th. the president and the pope will take up a discussion of

shared interest. the two men will meet during mr. obama's european tour in march. they plan to talk about poverty and inequality with pope francis. a shooting on purdue campus took place today. one student is in custody. if you have ever been at the side of a terminally ill family member you know the final days can be quite painful. last week a new mexico judge ruled that terminally ill patients have the right to physician assisted suicide. it represents a turning point for the community. adam learned more about the right to die in vermont which was one of the first states to accept the controversial

prevention. >> reporter: ben underhill knows he is living on borrowed time. ten years ago he was diagnosed with a rare and deadly blood cancer. he moved to vermont after college, drawn to its small town charm and natural beauty, he found it the perfect place to live. now he is planning to die here. >> i don't fear death at all. i actually -- you know, as they say death is easy, life is hard. >> reporter: you were only given a couple of years to live, and here you are, what ten years later? >> when i was diagnosed i was 44, and the life expect pansy was three to five years. >> what is that like? >> you don't have a lot of choice you give up or move on. i have had to have people bathe me. i have had to have pick me up for quite a while.

but there comes a point where you know it's going to get so bad that you can't do anything for yourself, and so somebody is keeping you alive, or keeping you in existence, and for what? three extra weeks? to me i have had seven extra years already. so three weeks is nothing. >> reporter: the 54-year-old insurance agent was a driving force behind a new controversial law. he lobbied state lawmakers to legalize physician assisted suicide. >> if this bill passes i'll be comfortable knowing in my last few weeks if things become too unbearable, i can end my life. [ applause ] >> we now lead an area where other states have not gone. >> reporter: vermont's governor signed the death with dignity bill into law in may. it allows doctors to prescribe a

life-ending pill. >> i have no fear that i will ask for the medication. will i get to the point where i will take it or i feel that i'm so bad that i have to take it? i don't know. >> what is it about dying this way that is more comforting to you? >> it's on my terms. >> reporter: vermont is one of five states where physician-assisted suicide is permitted. new mexico could become the sixth state if a recent court ruling is not appealed. but it is happening in other states often involving a controversial group operating in the shadows. it's called the final exit network. >> the difference between me and kevorkian, well, he liked the publicity. ours is a private thing. >> reporter: this doctor used to be the medical director of the

final exit network. he keeps an office in this small home in baltimore, maryland. >> reporter: you make the patient plug it in, pull the bag over their head, and turn the nozzle. >> yeah, all of those things. >> reporter: so you are not physically doing anything? >> i physically do nothing. and each of those go to a tank. >> reporter: he showed us what he uses to help people die. modified turkey cooking bags filled with tubes that hook up to helium tanks. >> i asked a patient one time, i said would she mind -- be willing that some other person use is this? >> reporter: he has used an exit hood like this one to help many people end their lives. >> and she thought it was a marvellous idea. the fact that she would be giving a gift to somebody else.

and i have done that. >> reporter: recycled them? >> recycled led them. reused them. >> reporter: has this one been used? >> yeah. >> reporter: oh. what is that process like? >> the person doesn't feel any pain or discomfort at all and they just go to sleep. >> reporter: you hold their hands sometimes. >> yeah. >> reporter: how many times have you held a person's hand. >> about a hundred. it's an honor. do you want me to put it on? >> reporter: iing don't want you to suffocate? >> well, don't worry about that. >> reporter: the doctor has faced criminal charges in a handful of jurisdictions, but has yet to be convicted. critics argue he will help anyone die whether their medical condition is terminal.

>> i do not think terminally ill is a reasonable criteria. i think it's better to say a person has a chance to think about their life. i have a man who is 84 years old. he is totally deaf. he says this is living? i don't want to do this anymore. >> reporter: he wants to go? >> he wants to go. >> reporter: and do you think he should have that choice? >> yes, i do. you can go down and buy a rifle and blow your brains out. you have that right. >> reporter: but in the end it's somebody pulling a helium balloon over their head, and some would say that's not very dig anified. >> you can get the pills it's up to you. >> he is pulling balloons over people's heads. i think it's creepy. >> reporter: this woman is helping to lead the repeal

against the death with dignity law. >> i think it's the exception not the rule that death is ugly and scary. they want you to think that the only way to make it pretty is to plan it and take a pill for it. and i don't think that mother nature is that cruel. >> reporter: how old was your mother when she passed? >> 90. she really had a good life. >> reporter: she recently sat at her mothers side as she died a natural death. >> reporter: what is your concern? >> i want to make sure i have the option to die naturally. i don't want an environment in our future where people are pressured into ending they lives prematurely. >> do you think people want to live? i think people want to live basically. until they can't live anymore.

>> reporter: gene mallory was married to vermont's former congressman dick mallory. the republican represented the state in the 1970s, and then returned to vermont as a leader in state politics. >> dick was legendary in the state. >> i think clearly the time has come. >> reporter: after being diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in 2004, mallory and his wife began the effort to bring physician-assisted suicide to vermont. >> we just hope it's in time for us that's all. >> reporter: but despite their televised appeal, early versions of the law failed. dick mallory took his own life in 2011. >> reporter: it was a beautiful fall day, and i came home and found a note on the door.

>> reporter: can you share what it said? >> to jeanie and my family, the time has come. i have done everything that i wanted to do, and i don't -- i don't regret my life. he knew it was going to be a shock to me, but i feel that this is what people who make this decision go through. they weigh the benefits, and -- and the burdens. he certainly didn't want to put us through watching him become helpless and -- and he didn't want to be nursed, you know? he was a very proud -- proud man. my hugest regret is that i could bbt with him, and that's because it was not legal. >> reporter: with the new law in vermont if ben underhill chooses physician-assisted suicide, we can be surrounded by family at

the end. >> i would much rather go out on the terms that i want to go out, feeling good, being happy, being comfortable, being with the people i love than lying in bed suffering. and i think it's almost an enlightened position of not having to suffer at the end. >> reporter: the avid baseball plan is now planning for his death. >> initially i thought i would have a nice meal and watch a red sox game, but now i found out you have five hours between eating a meal and taking the medicine. so i'll have a nice meal and wait five hours and watch a game and then fall asleep. >> this is such a gift to people, such a gift. they just don't know it yet. >> our correspondent tells us

there has been plenty of much back against these laws and not just from the church. many argue this could encourage people with disabilities to embrace death instead of trying life-sustaining treatments. it is a clear that this is a fight far from over. ♪ we'll look at new ways to support the gravely ill on our next program when technology offers the answer to what seems like an unbearable existence. >> he described to me once, i feel like i'm a ghost looking in on my family. he begged me to take his life. begged me. he had it planned out that i was to shoot him and bury him in the backyard. it was a huge change because it gave him a purpose in life. it could be something as small as holding a plastic device so

that henry could rub his head on it and scratch his head for the first time. >> robots for humanity, in ways large and small. how they can make all of the difference. jacob ward brings us the story wednesday on"america tonight." and coming up next, pressure mounts on an ancient tradition a dolphin hunt in japan. and why leaders there say u.s. critics are being unfair. >> from more sources around the world. >> the situation has intensified here at the border. >> start every morning, every day 5am to 9 eastern. >> with al jazeera america.

coming up on "consider this," devastating pictures draw comparisons to nazi germany. the pictures are so brutal we can't show them out a warning. and president obama is trying to put the economy on equal footing, but some argue the government is hurting more than helping. and why do movies have to few women? and could that be a terrible box office move? we'll see you at the top of the hour. ♪ depending on your perspective it is either a misrepresented cultural tradition or an inhumane slaughter of dolphins underway in japan. adding to the debate this week, a diplomatic clash via social

media from caroline kennedy. now the return valuable from japanese leaders. the dolphin hunt was featured in an oscar, winning documentary, the cove. and it has long outraged environmental activists. these are the scenes that have activists seeing red. fisherman attacking corralled bottlenose dolphins the water crimson with their blood. dolphin hunting runs from september to april every year. this hunt was the biggest round up in recent years. the anti-whaling group which shot this footage says just over 40 were killed for their meat, another 52 were kept for sale to aquariums around the world. you can see the divers holding

the dolphins picked out for sale. ambassador kennedy's tweeted raised diplomatic alarms. japanese officials though point out the hunt is within international legal rights. >> translator: dolphin fishing is a form of traditional fishing in our country, and it has been carried out appropriately and in accordance with the law. >> japanese all say that u.s. hunte hunters slaughter animals in this country. the sea sheperd activists say based on previous hunts most of the surviving dolphins will end up in mexico, turkey, taiwan, and korea. but it remains the method that

is the greatest outranl. >> a metal rod was stabbed into their spinal chord where they were left to bleed out and die. after a traumatic four days they experienced violent captive selection being separated from their family and eventually were killed today. >> it is certainly a provocative story. we wanted more perspective about how dolphins are kept both here in the united states and abroad. joining us is billy hurley, former president and current board member. we appreciate you being with us. i guess first we want to know mr. hurley, are we going to see any of these dolphins ending up in any of the animal attractions or zoos in this country? >> absolutely not. and none have come into this country in the last 30 to 40 years. we have laws in place that would

prevent us from bringing animals in because of the inhumane slaughter which we absolutely condemn, but also because we don't know if it is a sustainable fishery so you would never see these animals here in this country, and i think that's part of the deceiving side for the activists that want to claim they are sent worldwide when in fact they are not. >> there are several hundred dolphins in captivity in the united states? >> yes, there are 400 dolphins in the united states, to compare that to the 70 million dogs or 9.2 million horses that are here. that is a very, very small number. these animals have the finest of care and are at organizations that are accredited. >> but i did want to understand, these mammals are bred in captivity? you said we're not going to get

any from these places. most of these are bred animals now? >> yes, over 65% of the bottlenose dolphins that are here were born in our care. and those that make up the other 35% are from animals that are not releasable or those animals that were collected in as late as the mid-'80s that are now 50 to 60 years old. >> so where will the animals from japan end up? >> well, there seems to be a big draw for these animals in the asian countries. some of the middle eastern countries also are desiring of these animals. and the aquariums here in the united states and the zoological community is against that type of practice over there. and we have taken the stance that we want to help those organizations who are k looking to collect animals by helping

them improve their collection and reproduction of animals. >> would that be a humane way to draw them out from the wild and put them in countries who want to begin their own animal attractions, zoos, whatever? >>, you know, that's the great point and the answer is yes. that has to be following strict criteria in the number of animals in that population. and there are practices that we use here in the united states that are permitted to do health assessments on animals, and during those practices people like myself and other professionals will handle these animals safely and carefully. so following those standards you can absolutely do this in a hue maine way. >> so if you wanted to start a zoo in china, and you wanted to gather dolphins without

purchasing them on the market, there is another way to do it? to go into the wild and capture them? >> there are certainly ways to study wild populations to study how many animals are there. look at the harbor porepus there are very few of them left. so there are times and places for collecting animals from the wild, certainly, but doing it in a humane fashion is critical. >> we thank you for being with us. >> thank you. ahead in our final thoughts this evening, an independent woman and an red book backyard. meet an american treasure building new treasures. ♪

finally tonight a voice from

the wilderness. she is just one woman, but a powerful one. strong enough in fact to reshape california's giant redwoods herself. what guides her in her work is a little wisdom from her elders she says. every log is its own gem. every log has its own unique character. there is an inner value there that unless you know how to deal with it, most people walk by and go that's all rotten. i just kind of get in zen with the log. it's a gut feeling with me. i want to say it's woman intuition. i'm looking for the bright

orange solid chip, and that's a good sign because that means the piece is solid. i recycle stumps off of the forest floors. i don't know who the true classification of an old growth tree is, but a 500-year-old tree, that's pretty old. i work with a lot of stuff that was arvested back in the 1800s, early 1900s. they wanted the cream day la cream of the tree. and they just left them. i'm taking them, opening them up, and creating something beautiful for the rest of us to enjoy. when i first started about 15 years ago, i had a pickup truck, a high-lift jack, and a lot of determination. as i have gotten older, i have kind of surrendered, yeah, i

need more help. but in the beginning, i didn't really have anybody helping me because i didn't want to. there was something about getting it done on my own that was perfectly fine by me. but unfortunately, as we get older we have to get smarter. so to have equipment, yeah, it's a definite grace and ease. but it's nice to know that if i need to move something without all of those fancy tools that there is not a log in this yard i cannot move by hand. old growth is old growth. it speaks for itself. it's quality of wood, the tight, tight grain that it provides.

and that's the thing about this stuff. you have to understand what you have left to work with, how to maximize itself potential to the fullest. i get a pretty big grin on my face when i see nothing but clear vertical grain lumber. it don't get much better than that. it really doesn't. the value of the product and the quality of the wood, i had that instilled into me by my dad. he was a master carpenter. he could put beautiful pieces of wood together into a final product, whereas i can take the rough tree and turn it into the rough product. my dad bought my first mill for me, as well as taught me how to read logs. he was very, very critical, and that's good, because that taught me quality control.

my dad was born in the 1920s, there was a definite pride of how you built things back in those days, how do really take your time and make something special and beautiful. i always try to cut as if my dad was standing behind me saying, look, you know, you have got to get that better. ♪ >> there's an energy around redwood trees. it's an experience that everybody should feel. i mean you are in amongst some of the oldest trees on the planet. you are taught to respect your elders, well, i guess that would be it for me. an old growth redwood is an elder. i cherish what the elders have to offer. and they can't talk. the only way to talk is to show what they actually have inside

them. when i open them all up, it's like they are opening their arms up to me, and embracing me to say, you know, let's see what you got. make -- make me shine even more so than i already do. ♪ that was our american treasure. that's it for us. good night, we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow. ♪ welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john siegenthaler in new york our top story a winter storm pounding the northeast. kevin corriveau has an update in new york. kevin? >> hello, john, well, what it

looks like here in new york is representative of what it looks like up and down the eastern seaboard. we haven't seen these streets plowed yet, so we're still dealing with the heavy snow. we're in a break in new york but that is not going to last very long. as you can see when this stops there's a little bit of a pinching of those clouds, but what is coming up from the southwest, well more snow is expected all the way through the morning time, at least until about 8:00 or 9:00 am here in new york. temperatures are still coming down. it is now 12 degrees, but when you factor in the winds that are out there, we are seeing winds anywhere between 16 mile per hour in philadelphia up towards boston at 16. and when you combine those two, the wind chill feels like this. we feel like minus 12 degrees.

so we will be watching this for the rest of the evening for you, john. >> all right. kevin corriveau thank you. "consider this" is up next. i'll see you back here at 11:00 eastern, 8:00 pacific. ♪ horrifying pictures of torture and killings in syria as the civil war takes an even darker turn. also president obama rails against income inequality, but do his solutions add up. plus could hunting a rhino help preserve the species. and the basic test that many oscar front runners fail. hello, i'm antonio mora. welcome to "consider this." here is more on what is ahead. >> there may now be proof of war crimes in syria. >>