without power in philadelphia. it occurred on wednesday when ice and snow downed trees and powerlines. some could be without power for days. more snow is on the way. >> i'm thomas drayton in new york. "america tonight" coming up next. liquorice smell in west virginia's drinking water is back. schools are closed. patience is running low. >> also ahead - six more weeks of this... ..the bitter cold, heavy snow and the powerless. is your community ready for what is next? >> i'm ready to pack up and move. year. even the warm states. >> paying the price in paradise. our indepth look at crime and punishment - a hawaiian innovation stopping trouble in its tracks.

>> we have research showing that people in hope are getting arrested for new crimes half as often as the people on probation, as usual. >> good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. we begin with a disturbing development in west virginia's drinking water crisis. it's been four weeks since a chemical spill tainted the water. more than 300,000 west virginians were affected. we learnt today that five schools had to close after complaints of foul liquorice odour returned to the drinking water, three weeks after state official gave the water the all clear. residents have been assured that the drinking water is safe. the level of

distrust is growing. we are joined by a reporter for west virginia public broadcaster, via skype. tell us the latest incident. it started at the schools? >> they started flushing the schools themselves, and reflushing. what we know is that at a high school and elementary school yesterday, as they flushed the systems again, a liquorice smell started to resurface. we had a teacher at one of those schools fant, and students -- faint, and students complaining of eye and skin irritation, their noses burning. the school immediately closed. today we heard of three more elementary schools who were experiencing the same thing, the strong liquorice smell and the state department of education told the schools to close. >> i want to clarify. you are on skype, it's hard to keep up with what you are saying.

you said a teacher fainted because of the odours. >> a teacher fainted at a school that closed yesterday. we understand that a cook at one of those schools was transported to the hospital as well. >> is there an indication that anyone had to be hospitalized for a length of time. >> there is not at this point. the c d.c. said these are really mild cases that they are seeing. they are not seeing anything severe, or that needs to be hospitalisation. >> speaking of the c d.c. and state health officials, and the governor of west virginia, there seems to be mixed messaging coming through from the people of the community understanding safe. >> we have been told all along that the water is safe. as you said at the top of the show, we'd been given the all clear. people have flushed their homes

and told it's okay to use the water. then you see instances like this, where people are having issues with the smell. there's a distrust with the public. another. >> the governor himself made an about-face as i understand it about what should be done with water testing at this point. >> he did. testing within homes. many people in the area have been calling for tests within a sample of homes in the county area. 300,000 areas were affected. they want a sample of homes tested. the epa maintains if it's coming through the water distribution system as clean water, that's what you'll get in your home, but the governor said yesterday that they tested a sample of homes and they'll process it and see what that takes for the state to do that type of test.

>> i know that you are not only following the story, you are a resident of the community. you talk with a lot of people in the area. there must be tremendous frustration and hard to know what to do - whether you can drink the water, tuesday it, bathe. what do you do? >> we have been in this as a month. i can't tell you a single person, either in my role as a reporter or in my daily life that feel safe to drink this water. plenty are using it to bathe, do dishes and laundry. drinking is the issue. what we are seeing in the schools is a perfect example of what the community is feeling or told that it's safe, and then people are getting sick. there's no trust with the water. >> i understand. there's reports that people are

driving miles away to take a shower. initially, when the do not use advisories was in place, there was a lot more people, but i heard tell that the house of people the other night saying, "i'm pregnant. i'm not going to wash the water. there are plenty of people driving 20-30 miles to find an alternative water source because they are not comfortable using this." >> a report are wore west virginia broadcasting. there were delays in the delivery. we hope you got the message on that. bringing us the latest details out of the west virginia area. >> on to another crisis and another dangerous winter storm. this is the second in a week, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

the latest ravaged several state, dumping inches of snow and ice on the roads. pennsylvania took the brunt of it, causing the governor to declare a state of emergency. the national guard has been called in, with another storm in the forecast. the north-east is bracing for the worst. how ready is your state? >> i'd like to pack up and move, but everybody is getting snow this year. even the warm states. >> across the country it's hard to get a break from the bad weather. in pennsylvania, preparedness for another winter wallop means shelters are stocked with supplies. ahead of the storm, shelters getting prepared. >> with the power company reporting 600,000 people without power at one time, the

facilities were ready for an influx of families looking for a warm place to sleep. too cold temperatures forced people to spend the night with the red cross. philadelphia mayor michael knutter told "america tonight" practice with devastating storms is part of the preparation. >> we are on alert. we get snow december through about march. still, snarled traffic and closed roads are a challenge, no matter how ready anyone may be. >> in maryland having salt for a storm is a big part of being prepared. this is a sand-salt combination. >> there are 95 salt barns like this with a combined capacity of 360,000 tonnes of salt. that's 120,000 more tonnes than 10 years ago. after each storm the salt is

replenished, but not to full capacity. officials want enough to hand storms without too much left over. the state-wide supply is at 75-80%. officials insist it's plenty to handle the next big event. maryland is in good states, some are experiencing salt shortages. others have learnt how to prepare roads the hard way. the atlanta snow storm nightmare left thousands stuck. the georgia government announced he would be prepared. >> we are not looking backwards, we are looking forward. what can we do in the future to avoid the situations as the ones that occurred this week. he has plans to implement warning system, saying the state needs to fix how it rightside itself. including increasing communication, and with georgia

residents, making sure they debt important details like alternative transportation routes. a task force will convene as soon as possible. >> and believe it or not, the weather departments are telling us there's more snow on the way. kevin corriveau, we can't believe this. this is like going in a prize fighter in a ring. we keep getting this over and over again. how do it be. >> we could see three storms. i'll talk about the third one in a moment. first, let's go to pennsylvania. the good news is there's no snow. the crews can get out and fix the powerlines. we are talking about temperatures that are cool. interior parts of pennsylvania are talking 25 degrees. the temperatures will go down into the teens. a lot

of people will feel the chills because there is no power in the area. the situation will last until the temperatures come up. new york will go to 70 degrees. we are talking about the third storm that is coming into play, there has been a lot of controversy about how strong and where it will go. let's start the clock at friday, 5:00 pm, coming into the situation you can see on saturday morning, bit saturday afternoon we see showers in north carolina. we could see one to two inches of snow in virginia. looking into the future, we'll see on sunday afternoon, sunday afternoon snow showers coming across new jersey, upstate new york. this will not be too bad in terms of accumulation, one to two inches. it will not be what we saw earlier this past week, where we

saw 10 inches in new york, and full court the other day. snow out here to the north-west, into the cascades. by the next three days, some of the locations - we could see levels about 2-4 - 2-3 feet of snow in the high elevation s. here on the coast, much-needed rain. back to you. >> we'll ignore the ground hog and point out that there are 40 days left until spring. we'll look forward to that. kevin corriveau. thanks. >> security concerns on the eve of the sochi winter olympics. what is behind sochi?

>> team usa will be the largest delegation at the sochi games and winter olympics' history. 230 members have arrived. while the athletes are aiming for gold, the kremlin is aiming from keeping them from becoming targets. vladimir putin has put 30,000 security forces inside the city, thousands to guard the surrounding mountain areas. russians are not convinced that is enough. 63% of russians said they did not believe their government can protect them against a potential terrorist attack. the state department and the united states said americans are not being specifically targeted, but they could become victims of indiscriminate terrorism attacks. a number of specific threats are being tracked.

several rebel groups are active. decades of war between russia and factions made sochi a hot bed. joining us is a professor, the director of policy research at the university of albany, and joins us from philadelphia. i want to talk to you about this. help us to understand what part of russia we are talking about and why this is a crisis. >> so we are talking about the caucuses, and the caucuses in southern russia is an area where a large part of the population have been resisting russian control. going back 150 years you have revolutions and wars, expulsions by the em pair, the soviet union, the cold war, atrocities,

violence and re press ion. we have a lot of history, in chechnya and other areas, dagestan, and a lot of anger reasons. >> are these ethnic head reds, different communities? >> so a lot of the news articles you are seeing about this focus on jihadism and that jihadism . there's a deeper source. jihadism came in as a fuel to the fire. chechnya tried to become independent. the capital is 12 hours away from sochi. and the russians destroyed grows ni and destroyed chechens during the fight. radicalizing people.

there's an ethnic and nationalist component which is the seed bed for this anger. if you look at where terrorism is happening in russia, the star area is the caucuses >> i have to ask because the us state department did make this comment about americans not being specifically targeted. do you think that is a risk? are americans in some way vulnerable in a way other tourists or international visitors may not bement -- be. >> i think americans are vulnerable wherever they go. if you kill a nepalese, there'll be a short piece. but if you kill an american at sochi, it is a phenomenal media source. attention. and to get tapes killing an american is the go.

>> the bovt on bombers had links in the region, and people have suggested that with the u.s. government pursuing the federal death penalty against the surviving brother, this may insight other tensions there. is that possible? >> possibly. i don't think it's the major issue. urban oppression in the area for a long time, the anger it created, the strong men imposed in various renaling jonls, and the oppression of the ethnic groups in the area is the major risk here. combining that with a jihadie ideology makes it worse. >> thank you so much. appreciate you being here. >> my pleasure. >> later on the program russia's antigay laws, we look at the

situation through the eyes of championsism. >> 2010, when they won the gold medal in the gaye games and i was a gay activist. now, 87% of russian population is not hating gay poem. people. it's not their fault. government form the negative attitudes. continues. >> when we return, palm trees, pineapples and probation, a judge's innovative approach to keep hope alive. >> i can send them to the prison or beech. it's not knock on, it's a reflection that probation as usual doesn't work well.

>> a look at crime and punishment in paradise the stream is uniquely interactive television. we depend on you, >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> the stream. on al jazeera america and join the conversation online @ajamstream. al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america.

reports now. some of the preparations here have come down to the wire, with armies of helpers and volunteers putting the finishes touches to the olympic dream. but on the've of the games an unlucked development, a warning from the government that bomb making equipment could be smuggled on to planes on tooth paste tubes. this information is being checked, if confirmed this means our security

services are on alert. this information allowed us to city the security in the city of sochi will be provided appropriately. >> it's been 6 1/2 years since the host city was announced. >> the city of sochi. and russia celebrated. but since is then, next. >> now a snapshot of stories making headlines on "america tonight." the faa is inspecting hundreds of control towers following a lightening strike at baltimore's airport. this incident happened in september. the faa says they are looking for problems with the lightening protection system at airport towers.

>> tennessee couple has been charged with murder for the death of a man's 5-year-old daughter. she was forced to drink 2 litres of soda and water. the girl died from acute water intoxication. subway is removing a chemical that is used to make yoga mats and shoe rubber, after a blogger launched a petition asking for the ingredient to stop being used. it was used in the proceed as a bleaching agent. >> now for the final installment in our series "crime and punishment", we take you, of all place, to the islands of hawaii. the picture postcards of palm trees and sandy beaches do not tell the whole story. paradise has its problems. methamphetamine and property crime hit the islands hard. >> a judge thinks there is a better way.

"america tonight"'s adam may introduces us to steven ohm. his zero tolerance for bad behaviour brought hawaii hope, in the form of probation >> growing up in hawaii, steven ohm earned the tag of bad guy. >> boxing in a gym, i was one of two white guys. after my first fight, one of the long-time trainers said, "you showed you have heart." >> years of boxing scored him a walk-on role in the original "hawaii five-0." and the tough guy reputation as a judge. >> i was the toughest sentencer in the courthouse >> ohm was deputy prosecuting attorney for honolulu and hawaii. he knew hawaii and the justice

system. he became a judge. probation. >> sentencing i can send them to prison or the beach. it's not a knock on probation officers. it's a reflection that probation as usual does not work wall. >> hawaii may seem like paradise. away from the beaches and resorts, an evil tide swept across the island - methamphetamine. drug abusers arrested for glowing the criminal justice system. judge ohm created hope. hope is a new way to do probation, an effective way to do probation. >> it is offered by courts as an alternative for a hard time, for a misdemeanour or felony. the guilty person is assigned a

probation officer. judge ohm calls hope probation on steroids. >> see the po. go to drug treatment. pay your restitution. on probation as usual they would not do those things and for a year or more there's no consequence. the consequence for testing positive is nothing. >> after the second, third and fourth violation, still nothing. >> in hope, if there are violations of probation, they'll go to gaol. depending how you handle it. it could be a short or long time. this is perimetering 101. if you do something wrong, you have a consequent immediately. we sat in court. >> today will be your first day on the program. the ideal thing is you follow all the rules and i won't see you again. i recognise we are human being,

we can make bad choices and mistakes and run into our friends who say, "let's get high", if it happens, admit it to your po. if that happens, you get a few days in gaol. if you test positive and deny it and the lab confirms it, you'll get 15. don't show up at all, 30 days behind bars. not some time in the future, but right away. if that happens repeatedly, it's the open term. it's like a pyramid. some do not violate. a smaller group violate one, a smaller group twice, a smaller group three times, it's like a small tail that is violated the most. that is where we should spend most of the resources. you will be placed on the drug test hotline. you'll have a colour for privacy purposes. if your colour is called. the drug test is that day. there'll be meetings with the probation officer.

success means freedom. july. >> miss a drug test and you are in front of judge ohm again. if you don't show up for a drug test or probation, what will be assume? you're dirty. you have been on hope long enough to know how long this will work. you are going to custody, i'll give you five weekends. >> starting immediately. >> regular probation you can fool the system, you can fake it, do what you need to do and get by and then get an early release because they never detected anything. >> michelle fernandez has seven felony convictions. hope accepts every case, including a quarter of state felony cases. >> i was known as the biggest dope dealer. i robbed everyone. i had guys in prison that would break down the door if people

owned me money. >> fernandez was using. she spent a year and burglary got her another year. >> i did my year. they awe me at the federal prison and said, "we'll put you on hope." >> she had the po. drug tests and freedom. she messed up. >> i ended up back in for 15 days, five weekends, for taking a pill. >> there was another dirty test. this time cocaine. another five weekends in gaol. >> so then i said, "i'm done. i'm almost 50 years old, i can't do this." that's where i'm at. i have had enough. >> now michelle fernandez is back where she was in the same apartment building. but she has a knew lease on life. she started to go to church. now she manages the building. you might say she's resurrecting

a community that, like her life, was almost lost. >> i wiped out the trees that are dark. i have new renovated rooms, as opposed to the old rooms that were trashed. people would hide in the factor. >> fernandez is in project hope and is called in for urine analysis and is one dirty test away from a weekend in gaol. out. >> i have a life. i have a home, a beautiful home. i would rather be in my ac with my remote control, rather than control. >> there's a reminder, keeping her on track. >> the success of judge ohm is not just anecdotal. a study reveals hope probationers are less likely to be arrested for a new crime, 72% less likely to use drugs, 61%

less likely to skip appointments with the supervisory officer. the program has been so successful, 17 other states on the mainland implemented versions of it. washington, texas, massachusetts, and representatives from foreign governments are interested, from places as far away as japan, sweden. credit for time served... >> judge ohm admits hope takes more work. but this is what we are paid to do. these are our jobs. i have more hearings. i'm busier. prosecutions, public defenders are busier. police sheriff's, marshals are busy serving the warrants. this is what we are paid to do. the people in hope are getting arrested for new crimes half as often as the people on probation. >> in jan judge ohm received a letter announces $4 million in

federal funds, to support the expansion of hope because of its success, it is the news that judge ohm is hoping for. >> it will reduce prison systems because a lot of probationers are failing and end up in prison. a lot of people doing a prison sentence get out on parole, fail and go back in. >> you have been doing well. >> tough guys like judge ohm say some of them deserve a chance. >> since you have been doing so well, as of today i'll grant the motion to your court supervision is over. best of life. >> a chance to prove they can be free. >> a lot of folks, the hope program sounds too good to be true. one may be angela hawkin, a criminal justice researcher and professor. when you looked at this, you, why?

>> well, for those of us that have been criminal justice researchers for decades or more, we have heard of programs likely to succeed. when you dig the outcomes are not what you think they may be. i had been involved in many programs. i was disappointed at what prison. >> but you went out and saw this one. you saw that it wills making a difference. as adam may pointed out, there are good statistics. it is making a difference. >> the data is hard to refute. that's why many of us, suspicious on the front end, the numbers were too good to be true. when you see numbers too good to afoul. >> when those of us flew to hawaii landed, it was clear that this was different. especially when we interviewed inmates. we heard language used that we didn't hear with other programs.

language of personal responsibility. i'm doing time because i messed up. usually we heard i'm doing time because po is mean. this was the first time i experienced a program with that sort of components. difference? >> we learned from hope that the size of the sanctions doesn't matter. typically we have a long list of conditions that people have to comply with. what is wonderful about hope is the rules are deliciously simple. it's difficult to comply with the rules of the program if you don't know what the rules are. they reduced the length of rules. they articulated them clearly. you don't need a law degree to understand them. we need a law degree to understand what the rules are.

behaviour. >> we heard the judge telling the guy "you knew what would happen, you brought your car, let someone else take it home, you're going to gaol.". >> hope substituted length of stay. other jurisdictions will see a 6 week or 6 month sanction, it substituted length for speed. humans are more responsive to speed than the dose. i think that has been an important finding across the country, that we can get people to comply with terms of probation, as long as we reconfigure the system to immediately. >> in the 17 states that have picked up and trying this, is it clear they have seen the same result or is this something that is particular to hawaii for whatever the difference is in their population? >> it turns out hope sponed to basic -- responds to basic human instincts that is not a hawaiian

island phenomenon. we want unpleasantness to stop, punishment is unpresent if it's delivered immediately. whether in massachusetts or texas, people respond in similar ways where punishment is immediate. the challenge is not whether people in texas, massachusetts or arkansas respond differently, the challenge is can the different jurisdictions recon figure their systems to follow through on the threat. hope is a system of credible tlapt. if you don't deliver the punishment the credibility is lost. >> probably would work well as a parent too to deliver the justice. thank you very much. >> absolutely. >> you may remember a case of affluenza, a story brought to you in december. there's more to it. even couch, a young man behind the wheel during a drunk driving

accident leaving four dead, two others seriously wounded. his defense was that he suffered from ainfluenza, a condition affecting wealthy young people. the symptoms include lack of motivation, not knowing the difference between right and wrong. an expert psychologist said hoo key be cured with treatment. >> a judge ordered he be sent to a lock-down facility and will not spend time in prison. he will spend 10 years probation. prosecutors wanted him gaoled for 20 years. >> next - a tale of two columbias, one working towards a peaceful peaceful future. another that can't escape it's violent past. consider this. the news of the day plus so much more.

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future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. on al jazeera america >> the stakes have never been higher in columbia as talks continue with the f.a.r.c. group, the government is trying to return land. despite attempts at land reform people are driven off their land by right wing paramilitary groups. we trek through the jungle with farmers determined to remain on their land. >> this part of columbia is isolated. it's here that the 50-year war is playing out. the government is trying to bring an end to the fighting by

negotiating with the rebel f.a.r.c. group. but the community told us that officials were ignoring the real threat. officially the columbian government demobilized paramilitary groups between 2003 and 2006. but the community told us that they are still operating. as you can see, it's completely empty. no one is living here. the people that are with us are telling us that the family that

was here left because of the threat to paramilitary groups, and a base that paramilitaries use is not far from here. >> they left their mark behind. >> this man wanted to show us areas where the paramilitary groups operate. the camp is supposed to be located high up in the mountains, where they can move quickly, and when they want. there is a reason they are able to move easily around

here. the land in this part of the country is valuable, and not just for the crops and timber here. coal has been discovered in the region, and the government and private companies are expected to begin extracting it. dump dump dump dump

>> an hour later we arrive. it's almost a ghost town. a few weeks ago paramilitaries came here, threatening residents, reminding many of what they have down before.

>> killings here left people traumatised. amealio is reluctant to talk about what is going on. he told us that groups of 200 men come into the village, wearing uniforms and machine guns. when the paramilitaries came back, they told him they would chop him into pieces. he left with his family. re returns during the week to work the land. he says he has no other choice if he wants to feed his

children. >> we are joined by the correspondent to follow up on the story. we watch this. this is not just a journey for the country, but a journey for you to understand what was happening in the country. >> it was interesting, difficult. we went - we had to get on a horse, a mule up in the mountains. there were thunder storms, there was - at some point we thought we would not be able to make the whole trip. it was difficult for us. people moved easily, they don't have a problem, it was like we did. it was challenging, gear wise.

filming in some parts -- >> was it threatening to you. were people uncomfortable that you were bringing cameras in? >> yes, definitely, people were aware of everything they were telling us. we made it to a small village in the middle of the mountains, when we arrived people saw the cameras and were like, "what are they doing?", and explained that groups of armed men wearing uniforms, they go down into the villages and threaten them. many are trying to go back to their land. the government was implementing land. they are trying to bring back to the people displaced by the conflict. those that try to go back are threatened by the group. we went to the village, and people were telling us we were afraid to talk. once you leave, the groups would come back and threaten and kill

us. a lot of people continued to disappear is be killed. the governments have not been able to stop it. >> the presentation of the colombian government in telling the world that we are engaged in a peace process. the picture to the world is that columbia is a place that international visitors would like to come to. >> there has been huge improvements. the government launched a full-scale war against the f.a.r.c., pushing them out of the cities to the mountains, to the rural areas. if you go to columbia, or bogota, you find beautiful places, restaurants, night life. what is happening is that in rural areas, where, you know, there's not this investment in many ways where people suffer

and continue to be hungry, where people try to make a living out of something, security continues to be a big issue. it's not only by the f.a.r.c., by all the new groups. >> it's almost like there two columbias. appreciate you coming in, following up on your story. all the report on: >> still to come on "america tonight." russia's antigay laws. we'll introduce you to a pair of champion skaters who are challenging status quo. while you were asleep news was happening. >> here are the stories we're following. >> find out what happened and what to expect. >> international outrage. >> a day of political posturing. >> every morning from 5 to 9 am al jazeera america brings you

more us and global news than any other american news channel. >> tell us exactly what is behind this story. >> 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. at n.

>> finally from us tonight - n. security is not the only hot topic of the winter games in sochi. the issue of gay rights in russia is in the spotlight. as the law reads - anyone who promotes non-traditional sexual relations in the presence of minors could be prosecuted. activists say that law criminalizes free speech. gay rights through the eyes of two skating champions in moscow. >> i am 30 years old. i live in moscow for 13 years. now i'm president of russian l.g.d.t. support federation and ngo, taking care of the equality in sport. >> this is a figure skater who is openly gay. >> 2010, when they won gold medal in gaye games, i became a

gay activist. 87% of russian population is not about gay people. it's not their fault, because government formed the negative attitudes towards l.g.b.t. people, and this policy will continue, the level of homophobia in russia will rise. >> i am olympic champion, speed skating in 2006. >> this woman, a gold medal winner, worries that activists are rushing things. >> translation: other societies went through the same stages, and didn't achoef the tolerance towards african -- achieve the tolerance towards av a gan-american and others. russia is clumsy. it's like a bear. >> i teach at the high school, chemistry for the disabled children. after coming out, the school

didn't fire me. to fire a teacher is a difficult task. they need to break lots of rules to be fired. but, of course, they are not happy i'm gay activist. if i lose the job, i have a feeling i will never find another at another school. no one wants to have a teacher who is gay activist. they have three teachers in orientation. >> it takes time for the people to get used to this, because there were no homosexuals in the soviet union, no one that requirement special care. people with autism and screb ral palsy can come out to the street and no one about scare them. people are used to the fact that yes, they near us, they are smart and go to the same schools. this has to be done slowly. >> when i was a school by i was not out, but i was

terrified by my school mates. they have a feeling i'm gay, and they work hard. >> we have to be more careful about the topics and impose it on the society, especially if they are not ready. we have to prepare the society for such things. a society needs to try for themselves given time, maybe they can bring hymn up that even if a child has a propensity towards homosexuality, they can reverse that. >> not so long ago we had a negative case. we had a tournament, we were told, "we can't give you sport venue because you are a gay community." they had a call from the government, the moscow sport

branch, who ordered them that we never give them this venue. >> we all need to calm down, take the issue of homosexual calmly and slowly, making little steps towards people becoming tolerant over the issue. >> there's really lots of them. >> to be athlete here is safe when you are not out. if you are out. problems can begin. >> this is the first requirement that we have to private to our participants otherwise no one will come to l.g.b.t. sports. >> translation: they can be quite aggressive. there are people wishing they have gay children. if they write those letters, how community.

>> now, is a time bound moment to draw attention to this problem. when all international community is watching. we have to remember the experience of china, when all human right offenders were gaoled after the ended. >> i want to speak out in front of world mass media. and tell the good stories that i'm gay or lesbian, i'm healthy, i'm successful, i have a job, i have profession. i have a man or woman who love me, and i love. i am absolutely the sames you are, guys. >> the word from moscow. that's it for us here on "america tonight." please remember if you would like to comment on any of the stories, log on to the website aljazeera.com/americatonight. you'll meet the team, get sneak preview of stories we are working on and what you would like to see.

join the conversation with us on twitter or on facebook. goodnight. we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow. >> fault lines hard hitting... ground breaking... truth seeking... al jazeera america's breakthrough investigative documentary series. >> this is where colombia's war continues... >> decades of violence... familes driven from their land... >> we have to get out of here... >> now the people are fighting back. >> they don't wanna show what's really going on >> fault lines columbia: the fight for land only on al jazeera america

>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello and a warm welcome to this al jazeera news hour with david foster and some of what we have coming up, in the next 60 minutes, a glimmer of hope for the syrian city of homs, six hours in a cease fire and is it likely to hold? executi plitive not