the relatives of the passengers held protests today in beijing, saying that they want evidence of a plane crash. richelle carey, and you can always go to aljazeera.com. >> on america tonight. a desperate search for life and hope, after the massive landslide that crushed a washington state community. my 16-year-old daughter, my adult son and his two young sons were down there digging with their hands trying to find her. >> didn't anyone know this might happen? also tonight, guns and rights. memories of two young men and the stand your ground claim used to justify their killings and the inspiration of a

different firearms campaign that puts protection out front. >> i'm pretty much armed 24/7. when i carry, my main goal is protecting me. i'm not there to protect society. >> and an unusual approach to alcohol addiction. why the dutch government pays alcoholics in beer. >> and good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. against hope the desperate search continues north of seattle with more than 100 people still missing four days after a mammoth mudslide crushed the small community of oso. the slides saturday morning killed at least 14 and that number is expected to climb. there is also new information tonight ha the disaster had

been predicted more an decade ago. on the recovery effort and the new details, here is america tonight's adam may. >> a warning of doom issued years before the massive mudslide in washington has emergency thing. >> these dramatic images of

the land swallowed dozens of homes in oso washington. one square instantly gone. >> the houses are gone. there's no house here anymore. >> are there any injuries? >> yes, there are people yelling for help. >> these are the pictures of just some of the missing. at least 1176 names originally reported to authorities. the faces include young children, married couples and retirees. officials are still trying to determine if some reported names are duplicates. although they are certain the death toll will soar. >> we are turning that delicate corner into recovery operation. i that i is only fair to the people out there and the process of grieving and healing. president obama spoke of the tragedy from the netherlands. i would ask all americans to

send their thoughts and prayers to washington state and the community of oso and the families and friends of those who continue to be missing. we hope for the best. but, we recognize this is a tough situation. >> my heart is shattered into a million pieces. >> ray smith has been searching for her daughter. >> my 16-year-old daughter. my adult son and his two young sons were down there digging with their hands trying to find her. her family isn't alone. frustration with the pace of rescue efforts literally have many taking the matter into their own hands. professional crews say some areas are simply too dangerous to explore by foot. they are hoping high tech sonar equipment leads them to a miracle in the mud. adam may al jazeera. >> as the search effort continues our questions, why

wasn't there warning of a risk of a major slide in snohomish county? the risk was known for many years. you have been warning about this in this particular area since the 1990s? >> well, i have written reports that documented activity on the landslide. not only i, a number of people have written reports over a whole series. >> and the point would be this catastrophic a slide? could you predict that? >> we did predict the potential for a very large landslide, but we didn't know it would other -- occur. we didn't know would it be this big. however, it is true that the potential for a landslide of this magnitude was indicated by models of how much volume could be mobilized. >> well, in this particular area, what are the factors, if you can explain it in layman's

way, what are the factors which cause you to think that that was an area that might expect something of this catastrophic nature? >> well, the most obvious factor is the fact that there is a landslide in this location that has periodically moved large volumes of material that have slid across river. blocked the river. pushed the river channel far to the south into the area where houses have been built. and the river then is eroded its way back north towards the bluff where the debris from the landslide originates. and triggered yet another big movement of failed debris. this time it brought with it a large number of material from the bluff itself. >> i understand that even in this area some people have called this slide hill, there was an understanding that this is an area that is subject to slide. >> that's correct. i think amongst geologists at

least it has been known for a long time because of the repeated occurrences because of the slides and the studies that have been done there. >> so when you heard about this over the weekend, as soon as you heard, you knew exactly what had happened? >> i did. >> what was your reaction? >> my reaction was -- i was angry, i was angry that permits had been given to allow houses over there. although i rock that some of the houses have been there for a long time and i was angry that we don't have a system that we haven't had a system set up that insured that the people living there were aware of the risk they faced that ensured the county officials who allowed them to live there, who granted permits were not aware of this risk. so then sadness. i had no idea, i did not realize the magnitude, the number of people involved when

i first heard about this vent. >> and there were some officials who at least in the first day or so said that this was unforeseen, that it couldn't have been predicted. did that anger you as well? >> yes. because it was predicted. but we couldn't predict is when it would occur. we couldn't predict how large a magnitude an vent would occur. but we did predict that a large magnitude event could occur. unfortunately that study that produced that result was looking at fish habitat, it wasn't looking at land side hazard to houses. it just didn't go to where it should have. >> well, it is a tragic occasion for those of you in the area. dan miller, appreciate you being with us and your insight. >> you're welcome. >> and the disaster raises other questions about landslides and the risks to

other areas around the country. david apple gate is associate director at the u.s. geological survey. i want to ask you first about what dan miller said. he mentioned his anger about not having his reports taken seriously, more than a decade ago. we think there are a lot of warnings for such things as avalanches and earthquakes. why wouldn't there be a warning like this when there was quantification? >> well, i think in many ways people always go back to what they are familiar with. in this case, this isn't this is an area that has had landslides many before. maybe a dozen times since the one 940s. this is there is awareness that it is landslide country. but people think i did okay in the last one and i will do okay in the next one. unless you can give a specific prediction of the exact time and location and how much in this case people will always sort of go back. same thing with hurricanes. they think i did okay with that last hurricane so i'll be

okay with this one, even if the weather man is telling me it is a cat 5 not cat 1. >> in a case like this, you do believe that water, rainfall that there had been a lot of in this area quite recently and the soil erosion, these are the big factors that might lead to a slide now. certainly one of this magnitude? >> absolutely. so, you need a couple of different things to generate a landslide. >> first, in case add water is a key trigger. this last month they had something like 300% of the usual rainfall. so it is very wet period. on top of that, you are dealing with material. this is deposits left over from when the glaciers covered the puget sound. covered the puget low lands. it is not well consolidated. this is not solid rock. so it is already sort of prone all of these foothills. and finally, you have issues with erosion. this is a very active area. you have mountains coming up. makes for gorgeous scenery. lots of rain, lots rough water. what is bringing the mountains

down. and this is part of the erosion process. do you hear something before a landslide starts? >> landslides can just happen. certainly there are some that there will be slow movement before the rapid movement. in this case we actually can pick it up once it gets moving we can pick it up on our seismic sensors. >> like an earthquake? >> like an earthquake. but there was no obvious triggered. some landslides can be triggered by earthquakes. but in this case no such trigger. it is simply the combination of factors and at some level chance. >> and you have seen these in other parts of the country. maybe not as dramatic. but there are landslides all over the country? >> absolutely. landslides are a stealth hazard. they cost an average basis a billion a year, 25 to 50 lives lost. but they happen in a very

distributed fashion. essentially they happen in every single state. they happen at lots of different scales. >> this one happened to be so big so dramatic and so tragic. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much for we go with us david applegate from the u.s. geological survey. >> my pleasure. when we return, following up on an america tonight exclusive. why just one number could put your safety at risk at 10s of thousands of hotels across the country. now, there is more to it. >>

there's more to finical news than the ups and downs of the dow. for instance, could striking workers in greece delay your retirement? i'm here to make the connections

to your money real. >> following up now on a story we first brought you on america tonight about one number and how it could put you and your family at risk. the number is the number 9. and it is what you often have to dial to get a line out of a hotel. it can always be a huge stumbling block to getting help in an emergency. inspired by a tragedy in his own family. a texas grandfather has been leading a campaign to get that changed. america tonight correspondent sarah hoye tells us weeks after her first story, there is more to it. >> last december carrie dunn hunt agreed to meet her estranged husband at this

hotel to meet with the children. but things went horribly wrong. once at the hotel her husband stabbed the mother of three to death in the bathroom while the children listened in. >> our oldest granddaughter and her two sibbings also were in the room. she tried dialing 911 from the hotel room and could not get out because she didn't know to dial a 9 first. >> after four unsuccessful attempts the 9-year-old shuffled her sib also to safety and ran for help. look in my granddaughter's eyes. i would never want a 9-year-old to go through that. i don't know what she heard or saw. i haven't asked her. i'll let her tell me in oar own time but i can just imagine and nobody should have to go through that. especially when it is happening in front of you. >> america tonight traveled to marshall texas in january to the hotel where it happened. we spoke with hotel staff here to see what happens when you

do dial 911. we were told that the systems hadn't been updated since the incident. but we wanted to know what happened if you just dial 911 from the room. >> [ fast beeping ] >> you get a busy signal. >> and it is because of the busy signal that henry hunt wanted to make a change. >> following his daughter's passing, hunt started an online petition to pass a law requiring direct access to emergency services. into my 9-year-old daughter told me i tried and it wouldn't work. i felt guilty. and i felt like it was as adults, it was our job to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> his efforts caught the attention of the f.c.c. whose commissioner vowed to look into the matter. a survey released this week revealed tens of thousands of hotels don't allow guests to call 911 directly from their rooms. speaking at the 911 goes to washington conference on

monday, commissioner said in part... >> the issue is more common than people may think. >> for every day that goes by without federal legislation to finally resolve this problem, millions of americans in hoe tells, college dormitories and ordinary office buildings were put at risk because they can't reach 911 effectively. >> updating systems to support direct access to 911 could potentially save lives, he said. hotel general manager cj clayton took matters into her own hands at the newly opened suites in long view texas after learning about the incident. >> the nature of my business is to make people feel safe. i have children also. i would not want my child

having to feel like she could have saved my life if she had dialed 911 and she was unable to do that because of our system. >> configuring the phone systems to directly access 911 took only a matter of hours, she says. >> we are lucky because we are new. the older they have a more limited scope of what they can do with their existing phones. >> there is not any words. there are no words to explain how i felt. it was just a phenomenal -- we didn't have to approach her. he is just did it. she knew what was right and she hated that something happened and she did it. >> as far as justice is concerned i'll let god sort that out. and right now, i'm working on what i think we need to be working on and that is where i want to take it and keep going. that would be the justice -- for this to be a standard across the nation. >> although they can never have carrie back, they say if they can save just one life

their daughter would have left with purpose. >> incredible. sarah hoye back with us. tens of thousands of hotels. i hadn't considered it before. that is a lot of hotels. any changes to be made? >> there are 5 deer,000 of these hotels. but there is good news. hundreds have now updated their systems. so that is good news. >> the hunts, i know from your previous report, they had originally a low bar of the number of people that wanted to get involved. >> absolutely. on their petition they only wanted 100,000 signatures. it is well over 400,000 now and have the attention of the commissioner. >> the commissioner saw the report about carrie and he came to talk to us. he has been active in this. silt quite personal. when he saw that it struck a cord for a reason. he even personally updates the hunt family. >> so they are quite connect and maintaining their campaign. >> that's right. >> thank you so much sarah

hoye. america tonight correspondent here. after the break, brothers in tragedy. how the memories of jordan davis and trayvon martin inspired parents to speak on a florida stand your ground defense. and a different campaign on firearms and gun rights. why gun owners in virginia are taking a stand to carry their firearms in public. >>

now a look at stories making headlines tonight. a deep sea black box locator

is due in australia to help search for malaysia airlines flight 370. it will be installed on a navy vessel. six chinese planes are expected in the area. president obama announced intentions to restrict the bulk collection of phone records. if congress approves, the data would stay in the hands of phone companies and would need permission from a judge to access specific records. the court order authorizing the current program is set to expire this friday. an investigation underway into a late night shooting at the world's largest naval base in norfolk, virginia. a civilian boarded a navy destroyer, disarmed a security guard and then shot and killed a sailor. the gunman was shot and killed by base security. he had id. that allowed him acis to secure areas of the base. the deaths of two florida teenagers gunned down in separate incidents inspired a campaign by their parents to

change florida's stand your ground law. the cases of trayvon martin and jordan davis were presented to an international human rights committee as the boys parents keep their memories and pursuit of justice alive. earlier, jordan davis's father spoke to us about his son and stand your ground. >> my son jordan davis, a 17-year-old american kid. he wasn't an african american kid. just an american kid, you know. sometimes they separate african american and they don't realize that american is part of that language, part of that name. and he could have been anybody's kid, nephew, niece, grandson. and we don't seem to pay attention until it hits home. you know, until it is somebody in your family. and we want to let them know that because of the stand your ground that a person can drive into a gas station and have kids playing music loud and

decide i don't like that and then change the whole situation for those children for the rest of their lives by taking out a gun. shooting my child, shooting at the car 9 or 10 times while the car is trying to get away from him and still shooting at the back of the car missing the driver's head by inches and think that he doesn't have to call 911, he doesn't have to alert anyone. drives back to the hotel a few minutes away with his girlfriend, never mentioned a weapon. has the nerve to order pizza, have a cocktail a rum and coke, still no 911 call. get up in the morning and find that you have murdered my son, no 11 call and didn't drive two and a half hours to your home would it mentioning a weapon to your fiance. and you think it is okay. and when the police finally get you they say how come you didn't call 911. you say i was going to do it in a few days.

that is the level of where we are in america now where people with guns think that it's okay to use them. >> michael dunn is awaiting retrial in may. what do you think about the status of what has happened with him, the shooter of your son? into well, retrying him on the one charge out of 5 was a shooting death of my son. they did find him guilty on the other four charges. they found him guilty of in a separate act going to the back of the vehicle and shooting unarmed teenagers in the car. >> do you believe that your son will have justice? >> i believe so. i believe there is an outcry in this nation where a gentleman can shoot at unarmed children and prove that these children are unarmed because if the children had a gun it

would have been the gun found number one. number two is if somebody had a gun and aimed it at you and you are in the car with your fiance, you never spoke a word of a weapon. you had hours and hours of speaking about a weapon and you never said one word about a weapon. so, that tells me that you knew that there was not a gun, but you are trying to justify your actions. >> you testified before the commission today with trayvon martin's mother who has become quite active in speaking out on these issues. that relationship between your family and trayvon martin's family has become quite tight. you are in a relationship that none of us can identify. >> it is very, very strong. when my son heard about trayvon he sympathized with the family and said dad, that kid is 17 and he looks like me. that is what he said to me. and my son had a brown hoodie. he went in his room and put on

the brown hoodie. and he turned to me and said, take this picture dad. i took a picture of him with the brown hoodie. i said you do look like trayvon. and he is tall and thin like trayvon. he said it could have been me dad. and months later it was him. >> and this brings you together with that family. trayvon's family, his father contacted me after my son was killed and he said i just -- i hate to have to welcome you to the club that nobody wants to be a member. and we talked for about 20 minutes. he talked about trayvon and we talked about jordan that we would city and be together forever and our kids would be forever linked together. i talked to sabrina also. throughout the whole trial that they had, we communicated and after the verdict of their trial, my heart was broken. it was in pieces. and they stayed and called me during my trial.

you know. and of course, we are happy that michael dunn is serving time and will be serving time but we also want justice for jordan. >> we appreciate you talking about these important issues with us and speaking out. continuing to speak out and be active on your issues. thank you for being with us, ron davis is. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> ron davis's son jordan had recently moved to florida from georgia. for another gun and gun rights issue is being debated now. a bill that will allow gun owners to carry their firearms at airports, schools and other public places is now awaiting the georgia governor's signature. in other parts of the country. gun owners are pressing for the right to openly carry their firearms. a view from that side of the gun rights issue from sheila mcvicar. >> i feel naked which i have to go somewhere that won't allow me to carry. >> this is at the virginia state legislature. the open carry movement is here in force and visibly

armed. they know how to affect the political process and are getting better at it. >> when standing in front of their desk saying this is me and i'm talking about my family and my rights, that speaks volumes compared to just a phone call or letter. >> my name is ed lee vine. i'm a gun money virginia. >> ed levine is one of the outspoken proponents. he has been interested in guns all his life. >> i have a shotgun. it has a mounted light. i'm pretty much -- i would say pretty much armed 24/7. as i sit in this home, someone could kick in the door. i would have five seconds of warning from my alarm system going off. you never know when that will happen. you always have to be at the ready. >> levine has no personal experience of crime. when i carry, my main goal is protect me. if my family is there, i'm going to protect my family. i'm not there to protect

society. sometime those of us that open carry we get together and have a dinner. we are also raffling off an ar 10 that we sold tickets for. >> i think the right to carry a firearm is not only a god given right. it is a right from the constitution. the places that don't let you carry are actually infringing or violating your rights. >> where is your hot wife? >> in fact, if someone says where do you want to go to dinner? >> inner harbor. >> well, i love you, but i love her more. >> she carries a gun. do i like it. i do not like it. would i like to carry in washington, d.c. or maryland, i would love it. >> thank you for coming. we have a rifle. >> i absolutely feel that there is a level of training required to responsibly own a firearm. i don't think the government has to set the level. i think that is just one of those personal things you have to do for yourself.

>> i just [ bleep ] shot myself. >> the gun rights movement may feel gun owners can regulate themselves. but the statistics on accidental death and injuries alone are startling. each year around 600 people are killed and over 17,000 injured in gun accidents. classes like this one are available all around the country. >> any questions on semiautomatics in general. >> it is very confusing for me until i get my hand on it and try. >> i'm going to start you with a 22, nothing big. >> yes. >> my name is judy. i'm an nra certified instructor. i specialize in handgun safety. >> there is the 9-millimeter that everyone shoots. 38 through 57. the only difference is their length. they are all the same diameter. a class like this is required to carry a concealed weapon in the state. but not even this basic instruction is required to

openly carry a gun in virginia. >> technically in virginia, it is legal to having never touched a firearm before in your life, go into a gun shop. get a handgun, and walk down the street open carrying. it is not smart. but it is legal. >> alex and his step mom are taking the course together as a family. adam a former law enforcement officer wants the option to legally carry a concealed weapon again. >> all right. but adam has real world experience and is cautious about how guns affect his mind-set. >> three fingers below. will wrap around the front of the grip. i was a law enforcement officer. so i had to carry. but i found that i would tend to be more emboldened because i had a weapon to defend myself. now that i walk around unarmed. i feel better and i have become very good at running

away. >> it has been about four hours of basic classroom instruction. now it is time to shoot. >> the intention of the second amendment based on what read and learned was to be able to defend the country against enemies foreign and domestic. how it transformed into being able to protect an individual and the family and the community i'm not sure where that occurred. but i think it is a natural progression. >> the important part is having it close together. yeah. >> juan has learned about guns and found out she is a pretty good shot. she also learned something else. with one training and a couple of rounds of shooting, not enough experience for one to carry a gun. >> you want to shoot him in the face? >> i don't believe guns are for everybody or for just

anyone. i think you really have to have certain desire to wear a gun. >> for my personal protection, i don't think i'm going to carry a weapon. >> open carriers don't have such doubts. they feel certain it is the best way to protect themselves and their families. now they want to sway public opinion. i encourage you to carry guns. law enforcement officers cannot be everywhere all the time i have been in law enforcement for over 24 years. >> the average per ratio law enforcement officer to civilian in the united states, the accepted number is about 1.7 cops per 1,000 people. do i think it is a responsible choice if that f they are going to carry see training? >> absolutely. >> i'm in front pretty much since he has been born in terms of that. he sees it. realizes something, a tool that his dad wears. at this point in time, he can

look at it but can't touch it. needs about 6 or 7 or so, maybe get an opportunity to fire it. >> i do feel safer carrying a gun because as a woman i feel women are targeted because of a perceived weakness. >> are fast are open carry is concern. i think it is important because it shows gun owners to be responsible people. we are very normal. i hear in the news media we are right wing nut cases. i hear slanderous words. that's not me. normal people but with guns. >> still carrying a gun is not a black and white issue for everyone in the movement. in have considered the gravity of the decision that one day they may have to make. >> taking a life is a serious thing. i don't want to shoot anyone. every morning when i put the gun on. i say a little prayer in my head that i'm not going to have to use it. i'm absolutely not out looking for a fight. the last thing i want to do is to have to draw. but i know if it came down to

protecting myself or my family, i could do it. i'm confident in that. >> sheila mcvicar al jazeera, ash burn virginia. >> after the break, on america tonight, you already know about the dutch and the dope. but did you hear about the netherlands alternative approach to alcoholism? >> they get more self-respect because they have something to do. >> paying alcoholics for their community service in beer. >> forf blaster what

>> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state... >> what's clear is that people don't just need protection, they need assistance.

>> as more states in this country have taken up deregulation of marijuana use. we look to a.m. terr dam and the dutch experience with pot. but authorities in the netherlands also have taken a novel approach to alcoholism. one which might be innovative, or just be hard to imagine. america tonight on haw amsterdam is paying alcoholics to pay them for their problems. >> >> several time a week he is canvassing the streets of amsterdam. picking up tiny scraps of up in, empty cans. and bottles of booze. >> a former postman. he once walked these same

streets delivering mail. an alcoholic, he is cleaning the streets while trying to get clean. he is an unlikely crew of garbage collectors. all struggling addicts who spend half a day on the streets picking up trash. in exchange, the city offers them beer. five cans to be rationed throughout the day. plus, a warm meal, tobacco and 10 euros. it is part of ann unconventional dutch practical program that keeps addicts working or loitering in a park. >> does it help with your alcoholism at all or does it help or hurt? >> otherwise i would be at home all day and probably -- i could be fin -- >> when we met coen on a cold morning in amsterdam. he was savoring a few swigs of

his first heineken of the day before he set out to clean the streets. the former musician and artist explained how hard liquor led him down a difficult path. he took his first at&t taste at 17. but by age 25 his drinking was owl out of control. >> drinking in the mornings and drinking all day. >> have you been one of those people that yelled or got into a fight because of alcohol and while you were setting there before you got into the program? >> well, to be honest, yes. >> i see a big difference from when the people start, they could not come on time because people came two, three four hours too late. >> and now you see everybody is in time and you see the growing interest in other aspect of their life. that was not there when it started. >> janice overseas a total of 18 people in two groups as they clean the city in shifts. she also distributes the beer. two in the morning, two in the afternoon and one when the

cleaning project is complete. >> she is a supervisor but also a support system. helping those who relapse, need outside assistants assistance or struggle to stay on track. into the goal is that they feel more -- they have more self-respect because they have something to do. janet says she knows what it is like to fight addiction. she battles with drugs for 35 years before getting sober four years ago. >> i feel in a way equal to them and i think i do have an attitude because of that and that makes that we feel more safe together. and i'm like a role model. so, people don't give up. please don't give up. there is always hope. and if i can do it, they can do it. >> she knows there are skeptics but says traditional programs aren't always the best solution for everyone. >> if people say i want to go

to rehab because i want to become clean i would say of course, go ahead. some people are not ready for that yet. because they are afraid. they don't know what to expect. >> coen has been in and out of clinics and detox. but his self-proclaimed progress is exactly what they hoped for when they helped fund it in 2012. >> fatima says problems in the park have gotten pretty bad. though giving alcoholics more alcohol is controversial she says she was willing to try anything. >> we threw everything we had at them. every project, every law, every fine, every opportunity to find them fine them for disturbances. but just fining them isn't curing the problem it is targeting the symptom. so they would be gone from the park for a week or so and then

would come back. because they are not strangers, they have the right to use the parks. >> city council conservatives have called the idea a waste of money. but it is too soon to know whether or not the program is working. she has already witnessed changes in the personalities of participants. like a man named fred. she remembers visiting him in the park months ago. >> he looked like a bum. somebody that you wouldn't give any attention. enough he walks around and he is proud of himself, he greets people. interacts with people in the streets. that to me is like the biggest change i have ever seen in a human being make in a period of six months. so to me that is also already a success. >> underneath his reflective orange jacket, fred is a man dressed for a job interview. he comes to clean the streets in a suit and tie now and he tries to wear a smile despite several personal tragedies, including the death of an old

girlfriend that caused him to turn to the bottle. >> he speaks mostly dutch. but he told us in english how far he has come. >> do you think this program is helping you? >> yes. >> why? >> i try for myself -- not everybody here see it, but i try to stop for myself. it is not easy. i fighting every day. every day. when i wake up. and i standing in front of the mirror, every day i tell to myself, fred, do not drink this day. >> only time will tell whether these men can kick their habits. in the meantime, they have a job to do. a place to be and a chance to change. which is enough to bring them a new sense of self-respect. >> al jazeera, amsterdam. >> ahead in our final thoughts of this hour.

sight-seeing and arts of greatness. the artist behind the slews, hiding in plain sight. and right after america tonight on consider this, antonio mora talks to the 39th president of the united states jimmy carter about his new book on pervasive global discrimination against women and girls and how the united states should respond to the crisis in ukraine. >>

al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

>> and finally from us tonight. we look up and take in some sights. we miss all too often. some extraordinary visions. often hidden in plain sight. created by an almost forgotten father and son team. the works will get their due when the museum of the city of new york opens an exhibit of their work on wednesday. but many of us can see it all around us, new york and here in the nation's capital as well. as was found during a walking tour of washington, d.c boston public library, new york's grand central terminal, natural history museum in washington, d.c., these iconic buildings have a secret. but to discover what it is, you have to look up. these vaulted eceilings and domes were designed by a father and son team of masons. their method sparked a revolution in american architecture.

>> it is almost as if they were dropped here in from the 14th century into early 20th century u.s., building some of the greatest buildings our country has ever known. >> this is an immigrant story of the unnamed talented master craftsmen who made our country and made your great buildings possible but who haven't really been celebrated. in 1181. rafael and his son migrated from barcelona bringing an old world masonry technique embraced by top architects at the time. >> the method was absolutely revolutionary in its day for three big reasons. it was fireproof. it was incredibly strong. and it could be built with no support from below during construction. almost like magic. >> we are right between the outer dome and the inner dome. this is the part that no one sees. look how thin it is because it

is unbelievably thin. about four inches thick. remarkably thin. >> largely forgotten by the public, they are finally getting their moment in the spotlight. these were drawn by the hand. >> and an exhibition called palaces for the people guastavino. john is the curator. it is an impressive display of photographs, drawings and scale model that appears to defy logic. the replica ceiling is just a few inches thick. but somehow it can hold tens of thousands of pounds. >> very solid. the is getting the geometry right. and they were masters at getting geometrys that were very strong. and so, that was what they brought from the old world. >> their designs weren't just strong. they were also beautiful. but few people have ever seen their masterpiece.

the city hall subway station hidden in downtown manhattan is often referred to as the mona lisa of subway stations. >> when it was first opened. it was called an underground cathedral. the subway has skylights, chandelier. beautiful color time. and sadly it has been closed to the public fore about 60 years. and so it is the kind of mystery space under the streets of new york today. but it is really one of their masterpieces. >> at the height of their popularity, the father and son duo had offices around the country. part of their success had to do with timing. many of our great cities in the 19th century were made entirely of wooden buildings. so in chicago in 1871, 19,000 buildings burned at once in the great fire of chicago. you can imagine if your city can go up with a match, there was a lot of interest in how can we find a way to make

buildings that won't burn down. >> architects relied on the fireproof guastavino approach. demand for their work skyrocketed. >> there was an architectural movement which created grand buildings inspired by classical monuments from the past. but as labor became more expensive and architectural styles changed, they faded into history. >> so, when the movement died out and the shriek straight lines of modernism began to rise in the 30s and 40s, that really kind of helped to phase out guastavino. >> though their buildings still and the their name is virtually unknown. students at mit are trying to change this. >> we are trying to document their works and raise awareness about them and prevent them from being damaged or torn down. >> i realize their buildings were all around me. >> to prove his point, john

took me guasavino hunting. around washington, d.c. >> i'm taking you to one of washington's oldest fire houses. inside there is a humble example. >> this historic fire house built in 1916 is a tourist attraction but not for the ceiling. this little example in your ceiling here is -- it is a small example but shows how their work was valued for being fireproof, durable and long lasting. >> have you guys ever noticed this before? >> no. definitely not. >> you ever noticed it? >> i noticed it but i didn't know there was such history behind it. may not seem like it here but more and more people are on the hunt for guastavino sites. >> he created an interactive map to keep track of the latest discoveries. >> how many do you estimate are out there? >> right now we are at about

650 and climbing. and about 40 states across the united states and several countries as well. this is 80 feet across. it is impossibly flat. this ceiling like this should not be possible. i expect to spend my entire life continuing to discover projects. and that is excite. america tonight's spectacular slews. if you would like to see the exhibit it is at the museum of the city of new york and only open through september 7th. that it is for us here on america tonight. please remember that if you would like to comment on any stories you have seen here, log on to our web site. al jazeera.com. there is more to see as well as previews on stories we are working on now. always join us for the conversation on twitter or face book page. more america tonight tomorrow. >>

>> for. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. here are tonight's top stories. a state of emergency declared in washington state today as the death toll rises from the devastating mudslide. now up to 24.

but not all of the bodies have been recovered yet. rescue crews are still searching. president obama warning russia to hold back from further action in ukraine. on the sidelines of a summit in the netherlands, the president said moscow could face tougher sanctions if the crisis escalates. he also said the u.s. would not recognize crimea as part of russia. search crews tonight continuing on intention hunt in the southern indian ocean for flight 370. "wall street journal" reporting a partial ping was sent eight minutes after the last complete transmission between the plane and orbitting satellite. it could help investigators figure out what happened. supreme court heard arguments in the hobby lobby case. it challenges the affordable care act and tests were employers must provide insurance for contraceptives. a decision is not expected until june. four people arrested for base jumping off a one world trade center. they were arrested for jumping

from a structure. they face seven years in prison. those are the headlines. i'm john seigenthaler. see you back here 11 eastern 8 pacific time coming up, a special report. what you don't know about mudslides. consider this is next. >> >> a plea from president jimmy carter to end worldwide violence against women. >> washington state's mudslides cashed mass casualties. should nerve prevented. >> three generals arrested and accused of plotting a coup in venezuela. welcome to consider this, here's more on what he said ahead.