good evening, everyone, and thank you for being with us. we begin with the fort hood shooting and it's aftermath, in depth coverage tonight, mill fair investigators at the largest army post are searching for answers. answers that may explain why an army soldier, a husband and a father went

on a deadly shooting spree. by the time the gunfire ended three people were killed, 16 injuried and 34-year-old army specialist ivan lopez had taken his own life. tonight we are learning more. turns out he joined the native on june of 2008. he has served with with the port rick co national guard. he was deployed to iraq, he did not see any combat, that very same year officials say that he had self-diagnosed a traumatic brain injury, in february, of just this year, the army transferred lopez and his family to fort hood where that shooting happened. just last month a psychiatrists examined him. the very latest details on the investigation. >> there may have been a verbal altercation with another soldier, or soldiers and as a strong

possibility that that in fact immediately preceding the shooting. >>luth general says the army is looking into multiple factors as motives for wednesday's deadly shooting spree at the fort hood military base, he says there is no indication, the accused shooter army specialist had a specific target. >> we are committed to letting the investigation run it's course, but we with have again, no indications at this dime, of any links to terrorists organizations. >> we will go where the facts lead us, and possibly stream up to involvement is still being looked at very very carefully. he had a clean record during a prescheduled pentagon hearing u.s. army secretary gave a small glimpse into lopez's history. he was a married soldier and father who went active duty in 2008 as an army man, and later became a truck driver. according to commanders he struggled with mental health issues and was

trying to get help. >> he was seen just last month, by psychiatrists. he was fully examined. and as of this morning we had no indication on the record of that examination, that there was any sign of likely violence, either to himself or to others. >> the experience soldiered who served as four month noncombat mission in iraq, used a 45 caliber weapon with to shoot and kill three people, before exchanging gunfire with a military police officer and then turning a gun on himself. two woundedsomes were able to call 9-1-1 shortly after the shooting started. >> in saving others. there's at least one chaplain, that i'm aware of, that shielded and saves other soldiers broke some windows and got them to safety. >> military officials say soldiers are encouraged to register their personal weapons, even when like lopez they live

off post. lopez however was able to bring the gun purchased march 1st, on to the base, and fire upon several people. leaving 16 soldiers injured, some with facial injuries and shrapnel wounds that punctured muscle. >> our chris call patients have injuries to the neck, we have a potential spine injury, and we also have an abdominal injury. >> any time you lose any of your people, to these kinds of tragedies there's an issue. there's a problem, we don't have the facts. we will get the facts. and when we have those facts specifically, about fort hood, we'll address them. >> the military has already tried to fix and prevent incidents like this one, especially after army psychiatrists nadal hassan went on a shooting rampage in 2009, killing 13 people on the same sprawling military base. after an extensive

review, the department of defense made recommendations to develop risk assessment programs to better identify and mitigate internal threats. and to expand emergency response capabilities by implemented mass notification and warning systems. despite plans for a new investigation about what went wrong, army chief of staff genere says the response during wednesday's fort hood incident likely saved lives. the alert procedures in place, the response, the training that has gone into the response, forces that responded i think contributed to making this something that could have been much much worse. >> al jazeera. >> to shed light on the shooting we are joined now by benjamin bryant. he served on the task force, boy boy, we learn

add lot, another shooting at the same military, after all the work that went into the report, this has to be disheartening. >> i don't know that it is disheartening it is always upsetting. one thing you don't ever want with to see is a loss of life, whether it's a personal break down, or the actual fact that people with can be harmed and killed. >> is it the goal to find out what happened and what can be fixed? >> absolutely. the personnel side looks a lot at the idea of raddization, and those kind of things. at the same time, member fall health is always an issue. there's tremendous concern about those things. >> what about the security on the base? what changed were recommended a lot of questions still about the gun? >> they improved communications. the ability for civilian and military first responders do talk to each other, training the

residents to know what to do in that situation. the gun is another situation, it is one of nose things where you can't ever really prevent someone who wants to bring a firearm on base. without stopping searching every car. you may remember after 9/11 bases were shut down, dogs were coming in and out of cars. and all the is security in the world won't stop that. >> so the idea really behind both the task force lord knows we want to prevent every one, but also to respond effectively, to be able to respond in a way that is efficient, minimizing the loss of life, either apprehends or neutralizing. and is prepared to treat the survivors and those effected. >> perhaps another task force, too early to tell.

>> i would suspect so. >> thank you. we are learning that specialist lopez was dealing with several mental health issues like depression, and anxiety, we are joined now by chief executive officer and co founder of the uniform services justice and advocacy group, thank you for joining us. i know you work with veterans and you say you are not surprised by this? >> we are not surprised. we with had meetings and conversations with senior leaders and the military in the army specifically, and we had predicted this and we had warmed them of the fact, if they continue on the path, that we have investigated and established through our investigations that this is an inequitable outcome. >> even after the shooting in 2009, the navy yard shooting you predict that these will continue to happen, why? >> because the manner

which we have seen in the course of our investigations how some of these service members are being treated, how they are not receiving proper mental healthcare, and how the system there are some leaders that just they don't care about getting these people the help that they need. >> you have said that after the service members get back from a deployment, they go through a questionnaire, and basically it is self-assessment, is that enough. >> it is not enough. there should be more, what we learned off is that the self-is assessments they are done in group settings in peer settings. the self-reported mechanism, i don't believe is enough. but when you look at this case, that we are dealing with right now, the individual had already reported he was seeking treatment, he was seeking help, and our ex-pierce is that those who are seeking help, are not

getting what they need. as a matter of fact, they get the opposite of what they need. >> is there a culture in the military that also encouragings people not to seek this mental help, or not seek it sooner? well, it is the mall treatment of those seeking mental healthcare, and treatment for dramatic brain injury, that discouraging and creating nonhelp seeking behavior in the next person, in the individual next to the guy seeking help. because i see how my fem low soldier is being treated how he is now facing an administrative situation, how he is being diagnosed with everything under the book except what is is in front of them, and they are being told that they have personality disorders that they have adjustment disorders, and the one thing that you cannot forget is this is not an isolated event. this is only the continuation of what is already documented day in

and out. >> i want your reaction to that, according to a new report, nearly one in five soldiers had a mental illness, such as depression, adhd before even listing in the army. why is this happening to our service members in. >> well, there's a twofold problem. one is obviously the men call health and combat stress related issues. and is this' additionally the problem that during the search, specifically dow jones the search, the enlistment and the standards were lowered where frankly we brought people into the military that never should have been there to begin with. >> thank you for having us. >> coming up next,

immaterial prisoned until further notice. sex offenders not given the benefit of the doubt, the unusual therapy in commitment centers next.

called civil commitment, and in 20 states you can be locked up and held indefinitely, for a crime you haven't yet committed. may sound like science fiction, but this is reality for sex offenders. in march after a florida girl was raped and murdered the state made it tough for such offenders to get out of prison. >> it's wrapped in high sky barbed wire. no one goes in or gets out voluntarily. >> i had my black days in there, a lot of people try to take themselves out while they are in there, i have seen it. walking down the hallway

with a razor. >> david spent 4 1/2 years here, and ask we conceal his identity says it is even worse than prison. >> it is like a living death sentence. it is. you just function from one day to the next. >> are you saying prison was better in. >> oh yeah. >> this is the florida civil commitment center. it is in a town of 6,000 people, this is where the most violent sexual red r toes go after they serve their sentences. they are here because the state deems them too dangerous to walk the streets. is people we have kept at that center, are likely to have committed any number of horrible violence traumatic offenses. so there's no price if you save one child by keeping somebody in that program. giving them the opportunity to seek treatment that they need. >> similar laws exist in

20 with states and in washington, d.c. the federal government also uses it to keep dangerous sex offenders behind bars. >> once these sex offenders prison terms end. that includes if they suffer from a mental abnormality that epress conference disposes them. they undergo intense psychiatric treatment, unavailable in prison. 57-year-old donald james smith was considered a prime candidate, a prime example of the loopholes. he spent three years in a civil commitment facility. a judge released him and ordered him to undergo

treatment. he was arrested again for impersonating a worker and attempted to take a child. last june, just three weeks after smith walked out of jail, he raped and strangled eight-year-old cher rich perry wingle, he lured her from a wal-mart with a prompt of a f food meal, for her, her sisters and mother. today the community has suffered another heartbreak, another tragedy, one of our children was stole and murdered. an eight-year-old girl is dead and we want to know why. through her organization, lauren's kids she fought for legislation to ensure that florida is the most difficult for sex offenders to live i fight every day to make it that these monsters, these

sect wally deviant behaving individuals are away from our children as humanly possible. both discovered because he pled to million dollars charges and was searching time in a county jail. she helped draft legislation that ensures all of in jail or in prison will be evalwaited it also lowers the number of evaluators ordered to commit someone. in march, the florida legislature swiftly pass add package of bills to close the loopholes. and the governor signed it into law this week. >> we know one certain fact, no one has rape add child while staying in a state prison, so if we can keep them in prison longer. >> it is an election year, and locking up semioffenders is very popular. >> a unique perspective as both a survivor and a mother of a sex offender, she lobbied for what she

called evidence based policies. she says the psych yacht fricke treatment should be offered before an offender entered the system, not after they were served 1020 years. we have made them a ward of the state, we have paid to keep them, and we with have not treated them like a human being. i can hate what somebody does they are still a human being. >> it has released about 300 offenders from the civil commitment program. the director says preparing for reentering society is one of it's goals. >> it is a gift if they would look at it that way, that they have an do you want to make serious and deep seeded changes. to live a more law abiding life. and to not victimize people. >> he served time for

rape, he says the woman was his ex-and drug dealer. when the term was finished instead of walking out a freeman, he was driven here to the civil commitment facility. >> they were never formally deemed a sexual predator by the state. when he finally got a trial, the jury released him, right now of the 650 men, 72 are awaiting their commitment hearings. >> i saw guys were in there that had been in there eight years and never seen the inside of a courtroom. people completed treatment and still aren't getting out, so it's crazy. it just doesn't make any sense, and everything that they are doing as far as i'm concerned based on what i know about the law, violates every constitution. >> do i concern myself with how easy their live is, or if they should or

should not be -- no. no, because i'm still living. >> the program's director says residents wait for their civil trials because mounting a defense takes time. she adds any delays are not the program's fault, beyond whether civil commitment is fair is the question of whether it's working. the state estimated since i began, committing violent predators 15 years ago, it is likely saved thousands of people from becoming their victims. but in an investigation by the florida newspaper the sun sentinel concluded too many sex offenders are slipping through the cracks. since the program began, the paper reported 589 offender whose are found safe enough to be released went on to commit sex crimes again. >> we all faired cher rich. we failed her as a society. with the new law, the state plans to expand the

civil commitment, and it hopes it's chances of keeping violent sexual predators off the street. am al jazeera, miami. >> let's get some answers about this controversial practice of civil commitment, we are joined now with the didn't of sigh cog, dr. thank you so much for joining us, are these civil commitment center as good idea. >> thank you for having me. well, as you heard there are 20 with states that have civil commitment programs. these are designed for the worse of the worse, so these are sex offender whose have had repeat offenses who have a long history of criminal behavior, who have been particularly violent or egregious in their offing and the one withs that are deemed to be the most likely to go on and reoffend. >> is that because the reality is that some sex offenders just cannot be rehabilitated? they are aiding tore the public. >> that's what commitment

is designed for how do you ensure that you are only put civil commitment center these people in these centers that are the most likely to reoffend so other people that may have some chance of rehabilitation aren't stuck there for the rest of their lives. >> wellness a direct question. they go flu a process where they are screened on paper, they have an opportunity to be evalwaited by two different psychologists and it's really a small personal of the sex offenders released from prison who end up being referred for civil commitment. so it's a very small piece of the uponlation. >> do you see that growing? the number of people that will be placed in these

centers? because some do show that you are keeping some dangerous people off the streets that keeps women safe from rapists in. >> yes, and that's true. and across the country, that percentage is pretty consistent. it runs at about 2%. >> so you see this expanding across the country as the program proves effective? is. >> well, it's stayed pretty steady. the florida legislature has tried to close some loopholes. so if a conviction sex offender is convicted again, he will be available for an evaluation. to have someone take a look and see whether or not this is an offense in which he should receive some commitment. >> a controversial solution to what is definitely a problem. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having

me. >> nearly half of all women, nearly one fifth of all men, will experience some fort of sexual violence. most of those experiences remain silent that's why america tonight is recognizing sexual assault awareness night. our digital team has launch add new campaign. also log on to our website. a twitter like revolution. the master mind behind the anti-friend, the secrets are out after the break.

getting $1 billion in loan guarantees from the u.s. president obama signed the bill thursday. some of the money will be used to help with new government elections and to help recover stolen assets. the senate intelligence committee voted to release parts of a secret report that criticizes c.i.a. interrogations after 9/11. the report concludes water boarding and other enhanced interrogation methods were excessively cruel, and also ineffective.

wilt, this next report may sound like something out of a cold war spy novel. but once again, reality trumps fiction. some cubans thought they were using a social media network, it was even named after a humming birds tweet, but it turns out a u.s. project and it was being used to spread anti-propaganda. >> a product to bring news, -- is last post was in 2012, be uh the facebook page is still up. the site recommending links to the latest news on north korea from the bbc and it make as plea,

asking for 300 more followers by the end of the week. that's how it started as an information service, at it eke peek about 40,000 were uploading marry own messages throughout the network as welp p you would log on and you could hit 140 characters and hit send. it was futuristic. >> where does the money come from, all this for nothing wasn't possible. >> a contact with a state run company and a bank out of the kaman islands meat it all possible, but critics say operations like this, put lives on the line. it is true that every program wants to protect certain details on who they are working with. we were told that you

couldn't even be told in broad terms because people will die. >> one u.s. workser currently in prison with a 15 year sentence for expanding the wireless networks. but the agency wrote it is proud of its work, the purpose of the project was to create a platform to speak freely, but documents on the program go even further. saying the real objective was to get the transition process going again towards democratic change. the push has a long and colorful process where change meant regime change. highlights include destroying castros iconic beard by dusting his

shoe -- even poisoning his cigars or rigging a seashell to explode, in an area where castro went skin diving. as you know it is a development agency, not an intelligence agency. but this program emphasizes was with not a covert operation. suggests that this was covert are wrong. these are public, unlike covert action. >> in case there was an confusion. >> when i say this is not convert and then i talk about it that's how you know it is not covert. >> networks still exist in cuba. woman it is not a surprise the u.s. has a long history of trying to influence the politics. joined now by al jazeera contribute for.

lindsaymore ran, also a clandestine operative. blowing my cover, my life as a cia spy, can't think of everybody that would know more about the possibility of this what is the reaction, you had when you heard about this? when i first thought about it thought nod a bad idea, nod a bad eye to try to toment communication. among citizens. not something that i think is out of the question that we at the c.i.a. may have done, but when i heard it was an i.d. program i was taken aback. >> that's puzzling because they try in the public, at least, to stay out of things like this. so do you think this was organized. >> and a hand full of people that were playing speak a little bit, and

it got out of hand. and it isn't that the program itself smacked of covert action, but the fact that they went to such lengths to keep it covert. that they were using front companies and bank accounts in the kaman islands and recruiting unsuspected executives. that all sounds like stuff that we at the c.i.a. would do. >> it is wild, because you have to think as we move into this extreme digital age, people are craving this information, facebook is banned in some countries twitser bans in some countries is this type of an operation, something that could be useful to the cia or other agencies in. >> well, absolutely. i mean i think we have used spy ofs for a long time. and we have a long history of using them, in latin american, all over the world in fact.

and social media is just a new tool. >> is that happening right now you think in some places in. >> i would imagine it probably is happening. the difference is when the c.i.a. enact as program like this, first of all, there has to be presidential authorization. which it doesn't sound like happened in this u.s.a. i.d. case, and also there's a lot of analysis risk verses gain analysis. before you enact a program like this, and again, it sounds like it was fly by the seat of your pants. there was no risk verses gain, and at the of the day there was no real gain. >> what i take away from it is being weary of propaganda period. >> it is out there. iter would be naive to think that our intelligence community isn't going to capitalize

on social media and it's popularity and it'sth cassie. >> or even talk about trying to kill a castro with an exploding clam shell. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> scenes of their daily lives rare scenes from the battlefield, and a critical look at what the future holds for afghanistan that's friday tat a special time, 9:30 eastern on america tonight. and spill to come this hour, ad mo earn school of thought. >> it is another laing, another language, and another way of working we have to work around problems and constantly

find solutions. students are self-fought, a show and tell in a classroom you have to see to believe up next.

also a powerful new account of the boston bombing told through the eyes of a variety of people who struggle through it. plus tensions through america shoots into space. david letterman says he will step down, what is his legacy, who may take his place, and the major league storm over a player taking paternity leave. when we see you at the top of the hour. imagine this, no teachers, no lecturers and no tuition. it is a model for higher education that is turn

track edition on it's head. it is a school in paris that has quickly become one of the oversubscribed establishments o. planet, and it is funded by a french billionaire. al jazeera reports tonight. >> he is 21 years old, french american, and he is taking a chance that a radical new kind of education will make him highly employable in france's difficult economy. he has already dropped out of one college. >> it is my last chance. it is a unique opportunity to be in this school. for arthur and many of the other students here, this school really is a last and unique chance. close to a hot house that

any college environment anywhere, school 42, dend ma as lot of his students. in exchange, free tuition, and an association with some of france's most brilliant tech finds. >> oh, and no teachers. instead a reliance on learning students working together to solve problems. >> nothing comparable, it is another world, another language, it is other concepts and another way of working if we have to work around problems and constantly find solutions. when we face problems and failures. >> students press conference assign prod corrects by online video, they are given deadlines for completion, there is no textbooks no lectures. there is google, and the internet.

it is on solutions to the technical problem. we don't just want to we want them to create in the next years. there are staff, just not in the traditional sense. the school director recruited from another hi-tech but more traditional school. he has a phd from stamford university. >> we try it all, and we are not doing any transmission, we are only making students work together, and they will learn by each other and from each other. >> so by doing this, you are basically asking them to find their own path. >> exactly. >> all the problems you set. >> exactly.

take the work week, at this school, students are expected to put in a minimum of 70 full on hour as week. that all hours of the day or night. >> we are learning in a very intense rhythm, what we are doing at the end of the first month is mostly what they do in a university at the end of the first year. high speed learning. producing graduates with more than a foothold on a precarious ladder. it is an old world economy that is moving at an ever slower pace, and one of the biggest

problems here is unemployment rate of about 25%. one sector where there are jobs thousands of them every year, hi-tech, and i.t. the billionaire with millions invested in the school. is a self-made fresh entrepreneur whose wealth comes from hi-tech. >> in france, we have a huge problem of social mountain, that means if i'm the son of someone who is rich, then i am likely to have a job in something that will make me rich. and if i am poor i will stay poor. >> now he says he wants to create opportunities for others in those fielding. >> france gave me the chance to become extremely rich, and it was great, and i feel the need to give back to the country. a little of what it has given to me. in a sector that i know well. so it is quite important to help people do some of the things sha i have had the opportunity to do

here. >> some of the students come from family whose would never have been able to afford the division of a regular college. it's also intensely competitive. >> getting a place here is harder than harvard. there are 3,000 were selected for an intensive boot camp, all competing for just 900 places. we are not kidding, tougher than harvard. >> 70,000 applicants. >> yeah, for only 900. >> did you expect that? >> no, we were thinking around three to 5,000. >> and you get 70,000. >> we were surprised. >> surprise doesn't quite

cover it. ten months ago, this school didn't exist, here the first class of students will achieve the officially recognized diploma. what they hope they will be able to do is write computer code. >> if we find a problem, we'll find solutions, we'll find people who can help us. we'll ask the questions that will help us understand correctly what is asked from us. >> what do you think it will take to get france moving again? >> to help them to create. we need to give energy to a new generation of youngsters in this country. >> do you consider this a good investment? >> it is better than buying a i will or a plane, being productive for my country is much

better. >> very interesting to see something like that in the u.s. school four, actually comes from hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, one of the original geek bibles and the favorite of the school founder. well ahead in our final thoughts once it was lost, but now has it been found? for cracking the legend of the holy grail, up next.

final destination was leon. >> in their book, kings of the grail, the historians allege that a vessel was stolen from jerusalem by muslims and that the vessel which is said is to have touched jesus' lips was cede to make its way as a gift. >> this tube of goblet is one used by people with a certain power. it was not the typical cup of the commoners. >> it ended up in this church, of saint isadore, and it's been there since the 11th century. of course, there are plenty of skeptics. this is not the first time that a holy grail has been sited, one of the most notable holy grail destinations is also in spain. at the that need real. pope benedict visited that church. the book itself

acknowledges there have been hundreds of other sitings in europe alone. the most famous in the world, last year the cloth made a rare appearance on italian television, for the first time in 40 years. it is thought to be the actual robe that jesus was buried in. pope francis called it an icon rather than a relic. mow is this possible. that they paused before this man scourge scourged d cruet fied. >> then there's the head of john the baptist. many believe it is in damascus at the mosque, but many believe it resides in rome's church

we have been charged by god with a sacred quest. and of course we can't forget the many it rations that have entered pop culture, like the classic, four endian jones question. >> the holy grail, dr. jones. >> this latest holy grail has to be removed from the churning where it was displayed if it was overwhelmed by visitors curators are now trying to find a space lodge to handle everyone that wants to touch the chalice. >> in public reader ship, so it possible that this is actually the one? >> well, it's -- i suspect not. >> why is that. >> well, there's -- well for one thing, even the authors of the book said

there's no way to tell what happened in the first 400 years of its history. >> but there are some documents. >> yes. >> which does make it a little bit different. >> yes, so that is interesting. that's what scholar willed be looking toward, to see what this tail is that took the cup, and then takes it to spain. >> well, this one certainly at least has a really good story, and so many holy grail stories out there, why the fascination with trying to find the holy grail? >> i think it is the quest for the per shull perfection that is the way the story of the holy grail gets started in the 12th century. >> and people line-up. >> to see it. >> possible holy grails. >> yeah. >> how do you explain that. >> i think it is the

combination. >> that this holds the blood of jesus, and he may have touched it, so it is the essence of what christians believe is the act that jesus does that saved us. >> religious relics like this, icons, why are they prevalent in just christianity, do they have other holy grail type things as well that people are seeking all the time? >> not so much. particularly if you think about judaism and islam, because there is prohibitions against graven images particularly things that are related to people are not as sought after. what do people not know about the holy grail and the quest for it. >> it is a late idea, the holy grail itself doesn't show up until the 12th century. >> does the holy grail even exist doesn't it h. >> well, possibly.

well it does talk about a country, so jesus uses a cup at the meal, and that's why this connection of is this the cup that jesus used. >> we don't know if it's some basketball goblet, or just some little cup that would have never stood the test of time. right, we have no idea. >> what do you see next. >> i think people will be anxious to read this book, it's? spanish right now, so we are waiting for a translation, which i'm sure will appear right away. >> so people make money off of it. >> yes. >> and that we request say with certainty. the joshing washington university center for excellence, and public leadership, thank you for being on the show. >> thank you for having me. >> that's it for us here, america tonight will air at a special time friday, right after line special on the front lines with

the taliban at nine eastern on am al jazeera america, then the american tonight special is at 9:30 be sure to join us then, thank you for watch having a greet night, and more america tonight tomorrow. ♪ hello, and welcome to al jazeera america. storms are hitting parts of the midwest and south right now, more than 40 million people could be effected by severe weather moving through. there have been several reports of tornadoes

touching down, we are hearing of one injury but no significant damage so far. authorities have identified the man they say open fire at fort hood texas yesterday, 34-year-old ivan lopez was an iraq war veteran with a recent history of mental health issues. the army says lopez may have argued with another soldier shortly before the attack. six patients have already been released but three others are in serious condition. the cia has fought to keep it secret, but today the senate intelligence committee voted to declassify parts of it, the report concludes that techniques like water boarding were excessively cruel and unproductive. the administration in down playing a press investigation into a so called cuban twitter, the a.p. says the u.s. humanitarian agency,

secretly financed a social network and undermining cuba's communist regime, the white house says the program was not a covert operation. those are your headlines we will see you back here at 11:00, consider this is next. the fort hood tragedy raises major questions as mental health is once again at the center of a mass shooting. also america's plan to trigger protests in cuba, secretly using social media. plus sports radio cries foul. welcome to consider this, here is more on what's ahead. >> the alleged shooter