ray swarez. >> sclz >> good morning and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm thomas drayton, here are the top stories we are following at this hour. authorities identified the man they say opened fire at fort hood texas on wednesday. 34-year-old ivan lopez was a soldier with a history of mental health issues. there's not motive but he may have argued with another soldier before the attack. >> australian officials are conducting subsurface searches for the black box. the first time they are going underwater to look for it. they have two ships trying to pip point the black box.

>> israel is cans lipping the planned release of palestine prisoners. parties met on thursday, and discussions are continuing. he's calling on both sides to show leadership and find a way to compromise for peace. the obama administration is downplaying an associated press investigation into a so-called cuban twitter. the ap says the humanitarian agency u.s. aid financed a social network aimed at undermining cuba's government. >> the largest environmental clean-up in u.s. history will cost an oil company $5 billion. anadarko will pay for the cloon up of thousands of sites contaminated years ago. those are are the headlines, "america tonight" is up next. on america tonight, the fort hood gunman, his

mental health, and his quest for help. a pattern of mass military shootings p p does it reveal we are failing our troops in. >> any time you lose any of your people, there's an issue. we don't have the facts. we will get the facts. >> also tonight, serving life without a trial. rapists and child moless tors sent to a place that looks like prison, but it is not. inside the controversy of commitment centers. these are children, and so i fight every day to make it so that these monsters are as far away as humanly possible. >> and tweeter with a spy. the u.s. gov bizarre social media plan to bring chaos to cuba, from cutting off castro's beard to killer clams. the messenger is exposed. >>

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, google and the world brain >> it would be the worlds greatest library, under one digital roof. but at what cost? >> google could hold the whole word hostage... google and the world brain only on aljazeera ameria

this is the 900 page document we call obama care. and my staff has read the entire thing. can congress say the same? there's more to it.

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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. 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 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.

>> on al jazeera america when science intersects with hope. >> i'm hoping to give someone a prosthetic arm for under $1000 >> inovation finds oppurtunity >> a large earthquake would be an inconvenience rather than a disaster... >> and hardware meets humanity >> this is some of the best driving i've ever done >> eventhough i can't see... >> techknow our experts take you beyond the lab >> we're here in the vortex... >> and explore the technology changing our world. only on al jazeera america

the stream is uniquely interactive television. in fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> i think you've offended everyone with that kathy. >> hold on, there's some room to offend people, i'm here. >> we have a right to know what's in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it from us. >> so join the conversation and make it your own.

>> watch the stream. >> and join the conversation online @ajamstream. 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 download it now

finally is it possible the most sot off relic may have been sitting around collecting dust. have rearmers finally found the one? >> a religious discovery for the ages that the holy crawl, that jesus allegedly used to drink from during the last supser located at a church in leon spain. we kid you not it was in storage. >> from this document, based on day from other sources 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 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. 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. >> scared as hell... >> as american troops prepare to leave afghanistan get a first hand look at what life is really like under the taliban. >> we're going to be taken to a place, where they're going to make plans for an attack. >> the only thing i know is, that they say they're not going to withdraw. >> then, immediately after, an america tonight special edition for more inside and analysis. >> why did you decide to go... >> it's extremly important for the western audience to know why these people keep on fighting... ...it's so seldom you get that access to the other side. >> faultlines: on the front lines with the taliban then an america tonight: special edition

only on al jazeera america ♪ the u.s. promises working on a peace deal despite another setback. ♪ i'm elizabeth and you are watching al jazeera live from doha and ahead chad withdraws peace keepers from the central african republican after accused of helping rebels. and al jazeera meets former foreign minister and alleged espionage on twitter and u.s. accused of using social media for pic