understanding of the yup verse, and our place in it. amazing images. i'm michael eaves. i'll be back with another hour in news coming up later. "america tonight" is next. updates - go to the website, aljazeera.com. on "america tonight" - the weekend edition. stopping sexual assault and helping survivors move forward. our investigation into a nationwide backlog of hundreds of thousands of rape case, and the evidence that it allowed serial rapists to go free. >> you start to wonder is rape illegal. the law says it's illegal. in practice if nothing done is it really illegal. >> and another question - how to recover from the trauma?

>> i didn't want to acknowledge the fact that i went through it and that it was called rape. >> an indepth report on a shocking therapy forcing victims to relife the terror. the battle for the keystone pipeline, pitching the future of a farm against an alliance of cowboys and indians, and their campaign to save a way of life. >> it's not just an infrastructure project. they are messing with folks' legacies. into the world's driest desert and reaching for the stars. in a place where there's no sign of life, a search for evidence for what it might be like way out there.

good evening, thanks for joining us. nationwide, 400,000 assault kits, containing evidence of rape, sit untested. that means 400,000 victims are denied justice and the rapists are free to attack others. lori jane gliha has this "america tonight" investigation. >> honestly the law enforcement was worse than the rape. >> reporter: it would be more than a decade before this victim was taken seriously. >> i was interrogated as if i was a suspect. they kept saying "you know you can go to gaol for making this up. you are not just doing this for attention. >> in 2003 a stranger attacked her in her tennessee home. she was 16. you were 16, they were telling you "are you sure you were

raped?" how frustrating was that. >> it was confusing. >> did you feel there was a moment where someone believed what happened to you? >> no. >> despite the investigators, and a threat by the perpetrator that he would come back and attack her. she under went a rape kit. they are important tools. the body of a rape victim is a crime scene. fluids, hairs, skin can be tested for d.n.a., leading to identification. >> he came up from behind me, knocked me down. there's no way i could identify him. the only chance was d.n.a. >> she assumed the kit would be dealt with quickly. instead it sat on a shelf for

nine years. officials can't explain why. >> if my family hadn't believed me, i - i don't know what - i don't want to think about what i would have done. >> this is her first national television interview. she says she no longer wants to be known as a jane dow. >> you go through this horrible sexual assault. they integrate you, make you feel like -- interrogate you, make you feel like you are lying... >> they accused me of lying. >> and don't call you back. >> i was on edge. i didn't know if the man had a ki mask on, i couldn't protect myself. he could be anywhere. >> in 2012 the kit was tested. that man was identified as her rapist. he would admit to raping six more women and he was sentenced to 178 years in prison. had the rape kit been tested right away, there was a chance

he could have been identified before raping other women. that's why a law enforcement database comes into play. >> once an attacker's d.n.a. is extracted, police look for a catch in codize. if one is not found, having the d.n.a. on file is important. >> we will cut one swab. >> if an attackers d.n.a. turns up at a crime scene in the future the person will be caught. less than a year after she was raped, police were called to this hotel. in a room he was caught red-handed with a 16-year-old girl. she appeared to be drugged. oliano admitted to having sex with her. police recovered blood-sustained sheets, took saliva and took a rape kit, all that could have been tested for d.n.a.

but it wasn't. >> what do you think about the fact that he slipped through the cracks? >> i'm not surprised, given the way law enforcement reacted to my report. >> it was only by accident that he was linked to rape. her mother happened to see a report. thinking it may be her attacker. they called police. they decided to test her kit, finally. >> at what point did you find outed your rape kit was never tested. >> when i call and that person said they'd send in the kit to be tested. >> what were the words? >> they said, "we're sending it in now." >> it was not just her kit that sat untested. the city announced it failed to test more than 12,000 rape kits, some dating back to the 1980s.

natasha is also a rape survivor. 1993, new york city, raped by a stranger at gun point. she believes a reason kids are untested is because of the mind-set of many in law enforcement. >> rape is a crime that is treated differently, it's the only crime where police make a judgment call as to whether or not they believe the victim. >> untested kids are not just a problem in memphis. police in detroit found 11,000 untested kits. in cleveland, 4,000. in phoenix 3,000. nationwide the justice department estimates there are 400,000 uptested kits. >> when you brought the kid out. that's a human being. >> alex has an organization working to clear the backlog. some are sent here. this lab is the biggest private

processor of rape kits this the united states. >> the data doesn't lie. new york city has a policy where they test a rape kit, and according to the fbi, new york city has a 70% arrest rate because they test every kit. the rest of the nation has a 24% arrest rate. >> the backlog came to light when a local tv station asked questions. at first, the city said there were only 2,000 uptested kits before upping the total to more than 12,000. >> we had enough false starts. >> that man has been the mayor of memphis, and took the lead on speaking on behalf of the city and the police. >> what was your rehabilitation when you discovered there was 12,000 plus cases not tested? >> i don't know how to scribe it. it was utter - it was frustration. >> how sure are you that the number put out now, the number

of untested kits will stay where it is, and you are not going to find thousands in the coming months. >> you can never say we are positively certain. based on the time that we have been in this inquiry, i'm reasonably certain that's as far as it will go. >> he says he cannot speak about the specifics of the case because of lawsuits against the city. the city has lauxed an investigation -- launched an investigation into why all the kits sat untested. the city has a methodical plan for testing the kits and prosecuting the crimes that the city discovers. >> the kits will be tested. >> according to the major the city tested 500 kits, resulting in 19 criminal cases and 14 indictments indictments. >> if you can give a message to victims that have been discovered and yet to be

discovered. how will you put them at ease to make sure they are treated fairly. >> there's no way in the world i will stand here and tell them "you shouldn't feel that way." all i can say is this built up. it will take a while to get it done, and done right. that's what we are committed to. if any victim wants a weekly report, they are going to get it. all they have to do is ask. >> megan intends to hold the mayor to his word. she has become a shadow, pressing him on the issue when of she can. she lobbied the state of tennessee for legislation requiring the timely processing of rape kits. >> you start to wonder is rape really illegal. apparently it was not a big deal for the nine years oliana was on the loose. the law says it's il, but in practice if nothing is done is it illegal. lori jane gliha continues

her ipp depth reporting. this time with other -- indepth reporting this time with other survivors, and treatment that offers hope for recovering. it's difficult to watch. a 5-year study finds it's making a difference. al jazeera america was given access to these usually private therapy sessions. >> the inside of my leg. if felt weird. he was touching me. >> reporter: this is a type of therapy for rape victims. >> like i landed in garbage. >> it requires to hear the victim recount the horrific experience leaving her wondering whether she'd live to see another day. >> i felt i was in immediate danger. it. >> it may seem cruel at first

glance. >> you can do this. ci ci >> i know it's hard. in this video she's 17 and remembering skipping school to hang out with her then boyfriend. he took her to ace friend's house -- his friend's house where another man she had never metaphorsed himself -- met, forced himself on her. >> after the situation i thought it was my fault. i didn't want to, like, i didn't want to make it a big deal because i didn't fight back. i should have fought. i should have done more. >> she had been an outgoing teenager, a dancer who loved school and snapping pictures with her friends, until the tram of her rape took over her life. >> you feel like a walking zombie, like you are walking through life, and not able to

look at my parents. not wanting to hug anyone. i couldn't stand in a line at a store. if someone was behind me, i was uncomfortable. i couldn't look at my dad because he had the same look that the guy had, the same look that my dad has. >> what does that do in your heart knowing when you couldn't look at your dad? >> when i looked at him, i looked at him in disgust. >> she stopped dancing. i mean, she danced. she lost her joy. she became like a shell. i wanted it see her dance. i knew she had to fight back, she needed to take her life back. >> every day activities like

going to school became almost impossible. her mother never knew what could trigger an emotional breakdown. she started home schooling her daughter. >> i wanted to protect her. i always wanted to protect her. i felt i had failed. >> she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and tried various types of therapy. van eata contacted a rape crisis center where she met a clinical psychologist at the university of pennsylvania, who recruited ta hera for a ground-breaking study. she would undergo prolonged ex-percentage therapy. >> i felt dirty. touching me. i can't do anything. >> we have the adolescent tell the story of what happened to them, repeatedly, over and over, throughout sessions.

>> it was kind of scary because i did not want to talk about it. i didn't want to acknowledge the fact that i went through it. i didn't want to the acknowledge that it was called rape. i don't think i wanted to close my eyes, you know, it made it all too real. >> the therapy required her to face here fears head on. >> i didn't want to be in a room with the doors open at night. i couldn't sleep. >> the doctor told her to sleep with her door open and visit places that made her anxious, like the house she was raped, not far from her own home. >> could you have done this without the therapy? >> probably not. i hated walking by myself. >> if i can hand her... >> prolonged exporm therapy -- exporm therapy was developed by dr edthat foyer. she teaches her methods to doctors around the world during seminars like this.

>> we'll push. gentry. >> it's used by the department of veteran affairs by servicemen and women that suffer from ptsd it is successful for most adults. >> 85% are helped. there's 10-15% that are not helped. we know from studies that we have done, that nobody got worse. >> the study that tahira was part of found that it helped teenagers. publishing in the american medical association journalist it found 83% were cured, compared with 54% that received traditional support of counselling. >> i was outside bent over a car

and he was having sex from behind. >> "america tonight" observed this woman's session. -typically there would be 16 sessions before the patient isn't it have ptsd. the patient asked for her identity to be protected. she was a teenager when raped and is now 25. the doctor has been working with her. what do you think will be the hardest thing for her to overcome? >> i think anger. she has a hard time letting herself feel angry with people. i think letting herself feel the emotions. >> in the first session she talks about the rape in a mechanical way. >> he's standing there, staring at me, and in a panic saying,

"no, no. my friend are out there, no." each time the patient repeats the story her anxiety decreases. her sessions are recorded and she has to listen to herself recounting her rape every day. how hopeful are you that this patient will be successful with this type of treatment? >> i am extremely hopeful. i'm absolutely confident. >> several weeks later we went back to observe another session. this time the patient was pushed to reveal more yask details -- graphic details about the reach. >> i co physically hear it, the friction. i could hear him heavy breathing and hear me being pushed against this car. >> the patient says it's getting easier, and she's learning to reconnect with her emotions. is there anything you say it not

working for you in this type of therapy so far? >> so far, to be hon of the. -- honest, there hasn't been a negative feeling towards the tlempy. obviously there's a feeling of uncomfortness that comes with the therapy. that means it's working. >> where do you want to be, ultimately? >> where do i want to be? >> i want to be emotionally stable. not - just being controlled by my ptsd. >> it's a freedom this girl has achieved. able to smile again and laugh, and even dance. >> she's dancing. she took my breath away. she took her life back. >> this move is like washing the

shame, the fear off. and in this moment i claimed myself as not being a victim, but i am a rape survivor. [ ♪ music our reporting from lori jane gliha. coming up next here - checked out - of the beverly hills hotel. why some of hollywood's biggest names are behind a campaign because of laws imposed miles away. psh psh

big screen protest, pitting hollywood's biggest names

against an international power. in the middle a beverly hills landmark and behind the scenes police headquarters and a plot twist the stars are probably not aware of from beverly hills, michael oku with the story. >> reporter: it's a beautiful day in beverly hills. shoppers, tourists, business as usual. not at the bulls hotel. >> nobody is going to set foot in ta damn hotel until he is out of it. >> it began with a tweet from ellen degeneres urging followers to stay away from the iconic hotel and others owned by the sultan of brunei. why? the sultan, rule are of a tine which but oil -- tiny but oil-rich country announce a penal code making adultery and gay sex punishable by sex. brunei is the first country to adopt sharia law. social media spread the message. >> a week and a half ago we saw

small reports in online media that the subtlian of bruin -- sultan of brunei announced that he'd move ahead with imposing taliban laws. >> kathie spiller is the executive director of the "miss magazine." >> we were scheduled to hold a big annual event for global women's rights at the beverly hills within a week. when we verified that is what was happening, we decided to pull the event away from the hotel. how could we hold a global women's rights awards at a hotel, whose owner was about to impose these taliban laws. >> a dozen organizations followed suit. >> we hope to draw attention to this, people go okay, maybe i will not hold my event until they change it. >> the hotel lost 1.5 million in bookings.

in a packed meeting the beverly hills council pushed the issue further. >> ideally the brunei government will repeal these horrific laws. if it doesn't happen, we want the hotel under different ownership so the long and rich history in beverly hills will not be tarnished by the brunei government action. [ clapping ] >> clearly the campaign to boycott the bls hotel has gone viral. what few supporters may realise is that the real story begins here at the hotel bel-air. in a battle over workers' rights, not gay rights. >> reporter: the sultan of brunei owns this hotel too. in 2009 he and his company shut it down for renovations and laid off nearly 300 union workers. when the hotel reopened, they highed new people who -- hired new people that didn't belong to a union raising the ire of an

organization called unite here. >> we represent 20,000 hospitality workers in l.a. and orange country, low-wage workers from house keepers, books, bellman, et cetera. >> lee is a labour organiser. >> it's customary if a hotel shuts down, that they make an agreement with the workers there to come back to work when it reopens. after all, these are the dedicated staff that know the guests and work there for decades. >> the sultan's company did the same thing at the beverly hills hotel, effectively busting the youpt at -- union at both luxury hotels. we tried to spread the world, ignite outrage. >> the union called for a boycott of the hotel bel-air. >> our message was not resonating with folks. the struggle of low-wage workers are not always front-page news.

>> i work at the hotel bel-air for five years. i was in the rest room as a busser. >> an immigrant with two young children, he worked full-time at the hotel bel-air and held down a part-time job. >> i felt that they were using me like when you throw the furpt to the -- furniture to the trash. >> after being laid off. he lost his apartment. >> we now the sultan was anti-worker and we looked into what he was about. at that time we found in his country where he is a monarch, it is ilto be gay. >> sensing an opportunity, shelton's union sought help from a cool egg up north in -- colleague up north in san francisco.

ki kiev is an organiser but is founder of the aides memorial quilt and has 10,000 facebook friend and followers. >> i was looking at news feeds and saw a story about an unofficial condemning a law proposed in brunei. i thought, "that's that guy." i thought that now people would be in an uproar because he's calling for gay people to be stoned to death. adulterers to be killed. >> joan started to post about brunei's antigay laws on his facebook page. >> every morning i get up and see how this has spread. boy, it's amazing. >> thanks to social media the message spread like wildfire. the union got its boycott, even if it had to wrap in a different cause to get results. >> in an age where one

communicates in 140 characters or less. you have to find the phrase, the words that jump out and pull people into the story. >> the boycott has been so successful that the c.e.o. of the sultan's company flew in from london to handle the pr disaster and declined an interview with "america tonight", but told the city council that brunei was upfairly singled out. >> these laws exist in other countries around the world, where those punishments that we spoke about are already enacted. i see no action being taken by this council in refuting those laws in those countries. >> hundreds of employees, he argued, would be the true victims. >> i'm here to talk to you and

put an impassioned plea on behalf of 650 employees, and their families of the beverly hills hole. the actions that -- hotel. the actions that you take have to be seriously considered, because they'll affect the livelihoods of these people. >> as for pablo, he doesn't want the hotel employees to suffer either. >> it's important that people hear what happened, not just because they are doing this with a lesbian or gay. it's because he not report the employees. >> he's been looking for a full-time job for three years. up next here - a state divided - extending the keystone xl pipeline out on the plains. why those who depend on the land

have strong and differing views about its building.

you are probably heard about the fight over plans to build the keystone xl extension, a battle pitting neighbours in the heart land and those this washington. the president delayed a final decision, now expected to come after the mud term elections. that did not get the issue off the political radar. senators are pushing for a vote. on the farm, there's a sense of

urgency. now that a new season has come to the land. >> reporter: it's spring. planting time on this farm in nebraska. and all across the grain belt. don and his son plant 4600 air, of soil and beans. a county producing more corn than any other. >> it's an exciting time of the year. >> yields have never been better. getting the harvest to market is another story. right now there's a shortage of capacity on the railroad the way i understand it. trucks deliver the grain to local feedlots. to get their crops out west, to markets and export. they need trains.

just a few miles up the road the new grain elevator at el selmo was supposed to load 110-car traipse in is it -- trains in 12 hours, week in and week out. this is the first train since december - four months ago. this is why. tanker car after tanker car, hauling crude oil across the heartland. what amounts to a pipeline on rails. >> two years ago we wouldn't have seen it. it's a new phenomena. america's oil boom is squeezing out crane and fertiliser. major rail roads pulled 95-00 car loads of crude oil. last year they moved 400,000 car loads of crude. here and across the great plains grain elevate scores are full and waiting. when the trains do come, they charge more, and that means

lower prices for the farmers. $0.30 a bushel less than december. at that price the farmers stand to lose $4 million by the fall harvest in what could otherwise be a bumper crop year. randy gordon, president of the national grain and feed association says in 40 years he has never seen it like this. >> that's wheat harvest coming on in spring, in may through july time period, where some of the elevators full of wheat are saying "we are not getting enough cars to clear out our space to handle what we think will be the new harvest". >> don has done the maths and is in favour of the pipe line hoping it will give the break farmers need. >> crude oil from north dakota is moving by rail, and so is an increasing amount of tar sands

oil from canada. the proposed extension could handle much of that. >> i think it's the way to do it. it's more economical. i would rather have it in a pipeline than a train. >> but the fault line divided the country. it runs through nebraska. >> when you have land in your family for over 100 year and you have the picture of the home setters when you walk into the living room, that's a deep responsibility that you have to make sure the land is protected. >> your family is like this? >> yes. that's why the battle is so fierce and deep. it's not just an infrastructure project. you are messing with folks headlines leg assies. >> jane married into a nebraska family with deep roots in its soil and a determination to stop the pipeline. she jound up with an alliance -- joined up with an alliance called cowboys and indians -

urging washington to consider the risks posed to the aquifer. it is a reservoir of fresh water flowing under nebraska and as far south as texas. the water that makes the lush grains grow possible. >> in nebraska. farmers that need a way for the deprop to get out of the state -- crops to get out of the state face rampingers and others and fear leaks could destroy their way of lives. they point to major spills. 200,000 gallons leaked in mayflower arkansas last year. four years ago a pipeline fall of canadian tar sands oil ruptured. 800,000 spilling into the kalamazoo river. >> we are concerned about tar sands. it's a new form of oil. we are dealing with a new form of oil. we saw in kalamazoo and

mayflower, they haven't cleaned up the spills. >> don is not a man with time for what ifs. there's planting to be done. another season, and another harvest that will need to get to market. >> a view from the heartland. next - it may be hidden from view, but modern slavery is present where you might not expect to find it. it is captured in images we'll see ahead.

there's planting to be done.

now to some disturbing images, but an important story to hear and see. human trafficking is a modern day slavery. a $32 billion industry. around the world 30 million people are forced to work for little or no pay, held against their will. correspondent liusa bernard visited and documented their tragedy and brings us their stories. >> this is the handprint, the details from his placing his hand on the chest. beautiful. my work is largely about photographing remote indigenous cultures vulnerable to change. more than 100 countries on six continents. i had no idea that slavery existed on an epic level. i only knew a little about some sex trafficking. when i learnt that there was more at that time than 27 mill

within people enslaved in the world, it's more like 30 million, it's as though i was hit by a freight train and how i, as a photographer, whose occupation is based on obviousing had -- observing had missed it. it was difficult for me. i couldn't sleep. i was introduced to the brick kills in india and nepal. the temperature alone was more than 130 degrees farenheit. let alone being in the kills, where there's fire beneath the grouped, baking the bricks -- brand, baking the bricks. men and women and children, entire families, cloaked in a blanket of dust are forced to stack bricks, up to 18 at a time, each waying more than four pounds and made to walk hundreds of yards to a truck, to place them on the truck. to walk back to the brick kiln

again andistic it on their heads. imagine doing that once or five times. these people are forced to work 16, 18 hours a day. they don't have brachts. they are so dehydrated they don't really urinate. there's no bathroom breaks. it was so hot my camera seized to function, and it was too hot to touch. these people are forced to work in it all day, every day. i worked with partners of the slavery organise who worked in these countries. they would bring me into these sensitive areas where slavery was occurring at specific periods of time when the money lenders were gone, there were no slave holders, so the great body of work were in window of time under 15 minutes. that's abolitionists, my

gartians, would -- guardians would stand on the perimeters and they had hand signals to let the person with me know there was danger coming. that's how we worked. sometimes i would have to high-tail it out of there. what constitutes slavery is someone is lied to and exploited, forced to do something against their will. they are not paid and have no control over their lives. different slavery organizations focus on different levels of eradicating slavery. they focus on existing laws. others like free the slaves work on the ground, in the field, liberating people. people do not arrive in slavery because they are stupid. they do it because they are lied to and they believed someone and have been exploited. if someone has no money, and

then, you know, someone gets sick and they have to borrow money, the loan shark gives them the money, no bang will give them money. when it happens, they are indebted to a debt that exploits them. it does not decrease, it increases. their children inherit that. >> his entire family is enslaved in the silk dyeing industry. they have huge vats and silk that they plunge into barrels up to their arm. the die is toxic. so they are poisoned. >> when i went down there, it was so dark, right. the earth is hot. people get wet, like soaking wet and are down 48-72 hours. the only thing is they have primitive tools and cheap flashlighted tide to the head with a plastic band. imagine how frequently they go

out. people die, dropping to their death. i had no illumination, i don't use flash. the slaves removed their head lamps and shine it on him. that's how i had enough light to make the exposure. i brought a bunch of candles to make portraits of them. when it was safe for them and me i made the portraits with candles, to shine a light on their story, to invite them into knowing that we, all of us seeing the photographs, are bearing witness to them and their plight, and that we will do all we can to make a difference in their lives. looking ahead to what is on tap - in the next "america tonight" - the first of a four part series called making babies. we look at surro gassy incorporated. >> so much funny, and so much

emotion is put into the whole process. you are so close, so close. then it explodes and spins out of control. it's over. then you are sitting there surrounded by the ruins of this whole experience. >> an investment in the future. the pay-off - no baby. our investigation into international sur gassy. adam may begins the special series making babies, monday on "america tonight". next week a solution to many addictions - a drug said to free addict from their crave inns. it isle -- cravings. it is illegal here. another investigation by adam may next week on the programme. ahead in our final thoughts, stargazing. a tour of the midnight sky from

the world's driest

(♪) finally this hour - a look to the heavens, and a mystery of the night's sky. today's telescopes are so powerful they can pick up light emitted from stars millions of years away. we have this report from a spectacular place on earth. >> reporter: the atacama desert in chile, the most arid place on earth. some parts get no rain at all. that is what lures astronomers like anna, time and again. >> it's very dry, and that is good for astronomy.

that essentially means that the stars don't twinkle as much. it's pretty when they twinkle, but astronomers don't like it. >> reporter: how much do you love coming here? >> i love coming here. i come two or three times a year. it's a big event. i'm making the post of it because the night sky is spectacular. >> twin majellan telescopes sit on a ridge 8,000 feet up in the andes others are perched in the air. the cam atkinson a focus -- atacama showing us more of what is out there. >> tell us about the discovery you made through the telescope. >> we use it several times a year and we were here in early 2013, a year ago, and one of the stars that we were observing turn out to be the second generation or a second generation star of the universe.

>> mark phillips is the director and knows the significance of the recovering. >> you have to understand the chemical revolution of the universe and the galaxy. anna's work is fundamental in understanding how life on earth came about. >> now all is quiet in the living quarters of technicians and avt rop omers. -- astronomers. they are creatures of the night. the telescope operators prepare to find the star target. above the constellations continue the relentless, spectacular march across the skies, full of mystery. the telescope knowns on a newly discovered second generation star. the faint light is passed

through an expectation roe graph. >> here we have a lot of carbon absorption, a lot of carbon we see. >> we think that the second generation of stars in the universe formed from the ashes of the first one, and that that generation included low-mass stars. we found one of those guys, that is terrific, that we have the tools and the telescopes to fish out the records of the very, very early time. and we can study the early chemical and physical continues of the universe. >> the imaginelan chefs -- imaginelan chefs are hard at work. if you want to know what sparked anna's ambitious to be an astronomer, there was a tv show featuring the star ship enterprise. >> i have been fascinated by

stars. i like the ideas of star trek and the people on board the star ship, exploring other things in the cosmos, realising that there's more than earth and the solar system. stars are my thing. fortunately it worked out for me. >> you are a trekky? >> on kags, yes -- on occasion, yes. >> avt rop omy is about -- astronomy is about capturing star light that may have travelled billions of light years. the telescopes are kept in prime condition as they continue to explore the cosmos. in six years time they'll be overshadowed by what will be the most powerful telescope, built 250 metres higher up, right over there. >> reporter: the pace of astronomical discovery depends on the ability to peer into the yun haves. it knows no bounds. here a whole mountain top has been blown apart and flattened

in a quest to answer the pressing questions like the nature of dark energy and dark matter. the story of black holes and how stars and galaxies evolved. in is how the giant imaginelan telescope will look. it's approaching $1 billion in engineering and cost. it will be 10 time better than the huddle telescope. >> it will be possible to use the telescope to look for planets like the earth, but to get spectra of these planets and look for evidence of life in the atmosphere. >> meanwhile anna uses something a little less powerful. a hypersensitive steels camera. it's fascinating to combine work and data because it's not appealing, but gives us information about the cosmic

object with the beautiful images that the same sky gives us. this is a nearby galaxy. >> meanwhile mark phillips is on the hunt for super-novemberi, tracking back three or four billion years. >> we see the super-nova and the post galaxy. it took the light three billion years to get here, and you can measure the universe. the ex-participation of the universe is accelerating instead of desell rating. which is what we expected. >> a few hours later, more incredible pictures of a home galaxy. it shows the milky way sweeping across the sky. >> we have a nice movie clip of the rising milky way, especially the galactic center. you can see the structure and

this is the spiral arm backlit by the big galactic center where there's a lot of gas and stars. it's bright. that is what makes the milky way special. >> somewhere amongst it all, is app old, old -- is app old, old star taking us close to the begiption of everything. -- begiption of everything. that's if for you ares here on "america tonight". -- for us here on "america tonight". if you would like to comment log onto the website aljazeera.com/america tonight. goodnight. we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow.

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this is al jazeera america, i'm michael eaves in new york with a look at the top stories. gun fire and chaos at one eastern ukraine polling place. al qaeda strikes back in yemen - nearly a dozen soldiers are killed in a suicide booming. the lost children of sudan's civil war. this young woman escapes slavery, thanks in part to kind hearts in colorado. and in mexico a crackdown on stow