but to take on the dark side of the sport, indonesia's future stars need all the game-changers to pull together, starting today. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. protests over the deadly mining accident and new questions about safety regulations. most bridges over 40 years old, there is a push to fix the country's roads and bridges, but it comes with a huge price tag. and new efforts to find the nigerian school girls with a discussion behind the group kidnapping.

>> anger protest as that country faces what could be the worst miner disaster in that history. 120 miners are still missing. it all began yesterday when there was an explosion and fire at the mine 155 miles south of istanbul that led to the protesters chanting anti-government slogans protesters are angry about the country's safety standards should now be called into question charles stratford now reports. >> reporter: turkey's mining safety record shows what the risks are that tens of thousands

of men like these take every day. according to the most recent figures there were 7.2 deaths in turkey in 2008. that compares to 1.72 deaths in china. questions are being asked about whether the prime minister's ruling could compare to better safety standards at the mine. according to politicians in the areas where the accident happened ten inspections found more than 60 safety violations. turkey's labor and social security ministry said that the mine had been inspected five times since 2012 including in march of this year and no issues of violation of work safety were found. the government is being accused of ignoring warnings and rejecting a proposal for inquiry into mine safety in the region.

politicians with the ruling ak party voted against the inquiry only last month. the mining company said in a statement that the accident happened despite measures taken to the highest and sustained inspection process. protesters gathered at the company headquarters in istanb istanbul. the graffiti on the wall reads "murderers." >> they privatized the mine. success stories were told. they came out and talked about how successful they were. then what happened, together with this explosion we see that no precautions were taken. the lives of the workers were put in danger for their profits. >> reporter: safety standards at private companies and subcontractors are often more lax than state-run mines. the hopes of finding survivors fade by the hour. turkey's mining community,

indeed, the nation as a whole wants answers as to how and why this latest tragedy happened. >> president obama heading to new york today talking about the nation's aging infrastructure during a visit to the tappan zee bridge. that bridge is just north, and he said he'll be calling on congress to support his $1 billion transportation plan, he said it will help the economy. we have more on the bridge's roads and highways. >> reporter: the brooklyn bridge is not an iconi iconic tourist attraction. it carries vehicles and pedestrians between brookline and manhattan every day. but it was never designed for heavy traffic when it was built in 1883. significant wear and tear has it classified among those bridges in the worst condition in the united states. the new york department of transport has confidence in its maintenance program and how it assesses bridges across the state. >> we go out and look at every

nut, every bolt. we have people going to the top of the bridge. we have people going underwater to make sure that piers are in a shape 2347. >> reporter: a bridge collapsed in minnesota sending 100 cars plunging into the mississippi river. according to the federal government's recent report on 607,000 bridges in the u.s. almost 8,000 have been classified structurally deficient and that means they're in poor condition and at risk of collapse if one single part fails. barry is a construction lawyer. he decides when individual states decide how to spend transportation allocation money. >> politicians do not think of fixing the under side of a bridge, or fixing a road that is

in trouble as a political photo op or something that they get mileage on. >> reporter: the average bridge in the u.s. is 43 years old. the design life is 50. the proces prognosis is not goo. >> we have a slug of bridges that look okay now that in the next 20, 30 years will all need repair. if we don't get going on the backlog now we could see a tidal wave coming in the future. >> officials do not seem to be overly prepared. there is no shortage of solutions to shop the deterioration of bridges in the country. what is lack something political will. until that happens people continue to risk their lives when they cross a bridge, probably without even knowing it. >> veteran's affairs director goes before the commission tomorrow. there are allegations that some veterans are dying while waiting for care. one worker at a san antonio

clinic said he was pressured to keep the wait times off the books. >> reporter: when mark went to vietnam at the age of 17 he believed whatever happened as long as he made it home his country would take care of him. >> there are promises. out and out promises from the military that they would care for us. >> reporter: in vietnam crane's unit was exposed to agent orange. it caused severe nerve damage and eventually disabled him by age 42. now at 64 his health continues to decline. last spring a private ophthalmologist recommended an urgent surgery to treat glaucoma. >> it was four months to see the va eye doctor. >> reporter: by then his vision deteriorated permanently.

>> i can't read. i can't read street lines. i can see colors and shapes. i can't see much else. >> reporter: many veterans we spoke to said its common to wait months for a va medical appointment. yet in its last annual report they claimed 93% of patients got in within 14 days of their desired appointment date. the disconnect as shown in previous inspector general reports may be from clinics deliberately misreporting wait times. federal inspectors have documented the practice in dallas and temple, texas, dating back to 2011. this clinic in san antonio has been the latest to come under scrutiny after a va scheduling clerk came forward with claims that he's been instructed to hide patients' actual wait time. >> there are a number of clerks who would substantiate th the

scheduling that he have claimed in the coaching of us changing those dates to make it look like the va had a shorter wait time. >> reporter: the south texas va office made a statement saying that the allegations were false, but would not immediately provide data on how long patients wait for help. the va must acknowledge that it has a widespread problem. >> you have the scheduler. his supervisor is putting pressure on him and all the way up to stay within this 14--day window. it's long that arer than 14 days. more providers are needed, more staffing, more funds to get veterans the care they need. >> as for craney he said despite the problems with his va medical care he remains proud of his country. >> standing tall, do the best

you can and go on from here. >> reporter: he says he only hopes that in his next time of needle' get better service. >> that's al jazeera's heidi zhou castro from texas. the pentagon could be getting ready to make an unprecedented move for chelsea manning once known as bradley. published reports say she may be moved to a civilian facility and treated for gender treatment. she says she wants to live out her life as a woman and asked for treatment. four couples all gay challenged the law approved by voters back in 2006. idaho's governor said that the state will appeal. officials say unless this day is

granted they will begin issuing those marriage certificates friday morning. well, the search continues today for those missing nigerian school girls. coming up on al jazeera america, we'll look at boko haram and how it uses islam to achieve it's goals.

>> i'm ali velshi, the news has become this thing where you talk to experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about their stories. we are not meant to be your first choice for entertainment. we are ment to be your first choice for the news. >> it was one month ago today girls kidnapped from their schools in nigeria, the drones are now being used to look for girls in addition to manned flights taking place over the african nation. also a contingent of 30 americans are on the ground from the fbi, pentagon and state department. in nigeria the government is saying that these girls in the video are the ones kidnapped last month. the governor speaking to protesters on tuesday. he said all the girls in the video are from from the girl's secondary school. they will release those girls in exchange from rebel prisoners.

the nigerian government saying it is ready to negotiate with that group. we have been following the story, arya. what is the feeling in the government. are the people still upset with the government? >> reporter: well, you do see those ongoing protests, del, because these protesters still need to continue to put pressure on the government to make. >> are there any signs so far that that is happening? >> it's a very confusing picture particularly when it comes to that aspect. i have spoken to several

officials. some insist that they do no not with whom they describe as terrorists. when you prod further what that means they decline to elaborate. it's confusing whether there are indetective talks, whether they're trying to reach out to the group. of course, you can under their position if they come across as willing to negotiate, as well to concede to the demand to swap in exchange for these girls they come across in a weak position. it's not an easy position. many experts and analysts have the state telling you that military operation is very difficult. it's not possible to just go in guns blazing and try and release those girls. so on some level there must be some sort of talks. i have to tell you, del, in the past the government did engage

in some sort of swap and talks with the groups. so it would not be the first time but certainly this is a much more publicized incident than any time before. >> are they more or less optimistic that the girls will be found unharmed now that there is an international coalition looking for them? >> as every day goes by skepticism abounds over this operation. some people don't feel that security operation has actually started yet. from what we understand most have been meeting with each other and authorities trying to assess the way forward. on some level the video was

stressful for the families to see their girls but it brought comfort that those girls are alive. in that sense they found renewed hope that perhaps they can see those girls released any time soon. >> we're joined live in nigeria. thank you very much. now the group that took the girls, boko haram claims to be working in the name of islam, but our next guess begs to differ. a muslim scholar. he is also with the jamaica muslim center in new york city. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> as we indicated boko haram claims to be a muslim group saying they're guided by the qur'an. are they right? >> claiming muslim does not make them truly muslims. islam is about what you stand for. everything that boko haram stands for is against the teaching of islam starting from the ideology that they're against education. particularly western education.

in islam we don't know western or eastern education. education is education. there is a prophet stating because china in the seventh century was the most advanced civilization and even the prophet encouraged people to go to china to become educated. >> this man leading boko haram is not acting alone. he has troops following him. they're following him in the name of islam. >> listen, religion is a test to our sentiments and emotions. and it's used and abused by certain people who have certain interests to be misused. that's the case of al-qaeda, and boko haram.

abducting girls, selling them for slavery is absolutely against god and islam itself. they do these as a crime. they do these in the name of god, and that's the most heinous crime in my view. >> is it accurate to describe the leader as boko haram as religious leader or madman. >> they are madmen. that pains me twice. it pains me as a human being, and it pains me as a muslim. i studied islam from my childhood. i know what it stands for. it's about justice, human rights and tolerance and working with all human beings. >> then why isn't the international community speaking out condemning boko haram? why just a few imams here and there? >> i think this is not true in the first place, that all

international organizations condemn it. >> from the care of the council. >> even al-qaeda was dismayed by the action of boko haram. >> the fact that they say boko haram gives terrorism a bad name. >> of course, that is self represented how boko haram stand within the muslim community. >> also, boko haram, we should point out attacks mosques and kills islams. >> most of those who have been killed by boko haram have been muslims. mosques have been bombed in the name of god, in the name of islam. terrorist groups worldwide basically claiming to be muslim but in fact, contradict every that is i a islam. >> when they say they're upset about western education, why are

they so upset? what is so offense i have. >> they're ignorant of what people are doing in the west. they consider everything that we do in the west is evil. this is the image that they have back home in many muslim countries. what is a challenge now is to educate the muslims worldwide, to tell them what you have in mind about america. what you have in mind about the western world is not necessarily true. necessarily i need to educate werners and americans about islam. there are many who are ignorant about the teachings. they are ignorant about it. they thought everything else that west stands for is against islam. in fact, i don't see it that way. i see that islamic teachings are in line with western values. it's about democracy, it's about freedom. it's about respecting the woman, about education and civilization. that's what he's almost stands

for. >> he's a scholar in new york. thank you very much. well, coming up next on al jazeera america, the 9/11 museum getting ready to open its doors in new york city.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. these are your headlines at this hour. the police protesting is 240 people now dead. 100 workers remained trapped. the president will be talking about america's aging infrastructure today during a visit to the tappan zee bridge north of new york city. the president said he's going to call on congress to support his transportation plan. he said it will help the economy. hot, dry, windy conditions feeing a host of fires in california. another one making it's way towards california. the fire is 25% contained, but

burned more than 1500 acres. all eyes out west are always on the skies wondering if and when they'll see any sign of rain, and they're waiting to hear from our meteorologist dave dave. >> meteorologist: unfortunately, they may not like what they hear. the wind and hot weather will continue. this weather pattern, this rage of high pressure with storms going well up to the north. the heat builds up day after day after day. temperatures peaking, pretty much up and down the coast of california. the wind gusting 40 and 50 mph, and the relative is down to the single digits. current temperatures close to 90, los angeles, 70. and a number of heat advisories in effect as well as red flag warnings. 92 degrees tomorrow. so that hot dry weather

continues may be it's just a little cooler but still above 90. the fire weather threat continues through friday. finally the temperatures dropping into the mid 70s. the radar across the clouds. that is the situation here out west. farther east we have this dip in the jet stream. the low right over ohio. severe weather starting to see develop with the south and east. the cool air not much in the way of rain. that's rain cleared out but the temperatures will continue to drop. it could be a cold need again tonight. there is a lot of moisture being pulled up from the gulf. combine that with the front approaching from the west. you get flooding problems along the gulf coast. a number of inches of rain could fall in a short time. we have flash flood watches and warnings. now to the north this is a severe thunderstorm watch, and a tornado watch. the potential is there for these storms to begin to rotate and

become severe, so we'll closely watch this area closely here for the. that will be later this afternoon. >> thank you very much. well, guns have been a serious problem, but police there have had a little extra help as of late. ash har quaraishi has the story of a catholic priest who is making gang members an offer they can't review. >> reporter: they have thrived as a haven for the faithful on chicago's south side for eight decades. over the years it's mission has changed to include fighting violence on the street. >> the reality is it is easier in this community to buy a gun than to buy a computer. >> reporter: with that he's taking an unusual attack. offering $5,000 reward for information to someone selling illegal guns. >> i want to get one gunrunner and throw the books at him, and pay off the reward, and get that

out there so that we can make an example. >> reporter: week after week chicago police have guns they have taken off the streets but it's just a dent in the endless supply. >> all these guns do not come through mr. big. there is not one person funneling firearms into chicago. they come in dribs and dribs from different places 3. >> reporter: so far this year officers have recovered 2100 guns. on the potter south and west side of chicago the $5,000 bounty sounds like a lot of money, but members of the gangster disciples doubts the church. >> $5,000. i hope there's going to be money to bury you. >> reporter: street justice aside, the father said he handed out the reward once before. and the city's top cop stands by him. >> when it comes to the issue of firearms, he's definitely in the right place.

anything that he can do to support us stopping guns from hitting the street i support. and a reward for gun runners, yes, that's obviously something that could help us. >> i think once somebody sees, wow, they're really giving a reward, or something really did go to jail who is selling guns, we'll make them an example of that. it's not the end-all answer. it's part of the answer. >> the cold realities of life on the street in a place where death is a near daily occurrence. ash har quaraishi, al jazeera america utah. chicago. >> the national memorial will take part in new york. one of the items on display is the staircase that hundreds used to escape. the last column used in the cleanup and cross beams will be part of the display. the opens to the public may 21st, and al jazeera will have live continuous coverage.

our coverage begins tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. we'll thank you for watching al jazeera america. "fault lines" next and you can check us out 24 hours a day at www.aljazeera.com. >> a group of armed vigilantes is trading machine gun fire with members of the knights templar cartel until early this year, the town of nueva italia in mexico's western state of michoacan was under the control of the cartel