joining us. thank you all for joining us for this special edition, journalism is not a crime. you can continue on the plight of our journalists, aljazeera.com. you can find us on twitter @ajconsiderthis. we'll see you next time. >> hello everybody and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm david shuster in new york. john siegenthaler has the night off. it is 11:00 p.m. on the east coast, 8 p.m. out west. you are watching the only national live newscast at this hour. just ahead. international outrage at egypt sentences three al jazeera journalists to prison. tonight the facts and the fallout on our special report, war on truth. the secret government memo targeting an american militant

accused of being an al qaeda prairve. what it says on social media and the law. plus soccer fever is sweeping and uniting america with record ratings and rabid fans. is the united states finally embracing the spors? sport? >> they are colleagues, they are not criminals. three al jazeera journalists held for months in a egyptian jail. they reported the facts. they told the truth. for that egypt condemned them. sentencing them today to years in prison accusing the three of helping the muslim brotherhood. al jazeera denies the charges. the world is watching and reacting with anger with shock and for our journalists with sol

solidarity. >> it was a verdict nearly six months in the making. the alleged crime, journalists doing their jobs. al jazeera correspondent peter greste and producers mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed have been sentenced to seven years behind bars. baher was given an additional three years for a spent cartridge found on him. journalists reacted with anger. and their families were in disbelief. >> i don't know how the judge came to that decision. i'll be very interested to hear his reasons for giving that verdict. it doesn't make any sense. >> translator: it's clearly a corrupt and fraudulent verdict. the case is politically motivated and everything is wrong with it. >> reporter: the response from the australian government was swift. >> this kind of verdict does nothing to support egypt's claim

to be on a transition to democracy. and the australian government urges the new government of egypt to reflect on what message is being sent to the world about the situation in egypt. >> reporter: the egypt wran prosecution had pushed for maximum sentences. six other al jazeera journalists were sentenced to ten years in prison in absentia. they have been accused of aiding the muslim brotherhood which egypt has dubbed a terrorist organization. a fourth journalist, abdullah al-shami was freed, after a year in prison without charge. al shami had been on a hunger strike since jan. triggered a global outcry

against media conditions in egypt. abdel fatah al-sisi has promised to address many issues including free speech. al-sisi's egypt does not tolerate dissent. and it raises serious questions about the egyptian constitution which is supposed to guarantee freedom of the media. for families of the journalists there was did i is play. peter greste's parents waited for the sentencing in australia. here is the moment they learned their son's sentence. >> seven years for peter greste, and five other defendants present. my god. my god. sorry. >> that's crazy. >> finish. >> thaz crazy. >> from al jazeera english a call to keep up the campaign to free the jailed journalists. >> today was a really grim day.

for journalists and for journalism not just in egypt but right around the world. the charges against our people, against peter, mohamed and baher and our other staff were absurd right from the outset. they are guilty of being great journalists and carrying out great journalism courageous and committed and providing information to our are audience right around the world. one shred of evidence which supports our journalists, against our people, the campaign to free our staff and to stand up for journalism and for the right for people to know what's going on in the world last been loud and resolute and concerted. hundreds of thousands of people have actively campaigned for our staff to be freed from detention. word leaders, politicians, governments, have actively

campaigned for our staff to be freed. that campaign has already the voice of that campaign has already got louder. hundreds of thousands of people in recent hours have campaigned to say this is wrong. what happened in court in egypt today was outrageous. it was an injustice. so that campaign will and needs to get louder and louder and louder calling on the authorities in egypt to recognize the injustice and to free our staff. >> coming up at the bottom of the hour our special report, war on truth. we'll have more on our colleagues in egypt and crack down on journalists in several other countries. in iraq the rebellion is building, as sunni fighters move from city to city to city. since friday the forces have taken three borders posts.

secretary of state john kerry has gone to iraq. jane arath reports from baghdad. >> the fall of key iraqi cities have brought american officials back to baghdad. they've agreed can oprovide military help but it comes with conditions. >> iraq faces an existential threat and leaders have to meet that threat with the incredible urgency that it demands. the very future of iraq depends on choices that will be made in the next days and weeks and the future of iraq depends primarily on the ability of iraq's leaders to come together. >> kerry told prime minister nouri al-maliki that means forming an inclusive government. it's been three months since iraqis went to the polls. it's been four years since they've had a full time defense minister. kerry and the iraq foreign

minister had more talks on how to keep iraq from disintegrating. these fighterrers have gained ground with astonishing speed and efficiency. there are enormous down turns as well, future of this country. iraq's foreign minister says with the fall of the key border pos with syria i.s.i.l. is moving weapons across the borders. >> help is on its way from the united states but we need to do our part here and everybody recognized the seriousness of the situation, the danger of i.s.i.s. establishing its own islamic emrate or state in western part of iraq and eastern part of syria with all the resources, the weaponry that they have required, they will pose a mortal threat not only to

iraq but to the region, to the gulf as well. >> in iraq's second biggest city seized by the i.s.i.l. two weeks ago, business as usually, i.s.i.l. fighters are directing traffic in the city. a few hand out korans to passing are travelers. al qaeda fight american troops and what they viewed as one of the capitols of their islamic state. battling the lates more effective offshoot of al qaeda. and the united states is back not with large numbers of troops on the ground but with the promise of air strikes and the realization that this battle was never really won. jane arath, al jazeera, baghdad. president obama was pushing

for peace in ukraine. he asked vladimir putin to stop supporting pro-russian separatists. stopping arms across the border. officials say putin supports ukraine's peace plan. in a secret document the obama administration fought for years to keep hidden. the a 41 page report argues the u.s. can kill a citizen abrought if that citizen is plotting against united states. used to justify killing an american in yemen. roxana saberi has more. >> the obama administration said al aki was a al qaeda leader. >> we have chosen the path of war in order to defend ourselves from your repression. >> alaki was a u.s. citizen born this new mexico.

justice department memo written the year before his death argues we do not believe alaki's citizenship would preclude lethal action by the u.s. military or cia. the memo says lethal force is acceptable when high level government officials have determined a capture operation overseas is infeasible and the targeted person is engaged in activities that pose a continued imminent threat to u.s. persons and interest. the government's drone program distorts the law. >> the u.s. program presents novel tests, to limit killing authority. >> they also say u.s. drones have killed thousands of people including bystanders and the american government needs to know who was being killed and why. >> that is information the government could and should disclose and we will continue fighting for it. >> the justice department

official who wrote the opinion is david baron. he was just confirmed as a supreme court justice in florida. roxana saberi, al jazeera, washington. >> detroit's water company is shutting off the water for residents who are other than two months behind or $150. they argue the city is denying residents a basic human right. the midwest has received almost two months of rain in the past week alone. with more storms on the way flooding has become a serious problem. meteorologist kevin corriveau has followed all of it for us. kevin. >> across the mississippi river valley, we are talking about what has happened in minnesota. take a look at the video that

has come in about water laying across areas of fields, low lying areas, we are not seeing a lot of rain anymore but this water is beginning odrain into the minnesota river. what that is going to cause is water to surge as it makes its way down the river. the threat of flooding is going ocontinue more towards the south every day. iowa they are dealing with the flooding and the rain in a little bit different way. these kayakers are getting out there and because the rapids are so high, they are taking advantage, you don't want to try had on a beginner level. but any threat that thi going to change. flash flood warnings and flood warnings, mississippi valley, missouri river, that is going ocontinue over the flex few days but unfortunately no rain is expected there. on the south, take a look, across arkdz we are expected to

see three to -- across arkansas we are expected to see rain over the next three to four days. the country's ep country's l protection agency, the court ruled the agency does have the right to control emissions from power plants. lisa stark has the story. >> to interpret the clean air act to allow the epa to regulate the greenhouse gases from so-called stationary facilities such as factories and power plants. it was a mixed ruling but largely in favor of the epa. the justices did find that the agency had overstepped its authorities overstepped its bounds in some ways by interpreting the clean air act in a way that was not allowed but at the same time a majority of the justices also said that the epa does have the authority to regulate these greenhouse gases for the facilities that are already regulated for other

kinds of air pollution. here's what antonin scalia said writing for the majority. he says it bears mention that the epa is getting almost everything it wanted in this case. it wanted to regulate sources that it said were responsible for 86% of greenhouse gases, emitted from stationary sources nationwide. regulate sources responsible for 83% of those emissions. and the epa added a quick victory note of its own, saying the association are are carbon pollution limits and permits for the largest pollution sources. now, those on the other side like to point out that the court did rebuke the epa, did say you're trying to go too far here and you have to follow the rules put down by the clean air act. but an energy reporter with the

hill newspaper told me that those who feel that the epa then might lose out in future court cases probably aren't correct that the epa feels pretty strongly that it will win when future cases come before the court and you can expect one with the new proposal the epa has out and that is to regulate carbon emissions from coal-fired plants. at some point that is likely to end up in the lap of the epa. for the time being anyway, a victory for epa, moves forward on trying to regulate greenhouse gases. david. >> lisa stark in washington. for lawyers jury selection can be the key to a good trial and now picking the right jurors may be a bit easier. the american bar association says it is ethical for lawyers to go over tweets, social media mews musings. prior to this some judges warned that was overly innovative. but the association does warn against actively friending

someone. that could lead to unauthorized communication. ebony williams, are you at all surprised at this reaction? >> not at all. we take an oath when we're sworn in to zealously represent every client. and part of that is finding out everything you can about each and every potential juror. >> you think it's a step too far in many ways. >> you sound like the judges, right? you're right, it's a balancing act. you want to protect privacy to the best you can. but on the unbiased and objective jury pool that has a to win out. >> now attorneys have one other thing they have to do as part of their voir dire to figure out what to ask potential jurors.

>> it has a potentially chilling effect. you don't want jurors afraid to come to jury service, ultimately, i think that will be a small thing that we have to worry about in the end. >> i've seen some lawyers who will hire consultants who will look at the body language of the jurors in the jury bottom and whatnot. are we now going osee what somebody's online profile says about them in terms of their feelings of justice and whatnot? >> 100%. focusing exclusively on social media activity, potential biefers, potential common threads that people like to post to indicate where they might fall on a jury. >> and where do you draw the line between -- certain things you can only learn by friending somebody on facebook or following them on twitter. some judge would say, i'm holding you in contempt when i say don't follow this person and you have.

>> i like that safeguard. that prohibits people from making it personal. anything you put on facebook, social media, instagram. you don't want people to feel it's too personal of a following, that's a good safeguard. >> do judges understand what this is all about? >> i think they do. most judges are elected you have to remember so they have campaign. if they are going to be reelected they better get social media savvy. more often than not they do understand the way this social media works. >> what sort of things would you be looking for in my twitter or facebook profile or background? >> what types of tweets, who you follow perhaps on twitter, who you know what consistent trend i see in your political activity if any because that will tell me a lot about you. something you might not admit to when i'm questioning you on voir dire. >> and what social media

messages are, when you do say you have particular bias for or against a defendant? >> absolutely. sometimes you see contradictions what they answer you on voir dire and you go accordingly. >> ebony kay williams, an attorney, great to have you. >> thank you. >> going nuts for team u.s.a. soccer fans jumping for joy during a roller coaster world cup game, watching in record numbers. what it means for growth of the game in america. >> al jazeera america presents the system with joe berlinger >> new york city has stop and frisk >> some say these laws help serve and protect... >> we created the atmosphere that the policeman's the bad guy... >> others say these tactics are racist >> discrimination is wrong >> 99 percent of those arrested in drug free school zones... we're not near a school at all! >> are they working? >> this time i'm gonna fight it. >> the system

with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america

>> americans catch world cup fever. many travel thousands of miles to support team u.s.a. for 90 minutes yesterday america cheered as one nation, the reactions were emotionally and infectious. watch. [ cheering ]

>> the tv ratings for the match between the united states and porsche cal they were through the roof. espn and u univision, passed lat year's world series with 14.9 million viewers. joining us to talk about this is ross fletcher for the american soccer league team, seattle sounders. were you surprised by the record ratings? >> not one bit. when you look back at what the u.s. has done in the qualification cycle and there was a head of steam building up. i think u.s. fans really got engaged. it's not that soccer was a new thing. there were around 20 million fans watching four years ago. this world cup along with the success u.s. has had on the field is just really another indication of the growing

plairpt opopularity of soccer he state. >> it seems that the so many people we see at the bars and the parties they're younger viewers. >> very much so. the 25 to 35 age group demo, are huge fans. they love their social media, it's a big way how they got connected with the sport. younger generation who moved in playing the game from a young age through their teenage years and going out and supporting their teams. a major league soccer which is the national league here in the u.s. has been a major part of that. that's where they pull their support from and the rise of the sport is very much driven by the young. >> it's not unusual for fans to wear the jerseys of their favorite team but in soccer the way they've put on these costumes, i've seen general

patton and theodore roosevelt attending these games. is soccer always like this? >> pretty much. it is quite a tribal game. and you see the world over that people dress up crazily. and will travel thousands of miles. the u.s. actually sold more tickets than any other traveling nation to go to brazil for these world cup finals. so again just another indication of how business it is. but -- how big it is. but it means so much, it's a source of national pride. if there's ever a chance to beat your chest about how great your nation is no matter where you're from the world cup is the perfect melting pot to do it. let's face us, everyone loves to get their face on tv when they are dressed ridiculously, right? >> in past years, beating your chest about how great america is, over the problems that america has had over the last years, what is it by soccer or world cup that has inspired so

many americans in your view to come together and say yes, u.s.a. this is great. >> i think for u.s.a. which has so many popular sports that are played within its boundaries, this is the chance to test the u.s. on the world stage. everything is competitive. at the end of it all there are no greater ramifications for soccer. it is sport after all. this is a chance to beat yourself quite proudly and get dressed up in the red, white and blue. i mentioned tribalism some that's where it is. you can get caught up with the rest of the world and say the u.s., yes, i want them to win but people make friends and at the end of it they've had a great party. this is a rare opportunity for u.s. fans to go out there in a sporting context and play the best of the rest in the world. >> ross, i got to ask you you

tweeted a picture of your daughter. my daughter has won, simply eat the remote. is this the way they do it in the fletcher household? >> little lara is quite a soccer fan, watching two games a day. to get a handle on being a bona fide american supporter. tools of the trade. >> got to leave it there. we appreciate it ross fletcher. journalists behind bars. al jazeera journalists sentenced to prison, but the implications go far beyond this case.

the performance review. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a

performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. >> chilling, draconian, defying logic, global outare rage and condemnation over sentencing of three al jazeera journalists for

doing their jobs. now, seven years behind bars. the phony evidence, the demands for justice. >> it's hard for people around the world to look at these convictions and sentences and see if there's anything just about them. >> and the threats egypt and beyond for freedom of speech. an al jazeera special report, war on truth. welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm david shuster. they have already been in prison for 177 days. three al jazeera journalists were sentenced to another seven to ten years behind bars in egypt. al jazeera correspondent peter greste and producers mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed are accused of spreading false news and aiding the band muslim brotherhood. accusations which al jazeera english network and the al jazeera media networks

categorically deny. some say this is a applicator cli motivated trial and a -- pod trial. all voiced their outrage. jonathan betz is here with more. jonathan. >> david, few actually expected this. reaction around the globe has been firm and nearly unanimous. many have been concerned about this reaction. >> when one of the journalists family learned of his fate. >> seven years for peter greste and six journalists, my god, my god. >> families were devastated to learn al jazeera journalist peter greste, mohamed fahmy and

baher mohamed had been sentenced to at least seven years in a egyptian prison. >> translator: today is an example of corruption and an example of everything wrong that ruins everybody's lives. >> the court decision ignited international outrage and comes just a day after the u.s. secretary of state visited egypt and promised to restart military aid. >> it is a chilling and draconian sentence and it's deeply disturbing to see in the midst of egypt's transition. >> reporter: countries around the world immediately summoned egyptian ambassadors and issued condemnations. from britain. >> egypt has taken a major step in the wrong direction with this decision. >> to australia. >> we are deeply dismayed by the fact that a sentence has been imposed and we are appalled by the severity. >> on twitter, the hashtag

freeajstaff. and an outrageous attack on press freedom that should be overturned. and others had harsh words about egypt's courts. >> from all around the world. from people of all persuasions are saying to egypt, come on, this is wrong. this is showing the world that your jucial system is really a farce. -- judicial system is really a farce. >> a devastating ruling for the families and many worry, the country. >> a suffocation of freedom of expression and clearly this is very bad for the individuals but for egypt as well. >> campaigning for the tr trio's release. >> thank you jonathan. six other al jazeera journalists were sentenced in absentia for

their work. sue turtin was one of them. she spoke to us from doha, qatar where al jazeera is based. she aske i asked her about her stories. >> they were unremarkable. i've upset people, i've done investigations that people didn't want revealed. last fall in egypt they were unremarkable. they were sort of the 24 hour news fodder that we all do. i did stories on football, i did stories on pollution, and my colleagues were looking at things like tourism. one did one on sheep farming and the cotton industry there. we weren't concentrating on just what was going on with regard to the muslim brotherhood at all. the idea that we based in any different way to any of the other news channels, the

international news channels the operate out of cairo is just not true. >> regarding the pieces on the muslim brotherhood and putting those stories together, was there discussion about maybe this is a little bit sensitive and let's check whether we want to do this? >> we constantly debated the sorts of stories we were doing to be honest with you. mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed, they know the story in egypt inside out, fahmy is half egyptian. mohamed is egyptian. considering how to be balanced and fair, those debates were going all the time. we very much like all the other media last year, we tried to report what we see and what we heard. we didn't pin our colors to any group whatsoever. and no we didn't sit there thinking we mustn't say there we mustn't say that, because we're

going oget arrested, there was a media crack down on everybody. everybody was being careful but everybody was still trying odo the job and i really will say we were trying to be as balanced and fair as everybody else was and i don't think our coverage was any different from what we were trying to do. i think it was a big are picture here. i think basically the egyptian government is trying to shut up anybody who contradicts their view of the mayo narrative. they don't say anything against the government, they have become much more muted much more quiet and they don't go out and interview everybody on all sides of the story. so if this is what the egyptian government wants to achieve by charging and convicting they've succeeded. >> with your charge in absentia, how has this affectyour ability? i imagine you can't go back to egypt or cover stores that are friendly with egypt right now.

>> indeed, many of those governments are in the middle east, it's stopping me from going to the areas of the world that i'm currently in. only a few weeks ago, they've frozen the membership of egypt and the coup and now they've said they want them back in. now that creates another problem because the african union nation have an agreement that if anybody is convicted of something as serious as terrorism comes into their country they're beholden to pass that person to the egyptian authorities. i can't go to any of the african states either. my beat has been conflict zones, war zones. many of you who are currently going on in the african continent. it throws my movements, to some respects, but nothing compared to what the guys in prison are going through.

today was their day 177 in prison. now look, they're looking at a stretch of seven to 10 years. that is something that has frozen their lives completely. >> what do you believe the option he are for yourself and your colleagues in this case? >> people have talked about an appeal. there is an appeal in the egyptian judicial system. we're talking about whether that is a clever idea. we have now seen how the judicial system happens in egypt. we can't trust it to be fair and balanced. would an appeal bear any fruit? would it overturn the verdict? the question of a pardon, there have been pardons in the past. whether the new president abdel fatah al-sisi would consider such an idea. we're trying to get a picture from our team in egypt as to what their advice is, our guys in cairo are seeing the boys

currently in prison to see what their feeling is how they want to move forward as well. hopefully they'll get to visit them tomorrow. >> sue turtin is calling for aboict of egypt as a way to protest the sentences. you can twitter #ask aj sue. the united states is looking to build stronger ties with the allies in the region and that includes egypt. mike viqueria reports. >> before secretary kerry made his way to baghdad he appeared in egypt with the foreign minister side by side. and it really appeared that the two sides were going to bury the hatchet, or norgz or come somewhere closer to where they were the unjust jailing of al jazeera and other journalists, a

jailing that secretary kerry spoke out against once the sentence was put forward. $1.5 billion in aid, this has gone on since the late '80s about first and largest arab nation to do so, it has been suspended over the last 18 months or so but appears to be back on track. apache helicopters that egyptians want very desperately. this is something that dovetails with american interests. those apparently now are going forward. secretary kerry assured his egyptian counterpart. the united states has not made any secret of the fact that egypt is an anchor partner, a strategic partner as they put it this that part of the world. the u.s. just certified that egypt was moving towards democracy, cementing some $550 million in aid, that egypt was moving in the right direction, so it appears at this point that

that $1.5 billion of aid, 1.3 of it is military aid is actually going to continue flowing to egypt. >> as you heard the sentences handed down by the egyptian government handed down just a day after secretary of state john kerry met with are authorities in cairo. we talked to the deputy spokesman about the meeting. >> secretary kerry was talking about the path forward here to the egyptian leaders. he made very clear how draconian how repressive these extensions were, he talked about alternatives, including pardon. we feel it's important to maintain a relationship with egypt. i want to be very clear what the egyptian government has done with these sentences with these convictions there is no place in

any democracy for this kind of action. >> given what the government has done with this particular case why not reevaluate the money promised to egypt? you yourself have said it is draconian and disturbing. why isn't the united states withholding the money until the egyptian government has done the right thing? >> we have constantly reevaluated our relationship and taken steps when we feel it's justified. we are pushing the egyptian government to look at these sentences and these convictions and pardon people where necessary. you're right we were very clear about this action that the egyptian government has taken. particularly ton heels of yesterday secretary kerry being there. therthere is a broad interest fr the united states to maintain that interest. what will be dependent on what happens next. >> what secretary kerry said to

al-sisi about this particular case and what al-sisi said in return to secretary kerry. >> well, the secretary did raise the specific case in his meeting with president al-sisi made very clear our concerns about this case that any democracy like president al-sisi last said he's committed to, really actions like this have no place. so the words that mr. al-sisi has put out there needs to be backed up by actions. >> did al si su make any promises to secretary of state kerry about this case? >> i don't want to go into those kind of private diplomatic discussions, but we are clear about what goss on next. the space for dialogue, the space for the press, the space for the expression that is the hallmark of democracy has really been shrinking. the hundreds of people that were sentenced to deathful of them in an sell sha just a few admonition ago, work with the

egyptian government in trying to open i up that space. >> promoting the kind of democracy that the united states is investing in in egypt. >> certainly just on the topic of today. ending politicized detentions, politicized arrests. allowing for space for freedom of expression for the press, to flourish in egypt, to report on what's happening on the ground there, to show the rest of the world that they're secure enough in their position to allow the freedom of the press. those are certainly steps they can start with. we've also talked about government inclusively, all of egypt's sects, all of egypt's people together in terms of governing going forward. we've had concerns about that both sincial 4th and before. i'll continue to make those clear. >> was this an embarrassment to secretary of state kerry, that these sentences were carried out that he met with al-sisi one day ago? >> not at all.

this can be embarrassing to the country of egypt, who says it wants democracy, freedom of the press, and what's happening in egypt, put your action he where your words are and allow people to see it. look secretary kerry is on a trip as you know he's in iraq dealing with very serious issues but it's up to the leaders of egypt to make the right decisions here. the country they are leading the future is up to them to decide now and they need to make the right decisions. >> maria harp, we thank you for the time. during the lengthy trial, al jazeera kamal santa maria reports. >> we have shouted as long as we possibly can for the freedom of our staff and one of the reasons of that is the complete absurdity of the claims brought against them. we people it's importantly to

bring before you what was revealed in that cairo court and when it doesn't show you about our journalism. when cairo presented its evidence. it claimed that peter greste, baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy, had conspired with the muslim brotherhood, and what it showed was a footage from a press conference from nairobi was shown with absolutely no context. also without context we had images from peter greste's laptop those are of his parents on holiday in germany and in latvia. finally, some al jazeera footage was shown, interviews from the muslim brotherhood, a group that

is banned. but about sheet herding and football and a pop video from a bell january sing are songwriter. just what this is meant to prove who knows. throughout the hearings there was simply no credible evidence on hand. unfortunately it is that very evidence which has left our three colleagues behind bars and the world asking, for what? >> up next, not just egypt, the other countries where journalists are being locked up simply for trying to hold governments accountable. as our special report, war on truth, continues.

>> an al jazeera special report. war on truth. >> welcome back to our special report. it has been a very difficult day for the families of the journalists sentenced to years in prison simply for reporting the facts. not long ago peter greste's parents spoke to reporters at a tuesday morning news conference in australia. >> this is a very dark time not only for our family but for journalist generally. we are devastated, shocked, and dismayed at this finding. we're not usually a family of

superlatives. but i have to say, this morning, my vocabulary fails to convey just how shattered we are. of course we were hoping for something entirely different. although we considered a range of other outcomes, you can never prepare yourself for something as painful as this. this man, our son, peter, is an award-winning journalist. he's not a criminal. he's not a criminal. >> today's sentencing of al jazeera journalists in cairo raises plenty of questions about freedom of the press in egypt but the crack down on media there is part of a disturbing trend around the worth. rlts joinrandall pinkston joins.

randall. >> kidnapping and murders are not the only. >> second worst year on history, according to the committee to protect journalists. iran and chien atopping list, each believed to have 35 journalists packed up, part of a troubling trend. >> we have seen in the recent years that really the violence against journalists has increased tremendously. there is less and less fear to attack physically journalists and that's the concerning trends. >> in the ten year peshed from 2003 to -- period from 2003 to 2013, 629 killed while doing their jobs. for six of those years iraq held the record for the highest

number of journalists murdered. since 2009, the pakistan, 16 journalists have been killed for reporting the news. in most cases the journalists were reporting on stories dealing with politics war human rights and crime. according to the committee to protect journalists, another reporter was killed over the weekend. radio reporter yousef anu al bakar was killed in a car bomb incident on his way to work in nairobi, kenya. a group that trains and supports reporting around the world, we asked what he thought about today's egyptian court verdict. >> david my reaction was shared by that of an awful lot of people. just rarely do you see a case so clearly where a sentence is

given down regardless of the evidence. these three journalists were reporting news, that's their job it's an important function and they simply reported something the government didn't agree with and this is the reaction. >> what is it about journalists in general in egypt that has the government so terrified? >> the situation in egypt is very unstable. they're on the third administration in just a few years. this was an election, it was a landslide, but that doesn't really say a lot in this situation. so the government is trying to establish its policies, what it's going to do. president sisi, i'm not sure what his agenda is. but clearly he doesn't want to tolerate any dissent. there is a belief, we've seen it in other parts of the world but now there, that if news isn't

reported people won't know it happened. but what they reported on was seen by hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. >> secretary of state kerry just a few days ago, promised al-sisi in a meeting $575 million in additional military aid. what does that promise look like now given the sentence that was handed out today? >> well, there's story in the new york times this morning, clearly indicates that the state department was caught off balance, they didn't expect this decision to come down, certainly not the severity of it. so i think there will be some relooking at what they're going to do. there's clearly a lots of pressure coming in from canada, from australia, from the u.s. from many, many places to try and change there completely outrageous sentence. >> the idea of press freedom in egypt, how would you characterize the status of press freedom there now?

>> oh, extremely limited. there's very little press freedom. right now i just don't think there's a free press in egypt. >> is that a trend around the world? is press access getting better or getting worse when you look at the globe as a whole? >> that is a tough question to answer. generally, press access in most places is getting better in some respects and worse in others. here in the u.s., the current administration is cracking down severely on no anonymous sourcen people who they are thinking are leaking news to the press. when that happens, that has a quick chilling effect. in that aspect, press access is not on the rise in the u.s. certainly not coming out of washington. >> that chilling effect fair to say is on the rise, egypt and other places where essentially this sort of clamp down on the press has for now gotten some of

these governments what they wanted, that is kc joirntle jous thinking twice what to say? >> to some respect it does silence the press to some degree in egypt. and it makes the press outside egypt are more vociferous. that story is rick shayin ricocd the world. >> the view that egyptians can only see what the government wants them to see is simply out of date. that is not the way information travels around the world today. >> michael golden vice chairman of the new york times thank you for your time. al jazeera there journalists peter greste and mohamed fahmy sentenced to seven years in the ground. baher mohamed was sentenced to

an additional three years because he had a spent bullet casing. and this is a picture of peter greste doing best what he does, reporting. this is what he owould be doing if he was not in an egyptian jail. i'm david shuster, are. .

>> on "america tonight": egypt's injustice. harsh sentences on journalists, growing reports on human rights violations. the world's top diplomats express outrage. but does the u.s. have any power to stop them? also tonight, among the lush mississippi delta, bank branches dry up. >> i go to one payday loan i had to go get money there, i had to