let me be a bird. >> i know what i want, i know what i have to do to get it. >> revealing, intimate, unexpected >> you will not believe what just happened. >> this is life >> i'm just gonna prove my family wrong. >> "on the edge eighteen" only on al jazeera america >> this is al jazeera america. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. >> i ask you to please release my child. >> the mother of a journalist held hostage by the islamic state group. the islamic state group and syria's government accused of mass atrocities. >> and hamas with none of its demands met in a truce between the two sides.

>> a new plea from the mother of american journalist held honestl hostage. she asks the islamic state group to let her son go. >> this is the first time that shirley sotloff spoke out since her son was captured a year ago. this comes after the execution of another journalist james foley. in that video the masked man threatens that sotloff is next. >> this is to the caliph of the islamic state. i'm shirley sotloff. my son's life is in your hands. >> reporter: asking him to let her son come home.

>> that you the cali ph can grant amnesty. i ask you to marie please release my child. stephen is a journalist who travels to the middle east to cover the suffering of muslims at the hands of terrorist. >> reporter: sotloff kept his captivity secret even from close friends. they thought if they exposed his case that captors would kill him. but they have shown the execution of another journalist james foley and threatened to kill sotloff nixon. >> i learned that islam teaches

no yesterday should be held responsety for the sins of others. stephen has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. hhe is an innocent journalist. >> reporter: as she please for stephen's freedom, there is the release of another journal. >> he is i'm overwhelmed by strangers who say i'm just glad you're home. welcome home. >> familie >> i want what every mother wants. to live to see her children's children. i plead with you to grant me this. >> the islamic state group is holding other hostages including a humanitarian state worker. she was kidnapped last year and

her family has asked her not to be identified for fear of her safety. it's now 744 days that he has been miss approximating. >> roxana, thank you. roxana saberi with us. we learn more about what is happening inside syria. an united nations commission said that islamic state group are carrying out mass atrocities. the panel also said that the syrian government is control offing barrel bombs on civilians. we have more on the reports findings. >> reporter: for three and a half years syria and it's people have been torn in half. almost 200,000 people dead. many of them civilians, and millions forced from their homes, fleeing the bombs, the guns fire. the reported atrocities.

there has been little reporting of syria's civil war. the risk tremendous. this shows a clear picture of what syrian have endured, and it is not a pretty picture. accused of deliberately targeting civilians, systemically committing murder, rape and torture. the syrian government's primary adversary is culpable to generate widespread fear. public execution has been its signature technique and with children often present. >> in syria it's total impunity

because crimes committed each day from all parties, and to nobody's dealing with the criminal responsibility for that crime. >> reporter: the report highlights the plight of children across syria, killed and injured at the hands of government forces and recruited in active rolls. then there are other barrel bombs. the united nations accuses the united states dropping barrel bombs in eight separate incidents. >> the international community has completely failed in one of our most important duties. >> this is the u.n.'s report on the conflict in syria and admits

the previous seven reports have not stopped the atrocities. they want their work to send a message to. perpetrators that they have been identified and that justice will be pursued. al jazeera. >> outgoing iraqi prime minister nouri al-maliki is criticizing vice president joe biden. he accuses biden of interfering in iraq's affairs. earlier this week biden urged leaders to form a new government soon. maliki's comments come as his successor is set in lace. >> haider al abadi is sitting down to agree on what that government will do. he said by today he will have a government program, a list of priorities that the new

government will take on. they're still saying that they will form a stripped-down cabinet of 20 posts over the next two weeks but it is not an easy task. the stakes have never been higher with the islamic state group controlling a third of iraqi territory and deep divisions in the country. nouri al-maliki has devoted his weekly address saying that u.s. vice president joe biden should not attempt to fragment the country. he's referring to comments made some time ago that iraq might eventually turn into separate regions and said that they should try to unite the country rather than divide it, and he has promised to help rein in gunmen that are now in many parts of baghdad. >> fighting between sunni acres

and kurds, for many years the two communities have lived side by side in gwer but an event battle has left little trust between the two groups. >> reporter: the islamic state group is here to stay. that's the writing on the wall. but it's fighters were only able to occupy gwer for a few days. u.s. airstrikes help the kurds regain control of this region. the battle for gwer has stirred tensions between the people here. gwer is a town where arabs and kurds live side by side for years. there has long been little distrust between them but after recent fighting there is little trust left. the kurds are accusing some of their arab neighbors not only of sympathizing with the islamic state group but joining it's ranks. >> there are few arabs who work with the islamic state.

we confiscated arms from arabs who don't is licenses. >> reporter: we can't film outside because the islamic state group is on that bridge. but the people of mosul they're fighting along side the i.s. that's the danger. this is not just a front line. this is now a border between two communities. on the surface it may seem fine but gwer is protested territory. arabs and kurds claim this land as theirs. these arab men blame the islamic state group for wanting to sir civistir civil strife. the status of gwer was not something that this man wanted to discuss with me. he denied that the g well, er sided with the islamic state group and explained why many run to mosul, the islamic state

stronghold instead of erbil. >> the islamic state group allowed them to go inside their territories. >> many people on both sides of the divide still has not returned home and there is growing anti-arab sentiment. >> kurdish troops were shot and killed before the islamic state group advance in town. some arabs inside the town help them. >> reporter: i.s. said other sunni pushed them to take land that they believe is rightfully there. there is animosity between the sunni arabs and kurds that have now resurfaced. >> several hours into a truce, and both israel and palestinians are claiming victory. there is skepticism on both

side. >> reporter: a shopping mall near jerusalem. it's the summer holidays, but business is slow. the few tourists we met were either jewish for enemy who like adventure. >> i believe this is a safe part of the world despite what is happening, and we brought our family to show people that we're with them. >> i'm not afraid because i love to travel. >> these visiters bring in vital foreign currency. confidence among tourists and investors is coated in sentiment. even though people perceive there is a threat will keep people away. this could effect not only this year but next. >> reporter: tourism is the lifeblood of the israeli economy. pilgrims of all religions come to the old city while some worships head to the beach.

for most tourists war is the ultimate turn off. >> i used to make 5,000 shekel as month. this was last june. after that tourism started dying, like my july pay was 2,000 shekels. this month it's been completely did. i haven't made even 500 shekels. >> israelis have taken stock of what's been achieved after 50 days of conflict. the images of killing and destruction of the gaza strip has effected them. >> israel has come out as the goliath, as the superpower if you like an elephant that is fighting fly and not even succeeding. >> israelis satisfaction with their prime minister has dropped

dramatically. after july 23rd, 82% said they approved of his performance. on august 25th with the conflict dragging on only 38% said they were satisfied. >> so a few days of rest between the end of the summer break, but it's only a brief respite. israeli and palestinian negotiators will soon have to grapple with the biggest issue that the cease-fire does not degree. if they do not agree then many believe that it will be short lived. >> in gaza palestinians are trying to rebuild their lives after 50 days of israeli strikes. fishermen ventured out and some returned home. some for the first time in weeks. >> reporter: the palestinian rally in a city that is in ruins. the flags of hamas and other

palestinian factions wil believe that it's become more popular in the wake of the seven-week war. >> what do you say to the israeli claim that you've accepted now what you rejected a month ago? >> it's not true. what happened before is they wanted us to negotiate for months and years without any time constraints or guarantees. but this time before we even sit down at the negotiating table again the israelis lift the aid blockade, extend fishing rights and ease restrictions coming in. >> reporter: many see it as a military victory while israel is trying the same tactic. but as both sides are claiming victory this is the harsh reality on the ground. families returning to what remains of their homes trying to work out what to do next.

the united nations estimate without new lifting of restrictions right across the board it would take something like 15 years to rebuild the gaza strip. it's thought around half a million people have lost their homes. it still isn't clear how much difference the easing of israel's blockade will make in the supply of building materials and humanitarian support. this man has lost a business and a family home. he thinks it will take more than a year to clear the site before he can think about rebuilding. in gaza city businessmen look at all that remains of his big investment in a super market made only a month before the war. he says he understands why palestinians must claim a victory after such sacrifice. but he incident optimistic about the latest agreement being any more successful than the last two wars. another war is coming, and we will struggle again against them

and they will attack us again. until they agree--until we find, the two sides, until we find something to believe in. until this we will continue war after war after war. >> right now there is calm. fishermen taking their nets further out to sea and those with help on the way for those in desperate need. this seals remarkably simmer to the truce that ended a war only 21 months ago. but this deal could be more fragile than the last one. >> libya had a start warning for the united nations security council today. >> the situation in libya is complicated and yet the situation since the 13th of july has become even more complicated, and the situation

might unravel into a full blown civil war if we're not careful and wise in our actions. that needs to be true of all parties. i have always excluded the possibility of civil war but the situation has changed. >> well, the libyan government has struggled to deal with rival militias. they're trying to find a way to end that fighting. we have more now from the united nations. >> reporter: as a sign of the united nations' growing concern of the escalating violence in libya the u.n. security council passed a resolution on wednesday, the strongest former expanding sanctions. it allows council to sanction individual militia leaders perhaps those responsible for taking other tripoli's airport in the last week and requires countries to notify the sanction he's committee and get their approval before they sell any arms or transfer any arms related material. the u.n. representative for libya said that he is concerned

about the situation. he painted a very grim picture of what's happening there and said that the u.n. has been unable to bring the parties together to get a cease-fire and discuss the political way forward for the country. and the representative of libya to the u.n. told the couple that for the first time ever he is concerned that his country could be on the brink of a full scale civil war. >> new military incursions are indications of a counter offensive in that area. the comments come as a town in southeastern ukraine was sheffield united for a third day. ukraine said that the shelling came from pro russian separatists and russia itself. the fighting makes it appear that a meeting on tuesday has made little impact on the ground. coming up, the slatest slew of political ads of everything of a parrot to shooting up television

sets. and why this monkey has a special spot on the house speaker's desk. we have that in today's power politics. >> the controversy over the defender, the device that keeps the person in front of you from reclining on the plane. stuart! stuart!

stuart! stuart! ♪ check it out. this my account thing. we can tweet directly toa comcast expert for help. or we can select a time for them to call us back. the future, right? ♪ this doesn't do it for you? [ doorbell rings, dog barks ] oh, that's what blows your mind -- the advanced technology of a doorbell.. [ male announcer ] tweet an expert and schedule a callback from any device. introducing the xfinity my account app.

>> okay, let's take a look at wall street. a fairly quiet day. small gains, losses, the dow picked up slightly on the day. s&p 500 up slightly but nasdaq down slightly for the day 69 days until the midterm elections. the latest commercials include a candidate taking aim and firing a handgun and another candidate making charges about ebola in response to an ad featuring parrot poo. >> reporter: these are senate campaign ads. let's start in alaska where the race is one of a dozen which

could decide which party controls the u.s. senate. and all the poor defenseless televisions are in danger. >> all the negative ads are flooding for special interests. pretty soon you'll want to do this to your tv. i propose a plan to top all the mud-slinging from jude' outsiders. unfortunately, mark begich swayed no. >> his campaign is calling sullivan a hypocrite for supporting citizens united. the supreme court decision that opened the door to significant outside spending. for the record, months in states including alaska you're not allowed to shoot television sets and other object it's accept o except on private property.

mark prior evokes ebola on his race. >> tom cotton voted against aid for pandemics like ebola. he was the only arkansas congress to vote this way. >> just like he was the only one to vote against children's hospitals. >> instead, cotton voted for tax cuts for billionaires funding his campaigns. >> it sounds like he has caught ebola. an attack ad featuring a parrot that poops. >> we'll stick with our plan. >> stick with your plan. >> tell senato senator senator pryor to stop parroting obama.

as expected governor rick scott cruise to a primary victory. he'll face charlie crist who won easily last night. but if cyst wins the governorship for the second time and becomes the first governor in florida history to ever win as a member of two different parties. also in florida ted yoho won his party, all ten now face easy general election. the anti-boehner forces in the house are going to be as strong as ever. speaking of house speaker boehner his office released the video of the most popular object in his office. >> the wind up monkey. they come in and wind me up and i do my thing.

>> strange, right, the monkey fell off the table. finally joe biden's office--what is with all these videos being released. joe biden released a video of a meeting with 108 lucy coffee. first she was introduced to president obama and then besiden followed up with a little flirtation. >> remind me every time i had a good looking date, there would be some better looking guy coming along. you know what i mean. >> i'm the vice president. then the president comes in and everybody drops everything. but i'm the guy that loves you. >> joe biden one of a kind. tony, when i get to be 108 years old. please don't talk to me like this. leaning in. >> let's do it again at 6:00. coming up at al jazeera america.

did anyone win in the new truce between israel and gaza and we'll look at gun law regulations after a nine-year-old girl kills her gun instructor with a fully loaded uzi. we need to know what's going on around the world. we need to know what's going on in our back yard and i think al jazeera does just that.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> this trial was a sham... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy,

let the journalists live. >> al jazeera america presents >> what did i do? please take this curse off of me. >> 15 stories one incredible journey edge of eighteen premiers september 7th only on al jazeera america >> floods israel and gaza are each calling the open-ended truce a victory for their side. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu spoke in defense of signing a cease-fire. >> hamas put terms down. it asked for a report. didn't receive it. it asks for an airport, it didn't receive it. it asks for the release of prisoners, it consistent receive them. it asked that there would be a turkish intervention. it did not receive that. it asked for other terms,

salaries an money from us. it didn't receive it. it didn't receive any term that it requested. >> israelis and palestinians have been throw at least two others wars and cease-fire agreements. they've not been able to resolve their major demands. equality and freedom of gazans and demilitarization of hamas. what the prime minister didn't mention is that hamas didn't agree to demilitarize and the question of cross border tunnels. we're not sure that all 60 were destroyed. what's your reaction of hearing the cease-fire and the terms? >> reporter: well, i think that, you know, a definite cease-fire towards saving lives must be welcomed but sadly the reality is far more complicated. what is really happening is that time has been called on the

cataclysmic massacre really during which israel was once again given free rein to kill as many people it wanted, and beyond the 2100 victims who have been killed, the vast majority 80% innocent civilians, thousands more were left physically and mentally ma maimed. destruction of homes and other vital services. they're trying to put on a brave face to all this, and they're trying to show the world it has not been defeated in the face of that injustice and cruelty. the very terms of the cease-fire are not much different from those of 2012, those who put an end-- >> we'll get to that in a second, but what does hamas get

out of this? more than 2100 palestinians killed in this recent flare-up. it doesn't get the see port--sea port or airport it was holding up for. what does hamas get? what do the palestinians get from these efforts from hamas? >> well, i think hamas gets an awful lo lot out of it politically but not by consensions as you quite rightly said. the palestinians haven't been subjugated by the israeli army, and of course, you know, the people in gaza has no army themselves. so hamas has proved that it is a resistence movement and it's done its job as far as this is concerned. but in actual concessions it

didn't get much ought of it. it got an extension of the fishing areas, and some construction material will be allowed into the gaza strip under conditions. that rebuilding of gaza can take up to 20 years. >> right, right. i want to go back to israel for just a second. prime minister netanyahu is at home with major criticism of him with local neighbors. newspapers. the israelis expected a leader, a statesman who knows what he wants to achieve, someone who makes decisions and engages in sincere and real dialogue with its public. they received a seasoned spokesperson and very little beyond that. is prime minister netanyahu in political trouble here? >> well, i think of course netanyahu has tried to put a positive spin on it all, and he

claimed military and political victory, and he portrays himself as the man who will bring hamas to its knees. and he hasn't. it's been costly for israel not only in financial terms, the conflict cost $3 billion, but also in terms of human lives. 68 soldiers, and five civilians. but crucially the major blow came for israel's image internationally. the shear barbarism deployed by the israeli forces have attracted global outrage and contributed, it has to be said, to a strained relationship between israel and traditional allies like the united states. >> sure. >> just as importantly public opinion has turned against israel massively, and we have seen a lot of movements

determine to turn israel into an international pariah, and either continuing the boycott movement or similar sanctions and we see foreign investors pulling out as well. >> do you have hopes for talks resuming in a month's time? >> reporter: well, i think there are really strict conditions under which the talks will resume. but to be completely honest with you, the only way forward in this perpetual conflict is international justice. we've seen moves from both where they are more united than ever, moves to hold israel to account for its war crimes, and to answer to the international criminal court itself. that's why we've seen--we've heard from president abbas that some steps are being taken to

find th join the international court. i think we're seeing the pre-pragmatic hamas now combining military resistence, which has arrived under international law as well as to effectively get freedom for the palestinians. >> let's see where we go from here. nabila from london for us. the french government has opened a former investigation into the head of the international monetary fund on suspicion of political fraud. christie la guard faces questions of how she handled a commercial settlement in 2008 when she was france's finance prime minister. the year before la guard said she did nothing wrong and she is appealing. a set back in figuring out who will take over as president

when ha hamid karzai steps down. he was the one who pushed for an international audit after winning the first vote tally but now he says that the fraud is not being properly adressed. both he and rival ashraf gandhi. new details about a military jet crash in virginia. maria ines ferre is back and has that story and more headlines from around the country. >> reporter: thanks, tony. authorities are still searching for the pilot of the fighter jet that crashed in the mountains. they don't know whether he was ejected. witnesses say that they heard a loud noise that sounded like an

explosion just before 9:00 a.m. eastern today. people saw heavy smoke and officials say that the pilot erred an inflight emergency and lost radio contract just before the crash. the pentagon said it was headed to louisiana from massachusetts. the governor of louisiana filed a lawsuit today against the obama administration over common core standard. bobby jindal accuses the administration o of hijacking and destroying the initiative common core was designed to improve schools. more than 40 states including louisiana have adopted the standards. and appeals court in ohio has overturned hate crime convictions against 16 amish members. they were found guilty of cutting the hair and beard of mellow members three years ago. the jury received incorrect instruction, and they called the

attacks hate crimes because religious differences were involved. two voters are safe after a coast guard helicopter rescue. the two men were plucked less than half a mile from the edge of the falls earlier this week. their 19 the foot motor boat was disabled and anchored, but they could not get to shore. a helicopter came to rescue the pair. a visual lay impaired grandfather from illinois is running across the country to raise money for cystic fibrosis. he's running with the help of a sighted runner. when finished he will have traveled more than 11,000 miles. >> as i progress around the country so far i've met so many people with this disease or those with family members. and each story keeps adding more and more fuel to keep me going. if it's in your heart to do it if you're like myself.

this is strictly fear generated. do something with that energy. turn it into something positive. >> he has a personal connection to the disease. his 12-year-old granddaughter has cystic fibrosis. several businesses have made do imaginations. he runs 20 miles a day. he expects his whole journey will take 14 months and he's hoping to raise $500,000. >> wow, and document it for him social media involved? >> there is some of that, and people in teach review he goes are helping him to run. >> good to see you. welcome back. you were missed. >> reporter: thank you, i missed you, too. >> what a story here. a nine-year-old girl kills her gun instructor with an automatic uzi, and that girl was at the gun range with her parents. we'll look at what the laws are

in that situations and whether there should be stricter regulations.

>> new orleans is dealing with an guns and crimes. how is the city responding to the rise in violence there? >> reporter: well, tony, right now there is some 50 additional state troopers. how long they'll be here. how long they'll stay remains to be scene. this is not just a neighborhood issue where a few neighborhoods were having problems. it's become a citywide issue. you're familiar with bourbon street. famed neighborhood here. where a lot of tourists come

every year. a month ago ten people were shot out here, a young woman died. leading city leaders and the governor to say we need help. life will never be the same. four-year-old kill is permanently blind and his two-year-old brother has serious brain damage. both were hit in the cross fire of a drive-by shooting in new orleans lower ninth ward. >> it just took my breath away. my wife started crying. we hurried to the house to get down there to see what was going on, where they were, and the continue they were in. >> reporter: the shooting two weeks ago killed two people and wounded the boy as mom, sister and another young girl. it spot lights a problem with gun violence that has long plagued the area. >> it gets to the point where you don't want to watch the news because this is all that we hear. the day after this i think it was in the seventh ward there were four people who were shot. >> we have a culture of violence that is totally unacceptable where young people have poor

conflict resolution skills, and it goes to a lot of things. it goes to economics. it goes to education. >> reporter: following hurricane katrina in 2005 new orleans consistently had one of the nation's highest murder rates but that's dropped over the last three years. in 2013 there were 156 homicides, the lowest number in 30 years. >> it takes a huge amount of effort and planning. >> still it prompted new orleans mayor to ask the state for help. in a shootout in crowded you bourbon street killed a young woman visiting from out of town. governor bobby jindal agreed to send troopser to new orleans. they're suffering from a manpower shortage down from 1600 officers down to under 1200. recruit something a top priority for new orleans' police chief. >> we have more vehicles.

officers could respond at an extremely faster rate. all those things work together which affect our crime. >> reporter: in the last two years the police department has created an anti-gang task force. there also needs to be more social outreach. >> they have small pockets that are doing very well here, that have great programs, that provide help for the community. that provide help for social and mental health. >> wayne romaine said he's relieved police have now arrested the three men accused of shooting members of his family, but he's planning to move them out of new orleans. afraid the culture of violence here will not change any time soon. >> one of the things mayor of new orleans has a push for is something that he calls patrol that consist of civilian officers. they would nobody uniform and they would not be armed. they would patrol areas of

bourbon streets to to free up officers to handle violent crime. they are the mayor is hoping that a hotel-motel tax will pay for it. >> maybe the real problem is the shortage of the real officers. what is being done to address that situation? >> reporter: of course, there is a big recruitment effort. they're trying to recruit more officers. they've lacked some of their policies. they no longer require new orleans officers to live in new orleans. and they relaxed the tattoo policy. now you can have tattoos. now they're trying to get more people to work with the force. they believe that is a big part of cutting down on this violent issue. >> and it should an diverse force, jonathan martin for us. good to see you, thank you. an investigation is underway after a nine-year-old girl accidently killed her gun instructor with an automatic uzi.

>> left leg forward. just like that. all right. give me one shot. all right. already, pull out. >> this is tough. it happened on monday at an outdoor shooting range. the girl lost control of the gun when she pulled the trigger. we froze it. the recoil send the gun over head and shot the instructor. he died shortly after being airlifted to the hospital. she was at the shooting range with her parents. this is bringing up questions about kids going to gun ranges. we go to the center of american progress. good to have you on the program. i got to tell you there is a split of opinion in our newsroom. >> it's a terrible tragedy and

your heart goes out to the family of the instructor and little girl who was involved in this. there are a lot of ways this could have been prevented. certainly parents have the responsibility to keep their own kids safe, think about activities that make the most sense. but it is very strange that it is legal for an eight-year-old or nine-year-old to go to a gun range and access a fully automatic uzi, and that we have a country where that is legal and easy to do. >> how about this. can i jump in here for a second just to add to the point you're making. the manager of the shooting range said he has trained children as young as the age of five in firearms. they are not allowed unless accompanied by parent, guardian, and there are more exceptions here. is there not enough in the way of regulations, in the way of laws? should more be done?

>> machine guns, and this was a machine gun, are among the most highly regulated firearms in the united states. it's been incredibly tightly regulated to get access to a machine gun. you need to have a license and much more thorough background check than a typical begun. but at the gun range they consider it the use of a gun not transfer of the gun. so for people getting access they don't need to have training or background check and it raises basic questions if these guns are so heavily regulated everywhere else does it make sense for an eight-year-old or nine-year-old to have access to a gun? this has happened before in massachusetts an eight-year-old boy with a fully automatic uzi lost control of it and shot himself in the head and he decide. died. >> it is clearly rare. you wonder what more should or

could be done and if it's even necessary. if we're talking about rare episodes here. how rare a problem is this case at gun ranges, gun classes and young people being killed at gun ranges, maybe more generally? >> reporter: there is an investigative series of a gun store where two people had committed suicide at the gun range within a week. one of the things they found is people who could not pass a background check, people who are seriously mentally ill, fell ons in this case were one of the people covered in this story, will go to the gun range to access guns there without going through any sort of background check. this is one example of a whole series in gaps in law. we need to look at the laws, tighten them and make sure those who are responsible, trained, law abiding folks have access

guns. but what makes sense, to go to a gun show to buy a gun without questions asked, and should an eight-year-old be able to handle a machine gun? >> good to have you on the program. thank you. coming up on al jazeera america. a battle over space on the plane get something heated it forced the plane to land. but up next we will look at why airlines really implement such cramped quarters. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. what u.s. government agency supports businesses, helps create jobs and makes money for the treasury but is suddenly become a political lightening rod? the answer, the export-import bank of the united states. it was created 80 years ago but president franklin roosevelt, and it has been authorized you with bipartisan support ever since. but it's future is very much in doubt in today's washington and is an issue in key senate races.

why? we'll unravel the politics and economics of it all live at the top of the hour.

>> there's been a lot of attention on airplane seating after a fight flight wash diverted and forced to land because of a physical fight. over reclining chair. the fight was between two passengers. one who wanted to recline her seat and one who wanted to put on the device known as the knee defender so she couldn't decline it. it's not only a matter of comfort because it could mean life or death. al jazeera's science correspondent joins us live. jacob ward, most people watching us don't know you're 6'7", it is pretty obvious. what side of this debate you should be on. had you used this knee defender before? >> i am a journalist. i'm purely objective in this matter.

>> yes, you are. >> i have not used the knee defender. it looks on either side of the tray table and prevents the person from putting back the seat at all. other tall friends of mine use this. a cord. they can jam it into the hinge a dern way. personally i just offer a drink, a free drink to the person in front of me or i say, i'll pay for two movies. please don't come back because for me it's a matter of life and death. it's definitely a thing. the airlines are just jamming us in there. >> the seating can't get much worse, right? is it as tight as it can possibly be right now on most commercial airliners. >> no, it could be worse. this is the thing ironic about two passengers fighting they

should be conspiring to the guards. there is a sky rider, you would be in a standing position because the pitch, the seat back reclining that is the issue. that is the thing in part that keeps us from going. there is this sky rider design. another design where people have the idea that we're going to some how lie horizontally down the edge of it. packing in as people people as possible. that for the airlines is how they make their money. >> right, i get it, they would love to have more seats and make more money pore flight. why haven't we seen these standing seats, as you talk about a radical new seat design. >> this is the thing that people don't understand, the safety issue is a pretty serious one. there is a guy in john stat. he experimented on himself to see how many gs a human body

could take. the body can make more than we thought. all airplanes are built to that kind of standard. and they're built to be strong up to 16 gs of force. if you permeate the deck with too many holes for the seats that deck becomes swiss cheese and breaks apart in a crash. there are only be certain distances between the holes in the floor basically. the airlines, this is why everyone should stop fighting with each other. the airlines should push the seats closer together, but they can't because of safety concern. >> we want fewer seats. we're not going to get it, but that's what we want. great explanation. thank you. i got to tell you this has led to a lot of debate on social media whether or not to recline seats. ines is back with that. >> reporter: yes, it is it your right to recline or should you have considerat courtesy to the

passenger behind you. why is reclining even allowed on flights. he's showing his knee up against this seat. and there is a mechanism for deticketting particularly despicable humans. others say i'm 6'4", i'll be dammed if somebody is going to top me from reclining. don't like it, blame the airlines for cramming people too close. this picture asking themselves how do these things even recline. do we need deposable thumbs? do you recline? >> i do we cline. >> you pay for it, right? >> slowly but i recline. i pay for t and it's a miracle that we're even flying. we're up in the sky. i think to myself. >> i'm both ways on this. >> i'll take it easy on the

flight. >> if i'm lucky enough to get one of those up rights, i recline. but if i'm back here and it's a sardine. maybe a touch or two. just a thought. inside story is up next on inside stor al jazeera america. >> when you got up this morning you weren't thinking about the import-export bank. it's a small government agency that tells you blendy about how government works in 2014, and it's the inside story.