bliterring comments about the president. joins us on twitter, facebook, google+. see you next time. hi everywhere, this is al jazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler in new york. taking action - president obama tells congressional leaders he does not need their okay to expand the fight against the so-called islamic state. justice delayed - a multi-million settlement in the central park five case. we talk to one of the innocent me on a quarter century search for justice. british break-up. after 300 years, scotland is considering leaving the u.k. why next week's independence vote has british officials

scrambling. crossover appeal from child refugee in serbia, to the catwalks in paris. the gender role model breaking down all barriers. we begin with the latest on white house plans to stop the islamic state group. president obama spoke with congressional leader and said he has the authority to take action against the group. there's no agreement in congress and whether the president should ask for approval. mitch mcconnell said he should. a vote was unlikely as midterm elections were coming up. >> meanwhile, they are looking overseas for help. national security advisor susan rice was in beijing. the chinese had not committed,

but they support bashar al-assad's regime in syria, win is threatened by the i.s. group. president obama will announce his plans to the nation. we turn to mike lyons, a retired army major and fellow at the truman security project. what do you think the president will say? >> he has to outline the why, explain to the american population why i.s. is a threat, and what it means to national security, why we have to go after then, and the second thing is the how. that will be what is the strategy, what will they do. he said degrade and destroy. what does it mean, how does it go >> is this a tough sell to the american people. >> it's a complex issue, they have to introduce game-changing ideas. he talked about the coalition, how that will work, and has to work on shoring up the border and turkey and iraq. he has to worry about the

offences that i.s. has been funding himself with, and talk about a wholistic approach to warfare that united states keeps the troops from going there, and brings together the air power synchronization. >> is it a realistic goal to stop and destroy the islamic state group. >> yes, it is. if you think about it, we destroyed facism and communism. i think it's a reasonable goal. the question is will we have the time. it will transcend different administrations. if you bring a coalition together, you have to get that done quickly, these are adversaries working side by side, shoulder to shoulder. to do that on the ground will be a tough cell. >> u.s. damaged al qaeda, but didn't destroy it. why do you think it can destroy the islamic state? >> it can make it fundamentally ineffective. to say it will destroy it means they won't control the land that it controls in syria, it will destroy the border and get the

states moving again. >> the united states considered bombing syria, president bashar al-assad's regime. and now it might have to cooperate. what relationship should the united states have. >> i think they'll stand off the governments here. we'll try to introduce weapons and arms to try to arm them, coming through jordan. it's a tough sell. >> bashar al-assad's regime, you have the free syrian army and the islamic state - those three. >> that's right. if you keep bashar al-assad isolated, and go after i.s.i.s. in the north, with whatever ground forces come through. you can take care of i.s. in that spot. they don't necessarily threaten the city. that's the issue. they have a photo. that'll dictate what we do. >> will the united states try to

facilitate a regime change? >> they'll have to plan for that. the saudis will want one kind of government. the ground force that is there in that country dictates what happens for the next regime. >> they talk about the i.s. having money. how does the u.s. defeat the islamic state group financially? >> we cut off the ways for them to be funded from qatar and kuwait. some techniques, they allowed i.s. to found their shoulders, they have to be shut off in the outside and not sell goods and services, like the iraqi oil and the like. it's like retrigs by other means. >> how does the u.s. address the idea of recruiting foreign fighters? >> that's something that we do between the border of turkey and syria. we have to get the turks to

understand it's too porous, we can't allow i.s.i.s. to reinforce the individuals, we have to take accountability and understand where the people are. >> last we heard is it will take years. >> it will take years to get the political factions to work together. we have the factions training the free syrian army. we can't throw weapons at them and expect them to fight. that will take 6 to 8 to 12 months to do that. to bring them together and say what good looks like, it's three years from now, you have a reinvigorated syria, i.s.i.s. in shatters and not influential in the region, and you have a strong iraqi government that continues the balance of power. >> mark lyons, thank you. we'll have coverage of the president's speech, and the rise of the islamic state group, it begens 8 eastern. a man convicted of

supporting al qaeda was handed a longer prison sentence today. he was given 21 years after an appeals court in miami ruled 17 years originally given was lenient. he was arrested at chicago's o'hare international airport. authorities said he is was on a mission to attack a city with a radioactive dirty bomb. that charge was dropped but he was added to another terrorist case and convicted in 2006, a . a montsd after the death of michael brown, the ferguson, missouri community continues to call for justice. at this town hall meeting the ferguson city council announced plans to create a review bored to improve the relationship between residents and police. michael brown's death sparked weeks of violent protests. michael brown's parents and community leaders called for the arrest of darren wilson, the police officer that kill the

unarmed teen. >> because now we have two additional non-connected nonaffiliated witnesses that confirm that mike brown junior had his hands up before darren wilson emptied his weapon into his body, we feel that the normal process in a normal step should be tape, which is what was said, that darren wilson should be arrested, should be booked, should be fingerprinted and photographed. at that point we should then wait and see what the grand jury does with the rest of the charge. that should not be skipped. over the weekend two witnesses told a st louis newspaper that they saw michael brown surrendering when he was shot. the department of justice is investigating the shooting, and the ferguson police department. when police responded to ferguson protests they were outfitted like soldiers on the

battlefield because of a federal programme that gives police officers military weapons, but now lawmakers are asking if it's gone too far. libby casey has more. >> reporter: the criticism is coming from both sides of the political spectrum. >> this review by congress is long overdue. >> the militarization of police is something that has gotten so far outside the control. we allowed it to descend with not a great protection of civil liberties. >> images of ferguson, missouri looking more like a war zone an a st. louis suburb have members of congress asking questions about a programme they signed off against. called the 1033 programme, it supplieses police departments with equipment. >> it was a way of providing excess equipment to the military so the government could get some of that money back and provide law enforcement.

there were commence in transferring military equipment to domestic law enforcement. >> congress created the programme so place had more tools to fight armed drug gang. it expanded in 2001, and got bigger as military equipment came home from the war in iraq and afghanistan. >> anyone that thinks we will not have tactical teams for high powered repponry has not been paying attention to reality of being a police officers. there's a time and place for these tools. >> the pentagon travelled $5 million of equipment. now congress is asking if it's spiralled out of control. >> this hear may reveal strong arguments why some of the equipment may be helpful for the safety of police officers in some situations, i'm confident that militarizing police tactics are not consistent with the peaceful exercise of first

amendment rites of free speech and assembly. >> hank johnson wants local politicians, not police, to improve requests for military equipment. local police right now go to the defense department. >> if a local law enforcement agency has a need for military type weaponry, there is no prohibition in my legislation for them acquiring it through their normal budgeting process. you go to your governing authority is say "we need this equipment." that governing authority, made up of people elected by the citizens, can make that decision. >> the debate is in its early stages, and members are grabbling with how much to change a programme intended to protect america's communities. the white house is reviewing it. there's no public deadline on its findings.

just today the federal government gave out more equip. the san diego police department has a mine resistant ambush protective vehicle, it was used in afghanistan and the iran wars. officials say it will be used for rescues. >> vice president joe biden days violence against women is a stain on the country's national character. he spoke at a ceremony honouring the ceremony at violence against women. >> this is the ugliest form of violence that exists for english common law. there's a tragic history about how women in our society are treated and viewed. >> rice was released from the baltimore ravens, and suspended by the n.f.l. yesterday after video showed him pumping his then fiancee. a statement on the instagram account of his wife comes to his

defense, blasting the media saying: ray rice spoke to an e.s.p.n. reporter today. after being suspended by the n.f.l. nick aannounced it is -- nike says it will pull its deal from ray rice. baltimore ravens said they plan to offer an exchange for rice's jersey. a fourth american infected with ebola is treated in atlanta, it plagues the people of west africa. so far there has been nearly 43 hunt cases in the region.

23 hunt died. half those deaths were in the last three weeks. robert ray is in atlanta with more on the latest american victim. >> reporter: a fourth aid worker landed in atlanta and brought to emory university hospital. >> we are evaluating all options. based on conditions, we will decide what the best options are. >> unlike the first two patients, this victim will not receive zmapp because there are no doses left. doctors still cannot determine whether the serum has been helpful. >> it's difficult to say. it's an experimental medication, it's hard to make an assessment of the medication based on the experience of two patients. >> on monday, an emergency conference in washington d.c. brought ebola experts together in the wake of a prediction of thousands of new west african

cases in the coming weeks. this changed a perception that the virus can replicate and spread to wide areas. and different countries. >> this is the worst ebola out break in history. over 2200 have decide, and the numbers keep rising. public health officials are concerned about the lack of resources, infrastructure, aid workers and doctors. >> it's fixating on what can happen. we are in a unique situation. this has never happened. >> congress considered a request for more funding to combat ebola. there's a vaccine in phase one, there's the feeling that time is running out, prompting an urgent call to action by the united nations and west african leaders. >> the disease identified in remote villages of our country

has now reached urban centers, including the capital mon rovia. it's spreading like widefire, devoiring everything in its path. the country has been overwhelmed. >> tuesday, the u.s. announced it would build isolated treatment centers and send medical staff to assist in liberia, sierra leone, and guinea. now to the debate over immigration reform. the white house delayed executive action until after midterm elections, 30 chipt went to capitol hill -- children went to the capitol hill saying the crisis is tearing their families spart. lisa stark reports. >> reporter: she is are some of the faces behind the heated immigration debate. children, all american children who lost a parent to deportation, a parliament who was undocumented. they held an emotional news

conference on capitol hill to tell their stories. >> my father was deported two years ago for not having a licence. it's been hard for me. i had to be like a father for my siblings. i don't like seeing my baby sister asking where's your father. >> reporter: an estimated 150,000 children had a parent deported in first call year 2012. >> all across america we have 11 million families suggest. justice cannot make. >> lawmakers that support changes, including florida congress men say there are consequences to inaction. kids, like the ones here with me today, whose lives within turned around and upside down, and their families destroyed by the administration's deportation. >> president obama issued an executive order to allow those

brought here illegally as children to stay in the country to now. it does not apply to undocumented parents, and now the white house says it will not take further action on immigration until after the november election. this issue is viewed as a political mine field. for these children it's not political, but personnel. 8-year-old jason garcia has not seen his father for two years. his mum tells him to pray for his dad. >> i want my dad to come home. i wish he could come back home. i want to give him a hug when he comes back. >> jason does not know when that day will come. severe weather slamming the country, the midwest hit hard. floods ripped through areas of nevada. kevin corriveau is here with the

latest. >> last night we talked about what was happening in felix. today we'll talk about what is happening in vegas. last night we were looking at flash flood warnings across the region, this is what it looked like across the city of las vegas. four inches of rain fell. this being the desert, the water does not soak into the ground. flash flulding is a -- flooding is a major problem. we have seen a big change since yesterday. i want to show you - all the warnings dropped except for a bit of flood warns in parts of nevada. it's not over yet. by tomorrow things will be better. the big problem is what is happening across the mid west. we are looking at tornados. four have touched down in the north-western corner, as the thunder storms pushed through. hail, wind damage and major problems across the area, down

to parts of kansas as well. this will continue. the frontal country will bov down here. we expect the same ascertain down to the swast. we are seeing temperatures dropping across the northern plains into the 50s. that will be the highs. we'll see it translate to the north-east. >> thank you. coming up this hour - the so-called central park five settle with new york city for $41 million after being wrongly accused and convicted. there's something they didn't get. plus, you might not hear much about this in the u.s., but scotland is voting it become independent from the u.k. i tell you why that is a big deal after this.

there was more evidence that malaysia airlines flight 17 was likely shot down. the plane broke apart because of damage caused by high energy objects from outside the aircraft. the airliner crashed over eastern ukraine in july. tim friend has more.

>> a short but revealing report, it does not explicitly say this mh17 was hit by shrapnel from a missile, but rules out virtually any other possibility. close up photographs shows the damage, the aircraft pitted. wreckage was spread over 10km. >> there's moments, and we are investigating objects that pep traited the aircraft. we found fragments of probably the objects, especially the flight crew. we are trying to investigate whether they are ornal nating from the airplane or whether they are originating from the objects. >> the allegation from the ukranian government and some western leaders is that mm-hmm 17 was brought down by a missile

fired by russian backed rebels. >> both sides in the conflict have the weapon, so crucially further investigation will try to establish the launched area by using satellite and radar print-outs. the crash seen is in a conflict gown. some human remains are in the wreckage, and for families the anguish goes on. >> for me it doesn't matter if it was shot down or the fault of malaysia airlines. i blame malaysia airlines, and the other one who took - make the plane crash, of course. it can't bring our children back here. >> a full report will be published within a year, and a separate criminal investigation has begun here. in just nine days the people of scotland have the chance to

vote in an historic referendum to leave the u.k. and become an independent nation. u.k. nations are trying to convince them to stay, making them an offer they can't refuses. the palace of west minister food as a beacon of democracy, that's what they say in westminster. others want scotland to strike out against a culture of cronyism and failing public services. with nine days to go before the historic referendum. westminsters representatives came together to say okay then, if you want more powers, you can have them, but don't vote to leave the u.k. >> we want the opportunity to end the politics of grievance, for the people of scotland to

address the problems they face, rather than problems and grievance, and blaming someone else. >> reporter: the scottish nationalists have heard that before and don't think the party is offering a halfway house to independence, krieg on what the -- agreeing on what the scots should be offered. they have the momentum. >> they wouldn't give us the powers to protect a public health service or re-energise the economy and finish and scottish society, all things we can take into our own hands next week. >> the appeal is not just economic. this late in the day, it's to say to them we love scotland. the scottish flag was raised above the prime minister's house in westminster. it fell off - the metaphor koop be more ironic. if you want to know how serious it is, consider this - the prime minister, david cameron, was due to give a speech on wednesday

here in london before prime minister's question time. he's cansedly prime minister's questions and is having to travel to scotland, which he didn't want to do, to campaign there for the defense of union, it's high stakes, but all hands to the pump -- stakes, but all hands to the pump. next, a huge discovery by canadian archeologists, one of two ships lost 160 years ago. and it's the most expensive video game with a hollywood budget, and could change the gaming industry as we know it.

this is al jazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler in new york. coming up, president obama is going prime time tomorrow night to outline his strategy for the islamic state group. we get a preview from the white house. seven years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. one of the central park five defendants talks about the $41 million settlement with the city of new york, and what was missing. also, from a serbian refugee camp to the runways in paris. why a top male model decided to make a big change.

tomorrow night president obama announces plans to stop the islamic state group. that strategy could include strikes on syria, and he hay not seek congressional approval first. patty culhane reports. >> it's a setting and time meant to convey urgency to the nation, a prime-time speech to the white house tells americans to pay attention. what the president is about to say matters. we know his basic message when it comes to his plans for the islamic state group. >> the next phase is to start going on offense. >> the president has pretty much laid out what that moons, and doesn't. he says there'll not be u.s. boots on the ground. analysts point out that's not always a clear-cut promise, because it doesn't count out special forces. >> if the president wanted to find flexibility in his

language, he has the option, sending out special forces, and some raids. it's expected the president will call for a continued u.s. air strikes in iraq, and eventually possibly into syria as well, for the u.n. to cut off the flow of foreign fighters and funny. the u.s. will get the sunni tribes to side with the iraqi government. he is expected to promise help for the moderate opposition in syria, something promised before with limited results. he has the support of american people. 91% of those asked believe the islamic state group a threat to the united states, and 53% believe the president has been too cautious. >> the president is expected to warn the fight could take a while. experts say that will work, but

only for a time. >> it will resonate for listeners at the moment, but listeners forget when situations change and move on. that will not be something that is sustained over time. the public will get tired of it ongoing military efforts. >> reporter: this is the president's chance to convince americans that this is a fight the u.s. needs to take on to win. it's a fight. no one can say when it might end or at what cost. >> a new warning from new york city officials ahead of 9/11 anniversary. the new york's police commissioner said the terror threat is more complex than ever, because his department is prepared. he said the rising power of armed groups such as the islamic state group presents the biggest danger since the twin tower was attacked and there's no immediate threat to the city.

the u.s. is the top tart in the united states. more than two decades ago a group of gunman were wrongly convicted in the rape and beating of a female jog are. it was told in the 2012 documentary "the central park 5", only now are they being compensated for the years spent in prison for a crime they did not commit. >> reporter: the infamous attack in central park happened in 1989 when violent crime was at its peak in new york city. a 28-year-old investment banker was jogging when she was assaulted, raped and beaten so severely she was in a coma for days. police arrested five young men, none older than 16. they were found guilty of an attack. the others spent 13 years behind bars, and others 7. the teens said police forced

them to confess. and it took a decade to see convictions overturn. in 2002 a confessed murder said he committed the crime. d.n.a. evidence linked to the scene. the central park five, as they had come to be known were exonerated. the battle was not over. they spent a decade suing the city, the case both sides agreed to settle. each man about get about a million for every year spend behind bars. the mayor called it: nothing in the settlement requires the city to admit police or prosecutors did anything wrong, putting five teenagers in prison for a crime they did not commit. one of the central park five served seven years in prison, before being cleared in 2002. he is in our studio tonight. welcome.

>> thank you for having me. >> when you look at the story what do you think? >> the whole case itself. honestly. i have always looked at it through another person's eyes. i can't - i don't think i have ever dealt with it being me, having gone through the adjourn ni. i think if i looked at it like that, it would be a lot more difficult for me to move on. >> remember the headlines, and the stories in national news. you must have been sitting there saying "i didn't do that, how can they put me on the front page." >> that part was unbelievable. >> i probably participated in it many years ago. >> yes. >> i mean, you can get $7 million, i guess, is that what it is? >> yes. >> so $7 million.

what about your reputation. >> that is the part that is interesting. we are, overnight, accidental celebrities. we became - we were once so infamous to be now known as famous folks is weird. i can't let that go. when folks look at me today, i don't get the thought in my head that they like my suit or this is a handsome guy. i significantly think they recognise me from somewhere, or they think about the case or something like that. that is something that stays with me. >> because there was publicity, do you think there were people thinking "he probably did it." >> absolutely. >> was it so intense. what reaction did you get from people during that time? >> i got the worst reaction of all. a lot of people treated us as if we were the scum of earth. we had hate mail that i didn't know i had until i came home from prison.

i realise my mother had been receiving the mail over the whole duration of my prison term, receiving letters from groups like the lawn mowers and things like that, sending obituary notices saying watch his back when he comes home, things hike that. it was scary. i'm still feeling that fear. >> how old were you when you were arrested? >> 15. >> you lost all that time in prison. you get out of prison. what was that like? obviously it's a great day, but, i mean... >> i was lost. i was completely lost. >> really. >> the greatest thing i had in my corner was my family. my mum is my rock. she was there. she'd come to every visit i was at. when i came home, she made sure that i didn't fail, and i didn't fall. you know, what i mean by that is

now that i have been home for years, i look at folks returns to society, and i can see that same confusion, that same... >> some of them were guilty, you weren't. >> something taken, to be disenfranchised is serious. it takes a powerful toll on you. >> what did your mother say about the settlement? >> the flipside to the story is that the parents, the siblings - no one gets a dime from the city. >> and their reputation is damaged as well. >> exactly. my mother worked for par sons school of design, a professor, teaching people to make suits and ties and nice stuff. and i remember there was a story that she didn't tell me, one of her friends did. she was walking down the street and a police officer were following her on the bull horn

saying there's that bitch, the mother of salom. my mother couldn't work a day in her life. >> never worked until this day. >> yes. >> what do you think about that? >> ken byrner said something interesting and true. he says it is human to make a mistake. and when you look at the jobs that they say they did, it wasn't a clear cut case. it wasn't a case of saying what happened and what happened next. this is what they tell everyone. we don't want police officers to do that job. we want them to do the jobs that they were hireded to do. we want the prosecutors to go after the perpetrators and get then. when you look at my case. the central park jogger is a

case where there's so much tragedy, they thought they had the right perpetrators, and as a result of that, there was a young pregnant latino woman alive at the time, stalked by the real raper. he ultimately was able to get her, rape her and kill her. >> no apology from the new york police department. >> no apology at all. that's hard to swallow. that's the bittersweet park. and comes with the fact that like i said, they haven't allocated anything to the parents. my mother is battling stage 4 cancer, a lot of that is what she as gone through. all the years not being able to fend for themselves. >> the innocence project in many ways was responsible for clearing you. >> well, i was free and had been

home. the innocence project, their piece in the puzzle... >> was finding the... >>..was assisting in cory wis getting out. it was tremendous. for the work that they do, you know, we want that to happen. that's the other side, that combatant part, you know. >> what are you going now? >> with the health care, wireless networks, i play with toys all day. it's a fun job, interesting. >> to people at work talk to you, and people you run into, talk to you about this? >> some do, some folks recognise me and know who i am, and it's weird, because sometimes i see people looking at me at works, but there's the people that congratulate me. >> what is amazing to me is your attitude? you're smiling, you are talking about it, and, i mean, you sound

happy, despite the anger that you must feel. >> we have taken the anger, the hurt and pain, and we channelled is to make sure that there will never be another central park five. i mean, if you think about it like this - if we became so angry and enraged that we decided to strike any officer that we saw, blow up a police presinct, go after anyone involved in this, we wouldn't last a day. we can't fight it off. if donald trump, who took out full-page ads calling for the re-instatement of the death penalty. when he looks at us, and they sees smiling, it's not a forced smile. you know. when we were imprisoned i used to say kevin richardson in the mess hall, and i would raise my

cup to him and say "to the good life." this is in prison. you know. we took that loss, that pain and turned it into something else. you know, and i think that the ability to give others desperation who are going through similar situations, the ability for parents going through situations like this with children, even if they are guilty or innocent, that's the part that is tremendous, showing them that there is a way, you know. >> it's a pleasure to meet you, an honour to meet you, congratulations on the settlement. we wish you the good life. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> nice to meet you. thank you very much. >> a mystery two centuries old is a little closer to being solved. scientists located one of two canadian ships that vanished while exploring the arctic.

>> reporter: as both prime minister and self-avowed canadian history buff, it was a big daying for stefan harper, he unfailed a sonar image of a ship on the bottom of the ocean, one of two that disappeared, searching for the north-west passage. >> for more than a century this has been a great canadian story and mystery. it's been the subject of scientists and historians and writers and singers. so i think we have a really important day in mapping together the history of our country. >> sir jon franklin of britain's royal navy lead several expeditions. during the last his ships were trapped in pack ice, he and his 128 men tried to walk to safety and died along the way. there was talk of canna ballism.

this is a glimpse of a ship left behind. searchers used remote controlled submersible vehicles giving credit to the state of the art technology for the breakthrough. underwater archeologists got a clou of where to search who found these artefacts on an island nearby. canada's conservative government happens been funding expeditions since 2008 to search for the ships. the expensive searches helped to enforce canada's claim to the icy northern waters. >> the way that it was looked for, and the technologies utilised could be utilised elsewhere, and, in fact, as we speak we have two ice breakers using similar technologies in the areas doing that, mapping out our extended continental shex. >> the site of the wreck is being kept vague to discourage

treasure hunters and tourists. there are more secrets to find and mysteries to solve. canada's explorers head north next summer. today is the day video game fans waited for. "destiny", an anticipated computer game is on sale. it's breaking sales records. andrew thomas has that. >> reporter: steven farrelly has a date with "destiny." the destiny in question is a video game, and the date the 9th day of the 9th month, it's worldwide release. >> it's a rewarding game. classic good versus evil, the play to action is a guardian, pushing back the darkness. something everyone can relate to. >> everyone in the gaming world. the hype has been building. destiny coming from the company behind the hit "halo", online trailers looking like movies.

paul mccartney wrote the music and a halva billion budget was the highest for a game. >> it was a huge risk. they don't expect to make the money back over the game. they expect to have se gels over the next -- sequels over the next 10 years. >> at a shopping center in sydney, the game debuted at midnight. before that was the countdown. a cake and a cue. >> get the game, go home. late wake up and play. >> cautiously waiting, trying to pass the time. finally here and excited. >> i woke up at 9am and thought today is the day. >> fans say it blends the best of a first person shoot them up with a personalized character building "world of war craft", and set in an online gaming

space, with players worldwide cooperating and competing. >> people don't have to come out at midnight to get the game. they are here to bond with the community and make friends. that's what you see with video games. >> some like to be around a community as they play. >> it is, though, the community within the game that is most important for destiny, only when millions play simultaneously will a call be made, whether this is destined to be the most successful game ever. >> our picture of the day is coming up next. plus - a top supermodel makes a big decision. andrea joins us next.

joo in a reverse decision, broadway honoured joan rivers by dimming its lights. yesterday it was reported that broad way executives decided not to head out the lights. but they were dimmed in hor honour. in the fashion world the story of andrea is remarkable. she was a top male model but

game out as transgender and is hoping to share her journey in a documentary and is turning to kickstarter to raise money. model andrea joins us in our study. welcome. >> thank you. >> it's great to see you. >> it's a pleasure to be here. >> the "new york times" wrote "a model's life - will the fashion world accept andrea as a woman", did they accept you? >> i'm just getting back into work. i've had a year-long break obviously because of personal reasons, and everything has been going well so far. obviously, you know, the next 6-7 months will show that in detail. so far, so good. >> you were very successful as a male model. >> i was successful as an androjennous model. it's confusing. i was categorized as a male

model but modelled women's and menswear. that was my thing. >> talk about what an androjennous model is. >> it's someone that can really do both. who can pull off a suit and a dress. >> right. >> and i was, i guess, the first mod ill to make a successful career in doing both. >> yes, i was born in bosnia, and after the yugoslav war we moved to serbia. i was in a camp for the first nine years of my life. we didn't have a lot of material things, obviously. i think my mum and grandmother did the best they could to raise us. i think we are healthy and we did well considering the situation, and obviously things improved when we moved to

australia. >> how did you get into modelling. >> i was working in mcdonald's. it was new year's eve, and they were paying double time and a half. yes. an agent saw me, gave me a card "have you thought about modelling." at first i thought it was a scam, because a lot of that was going around. it took me a while to go around and look at everything. then i called them up. >> how did that go? >> it offered me the opportunity to see the world, to obviously earn money, i came from a single mother family, we didn't have a lot of money. it allowed me to pay for everything i needed to pay for. it allowed me to reach a high level. i don't think i have it today.

i think it was something that prepared me for public transition. you were making a documentary. we have a clip. let's look at that. >> it's a film marking my journey from a refugee camp. from androjone to woman hood. when i was little i dreamt of being a girl. that was my biggest dream. >> what do you hope to do with the documentary? >> personally, i am not a producer, i am not a director, i have no interest in film making, and you don't win awards for being the subject of a documentary. so, for me the most important thing in this is to really - i felt like i was well positioned to expose the truth about transgender life. >> what is the truth? >> the truth is, you know, there are a lot of struggles, and

there are a lot of things that need to be overcome, and a lot of things that need to change and there is a lack of trust and respect. and - in the mainstream world, and i think it's something that needs to challenge and for me was an opportunity to, you know bring cameras in and expose the truth about my life in the hope that people haven't been as lucky as me, can gain pride and self respect. >> discrimination, that you have experienced? >> i - yes. i think every transparent has experienced discrimination. definitely when i was younger i experienced bullying, and, you know, australia is a macho culture. it wasn't always easy. i feel that, you know, it's

almost unavoidable. >> i believe you told the producer you dreamed of being a girl. it took you how long. >> how long to figure out? >> well... >> to make the change. >> you know, it took me - 23 now, so, it took me 23 to live that dream. >> and life now, how was that compared to what it was before. it's great. >> i feel more at ease, more free and comfortable in my own skin, and that's what this journey is about. i feel lucky to speak on the matter and go public with this. and associate success with being a trance, because for a lot of parents when you come out as a

transgender individual, you are not having success, they worry about you being on the bottom of society. >> we appreciate you taking the time to speak candidly about your life. >> thank you. it's a pleasure. >> "america tonight" with joeie chen is coming up next. see you tomorrow night. on al jazeera america

news... >> on "america tonight," on the line. the wary warrior tries to grow support for his bid to cut down islamic state fighters. can the president persuade the u.s. congress that he does have a plan now? against a growing terror threat? and how will mr. obama's own words undercut his attempt to lead the fight. also tonight, down on the farm, a new twist for animal rights activists. sheila macvicar is in iowa, and we're going undercover to ex