big goal in life, to run for the office of the president of the united states of america >> catch more stories from edge of eighteen on al jazeera america >> this did al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. getting allies on board. secretary of state john kerry traveling the middle east to rally supporters. new sanctions imposed. and new reports saying that ray rice punched his fiancé in that elevator, raising new questions about what he knew and when.

the secretary of state john kerry is lobbying to get turkish leaders to joint the fight against i.s. something that they've been reluctant to do bubbl publicly so far. they may have 31,000 fighters. al jazeera looks at how the group has been able to recruit so many fighters. >> reporter: they're well armed and well financed. rising to permanence across syria and iraq. but it's their brutality that has made them notorious worldwide. the group known as the islamic state is growing. initially their numbers were estimated and 10,000 but now they say 30,000 men could be

fighting under their banner. there appears to be little agreement or clarity how the i.s. group has grown so quickly. experts say that the failed foreign policy failure is to blame. >> it's really a failure for much of the west and how they've been fighting terrorism in the last 13 years and looking at the force on force. you do have to address those root causes, the disenfranchis disenfranchisement of the sunnies in iraq as why then have gone over to the islamic state group. >> reporter: the result of that government's failure to be most

inclusive. last year's crackdown on hundreds of thousands of iraqis that took part in anti government protests. hundreds of protesters were killed then. nouri al-maliki called wha are what he called terrorist were among the demonstrators. >> reporter: the root cause in iraq has to be addressed. that's really has to be developed. you new prime ministerialed a bayy said they'll have to move in closer. first to trust the new central government. >> reporter: the i.s. reach is not only in iraq and extends well into syria.

international powers, particularly the u.s. have called to come up with ideas to deal with the group in the future. >> germany said it will join the fight against the islamic state group but will not participate in airstrikes. germany is providing military aid to kurdish fighters. as we mentioned secretary of state john kerry was in occur at this hoping to fight the islamic state group but the turkish government has not embraced plans by the united states and middle east nations to defeat the group. what's going on here? nick schifrin joins us now from jerusalem. how important would turkey be to this coalition?

>> well, it's hugely important. today's visit to turkey had a military aspect. we need to remind everyone that this is the worst refugee crisis since world war ii. the humanitarian relief, half going to displaced inside syria and half going to the refugees outside of syria. the number of people who have lost their homes is one in three. dealing with the islamic state group militarily and for turkey that's about the border. so many of those foreign fighters flooding the islamic state have come through the turkish border. the u.s. is pushing turkey to close that border and officials saying that turkey has denied 6,000 possible foreign fighters from entering and deporting a thousand of those possible fighters. >> nick, why is turkey reluctant

to get involved with this fight against i.s.? >> reporter: this is key and this is how difficult this coalition will be to build. turkey is very worried if it comes out strongly in support of the u.s. those 49 will meet the same fight of american journalist who is have been beheaded by the islamic state group. but privately turkey has been very aggressive and very cooperative, and they expect turkey to close that border as they're being asked to do. >> we just heard jamal's piece, we just ran it. does the u.s. have a political strategy, a long-term political strategy as well here? >> that's a good question because frankly we have not heard it from president obama or secretary kerry.

they're developing this coalition and not talking about the root causes, the disenfranchisement of sunnies in syria and iraq that the islamic state tapped into i. and the vacuums that the governments helped to create there. when critics talk about the speech that president obama gave or from secretary kerry they're looking for a political solution that can enfranchise, if that's a word, the sunnies in northern iraq, and encourage them to fight the islamic state group. we have not heard a lot of that. that's what a lot of people in this region are pushing for. more american leadership, not only militarily but politically. make sure that the iraqi government treats sunnies well, and that and only that long term, tony, we talked about the real solution to defeating the islamic state group and any other group that may come behind

it. >> michael: would you agree that religious leaders, islamic scholars and religious leaders in many of these arab nations have to put forward a different religious narrative than the one being exploited by the islamic state group right now? >> there is certainly a fanatical coming out of the group. they're pushing for other sunni governments, to crackdown on the hate speech that comes out of the preachers in those countries and encourage people to go to syria, but as we talked about at the end of the day this is a political problem. the united states cannot come in and say this is religious. this is about politics, and really solving that is the only long-term solution. >> nick schifrin for us. jerusalem. the military's campaign highlights it's uniquely difficult position.

bernard smith has more. >> this might be turkish soil, but this is a border town that looks to the middle east. it's a place of pilgrimage. now sometimes mingling among the pilgrims a man with different intentions. they close in on the journey that will take them into syria and iraq to join the fighters that call itself the islamic state. but turkey mass made that final leg a lot harder. >> the plain ahead is syria. it used to be easier to get there. you just cut a hold through the fence. not any more. >> the changes started ten months ago. turkish forces have been digging along the border. they put tanks there and placed

guards who use night vision goggles. they've even shot people. now it's much harder to get foreigners across. >> reporter: fighters have been trying to cross the board anywhere east across euphrates river. >> reporter: the province behind me across the now closed border. of course, turkey does not want the conflict spilling over here. turkish government worries playing an active role in the u.s.-led plan to push back i.s. forces could result in the i.s. taking brutal revenge on turkish hostages. like dozens of turkish towns, it hosts hundreds of thousands escaping the fighting. >> reporter: the people are

tired. the islamic state took everything and controls everything inside the city. there is no money, no work. >> reporter: u.s. officials say they understand turkey's unique position as the only muslim majority in nato. but it's discrete corporatio cooperation is viewed as essential if they are to have any chance at success. >> the australian government has raised its threat level for the first time ever. prime minister ton tone has raised threat level. fiji's military chief said that the commander made the right decision. the 45 peace keepers were released after being taken two

weeks ago. the troops are released after consulting with the u.n. there are questions whether the soldiers were cut unprepared by the fighters. a theory the fijians deny. the. the u.s. and european union are targeting russia's largest bank. russia is threatening retaliating by closing it's air space to the west. >> reporter: white house officials throughout all the previous sanctions call them significance saying they're going to have huge impacts but that's not the case with this latest round of sanctions. this could truly effect the russian economy. here's how. anyone who wants to finance in these six banks, it used to be it they could not do it if it was less than 60 days. now it's been limited to 30.

many believe the biggest impact will be oil exploration, something the u.s. feels they have the corner on expertise. they have two weeks to unwind any contract they have to help with russian oil explorations and those sanctions might impact russian's thinking. they admit so far they haven't. >> today the ukrainian army swapped prisoners held as a part of the cease-fire deal. but many don't believe it is over. >> reporter: in a little city south of luhansk. on august 13th ukrainian tanks rolled in. they stayed for two weeks. they are imprint on this community will last for years. while locals blame local forces for turning their homes into targets they say that soldiers tried to get civilians out only for their vehicles to be hit by mines and artillery.

>> reporter: 17 people died here. everybody from this street died. from this house, from this house, and from that house. >> reporter: this is just one episode from the withdrawal of luhansk. when it was turned on its head for days. up to that point the rebels have not had the weapons to do this kind of damage. the shear size of the crater gives you an idea of the kind of power fire raining down on this village. >> reporter: in luhansk itself, builds line the streets. city authorities say 500 people died in and around luhansk. a number that is expected to rise. the electricity and therefore pumped water has been out for a month. >> in general it's silent now

but there is an expectation of more war to come. it's good they have not been shooting since the cease-fire. up until then it was explosion after explosion. >> reporter: six of luhansks schools open for the academic year. >> our school isn't hope. they say it was destroyed. the other one in the neighborhood was bombed as well. >> reporter: after what these families have lived through its hard to let go even for a day. >> there is no guarantee they won't start firing again so i stay close by just in case. >> reporter: instead we see classes that have been swelled from around the city. they teach in the language of the pro russian separatists. >> it does not make a difference.

people make are important. >> reporter: this battered city is doing what it can do repair itself before the festival on sunday. but cables need to be replaced before it can restore its power supply. ruined infrastructure everywhere needs to be r rebuilt, and everywhere the fear of fighting could start again. >> the pakistani government say they arrested the man who shot malala. she was tarted because of her campaign to educate girls in the country. questions are mounting in the ray rise case. new reports say that he tol he told roger goodell that he

punched his fiancé. >> michael: it was those questions that led the league to robert mule for of of o of--mueller to investigate the case. >> reporter: ever since national football league commissioner roger good deal went on cbs news and said no one at the league office had seen the video of inside the elevator of ray rice hitting his fiancée in the face, it calls in questions what it knew before issuing the two-game game suspension. from the associated press report, the law enforcement sent a copy of the video to the office to espn's report that rice himself told the commissioner he struck his wife in the face. today the nfl sent a letter to the player association, goodell

wrote, this video shows a starkly different sequence of vents in a what you and your representatives stated when we met on june 16, and the union has three days to inform the league on whether it intends to peel on rice's behalf. several ravens fans showed support for rice by wearing his jersey to the game. including some female fans. >> i love ray rice. i'm sorry. i don't believe in abuse, but she struck him force. any woman who can hit a man can be hit back. sorry. that's my belief. >> reporter: while the league and people around the country debate what would be sufficient punishment for rice, they tried to give perspective on an issue that goes far beyond game itself. >> let's be clear.

this problem is bigger than football there has been intense and widespread outrage showing what happened inside the elevator at the casino. but would it be productive if this collective outrage could be channeled to address the long suffering cries for help by so many women, and do something about it like an ongoing comprehensive education of men. this is another call to men to stand up and tak take responsibility for their thoughts, words and deeds to give help or get help because our silence is deafening and deadly. >> thand he brings up a good point. as advocates of domestic violence, this brings greater awareness to domestic violence cases around the country and not

just ones involving athletes. >> michael yves. >> yes. >> because there is video of this i want. because the nfl is so popular this case was always going to make big headlines. >> yes. >> but is this case being handled, judged differently than similar cases. >> the video makes it more provocative from a viewing standpoint. you can under that. but if you compare the specifics of rice's incident to that of u.s. district judge of fuller in alabama you could make the argument that fuller's assault on his wife was more prolonged and more brutal according to details of the police report. now they both received deals to avoid jail time and likely have their records cleared in a few months. yet fueler does not seem to be facing any professional punishment like rice is facing. fuller's attorney said that judge fuller admits laying hands on his wife during the course of the altercation but nothing in

the incident disqualifies him from being a federal judge where people are looking at ray rice are saying he should be disqualified from playing professional football. judge fuller said an impeachment or act of congress is the only way to get a sitting federal judge off the bench. >> so much. >> can we have the rest of the hour to talk about this? i guess not. michael, thank you. coming up on al jazeera america. the department of transportation sued. why environmental groups say rail cars shipping oil are a big danger.

>> wall street may have suffered its first weekly loss since the beginning of august. we got that right. several environmental groups are suing over the rail cars.

>> reporter: if the u.s. court of appeals judge agrees it could put pressure on the department of transportation to ban these older rail cars from carrying this very flammable crude. there have been a number of fiery accidents. now the department of transportation does have some proposals to phase out these rail cars but it would take years and they say the department is not moving quickly or aggressively enough. >> reporter: fred is a man on a mission. he and others have been sounding the alarm about freight trains carrying crude oil. they can stretch 100 cars long. when there is a problem.

>> there has been a huge spike in oil. >> nortoil. >> in north dakota, two thousand people fled. it happened again in alabama. and there was a di a disaster in philadelphia. >> reporter: most tragically in canada last summer, 47 people died when a runaway crude oil train derailed in a tiny town in québec. there is widespread agreement that safety standards have not kept pace. so the government is drawing up what it calls comprehensive new safety rules. among the proposals stronger

tank cars, better braking systems, slower speeds with older model cars, safer routing and better notifications to stay on train shipments. trading out rail cars would take two years. >> the. >> another concern, there is no required notification of local fire and police, and these will aproof be approved. >> there is not one citizen in the country that be will be told what the rail road decisions are. the. >> reporter: the industry points out all shipments arrive safely but even when mishap turns disastrous it's why consumer

groups, industry and government are all wrangling over new standards and how safe is safe enough. now the department of transportation would not make a statement on this lawsuit. they have proposed a more comprehensive rule. >> michael: lisa stark. thank you. the white house is gathering allies to fight the islamic state group, but turkey is the only one pushing back. and is college worth it. meet a teen who dropped out, has no debt and could be bringing in $60,000 a year before his friends even graduate. a look at life on the edge of 18. that's ahead.

>> consider this: the news of the day plus so much more. >> we begin with the growing controversy. >> answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america

>> the obama administration has been gathering allies both domestically and abroad for its campaign against the islamic state. secretary of state john kerry down played turkey's reluctance. >> let me be very clear about the u.s.-turkey relationship in this coalition. turkey in the united states will stand together against any challenges in the region including all terrorism. within the coalition there are many ways that occur can i can help in this effort, and we will continue our conversations with military and other experts spending time to define the specific role that turkey will play. >> joining us now is former

scene adviser at the u.s. state department. it will be good to get you on the program. good to have you back today. let's discuss some of the things that we began talking about. strategically how important is it turkey to the success of what president obama wants to do against isis? >> turkey is very important. turkey in the past has been permissive in allowing them to cross. one of the things that will have to happen is that turkey will have to get control over its border. it would be very convenient for turkey to allow us to use their air bases. it sounds like their support will be pretty passive. >> we need to ask this question a lot, so i'll ask it of you. what is the core u.s. interest in leading this coalition to

destroy isis? >> this is not about a direct threat to the homeland. the american public needs to know that. this is about helping our allies in the region. as long as the islamic state stayed inside of syria it was a worrisome threat to the allies in the region, but it was not an existential threat. but now that it's across iraq, it threatens our ally there. saudi arabia, a major ally and jordan, another long-standing ally. this war, if it happens, is all about helping allies in the region and not about a terrorist threat to us. >> michael: and not about a response to the brutal murders of two u.s. journalists? no, absolutely not. when you look at president obama ordered strikes, it was when the

united states order the airstrikes. the beheadings came in response to the airstrikes. not before. it may be driving public opinion but it's not driving president obama. >> it seems that you can degrade isis with airstrikes, but you can't destroy it. >> reporter: to did study isis it will take a number of years with combat troops on the ground. it does not need that they need to be american combat troops but you can't bomb those areas because of civilian casualties. we'll a need someone reliable on the ground. we're trying to find reliable partners in iraq. there are some in syria, but it will be much more difficult. >> to be clear here, if you're

going to go in with airstrikes and follow isis where it is in syria, that means roca province, and you're not going to fire airstrikes in roca province. you need boots on the ground, some kind of fighting force, militia and proxy to do that fighting for you, correct? >> that's exactly right. you remember in syria the government does not want us there. they do not want to be a partner in this. there has been in-fighting among the rebels. the obama administration has been very reluctant to arm them. we can bomb isis, our artillery convoy trucks. but in terms of digging them out of the cities you need a reliable proxy on the ground and there is not one yet. >> will, good to talk to you. thank you for your time.

>> thank you. >> democrats running for office have all but declared war on the conservative billionaire koch brothers. david shuster with more on this. >> reporter: charles and david koch long made it clear that they will do whatever they can to help republicans beat democrats and take the u.s. senate. the secret of the political support has aired 44,000 television ads. and the koch brothers are on track now to spend $300 million by election day. so in many races democrats are highlighting koch industry he is controversial practices. >> they threaten the health of residents of michigan: terri

lynn land is for them, not you. >> mark pryor, who is facing one of the toughest political landscapes this year has nowen been tying tom cotton to the coke brothers. >> they pretty much killed this town. >> now they say them new york billion narrows are back with tom cotton attacking mark pryor. >> for their part the koch brothers leave that loosening government regulations particularly on their industries will boost profits and help the u.s. economy, and they know that the supreme court ruled that their campaign efforts are legal. in the alaska senate race the national education association is hammering dan

sullivan over his claims he supported teacher pensions. >> when you teach middle school music not everything is going to be in tune. so when i sudan sullivan's tv ad about the teacher retirement system in alaska, i thought you got to be kidding me. the truth is sullivan sold teachers out. >> there is a lot of political news right now in iowa. democratic groups are now attacking republican senate candidate joni ernst. a republican group is hitting democrat bruce braley for missing veteran's affairs hearings. >> as a member of the veteran's affairs committee bruce braley skipped 75% of full meetings. what was on braley's schedule? the same day he skipped a va meeting he found time to hold three fundraisers. >> .

speaking of fundraisers, the biggest fundraiser of iowa is this sunday. welcoming 6,000 people to the annual steak fry. the featured speakers will include bill and hillary clinton. this will be mrs. clinton's first visit to iowa since she lost the 2008 caucuses to barack obama compelling him to presidential nomination. the visit which the clintons agreed to months ago is feeling speculation of a potential clinton run. she said that she will announce her plans by january. today in toronto rob ford said he's dropping his election bid. he's suffering from a stomach tumor and it must be especially serious despite being photographed on two separate occasions smoking crack. his brother said that he is now considering entering the mayoral race himself.

in washington, d.c. president obama just got a fresh reminder that thinks job is not as cool as it may seem. the president and first lady went to a charter school to help stuff back backs. the school only would say that someone important was coming. and listen to what a sixth grader said to the president. >> i really wanted it to be beyonce. >> i understand. malia and sasha would feel the same way. >> to make matters worse, the first lady said, i would rather see beyonce here as well. >> man oh man, can't the president get any love anywhere. let's get to other news. making headlines, roxana saberi has that for us. >> reporter: in ohio the police have recaptured all three men who escaped from you a minimum and medium-security prison turnove overnight.

the police cause one of them immediately and the other two, several hours later. the school superintendent said the prison break made the community very anxious. >> the last several hours have certainly been very giv difficult as we come to grips with these developments. the individual is back in custody. there has been an undeniablable profound and deep impact on our community. >> the prison warden said they'll look at what happened. the search of a pilot after two u.s. fighter jets crashed in the ocean today. they managed to ask you one pilot already. he was treated on the aircraft carrier why he's stationed.

investigators are looking at what caused the crashes. giving tesla $1 billion in tax breaks to build its battery in nevada. the factory is expected to be key in revitalized nevada's economy which was hit hard by the mortgage meltdown and recession. in mississippi, just in time. a firefighter and tow truck driver worked together to save a man trapped in his car. by rising floodwaters seconds before it was sabled up. the firefighter climbed the tow truck and walked the water with a safety line. >> to go there and rescue him and get him out. >> i feel good, helping to save someone's life. >> i would be panicking, too. initially the man did not want to get out. the firefighter thinks he panicked, but he managed to coax him out of the window and pulled him to safety. >> he pulled him, coaxing, get

out of here. it's time to go. wow, that's dangerous stuff. well done. >> yes. >> just in time. roxana, appreciate. thank you. tonight on al jazeera america we air a new episode of "edge of 18". now it follows 15 high school seniors preparing for the next phase of their lives. with student loan debt at an all-time high many ask is the cost of college worth it. now you have met some of the people on both sides of this debate. what can you tell us about the challenges of the young people in this post-recession job market? >> reporter: well, some big challenges, not inte entirely new but still daunting. here's an introduction to two young people handling that question, is college worth it in two very different ways. >> i'll excavate a little more

this way. >> reporter: 18-year-old avery hutchinson tackling a nasty job. >> and 34-year-old jill looking for a job but getting a lot of e-mails like this one. >> unfortunately, we will not be mover forward with your candidacy at this time. >> reporter: avery is a an apprentice plumber. jill with a jeb master's degree wants to work in arts management. school was not cheap. >> you're in debt $70,000. >> yes, i am. >> how does this feel? >> terrifying. >> reporter: avery tried college for a year, but it just didn't take. >> what are your college buddies doing this weekend? >> partying and having fun. >> reporter: he makes $19 an hour. four years from now he could earn $60,000 a year, more as he gains skill and experience. >> i'm making money already and working on it. they're working on a career,

too, but they're not making money while they do it, and they have to pay off those debts that they get. >> reporter: america's total student debt now tops 1 trillion-dollar. post recession job seekers like jill face a soft employment market and stagnant wages. >> reporter: 70% of students graduate with debt. the level of that debt is $29,000 on average. >> study after study shows theirs earning potential is much higher than those without a degree. the research and teaching of commission in education. >> here is another big number. $300,000. what does that mean? >> the $300 is a conservative estimate from gains of getting a college degree compared to a high school diplomat minus all the costs to go to college. ultimately there is every reason to think that it pays off.

>> jill certainly thinks so. >> he emphasizes college and it's costs are not a good fit for everyone. >> some post secondary education for most is the way i term it. >> so this is avery's post secondary education. all the pipe hauling, part sorting, appliance lifting and ditch digging he had up to a head start in adult life. >> you're always going to need plumbers, and the same goes for other professions. >> at some point everybody needs a plumber, exact. >> i now i paid my undergraduate student loan in the early 90's. i was in my mid 30's, and that's about when graduates with debt

are free and clear. one thing that experts say, one big no, no, don't borrow a lot of money. go college and not get the degree. if you're going to get the pain, make sure you get the gain and get that degree. >> absolutely. so alan, what's going on at the high school level? what are counselors telling students about college, costs and careers? >> great question. i talked to a number of college and career counselors around seattle, they say they're trying to make very clear to kids very early on the cost of going to school, the economic realities when they get out with a degree, and also their options. not just four-year degrees, two-year degrees, community colleges, strayed schoo trade schools, apprenticeship programs, they're trying to let the kids know what the options are, the results and if they do

borrow money for a four-year degree. >> we want you to watch this series. it's good stuff. we want you to catch the newest edition of our series "edge of 18". it's right here on al jazeera america. coming up, we look at the impact the service program has had over the years, and astronauts deep in the ocean simulating the conditions of space. we'll hear from one of them--wow--coming up.

>> a south african court has found olympic sprinter oscar pistorius of homicide. the 27-year-old was found not guilty of murder and now is free on bail but will likely face jail time when he is sentenced

next month. the general manager of the atlantic hawks is taking an indevil leave of absence after making racially charged commen comments. saying that free agent luol deng has a little african in him. marking his 20th anniversary, mr. clinton launched the first group of americore volunteers and since then 900,000 people have joined the program. those volunteers have served more than 1 billion hours. now everybody says you want good news in these newscasts. this is good news. let's bring in wendy spencer.

she is ceo of americorps. >> congratulations. >> thank you. it's our 20th birthday. >> ' birthday. >> . >> happy birthday. >> absolutely. >> remind every watching the mission and how well you believe you executed that mission. >> so in t in 20 years, these are americans who have decided to serve our community. they've served in our schools, parks, helping veterans, disasters, community centers. so many areas of need. they've chosen to serve and they have been chosen. we have 75,000 americorps

members. and you mentioned hundreds on the white house lawn were inducted today, and we had president clinton and president obama. but we actually had ceremonies and do throughout the day in all 50 states, tens of thousands of americorps members inducted today. >> michael: you coul >> you could have mentioned george h.w. bush here. >> yes. >> how much does americorps owe the points of light program? >> a lot. >> he participated today in his home in maine, he and mrs. barbara bush inducted

americorps members on their lawn. it was a beautiful sight. you know he wears different socks. he wore a pair of hand-nighted gray socks and they taped a video that was sent out to play in ceremonies all over the country. great bipartisan attention for service. >> you still have to fight for financial support, true, particularly since congress wants to reduce spending over all. how do you convince lawmakers to keep the program going? >> you know, the best way to promote our program, to experience the program and see it firsthand. that's what we've been doing. we've been really trying to introduce the impact of the experience, how americorps and

how it impacts the individual who is serving, also the community who is receiving support and the organization like habitat. ymca. big brothers big sisters, citizen schools, youth build. literally hundreds of organizations who benefit by having someone committed to their organization for an entire year. they also recruit volunteers to come in and serve along side them. americorps members make great managers as well. that's where the sweet spot is, making sure that members of congress see the work firsthand. when they do, they love it. >> wendy, good to have you on the program. happhappy birthday, to you. where is stevie wonder when we need him. happhappy birthday wendy

spencer. >> jake ward takes us down to reef base aquarius. okay.

>> outer space has been called the final frontier. but in order to go up you must first go down. four astronauts from the u.s. canadian, and european space agencies have turned into aqu aquanauts. they're in simulating facilities underwater. how close is that experience to that being in space? >> it's a great simulation of many parts of what it is to go to space. not of least is logistical situation. you go underwater and there is neutral bouyantcy where there is

weighted vests and air supplies. for many astronauts it's the first feeling of that. but this nemo mission is to explore the psychological effects of being confined in a small capsule. 60 feet down in key largo. we spoke with randy, nasa restaurant commanding this particular nemo mission. we asked him about the psychological aspects of being stuck together. >> that is a really important part of the nemo mission, how we all get along. imagine the mission to mars when you're in a tin can together. can you get along, make dinner together and still enjoy each other by the time you get to mars. >> there was a confinement situation that ended in 2000. there was an unwanted kiss in

that case. a fist fight. it can go pretty bad, fortunately, these guys are together for only seven days. >> we get that in the newsroom, sometimes. 60 feet down, that's a little scary but the whole space experience may be scary for some folks as well. how do people control panic? >> reporter: that's the whole training here. when you talk to these guys. these are super human geniuses. these astronauts are picked for their ability to handle fear. when you talk to randy, i asked him what it's like to be stuck. here's what he said. >> we've all scuba dived before. we visited because of the problem with compression but when you're living down here in saturation you get to enjoy it and watch it as it really is. that's a neat thing to help you prepare to going into space. space is completely foreign as well. equally if not more beautiful

than under the ocean. >> it's one of the most amazing things about these guys. you and i would be scratching at the walls. that's why we don't get to go and thee guys get to go to such amazing places. >> "inside story" next on al jazeera america. . >> after more than 300 years in an united kingdom come want to divorce scotland and wales. they want a separate culture and economy. that's the inside story. >> hello, r