important than money or the game. that's our show for today. i'm ali velshi. thank you for joining us. >> hi everyone, i'm john seigenthaler, and in it al jazeera america. pressure point - secretary of state john kerry pushes a reluctant ally to join the fight against the islamic state. can the u.s. keep the the coalition intact? justice for malala, the schoolgirl shot for standing up to the taliban. her attackers in custody treading water - in a state where the supply is drying up, we take you to a town where the tap may be run, but the risks of

drinking the water or growing. double take - it's an invisible painting - whether in fields or dollar bills. we show you how people become part of the picture. we begin with a cuff task of building a " -- with a tough task of building a coalition to fight the islamic state group. secretary of state john kerry is in turkey for a series of high-level talks. that country is on the front lines, sharing borders with iraq and syria, fighters and funny have flowed across the border. turkey so far has existed publicly backing an expanded u.s. military captain. lisa stark is at the white house. how key is turkey to the fight? >> turkey could be an important

ally, it borders iraq and syria, it's a muslim country. there are a lot of concerns about the border. there's money and man power slipping through there. foreign fighters slipping into syria from turkey to join the islamic state group, and others to join the fight. it's a big concern to the u.s. and western allies. the secretary of state john kerry did have meetings in turkey with the prime minister, the foreign minister and the president. he stressed - he said that turkey could play a very, very crucial role. >> turkey and the united states will stand together against any challenges in the region, including all terrorism. within the coalition there are many ways that turkey can help in the effort. we will continue our conversations with our military and other experts spending time to define the specific role that turkey will play. >> now, one role turkey does not

want to play is a military role. the u.s. has 5,000 airmen at a base in turkey. turkey indicated that the u.s. will not be able to use the base to launch air strikes. turkey could play an intelligence role, and the u.s. wants turkey to get a handle on the border and stop the fighters going into syria. turkey is reluctant to join in because it's worried about its own security, and not only that, 49 of its documents and family members are held hostage by the islamic state. clearly the country is relu reluctant. as you mentioned it declined to support the u.s. effort. there was declarations yesterday, and turkey ab stained. they are a reluctant ally. >> clear the united states and allies telegraphed the message they are going after the islamic state group. how soon may we see strikes in syria? >> well, it's hard to predict

that. some are wondering whether the administration is going to wait until next week when congress will debate and decide on whether it will support funding and training for the moderate troops in syria. it may depend on how quickly the international coalition comes together. once the u.s. launches strikes, it has a number of options on how to do that, it has military bases other than turkey, and others in the region, it has ships in the persian gulf, and could launch attacks from europe as well. we should mention, as it's trying to put together the coalition and figure out when the effort will begin in syria, the ground strikes in iraqs continue. another today. there has been 158 air strikes? iraq against the islamic state group. >> all right. lisa stark in washington. thank you. president obama says the fight against the islamic state group will be a long one.

he says he does not need congress to wage it. it's a matter of fierce debate, on the president's side is a bill passed in the days after 9/11. paul beban has more. >> i can hear you, the rest of the world hears you. >> september 14th, 2001, as he toured the devastation at ground zero, president bush vowed america would respond. >> and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon. >> reporter: the white house wanted sweeping powers to bring america's military might to bear on the people that master-minded those powers. the white house started drafting a bill for the us of military force or aumf. at its core a simple sentence authorising the president to go

after al-qaeda anywhere, any time, with any force deemed appropriate. congressional support for the bill was virtually unanimous. but one congress woman asked her colleagues to slow down the rush to war. >> some of us say let's step back for a moment, pause for a minute and think through the implication of our actions today. so that this does not spire at out of control. >> representative barbara lee of california believed the bill was too vague, too broad, giving the white house a blank check to wam a war anywhere in the world. friends in congress urged her to change her mind. lee would stand firm, alone, the only no vote in both houses of congress. for opposing the aumf, lee was called a traitor, received death threats and required 24 hour protection. sips 2001, two -- since 2001 two presidents used the aumf to

justify military action in afghanistan, pakistan, yemen, somalia and other country. it paved the way for the drob programme, ex -- drone programme, expanded surveillance, guantanamo bay and torture. house does one sentence in the aumf justify to much. >> against. and associated forces. >> critics say the aumf overrides the constitutional power declared for congress to declare war >> you are reading the aumf to apply outside of what it says. >> there has been attempts to narrow, amounted or repeal the -- amend or repeal the peel. so far all have failed. congress woman barbara lee joins us from washington d.c. we have a new extended military

provision in the middle east. does it surprise you that the white house is citing the 2001 operation for the use of force. >> the answer cuts both ways. the reason i voted against the resolution was that it was so broad, it was a blank check, and it set the statement and the policy for perpetual war. on one hand that resolution, and the congressional research service documented over 30 sometimes when that was used in yemen, somalia, domestic surveillance and many activities that it should not be used for. again, it was open-ended, broad, and set the stage for the authorisation of force into any country at any time by any president. that's why i really believe we should repeal it. i have legislation to repeal it and 33 co-spoonors to get that resolution off the book. >> do you believe the house

should authorise military force against the islamic state group. >> this is 13 years later. we need to come back to the drawing board. we need to repeal the 2001 resolution and have a debate. we agree i.s. is a threat. >> would you vote for that? >> i believe there's nonmilitary alternatives, options that have not been laid out, and we need to do everything we can to avoid the use of force. i'm reluctant to vote for an open-ended resolution, authorising the use of force, and putting us back to where we were. >> congress woman, take us back to september 11, '13 years ago, and your decision to vote against - the single vote against authorisation. >> i have to tell you, first of all that day was a tragic terrible day. the horrific attacks, still, we are remembering, we are mourning the life, lives of those taken,

the families, the communities. this was a real horrible period. and the country wasn't mourning as we - as we continued to try to understand what had taken place, the congress came up with a resolution that was so open-ended, and presented three days on september 14th, after the horrific terrible attack. that is it not the time for members of congress, elected by people, to make hard decisions in a national security crisis or not. if you have to do it over again, you would. >> i would. that is a hard vote. the public is weary, they see thousands of brave young men and women. al-qaeda is there, the taliban is there, and we have i.s., what will we have. we have to do this differently.

>> you got death threats after the vote. >> many. it was a horrible period for me and my family. these were real threats, and what troubled me also during that period is that so many people were so angry and so fearful, until they forgot what democracy demands. democracy demands dissent in a time of crisis, and doesn't understand the right to gept, and the duty to defend. >> at the time you thought it might end to a war, do you feel vindicated? >> i'm sorry, i don't want to feel vindicated. too many lives are at stake. we want a world seeking global peace and security. i knew then, that any president could use that as a legal authority to use for imperson et

uty. >> congress woman, thank you for being on the programme. today pakistan said it arrested the people responsible for fruiting mal-allah, the teenager who -- for shooting malala. she is the teen that spoke out in support of the education for girls. >> reporter: two years after a shooting that shocked the world, pakistan today says the gunmen did not get away. >> this gang comprised a total of 10 terrorists. >> reporter: pakistan announced it had the men who tried to gill malala yousafzai, a 15-year-old targeted simply for encouraging girls to go to school. the army says the main taliban heeder ordered -- leader ordered

10 fighters to target the team. >> the entire gang has been busted. >> a bullet hit malala's head. incredibly she survived and moved to brit ape, becoming a star of perseverance. >> one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. >> she's 17 and been nominated for the nobel peace price, met the queen of england and timed one of "time"s influential people. in her home country she is an inspiration for too few girls. pakistan has the second-highest number of children out of school. more than 5 million kids, and most girls. three out of four pakistani girls cannot read or write. most have no access to education and work at a young age. >> malala is the daughter of you

are soil. i hope she brings focus and funny to the fight in pakistan. we have lost too many schools to the taliban, and to flooding. >> the pakistani government is focussing on other issues. it spends 17 times more on military than education. the pakistani leader says the taliban is being pushed out. schools are being rebuilt. >> you should always believe in yourself. >> for every success. too many struggle, unrecognized and uneducated. >> malala is studying in britain, but can't return to taliban because of pakistan threats against her and her family. >> thank you. coming up next - how years of drought and failing infrastructure made the water in one california community unsafe to drink. plus lawmakers in missouri push through a tough abortion law,

and what it means for the country.

in detroit the owners of two dogs that attacked and killed a man will stand trial on murder charges. the michigan couple are in gaol on $500,000 bond. the victim, a 46-year-old michigan man, was on a jog when attacked by the two dogs. officials say the dogs had a history of violence, previously attacking other people. the arraignments are scheduled nor the end of the month. last night we told you about a californian community living out running water for month. it's just one community suffering under the draught? civil, a theneighbouring town, water they have is not safe to dripping. >> reporter: in a small farming

country this, is what drinking water looks like, a leaking prc pipe in a ditch. >> that water coming out is our tap water. >> reporter: that's your drinking water. >> that's our drinking water. >> reporter: that's what you see. hundreds of feet below ground animal waste and nitrates left the water contaminated. underground water is a staple of life. the murky yellowish water game from the kitchen faucet in august. >> people shouldn't have to live in fear of "is my water okay." >> nitrates are linked with kidney disease and cancer. >> ryan jenson is with the community water center, an advocacy group working to clean up the water. >> part of the issue here is that the water system was a private company. it was clear to the state regulators that that private water system owner was not doing their job effectively. >> in 2009, officials took over,

but the broken water system continued to limp along. the united nations has also taken notice. a u.n. report on unsafe drinking water found the county: while the historic drought has made the water crisis worst in california, in seville it helped. this summer the community got a new well. >> for the last two weeks he had running water realibly in years. >> reporter: why did it take the drought for the country to take action? >> we were ready to take action, we had the solution, the difference was the state and federal funding. >> reporter: the new well has not solved all the problems. leaky pibs could lead to

contom -- pipes could lead to contamination. this is the first time eric has seen this pipe. why hasn't the county fixed it? >> we were over here fixing pipes friday. we are making repairs as we go. >> reporter: the pipes need to be replaced, most over 100 years old. many residents still won't drink the water. >> i feel it's unsafe because of bad infrastructure, the pressure exposed is lot of bad pipes. we have water leaks. >> if there's water in the canal, it will all seep in to the tap water. >> if you see the outside of this pipe, the corrosion is peeling off, just in large chunks. imagine this on the inside of this pipe. if you see it, imagine water flowing here and the water pressure forcing this through some of the pipes. >> we took this hose with this pipe and poured it in here.

that's what came out of the pipe. that's what would come out of your faucet into your drinking water. >> the water crisis runs so deep it's not clear that a new well can fix it. the country estimates it needs 5 million to rebuild the system, and that could take years. >> in the meantime residence are left wondering how it could happen here at home. >> here in los angeles, the movie stars, people fundraising for third world countries and building wells and i think, "don't they know we are in the backyard." we should be able to turp orn the tap and -- turn on the tap and live like everyone else in america. in missouri, a defied republican-led legislature pushed through two measures on abortions and gups, overriding -- guns, overriding

vetoes from the governor. women will have o wait three days instead of one to get counselling for abortion. and a ban on openly carrying firearms and allows specially-trained teachers to carry guns in school. both laws take effect in about a month. al jazeera's political contributor dave leven that will joins us. what do you think it going on in the state house in missouri, regarding these two laws? >> you have a lot of things that are federal issues, and second amendment issues, and issues that are stemming from the row versus way decision 40 years ago. oftentimes they are playing out in state houses across the country, and obviously missouri is no exception, and what you have, particularly in divided states as missouri is, with a

democratic governor, and a red republican state legislature. going out to political battle in a major way, republicans saw an opportunity, and saw the governor didn't have enough requisite support in the legislature to get a veto not overridden. they took the opportunity, cease it and did what they did, overriding the veto, which is the legislature's prerogative. >> a growing example is the state legislature taking authority over their governors, is that it, do you think. >> at the federal level we don't see any of this. it was common where the president would occasionally, if not more than occasionally override - would have a veto, and congress would override it. 20, 30, 40 years ago we'd have a different conversation to what we are having now, and we'd talk about what is going on in washington. missouri is an where the veto

override is alive and well. we are talking about two high profile issues, but there are a couple of dozen veto overrides dealing with budget items, line item vetoes in missouri alone. there has been a handful of overrides, vetos at the federal level, and there's a mess of them happening in one state. absolutely. in states across the country there's a different political dynamics, and key issues will be dealt with in a markedly different way than they would at the federal level. >> is this about whether it's a republican or democrat, a bluer state turning red? >> it is in missouri what was a blue state, there was a lot of conservative democrats 20-30 years ago in missouri, missouri was a swing state during the '90s, and the better

part of last decade. it's turning red. you have a democratic governor, a legislator, and they are at loggerheads. what is fascinating is when jay nixon is up for re-election. >> is it his job at risk for him? >> it absolutely is. mark my word, you'll have a bunch of interest, not just in missouri, but washington d.c., new york and california and places over the country that will come in and do everything they can to get him out of office in the 2014 election cycle that we are in right now. we have races and more than 35 of them in national interest are flooding into the state, spending incredible amount of money trying to gain sway in the state, and add up to the sebbing suss that they -- success that they have. >> the government was visible in the ferguson disturbance and how it would be resolved, right. >> yes, and has taken a lot of

criticism for actions or the lack there of. he'll have a large battle on his hands going forward, if he wants to go forward with his political career. he has decades worth of service. the former attorney-general, someone that did run for the attorney-general. he's a known commodity and popular in many circles. >> good to see you, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> disturbing new statistics about professional football and brain dysfunction. reports say nearly three in 10 former players will develop debilitating neurocognitive problems, and former players between the ages of 20 and 60 are twice as likely as the germ public to -- general public to develop dementia. if accurate, 6,000 retired players, out of 20,000 living will develop the conditions. that was released by the n.f.l. and lawyers as part of a

proposed 765 million settlement. next - the islamic state's money machine - stealing oil and selling it on the black market. plus, the value of college education. is it worth the huge burden of a student loan debt?

hi everywhere, this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york, and coming up, the islamic state group making millions selling oil. how they are doing it, and who is buying it. plus, is multi-million settlement in the central park five case, my conversation with one of the innocent men on his quarter century search for justice. he's called the invisible man. the chinese artist getting a lot of attention by hiding in plain sight.

. >> secretary of state john kerry is in turkey, trying to build a coalition of nations to take down the islamic state group. turkey sits in a strategic spot. i.s. fighters have taken advantage of turkey's poorest border with syria to smuggle in fighters and smuggle out its most important asset. >> reporter: it's thought to be the self-described islamic state group's biggest source of funding - sales of seized oil, believed to generate between $1 million-$3 million sa day. since capture. i.s. syphoned oil, a windfall estimated at 4-5 million barrels. it's expanded its portfolio of oil fields, stretching from eastern syria to northern iraq. i.s. sells plundered oil directly to truck drivers for as

little as $25 a barrel. the drivers move it through smuggling networks, laundering the orange jips -- origins, transporting it across neighbouring borders. >> i.s.i.s.'s objective is getting the best price for the oil they sell, and have the middleman sell it on the markets, and that's the end of their role. iraqi forces recaptured two oil feeds from i.s.i.s. tightening the borders is crucial to disrupting the rebel's black market oil trade. >> turkey is probably the most fluid, and is the best market to smuggle that oil to other parts. >> turkey has been criticized to turning a blind eye to smuggling operations. >> with more than 300 miles of border to police, cracking down hard on the black-market oil trade will be troubling, even if

ankara is on board to take down the islamic state group. >> thomas sanderson joins us, from the center for strategic and international studies. turkey has in a 500 mile border - how can you stop the transfer of black market oil? >> well, policing any border in this world is difficult. turkey's is no different. when you have hollowed out the military, as leadership has in turkey, that does not help. you do need to sent down forces, military and police, intelligence, border guards, to keep the the border from being of sieve that it has been for some time. >> patricia mentioned the smuggling networks that transferred oil internationally. how elaberate are they? >> that is unknown. we can assume they are

elaborate. this is difficult to stop. elicit business has been a fact of life. it's the lifeblood of organizations like i.s., it's critical to stop them and the oil trade, because it gives them the dur ability and longevity to confront outside powers for years and months ahead. >> the islamic state controls oil fields in iraq and syria. what economic advantages does it have in the middle east? >> well, first of all, it controls a lot of commerce. they have been able to set up and take advantage of what develops into conflict, and that is a war economy. they are able to traffic in the oil. they control grain ris, they sell government property that they have taken over. they sell antiquities that they have been able to steal, and

deal in kidnap for ransom, steal from banks and extort from truckers. they have a wide number of revenue streams here. is there a way the islamic state or the united states and its allies can cut off this black market oil network? >> it is very, very difficult. you do have to get the border nations on board here. of course, there's another way to do that, strike the facilities that generate the oil, if we can do that, to cut the supply off. i.s.i.s. uses that money to pay for the alliances that it established in iraq and syria, and they burn through the cash. they may bring in a lot every day, but they burn through it quickly. it's critical to shut it off at the border or the source. >> did this happen fast? it sounds like that has been planned for a long time, or was it? >> as far as their effort to

track in the oil? >> to track in the i will, to figure out ways to raise money to fund the operation. >> yes i think they thought about this well in advance. they have been around for a long time. for them to maintained the fight that they intend to do in order to establish and control the caliphate, they knew that they would need a sustained source of income. multiple sources, and didn't want to be on the leash of donors that under political pressure could pull the funding. smartly they figured out how to develop a local economy. they've done it, it's sustainable and gave us the wear with all the battle other forces. >> thomas, it's good to have you in the programme. thank you very much. thank you. gates is taking aim at -- united states is taking aim at

moscow with more sanctions - banking and industry targeted. experts say it's taking a toll on russia's economy. patty culhane has the story. >> reporter: u.s. and european officials say russia is not living up to all that it agreed to in ukraine. they warned until the so far ass and weapons are across the border, the west will goar the russian economy with new sanctions. >> we are confident that the new round of sanctions will have economic costs for russia. >> unlike previous actions, this time outside experts agree. >> i don't think there's doubt that the russian economy this year is, in my opinion, going to be in a mild recession related to the effects of these sanctions. more importantly, given that russia, you know, for now a number of years, well have been overwhelmingly role on the that were resources, exports, to

generate growth in the russian economy, this is a serious issue. that's an issue because in 14 days u.s. companies have to stop working with or selling equipment to russia if it involves sanking oil. six banks will no longer have access to us are e.u. money to finance debt lasting longer than 90 days. some russian defense companies will face restrictions. russian officials are threatening their own sanctions. president vladimir putin called the move strange. >> translation: i don't understand what the new sanction steps are related to. perhaps someone doesn't like it, that the process is following a peaceful scenario. >> this is the west's attempt to force russia to live up to a ceasefire agreement. if it does not, the u.s. is threatening to increase the costs on the russian economy,

hoping it will become too high a price for vladimir putin to pay. oscar pistorius was convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of his girlfriend. the south african athlete could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for killing reeva steenkamp. he was acquitted to two serious murder charges. >> more than two decades ago a group of young men in new york were wrong fully convicted in the rape and beating of a female jog are. it was told in "the central park five", a documentary. on the now are they being compensated for the years they spent in prison for a crime they did not commit. jonathan betz has more. the infamous attack in central park happened in 1989 when violent crime was at its peak in new york city. on april 19th, a 28-year-old investment banker was jogging when assaulted, raped and beaten so severely she was in a coma

for days. police arrested five young men. none of them older than 16. they were found guilty of the attack a year later. the eldest spent 13 years behind bars. the other served seven years. the teen said police forced them to confess, but it could take more than a decade to see convictions overturned. >> in 2002 a confessed murderer said he committed the crime. d.n.a. evidence linked him to the scene. the central park five, as they came to be known were exonerated. the battle was not over. they spent a decade sues the city -- suing the city, a case both agreed to settle for $41 million. each man getting about a million for every year backhand bars. the mayor de blasio called it an act of justice. nothing required the city to admit that police or prosecutors did anything wrong, by putting

five teenagers in prison for a crime they did not commit. one of the central park 5 served seven years before being cleared in 2002. he is in our studio tonight. youcef, welcome. >> thank you for having me. >> when you look at the story, what goes through your head. >> you mean the whole case itself? honestly, i always looked at it through another person's eyes. i can't - i don't think i have dealt with it having gone through the journey. i think if i looked at it like that, it would be a lot more difficult for me to move on. you know. >> i remember all the headlines, the stories, and 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 mean, i probably participated in it many years ago. >> yes. >> i mean, you can get $7 million, i guess, is that what it is. >> yes. what about your reputation? >> that is the part that is interesting. we are, overnight, accidental celebrities. we became - we were once to 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 are saying this is a handsome guy. i significantly think they recognise me from somewhere or they are thinking about the case or something like that. that is something that stays with me. >> because there was so much publicity, do you think there's people that think "he probably did it?"

>> absolutely. >> 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 the earth. we had hate mail that i didn't know i got until i came home from prison, and i realised my mother received the mail over the course of my prison terms, she refused groups from the lawn mowers, and things like that, sending her obituary notices sake live, he dies, watch his back when he comes home. it was a scary time, and i still feel the fear. >> how old were you when you were arrested? >> 15. >> you lost that time in prison. then you get out. what was that like. obviously it's a great day, but, i mean... >> i was lost. completely lost. the greatest thing i had in my corner was my family. mum is like my rock.

she was there throughout my prison term. she'd come to every visit i was at. when i came home it was - she made sure that i didn't file, 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 return to society, and i see that same confusion, that same - you know... . >> some of them were guilty, you weren't. >> they were guilty. >> i mean... . >> something taken. to be disenfranchised is serious. it takes a powerful toll on you. >> what did your mother say about the settlement? >> so the flipside to the story is that the parents, the sibings, no one gets a -- siblings, no one gets a dime from the city. >> their reputation is damaged. >> exactly. mum worked for parsons school of

design, a professor, teaching people to make suits and ties. i remember there was a story she didn't tell me, a friend of hers did, saying she was walking down the street, and the police officers were following her and were on the bull horn saying "there's that b-i-t-c-h - the mother of the dog youcef", my mother couldn't work another day of her life. they chased her. >> prosecutors never spoke to you. >> no, well, in court. >> until this day. >> yes, yes. >> what do you think about that? >> i felt like, you know, ken byrne said something interesting and so true. what he said is 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 like they came in and said what happened, and what happened next. this is what they tell everyone,

they said hey, what happened, what happened next. we don't want police officer to do that job. we want them to do the jobs that they were hired to do. we want the prosecutors to go after the perpetrators and get them. when you look at my case, the central park jogger case is a case where there's so much tragedy going on, they dropped the ball. they said they thought they had the right perpetrators. as a result, there was a young pregnant latino woman alive at the time, stalked by the real raper. he was able to get her, rape her, and kill her while her children were in the next room. >> no apology from the new york police department? >> no apology at all. that is hard to swallow. the bittersweet part. it comes with the fact that, like i said, they haven't allocated anything to the parents. my mother is battling stage 4 cancer, and a lot of that is a direct result of the stress and

pain that she went through. all the years of not being able to fend for herself as normal forks would. >> the innocence -- folks would. >> the innocence project is responsible for clearing you, right. >> i was already free, and i had already been home, the innocence project - their piece in the puzzle... >> was finding the... ..was assisting in cory wise getting out. it was tremendous. for the work that they do, you know, we want that kind of thing to happen, that's the other side that we need, that combat part, you know. >> what are you doing now? >> i work in health care, building wireless networks. i play with toys all day. it's a fun job, interesting at the same time. but it's rewarding. >> do they talk to you - i mean, people at work and those that you run into talk to you about

this? >> some do. some recognise me and know who i am. it's weird, because, you know, sometimes i see people looking at me at work, but there's the people that congratulate me. >> i have to tell you, what is amazing to me is your attitude. you are smiling and talking about it. i mean, you sound happy, despite the anger that you must feel? >> well, we have taken the anger - we have taken the hurt, the pain, and we have channelled is to make sure that there will never be another central park 5. 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 anybody involved in this, we wouldn't last a day. we can't fight an army. but if donald trump, who took out full-paid ads calling for

the re-instatement of the death policy, if they look at any of us, and see us smiling, it's not a forced smile, you know. when we were in prison. i used to see kevin richardson in the mess hall, and i would raise my cup to him and say "to the good life." now, this is in prison. you know. we took that - that loss. we took the pain, and turned it into something else. you know. and it think the ability to give others inspiration for going through similar situations as we, the ability to give parents going through things like this, if children are guilty or innocent, that is tremendous, to show them that there is a way, you know. >> it's a pleasure to meet you, an hop our to meet you. congratulations on -- honour to meet you. congratulations on the

settlement. we wish you the good life. >> thank you, appreciate it. >> nice to meet you. for the next several weeks we'll look at the challenges facing young americans on the "edge of 18'. tonight college, the rising costs of the higher education leaves many wondering is it worth it. allen schauffler joins us life from seattle with more on that. hi, allen. >> good evening, john. about a million people graduate in this country every year with a 4-year degree, and some level of student loan debt. it's not new, but it's not prevent either, given the current economic conditions. we took a look at two young people facing that is college worth it question and dealing with it in two different ways. >> i was going to excavate a little more this way. >> reporter: 18-year-old avery hutchison tackling a nasty job. and 34-year-old jill looking for

a job. but getting a lot of emails like this one. >> unfortunately we will not move forward with your candidacy at this time. >> reporter: avery is an apprentice plumber in a state-approved programme. jill with a fresh masters degree wants work in arts management. school was not deep. >> reporter: you are in debt $70,000. >> yes, i am. >> reporter: how does it feel? >> terrifying. >> reporter: avery tried college for a year, but it didn't take. >> reporter: what are your college buddies doing? >> party, having fun. >> reporter: he makes $19 an hour, in a few years he could make $60,000 for his skills. >> i'm making money, and working on it. they are working on a career. they have to pay off the debts. >> reporter: america's total

student debt tops $1 trillion, those like jill face a stag gnat employment markets. >> reporter: 70% of college students graduate with debt. the level is $29,000 on average. >> reporter: study after study shows the earning participation is higher than for those wowed a degree. dr bill researches and teaches the economics of education. >> here is a big number $300,000, what does that mean. >> the $300,000 is a conservative estimate of the gains from getting a college degree compared to a high school diploma, minus the costs of going to college. however costly it is, there's every reason to think it pays off. >> reporter: jill hopes so. she's glad she got the education, but the grad school loans are due in january.

advanced degrees carry greater long term earning participation, but it is emphasised that college and costs are not a good fit for everyone. >> some post-secondary education for moment is the way i term it. >> reporter: so this is aviary's post secondary education - all the pipe hauling, part sorting, ditch digging adding up to a head start. >> you'll always need plumbers. it's not the same for other professions. >> reporter: at some point everyone needs a plumber? >> yes, exactly. >> i paid off my undergraduate student loans in my early 90s, in my mid 30s. that's about average, the time most will be paid off, working free and clear. one thing that the ex-parties say is a no, no, what not to do, don't borrow a lot of money, go to an expensive school and don't

get the degree. bad economics if you get out without the diploma, but the loan papers in your face. >> yes, it's a serious problem. allen schauffler. thank you. following our broadcast, the premiere of "edge of 18'. the original series following 15 high school students preparing for the next phase of their lives. next - art that requires you to look closely. the artist tells us about his invisible paintings.

would one chinese artist is being called a human camillion for his artwork. his pieces blend people into backgrounds as varied as london's underground and china's forbidden city. his ambitious project is to hide

100 people in plain site. >> reporter: the morning starts earlier i, the artist briefs the canvases. more than 100 people travelled from as bars as los angeles and brussels to be here, under the 42-year-old artist's brush. >> lew is known from hiding himself in plain site, from his native china to wall street. his work incorporated more and more people. >> translation: i people as more begin to participate i'm able to make a stronger comment or society and social phenomena. i'm able to encompass the masses and address that. >> reporter: lew addresses desire and greed. his people strike poses and are pointed over. >> the work is about the relationship with money, and the dynamics created. >> he photographs each model.

he marks with tape where the money will go. a small army of the artists work off the photographs, bringing the human canvases to life. it's a gruelling process. each person takes between 6-7 hours to paint. >> we are painting for eight hours, but they are kind of standing in awkward positions, which can be hard on the bodies. >> it's a bit hard. i have pain in my legs. i'm curious to see the result of this work. >> the work will be shown here, in a gallery that it was created in, and the subject will have an opportunity to watch themselves disappear into the background. >> for the final work all 100 will be digitally combined into something like this. lew says it makes the work slow down, and it's something that happened here. >> it's beautiful to be cut out from technology for a few hours,

where, you know, you lose yourself in your head and you are meditating. >> it's about creating a work on a large scale, in the hopes of amplifying the message. >> coming up at 11 eastern on the broadcast, the elevator youtube with millions of pay views. that's only part of the story. the message behind the videos. and the music of mayor, the influence motown had on a 35-year-old. now he's going back to his home town. that's the broadcast. "edge of 18" is next.

>> hi bae. in my school, no one gives a (bleep) if i'm gay or not. but at home, it's just harder to be myself. >> i really want my father to just tell me. i support you and i love my gay son. >> i go to lubbock high school, which is really intense and rigorous. first, i wanted to pursue maybe science or law, but i can't imagine my life