>> on "america tonight." on the run. we have breaking news for you. "america tonight" and joeie chen will be with us in a few minutes, it's midnight on the east, 9am on the west. 7 am in syria, when u.s. and its allies are launching air strikes against i.s.i.l. the pentagon not releasing much information exact for the fact that a decision was made i don't recall today, they are using a mix of fighters, bombers, tomahawk cruise missiles in the attack. there's no word on where the u.s. and the allies launched the

strikes, but there's several places in the region where the sites could have been launched, including aircraft carriers and bases in saudi arabia, qatar, jordan, bahrain and united arab emirates, all participate alongside the americans. lisa stark starts first. >> we hear the strikes may have lasted an hour and a half, the first wave, and continued after that. this is a massive effort against i.s.i.l. in syria. it's not the shock and awe campaign, general dempsey, general of the joint chiefs made it clear that it would not be a shock and awe campaign, but would be persistent, more aggressive than the first air strikes against i.s.i.l. had iraq. we believe they have taken at

lodgistical depots, fuel and training sites. 31,000 i.s.i.l. fighters are in syria and iraq. two-thirds of those are believed to be in syria. again, a much bigger target, if you will in syria, although much more complicated than launching the air strikes in iraq for a host of political and other reasons. they have taken the move. we are getting the first responses from members of congress, many of whom are critical of the president for not acting sooner. as you can imagine a lot of support coming from the members of congress in the wake of the air strikes saying americans need to rally around the president and we need to take on i.s.i.l., and cut off the head of the snake in syria. the first reaction from members of congress very positive about the strikes. >> earlier you were out the front of the white house, you

moved to another location - that's because they turned the lights off at the white house. >> they turn the lights off at 11 o'clock at the white house. you'd thing on a night like this they'd let the midnight oil burning, not the case. they said it's a normal night at the white house, and they were turning the light off at 11. we have not heard from the president. he's left it to the military to release whatever information needs to be released. he has made no statement. we'll here no doubt from him tomorrow, either on his way to new york to speak at the united nations while he's on his way. >> clearly not business as usual at the white house tonight. >> no. >> al jazeera's imran khan is in baghdad with more on the story. what are you hearing from there, imran? >> well, it's very early in the morning. iraqis playing their cards close to their chest, no official

reaction. we have seen this in the past when the american air strikes began in iraq, that they didn't really respond that quickly, they waited to see how successful they were, and then there were successes. successes in mosul dam, in the sinjar mountains, amerli, and they were more confident and the language changed they were "these strikes worked in iraq, but syria has been the key for the iraqis." if you want to defeat i.s.i.l., you need to hit them, that target, in syria. the difference is there's a ground force here in iraq, that can go in the iraqi army. the kurds are able to go in after the air strikes and clear the area. the rebels are not in that position to go in after a u.s. air strike like this. we have to understand that there is a tactical difference between the two countries when it comes to mounting the air strikes, you

don't have the ground capability. i.s.i.l. learnt - they knew the air strikes were coming at syria at some point. we heard that their headquarters in raqqa in syria have been abandoned. they have changed their tack tucks. i.s.i.l. used to travel in large convoys. they'd stop outside of a town and city and send a person into that town or city and say we are either going to come in with guns or we'll come in peacefully if you surrender. they changed that in the last few months, as soon as the americans ramped up the rhetoric, they are hiding in civilian areas, and that is likely what we'll see in syria. it remains to be seen how much damage has been inflicted on i.s.i.l. using historical present and recent history, they'll release a statement saying the americans have not degraded or defeated us, they have used the language that president obama used

against him. we are expecting something like this, they'll come out with a competent statement. we have seen it in the past, it's likely to happen soon. >> what impact might this have an a fragile iraqi government? >> well, the iraqi government, when it was formed, this government said it will reach out to the group and reach out to the kurds. president haider al-abadi made good on the promise. they are talking about budgetary differences which were a problem in iraq trying to sort those out. it's a key issue, these are who is in charge of the ministries of interior. they are two crucial ministries, clearly important, haven't managed to get the positions filled because the sunnis and kurds haven't agreed on the candidate for those ministries. it's a unity government, but

fragile. the unity government was good enough for the americans to change their stance. they will maintain that we cannot help you unless there's a government in place, the minute a government was in place the americans mounted air strikes in iraq, and now you have seen them in syria. the iraqis will be looking at this going "now we see the americans and allies are serious about taking our targets in syria, that's what we insisted on, we need to move forward with the national unity government", and they need to look at why a group like i.s.i.l. exists 13 years ago, and why al qaeda and iraq came into existence. that's a grievance that the sunnis, shi'as and the kurd are. the national unity government is fragile. it's there, giving the americans cover to mount the action with their allies. >> imran khan in baghdad providing us with a perspective from iraq. thank you very much. nick schifrin is reporting for our middle east bureau from

jerusalem. nick, can i ask you about this - clearly there was uncertainty with regard to - do we have nick? >> yes, yes, i'm hear. >> i wanted to make sure. we had a great deal of uncertainty in the region, because of what i.s.i.l. is doing. now that there's air strikes does that provide more uncertainty or certainty for players in the region? >> i think there's more uncertainty in terms of how it will come out. there's certainty of one thing, that the u.s. committed to fighting i.s.i.l. and syria and iraq. even though the president announced the plan on 10 september, there was not necessarily a lot of confidence to follow through. he has said that he would attack syria in the past and didn't follow through. that's a game changer here, american leadership. a lot of u.s. officials will use

in the region to convince allies who felt negotiated by president obama and the u.s. over the last year. they'll emphasise the car, the focus is on the middle east. the second is humanitarian crisis in syria, no coincidence. they began over the weekend, and strikes, some of which they are told are in the area, but many syrian kurds fled to turkey. president obama going to the u.n. today or tomorrow, rather. it's a world stage like no other. he is going to have the presence of knowing that the world will watch him inside syria. so it's all three attempts of the u.s. moving in. everyone nose that you cannot

degrate or defeat i.s.i.l. from the air in syria. we talked about. there's no ground sources in syria, this is one night of what could be many, many, many nights. even then there's no way to do this from the air. this is a statement, presumably a large one, according to all reports against the ground. hour-long campaign, perhaps, including time off missiles, they are designed to flatten buildings. even if i.s.i.l. has to move troops, some of its men from the headquarters that they've been using, this is an attempt by the u.s. to say we can reach anywhere, and don't think we'll not be there because of bashar al-assad. nick schifrin in jerusalem, thank you. i'll go back to mark lyons in the studio. a retired army major and fellow with the truman national security project. does i.s.i.l. have friends,

allies? >> unless they are hiding as well, people that have been funding them. troops on the ground. no. only the jihadists that come. i wouldn't say a nation state supports them. they'll have to have individuals, they'll have to get a lot bigger. >> iran and syria are fighting i.s.i.l., right. not supportive, but stopping short of supporting the united states. we must assume that the leaders of those nations are silenty cheering on the united states as they dropped bombs on i.s.i.l. >> absolutely, one of the winners is bashar al-assad. the syrian government took out a major enemy of his, a major component, he's been killing the people. he's put a video out of soldiers being executed. he's the big winner. >> what about russia in this.

they have been warning the united states not to get involved in syria, syria is one of russia's allies. perhaps what is happening in ukraine kept them busy. who is to say. they could have sent 20,000 troops to damascus to support the government. they've been silent. they'll come out against this on some level, but they are on the sideline now. >> these attacks happen at night. usually under the cover of darkness. >> why? >> using all the technology we have, it's daylight to the pilots because of what they see. the targets are locked in. the tunnel hawk cruise missiles are locked in 200 miles away. any kind of missions, the night vision devices. >> it would be quiet during the day you would expect. >> we would not want a risk of

having shoulder fired missile taking down an aircraft. that's the only threat we have at this point. taking down an american mighter. when we talk bombers, what kind of bombers. >> we are talking about. -- talking about b-1 bombers, b 52s. i think they came from the decks of naval characters. >> they are striking what? >> command and control centers. >> what does that mean? >> where we believe i.s.i.s. to live. the tremendous media center, that rears satellite. that has a signature that gives out from a perspective of electronics. it's likely that was targeted. if that was not diverse lit set up and had built in-areas. likely that was gone after. >> and their communications.

>> communication centers, logistics, known places where they resupply. they took in four divisions worth of iraqi equipment. you can't hide that in the wide open desert. >> what kind of equipment? >> tanks, a.p.c.s, large-scale equipment they were trying to move from iraq. we saw the pictures, reports of them moved west. you can't hide those things. if they put them in large assembly areas, they are likely targets. >> as united states hit iraq, it pushed the fighters bark in the area. is that what you are saying. >> as we hit iraq before, they wanted to move the equipment out of the line of fire. a tremendous amount of equipment from the iraqi security force. they wanted to move some no syria. >> what is next, what could be next in the coming days. >> i think we have to react to what the enemy does. we should keep the pressure on. we have to be persistent.

not the same level as together, we have to go for second and third tier strategic targets we didn't get tonight. >> as always, mark lyons gives us great perspective and analysis. it's been a busy night. we have been covering the breaking news tonight on the attacks inside syria. for the first time the u.s. and allies carried out air strikes against i.s.i.l. this syria. americans say the strikes began 8:30 eastern tonight and carried out against a broad range of targets. five arab nations took part in the strikes, officials say. after the break, we'll rejoin with "america tonight" and joeie chen. i'll see you back here tomorrow night. >> a shocking new way to treat brain injuries >> transcranial direct stimulation... don't try this at home... >> but some people are...

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around the world. we need to know what's going on in our back yard and i think al jazeera does just that. >> you might remember the wild and dramatic video of a jailbreak at this tennessee juvenile facility. now at least eight of the young offenders involved face an extra year in state custody. the dramatic escape is putting the youth detention center at the forefront of a debate. how to decembe best discipline them. one detainee is still on the run. >> reporter: teens armed with sticks and guns. at a residential treatment facility for juvenile detention inmates.

>> i heard some yelling, i heard kids yelling around the yard. they tried to get everybody out. >> the 18-year-old watched as dozens of other kids kicked a hole in a flimsy part of the wall to escape. >> a lot of people have said there must be an underlying out. do you think there's actually an underlying reason or a spur of the moment thing? >> it depends on the kids because some kids get bullied up there and most guards don't do anything about it. >> 32 teens ultimately slipped beyond the perimeter fence including wallace's son kavonte who disappeared for days. >> a lot of them said they would do it again, just to get away from this facility. do anything except being at this facility. so something inside this facility is making these kids feel this way. >> this is a system fail by epic proportions.

clearing breakdown in a way i have not seen or heard of at any other facility in any of the other states where i've done juvenile justice work. >> terry mor moroney specializes in juvenile justice. >> what the state provides for juvenile delinquents, not meant to punish, do anything other than to protect the community from them for as long as they need, for as long as they present some sort of danger. and help them learn to be more functional in the world. >> reporter: kid in trouble for everything from marijuana possession to aggravated assault are called students not inmates and live in dorms that aren't locked. there are treatment programs designed to assist students and help them get their ged.

now out of woodland hills and, enrolled in school, he experienced violence that guards tolerated. >> i've seen marcus lucas and a guard paid two students to beat him up because they got into an argument. >> reporter: and there have been other signs of trouble including at least two previous breakout attempts. in may half a dozen teens violated curfew and got out of their dorms before guards convinced them to come back. in 2004 nearly 20 staff members were injured during a breakout attempt in which more than a dozen teens hurled bricks at them. and just days before the most recent escape the tennessee commission on children and youth highlighted substantial budget reductions and told the state the juvenile justice system critically needs additional funding to improve staffing and

programming within the youth development centers as well as a system that uses smaller more therapeutic facilities. professor moroney says woodland hills hardly feels therapeutic. >> woodland hills is for all intents and purposes a prison. it looks like a prison and runs like a prison. >> this is the road where the center is located, it's not supposed to be like a prison. what we have to pass, in order to get there, up on my left is an adult women's prison, it's exactly where juvenile justice experts say a juvenile justice center should not be located. >> when you treat them like criminals they act like criminals. doesn't look like an adult prison, doesn't feel like an adult prison and doesn't run like an adult prison.

>> it looks like a grown ups facility more than a facility that treats kids. >> wallace's son kavonte had already been on the run for days when he told us that he felt the staff was too young to deal with kids like his son who deals with mental health issues. >> the management plan i would say 75% of the things on the management plan did not happen and he's been there two years. >> and i came here not only to talk to you but i came here to listen. >> reporter: this is the man in charge of all the youth development insertion. or ydcs, in this state. commissioner jim henry. even with the history of incidents at woodland hills, he told us the most recent incident came as a surprise. >> i was really shocked because i wasn't aware of the incidents that occurred there.

i thought we were pretty far along with the rest of our facilities but apparently we have something to do with our ydcs. >> what do you say when people say everything is out of control in ydc? >> you take a look at what the incidents have been over the last 20 years. yes, this is one that received a lot of recognition but very few instances and we helped a lot of kids. >> reporter: henry says he's open to change and wants to improve. >> between july and september, 2012, the police were called 47 times. >> in the aftermath of the escape he faced some angry residents at a community meeting. >> you're lucky one of the kids broke into the house and did bodily harm. >> even wallace stepped up to the mic. >> there were kids, 47 kids, a

lot of kids babysitting kids. >> angel raney is a former guard at woodland hills. >> i think in my heart a lot of the kids don't have anyone to kind of talk to that really believes in them. >> ramey says she looked at woodland hills in 2006 and new many qualified guards but says there's bad apples who mistreeded kids. >> tired of getting treated like animals. we have to have decent people working there because if you don't, things like this happen, 32 escape and that's pretty bad. >> commissioner henry says he's listening. >> we have to have a balance between therapeutic services and this community. this community has got to be safe we know that, we think we've secured the facility. next we'll try to train the guards better.

>> while henry is still trying to get to the bottom of the recent breakout jeremy hollis says he believes some of the kids left because they felt unsafe. >> how hard was it for you to decide, you weren't going to go with them? >> it wasn't very hard. i've changed i wasn't going to make a dumb decision like that because i was leaving in two days. >> he says woodland hills helped him turn his life around but with scenes like this administrators admit they have work to do so they can help others like him. lori jane gliha, al jazeera, nashville. >> so what can make a difference in the lives of troubled young people? we're joined by melissa sickman, joining us from pittsburgh this hour. melissa, what this might tell us about juvenile justice in the country, this is on the forefront the notion of a

residential facility where the young juvenile offenders are considered students, and in school, not jailed and in prison, right? >> well, the idea behind facilities like this is to teach kids how to be good citizens. so they are students. but i think the person in your piece mentioned if you treat them like criminals three are going to behave like criminals. so the balance between security and rehabilitation or treatment is a delicate balance. it's a tough, tough job running facilities. the trend is away from very secure facilities. like the one at woodland hills. the vast majority of kids are no longer in facilities like that. they're in facilities that look every bit maybe like a college campus or in some places like group homes that might look like your house or my house.

>> so what you're saying here is just changing the name saying it's a treatment center calling these young people students, is it really enough? you have to really change the environment? another question then would be also a matter of resources. that is could a situation like this occur because not enough resources are being applied to guarding and securing a facility like this? >> well, i think it's not just, you know, the environment, it's the whole culture change. if your staff have been trained to be guards, it's going to be hard to have them become teachers and counselors. it's a different mindset completely. >> and what about engagement with the outside, that is while these young people in the case of that one father, his son had been there for a couple years already, what about the engagement with families in a facility like this? can that be an opportunity to help a young person rea acclimate

in the outside world? >> yes, catch phrase you hear a lot now, finding ways to bring families to the facilities ointeract with the kids and finding ways to bring the kids back into the community in a better way. the phrase is reentry for kids and adults, too, for that operator. reentering their communities. to do that, all of a sudden way going from a secure place and then go back home, but rather, to have a step-down kind of process, to plan for it, the minute the child enters the facility in the first place. >> melissa cigman is for the national center for juvenile justice. appreciate you being with us. >> thank you. >> next time on "america tonight" justice on the streets of ferguson, missouri with the community still tense after the death of an unarmed teen at the hands of a police. a forum finally with city leaders.

will it ignite a new flash point ferguson? our correspondent lori jane gliha is back in ferguson. she'll update us tomorrow on "america tonight." and later on tonight's program, a new moon for mars, sent to visit earth's neighbor and what might be in our own future. edge of eighteen. an intimate look... >> ...wait...is that a camera? >> at the real issues facing american teens >> whoa...code red.... >> dreaming big... >> i gotta make it happen... and i'm gonna make it happen... >> choices made.... >> i'm gonna lose anything left that i have of the mexican culture... >> fighting for their future... >> it is imperative that i get into college... it's my last chance to get out of here... >> the incredible journey continues... on the edge of eighteen only on al jazeera america

>> now a snapshot of stories making headlines on america tonight. , investigators say they found 800 rounds of ammunition in omar gonzalez's car the iraq veteran armed with a knife scaled aa fence to the white house friday and made it inside. july he was arrested in virginia for carrying a sawed off shotgun.

police think they are closing in on acre -- eric frein. credible tips where he may be hiding. frein calls himself a survivalist, may be hiding in bunkers in the mountains. three afghan soldiers have a lot of explaining to do, they are in custody after leaving a training exercise after leaving a training base, thorgts picked authorities picked them up trying to cross the canadian border. president continues his campaign to gain support in his fight against i.s.i.l. a michigan family seeking freedom for their son. last fall we first introduced you to the family of

amir heckmati. jailed in iran for three years. tonight there's more to it. first there's a look at sheila macvicar's original report. >> reporter: december 18th, 2011, iranian state television. >> my name is amir. heckmati. >> amir heckmati, born in flagstaff arizona, to iranian parents, benaz and ali high school hockey star an american combat veteran, he served tours in iraq and afghanistan. >> i was proud of him you know for wanting to serve his country. >> working as a defense contractor with a sideline in real estate. >> and then in december 2011 in tehran, accused as an american spy an agent for the cia making

this public confession. >> and i would also go out and -- >> back home in flint, michigan. >> the first time it was the news, his face on tv. >> it was the first time in months that the family new what amir was. >> what did you think when you heard amir speak in that confession video? >> i was shocked just looking at his face. that wasn't -- that wasn't him. i said michael what did they do to him? >> reporter: there was a secret trial. the iranians produced his identification card. evidence of his ties to the cia. heckmati was sentenced to death. >> it was sick thing. we couldn't believe it really got to this point. >> reporter: months later a

new trial was ordered and benaz was allowed to visit. >> he was very bad shape, he was tiny crying all the time his face was like chalk you know it was white. and beard, long beard, no shave, hair was shaved, i was worry about him. most of time we were just crying. me and him were crying. and he, from that day, he told me mom, don't believe anything. i'm innocent. >> reporter: ali you haven't been well enough to go see him. >> no. i've been under chemotherapy. i've had radiation treatment. >> ali heckmadi has brain cancer. >> reporter: how are you feeling now? >> so-so. i'm just taking it one day at a time. >> most emotionally, it hurts him more -- >> emotionally i'm hurt. >> he's under keep he therapy

thinking about him. >> what would it mean for you to be able to see amir again? >> that would be my whole world. i pray every day that i will have both of his hands in my hands. that i will be able to hug him and kiss him. tell him how much i love him and how much i miss him. >> i suffer a lot, too much, every day. every day. that when he's coming home. >> reporter: sheila macvicar, al jazeera. >> that report was produced by "america tonight's" digital producers azmat khan. she joins us this hour from new york city. azmat the family has gone to new york city, why? >> they're had ahead of rouhani's visit to the general

assembly this week and here to show that diplomats and others that they're a humble family and would like his release. they're hoping that with this pressure and with all these countries in one place there's an opportunity to lobby for his release. today they actually met with samantha powers to discuss amir's case and is he she was incredibly supportive. she said the release of an innocent man would be a great gesture on the part of iran and this would be a great opportunity for them to make this case. >> for amir hekmati himself, have they had any more contact now? >> in the last month and a half his condition has actually improved a bit, he has been able to make monthly calls to his mother benaz, and moved out of the political prisoner ward,

iran's most notorious to a less secure part of the prison, and he's been able to have books and magazines that he has been wanting. yes, he's tired and emaciated but he's cautiously optimistic about what his status is and about the hopes for his release. >> just a quick thought here. of course we're so moved by his father's story and the worry that he as a father must be going through. now is there any update on his condition? >> his father is actually suffered a third stroke since amir has been in prison and his condition has deteriorated. he was in rehab since april and released three weeks ago. he's not doing well and the family had talked to his doctor who says she is not quite sure how long he has to live. amir's sister sarah told me they're not sure when he might have another stroke so this is a very serious consideration. they say when they talk to amir this is something he brings up.

he's very concerned about his father's health they say and it is certainly weighing on him. doctors say his pain isn't just physical but it's also emotional. >> we'll count on you to watch this story closely and give us updates. humanitarian crisis on the ground gets worse. as we reported earlier, over the weekend more than 100,000 syrian kurds crossed into turkey, and northern iraq, yazidi still held captive by i.s.i.l. forces. al jazeera's jane arraf brings us a report from one of the most vulnerable communities in iraq. >> reporter: tending the sacred fires the keepers of the flame like 365 -- light 365 candles here at dusk.

this is la lesh in the northern mountains of iraq. yazidis, believe this is the first place the sun's rays ever touched. to the to the yazidis, everything here is sacred. with the future of yazidis in doubt here it is not clear whether his sons will. >> translator: we have been walking this earth for a long time, since the time of the sumarians, the assyrians and the babel babylonians. >> jemal says they need international protection. >> these are our lands, our ancestors' lands. our young people say they want to go to america or european countries.

they have seen atrocities and are terrified. they say we don't want to stay in this country. but if a country like america or russia offers us protection we would stay. >> reporter: this is a small and secretive religion. the yazidis believe god entrusted the world to seven persians. driven by religious ideology islamic state fighters believe it's their duty to kill the men and their right to take the women. this shrine is normally a place of joy but no longer. saki marad tells the saints sheik adi,. >> translator: they have killed your sons and daughters. >> reporter: packed with

refugees in sinjar. now there are families sleeping on balconies. even here, islamic state fighters are fewer than 40 miles away. la lesh is sacred. the people came here because it's safe. they're just not sure for how long. the yazidis say they have suffered more than 17 mas massas in their history, but never anything like this that make so many of them want to completely leave their land. in this cavern , they believe their wishes will be granted. this young man wants us to know his wish is to leave iraq. have. >> translator: if peace cannot be achieved by international forces we will have to go back to sinjar and seek revenge. because they took our women we have to take revenge. we can't leave peacefully there anymore. >> reporter: iraq is finished,

he says. he broke his back in a car ago. when the islamic state fighters came to their village, his father and brother carried him up sinjar mountain. after seven days on the mountain they walked 12 hours down again into syria and back into northern iraq. inside the temple he ties knots in slic silk and ask for peace with the yazidis and that he's given one more chance to visit la lesh. jane arraf, al jazeera, la lesh iraq.

>> we pray for the children in the womb >> a divisive issue >> god is life , so it's his to

take >> see a 10 year old girl who's pregnant, and you tell me that's what god wants... >> a controversial law >> where were you when the babies lives were being saved? >> are women in texas paying the price? >> who's benefiting from restricting access to safe abortions? >> fault lines... al jazeera america's hard hitting... ground breaking... truth seeking... breakthrough investigative documentary series access restricted only on al jazeera america >> 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. >> why did so many of these people choose to risk their lives? >> antonio mora, award winning and hard hitting. >> people are dying because of this policy... >> there's no status quo, just the bottom line. >> but what is the administration doing behind the scenes? >> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america action against i.s.i.l.

terrorists in syria, using a mix of fighter, bomber and tome hawk land attack missiles. let's first go to the syrian half a million launched protest. world leaders assemble for a summit on climate change getting under way on tuesday. follow up action in new york as thousands of activists flooded wall street staging a sit in to protest the financial industries. among the marchers is kelly and he joins us from new york. can you describe, kelly, the scene of what you are seeing. we expect a lot of people in new york, this was quite an event. >> i think what was surprising is they expected 100 and 150,000 people. i have been in new york for historic event, and when the yankees won, in new york for 9/11 and the blackout. as you say, yesterday upwards of half a million flooded the

streets to have their voices heard. it was overwhelming, historic and felt as though people were able to express their will and have their voices sound as one together in the streets. >> were they asking for something specific, an actionable item that the u.n. might hear? >> well, the point is if we look at what the calendar is, we have from now until september 2015, that's where we are in paris and have another opportunity to pass carbon change emissions. this was an opportunity to stand together and demand that globel leaders meet tomorrow at the u.n., but they have to pass binding legislation next year, otherwise we are running out of time on the greatest crisis that we face as a globe. >> kelly, we know you produced a documentary called "disruption", from you and gerard scott, and

you look in this segment and throughout the documentary of issues of climate change coming to the fore now. let's take a look at that for a moment. >> movie reel: this is the singular issue of our time that will determine how we live, where we live and if we live. >> scientists are screaming from the rooftops about us avoiding a 2 degree rise if the temperature of the planet. why are they worried about that? if we go over that. there are feedback loops, tipping points that climate change can spin out of control, and it happens like that. >> there are switches that can be tripped where suddenly you are in brand new territory and you don't begin to know what to do about it. this is not a linear kind of

problem that we are dealing with. this is an exponential problem. >> right now we are on the edge of three major tipping points. the first is the arctic ice cap. that is like a mirror, reflecting the sun's light off the earth and keeps from warming up. as it melts, you get a smaller mirror, warmer earth, more melting and climate change. another example is arctic meeth ape. we have a gin amount of methane gases frozen, 15 times toxic than co2, it's co2 on steroids. as it is warmed it's released causing global change to get worse, meaning more is released and all of that process is out of control. another example is ocean acidification. as you get for co2, a lot of

stuff goes into the ocean, a lot of stuff, like plankton can't live. it's the basis of the food chain. if they die, we lose the ocean food chain. >> these tipping points are what keeps me up at night, that we hit one before we are able to turn things around. >> even if we went cold turkey, we have signed up for things that we can't see yet. >> we live in a razor thin liveable universe, just a few kilometres below my feet, it's too hot to live. just a few kilometres above my head, the air is too thin to breathe. it's not about a few more droughts and storms. it's a catastrophic shift in the fragile balance of the biosphere, threatening everything we love. >> the film is disruption

tipping points, and one of the producers kelly is with us here. what were you trying to do with the film? >> i think first and foremost what we wanted to communicate was a change in the paradigm of how they wanted to understand climate. what was pointed out is we live on a beautiful planet. we have a rare instance in the world, in the universe, and now, because of how it is, because of how we organise the energy and the infrastructure, we are risking the tipping points, and the problem is we can't see where they'll take us. we are dealing with exponential problems. the other thing is a narrative problem. we told ourselves that this is a problem for our grandchildren and future generations. the best way to understand it is we are the first generation to feel the impacts of climate change, and may be the last to do anything about it. the question is whether we will. >> whether we will or not. to go back to where we started,

thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands come out. they are starting to get the message. do you see a movement. you have world leaders? the streets. do you see an opportunity for movement of commitment to tipping point changes? >> i think the thing that we have to remember is it wasn't just new york or half a million people. there were 2,500 solidarity actions. 70,000 people in london, 30,000 in melbourne - it was a global movement to address a global problem. there's something that i have never experienced - to be standing shoulder to shoulder with half a million, raising their voices as one. there's a human connection. to take part in that, you can't but feel there's an opportunity and possibility for change. sfloo we see if that is the case and they hear you at the climate change summits.

kelly, one of the film-makers that put together "destruction." >> in our final segment, to mars. it happened. what scientists hope they will be told about the marr shan planet and the future on earth. >> every saturday, al jazeera america brings you controversial... >> both parties are owned by the corporations.

>> ..entertaining >> it's fun to play with ideas. >> ...thought provoking >> get your damn education. >> ...surprising >> oh, absolutely! >> ...exclusive one-on-one interviews with the most interesting people of our time. >> you're listening because you want to see what's going to happen. >> i want to know what works what do you know works? >> conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> talk to al jazeera. >> only on al jazeera america. >> oh my! al jazeera america. we understand that every news story begins and ends with people. >> the efforts are focused on rescuing stranded residents. >> we pursue that story beyond the headline, pass the spokesperson, to the streets. >> thousands of riot police deployed across the capital. >> we put all of our global resources behind every story. >> it is a scene of utter devastation. >> and follow it no matter where it leads - all the way to you. al jazeera america, take a new look at news.

finally from us this hour, a newcomer in the field. until now mars had two small moons. with the arrival of a new visitor, the red planet is the subject of new scrutiny with a maven set to sniff out details. that's the maven, as in a mars atmosphere and volatile evolution. it took the maven 10 months to get from lift-off to the martian orbit. scientists started in mission longer ago. >> all i can say at this point is we are in orbit at mars, guys. and we have taken 11 years to get here, and now we get to do

all the science. >> each more exciting, it may tell us about our own planet's fate. >> maven will tell us about how the atmosphere evolved. we are here looking at mars at one stage of its evolution. it looked much more earth like millions of years ago. climate change occurred on mars. we want to know what happened. >> mars was not always a dry, cold inhospitable planet as it is today. the question is how they lost their atmosphere over millions and years, and the question we wonder about - could there have been life on mars. >> india's entry to the mars orbit is due to arrive on wednesday. for a look at the surface, and a search for methane, a chemical for life. mars is not just a favourite neighbour, but because of

similarity, a laboratory of sorts, looking for clues to the big cosmic questions. >> mars is not that far away. what happens on mars could happen on earth. we have to study these things. >> could happen on earth. something to think about. that is "america tonight." tuesday on the programme we return to ferguson, missouri, and the shooting of unarmed teenager michael brown. communities continue to push for justice. residents sit with community leaders. will it lead to more protests. if you would like to comment on any stories you have seen, log on to the website aljazeera.com/americatonight. you can join the conversation at twitter or facebook. goodnight. we'll have more "america tonight" tomorrow.

i.s.i.l. fighters are hit by u.s. air strikes in syria for the first time welcome to our special coverage. u.s. air strikes in syria on i.s.i.l. targets. four arab countries are participating in the air strikes. also - air strikes are backed up by tomahawk cruise missiles and we'll hear from a former general on what they cano.