>> 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. speaks for the first time on tv, as "america tonight "america tonight"'s chrf putzel goes in depth after ohio police officer shoots down a customer in a walmart aisle. and he gave it all. diving crashing, giving his all. >> that's the only way. he says, mom, that's the only way i know how to play. >> but at what price? >> "america tonight's" michael

okwu on a major leaguer whose outsize play leave a sad legacy for major league baseball. >> and getting a charge out of tesla. the electric car is already hugely possible. why the tesla's other innovation have the other car makers try to run it off the road. and good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen. communities versus the cops in the last few weeks a wave of cases in which unarmed suspects find themselves targeted by officers. back in ferguson, missouri, there were more protests and more arrests. and tensions in ohio as well,

where just four days before the death of michael brown in ferguson, a young unarmed black man was shot down in the aisle of a walmart store by police. an in depth look at that shooting by "america tonight's" christof putzel. >> what is your emergency? >> i'm in the walmart, there is a gentleman walking around with a gun in the store. >> has he got pulled out? >> yes. he's pointing it as people. >> john crawford was there buying ingredients for s 'mores. >> he went to get ideas for a cookout. >> "america tonight" sat down with his mother. they

say the 911 caller was lying. >> he did not point the beebee gun to anyone in the store. no one was in imminent danger. >> reporter: the 911 caller was this man, ronald richie. he describes what he saw to a radio program. >> waving at people, little children. thinking that he's either going to rob the place or he's there to shoot somebody else. it looks kind of serious as far as he didn't really want to be looked at, and when people did look at him he was pointing the gun add people and everything so. -- at people and everything so, really off-putting. >> based on that, beaver creek policemen shot and killed him.

he had the beebee gun in his hand and the cell phone still in his hand. on the other end of the line the mother of his two children and his own mother tressa. >> i heard him struggling to breathe. like go, you know, that gurgling type noise. when blood was in his throat. i heard him like crying and i heard the police officers. >> reporter: as customers panicked and scrambled for the exits, angela williams, a person with a heart condition, had a heart attack and died. >> he started this, he caused the death of two people. >> is there a way to hold the caller responsible? >> we believe that there's enough evidence and information there that the prosecutor could move forward with some type of

charge against richie. >> did the call that they received, does that give the police justification to shoot him? >> absolutely not. that may give him calls to investigate. that may give them the call to come in and find out what's going on. if you come into walmart, and there are other people shopping, and nothing seems to be awry, then how is that an active shooter? >> reporter: the supreme court has ruled that officers don't need to prove an actual threat to their safety to use deadly force. they just have to prove an objectively reasonable threat to their well-being. >> are you sure he's pointing at people? yes that's what the caller says he's pointing at people. >> reporter: a grand jury agreed.

they failed to indict john crawford for his death. >> they returned no indictment. they decided the police officers and the police officer in particular that fired the shots was justified in doing what he did. >> i was hurt. it was like me losing him my son all over again. no one is being held responsible for it. no one. >> reporter: the beaver creek police did not respond to "america tonight's" request for an interview. walmart said in a statement that it was deeply saddened by the incident that occurred. on tuesday it pulled all the beebee guns from the shelves of walmart. since the verdict, protests have gripped the area. supporters of the crawford family turned out and so did unlikely allies. members of the local open carry movement. they say the case is important because in ohio, it's legal to carry a gun all the time, real

or fake. one was the protesters says he's brought his own gun into this very walmart on multiple occasions. >> you've been inside this walmart carrying a gun. a real gun. unlike what john crawford was carrying. >> a real gun. >> you've had no problems. >> no problems whatever. >> why do you think things went down the way they did with john crawford? >> i believe race played a factor. this area is very white. folks tend to be afraid of the unknown, especially of black men and what seems to be a firearm or rifle in his hand. >> i think with regards to race this officer probably would have been a little more patient had this not been a young black man with looking the way that had mr. crawford looked. >> reporter: the justice department said it would conduct an independent review of mr. crawford's death to see if

there were civil rights investigations. his mother says that won't make up for what she lost that day. >> i lost part of me. you know, i lost my son. it was -- >> crawford's two children also lost their father. his one-year-old son is having a particularly rough time. >> very hard seeing him just cry. so i mean scream, for, like, three weeks, every day. he know his dad's not there. you know, something's -- something's different. >> reporter: christof putzel. al jazeera. >> ahead on our program, revved up, the hot electric car, why and how the competition's trying to put the brakes on tesla. "america tonight's" correspondent adam may investigates, next.

>> edge of eighteen, >> your entire life has brought you up to this point, right now! american teens, making a difference >> we wanna fight for our education >> choosing a path... >> if i'm not sharing the gospel, then i feel empty inside because that's the gift that god has given me >> deciding their own future... >> i'm petty burnt out... if i said that i was perfectly fine, i would be lying >> oscar winner alex gibney's edge of eighteen the powerful conclusion... only on al jazeera america

>> i lived that character >> a hollywood icon forest whitaker >> my interest in acting was always to continue to explore how it connected to other people >> making a difference >> what is occurring in other places, is affecting so many different ways...

>> inspiring others >> we have to change those things, in order to make our whole live better >> every saturday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera, only on al jazeera america >> maybe you thought about it yourself. thousands of american drivers are making the switch to electric cars, increasingly to luxury vehicles like those made by tesla but american vehicles face stiff competition by imports. "america tonight's" adam may reports who's trying to put the brakes on tesla. >> what's your favorite part of this car? >> what i like is the touch screen. >> like driving a spaceship. in their first tv interview

about mounting lawsuits filed by traditionally auto dealers, tesla vp, diarmud o'connell speaks. >> trying to destroy the dealer system, to eviscerate the dealer system. and you know what i say is, if the dealer system is as weak as it is, it proponent isn't as good as the system is. >> how it could shake up the entire u.s. auto industry you first need to understand tesla. >> wow, the acceleration is just insane. >> almost 80 miles per hour. >> the fully loaded tesla model s is a $100,000 modern marvel, all electric, no emissions, able to travel 300 miles on a charge. >> this has got to be really fun to drive. >> it is.

>> arthur blake bought one of the first 10,000 to roll off the line in california . the invention of elon musk. >> was it hard to drop that kind of coin on the car? >> it was, it was a little bit of a stretch for me but it was something that the more i thought about it, the more i really wanted it. an ev doesn't have to suck. that's what he lon wanted -- elone lon wanted t -- elon wanted to say. >> did he succeed? >> i think he succeeded wildly, i think he even surprised himself how well it turned out. >> reporter: but an even bigger surprise, a battle for

american vehicle dealers. they want tesla to be sold through independent dealerships or else. >> dealerships trying to run them out of the state. >> why? >> because 99.95% of the market apparently isn't enough for them. >> stephen lane knows the ins and outs of the american auto business as well. he runs a dealership outside of atlanta, georgia. >> they want every single car sold through a new car dealership. they've set up a patch work of laws throughout the decades, in order to create what i would characterize as a legal theft cartel. >> since tesla sells directly to consumers, bypassing, rlg

franchise dealers, the auto dealers lobbying group claims tesla exceeded that limit so they filed a petition with the state, to force this showroom to shut down. >> have you broke the law in georgia and sold too many cars direct to consumers? >> my clear understanding is that we have not sold directly in georgia, beyond our maximum. >> reporter: o'connell is one of elon musk's right hand man. >> are these brought on by hampering tesla' tesla's succes? >> i would rather be traveling to state capitals and arguing, and our lawyers submitting briefs to courts. but on the flip side, it's probably allowed us to get the word out. you're here to learn about tesla and i'm telling you about the dealer issue. >> that issue has touched every corner of the u.s. iowa recently stopped tesla from offering test drives.

tesla has been band from showing any cars in texas, arizona, new jersey and maryland. and legal battles are brewing in other states like georgia. we wanted to know what's really motivating the georgia dealers association from stopping tesla. they wouldn't answer our questions. instead they sent me an e-mail, saying, providing consumer protections, we also reached out to the national automobile dealers association. they said they're really not involved in this tesla issue. even though a video on their website states otherwise. >> governments set up dealer franchise laws to protect consumers and dealers make this complex process simple. but recently some have suggested weakening these laws or eliminating them to bypass dealers completely.

>> tesla has chosen this knowingly and willfully to avoid the law. >> a writer for yahoo auto have accused auto dealers across the nation of operating a cartel because of the influence you have over state legislatures. does very a point? >> many people think that -- does he have a point? >> many think that those franchise laws, were enacted to protect dealers. local businesses. >> weren't they? >> that's not true. no. they were actually enacted to protect consumers. they're enacted to protect consumers because the franchise system is an extraordinarily efficient way of distributing vehicles and promoting competition. >> appleton claims traditional car dealers look out for their customers. >> let's face it. everybody does what's in their interest. everybody does what's in their economic interest. dealers economic interest is to

serve consumers, compete for business and control recall services. >> they say cutting out the middle man, cutting out a franchise auto dealer you don't have somebody go to bat for you. who helps a tesla customer? >> that's an interesting relationship. arguing it's only dealers that recall situations that will stand up for customer, one worth exploring, one would affect the dealers perhaps in the case of this recent problem with gm to raise the red flag. >> reporter: tesla is banking on a resolution to this dispute. in palo alto, california, they are breaking ground on a new facility in nevada. >> you can sell cars in some states, you can't in others, you can't test-drive cars in some states. do we need federal intervention here? >> certainly it would be better to do this in one fell swoop at

the federal level, either at the congress or judicial area. >> don't you miss your car? >> he's ready for his custom ordered tesla to be delivered to georgia. >> it's the best relationship in the world. >> no blow- up gorillas? >> newspaper of that. here is where you sign and we signed and it was tremendous and that's my car. >> he designed his car on the internet, test drove it add the georgia showroom and put down a deposit. he's not sure how the unresolved issues will affect delivery. >> i'll do what i need to do to get the car absolutely. >> you're not going to let the state regulators stop you? >> no no, absolutely not.

>> as they grow, traditional dealers predict tesla will have to conform to their standards. >> i think once tesla gets their supply ahead of demand they will run not walk to establish franchisees. >> tesla may be part of your organization some day? >> we would welcome them. we actually have the electric charger in the parking lot. >> will there be a day when tesla will be on sale in all 50 states? >> certainly that's our intention. >> want to see the engine? >> all right. >> there is no engine. >> it's called a frunk. >> this is the frunk? >> that's short for front trunk. >> in the meantime, diehard tels fans show off their -- tesla fans show off their cars. >> will you get another tesla? hesitation.

as long as i can afford it. >> ah, the price! tesla's next challenge. adam may, al jazeera, atlanta. >> tesla plans to roll out the model 3, that's a car with a $40,000 price tag by 2017. when we return, sticker shock. college costs and debt balloon. "america tonight" correspondent michael okwu, with a surprising response from many students. just say no to college.

>> we've been focused on the ebola epidemic and the fears about its spread, long been warned that left uncontained in west africa, ebola was likely to move across the world and into our communities. the worst predictions came true last week, as a liberian man living in texas became first to

be diagnosed in the united states. what can be done to stop the spread of ebola in the united states and what is being done? here's "america tonight's" crilts. christof putzel. >> after a man was diagnosed with ebola, the question in the united states is, could it s happen to me? we met with thomas farley. >> the first ebola case has hit the united states. how concerned should we all be? >> we should be concerned about this epidemic overall. the first case in the united states, i can certainly expect more. because there are thousands of cases so far in west africa and within the next few months there will be hundreds of thousands of cases and we can certainly expect some of those people to travel. >> reporter: flights have been reduced, and airports are screening peaks for fevers. but because symptoms take 21

days to appear, some of those symptoms can be unnoticed. >> new york state has had an outstanding system. they have trained hospital personnel and ambulance personnel, the city's prepared but everyone needs to execute on those plans. >> reporter: when you walk around new york city it feels like a congested place. one of the worst place for the outbreak to occur. is that the case? >> remember, ebola doesn't fly through the air. it comes from blood or body fluid of an infected person. the people that can spread ebola, the way ebola can spread is when someone is sick, it's with contact with their blood and body fluids so the persons at risk are taking care of someone who is ill. it can be people at home or in

hospital facilities, which is in africa, the medical systems are overwhelmed and people are sick and dying at home. >> reporter: it'sment estimate they'd the virus has already sickened and killed 7,000 in west africa, those numbers could be even greater. how primitive are the systems in the west africa area? >> many people have become infected and died, there is not enough people to take care of those. the system is overwhelmed and the world response is inadequate. >> the attention is focused on eebles o ebola this summer. but it wasn't until infected aid workers were brought back to the united states. >> thousands of cases within

west africa, within months there will be hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions, every day we delay more thousands of deaths. the world needs to respond more now, not a month from now because summons so far has been inadequate. there need to be more treatment centers more medical personnel and more organization around that so people can be treated in a place where they're not spreading the infection to others. if we act more now we ask save tens hundreds of thousands of lives in the future. >> reporter: we are not dealing with anything that's on the scale of west africa. >> i don't expect the kind of spread taking place in west africa is going to happen in new york city or in the united states. we have a much larger medical system and a much better system of health departments that are poised to deal with this. but we can expect i believe more cases to arrive in the united states and everybody needs to follow through, what the plans are for how to contain that spread when it arrives. >> reporter: christof putzel, al jazeera, new york

city. >> that's an investment in protecting lives. another in protecting futures. college has gotten expensive, very. student debt is now over $1.2 trillion. the first time it's exceeded the credit card debt. which raises the question for families, is the sticker shock worth it? "america tonight's" michael okwu reports on a new movement, those who say no to college. >> it's full and all across america a new batch of students are leaving the nest and heading to college. the experience won't come cheap. the average cost for a four year public college is over $18,000 a year. a staggering $40,000 a year for a private school. that cost weighed heavily on eva's mind as she looked for schools for her son nick to attend. walk me through in your head some of the reactions you had.

>> how the hell am i going to do this? how l are we going to make sure that we can provide our kids with the same opportunities that our parents provided us with? >> this place looks nice. >> reporter: that's one reason why nick ended up here. >> hahey, how is it going? >> reporter: and experimental program in san francisco where students spend a single year preparing themselves. it's called un-college. >> we both sort of noticed within the past year that college might not have been the best route for me right away. >> he wasn't really sure what he wanted to do. >> i didn't want to have my parents have wasted money if i didn't find what i wanted to do. >> i said i feel like we might as well set a pile of money on fire if you just go off to school right now. >> you've got this conundrum of people who are being told that they have to go to a college to get a degree to get a job.

they're not necessarily obtaining the right skills to actually be employable. we are going to do whatever we can to help you. >> uncollege aims to give its students the hard skills employers are looking for in a quarter of a time and 10th of a cost of a four year degree. >> in the real world what gets you buy is whether you can sound intelligent. our students will have had a relevant real world experience by the time they finish our program. they'll have built out a robust group of skills, they will have interned and showed off their skills, they will have traveled abroad and show what it is to be flexible in a new environment. >> they don't need to are spend four years and 200k on a college degree. >> dale believes a college degree is a mandatory part of the plan. >> taking pictures taking

videos, designing clothes. >> uncollege typically are folks who haven't necessarily gotten along perfectly in school. >> i was in the middle of high school and just like hated it. >> they come from all walks of life and span a variety of interests. >> i was fortunate to figure out what to do with my life. >> it's special to get the energy of motivated people in the room together and you can tell that these are smart kids. they're going to go far. >> reporter: but do you have any proof that taking this course is going to prove more successful than going to a institution? >> if you take a look at the employment outcomes in the past year, 76% of the folks who have done the program are employed or have received a job offer in the field they were pursuing. a lot better than the one in four college students are doing right now.

>> reporter: still the unr relenting focus on the jobs, has given the uncollege a bad reaction. >> for the sake of getting an education, what would you say that? >> having the freedom to pursue knowledge for knowledge sake is a huge privilege and i admire anyone who has the resources and flexibility to do that. but for many that's not possible. >> reporter: stevenson was able to launch uncollege thanks to money he received from another ring organization that values this. >> to start a conversation about the future of higher ed. >> reporter: the foundation

pays young adults not ogo to college. >> only half of college grads end up actually having jobs and only half of those have jobs that are relevance to their degrees. >> jonathan kane is president of the teal foundation. >> the teal fellowship, awards 100,000 a year to those who may not come to pass. >> 83 young adults have received the award. the fellows are working on everything from building small scale nuclear reactors, each argue against a traditional four year degree. >> we have been blown away by what the fellows have built. >> far outweighs the benefits of that college degree right now.

>> in addition to investing in the mark zuckerbergs, of the future, college may not be simply all right for everyone and that is okay. >> if society says to have a meaningful life and get a job you need to go to college, but what about everyone else? >> the statistics show that an individual with a college degree outearns someone who doesn't have one by a considerable amount. isn't this overly risky? >> depending on the choice someone makes, going to college may make financial sense certainly but it may be something if you are not thinking carefully about your choices may constrain the kind of future you have. >> probably like doublish in size. >> dale stevens believes the increasing number of applicants to uncollege believes it is a strong alternative to a four

year degree. >> we've proven there's at least 200 people a year who want to do this. will it go to a thousand? probably. will it go to 10,000? i don't know. our motivation in doing this is to create a place for people who are misfits in the educational system can be themselves an grow and thrive. >> as she prepares to return home to an empty house nick's mother is just happy the her son will be able to explore who he is without necessarily breaking the bank. >> thank you, have fun. >> you too mom. >> i'm so thrilled that he's having this opportunity. i've given him the foundation. he is the person who he was meant to be. at this point in his life. this is the last opportunity i can give him to give him a tool, and use it. >> michael okwu, al jazeera, san francisco. >> college or not. one of the issues young people

confront in al jazeera america's original series edge of eighteen. see all the kids profiled on the reunion special, next sunday on al jazeera america. right after the break, a young player's dreams and the painful reality of his spectacular plays. his mother gives her first tv interview to "america tonight's" michael okwu on the head injuries her son suffered playing the game he loved and why she believes, it led to his death.

>> kentucky, a state that's hurting economically. >> when the mines shut down it affects other businesses too you know, it hurts everything. >> some say it's time for a change. >> mitch has been in there so long. >> while others want to stay the course. >> all the way mitch! you know exactly what these people needs in kentucky. >> communities trying to cope. what does the future hold? >> the economy, the struggling coal industry and healthcare are all impacting their vote. >> "america votes 2014 / fed up in kentucky". all next week. only on al jazeera america.

>> finally from us this hour, a thought about how we honor duty and sacrifice. here in washington this weekend, the opening of a first of its kind monument, a national memorial to disabled vets. those broken warriors, the brothers in arms who live to honor their fallen comrades, finally getting their due salute. >> it is possible for a man to lose half of his physical being, and still become whole. >> what echoes here are the words of survivors in a city better known for its memorials to the dead. other monuments in the nation's capital rightly honor the ultimate sacrifice of america's military men and women. but this is first national

monument to recognize the wounds, physical and emotional, of those who return from battle foaferforever changed. >> when you are young you're invincible. i thought i wouldn't come back. there was that thought too but i had this feeling that i would come back. >> why so many quotes, what was the thinking? >> well we wanted to express different thoughts in the veterans' journey, we wanted to express their call to service. we wanted to express what it was like to be injured, we wanted to express what it was like in rediscovering, healing and then their rediscovery in life. >> they are the voices so often unheard. the sacrifices that play out over a lifetime. long after the guns have fallen silent. >> i was naive and clueless

about the hor horrors that can be inflicted on a young person's body. >> lloyd pope was a young star starlet when she signed on. >> i saw young men lying on gurneys, hobbling on crutches. without limples limps, so badly burned, eyes just sockets, no ears, noses. i brought with me the song, "somewhere" from west side story, it was very popular, i very nervously began to sing that song. i got to the line, "hold my hand and i'll take you there," and i reached out to hold a young soldier's hand. and he had no hand for me to hold. and when i left, i thought okay,

if i ever can, i want to do something for disabled veterans. i promised smie myself that i w. >> inspired by a visit to the vietnam veterans memorial pope made good on that promise. 16 years later the flame has finally been lit. >> this memorial is for the 4 million living disabled veterans and the hundreds of thousands who have died before them. i want people to know that the cost of war doesn't end when the guns are silenced. i want them to know that. disabled veterans continue to battle every day, every day. >> pope helped raise money, donated some of her own, lobbied congress and the then secretary of veterans affairs, jesse brown, whose words are also here. >> for every tragic life unraveled, there are dozens of

individuals who have managed triumph over the harrowing experience of war and ruin. >> the rows of trance lucent glass have 18 different quotes etched into them and images depicting the stories of countless service men and women, like felicia wesson. >> i just wanted to find somebody from my company. >> project director barryy owenby gave us a tour. >> this is not just pretty glass. it is meant to tell us something. >> the glass, this is starfire glass, it has a strength to it but it also has a fragility to it. two meanings, the strength of the glass but also the fragility of the glass. it represents our disabled veterans have been wounded but they come back they have been healed and have

a rediscovery of purpose. >> the commemorate disabled veterans and to give them a place to pause and reflect. >> this memorial has a lot to do with reflection and light. we have a beautiful star fountain with a flame in the middle. that flame symbolizes the fire in the grove. it was a fire in the camp grove of the soldiers. >> of a more than a decade of battles in iraq and afghanistan the number of disabled veterans has grown. almost 45% since 2000. >> i wanted our elected representatives to realize the human cost of war. to think twice before sending our troops to battle. >> the memorial is located in the shadow of capitol hill. and pope says she believes that will be a call to action. >> every day life goes on but pain. it is. i want people to know that.

>> before i lost my limbs i was only half a man. now i've developed some humility. i can look at the average person and understand him where before i only looked at myself. >> a salute so richly deserved. the national disabled veterans memorial is open now just west of the u.s. capital in washington. that's "america tonight." you can comments on any stories you've seen here by logging on to our website, aljazeera.com/americatonight. we'll have more of our program tomorrow. >> the sun isn't up yet, but david godeski is. godeski has been homeless in washington d.c. for nearly 7 years. last night, like most, he slept outside. with affordable housing getting increasingly scarce here, there's been a spike in the

number of homeless. churches, food pantries, the city, are all scrambling to meet the demand. at the public library's main branch, homeless individuals rush in when the doors open, some are even dropped off by a shuttle bus from the homeless shelters. once inside, they log onto computers to job hunt or check email. they meet friends or just read, protected from the elements. >> for many years we would sort of open our doors and say "okay, we've done our job", because we're providing them a warm place to go if they've got no place else to be. >> now, social worker jean badalamenti will help provide information on homeless services and will "sensitize" staff. while government, residents and local businesses argue over the role of the libraries, david godeski is just glad they're here. >> having a place like this where things are controlled, it's a godsend. >> so godeski will be back every

day he can. >> taking the fight to al-shabab - we are live with forces from the african union trying to cut the armed supply routes. hello. welcome to al jazeera, live from doha, i'm darren jordon. also going to a run off vote. dilma rousseff wins the first round of the vote, but fails to secure an outright majority. protesters still in hong kong despite a deadline to leave the